Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 25, 2021

On June 25th, 1876, Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The Battle of Little Bighorn–also called Custer’s Last Stand –marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. While complicated, the generally accepted reason for the battle is that the discovery of gold in South Dakota’s Black Hills in 1875 led to the U.S. government disregarding previous treaty agreements. The gruesome fate of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.

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The Korean war began at an hour before dawn on June 25, 1950.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Raising Beef on a Small Homestead – Part 1, by K.R.

Raising beef cattle may be outside the comfort zone of many Survival Blog readers, but it doesn’t need to be. At least that is what my wife and I found out. Doing so on a small, manageable scale has significantly upgraded our level of land management, food preparation, and enjoyment. Now we can’t imaging our high altitude (6,500 feet) American Redoubt retreat without full freezers of steaks, roasts, and burgers, all the nutritious compost we could ever hope for, and our two Highland cows roaming our mountainous 20 acres.

Many might say that, “I’ve never raised livestock and want to start with something small,” or, “I don’t have enough land and equipment,” so they don’t even try to raise cattle. As it turns out, the skills needed to raise beef aren’t any more difficult than growing a garden or deciding which firearms are the best ones for defense of a ranch or homestead. You can do what we describe here with just a few acres and no expensive farming equipment.

Why Beef?

The first question most people ask is, “Why beef? Why not goats or chickens, or something smaller than I am? Good question. Goats and chickens are good ideas in the right setting. We decided against them and made the move to beef for a number of reasons. First, we needed a robust protein source, and we like the taste of beef; and if you raise the right kind, it can be as high in Omega-3 fats and low in the “bad” fats as chicken. Secondly, goats and chickens do not do well where we are because of predators. We have bountiful ermine and foxes that take chickens, and mountain lions that take goats.

The cattle we chose have a positive overall impact on our land by increasing grass density and removing weeds, and they produce a high enough volume of manure that meets our garden needs. Finally, having large livestock roam most of our land qualifies us for a property tax break in our state that effectively pays for purchasing and feeding our cattle. We chose beef because it was the option that met our land, garden, taste, and financial needs.Continue reading“Raising Beef on a Small Homestead – Part 1, by K.R.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at industry perspectives on the ongoing ammunition shortage. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Fed Musings About Distant Interest Rate Hikes Spook Metals Markets

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Inflation And Gold In The 1970s  Vs. Today’s Situation.

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A good primer: Coins vs Bars – Expert Tips on Gold and Silver Coins and Bars.

Economy & Finance:

Bank of England to look through temporary inflation rise, says Poll.

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From the leftist CBS News: Unemployment applications rise from a pandemic low, even as economy strengthens.

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And at Zero Hedge: Powell Just Launched $2 Trillion In “Heat-Seeking Missiles”: Zoltan Explains How The Fed Started The Next Repo Crisis. A quote:

“Needless to say, flooding the Fed’s RRP facility and sterilizing reserves is hardly what the Fed had intended, and as Credit Suisse’s own repo guru (and former NY Fed staffer) Zoltan Pozsar wrote in his post-mortem, ‘…the re-priced RRP facility will become a problem for the banking system fast: the banking system is going from being asset constrained (deposits flooding in, but nowhere to lend them but to the Fed), to being liability constrained (deposits slipping away and nowhere to replace them but in the money market).'”

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The primary argument the past year among leftist governments in foreign nations as well as in blue states here in the US has been that they do not necessarily intend to “force” vaccine passports on their respective populations. Rather, they will leave it up to individuals to “choose” vaccination or no vaccination. This might sound surprising to many in the alternative media because we know that the lockdowns were viciously enforced by many states and numerous businesses were threatened or attacked by their local health authorities. Suddenly these same bureaucrats and politicians care about your personal freedoms?

What they don’t mention is that the ‘choice’ they are offering is not much choice at all. Sure, you can refuse to get the vaccine, but if most businesses in your community demand proof of vaccination before you can work or shop with them, your refusal comes with the promise of poverty and possibly starvation. You would be completely cut out of the mainstream economy.

This is a bait and switch, an attempt to make you think you are free but then punishing you for pursuing free decisions. In order for this con game to work, though, the government needs businesses to act as their taskmasters. Make no mistake, major corporate retailers will join with government to enforce vaccine passports. It is only a matter of time.” – Brandon Smith

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 24, 2021

June 24th the birthday of rifle-toting abolitionist pastor Henry Ward Beecher. (Born 1813, died March 8, 1887.) He and his adherents from his church smuggled so many Sharps rifles to Bleeding Kansas that the Sharps rifles picked up the nickname Beecher’s Bibles. Wikipedia states: “Several of his brothers and sisters became well-known educators and activists, most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe, who achieved worldwide fame with her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 3, by T.J. Dixon

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Your crops should be started indoors 4 to 6 weeks before you’re ready to put them out. Since your space is small to start, you will only need one or two 72 cell starter trays; you can also use egg trays or make pots from rolled up paper. When you are selecting your seeds look for heirloom or “open-pollinated” seeds; they will be labeled on the seed packet. Since you will be harvesting next year’s seeds from your little garden, you do not want hybrid seeds. Heirloom and open-pollinated seeds will reproduce true every generation. Hybrid seeds will grow, but you cannot be certain what characteristics will pass on. Put two seeds in each pot or cell. You can prune one out if they both sprout, but you double your chances of success that way. Sometimes you only get a 75% sprouting rate, so doubling up is the best way to compensate. You can use a shop light for germination and early growth, but if you can afford it get a small led grow light system. These have better light spectrum properties and are cheaper to operate. Light intensity decreases exponentially, meaning you want the light as close to the top of the plants as you can without letting them touch the bulbs. You can even sprout them in a window if you need to – it will take a bit longer, but it will work.

A week or two before you want to transplant them, they need to be hardened off. This can be done by making a small tent from PVC piping and shade cloth, or just putting them in a shady location. You can also watch the weather and look for a cloudy day – but you risk a sudden break in the clouds which can make things dicey. Keep them watered, remember those trays are small and do not hold much moisture. You should water daily unless it has rained. If the temperature is going to drop into the 30’s, bring them in at night. Remember that bunnies, groundhogs and other critters love tasty little sprouts, so protect them.Continue reading“Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 3, by T.J. Dixon”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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

Europe Officially Launches Covid Vaccine Passports

Avalanche Lily asked me to post this: Europe officially launches covid “vaccine passports” after clueless media dismissed the idea as a “conspiracy theory”.

West Risks Blackouts as Drought Reduces Hydroelectric Power

Reader C.B. was the first of several readers who sent links to this widely re-posted article from The Wall Street Journal: West Risks Blackouts as Drought Reduces Hydroelectric Power. The article begins:

“States across the West are at risk of electricity shortages this summer as a crippling drought reduces the amount of water available to generate hydroelectric power.

Some of the region’s largest reservoirs are at historically low levels after a dry winter and spring reduced the amount of snowpack and precipitation feeding rivers and streams. The conditions are especially dire in drought-stricken California, where officials say the reservoir system has seen an unprecedented loss of runoff this spring—800,000 acre-feet, or enough to supply more than a million households for a year.”

While America Slept, China Stole the Farm

Some interesting reading, over at AgWeb: While America Slept, China Stole the Farm.  Here is a quote:

“Over the past decade, China has appropriated trillions of dollars in sophisticated U.S. technology, with a keen interest in the latest advances in the agriculture industry. In 2013 and 2015, Chinese nationals were nabbed in flagrante delicto by federal authorities, attempting to transport pilfered corn and rice seed to China. However, as the arrests and prosecutions made national headlines, the hard evidence remained ignored. Based on a cursory examination of the CCP’s espionage footprint, the seed thefts are merely emblematic and represent the tip of the iceberg: Beijing is looting the American farm. “

GOP RINO Senators ‘Committed’ to Infrastructure Deal

Sen. Portman: 11 GOP Senators ‘Absolutely Committed’ to Infrastructure Deal — It Helps Biden Keep Pledge.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 23, 2021

On June 23, 1868, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for a typewriter. Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard. Along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, Sholes has been contended as one of the inventors of the first typewriter in the United States.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 2, by T.J. Dixon

(Continued from Part 1.)

The planting process starts by seeding most crops indoors under artificial lights about 4-6 weeks before it is time to plant them outside; Here, refer to the USDA Hardiness information for planting times. Most crops need from 60 to 90 days to mature after you’ve transplanted. In Zone 5, I start spring seeds indoors in February, summer seeds indoors in April and fall seeds in July. Once things have sprouted, they need to be transitioned outside. You cannot just take a plant from the low light of the indoors into the full power of the sun without letting to plants become accustomed to the change gradually. Each cell on the plant has sensitive cells to allow photosynthesis – the process of converting sunlight into energy. These are similar to your eyes in the sense that they open wide in low light to allow more light in, then close down in brighter light. Taking a plant directly outdoors is like walking from a dark basement into the bright sunlit sky and looking up at the sun – your eyes snap shut to protect your cornea until your eyes adapt. Plants do not have eyelids and their cells will literally explode if you do this – not instantly, but the day after you put them in direct sunlight you will see leaves starting to turn brown and die. You must take them outdoors and place them in shade, or cover with shade cloth, for a week or so, then move to the full light. Make sure to factor this into your transplant schedule. Once they are hardened off, and the timing is right for your zone, transplant them. Then, you have two to four weeks before it is time to start the next wave – unless it’s fall. Then you have to wait until closer to spring to start over. Always start more seeds than you need to account for loss – you can get more seeds from your harvest, but you can never get the time back you lost on a total crop failure.

After the first year, expand your 10×10 space by 4 feet in length and width and add two more rows. Now, in addition to the original four crops, add cabbage and carrots for spring and fall and lentils and winter squash for summer. Each year, add a little more space and add a new crop or two into your rotation. Soon, you will have a large garden and the ability to make the compost material to grow what you need to feed your family. By slowly adding space and crops you will not overwhelm yourself trying to plant two dozen things – like the little can of Emergency Seeds would have you do. You will build your space, your soil and most importantly your knowledge. Your failures are more important than your successes. Every year some part of my garden fails. From these failures, I learn new lessons. These lessons are frustrating now, but in a real survival scenario, they may be fatal. Learning as much as possible now will serve you well.

As you begin to get successful, say in year three or four, you will learn just how much space you will need to sustain your family long-term. You will also understand that your small can of seeds is not even close to enough seeds to feed even a small family. You must have the seed stock in place before WROL if you hope to grow food after the first year. In fact, you will need that year’s supply of food to allow you to begin to expand your space and get large-scale crops in the ground.

Counting Calories

You have to know how many calories are in each crop, and how much to plant for each person. A 2,000 calorie a day diet is close to 800,000 per year. For a quick break down that might end up being:
• 225 pounds of dried corn
• 200 pounds of dried peas and/or dried beans
• 50 pounds of greens such as Kale, lettuce, spinach and green beans
• 50 pounds of beets
• 200 pounds of potatoes
• 50 pounds of squash

That is for one person, and it is daunting. Using intensive growing techniques, with lots of compost and adequate crop rotation, that is close to 1/5 acre per person, per year. That includes growing all three seasons. It also means you must have the seed stock on hand for each. For easy calculations figure a 20:1 ratio of harvest to seed stock and you will begin to understand how much you need to have on hand to even start. The best way to have that stock is to grow your own in your scaled-down Survival Garden now and be sure that it is big enough to produce your seeds stock every year. So, your Survival Garden is exactly the size you need to have adequate seed stock for a full WROL event. That way your stock is from proven materials, is fresh and has the best chance of germination. You are not a hobby gardener, but a practicing Survival Gardener.

Calculate your needs and make a plan to get there. Do not start big – you will fail and get discouraged. Start with my action plan and accrue knowledge and seeds over time. It is possible to generate all the seed stock you need in a small space, say a ¼ acre. You can do it in containers, raised gardens, and vertical gardening if you are short on space. A lack of land cannot be an excuse, just a challenge. Without the seed stock you have no ability to grow your next year’s crop. If a sudden WROL situation occurs, will you have the time and ability to go get all the seed stock you need? It’s so much better to have it in your Survival Garden ready for use.

Starting from scratch can seem quite daunting. There are so many details, so many ways to fail – some are potentially your fault while others are beyond your control like weather and critters. It doesn’t have to be a huge effort, however. I’ve laid out a small 10 by 10 starter space that can be prepared in a weekend with nothing more than a shovel. To begin, there are a few immediate steps to take; it is your action plan. It assumes you have no experience gardening, no prepared land and no clue where to start.

Start With a Compost Pile

First, start building a compost pile. Use lawn clippings, weeds and kitchen scraps. Match that with all the cardboard you probably receive from deliveries, shred your junk mail, pick up shopping advertisements and shred them too. Build in layers making sandwiches of greens and browns. The point is, this should be a free activity that actually reduces some of your trash. The pile will decompose over months, so you’re building next year’s compost. Keep adding all year long, if you turn the pile frequently, it will decompose quicker, but if you just practice benign neglect, nature will take care of it for you. I do that myself, just build huge piles of freely available materials and “harvest” it in the spring. You cannot have too much – a giant pile today composts down to less than a tenth of the size by the time it’s ready. Make lots of big piles, way more than you think you need.

Secondly, find your space. Look for a location with as much sun as possible. South facing spaces get the most sunlight as the sun moves from east to west during the day. Get your shovel and turn the soil, break it up as you go. This is tough labor, but remember in a WROL you’ll be doing this on a scale a thousand times as large. It can be done by most healthy adults in a single day’s labor. Now it’s time to amend your soil. Since your compost pile is not ready, this time you will need to add organic material you obtain elsewhere. If you have a pickup truck, you can get free horse manure from many farmers or horse barns. I truck in 20 tons a year myself. If it is “fresh”, meaning you can still see the sawdust or hay they use to cover the floor and easily spotted droppings, then you can either pile it up somewhere to break down, or mix it well into your soil.

If you can’t get free manure, you can buy bags at most box stores. Get enough to cover 3-4 inches of the entire space, but you really cannot overdo organic material – more is better. If your soil is full of clay, you can also mix in some peat moss to help break things up. If you have access to a rototiller, the mixing will be easier. You can probably borrow one from a neighbor or rent one. It is certainly possible to mix it with a shovel, but it is a lot of work; teenagers are a good source of free labor if you have some in your home. When things are prepared, designate four rows with a path between them. These will each hold one of the crops listed above.

(To be concluded tomorrow, in Part 3.)

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson suggested this article: Ground-breaking night-vision film can be applied to regular glasses.

o  o  o

H.L. sent us the link to this fascinating page: Animated Map: U.S. Droughts Over the Last 20 Years.

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Garand Thumb reviews the SIG “DVO” LPVO: US Army’s New M4 Optic.

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Tim. J. in Florida sent us this: Disney World sees an increase in number of concealed weapons found: report.

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Over at American Partisan: The Kinder-Morgan Incident, Stealth Drones and China’s Growing Threat on the Southern Border, an analysis by NC Scout.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 22, 2021

On June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei was coerced by Pope Gregory XV to recant his belief in heliocentrism–that the Earth orbits the Sun. The Vatican did not concede that it was wrong until October 31, 1992.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 1, by T.J. Dixon

Many of us would regard someone with one year of freeze-dried food as a good example of someone who is prepared. They are ready to ride out the storm when a major Without Rule of Law (WROL) scenario comes along. The issue then becomes, what happens after that first year? Even if they escape mob violence because they have effective self-defense supplies and have trained both at the gun club and in tactical scenarios, they will be out of food in one short year. While they have may all the medical supplies to handle small and large emergencies throughout that year, they will still be hungry. Once the local area is hunted out, there is only one possible solution – grow your own. Without the ability to produce all the food your family or team needs, you are only delaying the inevitable – a slow starvation. You will spend the year eating all your preps knowing that there is nothing else coming after that. For that reason, gardening – Survival Gardening to be specific – is be your most vital prep; it’s not as flashy as great tactical gear or buckets full of food, but it has the wonderful property of being sustainable unlike anything you have to buy in the store.

This article is aimed at the non-gardener, or previously failed gardener, who may have never successfully planted a single seed. I am going to outline a getting started guide, not a comprehensive list of everything you can do, but the essentials to get started without much time or money invested. It is designed to take you from zero gardening experience to sustainable Survival Gardener in easy, small steps. You do not need anything besides a shovel and some seeds, although better equipment will make the job faster and easier.

Many people have purchased “Survival Seeds” and stored that small can away in a cool dark place. Once WROL hits, they imagine taking them out, putting them in the ground and watching the magic of nature as it blooms into a garden of abundance and they are able to sustain themselves. As a master gardener and someone who has gardened seriously for decades, I can assure you that the above scenario is a likely as a novice gun owner taking out their unused AR-15 and successfully winning a battle against a squad of Navy SEALs. It will absolutely not happen. What will happen is a series of mistakes, natural predators, disease and failure after failure as hope slowly dies out.

Continue reading“Survival Gardening: The Most Vital Prep – Part 1, by T.J. Dixon”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on Pastor Matt Shea’s fledgling ministry. (See the Central & Eastern Washington section.)

Region-Wide

Judge deals blow to Oregon group’s vision of ‘Greater Idaho’.

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Forecasts show drought continuing for Inland Northwest.

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Inland Northwest Insights provides current economic and demographic data.

Idaho

Idaho unemployment rate drops to 3% as pandemic fades.

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Idaho Home Prices Continue to Skyrocket

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Liberal tourist freaks out at the sight of an armed shopper in Sandpoint. JWR’s Comments:  It is laughable to think that this post made it to the widely-read “Upworthy” site. Here in the Redoubt, everyday people are often seen legally armed. Only a handful of tourists feel any stress at the sight of it.  Get over it, Annie. Open carry is legal in more than 40 states. And permitless concealed carry now a growing trend, legal in 21 states. Now scamper back home to Illinois, where you will mistakenly feel more safe. But be advised that Idaho is ranked #42 of the 50 states for violent crime, while Illinois is ranked #19. And for intentional homicide rates, Idaho is ranked #48, while Illinois is ranked #14.

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A Boise television newscast: Extreme heat, severe drought afflicting Idaho and much of the West. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog reader A.K. for the link.)

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Northwestern Band of Shoshone sues Idaho over hunting rights.

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Alaska Air adds Boise to Moscow flight in partnership with U of I. (Well, the flights are actually to Pullman, Washington, just across the state line.)

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