Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 2, by J.T.

(Continued from Part. 1. This concludes the article.)

Onions

1. Onions can be started anytime between February 25 and April 27. I grow my Walla Walla onions from seed not from sets that have been started by another grower. You can begin harvesting these about 125 days after starting the seeds.

2. Using the small containers, start by filling each with 90% starting material then soak each one. Next, put 50 to 60 seeds in each pot, then cover 1/8″ with potting soil, then very slowly add enough water to soak the last 1/8″, trying hard to avoid the seeds from floating in the mixture. Keep the material damp while the plants emerge in a warm room under grow lights.

3. If the onions were started February 25, they should be ready to move to the greenhouse the middle of March where there will be sufficient light and warmth for them to continue maturing in their original pot. While in the greenhouse, you will need to trim their tops to keep them around 4 to 5 inches short. Don’t rush to plant outside. You want the ground to be in the high 60s with some low 70 degree days. For my location, that would mean outside planting would take place about June 1st after hardening off for 3 or 4 days.

4. It’s now time to transplant the onions to an area of the garden that has been tilled and leveled. Carefully separate each tiny plant from the 50 or 60 crammed into the little containers. Each plant should be planted about 6″ apart. 100 plants will fit an area 5′ by 6′. Keep the ground moist during the growing time. Growth has been slow until now, however, in just 60 days you will be eating your own onions.

Peas

1. Snap peas are a favorite of our customers, so I grow lots of them. Most folks start peas by planting them directly in the ground. I find that starting the seed in planting material and putting them in the greenhouse for transplanting later works best. My first seeds are started April 1st followed by my second planting April 24th. Harvesting will occur in our area about 2 & 1/2 months from the time the seeds are started.

2. Using the small containers, start by filling each with 70% starting material then soak each one. Next, put 4 to 5 seeds in each pot, then cover 1″ with potting soil, then slowly add enough water to soak the last 1″, trying hard to avoid the seeds from floating in the mixture. Keep the material damp while the plants emerge in the greenhouse.

3. Plants will be ready to transplant outside about 20 to 25 days after starting the seeds. The ground will be chilly, but peas actually prefer cooler weather. Be sure to harden off the plants a few days before putting them in there permanent outside location.

4. When it’s time to transplant the peas, be sure it’s in an area of the garden that has been turned over and leveled. Each plant should be in a row about 1″ to 2″ apart with the row being separated by at least 2′. 100 plants will fit an area 5′ by 7′ when using 2 rows. Keep the ground moist during the growing time. In less than 2 months, peas will be ready to harvest. Plan for the harvest to last for about one month.Continue reading“Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 2, by J.T.”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 16, 2021

Today is the anniversary of the Battle at Pound Gap Kentucky. (1862)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. 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.
  5. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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 93 ends on March 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.

Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 1, by J.T.

This article describes the steps required to raise a variety of 14 vegetable plants from seed starting to a successful harvest. I’ve been at this for 50 years and feel like I am getting closer to getting it done right.

I raise vegetables and fruit, manly to sell from a roadside stand. Yearly, I grow about 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 1,500 pounds of apples, plums, and pears. Our family uses only 30% of this yield, so that leaves a lot to sell.

The following are what I believe are the most important preparation and focus points for a successful garden:

• Your outside garden area will be best prepared if your soil has at least a 3-inch layer of compost over the entire area placed there at the end of last year’s harvest.
• Best date to start seeds will be listed. Don’t start too early and don’t start too late.
• The amount you can expect to harvest from each seed will be listed by number of plants or pounds per plant. Don’t start more seeds than you expect will produce a sufficient harvest. On average, 10% of your seeds won’t make it, and if they are more than two years old, increase the loss to 20% or more.
• Start plants in pots that are placed under grow lights and left in a warm room, or are started in the greenhouse. I use 3.5″ square black plastic containers that are 3.25″ deep.
• If you don’t have a greenhouse, your seed starting date should be delayed by the number of days I am showing that they need to be left in the greenhouse before transplanting outside.
• All plants require outside soil preparation. Some garden spots need to be tilled and level before planting. Other plants such as Cole crops, cucumbers, squash, potatoes, and tomatoes don’t need the ground to be tilled.
• Some seeds are best to start under lights indoors, or in the greenhouse, and others can be directly planted in the garden.
• The amount of produce you can expect to harvest and the length of the season will be shown.
• The date you should expect each plant to start delivering a harvest will be estimated as well as the date when the harvest will be finished producing.

Before getting into the details, let’s discuss weather, temperature, and light. This garden is in Zone 7, located in the Pacific Northwest. Here, the last frost ends about March 31st. The first frost of the season is Oct. 15th or later. Nighttime temperatures never rise above 55 degrees. During summer days, the temperature will reach low 70’s in mid-July through the end of August with only an occasional day rising to the high 70’s. Being close to the Canadian border means days are long with lots of light. Storms of wind and rain are rare from May first thorough mid-September. The weather at this location allows for growing vegetables from mid-March to the end of October. So let’s get started.

Here are the fourteen plants:
1. Beets
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Cauliflower
5. Carrots
6. Cucumbers
7. Garlic
8. Hubbard squash
9. Onions
10. Peas
11. Potatoes
12. String beans
13. Tomatoes
14. ZucchiniContinue reading“Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 1, by J.T.”

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 longer e-mails for posting as separate letters.

—

Digital Health Pass: IBM and Moderna Partner up in New York  for Digital Passport

o  o  o

Reader Tom in South Dakota wrote:

“H.R. 8 breezed through the House of Non-Representatives. I think they’ll also squeak it through the Senate.  So I’m stocking up, BIG-time. A high-cap magazine ban is also coming. I’ll be hitting all the [in-state] gun shows and I’m watching the local newspaper ads for private sales. It’s kinda tough to find your whole family’s supply-for-life in just a couple months, but I’m going to give it max effort, and max budget. I’m also trying to find some pre-1899ers. I’m mainly looking for 7mm Mausers like Tunnel Rabbit talked about.”

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

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 region. Today, we focus on Idaho legislative news. (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

A hilarious 19-minute video: UNBOXING IDAHO: What It’s Like Living in IDAHO. The American Redoubt movement is briefly mentioned at the 10-minute mark.

o  o  o

Idaho Legislature still has a lot to do before wrapping up session. An excerpt:

“There’s also another bill in the works that would allow the Legislature to call themselves back into a special session. Right now, only the governor can do that.

The Senate passed their version of a bill that would allow special sessions for certain topics if 60% of lawmakers agree to return.”

o  o  o

Idaho parents and kids burn masks in front of state Capitol

o  o  o

Idaho ARNG Blackhawk Crash Preliminary Report 6 March 2021

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, lawdriven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded by psychopathic creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so.

To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished…

Then at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, suicided, sold, and betrayed.”- Pierre Joseph Proudhon

Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 15, 2021

This is the birthday of General and President Andrew Jackson, in 1767. He was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. 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.
  5. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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 93 ends on March 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.

Kershaw Knives Natrix CF, by Pat Cascio

Kershaw Knives has been in business since around 1974, if memory serves me correctly. The company is here, in my home state of Oregon – my chosen home state. Kershaw isn’t too far from my digs, and I’ve toured their factory several times – but I’m overdue for another visit, as they have grown a lot since my last visit. Kershaw is a division of KAI USA, and they also own Zero Tolerance knives – also made in the same factory, where many of the Kershaw products are made. But note that some Kershaw knives are made overseas, and that is a huge savings if you collect knives. The knife I’m reviewing today is one of the Kershaws that is made in mainland China. They are very reasonably priced, but the quality is top notch in all respects, and I love a bargain.

I have a difficult time keeping up with all the new knives that Kershaw releases each year, and I certainly can’t test and write about all of them. So, I’m very picky when requesting samples for articles, I pick what I believe our SurvivalBlog.com readers might find of interest and use – and believe me, it is a hard job going through all the new products from Kershaw.

Kershaw states that the Natrix CF – and there are several other models in the Natrix line-up – is an “uptown folder”, and I sure can’t find much to fault with this statement. It is both a “Gent’s” folder as well as a “Tactical” folder all in one knife. Not an easy task to be sure, but Kershaw pulled it off on this folder. I’m not into small folders and this Natrix isn’t small, nor is it overly large, either. I personally like a folder with a blade that is 3.5-inches to 4-inches long – it just seems to fit my needs better. However, this Natrix has a blade that is only 3.25-inches long, but it seems long enough to get the job done – at least when it comes to most tasks that it will face.Continue reading“Kershaw Knives Natrix CF, by Pat Cascio”

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 The New Economy.

Precious Metals:

First up, Jan Nieuwenhuijs, at The Gold Observer: Why the Gold Price Is Sinking

o  o  o

Gold is here to stay but base metals are more attractive – PDAC Panel

Economy & Finance:

An inflation warning: Dollar’s Purchasing Power Dwindles to Another Record Low. Fed is Getting its Wishes

o  o  o

Speaking of inflation, take a look at this chart released by the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve:  M1 Money Stock.  JWR’s Coimments: That is alarming. And what is even more alarming is that it does not reflect the $1.9 Trillion in new spending passed by congress last week. And stand by for another $3 Trillion in spending promised for “Green Energy Programs”.  Apparently, that sort of “green” requires spending lots of green. And that will all be created out of thin air.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: Friends Again? US, China To Hold Top-Level “Reset” Meeting In Alaska. JWR’s Comments:   The Trump administration played trade policy hardball with China.  The Biden (Xiden?) administration isn’t playing softball. They’re playing badminton.

o  o  o

Reader H.L. flagged this: “Not Since Madoff…” – Greensill Collapse Could Ripple Through Markets In A Systemic Way.

o  o  o

The Fed’s Move To Redefine The Money Supply Is An Ominous Sign

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Consumers Paid Down Credit Cards Again! By Most Ever. But Cash-Out Refis Spiked to Highest since 2005/6 Peaks. JWR’s Comment:  This urge to get out of debt seems to indicate that the collective subconscious senses that an economic crisis is looming.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It is bad enough that BigTech has been out to cancel anyone they disagree with. Not only did they take down Donald Trump, but they have removed doctors coming out against the COVID fraud and even removed testimony of doctors before Congress which is a public record. If you testify before Congress and support their position, then that is OK for YouTube. If not, it is canceled. That is like a court that only allows the prosecutor to speak – defendants have no right to put on a defense and they call this freedom and America?” – Martin W. Armstrong.

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 14, 2021

This is the birthday of fighter ace Major Raoul Lufbery (born 1885). He was shot down and killed in 1918.)

This is the birthday of Marlin Perkins. He was a well-known television host (Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom). He was born in 1905 in Carthage. Missouri.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. 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.
  5. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. 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 93 ends on March 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.

 

Preparedness Principles – Part 2, by Old Bobbert

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Bobbert’s Principle #5 – Principles are never my personal possession

I try daily to practice the principles regularly promoted on Sundays as being the right way to conduct my life, and as to how I should treat others, and what to teach my family, But I am also fully aware that these fundamental principles are not owned by any belief system.

We can confidently look to any, and every, good and worthy example for enlightenment and information. Additionally, as preppers / leaders, we must never forget that “Being Wrong Does Not Make Them Bad“ and that “Being Right Does Not Make Us Good.” It’s a principle to consider when you are ready to condemn the opposition.

Yes, I have tried to put my personal experiences into our dire topic of finding and adopting principles, in the sincere hope that you might be more likely to develop your personal principles, and be better able to survive the highly-probable financial and societal collapse. A collapse that very soon may well be generated by a failure of the global fiat currency financial systems, and then will surely be quickly followed by the cascading failures of power, communications, food distribution, travel infrastructure, fire protection, and police systems. Historically, all of them have fallen in the past!

Towards this enablement effort, I am simply documenting for you what we have already done in our home for ourselves, our family, friends, and our small 600-resident rural community. I do a free monthly prepper article for our newsletter. What you are reading here is simply Bobbert talking with you about us, and about what we have done for ourselves.

As an experienced and principled prepper family, we highly value the basic concept of “Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.”

 

A Prepper Video Training Library

I have created a computer folder titled Prepper Training Videos. These are the types of groups I have chosen to download. I did buy an inexpensive 4TB external hard drive for prepper videos and data items. Your video group choices should reflect your current concerns and knowledge / ability levels, as does ours. Your choices will be guided by your principles and family / group experiences and needs.

  1. Your small town / group security
  2. Decide in advance – When & why to kill”
  3. 2021 Financials / Do It Now
  4. Success after The Collapse
  5. Grid Down Communications Plus
  6. Guerilla Warfare Principles & Tactics
  7. Used Correctly – Herbs Are Medicined 
  8. Preppers Proven Principles of Leadership
  9. Preppers Reacting To Civil Disturbances 

Continue reading“Preparedness Principles – Part 2, by Old Bobbert”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

Honour widows that are widows indeed.

But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” – 1 Timothy 5:1-8 (KJV)