Category: Gardening

Black Gold: Organic Matter – Part 1, by R.M.

Organic matter should be considered black gold. This aricle will describe why you need to work on it, now. Summary: Higher organic matter soils are just about drought-proof, need far less fertilizer, and the organic matter will balance out acid/base and many other conditions resulting in healthier plants that are more resistant to everything from too wet / too dry to insects and disease. I started gardening in the sand hills of Florida over 50 years ago. 78 feet of sand until you hit clay. My first garden was a total failure. For my second garden I followed the exact …


Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 3, by T.J. Dixon

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Your crops should be started indoors 4 to 6 weeks before you’re ready to put them out. Since your space is small to start, you will only need one or two 72 cell starter trays; you can also use egg trays or make pots from rolled up paper. When you are selecting your seeds look for heirloom or “open-pollinated” seeds; they will be labeled on the seed packet. Since you will be harvesting next year’s seeds from your little garden, you do not want hybrid seeds. Heirloom and open-pollinated seeds will reproduce …


Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 2, by T.J. Dixon

(Continued from Part 1.) The planting process starts by seeding most crops indoors under artificial lights about 4-6 weeks before it is time to plant them outside; Here, refer to the USDA Hardiness information for planting times. Most crops need from 60 to 90 days to mature after you’ve transplanted. In Zone 5, I start spring seeds indoors in February, summer seeds indoors in April and fall seeds in July. Once things have sprouted, they need to be transitioned outside. You cannot just take a plant from the low light of the indoors into the full power of the sun …


Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 1, by T.J. Dixon

Many of us would regard someone with one year of freeze-dried food as a good example of someone who is prepared. They are ready to ride out the storm when a major Without Rule of Law (WROL) scenario comes along. The issue then becomes, what happens after that first year? Even if they escape mob violence because they have effective self-defense supplies and have trained both at the gun club and in tactical scenarios, they will be out of food in one short year. While they have may all the medical supplies to handle small and large emergencies throughout that …


Planting Productive Orchards, by David K.

When someone says the word ‘orchard,’ most people begin to immediately conjure images of fall and vast acres of fruit trees, hayrides, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apple harvests, making cider, and so forth. But to those with a preparedness mindset, the word ‘orchard’ also implies benefits like self-sufficiency, the attraction of wild game for hunting/trapping, diversified protein sources, fur for blankets, boots, hats, coats, and gloves, as well as bartering. The term ‘orchard’ can have broader connotations beyond your typical fruit tree acreage. For many, myself included, the term ’orchard’ stretches beyond fruit trees and includes nut trees, berry bushes, …


Growing Your Own Food in the Inland Northwest – Part 4, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Harvesting I have tried several contrivances for hand harvesting grain or lentils etc., but each time I have been disappointed. Inevitably I have resorted to pulling a clean plastic garbage can behind me while I manually grab the grain heads and jerk or strip them off and deposit them into the garbage can. Surprisingly this procedure has been “perfected” such that I can harvest about a bushel worth of wheat per day. A bushel of wheat weighs 60 lbs. Because wheat and dry legumes have about 1,500 calories per pound a person …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 3, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 2.) Little marvel peas were the usual variety planted for shelling. They also had a bad year in 2020 for some unknown reason. Some of my dry field peas were picked while green and shelled to substitute for this bad year. They are a satisfactory backup to the garden varieties. Shelled peas can be stored frozen or dried. Rehydrating dried ones has been acceptable but is not yet perfected. Oregon sugar pod peas for eating the pods have been planted. They generally produce acceptably, but suffered this last year with the other garden peas. They taste great …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 1, by D.F.

My Background I grew up on a family farm in the Midwest where at one time or another apple orchards, field crops, cows, pigs and chickens were raised. I assisted my parents in nearly all these endeavors and in the process drove several different farm machines. This experience caused me to feel significant confidence in my gardening skill. However, I subsequently realized that I really only learned how to do farm work as instructed by my parents rather than actually learning how to farm. I am surprised sometimes at things I know that others don’t, but at other times I …


The Innate Value of an Apple Tree – Part 2, by Northwoods Prepper

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Developing a pest-reduction process is better when understanding your enemy. For example, the Apple Tree Maggot can be found in the lower 48, while the San Jose Scale is limited to California. Use the internet to evaluate what insects are in your area. Traps are often multispecies and can significantly reduce infestation. There is a great article on Rural Sprout (https://www.ruralsprout.com/apple-tree-problems/) regarding apple tree problems with pictures identifying insect infestation and the damage they can do to apple trees. One last thing to say about infestation and insects and that is it …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

Today’s modern society, for the most part, is dependent upon several intertwined and dependent infrastructures. We rely upon these intertwined and dependent systems for our 21st Century Western lives. As we have witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic and the Texas Polar Vortex, these infrastructures can be very easy to interrupt and one disruption can start a domino effect. For many preppers, storing equipment and supplies back is the failsafe method for handling societal infrastructure disruptions. A family of four putting away a 55-gallon blue drum of water seems like a major achievement but in reality, that water will only last …


Tool Maintenance, by Richard T.

I’m now 73 years old and can’t remember ever not having tools. In my mother’s diary she wrote about little projects I made before I even started kindergarten at the age of four. Some of the tools that I have today were my father’s. These include a hammer and some tinsnips. They outlasted him and those and others will outlast me, if they are maintained properly. This is where most of us fall short, me especially when it comes to tools for tasks that I’m not particularly passionate about. Outdoor yard projects fall into that category. For a tool to …


Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 2, by J.T.

(Continued from Part. 1. This concludes the article.) Onions 1. Onions can be started anytime between February 25 and April 27. I grow my Walla Walla onions from seed not from sets that have been started by another grower. You can begin harvesting these about 125 days after starting the seeds. 2. Using the small containers, start by filling each with 90% starting material then soak each one. Next, put 50 to 60 seeds in each pot, then cover 1/8″ with potting soil, then very slowly add enough water to soak the last 1/8″, trying hard to avoid the seeds …


Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 1, by J.T.

This article describes the steps required to raise a variety of 14 vegetable plants from seed starting to a successful harvest. I’ve been at this for 50 years and feel like I am getting closer to getting it done right. I raise vegetables and fruit, manly to sell from a roadside stand. Yearly, I grow about 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 1,500 pounds of apples, plums, and pears. Our family uses only 30% of this yield, so that leaves a lot to sell. The following are what I believe are the most important preparation and focus points for a successful …


Garden Bed Weed Management, by Southern Trapper

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Working a 9-to-5 job, I don’t have time to pull weeds every day so I sure won’t be able to do so during TEOTWAWKI when time and operational security are scarce. So, I have spent a lot of time experimenting with techniques to reduce weed growth and improve soil conditions that require minimal inputs and labor. Here I present three methods of preparing new garden beds and maintaining existing beds that require only hand tools. These techniques are particularly suitable for individuals who want to turn existing sod into high-intensity gardening as happened in March of 2020 when many suburban …


Starting Seeds Indoors: Tips and Trials, by CAL

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Last year I began to get much more serious about starting my plants from seed. As my garden has grown in size each year, I saw the wisdom in starting my own seeds. Never mind the increased pressure to make sure we have a sustainable food source during these turbulent times. I reasoned that starting my own seeds would give me a jump on the growing season. I could control for erratic early season weather and I would save a great deal of money as the price of seedlings as the nursery has been doubling in price. I have been …