Category: Gardening

Two Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change

Dear Jim and Family, Wow, people sure are getting worked up and personal about climate change aren’t they? I agree that as survivalists we should do our best to plan for reasonable emergencies. Cold weather gear in Central America? Probably not. A larger cistern system than you think you need in the desert or great plains? A good idea. Why? Climate change, whether caused by man or not, makes for changing rainfall patterns. Maybe heavier so your soil gets waterlogged and you get unexpected floods. In Hawaii this may mean more hurricanes. Or maybe Hawaii turns into a desert island …


Two Letters Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers

Jim: Something to very careful with when composting sawdust is to be absolutely sure you do not have any sawdust from pressure treated wood. There is a myriad of nasty chemicals in this wood that will destroy your compost heap. Sawdust should not be added directly to your garden because it absorbs and holds moisture and other nutrients. Wood ashes are fine, but only add 1 or 2% Phosphorus and 3 to 7% of potassium. Wood Ashes have an alkaline effect on your soil. I put eggs shells and coffee grounds and wood ashes directly into the garden all winter …


Three Letters Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change

Dear Jim, In response to this: “(See the movie The Day After Tomorrow regarding tipping points). Discoveries of animals flash frozen solid with fresh grass their stomachs points to the possibility of a very fast onset to global climate change.” The Day After Tomorrow was roundly slammed by scientists and went beyond ludicrous, and the “flash frozen” animals are a myth that has never been documented. The recovered frozen mammoths have all been highly putrefied. At present, the evidence of warming is mixed, with glaciers in Europe, South America and Antarctica all increasing [in size]. Even with the current Northern …


Letter Re: Advice on Sawdust and Other Barn Waste as Fertilizers

Mr. Rawles: I thought I would pass on a valuable tip I learned thank goodness not the hard way. I have found that taking the bedding from the horse stalls, (manure and urine-soaked sawdust), composting it, and mixing into the garden has converted my hard pan top soil into a nice “loam” which tills and works so much easier (after working it with a tiller). We are going on year number 4 for our garden and have noticed a substantial decline in productivity and did not follow through with soil testing when I first noticed the “problem”. I attributed it …


Letter Re: Pondering Some Personal Consequences of Global Climate Change

James: While the pundits assure us that global warming, if real at all, won’t affect us in our lifetime, other scientific models suggest explosive climate shifts as ‘tipping points’ are reached. (See the movie The Day after Tomorrow regarding tipping points). Discoveries of animals flash frozen solid with fresh grass their stomachs points to the possibility of a very fast onset to global climate change. While suddenly finding yourself in an Arctic climate is likely not survivable, we must consider if we have the flexibility to survive in a radically different or highly volatile climate. Global warming can make warm …


Letter Re: Heirloom / Open Pollinated Seeds

Sir: Your recent posts on seed varieties sparked some thoughts on my recent reading. We’re going to find fellowship and learning opportunities within the “Authentic Agriculture” movement. Since living at the retreat is ideal, perhaps “Authentic Agriculture” is how to make it happen. About halfway down the page in this link the farmer describes breeding a plot of open pollinated corn in order to maximum the desirable expressed phenotypes for his soils and micro-climate. By hand selecting seed over generations he is increasing his protein content for his animals. A 3,000 acre Farmerus maximus miserabli just can’t compete with a …


Letter Re: Junk Shop Survival Tools

James, I read Nuclear War Survival Skills [by Cresson Kearney) several years back and have read and re-read the book on a regular basis. In fact, along with your novel “Patriots” (acquired 5 months back) I have loaned out and gifted copies of each to family. All were ‘struck’. After realizing the need for expedient and planned shelter, but lacking the real buying power that I desired, I set about securing many of the hand tools that I had previously overlooked, i.e. tools that were essential according to Cresson: Picks, Shovels, etc. Lowes and other stores didn’t stock old world …


Gardens for the Future, by JLM

There are many reasons to make open pollinated [“heirloom variety”] seeds an integral part of your gardening experience and food storage. If seeds are collected from F1 hybrids, the plants grown from those seeds will generally not have the characteristics that you desired in the parent plant. Open pollinated seeds allow the gardener the option of saving seed and growing the plants you like, year after year. In the April 1991 issue of National Geographic, in an article titled, “World Food Supply at Risk”, the authors point out past failures of agriculture being based on only a few varieties. Such …


Letter Re: Yet Another Article Touting “Mobility” for Survival

Jim: Thank you for response on the mobile survival fantasy. I think it is dangerous for the average Joe to believe that he can be a mountain man. Sure, some can, in some climates and locations with lots of training. Even then it’s dangerous and unpredictable. A twisted ankle can be the end of you. Remember too, those mountain survival stories were from the days when the wildlife in this country was at much higher levels. For most of us it means being cold, wet, tired, hungry and thirsty in the woods and being targets on the streets. (“Nice pack …


The Next Pandemic: Starvation in a Land of Plenty

At the dawn of the 21st century, we are living in an amazing time of prosperity. Our health care is excellent, our grocery store shelves burgeon with a huge assortment of fresh foods, and our telecommunications systems are lightning fast. We have relatively cheap transportation, and our cities are linked by an elaborate and fairly well-maintained system of roads, rails, canals, seaports, and airports. For the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population will soon live in cities rather than in the countryside. But the downside to all this abundance is over-complexity, over-specialization, and lengthy supply …


Letter Re: Yet Another Article Touting “Mobility” for Survival

Dear Jim: See this piece on Survival Preparedness as: “The Ultimate “Contrarian” Investment for 2007 — Be Prepared” The author knows a lot about economics (excellent web site), but one can certainly critique his “Batman in the Boondocks” or “mobile refugee” survival strategy. Regards, – OSOM JWR Replies: I’m dismayed to see such strategies proposed again and again, usually by folks who have never actually attempted to fill–much less actually shoulder–their “everything that I’ll need” backpack. It is incredibly naive to think that anyone can “head for the hills” with just what you can carry, and survive for an extended …


Letter Re: Advice on Small-Scale Grain Growing, Harvesting, and Processing

Dear Editor: In an earlier posting you recommended the book “Small Scale Grain Raising” [by Gene Logsdon], but [I found] that it was out of print. However, I found an Australian library that will provide a free downloadable copy. It only took a few minutes on a high speed connection, but you get the book in a PDF file. – Roger H. in Virginia


Letter Re: How Should I Store My Extra Garden Seed?

Dear Editors: What is the best way to store my extra garden seed? I want to make it last several years, but still germinate properly. Also, what are the best kind of seeds for survival gardening? Thanks, – Liz, near Toledo The Memsahib Replies: Your seed stocks should be all non-hybrid (“heirloom”) varieties, so that the seed that you save from each harvest will breed true and continue to produce, year after year. (Hybrid varieties won’t!) Heirloom seed is available from The Ark Institute, the Seed Savers Exchange, and Ready Made Resources. Long term storage of gardening seed is best …


Knowledge and Skills are the Keys to Survival–Start With Gardening, by Bill K.

The truth of the matter is that most of us with the survival mindset are not rich enough to own all the radios, bunkers, and other fancy stuff we read about. Sure we drool about having the forty acre “gulch” all ready to go when the SHTF, but it’s just not in the reality of the regular working family, just a fantasy. I’d like to suggest a great survival tool for the rest of us. The very best and the cheapest and the least hyped survival tool is parked right between your ears and can be put to use for …


Letter Re: Advice on Small-Scale Grain Growing, Harvesting, and Processing

Sir: Friday’s letter on grains was very good. I have acquired myriad of 19th century farm tools at what are called Threshermen’s Shows in Wisconsin. These are shows for Hit and Miss [stationary] engines, Steam engines and the tools from late 19th Century to early 20th Century Farming. There is usually a flea market as well. I have picked up a scythe in reasonable condition for $20.00. I had to spend about an hour carefully sharpening it, but I got it sharp enough to cut my thumb pretty well. After a visit to my first aid station I took it …