The Refrigerator Box Method for Easy Survival Gardening, by Dixie

Let’s say that TEOTWAWKI comes, and you are ready! You have your sealed can full of heirloom seeds, and you’re going to start a garden right away. Well, if you haven’t been gardening and practicing the skills necessary and learning how to deal with your climate and soil, you may have difficulty producing the food your family needs. It is really imperative that you begin now to grow the things you’ll need in a crunch. You don’t have to grow as much as you would conceivably need when grocery stores are not an option, but the skills for each particular crop are definitely good to cultivate.
For one thing, if all you have is the commercially prepared vacuum-packed can of seeds, they may or may not be appropriate for your area. Here in the Deep South, certain varieties of vegetables can take the heat, etc., while other varieties just don’t do well. And some of those vegetables – well, my family is just not used to eating. I think that in a crunch, the familiar foods will be appreciated while those unfamiliar foods may or may not be eaten, thus wasting your time, effort, and garden space. So, I buy heirloom seeds for the varieties that grow well in my area and that my family will eat and vacuum seal them myself, then keep them in the freezer.

I began my gardening career by reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Then, as I began to try my hand at building raised beds and using his methods, I realized that although the basic ideas are helpful, his planting guides were not necessarily for my area. I found that the local county extension office has a planting guide for your area which includes when to plant and what varieties do best in your area. This knowledge is invaluable. I have also gained a lot of useful knowledge from older folks who’ve gardened in my region for a long time and enjoy passing on their knowledge to any willing listener.
I have arthritis, which makes it difficult to garden on my knees and has caused me to be a bit innovative. The raised beds made from railroad ties work fairly well, but I was searching for something a bit higher from the ground. I found the perfect solution, absolutely free! Old cast-aside refrigerators and freezers make perfect “raised beds”. I call the local “Maytag man” once a week, and he is delighted for me to take old refrigerators and freezers off his hands. After a recent hurricane in our area, there were scads of refrigerators and freezers out for the trash man to pick up. What a wonderful opportunity those folks missed to have great garden beds!

To make a raised bed from an old refrigerator, first remove the doors, drawers, and racks. I use old bricks or cinder blocks to raise the level of the refrigerator to the height I want it (about kitchen counter height) and set the refrigerator on its back on the blocks. Then, with a long drill bit, I drill holes through the back wall of the unit to create drainage for the garden. Next, I fill the bed about two-thirds of the way up with fill sand. Only the top foot to foot-and-a-half needs to be good soil, as that’s about how far down the roots on the vegetables could go. I use compost mixed with good dirt and have had excellent results. (A good guide to composting is “Let it Rot” by Stu Campbell.) I also mulch with chopped up leaves or left-over hay from the barn. There’s an obvious benefit here when your soil is poor or rocky – just use beds above it!

The height of the refrigerator beds is always at least the width of the refrigerator. This deters armadillos, wild hogs, rabbits, and (so far) deer among other varmints, but not my son’s hound dog. Nice soft dirt that has just been hand tilled and planted is so appealing to a dog! A piece of chicken wire unrolled to cover the freshly tilled bed discourages the dog and can be left in place until the plants get too tall. Then they can be uncovered and the dog will probably have lost interest.
The refrigerator garden beds have a psychological benefit for me. I go to weed the garden, and instead of being overwhelmed by the task, it is already sectioned off into “do-able” pieces. I may plant onions in the freezer compartment and spinach in the refrigerator space on this bed and something entirely different in the next one. But to till or weed is EASY to do entirely by hand. Even my small children enjoy working with me in these beds. And where watering would be a chore on an entire garden, it is simple with a watering can; that’s the best way with the mini fields I have planted. Of course, you can use a hose. I use the watering can because I like to use manure tea on my garden to give a boost to the plants. I’m playing with the idea of putting a rain catcher of some sort, like an old 6 gallon thermos jug with the lid off, at the end of each bed and attaching a length of soaker hose to it. Haven’t yet figured out how to valve it on and off, but it shouldn’t be difficult.
A benefit to gardening in refrigerator beds is that there is a good bit of insulation all around each of your gardens. This seems to make my crops last longer into cold weather and allows me to start things a bit earlier in the year, too, because my soil is workable. I also save two liter soda bottles, fill them with water and duct tape them together into a ring in which I plant my warm weather plants (tomatoes and peppers) early in the season. The water absorbs heat during the day and lets it off at night to be an insulating source for the plants.
Another plus to gardening in refrigerator beds is that plants which tend to sprawl, like strawberries, are contained and can only go as far as you want them to go. Imagine being able to pick strawberries without stooping. It’s wonderful! I contained a zucchini plant this past summer by planting it in an old microwave prepared in the same fashion.
Now, some may say, “But old refrigerators are so unsightly!” If it bothers you, you could spray paint them, I think. I just placed mine behind a shed where they aren’t noticed when you drive up to the house. Other options are a simple fence with trailing vines or a hedge planted to obscure the view of the garden from those it might offend.
Another thing to help with the garden bed set-up is carpet. Yes, used carpet! I let folks know that I would appreciate any old carpet when they re-carpet their homes, and I use it to set up walkways between my beds. First, I weed-eat all of the weeds down, then use a razor knife to cut the pieces to fit. Voila! Now I have no muddy shoes to worry about when I pick my veggies and bring them back to my kitchen.
For crops that need to climb, I have found that raising the beds to kitchen counter level is not practical. I can’t reach the produce to pick it! So for a few of my beds where I intend to plant beans, peas, cucumbers, etc., I put them only a few inches off of the ground. Even tomatoes can get really high, so keep this in mind as you are placing your beds. Once they are in place and full of dirt, they are extremely heavy to move.

Cattle panels and t-posts are all you need for creating wonderful trellises for your climbing plants. I cut the panel to fit my desired bed and just put either a piece of rebar or a t-post on each end (inside of the bed) to wire it to. If panels are out of your budget, any field fencing or even electric fencing wire strung at intervals would work. I prefer the panels simply because they are more durable and can be used again and again.

Caution: If you make refrigerator garden beds as I have described, you may find it difficult to convince yourself to go back in the house and get busy with necessary chores. It’s such fun to work in these beds!

**Due to my physical limitations, the “I” used throughout this article is a collective one, including my father and my sons, who have devoted a lot of time and energy to making my garden beds for me.

JWR Adds: If you acquire any “dead” refrigerators, be sure to remove their doors right away. If you don’t, they would be considered an “attractive nuisance” in the eyes of the law. (The suffocation deaths of children “playing” with refrigerators left outdoors are uncommon, but tragic when they do happen.)

Letter Re: Suburban Survival

Hi Jim and Family,
I truly enjoy reading your survival blog and learn from it daily and weekly. However I believe you are skipping over a topic that would benefit your readers….most of your readers.
I would think that most of your readers who check out and read your site on a daily basis do not have a remote retreat in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming. Most of your readers I’m sure live like me in American Suburbs, trapped and looking for a way to get out but in the mean time prepping for what we all know is coming.
My question to you and others, what are we to do? We can keep logging on to your web site everyday and read about what to do with 50 acres and security measures, and how to build barricades, but the average joe like me does not live where you do. Lets face it, all those hits on your web site are not only coming from folks high up in their retreats in Idaho.
So can you and other readers who know share some ideas for folks like me who live in the burbs? Fellas like me exist that have over a year’s worth of food stored up, lots of ammo and good combat quality arms, radiation detection, water filtration systems, nearby water sources, gold and silver reserves, cash reserves, yearly seed purchases, rainwater collection systems, some solar assets, and at least 6 able bodied males some with spouse who all have a deep love for our Lord.
What are we to do? We are where we are and we have what we have and we are going to try and make it out of what is coming so any advice would be helpful.
The simple fact is that most of us reading your site are probably in the situation I’m in. We’re all going to do our best but when it comes down to it, we’re going to have to do it from the ‘burbs.- Jeff (in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri)

JWR Replies: You point is well taken. I strongly believe that everyone that actively prepares will have a better chance of survival, regardless of their locale. Yes, your chances will be best out in the lightly populated hinterboonies, but that is not to say that the suburbs will be untenable. By actively preparing you will be way ahead of your suburban neighbors, and far, far more likely to survival a disaster–either a natural disaster or a man-made calamity.

It is noteworthy that most of the tactics, techniques, and technologies that you see described in SurvivalBlog can also apply to suburban settings. A good example of this was Fanderal’s recent article on raising rabbits and square foot gardening. In the coming weeks I’ll try to concentrate on urban and suburban survival topics.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There’s always a confused soul that thinks that one man can make a difference. And you have to kill him to convince him otherwise. That’s the hassle with democracy.” – Senator Charles F. Meachum in the movie Shooter

Note from JWR:

If you value what you read in SurvivalBlog, then please become a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. The subscriptions are entirely voluntary, but greatly appreciated. They help pay the bills here, including our bandwidth costs, which have increased steadily as the worldwide blog readership has grown. Since we started the blog in August of Aught Five we’ve changed our web hosting contract from silver, to gold, to platinum plans, and we typically get billed an extra $68 a month for additional bandwidth–above and beyond what we are allowed with the platinum plan. The next jump in plans is to the “Webmaster 150” plan, which will provide 150 gigabytes of bandwidth per month. And it looks like we are going to need it, since in August we used a staggering 97.3 gigabytes of bandwidth. That is pretty amazing for a blog site that has very few graphics. For those of you that have already subscribed (representing less than 1% of SurvivalBlog readers), thank you!

Bad News on the FOREX: The US Dollar Teeters on the Brink

We note with alarm that the US Dollar Index is hovering around 79.96. This is the first time that it has dipped below the critical support level of 80. If the USD index closes below 80 for three trading days in row, beware! The Chartist Gnome tells me that the likely support level is 76. Just as I warned you, folks: Lower interest rates–instituted as a stopgap for the current liquidity panic–are to the detriment of the value of the US Dollar on the FOREX. If the Ben Bernanke and his band of fools on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors cave in to political pressure and drops interest rates still further, it could very well trigger a massive sell off of dollars. If you think that the economy is bad now, just wait until the headlines scream: “Dollar Collapse!”

I predict that devaluation of the US Dollar will trigger an investor flight to safety. Savvy investors will diversify out of dollars ASAP. That means precious metals and perhaps select foreign currencies, but even the best of those–such as the Swiss Franc–are much like the dollar. In essence they are “I.O.U. Nothing” instruments. (Meaning that they are not redeemable in specie.) The “safety” response of most sheeple will be toward US Treasury bills, short-term T-bonds, and Treasury money market funds. (Basically any investment with “Treasury” in its name.) But that won’t provide any real protection if the dollar itself is wiped out. Sure, you’ll be “safe” and get all you money back, but by then, what will that currency represent? What will those dollars buy you? If there is a full scale dollar collapse, we could be living in a Zimbabwe-like hyperinflation in less than 18 months. For those of you that are retirees that need a regular return to live on. (which of course tangible precious metals can’t provide) the only US Treasury paper that I can recommend are TIPS, which of course are inflation-indexed.

The bottom line: the only truly safe investments in today’s market are silver and gold. It is no wonder that the spot gold price is around $700 per ounce and silver is at $12.53 per ounce (as of Friday’s New York close.) Obviously someone out there is seeing the big picture. I expect major gains in the precious metals markets in the months to come, as the dollar continues its painful, inevitable slide. FWIW, I’ve been a vocal Silver Bull ever since February 2001, when silver dipped below $4.55 per ounce. Mark my words: I still think that silver is headed past $50 per ounce.

Letter Re: Advice on CONEX Storage, and Preventing Damage to Stored Items

I really enjoy your site and books and regularly recommend your work to a number of friends. Due to a job transfer I will be moving from my retreat to a large metropolitan area. I purchased a [Continental Express] shipping container (CONEX) to store some of my preparation items I will not need or be able to transport/store. Do you or your readers have any experience storing saddles/tack, wood items in a CONEX? Bulk food packed in 5 gallon buckets? How about soft goods (clothing, blankets etc.) in steel 55 gal drums placed inside the container? My main concern is “sweating” and resultant damage and mold growth. I live on the north Texas state line where we have hot summers and rainy/moist winters. I have elevated the box off the ground to increase circulation and I am currently in search of “anti condensation” paint for the interior. As a side note to your readers, I recently unpacked some items stored in Rubbermaid ActionPacker [heavy duty plastic bin]s. To my surprise mice had eaten through [the bins] and destroyed ponchos, poncho liners, water filters, matches, first aid supplies etc.. An expensive lesson but better now than later. Any advice on smaller man portable containers for long term storage in a non climate controlled environment i.e. barn, CONEX etc.

Thanks again for your work and I will continue to spread the word about SurvivalBlog. – Jim in Texas

JWR Replies:
The crucial things to remember for storing items inside CONEXes are to:
1.) Leave a 6″ gap between any containers and the “sweaty” walls.

2.) Install one or more “spinner” air vents in the top centerline of the CONEX. The general guideline I’ve heard is one 8″ spinner vent for each 10 feet of CONEX length.

3.) Store most of the items inside in their own vermin-proof and water proof containers. The 30 and 55 gallon steel drums work fine, but I particularly like the surplus US Army 20mm ammo cans. (These measure 18″ long x 14.5″ high x 8″ wide and are often available at guns shows. They are also available via mil order, but with most vendors you will probably pay nearly as much for shipping as you do for the cans themselves!) One vendor that I do recommend is Altrec.com Outdoors. (They are one of our Affiliate advertisers. ) They sell 20mm ammo cans for $19.95 each, and offer free shipping for orders over $45. (Hence, you’d have to order three cans or combine the order with other items.) Search on item # 30440. The 20mm ammo cans are a convenient size to store items up to 18″ long, and they stack efficiently.

With 30 and 55 gallon steel drums there is a lot of wasted space and it impractical to access items in the bottom row of drums if you stack them. One solution I’ve saw used at a consulting client’s retreat in Northern California: Making a framework out of 4x4s (attached with large carriage bolts) to stack the drums horizontally, as much as three tiers high. The great depth of drums makes it difficult to access items in the bottom of a drum without a lot of unpacking. But they do make sense if you have a lot of identical items. (For example, say you have 20 or 30 military surplus wool blankets that you are storing for charity or barter.)

4.) Include several packets of silica gel desiccant inside each sealed container. Large bags of silica gel are often available free if you ask at stores that sell imported tools, machinery, or pianos from Asia. A few phone calls or a “wanted” ad placed on Craig’s List can often yield quite a bounty. (There are local editions of Craig’s List throughout the US and internationally.)

4.) Be sure to put all of the boxes, crates and ammo cans that you store inside a CONEX up on pallets or 2″x4″ wood blocks. You can usually get free pallets at building supply stores or feed stores, and scrap random length 2×4 blocks free for the asking at construction sites.

Letter Re: Some Tests of Ultra High Velocity .22 Long Rifle Ammo

Jim,
In April of 2007, I tested the three hottest “hypervelocity” .22 Long Rifle rounds. Because of the easy storage, accuracy and effects of .22 ammunition at ranges out to 150 yards (not to mention the fun of shooting a customized [Ruger] 10/22), I’ve had a second love affair with the round, since being a child. It’s the ultimate Survivalist round.
These tests compared Aguila Supermaximum, CCI Stinger and the full 40-grain CCI Velocitor. These tests were conducted at 100 meters, using a Ruger 10/22, customized with a 20″ Butler Creek bull barrel on a floating Butler Creek lightweight bull barrel stock with Harris bipod, competition 1 oz. trigger, polyurethane buffer pin. The scope is a Simmons 3-9×32. The Spring weather was sunny, with a slight right-to-left wind in a mountainous area.
My first shots were three-round zeroing groups of the Mexican-made Aguila Ammo, a 30 grain slug with a screaming muzzle velocity of over 1,730 fps. Groups #1 and #3 measured 2 1/2 inches at their widest points, with groups #2 and #4 measuring 5″ and 6″ inches, respectfully. In other words, even out of a bull-barreled 10/22, these rounds were all over the place, although they were getting there very fast.
My next four groups were five-shot groups, alternating between CCI Stinger and CCI Velocitor for each two sets of groups. Group #1 for the Stinger ammo (1,650 fps) was down and to-the-left by two inches square, and two inches left and five inches down for the slower (1,435 fps) 40 gr. Velocitor round. Deciding at this point that I was going to relegate my stockpile of .22 Aguila to practice ammo, I began making zeroing adjustments based on my Stinger groups.
During the course of this, the Stinger 5 round groups were 2 1/2″ to 3″, but remained consistent, with as many as three of the holes touching. The Velocitor groups measured 1 3/4″ to 2″, with three rounds in the last group all touching, and could fit in the area of a dime. The other two rounds in this group were high.
As for any other variables, I could probably have used a better scope. Second, being a runner, I have a strong heartbeat, which I can feel as I shoot, and probably need to train to shoot between heartbeats. The bottom line, however, is that I am now rotating through the Aguila ammo, then Stinger, and saving the 40-grain Velocitor for my SHTF/TEOTWAWKI/zeroing supply.
In conclusion: CCI Velocitor is simply the most accurate, as well as destructive .22 LR round. Once you can acquire good accuracy with a good .22 round, think of it as a good remotely-operated brain surgery tool. – Jerry E.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael H. forwarded a link to some sobering analysis of the US credit market implosion and its global reach: The Predicted Financial Storm Has Arrived.

   o o o

Frequent contributor Stephen in Iraq pointed out this article: Danger: Steep drop ahead–Even if the credit crunch passes without a major catastrophe, the prices
of stocks, bonds and real estate have a long way to fall.

   o o o

SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” recommends the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, January 2008). It is available for pre-order. The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Kadrey. The full text of some of the stories are available at the site, free of charge,. (They are linked at the comments page.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The notion that one will not survive a particular catastrophe is, in general terms, a comfort since it is equivalent to abolishing the catastrophe." – Iris Murdoch

Note from JWR:

Today we present another excellent article for Round 12 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 12 ends on September 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Doing Versus Studying–Wherever You Live, By Fanderal

As many of us are trapped in the city, at least for now, while we work and save for the day we can escape. We spend much of our off hours learning about the things we will need to know once we make the move. The thing is though, that learning about something, is not the same as learning that thing. We can’t learn what good soil feels like by reading about it, we can’t know what soil feels like when it has enough moisture, and what it feels like when it needs water, until we actually garden. Nor can we know how to raise animals until we have some, breed them, and raise the young to table weight. We need to know, rather than know about. The SurvivalBlog site and many others are committed to motivating us, and assisting us, in not only knowing about, but to also knowing. From a strategic point of view, we can’t count on not needing our preps until after we make the move to a more rural setting. What would we do if a month before you were to make the move, the Schumer started flying? How would we get by? Eat our storage food, and then what? Too many of us (because of a “I’m trapped in the city what can I do?” attitude) are planning on learning all that gardening and animal husbandry stuff after we get moved.

Knowing how to produce food in our back yard, is a skill that can be expanded to our front yard, common areas, and adjacent lots, thereby making us less vulnerable to random Schumeresque events. If TSHTF before we are ready, we have longer term viability where we are, But only if we learn things, rather than learn about things. Not that I will abandon my plans to leave the city, but it’s nice to know that if I get trapped here, I’m still viable for longer than my stored preps. Also we will be able to teach others how to duplicate what we have done, enabling them to be less needy, and ourselves less of a target.

The cry always goes up, but I’m stuck in the city, I only have a 50’x100′ lot that I rent. What can I do? Well the truth be told, you can do a lot. I have about the worst possible situation (shy of an Apartment) I live in the heart of a city of over 1,000,000, in a rented house, on a lot that is 50’x100′, the front half is taken up by the front yard, and the house, both sides of my yard have nice big trees, that unfortunately shade out all but the center of my yard. My growing space is less than 20’x20′. I am still able to have a 4’x12′ Square Foot Garden unit in a raised bed, and a Rabbit Hutch.

The gardening or raising animals on rented property is easy; just get the landlord’s permission. If you have been a good tenant, for a couple of years, and pay your rent on time, most of them will not have a problem with it as long as it doesn’t involve permanent changes to the property. Frequently the problem in the city is that most cities that I know of prohibit the keeping of poultry, swine, cattle, horses, and/or most other livestock within city limits. Quite often Rabbits are not classed as livestock or they are exempted from a general ban, although sometimes you need to get a Hutch Permit. You can find out by going to your city’s web site, or by calling the county health department, they are usually the department that handles animal permitting issues.

We have had gardens in the past, much larger than 48 square feet, so in my case the objective with a garden is not so much to be able to feed my wife and I off of this space, but rather to learn to grow crops I haven’t in the past, and keep old skills up. We have been raising Rabbits for a little over a year, and again my objective is not to make this our sole source of meat, but rather learn the skill of raising rabbits.

I am only going to cover a basic outline on both setting up a training/practice garden, and a basic rabbitry; there are many resources online and at your local library, or bookstore that will give you more and better details than I can in this single article. (see end of article for links) I would recommend that you get copies of the books “Raising Rabbits the Modern Way”, and a copy of “Square Foot Gardening”, and read them cover to cover before you start. Also read the FAO web page: “The Rabbit – Husbandry, Health, and Production”.

I have done, and am doing both a practice garden, and a rabbitry. They really don’t require much time once you get them set up. My web page has pictures of both my garden and my bunny barn.

Rabbits 101
Males are called Bucks
Female are called Doe
Young are called Kits
Kindle – giving birth
Kindling Box – Artificial Den used when Doe kindles, houses the new born kits, for the first 2 to 3 weeks.

Buck/Doe breeding ratio up to 1/10.
Life Cycle
Gestation 30-31 days
4 weeks to weaning
4 – 8 weeks to table weight
6 – 9 months to maturity (Never breed a doe younger than 6 months old)
Breeding stock, useful life is 3 to 4 years.

Rabbits are one of the best backyard livestock animals you can own. They are efficient meat producers, quiet, and only minimally smelly. Rabbits require only shade, food, and water to produce almost 50 lbs of lean meat per doe, per year. Rabbit droppings are a resource in themselves, which can be used directly as plant food, without the need to age as with cow, and horse manure. If you are squeamish about direct use, you can raise worms in the rabbit waste directly under the cages, which yields worm castings. Worm castings are highly prized as a soil amendment for all types of gardening. A complete cycle would be Garden scraps to Rabbits, to Worms, to Garden, and back again, with us siphoning off the lions share of the garden’s bounty, as well as meat.

In a well-ventilated backyard shed, medium to large breeds will produce litters of 5 to 9 kits per doe, 3 to 4 times a year. So you can get an average of about 24 kits per year, per doe. A herd of 4 does, and 1 buck will yield 96 to 112 kits every year. For a family of 4 this would allow 1/2 of a rabbit every week per person, plus a few to sell/trade.
Setting up and operating a backyard Rabbitry has 3 components:

1) Breed Selection
The most important decision you will make is what breed of rabbit to raise. We have seen in recent months the news story about the German breeder who raises enormous rabbits that weight up 22 lbs; while this may sound impressive, the practical feed conversion is not that great; for our purposes we want a breed that makes the most meat for the least feed. The best rabbits to meet that requirement are the Medium to Large breeds; giants look impressive but consume more feed per pound of meat than do the smaller breeds. Small/Mini breeds also don’t yield enough meat per animal. Please note; just because the word giant is in the name of the breed doesn’t mean that it’s a Giant class rabbit, it may just be the largest variant for that breed. Breed size classes are defined by weight at maturity as:
Small 2-6 lbs
Medium 6 – 9 lbs
Large 9 – 11 lbs
Giant 11 lbs < lbs.
Check out the American Rabbit Breeder Association (ARBA) for a list of breeds
Select based on what breeds are available locally, and that do well in your climate. Get to know other breeders in the area, and ask questions, they are almost always willing to help someone new, and it is good networking. Other more experienced local breeders will be able to help you avoid mistakes, and deal with the inevitable issues that will arise as you learn this skill.
Keep in mind that you don’t need pedigreed animals for meat production, so it is entirely acceptable to find an inexpensive crossbreed that is popular in your area, a show breeders culls. Buy from a local or at least regional breeder so you stock is acclimated to your climate. Don’t buy from a breeder in Montana, and expect to not have heat stress issues in Texas. Barring diseases, heat stress is the greatest threat to your rabbits.

2) Housing/=Equipment
Rabbits need to be confined, and protected from predators. Cages are used for confinement, each adult rabbit will need a cage at least 24″d x 24″w x 16″h for Bucks, and 30″d x 36″w x 18″h for Does. The Doe needs a larger cage in order to make room for a Kindling box. There are plans available for making your own cages, but having tried that, I recommend that you buy your cages. While it is possible to make cages with Hardware cloth from your local home center, the wire used in commercial cages is much superior. Cages cost about $25 for the Buck’s cage, and $35 for a Doe’s cage, from outlets like Tractor Supply Company, or Bass Equipment. [The Memsahib Adds: We bought most of our cages directly from Bass Equipment. Watch for their seasonal sales. They sometimes have prefabricated cage kits with trays for less than the cost of the equivalent raw materials at you local hardware store!]

You will also need:
1- Doe sized cage for finishing the young to table weight, for every two does.
1 Screen bottomed feed tray per adult rabbit, small for bucks and does, and a large for finishing cages.
Water bottles or automatic watering system; 1- bottle for each adult rabbit, and two for each finishing cage. If your climate has sub freezing temps in the winter time, you will want to get two complete sets of bottles for winter time operations, so that you can have one set in the house thawing out, while the other set is in the rabbitry freezing.
I started with 1 Buck, and 1 Doe.

This Required:
3 Cages
1- for each adult
1- finishing cage
6 – Water Bottles
2 – Short Feeders
1 – Long Feeder
1 – Shelter

Housing:
A simple three sided shed is adequate to protect your rabbits from the elements. It is important to note that while rabbits need a well-ventilated space, they also need to be protected from drafts. Beyond that you should be sure that your rabbit’s cages are reasonably clean. To make this easier for you, only use all wire cages, and don’t set them on a solid surface. My first rabbitry consisted of a table made with 2×4 hardware cloth stretched as a tabletop between 2×6’s and wooden pallets for legs. This gave me a place to set my cages so that waste dropped through to the ground. I later added plywood to the ends and back to block winter winds, and a tarp over the top that draped down the front, to provide shade and keep the rain out.

The total start up cost for me was (in 2005)
3 cages +/-$25 each
Bucks Cage from Garage sale $15
Doe cage $35
Finishing cage $35
6 – Water Bottles @ $5 each = $15
3 – Feeders $25

Hutch
2×4 hardware cloth was left over form another project (your cost)
The wooden pallets were salvaged from a friend’s storage unit
2x6s were left over from another project (your cost) $ 6
2- half sheets of 3/8” plywood were from the waste cut box at home center, $ 8
1- 4’x8′ sheet of 3/8” plywood, $12
1- 10×12’ Poly tarp $ 8
Rabbits $30
===
Total $ 199

Note: These prices are fairly current as I started my rabbit raising just over a year ago. However if you start your rabbitry when temps are likely to drop below freezing get two sets of bottles for each cage, it will save you lots of time thawing out frozen bottles. [The Memsahib Adds: In very cold climates, plastic water bottles will crack with repeated freezing. In such climates it is best to use two or three sets of 30 ounce steel cans (such as those used for canned peaches and apricots) as water cans. Use a nail to punch a hole just below the top lip so that you can attach the can with a wire hook to keep it from being tipped over in the cage. (Stout wire formed into a 2″ long hook shape work fine.) You can simply switch the cans each morning (or twice a day, in very cold weather) and bring the frozen water cans into the house to thaw. We usually let ours thaw out in the bottom of our laundry sink.]

3) Operations
After you have decided on what breed, you will want to set up your hutch/shed, and get enough cages for your starter stock before you get your rabbits.
I would recommend starting with one buck, and at most two does, so four cages with feeders, and water bottles.

I would give your new rabbits at least a couple of weeks to get used to their new surroundings, let the kids get bored with them, and make sure to keep your cats and dogs away from them. [The Memsahib Adds: A caged rabbit can be literally scared to death by a bothersome dog.] You will need to feed your rabbits once a day, Do not just leave food in their trays or they will get fat. Fat does don’t breed well. You will also want to check their water twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. This gets them used to you being around, and gives you a chance to monitor their condition. Take the time to pet the adults, and handle any kits, you don’t want them freaking out when you pick them up to process them. Always wear heavy long sleeve shirts when handling your rabbits. If they try to escape they can claw you up pretty good, and frightened Rabbits can bite.
After they have acclimated to their new home, you are ready for your fist breeding.

In order to get Kits, the Buck and the Doe must spend a little quality time together, the most important thing to remember here is always bring the doe to the buck’s cage. Never put the buck in the doe’s cage or she will beat the daylights out of him, possibly causing injury. Mature Does are very territorial, and will try to drive off any intruder in their space.
Leave the doe with the buck until he has serviced her at least twice, or for about 30 minutes, which ever comes first. Many breeders will tell you to do it again 8 hours later, some will say you only have to wait an hour. I find that as long as you put them together at least two times in the same day it works out okay. I have noticed that less than that results in smaller litters.
Mark your calendar on the day that you breed the doe, and count forward 30 days, mark that day as her due date. About 3 to 5 days prior to her due date, you want to set up your kindling box. I just used a piece of 3/8” ply wood as a partition on one side of her cage, you can buy or build a fully removable box if you wish, set up the box as described in the literature, and wait for the kits to arrive.
I leave the Kits with the doe for 4 to 5 weeks, and then move them to the finishing cage until I’m ready to butcher. I breed the doe again when I move the kits to the finishing cage, and start the process all over.
Cold is not a big problem here in the south, but heat on the other hand will wipe out your herd if you aren’t careful. If you live anywhere that summer time temps reach into the 90s or higher, then you will need to cool your rabbits, and suspend breeding as high temperatures will cause Bucks to go sterile, and pregnant does will loose litters, and may die also. The bucks usually return to full vigor in the fall, but sometimes not. I suspend breeding after mid-May to protect my does. This is why many large scale breeders set up fully enclosed rabbitries that are air-conditioned. However it would be better to avoid this type of set up, because we need our rabbitry to be able to function in a Grid Down environment, and the loss of climate control in mid-July could wipe out your entire rabbitry before you could compensate.

I deal with the heat by using 2 liter soda pop bottles filled with water, and frozen in my chest freezer. As soon as the temps hit the high 80’s we put a 2 liter bottle in with each rabbit, and then usually have to change them out 3 or 4 times a day as they thaw out. I accept this under my Grid Down requirement because I can keep my freezer running on a generator for at least a while, where as keeping an AC unit running takes a lot more energy. Also remember I’m not trying to maintain a breeding environment, I’m just trying to keep my animals alive.
Even losing 3-1/2 to 4 months a year to heat, you can still get 3 or 4 litters a year out of each doe without pushing her.

To give you an idea of what kind of production you can expect here are some numbers to think about. With a herd of 3 Does, and 1 Buck:
6 kits per litter (average) x 4 litters per year = 24 kits per Doe per year.
3 Does x 24 Kits 72 Rabbits (called Fryers)
Fryer = 2 pounds dressed = 1 meal for four people.
72 fryers = rabbit for dinner once a week all year long with a few to trade.
Plus you have the rabbit manure for fertilizer, or for raising worms, and the pelts for clothing, blankets, or trade.

There has been some research done on underground rabbitries to escape the heat see the links for a discussion of this topic. [The Memsahib Adds: This was the method used in ancient Rome. Just keep in mind that rabbits can be prodigious at tunneling, so your perimeter fences must extend 20″ underground to prevent escapes. An acquaintance of ours had the foundation of their house ruined by their colony of pet rabbits that they let loose.]

The time I spend with my rabbits is much more rewarding both in a practical sense, and an emotional one, than the description I have written here. Especially when I am standing over my grill with a quartered rabbit being barbequed.

Rabbitry Links
Rudolph’s Rabbit Ranch (Mary-Frances R. Bartels)
The Rabbit – Husbandry, Health and Production
Effect of housing system (cage versus underground shelter) on performance of rabbits on farms

The Practice Garden
I can’t give you as much detail about the Garden as I have about the Rabbitry, because; 1) gardening is easier, 2) the details of gardening vary more depending on exactly what you are growing, and 3) raising Rabbits is the newest skill for me, so I have more details in mind at the moment.

While it is possible to completely feed yourself off of the produce from a back yard garden, on the right lot, few lots are large enough to permit this. Also I for me the city is not a good long term location. What I am describing here is something that allows me to develop, and maintain my gardening skills, as they relate to the kind of gardening I will be doing on my homestead when the time comes. For more information on urban self-sufficiency check out Path to Freedom

My back yard is not good for gardening, as I only have a small area that gets enough sun. I have put in a 4’x12’ raised bed by using 4”x 8”x 16” hollow core cinder blocks, 3/8” x 24” rebar, and some weed barrier fabric. I stake out the area I want to use, with rebar and string; next I place the weed barrier fabric, and staple it to the ground using staples made out of wire cloths hangers. Place the first course of blocks using the string as a guide, and drive a piece of 2’ rebar in the end hole of each cinder block, but not all the way in; leave enough rebar sticking up to have a bit stickup out of the top of the second course of blocks. If you lay out blocks 3 across each end, and 8 along each side you will get a space about 4’ x 12’. My fill is topsoil from the garden center, mixed about 75/25 with rabbit droppings.

You will need the usual garden tools; shovel, rake, hoe, wheelbarrow. I water with a soaker hose, this saves water, and helps limit fungus diseases.
I’m not going to give you specifics as to cultivars, and such, because the point of the exercise is for you to practice growing the veggies you like.
This year we have two heirloom tomato plants, one Yellow Pear, and a Stripy tomato. Some green beans, hot peppers, black beans, radishes, beets, and carrots. We have never grown heirloom vegetables before, and we have never grown a dried bean before. My reasons for them are to find out how much different heirloom varieties are, and to learn about putting up dried beans. This is the part about learning something, as opposed to learning about something.

Gardening Links
Square Foot Gardening (Mel Bartholomew)
Carrots Love Tomatoes (Louise Riotte)
How to Grow More Vegetables (John Jeavons)
Bountiful Gardens
Acres USA

Conclusion:
Among the specific things I have learned this year, that I would not have learned from books are:
I would not know how much meat I could produce from x number of Rabbits, if I hadn’t actually started raising them. None of my reading taught me anything about dealing with the heat in the summer time, I had to deal with the heat to learn it.
Having never grown the varieties of tomatoes that we have this year, I would not have known just how big they can get, or that I would need a much bigger cage than I expected. I will next time because now I know, rather than know about.

What I would like you to take away from this article is that we each need to develop real skills, and we can do so, in spite of the fact that our living conditions are often times less than ideal.
– Fanderal

Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

This week: Western North Carolina, and Part 2 of our introduction to New Zealand.
The first section was written by Ron Thompson, a real estate agent in Burnsville, North Carolina, in response to our request for some background on Yancey County, North Carolina.

Western North Carolina and Yancey County are unique in many ways:
We have a principally conservative population of self sufficient souls that live here year round.
1. Our location enjoys the benefits of 2,500 to 6,000 foot elevations. Among them are spectacular mountain scenery, abundant water supplies from rivers and streams, fertile river valleys, and moderate climate (It rarely exceeds 80 or goes below 0).
2. We have an influx of summer residents and tourists providing an excellent source of income for those wise enough to capitalize on them (crafts, home grown vegetables, honey, firewood, etc).
3. We have limited “big city” luxuries such as shopping malls. But, they are within reasonable driving distances. (Asheville is 37 miles [from Burnsville].)
4. We do have grocery stores, a movie theater and a Summer Playhouse and a fine public golf course.
5. We are comfortably out of reach of the more populated areas of North Carolina south and east of us such as Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham and Chapel Hill, yet close enough for a weekend visit should you need a reality check as to why you left the big city.
6. We do not have burdensome zoning.

Market conditions in our area have seen moderate price reductions due to the overall real estate market conditions. It should be noted that our prices are normally lower than other areas of the Southeast. Raw land starts as low as $10,000 an acre and increases based on features such as water frontage, amount of flat tillable land, etc. Prices are not as low as they used to be and all price trends are upward despite the recent price dip.

Self Sufficiency or Semi-Self-Sufficiency is possible here for a number of reasons. Among them are:
1. The locals are of Scotch /Irish heritage and maintain the customs of growing their own produce, repairing their own possessions and bartering for goods they need (weekend side-of-the-road Flea Markets and Produce Stands abound).
2. We have an abundance of natural resources:
Clear mountain water for drinking.
Streams for water power.
Abundant sun for gardens and solar power.
Mountain breezes for wind power.
Fertile soil for growing your own produce. (This was once a major apple producing area.)
Bear, Deer, Rabbits, Squirrel, Grouse and Turkey can be harvested.

Tactical Considerations:
During the American Civil War, General Sherman said of the mountains of Western North Carolina “Only a fool would lead an army into those mountains”. The heavily wooded mountains, the many caves, old woods roads and unmarked trails and coves (you may call them small valleys), offer concealment and protection.
The local residents of our area are by and large, a private people. Friendly, if their friendship is cultivated, they tend to stick together in small church community groups. You will be welcomed in their church and community but your privacy will be respected. They don’t care for trespassers and they generally don’t trespass. Chasing a bear in season may be an exception.
We are at least four hours or more away from the major population areas of the South such as Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina. With interstate gridlock during an emergency, it is unlikely that anyone seeking haven here would be able to reach us on one tank of gas.
We have many properties that will provide an ideal location for survival-minded people. These vary from small one family parcels to sizeable pieces that will provide suitable conditions for a group of like minded families.
We will be pleased to be your search agent for property in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Ron or Julia Thompson
June Jerome Realty
P.O. Box 221
Burnsville, NC 28714 Ph: 828-682-4900

New Zealand (Part 2)
A special thanks to those of you who wrote in concerning Part 1 of New Zealand. Obviously, there is a lot more to choosing this locale as a retreat area then meets the eye and I appreciate the feedback.

To recap the cons of immigrating to New Zealand: It is going to be a hard sell at best as the requirements to become a citizen are very strict. (The U.S. should take some lessons from New Zealand), as they should be, that’s most likely one of the main reasons the country has such a low crime rate, they screen their immigrants and are very selective on who they let in. Mostly, you’ll need to bring a ‘value’ with you, be it a business or a lot of money, preferably both, near as I can tell.

Self-defense is frowned upon, at least with a firearm. I spoke with a local realtor there who stated that you may only use the same force that an attacker uses to stop an attack. Meaning, if the perp has a knife you cannot use a gun, you must use a similar level of force. Whether this is true or not I don’t know but it sounds about right given the information that Craig D. posted on the blog this week. Importation of your great firearms collection will be almost impossible if it consists of anything in the black rifle arena. A big no-no in my book. The overall picture now becomes clear, New Zealand firearms laws are a twisted mix of U.S. / British and U.N. scripts. This is a country where you can own a suppressed semi-auto AR-15 but you can never shoot it except at a certified range, never use it for self defense, never travel with it except in a secure box and unloaded (to the range only) and you must store it in a government approved ‘bunker safe’ in your home. I guess Craig D. was right, the great Nanny State is alive and well in New Zealand. The good news is you’ll probably never need your guns there if they keep a tight lid on the immigration flow.
Okay, rant over. Let’s try and see what positive things New Zealand has to offer.

New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere and the air masses from the southern hemisphere and the northern hemispheres don’t mix. That is a huge advantage in the event of a nuclear exchange. Nearly all of the envisioned targets are in the northern hemisphere.

It has a very low crime rate. Many of the other touted offshore retreat locales–particularly in Central and South America have high crime rates, and in some locales like Honduras, ex-pats are specifically targeted for home invasion robberies. The drug gangs have discovered that is where the good stuff is: The Gringo’s house. So, by comparison, the low crime rate in New Zealand is a big plus.

New Zealand is an English speaking country, so there is no language barrier. It also means that ex-pats blend in fairly well and can be more readily assimilated into the culture. Even then it would take at least a full generation to be considered a “local” but at least there isn’t the same inherent distrust that is prevalent isn many nations that speak other languages.

Overall, after feedback from several readers I must say that New Zealand get’s a 65 out of 100 as far as a retreat locale. The saving graces that brought the score up substantially, were the low crime rate, the variety of terrain/micro-climates between the islands, the immigration laws (allowing only productive folks to come) and the remote location of the country from the rest of the world.

We are looking for suggestions for next weeks update so if you have a favorite locale or region please e-mail us and suggest one CONUS area and one International area and we’ll get to work on it for next Friday! – T.S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Ben L. bookmarked this article for us: Tool heaven full to the brim. Ben’s comment: “Hundreds of thousands of [traditional hand] tools. I can see the lines full of SurvivalBlog readers forming now.”

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From The Guardian: The looming food crisis–Land that was once used to grow food is increasingly being turned over to biofuels. This may help us to fight global warming – but it is driving up food prices throughout the world and making life increasingly hard in developing countries. Add in water shortages, natural disasters and an ever-rising population, and what you have is a recipe for disaster.

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Stephen in Iraq sent us some bad news on the Peak Oil front: Oil companies spent 45% more on oil exploration and oil field expansion last year, but reserves increased by only 2%.

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Reader “Quaesiveris” suggested bookmarking the CDC’s “Yellow Book” web page for travelers.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"You must have a willingness to do something when everyone else is petrified. You must learn the lesson of following logic over emotion." – Warren Buffett