Category: Gardening

Letter Re: Safe Businesses in an Economic Depression?

Mr. Rawles: I’m convinced that given the bursting of the Debt Bubble, the American economy is about to take The Big Swim, a lot like it did back in the 1930s. If this does happen, what sort of businesses will be safe? Do you know what sorts of businesses bucked the down-trend in the 1930s? Thanks, – Chester JWR Replies: According to statistics published some 20 years ago by Dr.Ravi Batra, the safest businesses and industries during the worst years of the Great Depression (1929-1933) were: Repair shops Educational services (A lot of young men that couldn’t find work borrowed …


Book Excerpt–Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse

Geographically distinct units were formed from the Northwest Militia, as planned, late in the April of the fifth year. To avoid confusion amongst the local citizenry that they protected, they designated those at the original retreat as “Todd Gray’s Company” and those at Kevin Lendel’s house as “Michael Nelson’s Company.” The responsibility for patrolling was divided along a line east-west between the retreats. Todd Gray’s Company was to patrol the northern half of the sector, while Michael Nelson’s Company patrolled the southern half. Separate CB channels were assigned to each Company for locals to use to contact either Company. On …


Letter Re: Comments from a Like-Minded Virginia Prepper

Sir: I found your blog about a month ago. I received a copy of your novel “Patriots” from Fred’s M14 Stocks and have probably read the thing about 20 times. It sits by the bed. I sometimes just pick it up, open and begin reading. Good stuff. I am a former police officer (10 years) with sniper training, construction company owner( I have built everything except a church) CPA with many years public accounting and have military experience (like you in Military Intelligence. I was what is now known as a 98C [- Signals Intelligence Analyst]). I shoot a lot …


Three Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet

Mr. Rawles: Firstly, I must say I have found your site informative and have implemented many of the ideas/suggestions listed on it. Regarding the most recent post regarding crucial fats in the diet, I must say it was informative but I felt it left out a very viable source of animal fat: The Groundhog. While it may be a rodent, it only eats plants and an occasional insect. The meat is good but greasy since groundhogs actually hibernate. This means later on in the year they will have stored up a large amount of fat which would be of very …


Two Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet

Dear Mr. Rawles – I need some advice on storing fats and oils. I have read that the shelf life these essentials can be extended by keeping them in an air tight container, and avoiding exposure to heat and light, but even then the shelf life of these products is no more than a year or so. Shortening, which used to have a shelf life of up to ten years, is no longer sold in metal cans, giving it a much shorter shelf life. How are others dealing with this problem? Also, I have thought about other sources of oils …


Five Letters Re: Advice on Generators?

Jim, I have backup generators at my home and at my retreat. Both are propane powered. The generator at the retreat is a low speed (1800 RPM), liquid cooled generator. I have run it for up to 10 hours straight, with no problems. The vast majority of us “off the grid” folks have low speed propane generators. They are very reliable and fuel storage is not an issue since propane does not go bad. Most residences that I have seen, run the house and generator off of the same 500 gallon tank. My generator has a dedicated 500 gallon tank, …


What if The Schumer Doesn’t Hit The Fan? – Reasons to Prepare Anyway, by MB

As long as I can remember, I have felt that someday the comforts of a modern American lifestyle would vanish, at least temporarily. So I have made small mental preparations for some time now; keeping my mind and body fit and strong, staying informed, dropping hints to the wife, etc. Recently, and mostly after reading Patriots, I have a renewed interest in preserving my life and protecting those I love. After educating myself on the subject of survival, I felt, as I’m sure many others have, very vulnerable and even overwhelmed. I needed to take action, immediately. Many thoughts spring …


Letter Re: My Adventure in Growing Wheat, by Carl in Wisconsin

Sir: Regarding Carl’s question of cleaning and harvesting grain. First get some horses and a binder, it’s much easier than by hand. Regarding proper use of a scythe: It is largely a matter of gaining a rhythm. Proper rhythm will allow you to cut all day without much effort., merely swinging your body. To exaggerate, swing the scythe to catch between 1?2 and one inch of grain/grass. At the last second jerk it toward you. In practice, if you have a good swing, it more or less does the jerk by itself. I have found that doing it properly will …


Digging Tools Basics, by JN EMT

Knowing how to dig holes, make trenches and move earth is an important, if often overlooked skill. Here are tips that I thought might be helpful. The Tools of the Trade Digging instruments are as sexy or fun to shop for as battle rifles and Snap-On automotive tools, but having a good selection of these can mean the difference between completing a task in a day or spending three weeks in agony. Here are the basics. Folding Shovel – Every vehicle you own should have at least one shovel. A small folding shovel or “E-Tool” is compact and easy to …


My Adventure in Growing Wheat, by Carl in Wisconsin

Some time about June of 2006 I decided after long months of listening to James, the editor of The Bison Newsletter talk about storing wheat that I would try to grow some in an exercise in Post-TSHTF Farming/Gardening. On page 172 of the Readers Digest Back To Basics book it states that a 10’ by 109 ‘ foot plot would grow about 100 pounds of wheat, enough for a family of 4 for a year. I figured that a plot twice that size would be perfect for two people and a dog and a cat. I also question if 100 …


On Spring and Well Water, and Some Water Treatment Basics

Plentiful fresh drinking water for drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening is the most critical resource for all societies. The vast majority of the residents of First World countries are dependent on grid power to supply their water. When the grid goes down for more than a few days, water towers will soon be drained and huge numbers of people will be forced to draw water from open sources. Thankfully, there are streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds in walking distance of most homes. Rainwater from roof downspouts can also be used. But the logistics of hauling water will just by itself …


Repairing Gardening Hand Tools, by Christian Souljer

Being able to plant your own vegetables during hard times will be greatly desirable. In order to do this, a preparedness person should have multiple duplicates of commonly used garden tools. Gardening tools such as rakes, hoes, and pitchforks often break at the connection between the handle and the head. The wood becomes aged and with downward pressure/force – the wood can break away and or the tool head can just become loose and fall out. This occurs mostly on older tools where the wood has shrank but can also occur on the cheaper imported garden tools. I recently had …


Letter Re: Some Observations on Self-Sufficiency and Retreat Security

James, I greatly appreciate SurvivalBlog and the solid, thoughtful info it contains, and have printed out numerous posts for future reference. It seems for many the ideal is having a bug-out location, so perhaps readers could glean some useful information from my experience owning and operating a fair-sized ranch, one of the goals of which is to be as independent as possible. Specific observation on particular issues: WATER Top of the list, everything else is secondary. If you don’t have indoor water for cooking, bathing, toilets, etc., the quality of life quickly plummets. Try hauling all of the water you …


Cutlery Considerations for TEOTWAWKI, by Gage

In a post-TEOTWAWKI environment many of the services we take for granted now will be nonexistent. We will be growing or own produce, butchering our own livestock, cooking our own food, performing our own minor surgeries and protecting or own lives. We will have to rely on our own skills, knowledge and equipment. Of all the tools available to humans none has more importance than a wide selection of cutlery. History has revealed to us six simple machines that revolutionized the world: the wheel, the lever, the pulley, the inclined plane, the screw, and the wedge. As you may have …


Weather Forecasting the Old-Fashioned Way, an Important Skill for WTSHTF

One thing that we take for granted in our modern age is ready access to sophisticated weather forecasting, complete with satellite imagery. But when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF) and the power grid and Internet go adios, those will no longer be available. Under these same circumstances, gardening, hay cutting, and small scale grain raising will be crucial. You will need to be able to predict the weather with some accuracy. If you cut your hay at the wrong time–just before the advent of a wet summer weather system–you could end up with a moldy hay crop. And if …