Garden Lessons – Part 2, by R.R.

18

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

There are numerous videos on the web about this process in building your seed-starting set up. It’s simple and again a one-time effort and expense. I’ve never even had to change a bulb after three years. I also have a surge protector that the three lights and three seed mats are plugged into. I then plug that surge protector into a timer so the lights and mats turn on/off automatically for around 10-12 hours each day.

The next thing you have to plan is: when to start what  seeds or seedlings. I’m just going to offer up what I do and what I’ve seen and what I plan to do going forward, based on what my family eats. I mentioned tomatoes  and peppers. Peppers take much longer to get going and I suggest starting those around six weeks earlier than your tomatoes. Tomatoes take around six to eight weeks for me, and they are quite bushy and healthy (6-8” and up) and ready to transplant to their final maturing place. Planning a calendar around when to do what will help immensely. I can fill up all my three shelves with starts of just different types of tomatoes and peppers (hot, sweet, etc…).

Containers: We use lots of containers for placing our starts in. Again, you can control the soil easier but they do dry out quicker than garden beds. If you plant tomatoes in containers, be sure to put the stakes in when you plant so you don’t disturb the root system later. I’ve also decided that I will only plant determinate type tomatoes in containers going forward. Look at your seed packets and find ones that are determinate as they grow bushier and less tall and leggy than indeterminate tomatoes.
Continue reading“Garden Lessons – Part 2, by R.R.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

4

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on wilderness medicine. (See the Book section, Instructional Videos and Vlogs section, and the Gear & Grub section.)

Books:

Wilderness and Rescue Medicine

o  o  o

NOLS Wilderness Medicine (NOLS Library)

o  o  o

Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine E-Book

o  o  o

MEDICINE FOR THE BACK COUNTRY, 2nd Edition

o  o  o

Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, 2-Volume Set

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

11

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in  scarce variants of the Ruger Mini-14 carbine. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Prices Holding Near 2-Month Highs After U.S. ISM Manufacturing Survey Falls In May. JWR’s Comments: Gold and silver are not for timorous investors. The price swings can be large, and they can test the patience of many folks who are not willing to commit for the long haul. Remember: Precious metals are not “money-making” investments. Rather, they represent a store of wealth, as insurance against the inevitable decline of the U.S. Dollar and other fiat currencies.

o  o  o

Funds Increase Bullish Gold Positioning, Pessimistic Toward Silver

Economy & Finance:

10-year yield continues collapse on slowing growth fears, falls as low as 2.07%

o  o  o

Here’s the value of $1 in each state, according to new data. Not surprisingly, the five American Redoubt States fared quite well. (It is only in Washington–and I suspect that is just western part of Washington–where a Dollar presently buys less than a Dollar’s worth.) The high cost of business overhead is difficult to escape, on the coasts.

o  o  o

Steven Pearlstein: A new credit bubble gets ready to burstContinue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 4, 2019

4

On this day, June 4th, in 1944 United States Navy Task Group 22.3 captured U-505, a German submarine and with it an intact Enigma cypher machine. This was the first time since the USS Peacock seized HMS Nautilus in 1815 that the USN had captured an enemy vessel at sea. The sub, reunited with its periscope a decade ago, is displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Today is also the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in 1989.  The Chinese government hasn’t changed much, since then.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 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.

Gardening Lessons – Part 1, by R.R.

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So… You think that you can garden? Got the books, got some seeds, and you grew something once. Sure, it’s easy! Well, good for you. It hasn’t come easy for this guy. I’m the so called green-thumb in my house. House plants, no problem. Landscaping around the home, got that. Garden as if our life depends on, not so much. I managed lawn and landscaping crews for seven years during and after college. We did some major commercial work and I know more than the average homeowner about these things. I have to admit that vegetable gardening has been a whole different experience. I hope this article provides you all with some gardening lessons learned and hopefully some motivation to get moving and not wait for the apocalypse before getting some food growing.

I’ve been experimenting in the garden for eight years with some successes, a few accidental successes and plenty of failures. Failures are just lessons, right? I’ve always tried to learn from my own mistakes but more so learn from the mistakes of others. Mistakes cost time and money and I’d rather learn from the lost time and money of others if possible, in the garden and in life.
Continue reading“Gardening Lessons – Part 1, by R.R.”

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced! (Round 82)

We’ve completed the judging for Round 82 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The winners are:

First Prize Winner:

First Prize goes to L.R. for It is Planting Time (posted in two parts on May 7 and May 8, 2019).  L.R. will receive the following prizes:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 Winner:

Second Prize goes to SwampFox for Home Repair of Pre-1899 Guns (posted in two parts on April 9 and April 10, 2019). He will receive the following prizes:
  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  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 Winner:

Third Prize goes to PJA for Our DIY Solar Well Pump, posted May 28, 2019. He will receive the following prizes:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Honorable Mention Prize Winners:

Seven articles won Honorable Mention prizes in Round 82. These writers will each receive $30 Amazon purchase credits, funded by JWR:

Eccentricity: A Viable Solution, by Kit Law

Prepper Complacency, by Wood Tamer

1803: The Preps of Lewis and Clark, by S.K.

The Handloader Never Wants For Ammo, by Wingfootjr

Our Garden Produce Roadside Stand, by R.J.

Bullet Selection, by S.R.

Growing Shitake Mushrooms on Logs, by Dave S.

Round 83 of the writing contest is already underway. It will end 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.

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

5

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. Today, we focus on Wyoming Home Costs. (See the Wyoming section.)

Region-Wide

Radio Free Redoubt on KTW – 2019-05-04 Standing Firm Against Propagandist Deceivers

o o o

Antifa Attacks the American Redoubt — Who are the black shirt communists?

Idaho

Over at Redoubt News: Public Comment Wanted on Idaho Administrative Rules

o o o

Post Falls men sentenced for theft of firearm used to kill Coeur d’Alene Police Sergeant

o o o

Idaho national parks brought more than $37 million into the state’s economy. JWR’s Comment: Gosh, if they were converted into State parks, just think how many of the park employees would be recruited locally, rather than from the pool of US National Park Service employees.

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

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

8

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”.  Today, we look at military contractor Check-Mate relocating to Florida. (See the final item in this column.)

‘Stop-and-Frisk’ for Firearms: Unconstitutional!

Some good news: The PA Supreme Court: Unconstitutional to ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ For Firearms. JWR’s Comment: Open carry or the mere sight of a firearm in a vehicle by the local gendarmes is not probable cause to suspect the commission of a crime. Nay, it is just evidence of that someone is exercising a primary right that pre-dates even the Second Amendment!

Palmetto’s $29 Sale on Stripped AR Lowers

Reader Ron S. wrote to mention that Palmetto State Armory is having a very short duration $29.99 sale on their standard “Safe-Fire”-marked stripped AR-15 lowers. (Search on SKU 1728, at their web site.) That sale ends at Noon, Eastern Time, today (4 June, 2019), so jump on it. If you have some extra dough, and if your local dealer charges a percentage, rather than a flat fee, then I suggest that you stock up on these, heavily!  You will thank yourself the next time that the price of stripped lowers spikes up to $200 each. Please be sure to use our Palmetto State Armory affiliate ordering link. That way, we’ll earn a small commission.

Prepping: The Math Backs Us Up!

The Surprisingly Solid Mathematical Case of the Tin Foil Hat Gun Prepper. (Kudos to G.P. for sending that link.) A brief introductory excerpt from teh lengthy article:

“As gun policy discussions unfold in the wake of mass shooter incidents, they routinely end in three buckets. There’s the “tyranny can never happen here” bucket, which the left has mostly abdicated in the wake of Trump winning after they called (and still call) him a tyrant. There’s the “you can’t fight the army with small arms” bucket, which is increasingly unsound given our ongoing decade-and-a-half war with Afghani tribal goat herders. And there’s the “what the hell do you need an AR-15 for anyway?” bucket, which, by its very language, eschews a fundamental lack of understanding of what those people are thinking. I am not a prepper. But I know a few. Some of the ones I do know are smart. They may not be doing as deep an analysis as I present here, on a mathematical level, but the smart ones are definitely doing it at a subconscious level. If you want to understand the perspectives of others, as everyone in my opinion should strive to do, then you would do well to read to the end of this article. To get where we’re going, we will need to discuss the general framework of disaster mathematics.”Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Over the past quarter century, the leaders of both the Democratic and the Republican political parties have perfected a remarkable system for remaining in power while serving the new economic oligarchy. Both parties take in huge amounts of money, in many forms — campaign contributions, lobbying, revolving-door hiring, favours, and special access of various kinds.

Politicians in both parties enrich themselves and betray the interests of the nation, including most of the people who vote for them. Yet both parties are still able to mobilize support because they skillfully exploit America’s cultural polarization. Republicans warn social conservatives about the dangers of secularism, taxes, abortion, welfare, gay marriage, gun control, and liberals.

Democrats warn social liberals about the dangers of guns, pollution, global warming, making abortion illegal, and conservatives. Both parties make a public show of how bitter their conflicts are, and how dangerous it would be for the other party to achieve power, while both prostitute themselves to the financial sector, powerful industries, and the wealthy. Thus, the very intensity of the two parties’ differences on “values” issues enables them to collaborate when it comes to money.” – Charles Ferguson, Predator Nation

Cold Steel AD-10 Folder, by Pat Cascio

8

If you’re the least bit familiar with many of Cold Steel’s knives then you are aware of the Tri-Ad locking mechanism – that is one of the strongest, if not “the” strongest folding knife lock to be had. Many folks aren’t familiar with the name behind the Tri-Ad Lock. It was designed by custom knife maker Andrew Demko – who is very well-known in the cutlery field. Today, we’re looking at one of his newest folder designs, the AD-10, and it is one massive folder.

I’m not ashamed to admit, I like big folding knives – not huge ones per se – but big folders – and I believe a blade between 3.5-inches in length and one up to 4-inches is about the perfect using size for me. I just believe folders of this size, can perform many of the tasks I put a knife to, on a daily basis. And, there are many states that forbid you from carrying a folding knife with a blade longer than 4-inches for some reason – stupid, that’s all I can say. Then again, there are many states that don’t allow a double-edge fixed blade knife, either – once again – stupid, is all I can say. Then we have states that don’t allow automatic folders, and states and locales that don’t allow assisted-opening folders or so-called “gravity” knifes.

Continue reading“Cold Steel AD-10 Folder, by Pat Cascio”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

13

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in S&W Triple Lock revolvers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

We”ll start out with this, from Gary Christenson: Silver – Eight Years Later.

o  o  o

Commerzbank: ‘Gold Living Up To Its Role As A Safe Haven’

Economy & Finance:

China Gears Up to Weaponize Rare Earths in Trade War

o  o  o

Bank of America: We Stopped Doing Business With Gun Companies Because Our Employees Were Afraid.  JWR’s Comments: We’re really supposed to believe that? A.P. Gianini is surely rolling in his grave.

o  o  o

Why Is Deutsche Bank (DB) Down 14% Since Last Earnings Report?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

6

“Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret.

Psychopaths often come across as arrogant, shameless braggarts—self-assured, opinionated, domineering, and cocky. They love to have power and control over others and seem unable to believe that other people have valid opinions different from theirs. What makes psychopaths different from all others is the remarkable ease with which they lie, the pervasiveness of their deception, and the callousness with which they carry it out.

The most debilitating characteristic of even the most well-behaved psychopath is the inability to form a workable team.

The majority of people and therefore workplaces are easy prey, because we still want to believe that people are inherently good. We don’t really want to believe that such people exist. Wherever you find money, prestige and power you will find them. We are far more likely to lose our life savings to an oily-tongued swindler than our lives to a steely-eyed killer.” – Robert D. Hare, Without Conscience

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 2, 2019

1

On June 2, 1774, Parliament renewed the Quartering Act allowing British military to stay in private homes if necessary, completing the Coercive Acts. The Quartering Act, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Boston Port Act, were known as the Coercive Acts. These Acts were Parliament’s way of asserting their control over the colonists after the Boston Tea Party and were one of the main motivations for the 3rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 83  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  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. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 83 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.