Two Letters Re: How Long Can You Tread Water?

Dear CPT Rawles:
The article “How Long Can You Tread Water?” was indeed a scary analysis of the advent of either an EMP attack, or a natural sun storm which would create the same series of events. There is no doubt that our society would
come unglued in many parts of the nation. There is also no doubt that eventually, urban gangs will fan out across the countryside in search of food, women, drugs, liquor, weapons and gold. If your farmhouse is in their
avenue of advance, it will be taken.

As in all military activities and survival of TEOTWAWKI will be very military, good OPSEC is a force multiplier beyond the realm of most anyone’s imagination. It is essential that preppers keep the lowest profile possible
as you have advised on numerous occasions.

Having worked in Europe for a number of years, I can tell you that there are no plans to protect, provide for or evacuate either military or DOD civilian employees in the event of anything like a EMP attack. We would more or less be on our own and would from necessity, be forced to abandon our jobs in order to see to our families. All of the highly vaunted programs designed to protect and evacuate family members are nothing more than words and empty promises. Think of it as Senator Schumer himself, making promises to provide for your welfare back home in Kansas in the event of a disaster! It ain’t going to happen!

I currently live in Kosovo and have had the opportunity to speak with many different Kosovars concerning their experiences in the 1999 Balkans War. You readers will remember that this war was, as Bill Clinton so aptly
stated, “To prove that Americans are willing to die, to protect Muslims.”

TEOTWAWKI was the rule of the day in 1999 Kosovo Province. Many of the events depicted in “How Long Can You Tread Water,” happened again and again. Many rural Kosovars had laid-in supplies of food, remembering Communist Yugoslavia days, when shortages of everything were the norm. They are also some very tough, weathered and experienced survivors. Yet, when TSHTF it got very violent for nearly everyone in Kosovo. Roaming gangs took what they wanted, killed whom they wanted, raped whom they wanted, on and on. It wasn’t just the Serbs creating all the trouble either. The Albanian Kosovars perpetrated the most heinous of crimes imaginable, but they are our “allies” today, so we don’t talk about that so much! Bill Clinton is a national hero in Kosovo.

Both Albanian Kosovars and Serbian Kosovars agree on one thing. The only thing that ended the reign of terror and destruction, was the entry of the United States and NATO into the fray. We brought an end to the ethnic
killings between Muslims and Christians, with our armed presence. We brought tons of food, medicine, building materials etc. Without outside help, this country would have continued to self-destruct.

Who will come to our aid, in the United States, when the Schumer hits? What is most likely to happen, is an intervention by European and Asian nations in efforts to gain resources, and recover some losses they will experience
as a result of our collapse. Efforts to “save” Americans from the debacle will most likely not be too extensive. The United States is hated and despised by most of those whom we have done so much to free and elevate to
our standard of living. If our population dies off, so much the better for the new colonial powers that will be only too happy to exploit our resources with no environmental whacko interference.

When the Schumer hits, I have no doubt as to the extent of death and destruction that will ensue. “Patriots” spells this out fairly well and the imaginations of many SurvivalBlog readers have provided good insight as to
what we can expect. One aspect that must not be forgotten in our preparations is our Spiritual Lives. The old saying, “Get right with God,” has new meaning to me. All the provisions you can assemble, all the plans
you make for the survival of you and your loved ones is moot, if you fail to seek and obtain God’s protection.

The Bible tells us not to “Tempt God.” So continue to prepare, get your beans, band-aids and bullets ready for the day we all shudder to see arriving. But don’t forget your Creator either. He will protect whomever
He chooses to protect anywhere, anytime. Make sure that you are one He chooses to protect. – Michael in The Balkans

 

Mr. Rawles,

In response to Andrew B’s posted reply, I regretfully must disagree with all seven of his points. My recent time in the Army and contacts at State, Justice and numerous other Department, plus a stint in logistics provide the following rebuttal:

1. If fuel production is halted, no one is going to get further than one tank of gas outside the city limits.

This assertion turns a blind eye to a basic tenet of warfare: In a “me-or-you” situation, those who have firepower and the will to use it can and will seize the assets of those without. Given the constant reports of gas station robberies, the gas station clerk would be well-advised to fill their own vehicle and get the heck out of Dodge ASAP. Given their glass windows, high visibility and easy access, gas stations are not a defensible position. The halt of fuel production would not stop the seizure of fuel from the deposit areas where supply trucks stop, nor from fuel depots. An enterprising crew of only a few criminal members can seize a full fuel truck, and at that point, their vehicles are now enabled well beyond “one-tankful” range. Even a 12-year-old who’s seen “Fast & Furious” could come up with that idea.

2. If fuel is still being produced then law enforcement will operate and food production will not be halted and the point is moot.

The mere availability of fuel does not mean law enforcement can continue to operate. Even now, while fuel is freely available to them, law enforcement officials are unable to prevent (or even respond to) most crimes. In the event of an EMP-type disaster, the tiny amount of ammunition carried by most law enforcement would be expended within hours or days at best. After that, they’re nothing more than guys with a shiny target attached to them, and in a vehicle which makes them a prime target for any and all criminals wanting to make a quick name for themselves.

3. There is a reason the US Army moves its [tracked] vehicles by rail. They can’t drive more than a few miles without the things breaking down.

This statement demonstrates an unwillingness to deal with the reality of the abilities of American military vehicles. Here’s a hint: If we blitzed through Saddam’s Iraqi National Guard tankers without breaking stride over miles of desert, driving on streets is a lot easier on the vehicles. The streets are not made to take that much weight on a constant, daily grind basis, but if you ever watch a military parade, you discover that tanks, APCs and other military vehicles can drive on them all day long without breaking a sweat. The Abrams can average 65 mph, and military tankers are trained to drive at the fastest speed possible when going from place to place for safety’s sake. Military truckers drive 100 mph through the Iraqi highway system to lessen the chances of being hit by a preplanned ambush. If US tracked vehicles needed to be repaired every few miles as Mr. B asserts, every tanker in the US Army would already be dead.

4. Existing gangs are mostly composed of ignorant teenagers who, while fiercely loyal and ruthlessly violent, do not possess the foresight or the organizational capability to run a sustained campaign based on
foraging.

This comment was well-fielded by Andrew S., although I would add that the current number two threat (after Al-Qaeda) listed by the FBI is…motorcycle gangs. Not organized crime, not cartels. Motorcycle gangs. A large number of gang members- motorcycle or otherwise- are indeed former military. The only difference between them and the military is the total lack of restraint on the part of the gang members. They are trained in tactics, and unlike most police officers, are usually veterans of numerous violent engagements. Those who lead gangs are ruthless, amoral, and require complete loyalty from their subordinates. Gang members can usually run circles around law enforcement because (1) they lack any restraint; (2) they will happily shoot you before you can think about shooting them, and (3) they enjoy it. I don’t know where Mr. B’s been living, but the gangs of today are well-organized, battle-hardened, and spend more time learning how to avoid being shot and win battles than 99% of the population.

5. In the event of a power outage, jail cells will be locked shut, not open.

This assumes the outage happens at a convenient time when release hasn’t just occurred, or convicts aren’t in general release for exercise/meals. Prison riots are no joke, and are frequently planned in advance for months, waiting for the possibility of a power outage or other momentary vulnerability on the part of the prison staff. In the event of a power outage, electricity stops. Not “slams the doors shut” and then stops, but just plain halts. A realistic response would be for the guards to start shooting prisoners, and then get swarmed under when they ran out of ammo. This happens NOW in riots, let alone if all power went out.

6. In order to run a successful raid on even an isolated farm house takes meticulous planning, thorough preparation, lots of supplies, and the ability to perform small unit infantry tactics. If you’ve ever done it, you know that even in the best of circumstances, it is extraordinarily difficult, because it is physically demanding and takes real discipline.

Again, this was well-addressed with the “one guy, one match, one gas can” response. It also ignores the element of surprise, through which many settlements/houses/villages have been overrun by small armed groups. “Extraordinarily difficult”? By definition, this would be an extraordinary time. Shooting up a farmhouse (one constructed not for survival, but for light, visibility, visual appeal, and other peace-time oriented factors) requires very little of the requirements mentioned. If it were that difficult, we’d all be safe moving in with Dorothy in Kansas

7. The idea that the neighborhood gang is suddenly going to turn into a disciplined force, operating with military precision out to get Tom S. is simply delusional
paranoia.

The “neighborhood gang” in places as far-reaching as Wyoming, Iowa, and Montana has the local police living in fear. Why? Because the gangs are now moving (or already moved) up from California and other high-population areas to spread their influence and take more territory. They do so in a disturbingly organized, well-planned and diabolically methodical way. Establishing supply lines and other logistic requirements, they move from town to town, first establishing beachheads, then moving reinforcements into the area and quickly eliminating local competition. While they probably aren’t looking for Tom S., they certainly do operate with military precision. Ask any cop about the actions, tactics and movement plans of present-day gangs. You’ll get an earful on their deadly and successful abilities. I am no hysterical wild-eyeball. But it would be nearly criminal not to admit the reality of the situation with modern gang warfare. “I’ve got the pistol, so I’ll keep the pesos” is effective even in best-case scenarios. To attempt to write off the both the raw power and paramilitary ability of most gangs is to ensure an early demise. Why do we train? So that we are better-trained than the other guy. In this case, it’s your squad against a battle-hardened bunch of sadistic nihilists.

In other words, the other guy is training, too. Hope that your training is better. Telling yourself “he’s not trained” will only get you dead. – J.B .

Economics and Investing:

KAF flagged this: Venezuela nabs two for trying to ‘Twitter’ a run on banks. Consider this fair warning on a new threat: “flash mobs” that could trigger crises including bank runs, and runs on key commodities. Do you remember how Johnny Carson made one offhand remark that sparked “The Toilet Paper Crisis of 1973”? The burgeoning social networks could be used to spread a panic far and wide, whether it is justified or not.

SurvivalBlog reader Tony B. sent us this: Dollar weakness reflects optimism. Tony’s comments: “How upside-down is people’s thinking when the value of the dollar falling is seen as a good thing, because people will pull out of gold and silver to hold counter-inflationary real money? Are people so obsessed with the numbers ‘Hey, I have 10% more dollars now!’ – that they don’t think about what these changes mean? ‘Why did the price of everything go up 15%?'”

S.M. spotted this: U.S. marks 3rd-largest, single-day debt increase, $166 billion jump spurs concerns over policy.

Two more items courtesy of S.M.: Deficit hits $1 trillion in June for second year, and IMF presses US to cut debt,

Items from The Economatrix:

Mortgage Applications Rise 7% as Rates Fall

The US: A Long Economic Winter Ahead

UK: 70 Top Graduates for Every Job Opening

Europe’s “Toothless” Bank Tests Making Matters Worse

Makow: Use World Currency to Renounce the Debt

New Loan Delinquencies on the Rise Again

Office Vacancy Rate Keeps Climbing

Odds ‘n Sods:

The editor of the Rural Revolution blog mentioned a company that makes nifty fixtures that turn Mason jars into kerosene lamps. The editor wrote: “Specifically I purchased item # 10BR3273, which is a bulk purchase of ten fixtures. They come with wicks. (Here is a photo.) A package of 10 of them costs $22 plus shipping. I’m also buying glass globes every time I see them at thrift stores. These usually don’t cost more than $2 each. I’m also buying extra wicks.” For stability, the larger the jar, the better. With a two quart jar and a long wick, one jar of kerosene should last for weeks of daily lighting!

   o o o

Australian police probe poisoning of seven million veggie plants; tomato shortage could double prices. (A hat tip to Chris L. for the link.)

   o o o

KAF was the first of several readers to send this: U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly, I’m readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I’ll, in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials – after the fact.” – Robert E. Lee, 1863

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 29 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Lessons Learned From a Novice Hunting Trip, by Russell L.

Last fall I was lucky enough to join a friend and his father on a hunting trip. It was their umpteenth trip into the woods, but my first. They had been going to the same place since my friend’s father had started hunting, almost 45 years ago.

We were hunting deer, and my friend and his father and both won in the lottery to hunt Does as well as Bucks.

(Note: they don’t use deer stands. It is more, “you cover this area and I’ll cover that area.” And while my friend and his father often just pick a spot and sit there all day long, I knew that I would be allowed to wander a fairly large area if I felt like, which I certainly intended to do).

I had asked for advice on what to bring and received plenty, so I was fairly well prepared. But like any survival situation, no kind of preparation compares to real experience. Though I’d grown up in a very rural area and had plenty of childhood experience roaming around the bush behind my parent’s house, I was ill-prepared for reality.

When you’re sitting in your cozy home, exercising on your treadmill, filling your bug-out bag in preparation for a volatile future, keep in my mind experiences as I list them here. Based on my very first hunting excursion, here we go:

  1. The forest is not your neighborhood park – Walking 100 yards through the park might take you 30 to 60 seconds. Walking 100 yards through the wilderness could take you 30 to 60 minutes. This is not a joke and I’m not exaggerating. Every step is negotiated; every branch on every bush or tree is tugging at your clothes. Every pound in your backpack is pulling you backward and downward. You’ve got a gun in your hands but you’re constantly grabbing branches to push them out of your way, or for balance. Not to mention that you’re constantly watching for movement around you, whether it’s for dangers or for food. You stop, listen, muscles aching. Trudge forward a few steps, stop again.
  2. You’re carrying too much – No, don’t argue with me. You’ve got too much in your backpack, in your pockets, in your hands, on your head. 40lbs on your back feels like 100lbs when you’re in the wilderness (See point #1 above). I know because I’ve trained in my local park with 60lbs on my back. That was easy. The wilderness is not. Pare down your backpack until you’ve got what you really need. There have been umpteen articles on backpack prep, so I won’t cover it here. Suffice to say that the 2 pellet guns I was carrying were left at base after day one.
  3. You have to be in shape – Every day of our hunting trip started with a 2km hike up a big hill with a net ascension of 120 meters. Then the real work started. If your bugout plan involves “heading to the hills”, and there’s a chance it might involve foot power, you better be ready for it. If you think you are ready, try this: grab your bugout bag and go to the nearest set of stairs that is at least 1 story high. Now go up and down 30 times. Did you make it? If you didn’t, you’re not ready. If you did, are you flat on your face trying to catch your breath? Because that’s still not good enough. Because now you have to do it another 30. Remember, just because it might be a nice straight, flat walk to your destination, doesn’t mean you will be able to take that preferred route during TEOTWAWKI. Be ready.
  4. The wilderness is not teaming with food – The neighborhood where I live is rife with wildlife. Every morning when I take my 4km walk, I see 5-6 rabbits, a dozen squirrels, umpteen birds. I often see raccoon or other small game remains on the roads. After 5 days in the wilderness, I saw perhaps 2 squirrels in all that time (and one deer). I know there are more about, especially nocturnal animals, but don’t expect to bag a dozen squirrels and rabbits a day with your .22 while you’re wandering along to your hidey hole.
  5. Getting lost is easy – I know, you’ve heard it before. It’s so easy to get turned around, you’ll do it in about 10 steps. That’s why, every 10 steps, look behind you and see where you’ve come from. Identify your land marks. Oddly, one of the easiest things to identify are animal trails. I began marking off my territory based on deer trails that crisscrossed the area. Which leads to my next point:
  6. Know your geography – I knew that if I traveled east far enough, or west far enough, I would hit water in either direction. I knew what it meant if I traveled south by either of those water ways. I knew where the highest point in the area was, and I knew what I would see if I traveled too far north. When in doubt, go up – There’s less chance of getting turned around; you’ll have a better view of your surroundings; you’ll stay out of wet areas; it’s a lot easier coming down.
  7. Be prepared for inclement weather – I have a Columbia winter coat that I’ve used for about 12 years. It was about $300 when I bought it, which seemed pretty steep at the time, but I splurged because I thought it would last, and it has. It’s also water resistant, and I’ve never had to worry about being caught in wet conditions with it.

 

On the first day of our hunting trip, though it had snowed heavily the night before, the weather report was for a clear sunny day, and clear sunny days for several days beyond. Temperatures were around freezing (0C/32F), so I wore my coat anyway as I wanted to be prepared for anything. About mid-morning, as the sun was rising, and I was enjoying one of the most beautiful mornings I’ve ever witnessed, with the light shining through snow-laden trees, I was beginning to think I should have left my coat at home. Because heck, my pack was heavy, what with extra pellet guns and all. But then the snow started melting. And it started raining. Yes, raining. It started slowly, just a drip-drip at a time, then it came down heavy. All that snow melted and rained on me for a solid 2 hours. Thank God I had my coat, because I would have been drenched in no time in very cold temperatures.

  1. Use quality gear – Back to the coat. Branches, bushes, sticks, all tugged on my poor coat every where I went. I even fell down a couple times, slid across the ground, scraped across rocks. I expected my coat to be in tatters by the end, but it held up great, in fact it doesn’t have a scratch on it now. The wilderness is not a forgiving environment, on you or your clothes. Don’t use garbage that won’t last the first day. I’ll mention a few other quality items I carry:

The knife – I know, I know. Another item talked about ad nauseam. But it’s just so important. I carry a Fallkniven S1, which I also used to gut my first deer. It is easily the best, sharpest knife I have ever used. After about 20 seconds of gutting, my friend said, “Holy cr** that’s a sharp knife.” (He has been hunting for 20 years).  These knives aren’t for looks (though it looks great too, imo), but it’s a quality survival knife if there ever was one.

A compass – I don’t carry a great compass. I carry 3 lesser ones. They all do a good job, or more importantly, they agree with each other. I will buy a quality compass to compliment my collection when funds permit.  When I was hiking around getting a feel for the land, I was checking a compass about every 30 seconds – way more often than I anticipated.

7-strand paracord – So many uses it’s ridiculous. I carried about 30 feet of it. Next time I will up that to 50’, maybe 100.

Boots – Wolverine Impala 600 Thinsulate.  Another item I won’t skimp on. My feet run hot, so 600 is more than enough. Waterproof, tough as tough, but nice and comfortable.  Keep your toes moving.

Leatherman Juice X – Not only is this a great survival tool, but I keep it on my hip for everyday use. And I use it, every day. My friends are so used to seeing it, they always ask to borrow it too.

And, of course, the garbage:

Backpack – I had a cheap backpack that carried a bunch of stuff. It was uncomfortable to wear, especially with a lot of weight in it. It was hard to adjust the straps, in fact a couple of them broke on day one, and threads were coming out all over.

As soon as I got back home, I ran out and purchased a Redhead Hybrid Illuminator Pack. It’s very functional, versatile, and comfortable. My shoulders thank me.

Thermos – On the first day, my two companions carried thermoses with coffee, and I was annoyed I hadn’t thought to bring my own. Mid-morning on that day, I really wished I had a couple cups of coffee to lift my spirits, because, as I mentioned above, it was raining on me pretty hard.

At the end of the 1st day I drove to the local Wal-Mart and picked up a thermos of my own. As we trudged through the woods on day 2 and I was thinking happily how much I was going to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, I accidentally bumped my pack against a tree. The sound of broken glass inside my thermos was unmistakable. As was the smell of coffee that leaked out of the thermos and drenched everything in my (cheap and non-water resistant) backpack.

Did I really need the extra weight of a thermos full of coffee, when I was already carrying a water bottle? Well, if you can put up with the extra weight, it sure is a spirit lifter. I think next time I will carry some coffee grounds and a filter and make it on the spot. Best of both worlds.

  1. Always carry a medical kit and keep your medical training up to date – I used several band-aids during my 5 days in the wilderness, which isn’t much really. But a week back from hunting, I came across a bad car accident that had happened only a couple minutes before. When I got on the scene there was an elderly lady lying in a deep ditch and a bunch of by-standers were running around clueless as to what to do. So I went and helped the lady. There wasn’t anything seriously wrong with her. Her chest and back were both sore. So after primary and secondary survey, I made sure she was warm, held her hand, and talked to her for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived. The point of this should be obvious: not all medical emergencies happen where you expect them to. Always be ready.
  2. Plan your meeting points with specific times – Our day always started with, “I’ll see you at spot A at this such-and-such time. If I don’t see you there, I’ll see you at spot B at such-and-such-later time. If I don’t see you there, I’ll see you at  Spot C at such-and-such-later time. If I don’t see you there at that time, then stay right where you are because I’m coming to find you.” This was usually aimed at me, the new guy, but it was for the whole group. It would have reversed if I had made all the meeting times but my friend or his father didn’t. Not only is this good procedure to follow, it’s a great peace of mind for someone like myself out in an unknown wilderness for my first time.
  3. Electronic Communication – Don’t count on it. Our radios and cell phones were constantly in and out because of rugged terrain and distance. Have a backup plan for when you can’t communicate with your group. Always carry a whistle. When I had shot my first deer and was trying to guide my friend to me over the radio, for an aggravating 10 minutes, I eventually gave up and just started blowing my whistle. He found me less than a minute later. And marveled about how far he had been traveling off course based on my guidance.

Three Letters Re: Starting Your Desert Backyard Garden

I have some tips and ideas to add to Colleen’s wonderful article on desert gardening. I have successfully cultivated summer & winter gardens throughout the southwest desert regions of Arizona & New Mexico for the past 7 years. My methods are not necessarily in support of OPSEC in WTSHTF scenarios, but just desert gardening in general.

* Try to set up raised beds along the west or south facing side of the house or block wall – the walls retain heat all day and provide some radiated warmth during cold evenings.
* A very simple winter “greenhouse” method is to run two long PVC pipes crisscross over your raised bed into supports screwed into the sides of the bed, cover with heavy plastic sheeting (white or clear), and hold down with rocks or boards. Take it off during the day, put on at night to block frost. It does get cold here in the desert at night and sometimes even snows! But the 60-70 degree sunny days make up for it and allow for year-round growing.
* Check salvage yards, rebuilding centers, craigslist, etc for scrap wood cheap or free. I recently responded to a craigslist ad from a mobile home business that routinely offers tons of used boards & wood frames for free – perfect for building raised beds.
* I don’t use wood boards less than 2″ thick because they tend to bow & warp and are flimsy. If the wood is in good condition, I recommend coating it with linseed oil as this will help repel water and keep the wood in good shape.
* Don’t use railroad ties, as perfect as they may seem. These are generally heavily treated with chemicals & oils you don’t want leaching into your garden soil.
* I stick with bed sizes of 3′ x 3′, 4′ x 4′, or 4′ x 8′. You don’t want to build anything wider than 4′ in one dimension as it becomes hard to reach into the center of your garden. I now only build beds that are 12″ high – anything less and you will have plants that struggle. With a bed that’s 12″ high you can accommodate any type of plant, even root vegetables like carrots & potatoes.
* I always line the bottom of my beds with black, woven “weed blocker” material, two layers of it stapled to the bottom of the bed. I have learned the hard way when I fail to do this, as this nasty desert grass always manages to shoot up through a foot of soil and overtake my garden.
* I tend to cover most of my raised beds with some type of cage or screen to keep out birds, cats, and also provide a base for shade when needed. Making a cage out of chicken wire, PVC pipe, and zip strips is easy; they are light & can be moved from bed to bed. Make your cages at least 2 feet tall, anything shorter isn’t enough for most plants.
* I also use used, framed window screens (found a bunch at a rebuilding center for $1 each). They tend to be 3′ or 4′ long and 18″ tall. These make great sides for a wood framed cage or bed topper. I also lay them across the top of newly seeded beds for shade and to hold in moisture as plants start sprouting.
* With cages over the beds, you can also cover the entire thing with shade material during the most brutal periods in the summer: I found gauzy/woven drapery fabric spread over the entire cage provides nice shade while still letting sunlight in. You can find old drapes of this material at almost any thrift shop, usually for a buck or two.
* Many of the commercial black plastic composters are expensive. They are a good investment, but I’ve been equally successful composting with just a pit in the ground covered with cardboard and a simple box made out of scrap wood & chicken wire. With weekly turning & watering, you will have rich compost soil in a matter of weeks. I call it “brown gold”.
* Seek out local nurseries or other sources who sell compost or soil by the cubic yard (aka “a truckload”). I found a source in southern New Mexico who would load the back of my small pickup truck for $30 and that was enough to fill a 4′ x 4′ raised bed. Reserve your homemade compost for the top layer to give seedlings an extra boost.
* If you have roof gutters or a spot on the roof where water gushes down during a rain storm, get some rain barrels. I’ve had 55-gallon barrels completely fill with water in under 15 minutes during summer monsoons. Barrels can be as simple as just cutting holes in the top, wide enough to dip a watering can or bucket into, if you don’t want to install a spigot near the bottom. Make sure to cover the tops with a screen or lid when not in use so animals don’t fall in and to not attract mosquitoes. I have found clean, used barrels at flea markets for as little as $7 each. While I don’t know what they used to hold, after a few flushes I think they’re OK to use for irrigation water (but I would not use them for drinking water unless they were brand new).
* I do my main watering in the evening after the sun has gone down. With new plantings, I’ll do another watering in the morning so the soil stays moist all day. Once plants are substantial, I water carefully every 2-3 days and use shade covers during the hottest times.
* I keep all my seeds in their original packets, sealed in a Ziploc bag, in my freezer. I have seeds from two years ago that are still sprouting with this storage method.
* Most importantly, don’t try to grow plants that don’t belong here. I tend to focus on growing plants the natives have grown here for centuries: squash, beans, corn, peppers, etc. I have also had success with leafy greens (in the winter), tomatoes, dill, cilantro, and broccoli (winter).
* On squash: I either have one bed reserved just for squash or else I grow it in rows or mounds on the ground away from everything else. Squash growing with other plants will quickly invade the entire garden – it really needs a lot of room to spread out or grow up (if you have vertical supports set up).
* Unripe butternut squash (very pale or white) growing late in the season can be harvested and placed on a sunny window sill (or out in the sun during the day) and they will ripen. One winter I had 30+ good sized (but unripe) butternuts that I kept out in the sun during the day and they did ripen in about a month. And when properly stored, squash lasts “forever”. I’ve stored butternuts in a dark cupboard for over a year and they were still edible, – V. in New Mexico

Mr Rawles,
Colleen M.’s advice on starting a kitchen garden in a low rainfall area is sound advice and I agree with the ‘challenge’ to avoid becoming technology dependant. I am fortunate to have a small Plan-B retreat which is amongst a community of small-holders in South Africa, but one challenge we have here is water. The irony is that there is a small seasonal stream the runs along our common land, but our government has passed laws that prevent us from using the water unless we pay a substantial fee per kilo-litre; well substantial for a resource that some of us have had a right to use since 1863! We have adequate rainfall for household needs, but many kitchen gardens in our community use recycled grey water. These systems vary from a buckets used by poorer families in our community, to more sophisticated systems relying on gravity (most of the homes are off-grid). The system I am installing is a shallow grey water soak-away beneath the planting beds to increase the moisture level in the soil. Regards, – Saffer

Dear Mr. Rawles,
As a native Arizonan and a resident of the city of Tucson for the past 32 years, I just had to send in a response to Colleen’s article about gardening in the desert.

1. Colleen didn’t mention that we have a year around growing season in the desert. Plant cool weather crops such as dill, tomatoes, lettuce, and other greens in September for harvest in October through March. In March plant warm weather crops such as peppers, corn, beans and squash for harvest in May through October.
2. The three sisters method of planting works especially well in the desert. The three sisters method is native corn, pole beans, and native squash. The beans replenish the nitrogen pulled from the soil by the corn, the corn provides a stalk for the pole beans to grow upon, and the squash shades the roots to retain moisture.
3. Do not use seeds purchased from Burpee, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. These seeds are hybrids that have been developed to grow back east and will not tolerate the desert climate. Instead go to Native Seed Search, They have spent the past thirty years collecting and propagating heirloom seeds from plants native to the Southwest. They are happy to share their expertise. Another local resource is the Tucson Botanical Garden. Every year they plant a demonstration garden showing the crops and farming methods of the local tribes.
4. Yes, shade is important but planting fruit trees is not the best method. The few orchards located in southern Arizona , such as the apple orchards near Wilcox and the former orange groves in northwest Tucson all depend on a specialized microclimate and heavy ground water irrigation. Instead, plant mesquite trees. They are native, drought resistant, fast growing, and the beans can be harvested and ground into flour.
5. It is better to use brick or cement block instead of lumber to build your raised bed. Most commercially available lumber has been chemically treated to be insect resistant. You do not want those chemicals leaching out of the wood and into the soil. Also, we have termites in the ground in Tucson and they love the lumber.
6. Do not get discouraged if your first attempt at a garden fails. Gardening is a hands on learning experience and even master gardeners are always discovering new things. Now is the time to get started; do not wait until the S has HTF.

Thank you for all your hard work, Mr. Rawles. God bless you and your family. – Julie in Tucson

Economics and Investing:

An interesting piece, over at the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Frankenstein real estate market – $3.5 trillion in commercial real estate debt and $10.3 trillion in residential real estate debt.

Items from The Economatrix:

AP Analysis: Economic Stress is Easing More Slowly

Investors Shake Off Slowdown in Services Growth

Deficit Hysteria in Times of Depression

New, Nearly Dictatorial Powers Go to Fed

Economic Gloom Shrouds Spain

Market Forecaster Sees Plunge to 1,000

Dow Repeats Great Depression Pattern

Retailers Launch Their Own Stimulus Packages

Odds ‘n Sods:

I got this from an newspaper editor in Alaska: Bear Attack: A Firsthand Account. The editor’s comments: “We had one of our readers submit this article today about a mama grizzly bear and her two cubs. It is a great story about man’s best friend helping as well as the importance of having a deterrent like Bear mace.

   o o o

KAF flagged this: Louisiana’s New Law Allowing Churchgoers to Pack Heat

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There was an excellent 21-page article in the July issue of National Geographic about the current state of the power grids in the US.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 29 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Starting Your Desert Backyard Garden, by Colleen M.

One of the first things many preppers begin with is starting a backyard garden.  Those of us living in desert regions have additional challenges when beginning this task as water conservation and soil quality are serious issues in desert regions.  It’s tempting and easy to become overly dependent on technology when reclaiming the landscape around you, but with patience, trial and error and a little bit of skill you can use low tech strategies to build good soil and have a productive, water friendly garden.  The first two seasons of backyard gardening in the desert can be frustrating but are crucial.

Your first steps should be picking the location of your garden.  If possible, have some areas in sun and other in at least partial shade.  Even plants listed as preferring full sun may have trouble with the harsh glaring sun in the desert.  If it isn’t possible to have partial shade, this is all right; strategic planting can help to create a partial shade environment in later seasons.  You may also want to keep your garden in a part of your property where it isn’t immediately obvious.  This will help with privacy and operational security (OPSEC), should your garden expand to a level that may attract attention.  Our garden is between the house and the garage and only parts of it are visible from the sides where are neighbors are, but OPSEC is not our primary concern since having a garden is not unusual where we live.

Be open minded about what you will grow in your garden, particularly the first two seasons.  As you improve your soil quality and modify the amount of shade available, you’ll be able to produce a wider variety food as time goes on. 

Begin with raised beds.  These are very easy to make, using logs or lumber, create a square or rectangle of the length you like.  Frame height is a matter of preference, but from my experience, at least six inches is necessary.  My frames are a foot high now, and I’m very pleased with that height.  The raised bed will help to keep your precious topsoil in place and are a huge, inexpensive asset.  Some people recommend lining the ground with plastic or cardboard to separate the soil you are adding from the sand beneath.  From my experience, this is not necessary and, if you use plastic, may limit what you plant later on.  For this reason, I simply put the frames where I want them without lining the ground beneath.  It’s best to run the raised beds horizontally along any slope, rather than vertically, since this will prevent water from pooling at the base. 

Once you’ve laid the frame, it’s time to look at soil.  In desert environments, the soil is obviously sandy and lacks organic material.  The obvious place to begin is with a compost bin or pile.  Commercially available composts are often made to last, but homemade compost piles are also very easy to make.  The critical issue with composting in general is that there is a mix of carbon and nitrate based material.  In the desert, you may have to water your compost to keep it moist depending on your location and how you are composting.  Regardless of this, home made compost will take time and most likely will not impact your soil quality the first season, but this is an excellent resource for future years and will be essential WTSHTF.  I would recommend starting your compost immediately, but keep in mind that it will be a learning process. 

Compost from the store is probably your best option for adding organics if you don’t want to wait for your compost to finish.  Look for options that are inexpensive and organic heavy.  Some commercial products contain a high amount of wood chips.  In sandy soils wood chips do not break down as quickly as would happen in moister, organic rich environments, for this reason, the products that are heavy in wood chips may not be the best choice for your soil.

Once you have your compost or soil from the store, the temptation is to dump it in the raised bed with out mixing in some of the sand.  Sand still does provide nutrition to plants and should be mixed in to the soil so that the soil your first season does contain these minerals.  It is most practical to grow plants that have some tolerance to the region you live in and should you want to expand your garden after TEOTWAWKI you’ll need to be able to do so with minimal time spent waiting for composting to finish.  This will impact the type of plants that are initially grown this first season and in new beds, but that’s fine.  Many usable plants can be grown in this mixed soil.

Grow plants from seed, starting appropriate plants indoors.  Growing from seed is important for practice, it is cheaper and allows you to ensure that the plants are appropriately hardened before you plant them in the garden.  Plants started in the store are in a more artificial and protected environment than you will likely have in your garden and are less likely to survive.

 Pick a variety of plants but focus on high quality foods and medicinal herbs.  A few herbs for seasoning are nice, but you are going to spend your precious resource, water, on this garden so planting food that will nourish your family and keep your stomachs full should be the focus of your garden.  Looking for plants that seem to grow well locally can be a good place to start.  Tubers, tomatoes and peppers often grow well in the particular environment where my family lives, so I made sure to include these plants in my garden, but every year I try to introduce a new type of plant. 

Being aware of water needs extends to the type of plants you select.  To get a balanced variety of food, you’ll probably need to include plants with moderate water requirements, but plants that need constantly moist soil may not be the best choice.

A week or so before you move your plants outside to the garden, you should begin to harden the plants.  In areas with harsh sun or high winds, hardening the plants will make them much more likely to survive.  All that is entailed in hardening plants is leaving them outside for increasingly long amounts of time.  This strengthens the stalk and leaves. 

Once you’ve planted, it’s time to see what is working and what isn’t.  At this point, many gardeners run soil tests to see what is needed to improve the quality of their soil.  This is fine and commercial additives are available, but most likely will not be WTSHTF.  For this reason, I don’t use commercial additives; I rotate what I am growing in different years, a microscopic version of traditional crop rotations.  We’ve also gotten used to eating what grows well in our garden.  My family believes that if we adapt to our environment now, this will pay off later.

A problem that we have is lack of shade.  The first season is a great time to look at long-term strategies for shade.  There are products you can buy or make to create shade, but my favorite method is to plant fruit trees or bushes to create future areas of shade in the garden.  The leaves can also be used in the compost to help create better soil in the future.  This way, we are getting as much benefit as possible.  These trees may also help prevent topsoil loss, but in our backyard garden, the raised beds are far more effective.  Once you have established areas of partial sun, the variety of plants that will grow well in your garden will be expanded.

When picking fruit trees, it’s important to look at whether or not the tree is self-germinating.  In general apple and plum trees tend to require a germination partner.  Look at the specific type you are planting though, because this is a general rule, not a hard and fast rule.  This is not a problem, it’s just very important to ensure that you provide more than one plant if that is what you choose to use. 

Water is a major issue in your garden.  It might not seem like one now, but even if you have a well, it’s best to look at ways to conserve and utilize the water resources you have available.  The easiest way to start is with a rainwater-collecting barrel.  If you have gutters, it’s very easy to install a commercially available rain barrel or make your own.  This is not a sufficient water supply for your family should there be a crunch and you can’t consider this water to be potable without filtration or treatment, but it is a good step for your first season.  Eventually, especially if you have the space and are living at your retreat, you may want to look at creating a more expansive system.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to supplement with foods that grow outside your garden.  We have a small acreage where cacti flourish.  Prickly pear cacti actually produce quite a bit of usable food.  The pads, called nopales, can be harvested and the spines stripped with a knife.  Harvest the youngest pads, particularly in springtime or early summer and cut them up after stripping the spines.  Boil the chunks (called nopalitos) for about ten minutes and drain the water.  Grocery stores in parts of the southwest sell nopales, so you can try it already de-spined before you go through the effort of harvesting them yourself.  Nopales are a great source of fiber, vitamin C and may help regulate blood sugar.  Some people eat nopales raw, but I find the sticky texture very unappealing, which is why I recommend boiling them first.  After boiling and draining the water, they taste a little bit like green beans.  Though we aren’t from this region originally they’ve become a mainstay in my family’s diet.  Prickly pear also produce an edible fruit that is high in vitamin C and tastes a little bit like kiwi.  It’s always easiest to use what is readily available and requires no sweat equity or additional watering on your part. 

Two Letters Re: How Long Can You Tread Water?

Mr. Rawles:
I have been reading your site for over two years now and have two of your books. I have a growing concern on what is going on in the world and working to prepare myself and my family for what the future may or may not bring us. I eagerly await the next day postings of SurvivalBlog each and everyday and look forward to what your other readers bring to the table. I took great interest in “How Long Can You Tread Water?” by Tom S. but more in the initial response. I am sure there will be more responses such as Andrew B. and I want to write about what I see as a growing trend from the readers on your site. A lot of readers, regardless of preparedness level, seem to disregard the greatest of battlefield multipliers, Murphy’s Law. Readers need to be careful that they are not planning for just for the optimal situation. You could have a three year food supply and the one hundred year flood could wipe out your crop and flood your stores forcing you to become a refugee. Would you loot to stay alive then or watch your family starve?

I read this site and people responses to controversial letters such as the current one and the one a while back about the guy planning on being a potential ‘good guy looter’. It seems to me, from people responses, that a lot of readers are not planning for contingencies. I want to talk about Tom’s article. I agree with most of what was said except the use of cars after an EMP attack. However what he said about gangs is dead on.

Gangs are experts with a capital E in stealth, deception, human manipulation and brutality. They are very organized and are lead by some of the smartest and most charismatic people around. As a former military man I can tell you the military has a huge gang problem. From the infantry barracks to the Los Angeles class nuclear submarine. Currently with the two wars going on the Crips and Bloods, Latin Kings and every other gang has been signing its members up for the military so in two years they can bring back combat and medical experience and infantry tactics to the gangs. This was covered in depth on the History channels Gangland. Gangs are not to mess with despite what some readers may think. Plus they have been empowered over the years by our week justice system that actually enables these vermin. I spent six weeks in New Orleans after Katrina. Any one of these punks would not have hesitated to walk up to one of my soldiers and shoot him in the face. They have no regard for human life.

After the SHTF gangs or some other body (rogue police perhaps) may or may not take over the cities. After they use all the resources up they will expand out but they will start to weigh effort versus resources versus payoff. How many losses can they take to rival gangs survivalists, army units, functioning police etc before they lose power or influence. Eventually they will expand out until their supplies collapse, they can’t loot anymore or start taking casualties due to starvation or lead poisoning.

As for attacking a Homestead or a retreat your best defense is to go undetected. What will it take to go undetected? At what price? You may think your farm house in the middle of nowhere is safe and defensible. Is it defensible against a man sneaking around at night with a can of gas and a match? A man who is willing to sift through the burnt embers to find a few cans of Spam that survived the blaze. That’s all it would take to destroy a retreat. A match and a can of gas. Maybe a distraction or two. Why take the structure intact when I can destroy it and search the rubble. I don’t need a platoon or a company of thugs. Maybe the thugs will just light the field on fire or the barn with the livestock. You got a rifle and 30 cartridges? The thugs will take your retreat with 31 guys with knives.

The world will be very brutal and you will be asking yourself to do things unfathomable. Will you be willing to kill to not be discovered? Killing men, women and children? Is your family worth more? Raiders or government military might question the family you let go during a recon patrol next thing you know you have a battalion at your door step. That may be the reality we would be living in. Neighbors killing neighbors just for OPSEC alone. Who knows? It will be hell on earth. As we have seen in the past it doesn’t take much to turn decent people into monsters.

BTW you railhead tracked vehicles to save on fuel and keeping the tracked vehicles from tearing up the roads. If a Bradley or Abrams turned out on a highway, the pavement would be ruined. Those stationed in Germany in the 1980s and 1090s will remember REFORGER exercises. We took tanks hundreds of miles cross country with only minimal break downs. Usually we still had 95% of our firepower by the end of the exercise. If we didn’t there was hell to pay. They are American made and the best. Regards, – Andrew S.

 

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I wanted to respond to Andrew B.’s recent post about the excellent EMP article (How long can you tread water?) Andrew stated “If fuel is still being produced then law enforcement will operate and food production will not be halted and the point is moot.” I am a police officer in a very large department in the northeast. I know for a fact that our elaborate communications system and our fleet of emergency vehicle’s are not protected from an EMP attack. We would no longer be an effective service to our citizens in the event that we lost these crucial assets. Many of my co workers visit this site on a daily basis. We have had several casual conversations at work on how we would respond to a large scale/long term catastrophic event such as an EMP attack. We have all come to the conclusion that we would eventually have to return home to our families in order to protect them from the violence that would exist during the aftermath. I highly doubt that many U.S. law enforcement agencies have any plans in place to handle a large scale event of this magnitude. My advice to you all is to pray for the best and prepare for the worst. – M.A.

Letter Re: Equipping my My G.O.O.D. Boat

A couple of points bothered me about Doug W.’s plan to G.O.O.D. with his boat. First, his idea about using logs to keep out intruders in his retreat anchorage has one possible flaw. According to Murphy’s Laws of Combat, anyplace too difficult to get into will be too difficult to get out of! Next, I am no sailor, but I’ve been around the ocean and I’ve seen some horrific storms. I saw no plan for riding out bad weather, unless these bays are very sheltered. Next is that unless tied up close to shore, sitting at anchor in the middle of a bay puts you in sight of anyone who stumbles upon that same stretch of water, whether on land or by sea. Also, is that especially during calm water periods, water is a notorious reflector of sound, so sound discipline and light discipline is an absolute must. I saw no mention of camouflage or concealment.

The biggest drawback to his plan I see is that the limited number of people in his group would put a tremendous strain on all to keep watch, do necessary daily chores, plus any emergency is best handled with more eyes/hands available.

A couple of suggestions too – one would be to put some caches of food/ammo/fuel/medical supplies in these areas he plans to retreat to. If his bays are as remote as he thinks they are, then any cache should remain available and undisturbed. Another would be a small library on some of the natural resources that could be harvested to increase/supplement diet, such as kelp, shellfish, and land-based flora/fauna in that region. Plus the tools to harvest those resources.

All in all though, I am sure that Doug has a huge step up on most of the web fingered/toed northwesterners.

Sincerely, – Greg in Arizona

Economics and Investing:

Randy K. zeroed in on this: Wall Street Apocalypse: The World of the Doomsday Investors

G.G. flagged this: Implications of a Likely Economic Downturn

Items from The Economatrix:

Job Creation in Private Sector Remained Weak in June

So What Exactly is a Double-Dip Recession?

Mortgage Rates Scream “BUY” But Who’s Listening

State Pension Woes Only Worsening

ISM Says Service Sector Growth Slows in June

Post Office Announces 2-Cent Rate Increase. (Say, what happened to that much-touted deflation?)

Pump Prices Head Down Again After Holiday Weekend