Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“They asked why we needed 30 round magazines. I thought about and considered the possibility that they may be right, so I ordered some 40 round magazines. Just doing my part.” – From a comment to an article about potential gun confiscations, published by Guns.com

Notes from JWR:

August 1st is celebrated annually as Swiss Independence Day, in recognition of the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291, which united Switzerland’s first three cantons. As of 2013, Switzerland has been free and independent for 722 years. (Our Republic is just a wee fledgling, by comparison.) Having a well-armed populace has assured those seven centuries of freedom for Confederatio Helvetica. Today at the Rawles Ranch we plan to do some target shooting with our Schmidt-Rubin rifles and our SIG PE57, to celebrate.

—

The clock is now ticking for residents of Maryland. They have until September 30, 2013 to round out their “lifetime supply” home gun batteries with proper battle rifles before a new state gun ban goes into effect. If you are a Marylander and cannot relocate because of family or work commitments, then I recommend that you buy at least one battle rifle for each family member, with at least six spare magazines for each–and preferably a dozen or more. And if you are on a tight budget, then at least buy stripped receivers that you can build up at a later date. (In the eyes of the law in most states, it is just the receiver that constitutes the “firearm.”)

Writing Contest Winners and New Prizes

We’ve completed the judging for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

But first, I’d like to announce that two new prizes have been added to the prize package for Round 48, et sequitur. These are:

A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy. This addition brings the value of just the First Prize package to $3,990!

and,

A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value. This addition brings the value of just the Second Prize package to $3,020!

Many thanks to these companies for their generosity. They deserve your patronage. When you contact them, please mention that you saw the link on SurvivalBlog. Thanks!

The prize winners for Round 47 are…

First Prize goes to Sophie for Prepping the Texas Cowboy Way, posted on July 12, 2013.

She will receive: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize goes to Seth T. for  Learning 52 Skills: Applying a Purchasing Plan Approach to Learning New Skills, posted on July 26, 2013.

He will receive: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize goes to L.D. for The K-9 Question, posted on June 30, 2013

He will receive: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Honorable Mention Awards ($30 Amazon gift cards) go to the writers of these 15 fine articles:

Note to all prize winners: Please e-mail us to confirm your current e-mail addresses. And the top three prize winners will also need to send us their UPS and USPS addresses. Thanks!

Today we begin Round 48 of the contest. This round will end 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. – J.W.R.

All-American Tool Manufacturers

3

Following up on my recently-posted list of field gear makers that have all American-made products, I’ve compiled a comparable list of American tool makers.

The Sell-Outs

Some companies that have long been thought of as “American” companies now produce most or all of their tools overseas. For example, Craftsman (the Sears house brand) now produces many of their tools in Asia. Others include: Cooper, Disston, Eastwood, Greenlee, Lufkin, Milwaukee, Peerless, Porter Cable, Shurlite, Snap-On, Thorsen, Vise-Grip, Vermont American, Weller, Williams, and Winchester. The many, many others are almost too numerous to list.

Some of the “good guy” companies that I will list here sell a few imported tools, but to qualify for inclusion, they must sell mostly American-made tools (and component parts.) Also, beware even “All American” tool companies source their plastic storage boxes, their belt pouches, and their tool bags overseas.

What to Buy?

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I would simply look at my father’s collection of tools to get an idea of the good brands to buy. My kids can’t safely do that today. Quite sadly, the majority of those tool companies have now moved their production offshore.

Do your homework before you buy! With the exception of high speed cutting tools, the vast majority of American tool manufacturing has moved offshore to mainland China. (The home of laogai “Reform Through Labor” prison factories.) Rather than just be depressed about this situation, I have resolved to do something to counter this trend. I urge all of my readers to do the following:

1.) Don’t just blithely purchase merchandise without first checking on its country of origin. Take the time to LOOK at labels! When buying from mailorder catalogs or online, take a minute to call and ask, before you order if the country of origin is uncertain.

2.) If a product listing says “imported”, then the odds are now better than 80% that it is made in mainland China. So skip it.

3.) Be sure to thank the management of these companies for keeping their production in the States, and tell them that they earned your business because of it.

Companies that proudly still offer “Made in USA” tools:

Measurement, Squaring, and Leveling Tools

  • Chappell Universal Square and Rule – Framing squares and other carpentry measuring/layout tools. Made in Maine.
  • Crick Tool – Traditional wood frame spirit levels. (Made in Ben Wheeler, Texas.)
  • Fischer Machine – Edge Finders, Vee Blocks and Clamps, and PeeDee thread measuring wires.
  • Port Austin Level and Tool – Wood and aluminum spirit levels. (Made in Michigan.)
  • Kraft Tool Company – Spirit levels as well as concrete and masonry tools.
  • L.S. Starrett Co. – Calipers, levels, tape measures, micrometers, dial indicators, and gage blocks. Most are still made in USA at their plants in Ohio, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Carolina. (Some imported products, so see their catalog or web site, to be sure.)
  • U.S. Tape Company – The only domestic tape measure manufacturing company that makes a full line of tapes.


Wrenches, Socket Bits, and Socket Sets

  • Armstrong Tools – A wide variety of tools, all made in USA. (Now owned by Danaher Corporation.)
  • Bondhus – Various hex tools, including ball head. (Made in Minnesota.)
  • Bristol Wrench – The originators of the Bristol Spline Drive System.
  • Channellock – A wide variety of of pliers and other hand tools, including, of course, their patented slip-joint pliers. (Made in Pennsylvania.)
  • Eklind Tool Co. – Hex (Allen head) and Torx head tools, including folding, L-keys, and T-keys.
  • Klein Tools – This company was mention by nearly a dozen SurvivalBlog readers. They make a wide variety of hand tools at nine factories in Illinois. (A few of their products are imported, but those are noted in their catalog and on their web page.) Klein tools are widely available at hardware and Big Box stores.
  • Lisle Tools – Torx head and specialty automotive tools.
  • Loggerhead Tools – Adjustable wrenches, including the “Bionic” wrench.
  • Montana Brand Tools – Drive sets, drills, and more. (Made in Ronan, Montana.)
  • OTC – Wheel bearing wrenches and gear pullers. (Note that many other OTC products are imported.)
  • Precision Instruments – Click torque wrenches. Unlike other torque wrenches, these don’t need to be “turned down” after use.
  • S-K Handtool – Socket wrenches, sockets, impact sockets, adjustable wrenches, screwdrivers, punches, chisels, hammers, and more.
  • Snap-on Tools – A huge variety of tools. They have four factories, all in the U.S. (In Elkmont, Alabama; Algona, Iowa; Elizabethton, Tennessee; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.) Most Snap-on products are US-made, but they also catalog some others tools that are imported. (So be sure to check.)
  • Superb Wrench – Filter wrenches.


Cutting Tools & Saws

  • American Carbide – Carbide end mills, burrs, and router bits.
  • Atlas Cutting Tools – Carbide, high speed steel and cobalt cutting tools made with domestic (USA) carbide.
  • Blu-Mol – (An American division of Disston.) Drill bits and power saw blades. Note: Disston’s domestic operation is in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. But some of their tools are made in China.
  • Cenco Grinding – Drill blanks, Core Pins, Go/No-Go Gages, Plug Gages, Punches, Guide Pins, and Stainless Pins
  • Diamond Saw Works – Makers of Sterling brand saw blades. Blades for band saws, reciprocating saws, jig saws, hack saws, and more.
  • Eagle America – Router bits and jigs. More than 900 patterns of router bits. (Made in Ohio.)
  • Forrest’s Blades – Excellent circular saw blades.
  • Hanson Tools – (a division of Irwin Tools) Taps and dies
  • Hart Steel – Hand-made straight razors. (Useful for more than just shaving.)
  • Imperial Blades – Oscillating blades.
  • Katie Jig – Dovetail cutting jigs.
  • King Tool – Hobby and craft tools. (Their knife sets are a lot like the old standby X-Acto brand–which sadly went offshore.)
  • Kodiak Cutting Tools – End mills, taps, twist drills, thread mills, burs, carbide drills and reamers
  • Lakeshore Carbide – Carbide end mills, center drills, and countersinks, made with American carbide.
  • Lie-Nielsen Toolworks – Woodworking block planes, bench planes, and chisels. (Made in Maine.)
  • Mastercut Tool Corp. – High Speed Steel Drills and Taps.
  • Mayhew – Punches, chisels, pry bars, etc.
  • Midwest Tool & Cutlery (aka Midwest Snips) – Forged blade hand tools, including metal cutting snips and other edged hand tools. Made in Minnesota.
  • MK Diamond – Masonry and Lapidary Cutting Saws.
  • Montana Brand Tools – Drills and drive sets, including titanium drill bits, magnetic screw guides, and more. Their “4-in1” self-countersinking bit/drivers are brilliant. (Made in Ronan, Montana.)
  • Niagara Cutter – Carbide and diamond-coated carbide cutting tools. (Headquartered in Amherst, but their tools are made in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.)
  • Norseman Drill and Tool – JWR’s favorite brand of drill bits.
  • RedLine Tools – Machine tools (carbide end mills, drills, thread mills, tool holders, and cutting lubricants)
  • Scientific Cutting Tools (SCT) – Carbide and carbide-coated tools.
  • Severance Tool Industries – High-speed steel and carbide cutting tools
  • SGS Tool Company – Solid carbide rotary cutting tools: Burrs, drills, end mills, and router bits. (Made in Ohio.)
  • Silvey – Electric chainsaw sharpeners. (Unlike the cheap imported chain grinders, these cut a precision square notch.)
  • Southeast Tool – Router Bits and Drill Bits
  • Titan USA – Carbide, high speed steel,and cobalt cutting tools.
  • Toolco Industrial Corp. – Various cutting tools including Solid Carbide End Mills, Taps & Dies, Drills, HSS & Cobalt End Mills, Micro Tools, Threadmills, Carbide Burrs, Countersinks, Slotters, Door Bits, and Reamers
  • Triumph Twist Drill – Twist drills, tile drills, and taps & die,
  • Viking Drill – Various rotary cutting tools including drill bits, tap & dies, and annular cutters
  • Vortex Tool Company – Router and insert cutting tools.
  • Wenzloff & Sons – Awesome hand saws. Presently very limited production. (So it is best to buy them on the secondary market.)
  • Whiteside Machine Co. – Solid carbide and carbide-tipped router bits, form tools, spirals, and slotting cutters/arbors. Also a good assortment of chucks.
  • World’s Best Saw Blades – Circular saw blades, dubbed: “Flattest, Truest, Smoothest, Best Made Blades… Anywhere”
  • Xuron Corporation – Shears, pliers and forming tools. (Made in Saco, Maine.)

Knives and Multi-Tools:


Hand Tools (Various)

  • ABC Hammers – Brass and bronze hammers.
  • Armstrong Tools – A wide variety of tools, all made in USA. (Now owned by Danaher Corporation.)
  • Arrow Fastener – Staple guns of all sorts. Note that some Arrow tools are imported, so be sure to check before you order.
  • Barco Tools – A wide variety of had tools including hammers, axes, pry bars, digging bars, trowels, etc.
  • Barr Specialty Tools – Excellent hand-forged woodworking tools such as adzes, chisels, draw knives, gouges, knives, mallets, and slicks. (Made in McCall, Idaho.)
  • Bicycle Tool – Specialty bike tools. They also make a fantastic 1/4-inch offset driver.
  • Blue Spruce Toolworks – Nice woodworking chisels, marking knives, scratch awls and mallets. (Made in Oregon.)
  • Bridge City Tool Works – Gorgeous (brass and rosewood!) woodworking tools including chisels, squares, Japanese saws, and planes. Pre-sold, in limited run batches. (Made in Oregon.)
  • Bully Tools – Shovels, hoes, planters, and trowels.
  • Chapman Mfg. Tools – Ratchets, drivers, and adaptors for Allen, Bristol, Phillips, and Torx head fasteners.
  • Council Tool – Reportedly, the only axe maker in the country that still forges its own axes. (Made in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina)
  • Crosscut Saw Company – Logging hand saws and accessories. (Made in Seneca Falls, New York.)
  • Estwing Tools – Hammers, bars, small axes, and mineralogist picks
  • Hardcore Hammers – Framing hammers. (Made in Kansas.)
  • INCRA Precision Tools – Dovetail and precision miter fences for table saws and router tables. (Made in Texas. )
  • Kahn Tools – Retailers of exclusively American-made products from more than 50 companies.
  • Klein Tools – This great company was mentioned by nearly a dozen SurvivalBlog readers. They make a wide variety of hand tools at nine factories in Illinois. (A few of their products are imported, but those are noted in their catalog and on their web page.) Klein tools are widely available at hardware and Big Box stores.
  • Logrite – Logging hand tools.
  • Lumberjack Tools – Tenon Cutters.
  • Moody Tools – Excellent miniature tools, such as jeweler’s screwdrivers.
  • Park Tool – Bicycle maintenance and repair tools, made in Minnesota. (But their multi-tools are imported.)
  • Peavey Manufacturing – Axes, post hole diggers and off course Peaveys. (Made in Eddington Maine.)
  • Pratt-Read (now owned by Ideal) – Screwdrivers and nut drivers.
  • Pro-Tools – Tubing benders.
  • Proto (aka Stanley-Proto–a division of Stanley.) Most Proto tools are made in USA.
  • Ridgid Tools – Pipe wrenches, pipe threaders, and tubing cutters. Note that some Ridgid tools are imported, so be sure to check before you order.
  • Snyder Manufacturing – Ratcheting and non-ratchet screwdrivers. (Made in Salamanca, New York.)
  • St. Croix Forge Family – Horse shoeing tools, nails and other farrier equipment
  • Stiletto Tool Co. – Titanium and stainless steel hammers. (Made in Winton, California.)
  • Vaughan Mfg. (aka Vaughan-Grayvik) – Hammers, pry bars, hatchets, axes, drywall hatchets, etc. Note that some Vaughan tools are imported, so be sure to check before you order.
  • Wilde Tool – A great range of hand tools, including pliers, screwdrivers, scrapers, wrenches and more. (Spoken “Wild-ee.”)
  • Woodman’s Pal – A trail machete/hatchet/pruner.
  • Wright Tool – Wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, and hammers,
  • Xuron Corporation – Shears, pliers and forming tools. (Made in Saco, Maine.)

Sewing and Leatherworking Tools:

Gunsmithing, Reloading, and Bullet Casting Tools:

  • Brownell’s – America’s largest gunsmithing tools supplier. They sell a mix of US-made and imported tools, so be sure to check the country of origin for each item before ordering.
  • Chapman Mfg. Tools – Ratchets, drivers, and adaptors for standard slotted (gunsmithing style), Allen, Bristol, Phillips, and Torx head.
  • Dillon Precision – Reloading tools. Oh, and a great Minigun. 😉
  • Grace USA – Excellent hollow-ground gunsmithing screwdrivers, as well as hammers and pin pinches.
  • Infinite Products – Stainless Steel Solvent Trap 1/2×28 to Oil Filter (3/4×16) Thread Adapters
  • Lee Precision – Reloading and bullet casting tools.
  • Lone Wolf Distributors – Glock armorer tools.
  • Lyman Products – Reloading and bullet casting tools.
  • RCBS – Reloading tools.
  • Squirrel Daddy – AR15 / M16 Lower Receiver Magazine Vise Block. (These are handy to just hold your AR for cleaning, too.)
  • Tapco – The best AR-15 armorer’s wrench. Many of their other products are imported, so check before your order.
  • UTG – AR-15 Sight adjusting tools, and many products. (Check for country of origin.)


Welding Tools:


Clamps and Vises:

  • Anvil – (aka Wolff Industries) Their fly-tying (miniature) vise is American-made. (Made in Indiana.)
  • Armstrong Tools – Some clamps made in USA.
  • Badger Clamp – A variety of clamps. (Made in Michigan.)
  • Bench Crafted – “Build It Yourself” woodworking table vise kits and plans, including a great split-top Roubo bench. They also make great magnetic knife and tool holders.
  • Bench Dog Tools – Clamping assembly squares and hole clamps.
  • Dyna King – Their fly-tying (miniature) vises are American-made. (Made in Cloverdale, California.)
  • Griffin Enterprises – Fly-tying (miniature) vises, all American-made. (Made in Kalispell, Montana.)
  • Pony Clamps – Most of their clamps are made in the USA.
  • Wilton – Only some of their vises are still American-made, so check carefully before ordering.
  • Yost Vises – U.S. and imported vises. (Only the vises shown on their “Made in USA” web page are American-made.)


Handheld Electric Power Tools:

Except for Dremel, there are now precious few US-made hand-held AC (power cord) or DC (battery) power tools. We now must look for used tools that are marked “Made in USA.” Even Milwaukee and Porter Cable have shifted their manufacturing to China! I personally use Dewalt tools, which are now mostly made in Mexico. (I refuse to buy tools made in China, unless I have no other choice.) Ironically, I’ve read that Makita (a Japanese conglomerate) now makes more tools in the U.S. than does Dewalt! BTW, I also own some Dremel brand tools, but they now only claim “Made in North America” (rather than “Made in USA”) for their product line. Many of their tools are also now made in Mexico.


Floor and Bench Mount Power Tools:

Note: Pitifully, there are no more mid-size (home shop weight) milling machines made in the USA. The only one that comes close is is the Industrial Hobbies (Charter Oak Automation) brand mill, but the big castings that they start with fro those are imported from Taiwan. It is generally best to look for used American-made machines from quality makers, locally, via Craigslist. (Such as Apex, Jet, Atlas, or Bridgeport.) Ditto for bench grinders, disc sanders, scroll saws, and many other tools. Here are a few American floor and bench mount power tool makers that are still hanging in there:

  • Buffalo Machines, Inc. – Perhaps the last American maker of home workshop drill presses. Both their machines and their documentation still look “Old School”, too! (Made in Lockport, New York.)
  • Clausing – Only their few “Insourced” machines are American-made.
  • Dremel – Makes a Rotary Tool Work Station that turns your Dremel tool into a miniature drill press.
  • Ellis Mfg. – Band saws, band saw blades, floor mount belt grinders, and a CNC drill press.
  • Powermatic – Table saws. (In October of 1999 Powermatic was purchased by WMH, who already owned Jet Tools, and Performax Products.)
  • Ridgid Tools – Best known for their pipe tools, they also make bench-mount (or cart-mount) miter saws, table saws, and abrasive cut-offs
  • Sherline – Miniature lathes and milling machines.
  • Shopsmith – Multipurpose woodworking machines (functions include lathe, table saw, disc sander, boring and routing) for home woodworking. (Some argue that in attempting to all of these tasks, that they do none of them particularly well. I only recommend Shopsmiths if you have very limited floor space in your wood shop.)
  • TAIG Tools – Bench top mini milling machines and lathes. Now with CNC control!


3D Printers

Here is a new technology where America presently has the lead! American companies control more than 90% of the market:

  • 3D Systems – Rock Hill, South Carolina
  • MakerBot – Brooklyn, New York
  • Stratasys – Manufacturers of Objet printers. (Edina, Minnesota)


Pneumatic Power Tools:

  • Bondhus – Various hex (Allen and Torx head) tools, including ball head. (Made in Minnesota.)
  • Campbell Hausfeld – Cast Iron Air Compressors.
  • Proto (aka Stanley-Proto–a division of Stanley.) Most Proto tools are made in USA.
  • Snap-on Tools – A huge variety of tools. They have four factories, all in the U.S. (In Elkmont, Alabama; Algona, Iowa; Elizabethton, Tennessee; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.) Most Snap-on products are US-made, but they also catalog some others tools that are imported. (So be sure to check.)
  • Texas Pneumatic Tools – Compressors, impact wrenches, grinders, et cetera.
  • St. Louis Pneumatic – Impact wrenches, grinders, drills, and power chisels.


Masonry Tools:


Log Splitters:

  • DR – Gas engine and electric splitters. Unlike a typical gas engine splitter, their electric splitters cannot be heard from more than a short distance away.
  • Ramsplitter – As electric splitters go, these are fast and powerful.


Pouches and Tool Bags:


Work Benches, Tool Chests, Cabinets, Tool Carts, Router Tables, and Saw Horses:

  • Akro-Mils – Very handy plastic hardware storage bins and metal racks, to hold them.
  • American Workbench – Excellent wooden workbenches, shipped unassembled. (Made in Charlestown South Carolina.)
  • Bench Crafted – “Build It Yourself” woodworking table vise kits and plans, including a nice split-top Roubo bench.
  • Bench Dog Tools – Cast iron router tables.
  • Black & Decker – Workmate Portable Workbenches. (Note that most Black & Decker tools are imported.)
  • Edsal – Steel work benches, shelves, pallet racks, and tool carts. Their is a real bargain, and quite versatile.
  • Gerstner – Some of the nicest wooden tool chests made. (Steel tool chests are more practical for most of us.)
  • Hideahorse – Strong, stable folding sawhorses
  • Kennedy Manufacturing – Rolling tool chests, bench top chests, hand-carry chests, modular cabinets, and benches with drawers.
  • Moduline – Aluminum tool cabinets
  • Noden Furniture Design – Makers of the Adjust-A-Bench
  • Task Horse Brackets – Sturdy sawhorses, using standard 2×4 dimensional lumber.
  • U.J. Ramelson Co. – Scribes, carving tools, and checkering tools.
  • Woodpeckers – Router tables, router mounting plates, router fences, measuring tools, layout tools and clamping accessories. Note that they also sell some imported products (under other brand names), so be sure to check the country of origin before ordering. (Their products under their brand name are made in Ohio.)

A Few Odd Ducks

Here are a few others American tool companies with products that are not in the aforementioned categories:

  • MacCoupler – A clever adapter that allows you to re-fill one-pound propane cylinders from 20 to 40 pound tanks.
  • MagEyes – Magnifying lenses with a headband for hands-free detail work. (Made in Texas.)

Closing Notes: Special thanks to Harry J. Epstein Company, a tool retailer that still cares about the country of origin off the tools that they sell.

When you do buy an American-made product, again, please send an e-mail to the maker, with a note of encouragement to let them know that you appreciate their integrity in keeping their production on-shore.

Please let me know via e-mail which companies I’ve missed in the preceding lists, and I will add them before I move this piece to a permanent reference page.

Letter Re: Preparedness Course Question

Mr. Rawles:
If I get the downloadable “Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course” can I print out a copy for my reference binder? Is that considered okay? (I have a giant binder with 4″ rings that my husband got in the Navy that we use for all our prepping references, except for recipes.)
With My Regards, – Sheila C.

JWR Replies: Yes, since you are legitimately downloading it, you are certainly welcome to print out a reference copy for your own use.

Letter Re: If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa!

Dear James,
Thank you to S.M. for the great article about gardening in the desert southwest (If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa!). I’ve spent most of my years in the desert southwest near the metros of Tucson, Las Cruces, and Albuquerque and have grown gardens in these regions for the past decade. In 2010 a similar article was published in SurvivalBlog titled Starting Your Desert Backyard Garden. I was one of several readers that submitted some helpful comments and tips on that article.

This is my fourth season growing in the high desert of Northern New Mexico. I’m at around 5,000 feet elevation and the growing season is rather short, as compared to my experience in the Southern Arizona area. Last frost is usually mid-May and first frost early-October. I now start a number of plants indoors in trays beginning in late February for later transplanting. As S.M. mentioned, I too was growing year-round in the Tucson area, without cold frames or any frost protection even though there are some cold winter nights it’s usually not enough to kill hardy plants like broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc. I never grew indoor starts because it wasn’t necessary.

The growing season of 2013 is a first for me because it’s the first time ever I have attempted row crops rather than raised beds. The results have been disappointing so far. Last fall I relocated to a more agricultural area that is about 1 mile from the Rio Grande River and has historically been farmed for hundreds of years. I live on a property with horses (lots of manure!) and I can hear cows and pheasants not far away. All around me are fields of crops, mostly alfalfa for livestock, but also smaller family farms. Driving or walking by neighboring properties and you will see many have at least a small garden of some kind. This area is very Hispanic, if that has any bearing on anything. My new home has enough yard space that raised beds seemed impractical for our goals and would make watering more difficult, so we prepared the space for row crops and flood irrigation from the river ditch bank.

[JWR Adds: I recommend using cow manure rather than horse manure, for garden fertilizing, eve if that means hauling it. Because cows completely digest grass and hay, any contained seeds are not viable by the time that the Schumer hits the ground. Not so for horses, which have more rudimentary digestion, and that means lots of weeds!]

Over the winter we removed what we could of the weed growth (bindweed), hauled in a bunch of dry manure, and tilled it all in with a tractor plow. Covered some areas with black plastic (this had no effect on the bindweed whatsoever). A few weeks before last frost we mapped out the growing areas and formed rows & furrows by hand. Our main space is about 1,200 sq. ft. and we have some satellite garden beds elsewhere on the property.

As spring approached, so did the weeds. The surrounding cottonwood trees dumped their fluff everywhere, it looked like snow and little seedlings popped up along with the awful Chinese elm which has infested this region. We tried out a test garden in early March by plotting out a small section of the yard and sowed some cool weather plants: snow peas, spring onion, chard, spinach. Things sprouted and grew, to a degree, but overall was disappointing…I think we got maybe 10 snow peas and a few spinach leaves out of the whole deal.

Moving on to late May, most of our indoor starts were transplanted along with random plants from local nurseries (who have the capability to start early under controlled greenhouse conditions). We also started sowing seeds into the ground at this time. About a week after we did this there was a frost warning so we frantically covered the “best” plants with our limited collection of 5 gallon buckets, but everything seemed to survive despite the frost. I even covered my one raised bed of potatoes with a sheet and everything survived. We’ve sowed or transplanted a variety of edibles: chile, tomato, potato, swiss chard, several types of onion, peanuts, carrots, herbs, cucumber, squash, beans, corn.

Fast forward to today, end of July. We are pretty disappointed with current yields. Despite weekly floodings and massive rainfall we got about two weeks ago (the one and only heavy rain we’ve gotten all season), growth is slow. Water is always a huge issue in the desert southwest and growers in this area depend on the Rio or well water. That will not always be the case as the Rio has nearly run dry over the past few weeks. All the upstream reservoirs were depleted and irrigation ditches were empty. The rain saved us along with thousands of other growers along the river…for now. A few tomatoes here and there, a few handfuls of chiles, corn is growing but is small, squash has no growth at all, onions are wispy and stunted, etc. Half of my potato plants have died – too hot. At this time last year we were already overloaded with tomatoes & cucumbers (in raised beds). Now, this is just my experience because I frequent the local growers’ markets and I see impressive yields of onions, chiles, squash, and garlic…from growers who are all in my immediate area. I’m just sharing our personal experience on a patch of land that hasn’t been farmed for several years. We are considering having the soil tested as we suspect it’s an issue. It seems to be semi-sandy and semi-clayey and packs pretty hard in the furrows where we walk. I have dealt with clay and caliche in the past which is why I’ve always used raised beds. Plants just won’t grow if there’s too much clay and hard material.

We have been plagued by pests, something I haven’t dealt with much in the past in warmer climates. The first blast were aphids, which destroyed our peach tree, followed by hornworms on the tomato & chile plants (easy to get rid of but so disgusting, we toss them over the fence to the chickens). About two weeks ago we discovered a new invasion: bagworm. They enclose themselves into a bag made of foliage, hence the name, so they blend in but they hang from and eat nearly every plant we have growing. You have to pluck them off and toss them over the fence for the chickens. It’s a daily battle to look overhead and see hundreds of them hanging from the trees around our garden, then look down and see a carpet of worm poop on the ground falling from above. Not much we can do other than a daily culling once they reach our plants. Grasshoppers are also doing some damage.

We do not want to introduce chemical pesticides into the garden and have tried natural killers like neem and diatomaceous earth, with mixed results. Last year I had an infestation of squash bugs and nothing resolved it until I finally slashed & burned the entire squash patch. This year I’m trying a squash patch far from the main garden, so far no squash bugs but also no squash.

Some things we want to try for next year’s growing season and some random tips:
• Introduce more soil amendments into the garden: compost, leaves, coconut coir. Till well with a gas-powered hand tiller, not tractor.
• Build some raised beds for comparison purposes. I build raised beds out of pallets. Hard to work with, but free for the taking. Raised beds don’t have to cost money.
• Try drip irrigation rather than flooding. Water is so precious here. We want to look into filling some 55 gallon barrels with water, then running drip lines along the rows. If we elevate the barrel a couple feet will there be enough pressure for drip flow?
• Try plastic row covers: one, to extend the growing season and two, to help block weed growth around plants. We spend too many hours every week just pulling weeds.
• We want to get or make a small greenhouse to start seedlings in and to grow some plants all winter (spinach, kale, etc). Two winters ago I built a mini-greenhouse on a raised bed surrounded by hay bales and was growing lettuce and bok choy in February, with snow on the ground.
• There’s a landscaping company here that collects food waste from a local market and composts it. Every spring they have a free compost giveaway, up to half a truckload allowed. I show up with a shovel and some buckets and load up, it’s good stuff! Last year I offered a donation and they refused. Some cities also give away free compost (I know Albuquerque and Las Cruces do) but I’ve never tried it. I’ve had some people tell me it’s full of cactus thorns and chunks of wood so I haven’t bothered with it. Las Cruces also composts human waste and gives it away: I spoke with a nursery owner who tried it and said they didn’t like it. That’s not something I really want to try, either.
• Make friends with and support your local growers’ markets. We signed up for one this year but now it’s nearly August and we still don’t have enough produce for ourselves, let alone to sell. Nevertheless, the market is a great place to see what other growers are doing, problems they encounter, and what works/what doesn’t. Most of the growers I’ve met love to talk about their gardens. Support your local growers by buying their stuff. You may pay a bit more than you would at a store, but you get what you pay for…
• Used plastic 5 gallon buckets make fine growing containers. We found a local restaurant chain that dumps dozens and dozens of these into the dumpster every day. This system is so wasteful. Punch some holes in the bottom, fill with good soil, and start growing. Chiles and small tomatoes do well in the buckets. We’ve also though about using them to help keep a greenhouse warm: spray paint black, fill with water, and stack them in the greenhouse.
• I read about growing plants in burlap sacks. I bought some (they are cheap) and haven’t had good luck so far. I have potatoes in two of the sacks but they just aren’t growing much. I think the sacks dry out too quickly here.
• S.M. is lucky to have gotten a free compost bin from her city. When I lived in the Tucson area I didn’t even have a bin, just a pile on the ground that I mixed up once a week. It’s so hot there that I was getting good compost within 2-3 weeks. Last year I made a compost bin out of pallets and chicken wire, it worked fine. I keep a couple of those big Folger’s coffee cans near my kitchen sink to dump food scraps in. You could also put a 3-5 gallon plastic bucket with lid under your sink, just dump it every few days because it can get kind of gross.
• Try to buy “good” organic seed. In Tucson there’s a place called Native Seed Search that specializes in heirloom, indigenous seed for plant species that do better in the desert. In Albuquerque I buy seed at Plants of the Southwest; they have a huge selection and are very generous with the seed packets. I just looked at their web site yesterday to see if they sell amaranth and they carry 3 varieties of it, 1000 seeds per packet for $2.75. I also save my own seeds every year. I have enough saved seeds that I really don’t need to buy any at all, but I have a bit of a ‘seed fetish’ and end up buying a bunch every spring just to try different things. It’s so dry here I don’t fuss much with seed storage: I store them in small envelopes in a plastic container. Most seeds don’t stay viable for more than a few years, but I had butternut squash seed saved from 2008 that sprouted this year so you never know unless you try.
• We want to get our own chickens. I read about a setup on Mother Earth News of enclosing the entire garden with a chicken run as it really helps with controlling pests. That would be an investment and would require several big rolls of chicken wire. Maybe next year.

Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent: Unemployment rates up in 90 percent of U.S. cities – CBS News

Jerry Robinson: No Fed ‘Taper’ in 2013

An interesting new product: “Breakable” Valcambi 50 gram Gold Bars

Items from The Economatrix:

High Gas Prices: Relief At The Pump Coming Soon

Meredith Whitney:  Detroit Bankruptcy A “Game Changer”

Here’s What Happens When A Central Bank Goes Bust

Consumer Confidence Surges To Six-Year High Boosted By Soaring Gas Prices And Mortgage Rates

Notes from JWR:

July 31st is the birthday of free market economist Milton Freidman (born 1912, died November 16, 2006.)

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Camping Survival is having an unprecedented “10% off everything” sale from July 30th to August 1st. Take advantages and use coupon code “everything10“

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Today we present the final entry for Round 47 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 48 begins tomorrow, 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.

If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa! By S.M. in Arizona

Gardening in the Southwestern United States is a huge challenge!  Growing a successful garden takes hard work and a commitment to never give up.  My gardening quest began in earnest in October 2010.  Prior to 2010 I had planted seeds in the ground with few, if any, results.  I had one lemon tree and aloe vera plants (part of my first aid kit, used for burns, skin irritations, etc.) that grew without much help from me.  A friend, who was a master gardener, gave a class one Saturday on how to start a garden.  He taught basic desert gardening and helped us create small square foot gardening boxes (2 x 2).  I brought home two of these (8 square feet total) and another shallow box in which to plant spinach and lettuces.  October was the perfect time to plant a fall garden.  I mostly planted greens, which are supposed to be easy to grow.  I watered and waited and hoped for a small harvest since I now had a miniature “garden” (if you could call it that).  It was a start.  Since that time, I’ve graduated to larger garden boxes that are four feet by eight feet long.  Planting in the ground here just doesn’t work due to poor soil and water loss. Garden boxes help control water usage/waste and soil quality. 
A visitor from up North was looking over a friend’s first attempts at a garden in the ground and remarked, “I had no idea what you were up against.”  People from other parts of the country can’t comprehend how difficult it is to grow a garden in the desert.  This gardener’s next attempts included raised bed boxes, bird netting and improved soil.  After a lot of hard work, he now has a garden to be proud of.

Building a garden box takes a few materials and a little bit of work.  Cedar and Douglas fir are good choices for building materials.  Four by four posts make the corners and then three two by six boards are screwed into the posts to make up the sides and ends.  The outside of the boxes are sealed with water sealer to help them endure the weather.  Once the rectangular shape is completed, an area is leveled and bricks are placed as a foundation for the box to sit on.  Place the box on top of the bricks and add ground cover cloth inside the box on the ground.  Cover the inner sides of the box with plastic sheeting to protect the boards from water damage, soil loss and water leakage.  Attach the plastic sheeting to the tops of each side with staples or secure with two by twos on the top of each side. Fill the bottom half of the boxes with sandy loam – delivered from a local company.   Next, finish filling the boxes with a mixture of vermiculite, peat moss, and two different types of compost.  Fill the boxes really full, since the soil will compact down over time.  Each planting season the boxes need to be topped off and the soil loosened.  This initial investment will last for years and grow excellent crops.  Test soil for nutrient levels with the local extension.  Very few weeds grow in these boxes, so most of that work is eliminated.

The type of seeds selected is also important.  Certain plants just won’t grow in the desert.  Look for heat resistant varieties.  The season in which a certain type of plant is planted matters also.  Zone nine has very different planting dates than other regions.  For example, tomato plants (not seeds) planted outdoors (from indoor starts) in late February will yield a nice harvest in May, June and into July.  The plants will usually stop producing and become dormant in August and part of September.  However, if they are kept alive, they will produce a nice second crop in late October, early November.  Even better, if the plants are covered and kept from freezing through the winter, then they will last for a second year.  After that, I like to grow new plants and move them to a different bed because diseases and bugs seem to overcome the plants at this point.  One friend had the same vigorous tomato plants that lasted for three years.

As of this writing, I have six garden boxes with one more in progress.  There is a permanent mountain of sandy loam on the back patio to be used in future projects.  At one point I felt that I had plenty of garden space with just four boxes, but last fall I planted half a box with carrots and the other side with onions (nice companion plants) and thought that would be plenty, but it wasn’t even close to enough.  Some onions were frozen while others were used in daily cooking (I like cooked onions) with very few left to use in making salsa, and none were left for dehydration.  The carrots were delicious and used quickly as well.  There weren’t any left to preserve.  The carrot tops went to a friend’s rabbits – a special treat.  Otherwise, the carrot tops would have been composted along with the rest of the garden leftovers to help improve the soil so we can stop buying peat moss.

The first couple of gardening years I had beautiful plants with little to actually eat.  I read somewhere that the most important part of growing a garden is the harvest.  Since then, I’ve concentrated more on production and how much we can eat from the garden.  The more the fruit or leaves are harvested, the more the plants are stimulated to produce.  This is especially true with strawberries, lettuces, spinach, and Swiss chard.

This year I have more than enough tomatoes.  Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, and combined with the citrus fruit that’s abundant in our area, scurvy won’t be a problem during an emergency situation.  Usually, I eat tomatoes fresh from the garden on salads or as a side dish with meals and that’s all.  It’s been nice to give them to friends and have leftovers to can as well.  One garden box was planted with two Early Girl, two cherry, and two Roma plants.  Six plants are the maximum one box will hold (tomatoes are space hogs and like to have lots of room for their roots).  The plants grew over six feet tall.  They are staked (with tomato cages and PVC pipe supports because I don’t like vines in the dirt. They seem to get covered with ants and the fruit rots easily) and have sun screens and bird netting over the top for protection.  Birds don’t seem to bother the green tomatoes in June, but once they start to turn, it’s a war to see who will get to the fruit first.  As the weather gets warmer, the birds get more aggressive and the bird netting in a necessity to keep the fruit from being ruined by the pests.  After the garden was planted, a friend brought over four additional Roma plants.  Roma tomatoes are wonderful – firm and medium sized with a pleasing flavor. 

What to do with the extra tomatoes?  First, a huge batch of spaghetti sauce was made using 1 jalapeno, green peppers, onions, and garlic from the garden.  Chili powder was also used since we like our sauce spicy.  This sauce included meat and was frozen.  Next, another batch of spaghetti sauce was made without meat.  This was canned using a cold pack canner – tomatoes are acidic enough that they don’t need to be pressure canned as long as they don’t contain meat.  I started with spaghetti sauce because the tomatoes don’t need to be peeled. 

Since I had so many tomatoes, I wanted to try salsa (first time) and knew the tomatoes needed to be peeled to make it correctly.  I found a few recipes and experimented.  Slip peeling tomatoes isn’t difficult.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and set up a large bowl of ice water.  Wash tomatoes and place in boiling water for 30 seconds, for canning whole (or 3 minutes for salsa, depending on the recipe).  Remove from boiling water and place in ice water for 30 seconds.  Remove from water, core with a knife, and then slip the skin off with your finger.  The skin will slide right off.  Some of these skinned tomatoes were canned whole with ½ tsp. lemon juice and ½ tsp. salt.  Fill jars to ½ inch of top with water/juice and process as usual.  The tomatoes that were processed for three minutes were cooked somewhat (which you need for salsa).  After peeling they go into the food processor or blender.  Depending on the recipe, the chilies and onion can be cooked first or added raw to the tomatoes.  Add spices and cilantro and put salsa in the fridge to be enjoyed right away or put into canning jars and processed for use later.

Usually my garden has finished most of its summer production by mid-July, but this year, in July, it’s still going strong.  We eat cherry tomatoes as a snack and on salad almost daily.  It would be nice if all the things I tried to grow grew as well as the tomatoes.  Beans, squash, strawberries, and cucumbers still challenge me.  My zucchini plants look gorgeous, but don’t produce any squash.  My gardening friend says I have a pollinator problem and need to pollinate by hand.  I can’t tell the difference between the male and female flowers so I just go out with Q-tips and rub pollen from one flower on all the others.  It just hasn’t worked.  He may have to come over and show me exactly what to do because I’m stumped.  Meanwhile, my gardening girlfriend has bounteous zucchini – maybe she will trade for tomatoes.  Next year I may not have as many tomatoes or they may get a disease, but this year I’m thankful for my successful salsa garden and I’ll do everything I can to preserve this bounty.

As I’ve studied material on gardening and prepping, I read comments such as, “Be sure to have seeds in your preps so that in a year or so you can plant them to replenish your food supply.”  A year?  A year is too long to wait!  Other than August, gardening can be done all year long in Southern Arizona.  Cool weather vegetables need to be planted in October, citrus ripens from December to April, and spring and summer gardens can be planted from February through March.  The seeds need to be put in the ground at specific times.  Even if seeds are started indoors, they can be transplanted outdoors later.  They need less water this way and can be protected from garden “raiders”.  Most marauders/scavengers would (hopefully) overlook seeds that had just been planted and garden boxes (the big ones) are not easily moved.  My small lettuce/spinach boxes could be easily taken away.  These I would gladly give up if the other plants were left alone.  In a worst case scenario I would still try to plant a garden using armed guards, if necessary. I’m counting on desperate people, who are looking for food, to overlook plants in the garden/ground as food, since food comes from a grocery store in cans and boxes – right?  It may not be practical, but I will try planting any way I can because a garden is a symbol of hope.  Even if just a few things grow, it will have been worth it to give myself and others even a small amount of fresh produce in a stressful time.  On the other hand, if trespassers steal my produce, then I will plant again and use my indoor stored food until I can plant again.

Here are a few things I have learned about/from gardening:
1.  Gardening is a process, a journey, and not a destination.  There will always be more to learn.   The more you learn, the more you realize you need to learn.
2.  Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and to make (many) mistakes.  Spend time in the garden just enjoying it.  Touch the plants and dig your fingers into the soil.  Attempt to unravel the mystery of an artichoke or whatever new and unusual plant you are growing this season.
3.  Be patient.  Growing a garden takes time.  I used to pick and wanted to pick things before they were ripe.  Sometimes, I still pick tomatoes a day or two early, but that’s to save them from aggressive birds.  They ripen nicely on the kitchen counter and still taste superior to store bought. A garden takes time to establish and the basic learning curve is about five years.  The things I’ve learned during the first four years in my garden have been invaluable to me.  I’ve become more confident in my ability to see a project through and not give up.  I’ve seen tiny carrot seeds become beautiful plants and then have gone on to eat and enjoy the crunchy, delicious taste.  I can’t imagine going without fresh Swiss chard or green peppers that have become a part of my weekly cooking, all in season, and not before their time.
4.  Eat/Preserve locally.  I never plant corn in my garden because so much corn is available here during June.  I can get it free and eat some fresh and freeze some for later.  A quick one minute bath in boiling water starts to cook the corn, which can be cut from the cob or frozen on the cob.  It stacks nicely in freezer bags.  Watermelon is also local and free.  An extended family member raises watermelon as gifts for friends, so we always get a few.  Farmer’s markets are great places to find fresh food to can or dehydrate.  When fruit is on sale it quickly becomes jam (strawberries, raspberries) or is frozen to be made into muffins or smoothies (blueberries).  Preserve what is abundant now.  Each year will be different.  If tomato products are coming out of your ears, then barter.  My neighbor down the street brings me grapefruit during the spring (I only have a lemon tree, but will be growing a grapefruit tree this year).  She gets tomatoes in June in return.
5.  When you think you’ve watered enough, water some more!  Water is a whole topic by itself, but there is no way to water too much.
6.   Keep a garden journal.  Include dates of planting, fertilizing, garden design & the changes made each season, and pictures of plants in different stages of development, especially new plants that are experimental or causing trouble.  This will be a great resource.
7.  Pray.  The Bible tells us to pray over our flocks and fields.  I’ve prayed many times for rain and for understanding to know what my plants need (Too much nitrogen? More shade?  Less fertilizer?)  In tumultuous times, a prayer on the garden as well as a blessing on the food couldn’t go amiss.  As I search for answers regarding watering a garden when the municipal water supply isn’t up and running, I keep turning to prayer to help me find answers to this important question.  (Again, water is a whole issue on its own.)  Pray in gratitude for the abundance that you’ve been given (thank you for the tomatoes) and more will be “added unto you”.

I’ll do whatever it takes to continue to garden.  I finally feel ready to take my gardening to the next level.  This includes planting heirlooms and beginning to save seeds from the heirloom vegetables (seeds should only be saved from ripe fruits/vegetables).  I want to move away from GMO/hybrid seeds and plants and try new varieties.  I’ll plant several new trees and will experiment with grapes and raspberries.  One of my garden beds will be used to plant a “three sisters” garden (corn, beans, and squash) next year, which according to Native American lore, help each other grow better (companion planting).  The corn shades the beans and squash while the bean plants grow up the corn stalks and the nitrogen content of the soil is nicely balanced. 

Plants that weren’t successful in the past will be tried again in new and better locations (improved microclimates) with some new techniques to see if better results will ensue.  I have a new location for strawberries and will cover them with straw when the weather turns hot and continue to water, long and slow.  This may save the plants for more than one growing season and protect the delicate leaves from sunburn.  Another item will be to plant more of what we eat/like and less of other things.  Dill is an excellent herb that I use frequently in my cooking.  It goes in potato salad, egg salad, deviled eggs and almost anything else that contains potatoes.  Dill needs to be planted in full sun in order to germinate, but doesn’t like the hot days of summer.  I’ll plant more in October and dry it when it’s ready.  Dill is so expensive to buy in small containers at the store, but is very inexpensive to grow.  A few seeds turn into a lot of dill! 

Another area to be improved upon is my composting.  I need a better system to save scraps from the kitchen and then remember to take them out to the composting container.  My container came free from the city simply for the asking.  It’s nearly full.  I may call and see if they will give me another one.  Many more projects and ideas are waiting, but I’ll tackle just one at a time and continue reading and learning about southwestern gardening.

My garden is a hopeful, positive place.  I can’t imagine my life without a garden now or in the future.  Gardening in challenging in Arizona, but I like the challenge and have learned how much can be accomplished with hard work and persistence.  Just start small and take it one step at a time like I did, and if you have lots of tomatoes, make some salsa (with salsa, who needs a recipe, right?), and if your lemon tree goes nuts, then make some lemonade too. 

Letter Re: Practice, Cub Scouts, BB Guns, and the Old Guy

Dear Jim and Readers,
I want to start out with a little bit of pre-history. About five weeks ago I had my first heart attack, and the doc installed a stint. That was a wake-up call! Wow. Of course the subject by the doc was diet, lose the lard, get exercise. I started losing by cutting back, but I needed a bit more help. Work would be nice, it would help with my activity level plus I needed some extra finances to come in as some big bills were hitting all at once. So when all these things begin to get out of control I prayed. “Hey Lord, I need to lose all this fat, and I need enough money to pay my bills. YOU have never ever failed me, could you help me out on this one please”? Less than an hour later I got a phone call from our troops Boy Scout Master, who just happens to be our Scout Camp Ranger at Camp McLaughlin in the Crater Lake Council. “Hey Dave, are you free for the next four weeks? I got a job that pays a thousand dollars, ya want it?” Immediately I thought – Hmmmmm, that was sure quick Lord thanks! And answered – “Yes I will take it! What is it? (I really didn’t much care even if it was cleaning toilets, they get really messy there.) He said “You’re an ol’ sarg, could you help run the BB gun range, it would be a lot of fun?” ” Let me see– hold on a minute”. A short pause and short question to my dear loving wife, “Can I go away for a month and help run a BB gun range at the scout camp?” Her response, “I’ll help you pack!”. Back to the Camp ranger. “Yes she wants me to get some exercise, and start recovering from the heart attack, and doesn’t want me to get shot, when do I start?” “Be here tomorrow morning at seven and meet the boss and staff. And bring enough stuff to last you at least 4 days. You’ll be on 4 and off 3 days during the month.“ A few thoughts like “ Hmmm 0700, I haven’t gotten up that early in months, ahh I guess I can do that.” “Sure I’ll be there.” At 0500 I got up, showered, packed, and was out the door by 0545 with a cup of coffee. My go bag had most of my stuff, so the packing was easy.

It was a beautiful drive down the highway, with the sun coming up the drive across to the Crater Lake Highway. Up and across the valley to West Side Road was absolutely gorgeous. What a beautiful day to be on the flower side of the roots. It could have very well been the other way around. I was very thankful to our loving God. The time with Him and His beautiful creation was a real treat. “Thanks again, Lord”. Sixteen miles on West Side Road, to the 140 road to Medford, up the mountain about nine more miles and a mile south to the scout camp. The camp sits on the beautiful Lake of the Woods. Sixty one miles on the button, and ten minutes to spare. Hmmm, a bit over 55, but not much. I met my Scout Troop Master and my new boss, hmmmm younger than my 33 year old son. They were very appreciative that I would even consider the job.” Glad to do it, if it’s for the boys. They need good guidance and this helps me to get out from under my wife’s feet.” A bit later I met my new mentor, a fine retired Master Chief also named Dave. A bit older than me, and we hit it off quickly. I was his new shadow. We discovered we had something in common – we both had heart attacks within days of each other and both shared the same doctor.

We went to the range to prepare for the next group of cub scouts and almost an
equal number of parents. More groups started coming down a couple of hours later. Dave sat me down to read the Boy Scout BB gun range master chapter, and all the rules, etc. Not difficult, but it was sure hard to not call the BB gun a weapon, a BB a round and change from open the breach or chamber. The boy scout terminology is OPEN THE ACTION, BB gun, or rifle. But it’s not rifled. So BB gun works nice. After passing a test that was actually pretty easy for me once I learned the terminology of the Boy Scouts. I was issued a BB gun range officer certification. Wow, an ol’ retired guy, an expert marksman from my military days with the M-60, M-16, M-79, Ma duce, and not so expert at the time with the 1911A1, but now I am, and can add the SKS to it too. And now a BB gun. The first day was the safety spiel, the following two days was practice, competition and when possible chatting and shooting a bit with some real marksmen, and moms of the boys when time permitted.

I struck up some new friendships with some dads who had some of our readers common interests. There were several who were of like mind. In the evening after retreat, a few of us had time to talk. One told me it was really hard for the boys to correlate the big board we had with the sites and site picture painted on it to the actual site picture. So I said I would bring it up to other Dave, and we put our heads together. Our idea, was to take a BB gun and line the sites up on the target on the range exactly where the gun would hit the target for the bull. We did this with the sand bags. Then we took Dave’s cell phone and took about a dozen pictures trying to get just the right sight picture. When we finally got it, he went home and made copies of the best one and we laminated them so they could be handled over and over. We did enough for each firing position.

Next we presented the idea to a large group of scouts and their dads. There were two police officers in the group. Their eyes lit up, and one hollered WHAT A GREAT IDEA! He looked at the picture and wondered why no one had ever done that before. My past life I worked in a research lab as an engineering development tech, and helped develop lots of really great ideas ( like our automatic blood pressure cuffs), so my little synapses still work now and then, especially when I think something could be improved on.

Our first day with the photographs made our day so much easier. We used the picture before the first BB was ever fired and had the parents or ourselves hold the picture up in front of the barrel aligned with the sites. The boys would look and see what they were supposed to see in the picture and it worked great for the boys to find the correct site picture when they were aiming the rifle. Our day was very long but extremely satisfying. Our kids had a great time. We gave out tootsie rolls for ever hit in the X or that broke the line. By the end of two full sessions, three days each, we ran out of tootsie rolls. The candy chewers were really making our job easier. Of course we had to sit down with many boys to help them in learning how to hold the BB gun, get their breathing right, their cheek and shoulder weld the same each time, and squeeze the trigger, instead of jerking it. LOTS OF FUN for us old guys teaching these skills. I really enjoyed it.

All of our guns, and bows and arrows are all provided by grants from the NRA (a little plug for them). Even though I’m not a member, I’m now considering it. We also beg for grants from anyone who will help. There is a great need for positive role models to work with our youth.

OK, now to the meat of what I want to talk about. I had a lot of time to sit down at the table and check sites and put a lot of BB’s down range at about 31 feet. It gave me lots of time to practice. PRACTICE. I can’t afford to get 22 ammo right now at a cheap enough price that I want to blow money practicing my marksmanship. The thought came to me that this would be a good subject for Survivalblog. I was able to work on my breathing, concentration, site picture, sighting with all of the rifles, and most of all my trigger pull. These little guns can be used in almost any back yard, with a low hanging clothes line, a piece of old tent canvas to catch the BB’s and some good targets hung with cloths pins. Hmmm, my wife still uses them. Mom’s do you remember how to hang a shirt on the line? I was surprised how many kids that had never seen a cloths pin and the response was usually. ‘Nah! my mom uses a dryer.’ Well folks break out the cloths pins, line and start drying out side again. Oh you don’t need starch when you hang clothes on the line either. BB’s are cheap. The guns we used were about $50 dollars. You can copy targets off on your own printer.

I started cleaning out the bulls eye in 10 to 15 shots.

Another thing, add clothes pins to your trading larder for when the SHTF. All those boys moms are going to need them. I wonder how many. 22 rounds you could get for a pack of them.
I have really enjoyed having time to shoot, and enhance my skills, and cleaning up some bad habits. The boys were all a real blessing to work with. They were all great youngsters. They are our future leadership. If you ever get the chance to work with youngsters take it. The pay is very low, accommodations rustic (minus 5 stars) and food, worse than a bad GI mess hall, but that’s the FDA’s fault. Oh it is also a good way to meet like-minded people. I made several new friends who need some help with communications, my usual subjects. Looks like new opportunities are just around the corner.
Thank you Lord for the help and fun, I left 15 pounds and 4 inches behind too. Blessings to you all, – Dave of Oregon

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Karl G. suggested this by William A. Levinson: How the Cooper Color Code Explains ‘Stand Your Ground,’ and Prevents Crime

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Todd Savage of Survival Retreat Consulting wrote to mention that he has been successful is finding retreats for a large number of clients this year. He also mentioned that he is offering a 50% discount for clients who retain his services during the month of August, 2013.

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“Lithium is no longer available on credit.” Back to Land Lines? Cell Phones May Be Dead by 2015

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Reader B.G. sent a link to a fascinating bit of the history of modern Israel: A Secret Underground Cartridge Factory. Oh, and BTW, some modern-day kibbutzim are still cranking out war materiél.