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

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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:

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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

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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

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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.

 

Picking a BOL by Pete Thorsen

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Many people think that there are very troubled times ahead for the United States. Some who think that realize if that comes to pass their current residence could make their very survival problematic. So what to do? Move now or if tied down, like because of a job, etc, then maybe set up a bug-out-location (BOL). Great but where would you go? And what would be the determining factors in BOL selection?

The “where” and the many deciding factors will likely be different for just about everyone. And anyone who has ever been house hunting knows that buying a house or property is always about compromise. You are almost certainly not going to find the special perfect location, so you just choose the best location out of what you do find available.

The first decision is to decide to completely relocate now or stay where you are and just buy empty land, so that you at least have your own BOL. Once you have that, perhaps plan on slowly building that empty land up to possibly live there at some later date. Or you might opt to leave it primitive. Or if you have the finances you could buy a second home. Any of  those choices can be the correct decision. If you are married, this big decision would have to be fully agreed to by both spouses. Again that might, and likely would, lead to many compromises. Not a bad thing–and with two people you could likely think of more or better ideas.Continue reading“Picking a BOL by Pete Thorsen”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

20

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 focus on China’s Big Brother Software.

How Safe is Tap Water?

Bruce sent us this: The US drinking water supply is mostly safe, but that’s not good enough. Here is a snippet:

“There are more than 151,000 public water systems in the United States serving residential communities, schools, office buildings, hospitals and other sites. It is especially challenging for small communities to fund infrastructure upgrades and monitor water quality. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. drinking water delivery system a D on its most recent infrastructure report card, based on the high number of leaks and the presence of both legacy contaminants like lead and new threats like PFAS.”

The Army’s ‘Google Earth On Steroids’

Reader DSV sent this: Army’s ‘Google Earth On Steroids’ Can Look Inside Buildings 

Sweden is Encouraging Prepping

Video: Why Sweden is encouraging citizens to become preppers. (Thanks to Terry H. for the link.)  A PDF pf the English edition of the booklet mentioned is available for free download here.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4: 1-8 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 1, 2019

1

On June 1st, 1942, seven months after the extermination of prisoners began, the Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, made the public announcement of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a Nazi-operated death camp in Poland. The story came from a young man, Emanuel Ringelblum, who had escaped the Chelmno death camp after being forced to bury bodies as they were thrown out of the asphixiation vans. The West then knew the horrific truth about the slaughter of Jews.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first 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.

My Experience Using Dynamite, by C.L.

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As a frequent reader of SurvivalBlog I saw your recent request for articles on the farm and ranch use of explosives.

My story may resonate with many of your readers in that I used dynamite for the projects mentioned here although I had no previous experience with explosives. These episodes occurred many years ago and though the legality issues (permitting, purchasing, etc.) may have changed the techniques of actually using dynamite are still applicable.

Before getting into the heart of the matter I offer the following summary points:

1. I am not offering advice on the use of explosives.. I am relating my experiences in the use of dynamite as an inexperienced user.

2. Dynamite is a useful tool.

3. Dynamite can be used by inexperienced persons who make the effort to learn how to safely do so.

I had no experience using dynamite when I chose a ditching project. There seemed to be no practical way to put the 100 yard ditch where I wanted it. In discussions with others about my problem someone suggested dynamite. The suggestion was partially in jest but on reflection I took it seriously. I bought a copy of the Dupont Blaster’s Handbook. I studied it and the more I did the more I became convinced that I could use dynamite for my ditching project.

After carefully studying the handbook I decided that I could blast the ditch through the low swamp where I needed it. Having made that decision the next step was to procure the dynamite. By looking up “Explosives” in the Yellow Pages” of a nearby large city (This was before an Internet), I found a vendor. This vendor was most helpful. Most importantly he told me that I would have to secure a permit for the purchase and use of the dynamite and furthermore he told me where to go to get the permit from the proper government agency. We discussed my inexperience and he took time to discuss the proper use and equipment I would need to complete my project. When I went to his facility to purchase the dynamite he also provided information on the accessories (blasting caps, fuse, crimping tool, etc.) I would need.Continue reading“My Experience Using Dynamite, by C.L.”