Staff Article: Rotation, Rotation, Rotation! – Effective Food Storage Strategies, by L.K.O.

“If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

As any realtor will tell you, at least those who recite the cliché, the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location. The three most important factors in effective and economical food storage might just be rotation, rotation, and rotation. Of course, there are other considerations, but rotation is often overlooked, and it can have consequences for both your budget and your body; spoiled food is not only costly economically, but it can make you and your family sick, or it can even be lethal, in some cases. It is worth your while, in more ways than one, to implement a rotation system, and it really doesn’t take much, if any, additional effort with a little forethought and a disciplined attitude toward applying common sense best practices.

Any perishables– food, beverages, fuel, pharmaceutical drugs, or any other commodity with a finite shelf life– need to be rotated and replenished regularly and systematically in any viable storage program. Rotation works for tires and soil nutrients for growing specific crops, too, but we’ll focus on food rotation, in the refrigerator, in the freezer, and of course in the pantry in this article.

FIFO, Quality, and Minimized GIGO

Electrical engineers that have used digital signal buffers for delaying signals will be familiar with the term FIFO (First In, First Out), but we can all benefit from a more macroscopic application of the FIFO principle in our pantries and fridges; ideally, the first item bought should be the first item eaten, not only within a specific type of food item but across one’s entire pantry and food storage system as well. By devising a method to systematically rotate perishable items, benefits will accrue to your budget and your family’s health and longevity. Another acronym many are familiar with is GIGO– Garbage In, Garbage Out. It goes without saying that storing sub-standard, tainted, marginal, or spoiled food or food with negligible nutritional value is not only silly but potentially dangerous as well. It’s essential to store the highest quality food AND to rotate those stores using the FIFO method. A maxim you can use if you’re not an engineer, or you just prefer something other than FIFO, is “Buy it first, eat it first.”

Shelf Life Savvy and Safety

Another vital aspect of an effective rotation system is knowing the shelf life of the foods you are storing. A few items, when stored properly, have such a long shelf life that they may be considered relatively exempt from the best practice of rotation (although it’s still a good idea), or at least their shelf life is measured in decades rather than years; among them, you will find such things as water (depending on the container), honey, salt, wheat berries, rice, sugar, maple syrup, corn starch, distilled white vinegar, pure vanilla extract, liquor, and wine. Here’s a list of eight of these items and another list of nine items with long shelf life and tips on their storage.

As for most everything else not explicitly mentioned in the paragraph above, consuming any purchased item that is used past the printed “use by” or expiration date is ill-advised. It’s an exercise in mediocre nutrition and often in mediocre enjoyment as well, since the flavor usually declines along with the nutritional value, at best; it’s a game of culinary Russian roulette, at worst. If an item is properly stored under optimum conditions, it might be okay to “push it” just a little, occasionally, but you should always do a visual examination and a “sniff” test, and use both your common sense and intuition to make the final determination, along with the maxim, “better safe than sorry” if there’s any significant doubt. Why take chances with your health? If the food has a funky or “off” odor, appearance, or texture, it’s best to toss it. Medical (or funeral) expenses are far more costly than replacing a spoiled item. Here’s a guide to 77 expiration dates, a chart with the shelf life of common foods, a table with the Shelf Life of Pantry Foods, and Good Housekeeping’s advice on the subject. If you plan to stock up on a particular perishable item, do a web search and study the storage and shelf life best practices beforehand, particularly from those who have first-hand experience (e.g. seasoned growers) as well as other authoritative sources. Don’t buy significantly more than your family is likely to eat of an item within its shelf life, even assuming perfectly disciplined rotation habits. If you do happen to over-buy (or your garden or orchard produces) more than you can consume and store, given your anticipated usage, make sure you barter, donate, or sell the excess ASAP, and definitely well before the expiration date is looming nigh. Also, don’t forget to make regular inspections, just as if you ran a restaurant and had an independent inspector; why not make an annual calendar item for your household food inspection in early autumn and perhaps another in the spring?

Commitment to Re-stocking and Un-stocking

Having a simple, easy-to-follow process for both unloading store-bought groceries or bulk food items, either from one’s own kitchen, garden, grower’s market, or elsewhere is essential, as is having a simple, easy-to-follow process for using items for consumption from one’s inventory. Both “ends” of the process need to be addressed to make your food storage system work and keep it both viable and vibrant, in terms of the health benefits to your family. Remember to keep it simple and make sure everyone in the household (including guests) knows the process and is committed to following it; this shared willingness will make it work. A well-thought out AND implemented (that means ROUTINELY PRACTICED) rotation system will minimize waste.

High Tech Assistance: Pantry/Fridge Inventory/Barcode Scanning/Menu Planning Apps

With the proliferation of barcode scanning apps on smart phones, it would seem like there’s some great potential here for automating and optimizing home food inventory systems. Here are some examples that have varying capabilities, such as barcode scanning, nutritional and/or dietary analysis, integrated food inventory (specific items, food categories, quantity added, quantity on hand, quantity removed), location data (pantry, refrigerator, freezer), expiration warnings, etc. You could use Grocery Shopping List – out of milk; Rotation Diet Assistant; Fooducate – Healthy Weight Loss, Diet Tracker & Food Scanner; OurGroceries; Pantry Manager; Prep & Pantry; Fridge Pal; FreshBox; Best Before; GroceryHero; ShopWell – Healthy Diet & Grocery Food Scanner; Kezeen; Whaz in the fridge; and there’s undoubtedly many more and more to come. A quick google search while researching “home food inventory app” showed over 7.2 million results at the time this article was written.

Optimizing Environmental Parameters for Storage Longevity

For optimum longevity most foods, depending on the biochemistry of each particular item, have an optimum temperature range, humidity range, and usually do best with minimum oxygen, sunlight, and vermin. Here’s a rhetorical question: Do midnight snackers fall into the latter category? 🙂 Here’s an article that addresses these five parameters. Here are the FDA’s recommendations on Safely Storing Food, a related article: “Food Storage 101: Where and How Long to Keep Your Favorite Foods” and “7 Simple Rules for Effective and Hygienic Dry Goods Storage” from Food Safety Magazine. A quick summary of these rules are:

1) Rotation: Of course! Most foods don’t improve with age; keep ‘em rotated.

2) Temperature: 50 degrees (or cooler) is optimum for dry goods; the shelf life is cut in half by every 18°F (10° C) increase. This would recommend root cellars or other cool, dry locations, particularly in warm climates.

3) Humidity: 15% or less is ideal. Moisture impervious packaging can be helpful, too.

4) Sunlight: Avoid direct sunlight, which promotes oxidation and spoilage. This goes doubly for locating refrigerators and freezers, since refrigeration systems work harder to remove solar heat gain that could be avoided by analyzing seasonal sun patterns through windows, skylights, and so forth. If you have the luxury of designing (or remodeling) your home, don’t neglect this consideration, especially if you use an off-grid and/or alternative energy system to power your refrigerator and/or freezer. If you don’t have the aforementioned luxury, there are plenty of ways you can position furniture, close drapes and blinds, or make other changes on a seasonal and/or daily basis to minimize the direct sunlight that falls on freezers, fridges, and pantries. Here’s a related article on energy efficiency.

5) Store to reduce risk: If possible, store in the most interior spaces– those furthest away from exterior walls– to minimize heat, humidity, and exposure to infestations; those areas at least 6” off the floor, 2’ from the ceiling (to avoid hot spots), and 18” from external walls is recommended.

6) Vermin: Make doors and windows rodent- and insect-proof and keep them closed whenever possible. If culinary discipline is an issue with desserts and snacks intended for longer-term storage, putting them under lock and key might work for “human vermin”, but this only works if the key-holder(s) exercise restraint themselves! 🙂

7) Size: Pre-packaged foods (rather than bulk items) typically require significantly more space and have correspondingly greater impact on both your budget and the environment, due to the higher packaging to usable content ratio. Use smaller containers for actively used items in the fridge and pantry, and use larger containers for longer-term storage to optimize efficient use of space.

Proper containers

The impetus for this article arose recently when visiting a friend and discovering their food storage and water storage had been seriously compromised, rendering almost all of their garage-stored food and water useless, and in fact, potentially quite hazardous. It actually provided an optimum rodent sanctuary for several years! Water– hundreds of bottles for this home storage system– was stored in (mostly) plastic 1-liter soda bottles that rats had no problem gnawing through (their water problem solved), and other food stuffs (powdered milk, mashed potatoes, dried grains, etc.) stored in gnawed-through plastic 5-gallon storage bins provided their essential food reserves for what it was– evidently for several years– a burgeoning rat population and infestation. The remaining metal and glass containers of food, which otherwise might have been suitable containers, were heavily soiled with rodent feces and urine. These garage provisions were also mostly decades past safe expiration dates and, therefore, unsafe and completely unusable. The intention, naturally, was good, but the neglect for a disciplined inspection and rotation program turned what could have been a successful food and water storage program into a possible rodent-related disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, the cause of the problem in this particular instance was addressed, the massive cleanup completed, and that particular hazard removed. Here is some advice about cleaning up after rodents.

Meal rotation

Variety being the “spice of life”, don’t neglect another aspect of rotation– cuisine choices. This will obviously vary tremendously from person to person, family to family, and year to year, as tastes and dietary needs, family size, ages, and preferences change. There are plenty of other excellent articles on this site that address this issue, such as this one entitled Lessons Learned the Hard Way About Food Storage, so we’ll just mention this in passing.

Visibility – Invisible foods spoil quicker! 🙂

Keeping items in plain sight helps usage and rotation; it allows you to quickly assess your inventory– what you have and what you need to restock. There are numerous approaches, gadgets, shelving systems, and more that can assist with your particular storage system. For example, there are “Lazy Susan” or carousel-type rotating shelves, often employed in more active usage areas, such as in kitchen cabinets and pantries rather than in longer-term storage locations. There are also full circle types, such as this example, and 3/4 circle types that allow doors to close when oriented properly, and corner drawers that roll out at 45 degrees to their neighbors. These latter types are commonly employed in corner cabinet areas that otherwise would have significant wasted space where it’s hard to reach. Here’s an example of a decorative pantry that maximizes storage and access and leaves space in the middle for the fridge, and more compact designs that optimize efficient use of space with movable shelves within a pantry.

For medium and longer storage durations, where you store more than a few items of a given size and shape container, there are a variety of systems available as well. Thrive Life has free-standing and shelf-by-shelf food-rotation systems in varying widths that provide loading and unloading from the same side, by loading cans (or other cylindrical containers) from the top and unloading (the oldest item) from the shelf immediately below that. For most pantries that don’t have the luxury of enough room to allow walking around to the back of the shelf (think grocery store refrigerated deli shelves with glass doors) this idea seems to offer practical advantages. Their “Cansolidator Pantry Plus” system is modular by shelf and could be added incrementally, if needed. If you have access on the sides of shelves but not necessarily from the back, here’s a slanted shelf system that might be a viable solution for some items and locations.

Labeling and Dating Individual Items and Containers

If you aren’t sure how old an item is, even the best food storage system isn’t going to work with rotation, and therefore won’t ensure that you’re using up the oldest item first, and getting the best economy by wasting the least amount of food.

You might want to consider using a date format that can’t be easily misinterpreted. For example, if you put 07-07-07, it’s a fairly safe guess that your can of whatever was marked on July 7, 2007 (unless it’s really ancient and is from 1907). However, it gets a bit less obvious if you use 01-05-12; is this from Jan 5, 2012, or Dec. 5, 2001, or some other date? I recommend using an unambiguous date system, such as an ISO 8601 European date format, (YYYY-MM-DD); it’s also Y3K-safe! 🙂 or perhaps better yet, a variation that uses a 3-letter abbreviation for the month, e.g. JAN, FEB … DEC. I use this for just about any place a date is needed. So when I write 24Jun2014 or 2014-Jun-24, either way, it’s not likely to be misunderstood. If you want to leave off the day of the month, then the format written as 2014-Jun, for example, gets you in the ballpark for when something was stored, without excessive detail. In any case, date and label the contents, if it’s not obvious what is inside, of every container. There are lessons one can learn and simplify from more industrial food storage systems, such as pre-printed labels and your home office computer and printer might suffice nicely for dating and labeling bulk items. Just make sure that label adhesives have good shelf life, too; otherwise, an indelible black marker might win out over the long haul.

In summary, keep in mind that there is a shelf life of specific foods, regardless of what you store, where and how you store it, so rotating it is just as important, and a little forethought and ongoing effort will pay handsomely for your food rotation system.

– L.K.O. (SurvivalBlog’s Central Rockies Regional Editor)

Scot’s Product Review: Blastmatch

Fire is cool stuff, though I may have said that before. Much like a nine-year-old boy, it needs to be carefully controlled, but when it is, it is indispensable. Getting fire when you want it is pretty easy when you have access to store-bought matches that have been kept dry along with nice dry tinder, kindling, and fuel. The problem with fire is how to get it when you lack matches.

All the tinder, kindling, and fuel on the planet won’t do you a whit of good, if you don’t have something to make the tinder hot enough to burn. The aforementioned matches are a delight as are cigarette and grill lighters. Matches get wet, and we run out of them. I’ve seen people carefully split matches so they have two instead of one, but that leaves you with two weak matches rather than one strong one. I fret over that. Lighters run out of fuel, usually as quickly as nine-year-olds find them, but sometimes they turn empty just out of spite, usually when you need them the most.

There are a lot of other ways to make the heat we need to ignite a fire. A good magnifying glass works really well, although the best ones are glass and, therefore, breakable. The big problem with them is that they don’t work when it is dark or cloudy. We often most need fire in the dark, so the magnifier is, at best, only a partial solution.

I’ve seen some amazing people who are a lot better than I am with this stuff start fires with friction by rubbing sticks together or by using a bow or hand drill. The idea is that you can get enough heat to create a coal that is transferred to tinder, and you then blow on it until it bursts into flame. These techniques work well, but they take time to learn to do with proficiency. I hope to do a more thorough investigation of some of them in the future and will report back. My efforts in the past were not pursued long enough to really learn how to do it. I have a patience issue at times.

What I have settled on these days for fire starting without matches is a fire steel made of ferrocerium. This stuff is a man-made metal that acts like flint, giving off sparks when struck on with a piece of steel. They are shaped like rods, usually about three inches or so long, and generally come with a little bit of steel that you scrape against the rod to produce a shower of sparks. You aim the sparks into a pile of tinder. If you have good tinder, say some natural fiber lint from the clothes drier or some tufts of cotton, it will burst into flame quite nicely. The Instafire stuff https://survivalblog.com/scots-product-review-instafire/ I reviewed recently will do this too, though not as readily as lint or cotton. Other alternatives that may be more available are things like dried grass. You build a nest to catch the sparks, and when the nest begins to smoke you start blowing it into a fire. This is the part that takes practice.

I was initially disappointed with many of the fire steels I tried, but I discovered that my problem was more with the striker than the steel itself. I usually get better results with the back of my pocketknife than I do with the little striker that comes with most steels. The saw teeth on the back of some knives, like the Glock Field Knife or the Air Force Survival knife, work really well. I’ve also had good luck with sections of a hacksaw blade.

Good technique helps, too. You are scraping it down the rod hard and fast. Just letting the striker rest on the rod won’t make as many sparks. Experiment with the scraper. They generally have an up and front side that works, while the other sides won’t. They can also wear out. All that scraping eventually makes them smooth, and they need some roughness to make sparks,

I’m not always the most dexterous of people, and all too often I use poor technique in scraping. Another problem is aiming the sparks into the tinder. I frequently produce a shower of sparks in the wrong direction that don’t fall on my waiting tinder. There are also times that it would be really nice to have a hand free while making sparks so you could shield the tinder from wind.

Since I have all these problems, I got pretty excited when I came across the Blastmatch. This is a fire steel for klutzes. It comes in a plastic case. You pop one end off, and it rotates to the other end out of the way. A spring loaded rod pops out. There is a tab that you press in to hold the striker against the rod. The very cool idea is that you put the end of the rod in the middle of your tinder and then, while holding the tab with the striker firmly, you give the plastic case a vigorous push downward. You get a nice shower of sparks, if you push hard and fast enough with enough pressure on the striker. Meanwhile, your other hand is free to hold the nest of tinder in place or shield everything from wind or rain. It helps greatly if you have a hard surface to do this on. I can easily see driving it into the dirt if you don’t.

I had great luck with it, but my nine-year-old had some problems. He had to raise the thing up, off of the tinder on the ground, and smack it down. Since we were working on a concrete surface, this started breaking pieces off the end of the rod. I could see this seriously shortening the life of the Blastmatch.

Overall, I really like the Blastmatch, but it does feel flimsy. I am not sure how long it will hold up, but I do realize that my son, who spent a couple of hours making sparks with it probably did the equivalent of a year’s worth of fires in one day. If the spring mechanism does break, you should still be able to use it with a knife and keep starting fires.

The Blastmatch can be found for between $15 and $20 in orange or black but not in camo, to the disappointment of my son. They say that it is assembled in the U.S. with some foreign components, but they don’t specify where they come from.

The same company that markets the Blastmatch, Ultimate Survival Technologies, also sells a number of other fire starting supplies, including several types of tinder. I decided to try one that promised it would work when wet– Wetfire. The stuff comes in the form of white lumps that are a bit bigger than a sugar cube, and each cube is wrapped in an airtight plastic wrap. It is a waxy material, and the idea is that you scrape off bits to start your fire. I had no problems getting it going with some sparks from the Blastmatch, and it had a good burn time. A single cube could easily start several fires, if you have some natural tinder, like dried grass and good kindling to add to it. The nice thing about it is how easily it ignites into a nice flame. I did try wetting it, and it still worked. It is necessary to convert it into shavings to get it to start easily. I managed to get a cube going, but shavings were a lot easier to ignite.

A 12-pack of Wetfire cubes goes for about $8.00. They say the stuff will store for up to five years, and the package advises that it is “processed and packaged in the U.S.A. from foreign material”.

I also tried the Blastmatch with some homemade tinder from jute twine. This was a new trick for me. You unravel a piece of it into fuzz and make it into a nest to catch sparks or a coal. It works pretty well. I’ve always used cotton or dryer lint, but this could be a good substitute. I think cotton and lint are a bit more flammable, though. One trick I have not tried is dipping the jute nest partially into wax and then storing it in an airtight container for future use. This works pretty well with cotton and adds some burn time and heat to the fire. You want to leave some of the fibers free of wax, though, so they can ignite more easily from the sparks. Vaseline can also work, but I prefer to add that just before trying to get the fire going.

I like the Blastmatch and look forward to using it on a Cub Scout campout.

SUNFLAIR Solar Oven Update

I’m planning on providing occasional updates on the products I’ve chosen to keep after the review. I always like to hear how things are faring in the long term, and I hope our readers will, too.

We are still enjoying using the SUNFLAIR solar oven. I am still plagued, at times, with intermittent cloud cover which has a bad effect on cooking temperatures in the oven. I had the idea to borrow a scheme I saw on a homemade oven to see if it would help with the SUNFLAIR. The idea is to put your cooking pot inside a large, clear, glass bowl and cover it with a clear glass plate. This creates a tight containment area for heat around the pot. After checking it with a thermometer, I found that it does work. The cooking area does not get any hotter than the oven (and takes a bit longer to heat up), but if the sun goes behind a cloud for 30 minutes, it stays a lot hotter inside the glass bowl than the oven interior stays. This evens out cooking nicely. On the other hand, proving that there is always a price, the glass bowl and plate are heavy, bulky, and fragile and completely defeat the portability of the SUNFLAIR. If you are using it at home, that’s not a problem, but if you are camping and on foot, it isn’t going to work. The SUNFLAIR does work well without the extra parts, but it can help you cook faster on a less-than-ideal solar day. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie

Two Letters Re: Starch in ACUs

JWR Wrote: “By the time the U.S. Army reached the ACU-issue period, starching was not allowed. You can be relatively certain that none of the OCP (“Multicam”) uniforms that you buy surplus have never been starched. Best Regards.”

As a guardsman of four years, I have seen starched and pressed ACUs at least a handful of times in direct violation of AR670-1. You would think these were being worn by old timers of the BDU era, but it’s a mixed bag. I have seen these on specialists trying to impress as well as Majors.

They are not common by any stretch, but they are out there. The best thing to look for is a telltale crease of any kind. ACU and OCP do not have any natural creases. If you see creases (especially in the pants and arms) move on. Apparently some soldiers think looking sharp is more important than following regs. – A.S.

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JWR,

Are you sure starch is more visible with FLIR? I fool around with FLIR for fun now and then inside and outside and I’ve never seen anything except a mirror (which shows your own reflection in the FLIR viewfinder) display any characteristics except its temperature. I just looked in a couple closets where there must have been some starch sometime and saw nothing regarding any non-temperature related showing.

Of course, we all know that starch (and scorpions) show up bright under ultraviolet light or even near ultraviolet.

JWR Replies: Even with just standard light amplification (“starlight”) night vision equipment, starched uniforms definitely stand out. See the photos and discussion here, for some examples: http://www.m4carbine.net/archive/index.php/t-9141.html

Because FLIRs can differentiate between temperature differences as small as 2 degrees F, there is no guaranteed method of completely disguising yourself from them when you are outside of a vehicle or shelter.

OBTW, I describe in detail how to counter FLIRs in my upcoming novel, Liberators. (Therein, I discuss Nemesis Suits, aka Turkey Suits, and their homemade equivalents.)

Starched uniforms are definitely a no-no when you are up against opponents using active IR and NVGs, and ALL standard, one-layer, fabric uniforms are vulnerable to FLIRs, once the fabric warms up toward your body temperature. That just takes a few minutes. Wearing a starched uniform only adds to that vulnerability, since it also makes you more visible to NVGs–especially when you are “painted” with an active IR emitter.

Recipe of the Week: Turnip Greens Soup, by OkieRanchWife’s

I confess I would not have eaten this soup about ten years ago, but since I moved south of the Mason-Dixon Line and west of the Mississippi River I really like this soup. This recipe is also very pantry/emergency-cooking friendly. The only fresh and easily-grown food is the onion. Also, to save on the quantity of chicken broth, drain off the liquid from the beans into a measuring cup (usually about 2 cups) and then add the correct amount of chicken broth to get to 6 cups.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Hot Pork Sausage (or 1 lb thin sliced Polish Kielbasa)
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 1 package Onion Soup mix
  • 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
  • 2 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning
  • 6 cups reduced sodium Chicken Broth, store bought or homemade
  • 2 cans (27 ozs) Turnip Greens (I use a Southern Seasoned type)
  • 1 can (15 ozs) Blackeye Peas or Purple Hulled Peas, drained
  • 1 can (15 ozs) Pinto Beans, drained
  • 1 can (15 ozs) Cannellini Beans or Great Northern Beans, drained
  • 1-2 teaspoons Habanera Hot Sauce or a milder sauce, if desired. (We like it hot around here.)

Directions:

  1. Brown meat in a soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium high heat. Don’t use any added oil if using the pork sausage. Use a teaspoon of oil if using kielbasa.
  2. Add onion; cook until the pork or kielbasa is no longer pink.
  3. Stir in the onion soup mix, garlic powder, and Cajun seasoning. Add chicken broth and all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
  4. Cook for 1 hour.

Thank you very much.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

I’m not usually one for conspiracy theories, but I have to admit, this is certainly one way to cope with an impending economic collapse without declaring war. Do these ten pieces of evidence prove the U.S. government is actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak in America?

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Those not in the labor force but looking for a job now rose last month: The funny numbers behind the unemployment rate.

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Labor Participation Rate Drops To 36 Year Low

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What to Hold When the U.S. Economic Blimp Deflates

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Gold Manipulators “Should Be Embarrassed”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Some insightful commentary by Ol’ Remus: The Ebola Farce.

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Citizen journalists don’t need “Press Credentials” — but that badge may help

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If you raise ANY TYPE of animals for food, this should SERIOUSLY get your attention. Make no mistake, complete government control of your animals IS the end game here. Animal cruelty is now a group A – FELONY. – T.P.

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SurvivalBlog reader K.B. sent us this message: “Just FYI, the crowds at my local Market Basket grocery store in Metro Boston were huge yesterday. The cashier said he sees this type crowd only when a hurricane or Nor’easter is predicted. There is no adverse weather here; clearly folks are skittish, and stocking up.”

Yep, the panic has started.

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G.P. forwarded some decent How To Links on prepping.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant.” – John Stuart Mill

Notes for Sunday – October 05, 2014

October 5, 1703 is the birthday of Jonathan Edwards. He died March 22, 1758 and was a prolific Calvinist theological writer. Many of his writings were later collected in the multi-volume book The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, edited by John Gerstner.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Solo Prepping, by Scott

I live alone. No, I’m not a hermit, curmudgeon, recluse, or ogre. I simply choose to live alone, and if normality as we know it dissolves, I am prepared to survive alone.

As a typical working stiff, I spend the majority of the daylight hours at work. My office is 34 miles away from my home. If things suddenly take a turn for the worse while I am at work, I will have to make it back alone across those 34 miles to get home. Home is where most of my preps are stored. Home is where I am most acclimated, and while home may not be where I ultimately stay, it is where I would prefer to begin life under different rules. If I am unable to drive, or if conditions are such that a moving vehicle is a target, I am prepared to make the trek home on foot. I keep a Get Home Bag, stocked with the normal contents and Grey Man clothes, in my truck. The contents of the bag and the clothes are adjusted with the seasons, because I don’t see the need in dragging along the extra weight of thermal underwear and heavy jackets in the summer. The extra footwear, which I keep in my truck, changes with the seasons as well. In addition to the Get Home Bag in my truck, I keep a case of bottled water and some non-perishable food hidden in my office on the off chance I am aware of a problem before leaving my office or in case I have to fall back to my office and Shelter In Place during an event. No one else knows about my office stash. I have mapped out multiple routes for this potential journey under abnormal conditions and have driven as many of those routes as possible to look for bottlenecks, potentially hostile areas, et cetera. I have reviewed satellite views of my primary and alternate routes home and identified potential shelters, including agricultural and utilitarian structures and abandoned buildings that are not too far off the beaten path to use along the way, if necessary. Along my primary daily commute route, I have identified potential water sources and food sources, including pecan trees, blackberry thickets, fig trees, and more. I am working on locating these same resources along my alternate routes and marking them on a map, rather than relying on memory. In short, I am doing as much preparation and reconnaissance as possible and integrating those elements into multiple plans. You will notice I haven’t mentioned anything groundbreaking here; it’s just common sense planning. If I haven’t lost you to boredom and you are still engaged at this point, you will also notice that none of this planning and recon requires an additional body, eyes, or brain. All of these preparations can be performed alone.

The prospect of traveling alone is in no way daunting to me. I readily admit that operating alone does create certain practical, security, and tactical challenges, such as blatantly violating the Two Is One and One Is None rule. However, being alone also offers the lone operator the ability to move quickly, quietly, and decisively without the added emotional concerns of protecting another soul. It does, however, require one to be more careful, more alert, and more deliberate– none of which are bad practices. Surviving alone means you have no one to back you up and no one to bail you out. If you get sick or injured, you are on your own. Quoting William H. Johnsen, “If it is to be, it’s up to me.” Plan accordingly. Develop the mindset, skill set, and tool set needed to survive alone, with mindset and skill set being the most important elements among that trinity.

Mindset

The biggest obstacle most people encounter when attempting to live alone is conquering loneliness. Humans have evolved into pack animals. We crave companionship, acceptance, and the reassurance of the pack. Almost everything we do requires us to interact with and in many ways depend upon our family, coworkers, teammates, congregation, or the grand collective known as society. We marry, we join churches, social clubs, civic organizations, and political parties. We network, and we identify with strangers based on the team logo on their jackets or shirts. In short, being part of a group, being “one of us” is a societal expectation. The modern, outward expression of this emotional tendency has led to the explosion of social media where we create online personas and acquire large numbers of “friends” with whom we eagerly and publicly share our inner most thoughts and feelings so we can be accepted and “liked”. So it’s no wonder that most people feel more than a little odd when they find themselves living alone or consciously choose to live alone.

However, living alone and preparing alone can also be very liberating. In many ways, preparing alone is easier than the more traditional arrangement of living with a spouse, companion, or relative. You may not have anyone to bounce ideas or decisions off of, but you also don’t have to realign your priorities to appease someone else. You learn to become self sufficient and with self sufficiency comes the satisfaction of knowing that you succeeded on your own. As you build on your solo successes and become more and more comfortable with yourself, you suddenly realize that what you have discovered is confidence– confidence in yourself and confidence in your abilities. Confidence is a mindset, and the proper mindset is one of the most powerful tools you can possess.

Skill Set

With loneliness in check and confidence at your disposal, it is time to focus on the task at hand– preparing for foreseeable scenarios. Living alone gives you complete control over your allocation of time and effort. Knowing that you are focusing on being completely self reliant, it makes sense to invest in yourself by keeping in shape and learning a variety of skills, such as; first aid, hunting, fishing, land navigation, self defense, wild crafting, foraging, basic construction techniques, basic electrical, plumbing, and on and on. Survival literally lies in your hands and your hands alone. Make the most of your time now to increase your skill sets, and you will automatically increase your confidence, which further enhances your mindset.

Cooking

Living alone has forced me to master the art of cooking for one. Cooking is clearly a skill set. Planning properly and mastering the art of cooking for one while not wasting food gives me a few extra dollars that I can invest in my preps. Under normal circumstances, cooking well for one simply takes a little extra forethought and planning. You either cut recipes in half or quarters or you plan on having leftovers. I prefer to cook with fresh meat, so my butcher is now used to opening their pre-packaged quantities and selling me half or less of the normal portion. My fish monger knows I will only be getting one fish filet or a handful of shrimp or scallops. While I prefer to cook with fresh meat, I am not averse to freezing cooked meats and meals, so half-cup, plastic storage containers and Ziploc bags are two of my best friends in the kitchen.

In a survival situation I probably won’t have access to a refrigerator or freezer, so I have made plans for that scenario as well. Rather than only stocking up on the typical 14 or 15 ounce cans of vegetables, I have chosen to keep a supply of the smaller, single serving canned meats and vegetables available as well. Commercially available freeze-dried meals packaged in the single meal sized re-sealable Mylar pouches, like the Mountain House variety, are labeled as two servings per pouch. Because of this, I have set aside a large supply of sandwich sized Ziploc bags. If I am ever forced to resort to using my supply of Mountain House meals I will divide the dry contents in the prepackaged pouches and move half of the contents in the pouch to a Ziploc bag to be cooked later. I have purchased a few small Thermos type containers with wide mouths and screw-on lids that I plan on using for cooking the portion stored in the Ziploc container. I have chosen to stick with the pouch sized option rather than the #10 cans from the standpoint of convenience and portability. Once a #10 can is opened, greater care must be taken to preserve its contents while an unopened Mylar pouch remains quite robust. The pouch sized portions are also a convenient size for bartering if that opportunity presents itself.

Foraging

Foraging is another skill set. Foraging for one should increase the chances of finding enough edibles to make a meal. This theory should hold true when fishing and hunting small game as well. While we all consider ourselves to be master hunter gatherers, the truth is sometimes it is hard to catch more than one fish or kill more than one squirrel, rabbit, or small bird. The thought of splitting only one fish, one small bird, one squirrel, or one rabbit with another person doesn’t sound very filling or appealing. Considering the lack of refrigeration in a survival situation, hunting or fishing for one means you can stop that activity and not expend additional energy once you have acquired one serving. It is also hard to hunt or fish and watch your back at the same time. More time spent hunting and fishing is more time spent exposed, moving, and making noise. Remember, one of the advantages of surviving alone is reducing your detectable signature. Don’t squander that advantage.

Reducing one’s signature brings up the topics of defense and caching. Defense is the one area where being alone becomes a disadvantage. Unless you hold a tactically superior position with an excellent escape route, it would be best to avoid a fight whenever possible. Because of the tactical disadvantage of fighting alone, there may be times when you are forced to immediately flee a location, leaving behind your possessions, or times when you are unable to return to your home, shelter, or stash. Caching supplies in multiple locations will be an essential tactic for the lone survivor. Even if the opportunity of joining a like-minded, civilized group presents itself, you may want to leave hidden caches off-site, in case your group is overrun by bad folks or in case the group turns out to be less than trustworthy. If you find yourself being stripped of your belongings and thrown out of the group, having stashed resources may be a lifesaver.

With no one else around to help with a division of labor, the lone survivor will have to work smarter not harder. Calories and energy will be precious resources. The lone survivor will need to employ what a friend of mine refers to as the Min-Max approach. My friend is a former body builder, living and thriving alone. She has taken a principle she learned as a body builder and applied it to all aspects of her life. As a result, she lives quite comfortably while working what most people would consider part-time hours. She explains her lifestyle as attaining the maximum amount of results from a minimum amount of work. In a survival situation this might mean selecting vegetable varieties for your survival garden that can be allowed to climb a fence and not worry about the weeds underneath rather than tending a typical garden plot with exposed soil and raised rows. Or it might mean preserving your energy by luring game to you rather than chasing it around the forest. I find the Min-Max principle very intriguing and am trying to weave it into my current lifestyle as well as my contingency planning.

Tool Set

Tools are cool. Guns, backpacks, binoculars, fishing rods, fire starters, first aid kits, bug out vehicles, and the list of cool tools is endless, but the lone survivor will be less likely to plant a flag and dig in at a single location than a group would. Being mobile, the lone survivor will need to think long and hard about how much gear they are willing to haul around. Why haul around a fishing rod you aren’t going to use today? If you are carrying a firearm, do you really want to drag around a thousand rounds of ammunition? Water is extremely heavy. How much of your water supply do you want to carry around? As I mentioned before, caching will be an essential skill. Whether you are sheltering in place in an urban or suburban environment or are deep in the woods, moving from hiding place to hiding place, the lone operator simply can’t haul around all of their resources. Finding appropriate caches or hides for your resources will be essential. How widely your supplies are disbursed will depend on the scenario and your ability to safely move from location to location.

From my perspective, the idea of surviving alone is not scary or intimidating. And while one option I have planned for is to connect with known associates and combine our skills, knowledge, and manpower into a formidable group, I am also planning to survive alone if that is the best option for the given scenario. Ruling out one option or the other just doesn’t make sense. We all know that the first thing that breaks is the plan. Also, even though I agree that Two is One and One is None, with the proper planning and a little luck, surviving as one doesn’t have to mean all hope is lost.

Letter: Sharpening Crosscut Saws

Hugh,

Since I sent you my comments on sharpening I’ve come across some information concerning crosscut saws that readers who have a crosscut saw as a backup for a chain saw will find useful. This link is for the Missoula Technology and Development Center. For the cost of a phone call you can request free copies of Warren Miller’s Crosscut Saw Manual and the companion video The Crosscut Saw Filer.

[Editors Note: USFS- Missola Technology & Development Center has informed us that that they no longer have the Crosscut Saw manual available. Their stock has been depleted and it is now only available online.]

They will also send you another publication titled Saws That Sing– A Guide to Using Crosscut Saws, a video called The Crosscut Sawyer, and a DVD (not a video) called Chain Saw and Crosscut Saw Training Course. The publications are available for download. If you want the DVDs you need to request them.

There’s a lot of good free information here on using and maintaining crosscut saws, and if you’re looking for a source for crosscut saws, I would suggest the following links as a good place to start: http://backwoodscrosscut.com/Home_Page.php and http://jimscrosscutsaws.com/. – R.F.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Satan’s Temper Tantrum. – Avalanche Lily

Well said! – HJL

o o o

The toughest thing for everyone in this movement to understand is that they are not the saviors; they are the sacrifice. The saviors will come later; they will be our children’s children, fueled by stories from us about what liberty is and why it is worth fighting and dying for, but it will not be us. For the People and the Nation . – J.W.

o o o

Ebola Testing At Georgia Jail HALTS Operations. – G.L.

When you realize that in a nation of 350 million people, less than 10 Ebola-infected persons can get a virtual lock on the news media and cause near mass panic, you begin to realize how fragile society can be. People are fickle. Perhaps it starts making them think about all those preparations they could have been making if they had foregone their trip to Disney World.

o o o

Sick passenger investigated for Ebola at Newark airport. – P.M.

o o o

During An Ebola Pandemic All Of Your Rights Would Essentially Be Meaningless. – B.B.

Notes for Saturday – October 04, 2014

October 4, 1923 is the birthday of the late Charlton Heston, who was born John Charles Carter. He died April 5, 2008.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,100+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  11. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  12. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  13. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  10. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  11. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Little Things WILL Become Big Things, and Food Will Be Everything!, by L.T.

When everything falls apart there are plenty of plans for “bugging out”, “bugging in”, and so forth. Whatever path you choose, things won’t return to normal soon and quite possibly never. Much has been written on beans, band aids, and bullets, but there will also be a huge demand for little things that we take for granted. Of course, there will be an even bigger demand for fresh food. Decent food is a major issue; you can’t live forever on storage foods, and most people can’t live forever in the woods. The following is information from our experiences to help those who have or will have a “bugging in” location.

Our Wakeup Call

We are older preppers, bugging in, who woke up and began getting ready several years ago after reading Rawles’ books. We obtained guns, ammo, pellet guns for small game, storage foods, and medical supplies. We established a library of books that possess information invaluable to our new life. (Old but not infirm, we are in much better shape after working these past several years.)

When I was young I met a woman from Austria who had survived the Holocaust. Her powerful comments about how no one thought it could happen in her beautiful and beloved Vienna stayed with me well into adulthood. Anything can happen. We believe it’s going to. We also believe that God has a purpose for everyone and that He has sent us in this direction. Where should we live and what are the priorities at our age? We had to make some choices, based on quality of older life and reduced income. We have faith in God and decided that our mission was to create a sustainable safe haven, if not for us at our age, then for someone.

The New Homestead

We sold our home and everything we deemed non essential– jewelry (though we kept gold for barter), antiques, and such– and moved to the Missouri Ozarks. We know about the concerns living near Whiteman AFB and the nuclear plant in Jefferson City, but we decided the advantages for us outweighed the negatives. The Ozarks have abundant water, clean air, wood for heating, fish and game, privacy without isolation, somewhat near to family, low property taxes, land that is not terribly expensive, and people who are friendly but respect our privacy. We are three hours from Kansas City and Costco and not too far from a Wal-Mart. The Redoubt is just too far away from family, and we intend to be a sanctuary. Unfortunately, no one in our family thinks we are sane, and we gave up trying to convince them. We will just welcome them when the time comes. It took us months to find the right place, finally purchasing 40 acres (half timber and half pasture) that has both a spring-fed pond that is filled with many fish and also good, clean, well water. We are on a paved county road but are surrounded by trees for privacy.

We built a small, energy-efficient home with ICF (Styrofoam) blocks, concrete, and rebar; it has metal siding, a metal roof, and a large basement root cellar. Shutters on the side look like décor, but they are metal and easily closed. We bought a shipping container to store our tools while building, then buried it along side the house to use for storage. The root cellar has a hidden wall where we store many of our survival provisions. We purchased some inexpensive guns to use as a decoy. We have two safes– one for discovery, if overrun and invaded (if we had to surrender to survive), and one that is well hidden where we keep the good stuff.

We bought a chain link fence on Craig’s list and fenced in several acres. We needed to keep the deer out and also provide security without seeming to build a fortress. We planted dozens of rugosa roses along the bottom of the fence. They are extremely thorny and make a good fence by themselves. The added bonus is that they have large rose hips, which provide a base for tea that is rich in vitamin C. We also planted hedges of thorny blackberry bushes, which provides both a deterrent and food. Indiana Berries is an excellent source for all types of berries.

We lived in a salvaged fifth wheel trailer that my husband fixed up to live in while building the house, and we sold it for what we paid for it. My carpenter husband can build and fix anything necessary for our projects. However, he is a city guy and knew nothing about animals or growing. I was a professional cook, not a gardener or farm person. So, we had and still have a large learning curve.

Repopulating Food Sources

We built a well-insulated, concrete-floored chicken house and a strong fence, deciding that keeping predators out of our food source was worth the extra expense. (Although, at times, we have felt that the chickens had better living conditions then we did.) These are our egg producers, but at two years of age become stewing hens. We are building a chicken tractor, and this spring will raise and harvest meat birds. We use Joel Salatin’s books for reference. He is the guru in pasture production of beef and poultry.

We bought an incubator and have hatched out chicks. It is not hard at all. I dehydrate chicken eggs for our storage foods, freeze beaten eggs for us when the hens stop laying, and the dogs get scrambled eggs on top of their kibble.

We also have guineas; they’re loud but great tick eaters and daytime watch dogs. Plus, they are quite delicious. There are some issues with guineas. They are really still somewhat wild. They’re often hard to get back into their house; we have lost half to predators. They lay their eggs outside in a clutch that is well hidden, so become an attractant for raccoons, skunks, et cetera. Also, the dogs find the eggs, eat the whole thing, and then throw up. It’s not pleasant. Uh, did I say they are loud!?! I’m not sure they are worth the effort.

We have meat rabbits, which provide a food source, but just as important they are a great source of fertilizer for the garden. Rabbit droppings can be used right away in the garden, without having to compost. We learned the hard way that wood should not be used to cage rabbits; it becomes urine soaked, so use metal cages only.

Composting

Still, you will need to learn to compost, since you won’t be able to easily get fertilizer for your garden when things get rough. We have worm bins, since worms are an excellent maker of compost. They eat your coffee grounds, bones, and the other stuff that you don’t give to the chickens. There are several exceptional books on composting, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Pleasant and Martin is a good all purpose book.

When learn about aerobic compost tea, I used Jeff Lowenfels book, Teaming with Microbes, along with anything written by Elaine Ingram on aerobic compost tea. We use this type of tea, and it is amazing how well the plants and trees respond.

Comfrey has turned out to be one of the most important plants on our property. It makes an excellent compost tea. The leaves make a great mulch and fertilizer for the fruit trees. The plants themselves are dynamic accumulators in the orchard, the long tap roots bring up vital minerals. The chickens and rabbits appreciate the fresh leaves. My husband appreciates the poultice made with comfrey leaves to alleviate muscle sprains. I add chopped comfrey leaves to the raised beds for fertilizer. Research comfrey and you will be amazed at the efficacy of this plant in many areas. The old timers knew how to use it. We planted the Bocking 14 strain, which is not invasive.

An Orchard with Pollinators

Before we started the house, we planted fruit and nut trees and an asparagus patch, since they take several years to produce crops. We prefer semi-dwarf trees, as they bear earlier and are easier to harvest and net to protect fruit from marauding birds.

Please note that if you start with inferior trees, you will never have a quality, producing tree. I have ordered trees from many nurseries, trying to buy local. However, the best trees in my orchard came from Trees of Antiquity. They really care about the health and packing of their trees, plus their catalogue is extremely informative. I have ordered dozens of trees from them and only lost two, which they immediately replaced. It is important to note that fruit ripens at different times and some keep better than others; this is especially true of apples. Arkansas Black apples taste much better several months later. Knowing this type of information can keep you in fresh fruit a great deal longer.

Certainly fresh fruit will be at a premium, but remember that you can make apple and pear cider, hard cider, and also dry fruit for future use and barter. Before we sold our house and moved, I bought ten apple trees that I planted in 25-gallon grow pot bags; then, I took them with us. They were happy and healthy, and we were years ahead with some fruit production that way.

Before we installed the fence, the deer were ruining our fruit trees. A spray of garlic, eggs, and hot pepper works to ruin their appetite. The retail deterrents are extremely expensive and use the same the ingredients as our homemade one. In one gallon of water, mix three heads of garlic (separated into cloves), six broken eggs, and some red pepper powder. Let this sit in the sun until extremely pungent. Strain it and spray on the trees. It keeps deer and rabbits away. (It also keeps husbands away, if the wind switches!)

The Holistic Fruit Orchard by Michael Phillips (and his earlier book, The Apple Grower) are my go to books for my orchard and berries. He presents integrated planting ideas to help with pest control and fertilization that have proved to be effective in my situation.

We have Italian honey bees but also have encouraged native pollinators, which are extremely important to food growing efforts. Orchard Mason Bees made a huge difference in our orchard, and I highly recommend them. We built homes for them, purchasing a few starter bees, then the native population showed up to live in their new abode. Our fruit production has markedly increased. Bumblebees, certain types of wasps, et cetera all are necessary for pollination. Research native pollinators in your area.

Gardening

You really need to learn to garden– a learned craft that is rapidly disappearing. We had and will have major failures, but we consider them to be part of the learning process. I’m amazed at how many people say, “I will just grow a garden, if things get rough”. Just sticking a seed in the ground won’t get it. You need to invest in both learning and good tools. Having well-made guns and knives is important but so is having good garden equipment. Also a library of reference books is extremely important. Keep hard copies, not relying on your kindle. I mention the ones I consider essential throughout this article. Too many gardening books just reiterate the same old stuff, and I went through dozens.

As stated before, obtaining decent, healthy food will be a continuing issue. The good news is that in most locations you can grow food almost year round with cold frames, hoop houses, low tunnels, or caterpillar covers. We originally wanted a green house but after studying hoop houses, built a large one. They’re great for year round gardening. We use all Elliott Coleman books; he’s a guru in four seasons gardening and hoop house production. Our hoop house is 30×72 feet. It has a roof top vent and a white shade cloth, which is important in hot weather. (We are zone 6.) We installed roll-up side panels and put plastic netting on the inside to keep out rabbits, et cetera. For winter last year, we erected a mini green house inside with pink Styrofoam insulation panels and a top made of acrylic cell panels. We put a small space heater inside and protected our lemon, lime, and fig trees. They survived and produced fruit.

It is amazing what we have grown in our hoop house. We have raised beds, giant grow bags (from AM Leonard) and Israeli stacking strawberry planters. We grew indeterminate tomatoes (trellised up a string), peppers, melons, Swiss chard, kale, radishes, peas, lettuces, and more.

We grow potatoes, tomatoes, and pole beans in grow bags. They can be expensive, but AM Leonard sells a “root pouch” for a reasonable price. We buy hog panels, bend them into a column, and place them around the root pouch as a trellis for the cucumbers, determinate tomatoes, et cetera.

We grow vegetables outside in raised beds. Since our area is rock rather than dirt, we purchased old stock tanks, punched holes in the bottom, put in a layer of drain rock, covered the rock with landscape fabric, and filled the tank with soil. In these raised beds, we grow sweet potatoes, white yams, squash, melons of all types, and beans.

We started a corn patch using the American Indian method of three sisters gardening– corn, beans, and squash together. These three plants compliment and enrich the others soil requirements. Plant squash around the base of the corn and the beans use the corn stalks for support. The squash also deters the raccoons from eating the corn, since they won’t walk over the prickly leaves. Research the varieties that grow well in your area. You want the corn to grow before the beans take over. I like Bloody Butcher corn. Some seed companies sell the three together.

Besides the books I mention throughout this article, my essential library contains the following books, which are all well-written and highly informative:

  • All books by Elliot Coleman, worth mentioning twice.
  • Barbara Damrosch, Coleman’s wife, writes excellent gardening books.
  • Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Soloman, (only this book; not his earlier ones.) His recipe for compost and soil is excellent.
  • The Resilient Gardener; food production and self-reliance in uncertain times by Carol Deppe is excellent. (She lists five foods you need to survive and thrive– potatoes, corn, beans, squash, and eggs.) She also sells survival-type seeds.
  • Suzanne Ashworth and Nancy Bubel both have excellent books on seed starting and seed saving.
  • Guide to Country Living by Carla Emery is essential
  • Old Time Country Wisdom and Lore by Jerry Mack Johnson is interesting. (I like a recipe for peach leaf bread starter.)
  • John Jevons is a gardening guru in small areas with usable information. He demonstrates how you don’t need a lot of land to be productive.
  • Permaculture is a buzz word, but it is essentially using everything on your property for the highest and best use. There are many books on permaculture. I believe Sepp Holtzer’s book is excellent in explaining how to make any property more productive.
  • The Resilient Farm and Homestead, by Ben Falk, is another outstanding resource book.
  • The Cornell University website has much useful information, and you can download and print out their offerings.

Starting Seeds

You will need to start seeds and think about what to use. Some seeds are harder to start than others, and very few germinate 100%. Some companies, like Johnny’s, list the germination rate, which helps in planning. Research your growing season and what does well in your area. You need to determine how you will start seeds. You may use grow lights if you have power or window sills if you don’t. You need a seed starting medium and some type of container or soil blocks to get them going. I don’t like the jiffy pots that are sold in the big box stores. They usually don’t break down in the soil and take the water from the seedlings. Cow pots (yes, from real cows) work well, as do small, Dixie cups. Also, you can make seed starting pots from newspapers using a wooden pot maker that is available from most gardening companies for about $15.00.

I bought some inexpensive, little souvenir spoons and an appetizer fork at a thrift shop to use as tiny seed starting tools. I use chopsticks to poke holes for the seeds. A small hand-held device with a dial-a-seed setting (about $5.00) will help you not waste seeds. When saving seeds, what will you store them in? We save pill bottles, which are good storage for small seeds. Large seeds are stored in small, plastic bags. We use the food saver and seal both of these in plastic, to further keep out moisture, and then we store the plastic bags in a non-working freezer in the root cellar so there is no temperature fluctuation.

You need to store non-GMO, non hybrid seeds. My favorite sources for seeds are Seed Savers, Baker’s Creek, Johnny’s, Territorial Seed Company, Nichols, Southern Exposure, Annie’s, Irish Eyes, Pinetree, Fedco, The Ark Institute, and sometimes Burpee. Joining Seed Savers is a good way to read the information from other gardeners in your growing zone. All the seed companies’ catalogs are full of useful information. I especially support Seed Savers dedication to preserving the right of Americans to have a seed library in their area. Pennsylvania and Maryland have outlawed home gardeners from establishing a seed library to exchange seeds. This is a stupid over-reaching act, trying to control the food source by outlawing gardeners who are simply trying to help other gardeners!

There are many types of plants unfamiliar to most American gardeners that are well worth checking out. Seaberries are extremely popular in Europe, hardy even in Siberia, and are a great source of vitamin C; they make a tasty juice.

Cold-hardy Kiwi are another unusual find; we love them. Raintree Nursery and One Green World are good sources and were the original providers and promoters for these plants. We planted native elderberries and aronia bushes. They are good for vitamin C and can help ward off colds. Stevia plants provide a great sugar substitute and are very easy to grow and dry. Oca and Yacon (from Peru) are easily grown is most areas, providing a different root crop.

Grow Culinary Herbs

They are easy, and you will use them to flavor both stored and fresh foods, preventing food fatigue. Many are perennial, such as thyme, sage, and tarragon. Dry the herbs, preserve them chopped up in olive oil, or freeze them in butter.

After you have your comfrey patch planted, think about some other medicinal herbs. My reference books include:

Gardening Equipment

You will need good equipment that lasts. Think garden with power and garden without power.

Garden Hoses: Get quality hoses; the cheaper ones split. Rub the hoses with peppermint leaves so the mice don’t eat them. Get the Dramn red head watering head; it has many small holes and doesn’t beat down the plants; it’s also excellent for seedlings.

Watering cans, trowels, spades. Get quality not quantity. Since I am a short woman, I purchased a “Hers” spade from Green Heron tools. It’s perfect and saves my back. The “cobra” weeder is fabulous and my favorite tool, acting as an arm extension. I use it for everything from weeding to planting.

I purchased many of my tools for the garden from Johnny’s Seeds. The Eliot Coleman designed products are well designed and well made. Yes, they’re expensive, but we consider them long-term investments.

If I can find decent old garden tools at a sale, they are usually rusty. Evapo Rust is a great product for cleaning rusty things. It’s much easier than the more toxic types of rust removers.

Stock pile sharpening stones and files.

Magnifying glass. You will need one for insect and disease identification, along with a reliable picture. Your extension office usually has brochures to identify native pests.

Israeli garden tub trugs. Although I am not a big proponent of plastic for the long haul, I discovered Israeli garden tub trugs and now have several. They are washable, bendable, crushable, and nearly indestructible, and they’re freeze and boil proof. They have strong handles (a lab puppy can, however, eat the handles) and are so malleable that I can both carry dirt and also use them to water plants. Get the real ones; the knock off copies don’t perform nearly as well.

Perennial plants. Think perennial vegetables. Asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, and dandelions are the most well known. We planted Jerusalem artichokes, apios (earth nuts), and ramps (wild leeks) in an area where they can grow and run wild. The Egyptian walking onion is self seeding, thus perennial; some potatoes are perennial. Mint can be invasive, so be careful where you plant it. We want the invasive factor around the barn and hoop house. Rodents hate mint, and they hate peppermint the most and will not walk across it. Real peppermint is difficult to purchase. Many vendors sell peppermint mint that is not the real thing. I used Burpee and Johnny’s and was very happy. It’s easy to propagate after you have some started.

Fodder system. We purchased a fodder system from Farm Tek, which is highly recommended. The system is simple, saves an amazing amount of water, and provides fresh fodder for the chickens and rabbits plus sprouts and greens for us. It took a while to get used to it, but the results are amazing. We have fresh micro greens all year round. There are many plans on the Internet, if you want to build one.

Learn To Cook

This may seem basic, but I am amazed at how many people don’t know anything. If you learn the basics and craft of cooking, you will be able to make meals without a recipe. Remember that the old timers didn’t have cookbooks for everything. Make your own cooking “bible” for family favorites. Knowing that you can make stock with your roast chicken bones, boil corn cobs to make light corn stock for soup, dry tomatoes and make tomato powder, all will make life tastier.

The following books will give you some basics.

Preserving

You will need to preserve your harvest. There are many ways beyond freezing and canning.

Cleaning Clothes

We started filling the coffers with “small stuff” and submit the following should be on every prepper’s list.

Everybody thinks about soap, but you also need a wash board, agitator, and large metal wash tubs. Large wash tubs will become a necessity. Cheap plastic tubs will soon split and break. The wash board gives you a backboard to use to scrub the clothes and is great for rubbing out stains. The agitator looks like a plunger, and you use it like one. Clothes in a wash tub won’t come clean without agitation of some type. Store a supply of rubber gloves to wear when washing clothes. Chapped hands are painful and open you up to infections.

Get a recipe for making your own laundry soap that you like and stock up on the ingredients.

Stock clothes pins and clothes lines. The imported cheap clothes pins fall apart and aren’t strong enough to hold up heavy jeans. The old clothes pins are the best. Go to garage sales and estate sales in older parts of town. The old timers usually had them. Lehman’s catalog has some made from hay bale covers. What ever you get, make sure they are sturdy.

You need someplace clean to dry your clothes. Make sure you have enough cord to make a clothes line. We purchased a strong “umbrella” type of clothesline dryer. Then you don’t have to find two trees.

Having a sewing basket will be paramount. Clothes will need to be mended, buttons sewed on, and so on. If you can, find a working treadle sewing machine. Buy thread, buttons, safety pins, and other sewing supplies. (Get a large supply of safety pins; they will be invaluable.) The fabric stores often have online coupons; use them and buy the biggest packs along with good scissors and scissor sharpeners.

Stock rags and have a rag bin. There is always something that needs to be cleaned up, and paper towels will be a luxury. Take the buttons off old clothes, save them, and save the zippers, buttons, et cetera. I buy old clothes at thrift stores when they have percentage off sales. Jeans are used for patches and cotton clothes for rags. For towels and sheets, I go to garage sales, estate sales, and auctions.

Stainless metal mixing bowls, strainers, sieves, measuring cups, and spoons are necessary. You always need a large stock pot and large bowls. If you plan on canning or any other type of food preservation from your garden, metal bowls are a must. You can wash produce in them and serve a lot of hungry people from them. They last, will not break, and are light weight. Restaurant supply stores and Sams Club have them in stock. Another good place to look is the discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, found in metropolitan areas. They may or may not have them, but when they do the prices are excellent.

Stock up on cast iron pots and pans. Again, they last. I have found great deals on Lodge cast iron, which are still made in the U.S.A., at the above mentioned discount stores. The old time pans, like Wagner and Griswold, have become as expensive as collectibles but sometimes can be found at sales or auctions.

You need really good kitchen knives. A chefs knife, paring knife, and long serrated knife are basic. Again, check out the discount stores. I have found Wusthof, Henckel’s, and more at them. My Henkel’s knives are over 25 years old. My favorite knife of all is a red-handled Victorinox serrated knife paring size. It is a great kitchen knife and a perfect harvesting tool in the garden. (The red handle makes it easy to find in the lettuce.) I give this as gifts, and it becomes everyone’s favorite knife. It’s also sold by Johnny’s.

Canning jars will be in great demand, so for your own use or barter, either way, get them. Also, buy Tattler reusable lids. They might seem expensive but will become invaluable. Lay in a large supply of canning jar rings. Get a pressure canner and a water bath canner. Get an electric dehydrator and learn to use it now while prepping your supplies. The canning jars also are used to store dehydrated goods. Get the plans for a solar dehydrator (found online), and even if you can’t make it now, get the materials now (just in case). Mother Earth published an excellent solar plan.

We went to garage sales and auctions and watched Craig’s list. We bought several chain saws, a log splitter, canning jars, lids, pressure cookers, canners, garden tools, treadle sewing machine, cast iron cookware, farm equipment, jars of old buttons, clothes pins, nut crackers, meat grinders, quilts, oil lamps, and candles this way. It can be time consuming but can save a lot of money. If going to several sales in town, make a map of your route to save time and gas.

Having a supply of sunglasses is a must. Keeping your eyes safe is paramount. Again, find them at discount outlets and make sure they are UV treated. Stock pile several dozen along with safety glasses. Stockpile gloves for washing clothes, gardening, and other uses. Good tweezers are a necessity to deal with splinters and tick removal. Get some with the magnifying glass attached. Again, I have found great deals at the discount stores, so stock up.

Take care of your feet. Buy extra boots, shoes, and socks. They will be hard to come by after everything falls apart. Buy good nail clippers, not the cheap knock-offs made in China. They rip and don’t clip. It’s extremely important to keep ingrown toenails under control. FootSmart catalogue has excellent products for foot health. Their Mehaz toe nail clippers are made in Japan and are heavy duty.

Think about mosquito spray, citronella plants, rat traps, glue, and sun block. Also, stock up on Q tips, cotton balls, paper, pens, pencils, paper clips. At an estate sale, these items often can be bought for a few dollars for a large box, since the heirs don’t want to deal with them. Tecnu (used by the forest service) for poison oak and ivy is helpful, too.

We have found that our prepping efforts have led us to a much more serene lifestyle. Learning to be self sufficient, not needing as much “stuff”, eating a better diet, and spending more time outside have contributed to our sense of well-being. Our future goals include getting either goats or cows for milk and cheese, building a bread oven, growing wheat and more corn, building an aquaponics system, and establishing a network of like-minded people in our area. We are praying for the best and preparing for the worst. If nothing happens in our lifetimes, then our place will be a family and friend refuge, always believing “if not for us, then for someone”. Only God knows.