Notes for Saturday – August 02, 2014

Today we present another entry for Round 54 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. 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. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. 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.

Round 54 ends on September 30st, 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.

Preserving and Storing Food Safely – An Overview – Part II, by N.M.

Types of Preserving

Now that you understand, from Part 1 of this article, some of the reasons to preserve and priorities in preserving correctly, let’s consider which preserving methods you may want to use. Preserving methods include multi-step processes, like soaking, skimming, rinsing, hanging to dry, freezing, canning (in mason jars), smoking, and sucking air out of bags, containers, and buckets. Your choice of which method to use is governed by the food. For example, you would usually freeze berries but dehydrate and vacuum seal tomatoes and strips of meat (jerky). You could can (in glass jars) green beans, though you could easily freeze green beans. Of course you can try anything you want; who’s to say only one way is right. I have tasted dehydrated green beans, salted and spiced, and they were great, but this is unusual. Below is a description of each major type of preserving method.

Dehydrating

For each description below, cut the slices (fruit, vegetables, meat) in equal thickness for each batch, so that each batch will dry uniformly. Lay the slices with a little space between each one, to allow air to circulate well, and follow the directions for operating the dehydrator. Some inferior dehydrators will have items closest to the heat source dehydrate faster, so those pieces have to be taken out earlier.

Meats – Meats can be marinated after being sliced before you put them in the dehydrator, but pat very dry before placing them on the dehydrator tray. There are marinade recipes for beef jerky, or you can make up your own. A good method for carving a roast into strips is to first freeze the whole roast half way before carving it. This makes it very firm, and it is much easier to hold onto so you can cut long thin strips. There is also a very easy method to dehydrate meat in the sun. You drape the meat over a stick suspended between two props. Under it you keep a small, slow, smoldering smoking pit. This keeps the flies away. When it’s dry and crispy, you’re done. (This takes 8-16 hours or more, depending on how much you have and how sunny it is.) Fat is the enemy of dehydrated meat. It will cause your meat to go rancid, so trim off all the fat possible before dehydrating, or make sure it is completed dehydrated into a hard, crisp texture.

Fruits and Vegetables – Vegetables are to be washed thoroughly, sliced evenly, and patted dry before dehydrating. Make sure the pieces are not too thin. Due to high water content, fruits and vegetables can become as thin as a feather and shrink to an inch square in size after being dehydrated. So, make sure you slice them in good size pieces and about ¼ to ½ inch thick.

Herbs – Grow your favorite herbs yourself. Herbs are really too easy to grow to be a major preserving item. To dehydrate herbs, tear off the leaves and lay out on coffee filters until completely dry. (You don’t need to use the dehydrating machine, unless you want to.) Then grind them in a coffee bean grinder, and store the ground up herb in jars to use as needed. Do not vacuum seal ground up herbs in bags; the ground up herb will just get sucked up into your “vacuum”! For long-term storage, put the ground up herb in zip lock bags, with a small oxygen absorber in each to prevent them from getting musty. By the way, “fresh” herbs are used at three times the quantity. For example, if a recipe calls for a teaspoon of basil you’d buy from the store, use three teaspoons of fresh basil.

Vacuum Sealing

You can vacuum seal food that has been placed inside a plastic bag by removing the air and sealing it shut with a vacuum sealer machine. Vacuum sealing can be used to preserve meat, fruits, and vegetables only if they have been already dehydrated or to preserve bulk grains, like oatmeal, rice, and beans that are already dried.

A hose connects from the machine and is placed into the opening of the bag (plastic or Mylar) after it’s been filled with food. The open edges of the bag are inserted into the machine at the beginning of this process. The hose draws the air out of the bag and then seals it tightly. Vacuum Sealer Machines (VSM) are only used if the food has been fully dehydrated first or if the food product is a dry grain.

Using a VSM with Mylar Bags

Vacuum sealing using Mylar bags is preferred since these bags block sunlight and are available in different thicknesses, called mils, i.e. 3 mil, 4 mil, 5 mil, et cetera. They come in all sizes and are used with oxygen absorbers (O’s) to eliminate all traces of oxygen. This leaves the food in a preserved atmosphere. To know how many oxygen absorbers to add, use 300 cc’s per gallon size bag; so a 5-gallon bag uses 1500 cc’s of O. Os work so well by themselves that you really don’t have to use the VSM, but it always helps to vacuum seal the bags to remove as much air as possible, so it never hurts to use the VSM.

  1. Fill the Mylar bag with food, but leave 4-5 inches along the top to give you enough to seal with an iron. (Ironing is the method used to seal or glue together the open parts of the bag together).
  2. Gently iron the bag closed by leaning the open ends of the bag over a table’s edge. Iron closed except for about three inches down one side longwise, so you can insert Os. The point of the iron can puncture the bag, so be careful.
  3. Place your O’s in through the opening you left on the side. At this point, you can choose to use a VSM or not. If you use the VSM to draw air out before sealing with an iron, go to step #4 below. If you want to seal the bag without using the VSM, go to step #5 below.
  4. To use the vacuum sealer first, maneuver the tube down the opening where you just put in the Os, and turn on the machine. Draw out as much air as possible.
  5. Press out as much air as possible (or at the moment you shut the VSM off) quickly press down to close the bag the best you can, pushing out any excess air.
  6. Iron the bag closed with as much air removed from the bag as possible. In a few hours (or less) you will see the bag start to draw inward showing that the Os are working. The bag will become very firm and stiff. The Mylar will hug the food completely with absolutely no loose movement of the food. If this is not the case, then you need to reseal it.

A good practice for using Os is to keep them completely sealed up until they are used. You may prepare all the bags at once to get them ready for the last step where you would put the Os in.

Using a VSM with Plastic (clear) Bags

Vacuum sealing with clear plastic bags is normally done for smaller quantities of food, such as a few handfuls at a time of dehydrated food (per bag), or a dozen or so of beef jerky pieces (per bag) for example.

  1. Lay the bag flat on the table and put your food in it. Do Not pack it tightly.
  2. Attach your VSM’s tube to your machine and slip the other end of the tube into the bag’s opening, and pull the bag into the machine. Close the lid. Follow the manufacturer instructions. Each type of machine is a little different. (In the description for using Mylar, you did not use the sealing feature so you did not insert the bag into the machine.)
  3. When you are done, the vacuum sealed food will be very firm and stiff, with the plastic hugging the food completely so that there is absolutely no loose movement of the food. If this is not the case, then you need to reseal it. There is no need to use oxygen absorbers with this method since the food quantity is so small.

Canning

Canning is a method using glass jars, generally either Mason or Ball brand jars. The tops for the jars are made of two pieces– the flat round circles that lay on the jars’ openings called “lids” and the “bands” that have threads that screw down around the circumference of the tops to secure the lids down. Jars are given a “bath” in boiling water for a set amount of time according to a recipe. During cooling the lids snap shut tightly with a pop sound. (“Canning” can also refer to the commercial practice of putting food in large #10 cans, but we will not be covering that.)

Supplies – There are special tools to use in canning, such as tongs specially designed to lift the jars out of the hot bath, funnels with wide openings instead of the narrow openings so you can easily fill jars with food, and other canning gadgets to make the job easier. These are all available online and at local retailers.

Handling Jars – There are special ways to handle jars during canning, such as how to properly “cool” the jars so the glass does not crack, and checking that lids “snap down” as a reaction to pressure changes when the jar cools. Bands are supposed to be snug but not tight when jars are boiled in their bath. These descriptions and other things are described in your recipe books.

Recipes – All the particulars about how to actually can are easily found in canning books. Some recipes direct you to make brine (spices and salt boiled in water) to use for pickles or cabbage. Using brine may not require the jars to have a bath, since for this method you just fill up the jars with the brine and add food, like cucumbers or cabbage. There are so many variations and tricks to the trade, such as the practice of submerging your cucumbers in ice water just before putting them in the canning jars to make them turn into crispy pickles. Your recipe books will be invaluable during canning.

The “County Extension Office” where you live has literature and holds classes that teach you how to adhere to safety standards. In canning meat, for example, the “baths” involve literally locking down a large metal lid on your pot to create great pressure. In pressure canning, safety is essential, so a class and hands on experience to learn this type of canning is advised. You have to decide what type of canning will be best for you and what you are willing to take the time to learn.

Freezing

Meats, Fruits, and Vegetables – It’s a good practice to cut out imperfections and wash and blanch fruits and vegetables before freezing. Blanching is the act of submerging the food in rapidly boiling water for about 10 seconds to purify its surface. Some fruits may discolor over time and will benefit from a little lemon juice lightly sprayed on it before putting it in the freezer bags. Meats, of course, can be frozen uncooked or after they have been dehydrated.

  1. Use a zip lock bag made for the freezer, or wrap several times in clear plastic wrap, to eliminate as much air as possible.
  2. When you want to freeze small, wet items, like berries, lay them out on a flat pan first to freeze before putting them into a zip lock bag. This will protect them from getting mushy or sticking together while freezing.
  3. If using zip lock bags, push out as much air as possible before closing. It’s possible to zip it almost shut and then use your VSM tube to suck out air before zipping it closed. You can also freeze food vacuum sealed in plastic bags, as described earlier, but you don’t have to vacuum seal foods to freeze them.
  4. Lay your food flat in the freezer. Watch that the bag does not droop down in-between the slats of the freezer shelf and get stuck.
  5. Consume within six months.

Smoking

You can smoke fish and meat, as a way to preserve. In order to smoke fish and meat if you’re camping, you will need to build a device in which to hang meat or fish that will retain both heat and smoke– a smoker. The description below describes how to create a smoker, if you’re camping. If you use a commercially-made smoker, it will work the same way.

Making a Smoker

  1. First, dig a fire pit approximately two by two feet in size and about one foot deep in the ground. Next, create the device on which the food will be placed– either a spit or a cooking grate set two to three feet above the top of your fire pit.
  2. A “smoker” will be constructed by building a tee-pee style structure of branches a few inches in diameter, tied together at the top using vine, rope or even a shoelace. The gaps between the branches can be filled using moss, tree boughs, or a wet piece of canvas or even wet cloth. Leave a small area open so you can tend to the fire and turn the food when needed.
  3. You can also make a log cabin-type box that has only three sides and a top. Whatever you do, the idea is to trap smoke and heat while allowing some air to get in to produce smoke.
  4. Collect firewood. Hardwoods or fruit woods are best for smoking fish and meats. Oak, maple, hickory, cherry, and apple wood make smoked foods taste great. Get a variety of wood sizes so you can control the temperature and the amount of needed smoke much easier.
  5. After placing the fish or meat to be cooked on the spit or cooking grate, start a small fire. The trick is to keep the fire small, adding wood a little at a time. Let the fire burn down and add some small twigs to the hot coals to help create smoke. After two to three hours, your fish and meat should be ready to eat. However, to preserve it for long term use, smoke it continually until it is leathery and resembles jerky with no moisture and no soft fatty parts at all. Then you can vacuum seal it. Remember you must use indirect heat and not direct heat where the meat is over the flames.

Tools of the Trade

Following is a list of common kitchen items to have on hand as you get started preserving:

  1. Coffee bean grinder. Since you will need electricity to use these machines, you will need to prepare for the possibility of not having electricity. You can erect alternative 110 electric power made from a 12-Volt solar battery system. To do this, you will need an inverter that changes 12-Volt to 110. You could then plug your machine into the inverter. Otherwise, you can use a “pistol and mortar”, which people used to use to grind things on great grandma’s farm!
  2. Coffee filters. There are 1,001 uses for these. They can be used to lie out and organize things on the counter. You can write on them, and separate and dry foods, while keeping everything sanitary.
  3. Vacuum Sealing Machine (VSM). As in the first item above, have an inverter from 12V to 110, in case you have no electricity.
  4. Three feet of clear tubing per VSM machine.
  5. Plastic food bags. Keep these sanitary while stored.
  6. Mylar bags. They come in different sizes (1–5 gallons) and different grades in mils, (3-8 mil, with the higher the mil being the thicker). It does not hurt to fold the bags for storage. Make sure they are not pierced when food is in them while moving them into storage.
  7. Canning equipment for “baths”. This includes jars, lids, bands, jar holder, funnel, large pots, et cetera.
  8. Buckets and lids that are food grade. Even if food is sealed in bags, you can place them in buckets with O’s for extra protection.
  9. A well-stocked library. This would include charts, recipe books, calendars (dates stuff grow), and so forth.
  10. Kitchen food staples, based on your favorite recipes. This might include vinegars, allspice, pickling spice, canning salt, spices, marinades, et cetera.
  11. Basic Kitchen equipment. Most kitchens have these most of these items, but there are some items here you may need to add, if you don’t have it already. You may want to have cheese cloth (used to strain fluids to take out particles), labels and magic markers, colander (strainer), wooden spoon(s) (suggested to use to stir food around in hot jars to get rid of air bubbles before you give the jars a bath), large stainless steel bowls, stainless steel anything (utensils and bowls of various sizes), cutting boards, and sharp knives.
  12. A “plan”. Plan to grow, preserve, store, and rotate only what you are going to eat. (Comfort foods and barter foods are additional types of foods to store.)
  13. Controlled environments. A green house, seed area, a large cool storage place, outdoor kitchen, indoor kitchen, library area, a way to organize kitchen tools, and/or another area that might make your food preservation and storage efforts successful for you and your family.

Letter Re: NYC Chokehold

Hugh,

Just a note about chokeholds. A chokehold uses the forearm to put pressure on the windpipe and can easily result in serious injury or death. Most LE departments have outlawed them as a restraint and classified them as “deadly force”, the same as a knife, club, or firearm. Often mistaken for a chokehold (and usually referred to as such by the ignorant media) is the LVNR (Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint), which, when properly applied cuts off blood flow to the brain and the subject passes out in less than 10 seconds, at which time the LVNR is released. Pressure exerted by the LVNR hold is only on the sides of the neck and never on the throat. An LEO must be trained and certified to use the LVNR, as when it is applied improperly it becomes a chokehold. As with other LE tools, yearly re-certification should be required, but department policies vary. LVNR is a little more difficult to use than a chokehold, and it takes regular practice to become proficient in its use. Also, EMS must be engaged immediately after the use of the LVNR to check the subject and verify no injury has occurred. As academy recruits, we all had to experience it and apply it to our fellow students. Failure to release the LVNR immediately upon gaining control of the subject is considered excessive use of force and/or deadly force, both being actionable in court. I have no way of knowing what happened in the NYC chokehold incident, but all indicators point to the use of a chokehold and NOT LVNR. If so, the liability for excessive use of force lies wholly on the officer and the department. – JMHO

Economics and Investing:

This article demonstrates that, no matter the urging of financial planners, Americans continue to live on the edge financially. This should be a tale of caution and should be an opportunity to reiterate the critical element of saving as part of, indeed the first step in, preparedness.

CHARTS: Americans Are Seriously Unprepared For Emergencies – B.C.

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Gold Prices Reveal Truth About U.S. Economy

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Paul Craig Roberts – This Mega-Collapse Will Terrify People – J.W.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Argentina Misses Deadline Goes Into Default

Argentina Stocks And Bonds Collapse After Non Payment

21 Ways To End the Phrase “Americans Are So Broke”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Emory Hospital to receive 2 Ebola patients – keeper

HJL Adds: Remember, Ebola is successful at creating fear because it has such a high fatality rate and there is no cure. We fear what we do not understand. We fear what can kill us. Put those two together, and it can be intense fear. However, like radiation poisoning, the fear is often unfounded. Ebola, while a wicked virus, cannot be the pandemic that wipes out most of the population because it kills too fast. The onset of symptoms is far too quick for it to be an efficient mass killer. The virus would have to mutate to slow down the onset of symptoms, while still being infectious to pose the serious threat of a world-wide pandemic. Most of the reason it has become so deadly to so many people is because of the behavior of those people and their living conditions. Notice that the disease is relatively localized to very poor countries. Also, the behavior of the average person there has always been to put as much distance between them and the “sick” after finding that they have been exposed. Contrast that with the average first- or second-world country where medical help is readily sought. The conditions of the treatment facilities in these third-world countries is often deplorable as well. The facilities in the U.S. (or any first-world country) are far superior and capable of dealing with infectious diseases. Put another way, if I, a U.S. citizen, were to be infected with Ebola, I would rather be treated by a U.S. hospital than one in Liberia or Sierra Leone. Just because two U.S. citizens are being transferred to a U.S. facility to be cared for is not a reason for panic, rather, it gives them a far better chance of survival.

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WHO: Ebola outbreak ‘accelerating’

A case in point to my statement above. Notice the protective equipment being used by the health workers in the photograph and compare that to what would be used here in the U.S.

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FBI, Armada police block roads to check every single vehicle going in and out of Village of Armada – T.P.

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DHS Report: Tuberculosis And Scabies Spreading In Migrant Holding Facilities – JBG

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What’s Your Post-Apocalypse Game Plan? – G.G.

Notes for Friday – August 01, 2014

August 1st is celebrated as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291, which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2014, Switzerland has been free and independent for 723 years. Having a well-armed populace has assured that.

August 1st is also remembered as the election day in 1946 that sparked the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, when returning World War II veterans took up arms to oust a corrupt local government that was rigging an election.

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We are excited about round 54 of the writing contest as we have 2 new sponsors of the contest.

  1. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome lined 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), SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie did a review of a carbine based on this upper.
  2. Gun Mag Warehouse is 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.

That brings the total worth of prizes to over $12,038 starting in Round 54!

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Don’t forget, Gun Mag Warehouse is also offering a 10% Discount to ALL SurvivalBlog readers. Just use Promo Code: “survivalblog07” when checking out.

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Today we present another entry for Round 54 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 Warehouse is 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. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. 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.

Round 54 ends on September 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.

Round 53 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

We have completed Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest!

First Prize goes to M.H. for “Killing, Dying, and Death – Part I” and “Part II”, which was posted on Sunday July 27 and Tuesday July 29, 2014. He will receive the following prizes:

  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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second prize goes to S.W. for “Livestock Breeding Strategies For When SHTF – Part I” and “Part II”, which was posted on Thursday and Friday, June 4 & 5, 2014. She will receive the following prizes:

  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. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third prize goes to D.T. for “Getting A Real Education– Why Becoming Self-Sufficient Is Better Than Going To College”, which was posted on June 6, 2014. He will receive the following prizes:

  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. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. 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
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates via e-mail) have been awarded to the writers of these fine articles:

Note to all Prize winners: Let us know your current e-mail address. We will also need the UPS and USPS addresses for each of the top three prize winners.

Round 53 ended on July 31st, but Round 54 has started, 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. Those articles that we received for Round 53, but that did not get published in time will be automatically entered in Round 54.

Preserving and Storing Food Safely – An Overview – Part I, by N.M.

Preserving food has become an important focus of many families. After reading this article, you will understand what is involved in preserving and be able to decide if it’s for you. Food prices are soaring, and food quality and quantities are decreasing. You can save lots of money by buying things on sale or take advantage of bulk purchases, because you can preserve the food and use it later. You will be protecting yourself and your family by having safely stored nutritious food in the event of an emergency, and you can help your neighbors. With all these pluses, it’s a wonder why everyone isn’t preserving food. Methods for preserving will be discussed in enough detail for you to learn about the primary ways to preserve foods, the pitfalls to look out for that can interfere with good practices, and how you can adopt a preserving program.

Why preserve food?

Because of the changing times, interest in preserving food has grown as families become more and more concerned about providing healthy, delicious food for their families over the long haul. When you preserve food, you are maximizing the nutritional value while changing the food’s structure for long-term storage. Preserving your own food guarantees higher nutrition, which translates into better health. Preserving food has always been a strategy for surviving hard economic times without experiencing poor nutrition. This article is divided into three parts. We’ll begin by looking at the two goals for preserving successfully. Then, we’ll look at the most popular methods for preserving, and we’ll end with basic tools to have in your home to begin a preserving program.

Two Goals for Preserving

You can preserve foods by drying, dehydrating, canning (hot bath), vacuum sealing, freezing, and smoking. Your first goal in preserving is to pick adequate types of food. You need to consider a food’s nutritional value and track how much of each food group you have so you keep an adequate supply. Pick foods based on the overall nutritional value they will provide, which can be found in foods that are fresh, natural, or organic, representing a good variety, and in good quantities.

Goal 1: Adequate Types of Food

Your body thrives best on certain types of foods and will get sick when deprived of the right kinds of these foods. Think of the scurvy epidemic, which was a simple lack of vitamin C, that killed many immigrants sailing the long voyage to America. If you’re going to go through the trouble of buying, growing, preserving, and storing food, then pick foods adequate for providing proper nutrition. Your time and resources will be better spent if you choose foods with a premium for good health, giving you the most bang for your buck. Not-with-standing some comfort foods are definitely encouraged, e.g. jelly beans, chocolate, and so forth.

Fresh, Organic, or All Natural – These are foods that are either recently harvested at the time of preserving, and/or are grown or processed with little or no preservatives, hormones, chemicals, or dyes. It’s a fact that consuming these types of foods brings you to optimum health. Keep in mind that foods that have been stored and transported in plastics, though claiming to be organic or all natural could have chemicals that leached out from the plastics, due to heat. These “leeched” chemicals have been responsible for some cancers.

Good Varieties – Having a good variety of foods allows your body to benefit from different enzymes, minerals, and vitamins. Too much of one type of nutrient, or not getting enough of other types of nutrients, will make you sick. Poor nutrition causes your body to have a lower resistance when you get sick. Strong, general health will enable your body to fight infection or illness better. Having a good variety of foods assures that trace minerals will be consumed, and this helps you in ways you are unaware and in ways that science does not even know yet. It has been recently discovered, for example, that if you eat honey from your region you will become more immune to allergens in that region. Since we don’t know what we don’t know, it’s best to eat a big variety of foods. It is also better for your body, appetite, digestion, and sugar levels to eat small, frequent meals and snacks and not to eat too late in the day.

Good Quantities – Try to keep plenty of food around. This will ensure enough healthy foods to choose from and help you to eat small, frequent meals. You will eat what is available – both good and bad, so be proactive in your planning, and pay attention to what’s in the pantry and frig.

Food Groups – Learn about the benefits of eating food groups that complement each other. For example, fruit and dairy combined eases the stomach and helps digestion, but red meat consumed with milk is very unsettling to the stomach. Foods rich in vitamin C help your body absorb foods rich in Vitamin A, like fish. Overcooking meat destroys enzymes naturally present and necessary to properly digest the meat. Learn about and use this type of information to your advantage.

Goal 2: Safely Preserve Foods

Your second goal is to make sure that, when you preserve, you do it safely. To be safe, you will need to consider sanitation, temperature, moisture, storage methods, and a rotation plan.

Sanitation – You would be surprised at the many ways you can contaminate your food, such as simply touching something briefly when you’re preparing food. For example, if you’re in the middle of preparing or preserving something and you pick up the back of a chair to move it, you could pick up the last thing your friend, spouse, or child was working on outside when they came in and moved the same chair a few minutes ago, like shoveling manure, working in the compost pile, or cleaning your dog’s ears out! Don’t touch anything around you when you are in the middle of preserving. Wash your hands frequently.

Temperature – You will have to consider temperature in almost all you do when cooking, preserving, and storing food. For example, you use boiling water during the canning process in glass jars, and you will need to achieve certain ideal temperatures for properly storing all your preserved foods. There are also taste benefits to using temperature correctly, such as heating up oil in a pan to a very high temperature before laying anything in the pan to cook. Don’t dismiss mentions of temperatures when following directions for cooking or preserving.

Moisture – Moisture causes mold; moisture prevents herbs from drying properly so they can be ground up; and moisture causes caking of powders, spices, and salt. Controlling the humidly of your storage area will be essential.

Rotation – An important part of preserving involves a plan to use the oldest items first to cycle all items through storage. Make your own method for utilizing older foods before newer foods. You can color-code items to indicate old vs. new, write labels, or use shelf space location to store items in a way that lets you know what is older. We have a simple rotation method in our pantry for “staples” (catsup, mayo, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, and salad dressing). We buy large quantities of these staples, because I always stock up when it’s “buy one get one free” (BOGO). I store them close to our living space, because we use them all of the time. Our method for rotation is to “add to the back and left; take from the front and right”.

Seeds

If you are a gardener, you will want to know how to preserve seeds properly. Seeds need to be clean and dry to store them properly. Below is the process to soak, skim, rinse, dry, and store seeds. Seeds need a lot of TLC. We keep them in a cool, dry, dark place. I add to them and look through them every few months to contemplate what I’ll be “starting” in my seed starter trays for next season.

There are two types of seeds– heirloom and non-heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are seeds that produce a food whose seeds can produce the same food again, perpetually. Non-heirloom seeds will produce food, but after the first time, the seeds from that plant will either not produce at all or will produce an inferior plant, whose seeds will not be viable.

Soak – Soaking seeds is the first step in preparing them to preserve. Seeds found in “wet” fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash need to be soaked to remove all organic matter. Seeds that don’t need “soaking” are dry seeds such as those found on the outside of plants, like in flowering parts of lettuce and broccoli. Check your literature for where seeds are obtained from each plant and when they should be gleaned, if you’re not sure.

  1. The first thing you do is take the strongest samples from your crop. Take seeds from a mature fruit or fully grown, flowering plant.
  2. Take the seeds out and put them in water (room temperature) in a bowl. Do not use chlorinated water. Cover them with a napkin and set the bowl aside on the counter for about three days.
  3. You can stir it a few times to loosen the organic matter, but don’t stir them near the time you are going to do the next step– skim, rinse, and dry.

Skim, Rinse, and Dry – After a few days of soaking, do the following:

  1. The bad seeds float to the top, so skim the seeds off the top along with the organic matter that rose to the top, and throw this away.
  2. Rinse the rest of the seeds, and then lay them out on a plate. You want them clean of any organic matter.
  3. After they are completely dry (several days later), scrape them off the plate into a jar or plastic bag. Label and date your seeds.

Store – Store in a cool dry, dark place. If there are seeds you haven’t used in several years, you don’t necessarily need to throw them out. They may still be good, but don’t count on them. Always have two or three generations of seeds, properly labeled. Use the older seeds first. If you want to discard any, pick a place on your property that may get adequate amounts of sun and rain naturally, and throw them there. You may have volunteer plants come up in a year or two.

In Part 2 of this article, we’ll get much further into the subject by taking a look at preserving methods and tools in detail.

Two Letters Re: Killing, Dying, and Death

The article brings topics that ring very true in my mind. Having served years ago but not in combat, I realize how important the trust is of your fellow soldiers and their need to trust you. It can not be stressed more that you will never know for sure of that trust until the “chips are down”, as they say. (Watch “The Pacific” dvd series based on the book The Old Breed. It will give anyone uninitiated a glimpse of the physical and psychological horrors of war.) I have come to peace with myself and God with the fact of dying. I hope, as the writer says, it will not be in vain. He is absolutely right in the fact that it is a topic no one really wants to deal with. Even the initiated are reluctant to speak of it many years later. I hope and pray that when my time is up, I am able to pass in peace and during peace. I do try to have a reality based mind set of hope for the best but plan for the worst. That way, it may work out for me and/or my family. Thanks for the diversity of your and Mr. Rawles’ efforts with the site. – J. in Utah.

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I must agree with the author that very few men are true warriors. Some are fighters, and yet most are near useless in a battle. I had a buddy– a short, barrel chested guy with thick glasses– who worked for years as a dishwasher and later operated a CNC lathe for Emerson Electric and was a Sheriff’s deputy, carrying a 2-way radio in his heavy old carryall. He intercepted a call that a fugitive was fleeing the law on a rural dirt road in a very fast car. Bill radioed his superiors, “Want me to stop him?” They answered, “Yes, do!”Bill had no gun with him, but he pulled his old truck just a bit off the road at right angles, butt facing the road. He soon spotted the fugitive traveling at 70+ miles per hour coming straight for him. Bill waited patiently, his motor ticking over as the speeding fugitive drew near. Then, at the last moment, he gunned his motor and backed into the side of the fleeing car, tearing the rear tire to shreds, bending the rim, and heavily damaging the rear of both vehicles. This drastically slowed the fleeing car and made the capture possible. Bill’s vision wasn’t the best, nor was he a perfect shot with a pistol, but he had a “can do” attitude and little fear for self or his property. Years later, he died on the operating table while undergoing corrective heart surgery. He was a good soldier in any man’s war!

Odds ‘n Sods:

Our friend Tam over at the View From The Porch blog mentioned this amazing wingsuit video.

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This Is What Is Going To Happen If Ebola Comes To America. – B.B.

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Ebola outbreak may already be uncontrollable. – A.D.

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Homeland Security Report Confirms Diseases Spreading at Border Facilities. – JBG

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California drought: ‘May have to migrate people’. – G.P.

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An excellent treatise on people willingly allowing themselves to be oppressed. Video: The End of Oppression – Part 2: The Game – B.B.

Notes for Thursday – July 31, 2014

July 31st is the 94th birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher, one of just three living Doolittle Raiders. He lives in Missoula, Montana. Those interested in learning more about America’s First strike against Japan should read “The Doolittle Raid”.

July 31st is also the birthday of free market economist Milton Freidman, who was born in 1912 and died November 16, 2006.

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Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. 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. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. 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. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. 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
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 53 ends on July 31st, 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.

Survival or Sustenance Gardening, by D. B. Prepper

I’ve had a garden on and off again over the past 30 years, depending on where I lived, whom I was married to at the time, and whether or not my job allowed me to be at home frequently enough to care for it. So I have followed the recent spate of gardening posts with some interest, especially those who have struggled to start a garden. I thought I would take an opportunity to add my own two cents on how to create a garden that can support you and your family in good times or bad.

It’s a Learning Experience

Gardening is a learning experience. The more you do it, the better and more experienced you will become. Once you have seen blossom end rot or leaf blight, you’ll spot it earlier the next time, know how to respond, or even how to prevent it. Even though you may be able to learn by doing, it is best to have some basic knowledge before you start. Articles like this one cannot make you a gardener, but they can point you in the right direction. I suggest you read books, search out online articles, scan forums, and get related magazines. Look to your county extension office, local agricultural universities, and local garden clubs for printed and online information that are specific to your locale.

You will definitely have more success if you start your garden before a disaster strikes, and it is easier to expand an existing garden during hard times than start one from scratch. There are also obvious advantages to plowing and installing a fence now, while there is power, plentiful fuel, and stores are open and well stocked. So, if you plan on gardening your way through TEOTWAWKI, I recommend you get started this fall. Why this fall and not next spring? We’ll get to that in a minute.

Get your whole family involved. Gardening is a good experience, good exercise, and while it is work, it can also be fun. It’s also an easy way to be prepared without scaring the kids.

Where to Put Your Garden

Where to place your garden is critically important to its long term success. Look for three things in this order: 1) Full sun for all or most of the day (at least 8 to 10 hours); 2) a mostly level or gently sloping field that is well drained but not steep enough to have significant run off and erosion; and 3) room to expand in the future, because you will probably find that your first garden is not large enough. Less important considerations are proximity to your house and proximity to water, because you can run a hose or even a pipe pretty easily. However, with no sun, all the water in the world won’t make a difference, so pick a sunny sight first and foremost.

In general, a garden needs at least an inch of rain per week. If you do not have this much rain, you will need to provide water, especially when fruits and vegetables are setting. That may mean hauling water from the nearest source in a grid-down situation. Look into water catchment systems and drip irrigation if you have limited natural water resources as drip irrigation is far more efficient than spraying water from a sprinkler.

When to Dig and Till Your Garden

If you plan to dig up the lawn to put in a garden, I recommend you stop treating the lawn with any chemicals at least one year in advance (18 months or two years is even better), especially herbicides that are designed to suppress broad leaf weeds, crab grass, and the like, as these could cause problems with your garden plants. I also suggest that you dig up or turn over the grass and till your garden the summer or fall before you plan to start planting. Then work in plenty of natural soil conditioners such as compost, composted animal manure, and whatever your county agent or extension office suggests, based on the soil sample you give them to test. Getting ready in the fall will give you a big leg up in the spring, both in terms of time and soil conditions.

After sunlight, the quality of your dirt is probably the second biggest factor in the success of your garden, so condition your soil every chance you get. Good soil is rich, dark loam that in which you see worms in almost every shovel full. It is not solid like clay, nor sandy, but somewhere in between the two extremes.

While there are some things I insist on doing in a garden by hand, turning over the soil is not one of them. Use a tiller, get the appropriate implements for your garden tractor, or ask someone with a tractor to help you out, especially the first time you break new ground. If you are using a tractor, it might be best to do the plowing and discing before you put up the fence. Tractors need turning room and fences constrain them.

Once you are done digging, get some garden catalogs and order the seeds you will need. Pay close attention to the zone you are in and be sure the varieties you buy will be suitable for your locale. I also recommend having more seed on hand than you think you will need. Rotate your seeds like you would your food, using the oldest first, and keep good records so you know what varieties did well for you in which locations. In addition to keeping records related to seeds, keep a garden chart that shows what was planted where so you can rotate your crops to avoid depleting your soil by planting the same crop in the same location over and over again.

Fencing Basics

Fencing, as BPW said in his recent article on starting a garden, is critical. I have found that metal T-posts or metal U-channel fence posts and welded wire fencing is an excellent way to put up a decent fence relatively quickly and inexpensively. Woven wire fencing is more expensive and might be a bit of overkill, unless your garden fence is also part of a livestock enclosure, but if you have the money, go for it.

You should use at least 7-foot posts for your fence, which have about six feet above ground and will therefore accommodate six feet of wire fencing. This is the minimum height necessary to discourage deer and other large pests. If finances allow, go with the 9-foot posts, which can use one 8-foot roll of fencing or two 4-foot rolls placed one on top of the other. This latter approach allows you to use a fence with smaller, tighter holes (2”x2” or 2”x4”) on the bottom half to keep out small critters, while a less expensive fence using 4”x4” squares is used on the top. Check out your local farm store, such as Tractor Supply, or building supply places, like Home Depot, and price out the different options. While you are there, you may see some plastic or poly fencing. I do not recommend this, unless you require a fence for only a few years or if that is all you can afford.

I definitely recommend you invest in a manual fence post driver with a handle on each side. I cannot begin to explain how so much easier and safer this is than using a sledge hammer, plus it will make your work go faster. If your wife is helping you, the fence post driver is a marriage saver!

On the last garden I put in, I used metal fence posts intended for chain link fences at each corner and cemented them into place. This gave the fencing a degree of sturdiness that cannot be achieved with T-posts alone. I also installed a 6-foot wide chain link gate between two similar posts to allow easy access for people and equipment. You can buy the gates pre-configured and ready to install. In this case, having the gate post held into place with 50 pounds of cement was more than enough to support the gate.

I should note that wooden fence posts also work but cannot be driven in using a fence driver. You will need to dig or drill an adequate hole. A properly constructed wooden fence is a thing of beauty compared to one with metal posts, but it is significantly more work, and I would not attempt it without renting a post-hole auger that runs off a tractor’s PTO. If you have sufficient timber to harvest and produce your own posts, however, this could be a winning combination for you. Be sure to read up on how to properly install a corner or gate post when using wooden fence post to support a wire fence.

When installing your metal fence posts, keep them eight feet apart, and use a string guide to assure you keep the fence nice and straight. I find it easiest to put the corners in first, using a long roll-up tape measure and some simple geometry to keep things square. Remember, measure two or three times and dig once. Be sure to pull the fence tight between the posts so that it does not sag or buckle.

Sizing Your Garden

It’s a good idea to size your garden to match your fencing budget. Since fencing is often sold in 50- or 100-foot rolls, aim for a total circumference that will allow you to maximize your materials. For example, instead of a garden 100’ x 50’, I would actually go with the dimension of 96’ x 48’ to allow 8-feet between fence posts and only 36 posts (37 if you add an extra to install a gate). Sure, if you buy 300 feet of fence, this leaves you 12 feet of extra fence, but you will probably lose some when you go from one roll to another. Besides, having a little extra is a heck of a lot better than being 3 feet short!

Speaking of sizing, I believe it is always better to go bigger, if you have the land and can afford the fencing, especially since we are talking about sustenance gardening, where you need to generate as much food as possible. A 96’ x 48’ plot is 4,608 square feet, which sounds really big, but it’s only about a tenth of an acre. If you can double your materials to 600 feet of fencing and 74 fence posts, you can fence a space 200’ x 96’ and have four times the space, or 19,200 square feet, which is 0.45 acres. This larger plot will also be much more useful if you grow rows and rows of grains or beans, and it allows you more room to rotate crops from one area to the next from year to year.

A large garden also gives you room to space out your rows to allow both roots and the crop to grow and to have room to walk or move equipment down the garden. At the very least, you should have a four or five-foot wide path down the middle that can accommodate a lawn tractor, 4-wheeler, garden cart, or wheel barrow.

There are worse problems than what to do with too much harvest. First, not every plant or crop will live, so a large garden gives you some redundancy. Second, you may well have additional friends and family you need to feed. Third, you may be able to trade or barter with it. Fourth, you can store some items to eat during the off season. Finally, if you have too much of a crop, allow it to ripen and harvest the seeds, then throw the remnants in the compost pile or use it to feed the livestock, and use their byproduct for the compost pile. Plow under the remaining plants, but try to avoid plowing under the fruits or vegetables; otherwise, the seeds could ripen next year, and you’ll find a “volunteer” squash vine in your patch of peppers.

The Truth About Raised Beds

Now you can probably tell from the size of these gardens that I don’t do raised beds. Raised beds are great for urban gardeners who do not have a great deal of space and need to concentrate their crops, and they’re helpful for those who cannot get down on their knees and work in the dirt or bend over and use the hoe. They are also good where the soil is poor, because you can load them up with top soil imported from elsewhere.

In my opinion, raised beds are good to supplement your storage food or in urban areas where you do not have the acreage for a full-size garden, but you will be hard pressed to generate sufficient food to keep hunger at bay with a couple hundred square feet of raised beds. You cannot plant enough corn, oats, beans or potatoes in a few raised beds to keep your family fed over a long-term event.

What to Plant

Traditional garden vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, and zucchini are relatively easy to grow, and while they deserve a place in your survival or sustenance garden, they should not make up the bulk of it. If you expect to live largely on your garden bounty, then you want to concentrate on foods that provide maximum calories and can be stored over the winter. So eat all the tomatoes and zucchini you want in the summer, but plant corn, oats, beans that can be dried (like lima, beans, pinto beans or black-eyed peas), potatoes, onions, several varieties of thin-skinned winter squash, cabbage, beats, Jerusalem artichoke, rutabaga, and parsnips. I would also encourage you to grow greens that might not be part of your diet, as they can be grown quickly and often early or late in the season, stretching the amount of time you can eat out of your garden.

We all know that fruits and vegetables can be a key source of nutrients in a TEOTWAWKI situation, but fruits will not store well, unless you have stored sufficient materials to can them– jars, lids, pectin, and sugar, plus the fuel for your heat source or the equipment and low humidity required to dry them. Apples are a notable exception as some varieties can keep for months in cold storage.

Tomatoes are also great for canning and can be an important ingredient in meals all year around, but storing potatoes is much less labor intensive. So make sauce from your tomatoes, pickles from your cucumbers, and sour kraut from your cabbage, if you have sufficient supplies, time, and labor, but be sure to plant enough root vegetables that can over winter without canning or drying so that you have something to eat all winter. Many of these root vegetables are great in soups or stews throughout the year.

Other vegetables we like for canning include green beans, sweet corn, and peas.

Starting Plants vs Planting Seeds

Starting seeds indoors is important when you want to get a jump on the growing season, if you live in a cold climate (or if we were to have nuclear winter or the volcano-induced equivalent), but there are plenty of times where planting seeds directly in the ground is the best bet. You can start most anything indoors, but I find that some plants, like cucumbers, melons, and zucchini, are so prolific that there is no need to start them indoors. They will do fine on their own once the ground has warmed up.

I have a long growing season, so others may argue with this list, but here are vegetables that I do NOT start indoors:

  • Corn and other grains
  • Greens, including spinach, kale, Swiss chard, mustard, collards, lettuces
  • Root crops, like carrots and potatoes
  • Late-season crops, like cabbage and turnips
  • Beans

Just remember that it is better to plant a week late, when the soil is warmer, than a week early. Even if there is not a frost, cold soil can cause problems with rot and fungus.

When it comes to starting plants indoors, pick a very sunny window on the South of your house, as we will probably not have artificial light in a TEOTWAWKI situation. There are lots of options suitable for starting plants, from peat pots to commercial plant trays to paper cups. My favorite is the Jiffy 70-cell “self-watering greenhouse” available at Walmart for around $16. (It is neither a greenhouse nor self-watering, but it is convenient.) I have accumulated several of these trays over the years and buy the little peat disks separately now. You can buy a box of 1,000 compressed peat cartridges for less than $80, which is very cost effective.

Organic vs Chemicals

I like the idea or organic gardening, but the practice is harder. I have found that it is relative easy to use natural substances to avoid commercial fertilizers, as long as you start out with good soil. Proper weeding (i.e., continuous) is also sufficient to eliminate the need for herbicides. Going organic when there is a fungus or an infestation of bugs strikes your garden is much more difficult and avoiding the use of pesticides and other chemicals will reduce your garden’s productivity. You’ll have to make the final call, but I recommend you keep some Sevin dust in your garden shed, just in case. It might mean the difference in a grid down situation when you really need that food.

Sustenance Gardening is a Full-Time Job

If you are counting on your garden to feed you and your family, then you have to work on it just like you work at the job that puts food on the table right now. You need to weed constantly. You need to water regularly. Most importantly, you need to be in the garden looking around for something that might be going wrong. This means getting to know each plant and keeping an eye on them. Look for signs of infestation, like a bug eating the leaves, or rot starting to form. (Cutworms, aphids, or mites can do significant damage if you do not control them.) Look for plants that need poles or something else to climb, and construct it for them. Look for fruit or vegetables that are doing fine and suddenly die or rot. Inspect the fence. Keep an eye on what you can harvest early and plan what to do when the full crop comes in.

Keeping your garden healthy and producing might require spending the night in the garden with the .22, or being the human scare crow during the day. It might mean shooting four-legged or two-legged critters that want the bounty for themselves.

Even when the harvest ripens, the work is not done. Not only do you have to pick the garden’s bounty, but you must prepare it for storage. Canning, drying, pickling, and storing in the root cellar are all good options, if there is no refrigeration or freezer. You also have to let some items go to seed, so you can save seeds for next year. Then, when the harvest is done, you need to turn the plot over, add more organic material and compost, and start planning next year’s garden.

Gardening for sustenance is not easy, but it has been done for centuries. All it takes is hard work, perseverance, and knowledge– which you could say about pretty much any survival skill. Start a practice garden today, and you can have the skills and materials you need to see you through hard times. In the meantime, you’ll have fresh fruits and vegetables to lower your food bill, sell at a road-side stand, or simply give to those in need.