Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 5, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 4.)

3 – Growing Food When Lives Depend On It

In addition to industrial-scale emergency forging, growing food should be started ASAP by the local community after most T2Es.This is the 2nd Tactic. 2nd Tactic: As early as possible in an emergency start a neighborhood/community-wide food growing effort that aims to swiftly create a calorie surplus. The calorie density and volume of garden/farm crops is much higher than most foraged food sources. As mentioned earlier, if we do not have sufficient local water resources don’t try this. We will fail. Crops need lots of water to grow and if our water comes from too far away or too deep below( requiring electric pumps) then we can no longer grow adequate amounts of food in our area. As was mentioned before, if a T2E happens and we don’t have abundant water resources, relocating to a place that does is one of our highest priorities.

If the emergency happens outside of our normal growing season we still have options. There is plenty that can be done to start growing food faster. In the following growing section, I will mention several resources and methods that could be used to build emergency greenhouses for growing food outside of normal growing seasons. Our modern resources might be based on a fragile foundation but our lives are filled with modern, everyday, wonder materials that can creatively be repurposed in an emergency to save our lives. Every growing idea below will focus on speed and repurposing existing resources to feed as many people as possible. An event like this will require a full-court press and a “no-huddle offense” level of effort to have a chance at getting food to people’s tables in time to save lives.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 5, by The Chemical Engineer”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

A Special Editor’s Note:  This will be the last regular Economics & Investing For Preppers news column.  Because so many news outlets have put their content behind paywalls, it has become increasingly difficult to assemble this column.  It will be replaced by a new weekly item: Economics & Investing Media of the Week.  That will typically be photos, video links, or the occasional news item.

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, another look at stockpiling nickels. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

The gold-hating editors of MSN report: Gold is suffering its worst drop in 12 years: Billionaire investor and ‘bond king’ Bill Gross thinks the top may be in. JWR Asks: How many economists and investing moguls did they have to contact before they could find one who agreed with their anti-gold narrative?

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Bloomberg Notes India Just Broke the Silver Market. JWR’s Comment: Empty silver warehouses? The Law of Supply and Demand dictates…

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Why Precious Metals Soared in October.

Economy & Finance:

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots.

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From the globalist/socialist IMF: Global Economy in Flux, Prospects Remain Dim.

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An Epoch Times piece, by way of Zero Hedge: The Gold And Silver Boom Is Ominous. Here is a quote:

“For all the world, this feels like a flight to the real. Central banks want gold and silver. Large investors. Heavily leveraged brokers. Huge institutions. Regular consumers. Everyone is grabbing as much of the stuff as possible right now.

Will there be a correction? Maybe. But this is truly worrisome. It reveals a lack of confidence in our fiat world.

The data right now seems to back up a genuine cause for worry. Inflation nearly disappeared completely once Trump took office. It happened without explanation. Maybe it was a reflection of optimism by business that they could eat more of the increased wholesale costs because big profits were headed their way.”

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding together in turbulent mobs? No – no, your lean, hungry men who are continually worrying society, and setting the whole community by the ears.” – Washington Irving

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 23, 2025

October 23, 1813: The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon was turned over to the rival British North West Company. The lucrative fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom.

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October 23, 1970: Gary Gabelich set an auto speed record of 622.4 mph (1,001 km/h).

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Today, we also remember the 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy Sailors, and three U.S. Army Soldiers who died on this day in 1983 when terrorists attacked the Beruit Barracks.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 4, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 3.)

2.5 – Options For Using Local Cambium Resources

If we have prepared beforehand to harvest tree cambium and a Type 2 Emergency (T2E) happens, we will have three main choices to consider in my view. I encourage you to make this decision prayerfully and with your group’s best judgment. Every choice in a disaster is a set of trade-offs with no perfect solutions. If we actively try and help our neighbors early there is no doubt that this will reduce early suffering for some and could lead to ongoing beneficial cooperation. If more people are pulling together to produce valuable resources there will be less community desperation and there is the possibility to create a large calorie bridge to reach the next growing seasons calories. We might also create bonds of loyalty and trust with more people making it easier to rebuild after the disaster.

There are also some major risks. They include potentially exposing our groups as a resource target, if more people survive than the brutal math is that a community’s limited resources will not last as long, and if the cambium harvesting operation is not sufficient to create a calorie bridge, the process will fall apart leaving resentment and maybe even new personal enemies. We could lose our heads because we stuck our necks out as the saying goes. Our family members could be exposed to violence, starvation, or worse because we decided to publicly cooperate with our neighbors after an emergency. Please consider the risks and rewards.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 4, by The Chemical Engineer”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at the expected La Niña weather pattern.

La Niña: Severe Weather and Rip Tides Ahead

Over at Newsweek: Warnings issued for nearly entire US West Coast. An excerpt:

“The widespread weather alerts come a few days in advance of an atmospheric river that’s expected to hit the Pacific Northwest later this week. The current conditions are not caused by the atmospheric river, NWS meteorologist Timothy Daldrup told Newsweek, but both weather events are resulting from strong, westerly flow. The marine impacts are due to steady winds, which cause waves to build and travel across the ocean, prompting coastline alerts.“

Trump Warns: Social Security, Medicare are at Risk

Social Security, Medicare are “going to be gone,” Donald Trump warns. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)

Glock Discontinues Dozens of Pistol Models

Reader Pat A sent this: Glock Discontinues Dozens of Pistol Models Amid “Switch” Controversy and Market Shift. JWR’s Comments:  This will be a very costly retooling for Glock. But, because the U.S. is Glock’s biggest market, and California tends to drive legislative trends, it seems unavoidable.  It might be worthwhile to stack a few “Pre-X” Glock Model 17 pistols in the back of your vault, as an investment.  For the greatest versatility and greatest compatibility with clone parts, I recommend that any such investment Glocks be Gen 3 models.  (Most of the clone parts interchange with Gen 3 pistol parts.)

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 22, 2025

On October 22, 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first elected President of the Republic of Texas.

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On October 22, 1934, infamous criminal Charles (“Pretty Boy”) Floyd was fatally shot in a field near East Liverpool, Ohio, by FBI agents.

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On October 22, 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin, an inspector in the French army who encouraged the use of balloons for military purposes, made a balloon ascent in order to give his first exhibition of parachuting, when he jumped from a height of about 3,200 feet (1,000 meters).

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And today is the birthday of painter and book illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945).

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 3, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 2.)

2.3 – Finding Edible Cambium Locally And Harvesting It

If we live in an area with a sufficient number of trees, the next step would be to find out which ones have edible cambium. To accomplish this I recommend two sources. First, you would need to buy the National Audubon Society’s book titled Trees of North America or something equivalent. Here are two free sources that just have tree maps: Tree Map Link 1 and Tree Map Link 2. I am referring to the 2021 edition of Trees of North America in my following statements. This book has great maps that show which trees populate particular areas in North America. Each page has information on one tree. It also has great photos and descriptions to help identify the trees.

The second source is the Plants for a Future (PFAF) website. This is a free site that has great information on which trees and plants have edible portions and the sources for this information. Here is how I used these two sources together. In the Trees of North America book I went from page to page and found trees on the maps that are common in a 50-100 mile radius from where I live. Then I would take the scientific tree name and type it into the PFAF website search bar. Then I checked if it has an edible cambium layer and any other edible parts. For example, pine nuts from most pine trees. I wrote what I found in my Trees of North America book for trees with and without edible parts. If it was not listed as edible I mark it as poisonous to be safe. I added my notes to both the tree page and in the index for easy reference. I also saved the PFAF page as a PDF and printed it to have a hard copy.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 3, by The Chemical Engineer”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Europe, Ukraine prepare 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war.

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Taliban and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after days of deadly clashes.

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Where Does the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Stand? Amid Accusations of Violations, Here’s What to Know.

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“AppComms” — one of our recent writing contest prize winners — wrote:

“Jennifer Rader’s books have been delivered, and they are amazing. The information provided is well-thought-out and delivered in a very understandable way. I highly recommend these to my prepping neighbors and associates. Thank you, Jennifer, and to James Rawles for hosting the writing contest.”

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Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If we allow responsible management of our forests and end the nonsense litigation from radical environmental groups, we can get our timber mills up and running, reduce the risk of wildfires, and ensure healthier forests and cleaner air.” – Matt Rosendale

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 21, 2025

On October 21, 1520, Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reached Cape Virgenes after transiting the Strait of Magellan between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thus becoming the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific.

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October 21, 1803: English scientist John Dalton read his paper “On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids” to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. This was the first outline of his landmark atomic theory.

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And on October 21, 1915: The first transatlantic radiotelephone message was transmitted from Arlington, Virginia, to Paris.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 121 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 2, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 1,)

Fifth, I believe that people are the most valuable creation on the planet for religious and practical reasons. The more people we have, the more knowledge they generate and can apply. I believe the growth of knowledge, personal freedom, and rule of law are the significant causes of mankind rising out of historical poverty. Great books like The Ultimate Resource 2, by Julian Simon, and Superabundance, by Gale Pooley and Marian L. Tupy, hammer home the fact that increased populations have increased prosperity. This is very counter to conventional wisdom because Malthusian thinking has warped much of our culture, including prepper culture.

An example of this is how we often talk about how much things cost in the past versus today. A candy bar was a nickel but today it costs a dollar. A better way to compare this is to look at how much time we have to spend to earn that candy bar. When the candy bar was five cents the hour wage was thirty five cents an hour allowing our ancestors to buy 7 candy bars for an hour of their time. Today, the average hourly wage is about thirty one dollars an hour so for the same hour of time we can have 31 candy bars. Our time gets us more than past generations and our time is freer to spend as we wish. This is the increasing prosperity I am talking about. I recommend reading or listening to the books above to understand more about this line of thought and to combat some very anti-human assumptions in our culture.Continue reading“Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 2, by The Chemical Engineer”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, discussion of possible Northern Lights viewing and descriptions of some designated Dark Sky Reserves.

Idaho

These Are the Most Overlooked Places in the U.S. to See the Northern Lights, According to a New Analysis. Not surprisingly, North Idaho tops the list.

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Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve.

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Some of the best (and most accessible) night sky viewing on public land in southern Idaho: Craters Of The Moon National Monument.

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Idaho Chevy Dealership Offers Free Gun and Flag With Every Sale. (A hat tip to D.S.V. for the link.)

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How to not lose your gun rights in Idaho.

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Idaho Governor Brad Little announces ‘Operation No Return’.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Man’s constitution is so peculiar that his health is purely a negative matter. No sooner is the rage of hunger appeased than it becomes difficult to comprehend the meaning of starvation. It is only when you suffer that you really understand.” – Jules Verne