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 the economic storm clouds on the horizon.

Precious Metals:

Gold Prices Struggle To Hold $1,300 As U.S. ISM Manufacturing Rises In March

o  o  o

And for those in the chartist camp: Gold Cycles Down Into Late-Spring, Up Into Summer

Economy & Finance:

Erik Conley, at Seeking Alpha: Why An Inverted Yield Curve Is Important

o  o  o

Martin W. Armstrong: The Financial Panic of 2019?  Armstrong notes:

“There is a major liquidity crisis brewing that could pop in May 2019. European Banks have loaded their portfolios with real estate loans thanks to quantitative easing and negative interest rates, and emerging market debt. Spanish banks are especially invested in Turkish debt where they hoped to get the highest yields expecting that the IMF would never let Turkey default. On top of this, banks have been lending to each other to also avoid parking money at the European Central Bank where they would be charged with a negative interest rate.

Currencies from South Africa’s rand to Brazil’s real are witnessing a spike in their expected volatility, signaling concern they may weaken the most along with the Turkish lira going into May. The price swings have evoked sudden deep-rooted fears that there may be an emerging market crash before the end of the year.”

o  o  o

James Glassman not seeing economic storm clouds

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 2, 2019

This is the birthday of Émile François Zola, a novelist and essayist. He is most often remembered as the author of “J’accuse” (I Accuse!), his lengthy open letter to president Félix Faure, which accused the French government of antisemitism.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 82 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  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:

  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:

  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.

Round 82 ends on May 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.

Control Your Type 2 Diabetes or Die in TEOTWAWKI, by Scott M.

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I am a family physician and I have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is where you initially have enough insulin produced by your body but are resistant to the insulin, i.e.:  you don’t have enough receptors for the insulin to plug into to act on the sugar/carbohydrates you ingest. As time goes on if you don’t manage your diabetes your body will stop producing insulin and you will need to be on insulin shots for the rest of your life. Type 1 diabetes is where you don’t produce any or very limited insulin and have to be on insulin for your lifetime. Type 1  is found almost exclusively in children.

Type 2 is primarily in adults, but it can be found in all ages. Some symptoms of concern that should raise the suspicion of diabetes include constant hunger, extreme thirst, unexplained weight loss, sores or scratches on the skin that either fail to heal or take a prolonged healing time, excessive urination, dry mouth, itchy skin, blurred vision and repeated or difficult to treat yeast infections (either in men or women), difficulty with coordination or train of thought. Having any or a number of these symptoms does not absolutely mean you have diabetes, but it is concerning enough that you should seek testing with your physician to determine whether you have it or not.

Remember: The earlier diabetes is found the easier it can be to treat and the risk for damage to your body is decreased. You can expect your physician to perform some common tests, such as a random blood sugar, fasting blood sugar, a HgbA1c, a urine analysis and possibly a glucose tolerance test. If the testing reveals that you have diabetes your physician will likely start you on oral medications and possibly insulin and refer you to a diabetic educator. Your physician will also arrange for close follow up and repeated lab work to ensure that the treatment course is working and that no additional measures are necessary to control your diabetes.

Continue reading“Control Your Type 2 Diabetes or Die in TEOTWAWKI, by Scott M.”

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, I’d like to mention camper conversion and rental companies in the American Redoubt. Conversions of Sprinter vans are very popular. And some folks are even converting cargo trailers into either overt or covert “stealth” campers. Both have had explosions of popularity in recent years. Some folks even live in them full time, as mobile tiny houses. The featured van photo is courtesy of (P)artCraft LLC.  (Used with permission.)

Region-Wide

If you live in the Western U.S. and want to “try before you buy”, to see what its like to travel and camp in a Sprinter van, Promaster van, or other van conversion, then see the folks at MercedesSprinterRVRentals.com.

o  o  o

Another Sprinter campervan rental company in the west is Moterra Campervans.

o  o  o

If you are looking to buy a van that has already been converted, then check out: RVTrader.

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And for some general “Pros and Cons” information, see: The Wayward Home.

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For those of us who are handy with tools, here is a great “how to” article, over at Instructables: Custom Sprinter Van RV Conversion. That is where I heard about (P)artCraft.

Blue Dog RV has a good selection of Class B RVs. Among others, they have locations in Bend, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Kennewick, Pasco, and Post Falls.

Idaho

SYNC Vans in Hailey, Idaho does awesome work.  They are best known for their work on 4×4 Sprinter vans. Here is a video that shows their work: Custom 4×4 Sprinter van conversion – Sync Vans profile at Overland Expo West 2018 – Vanlife. And here is an article about them in Spokane’s biggest newspaper: A Visit to SYNC Vans

o o o

Wander Vans in Boise, Idaho is quite well-known known for the mid-range conversions. They also do van rentals.

o o o

Reader G.C. wrote to mention: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019 is the grand opening day for a new army surplus store in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. It is located at 6606 South Main Street,  Bonners Ferry.

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 focus on the EU’s Controversial Copyright Reform.

Your Car and Phone are Selling Your Data

James C. sent us a link to this 9-minute video: Your Car is Selling Your Data.

And speaking for data, check out this piece at CNBC: Stores are starting to track your every move.

Bottom line: Either drive an older car or disable your car’s satellite and cellular connectivity. And if you must have a cell phone, then make it an older-generation flip phone with a removable battery–not a smartphone.

Thomas Sowell on a Socialist America

A good read, over at The American Thinker: Thomas Sowell Is Right to Predict a Socialist America. The article also has some great quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville.

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 1, 2019

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April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book, The Sovereignty of God, that first convinced me of the truth of the doctrine of Election.

April 1st is also both April Fool’s Day and (unofficially) Molly Ivins Day. The latter refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

—

Today we are announcing the winners of Round 81 of our writing contest.

And we are also posting another product review from our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Writing Contest Results and a New Prize

We just completed the judging for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, and have a list of the winners. But first, before we list the winning articles, I have a special announcement:

A New Prize!

Starting today, with the advent of Round 82, et sequentia for just the next 10 rounds of the contest (that is, for the next 20 months) we’ve added a new prize of considerable value. A SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous is donating All-Inclusive Diamond Lifetime Memberships to the Front Sight firearms training school in Nevada. Members at the Diamond level are entitled to enrollment at any class of their choice at Front Sight Nevada with no restrictions on repeating classes, free of charge, for life!  Diamond level members even have guaranteed placement in any course with two weeks’ advance enrollment. They also receive a 40% discount on products at the Front Sight Pro Shop. The Diamond level memberships have been sold out, but the donor of these memberships–who is an Ambassador level Front Sight member–has very generously granted 10 Lifetime Diamond memberships to SurvivalBlog. One membership will be added to the Second Prize package.

There are presently nearly 50 different different classes offered at Front Sight Nevada. They range from concealed carry and edged weapons, to long range rifle shooting, and even submachinegun classes.

Our sincere thanks to that “SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous”!

And The Winners Are…

Getting back to the Round 81 prize winners. We’ve completed the judging. All of the top three prizes went to multi-part articles. The winners are:

First Prize: Nivek, for New Zealand: Thoughts After Seven Years

Note:  Because he presumably still lives in New Zealand, some prizes may have to be substituted or transferred to relatives or friends in the United States, and some shipping costs may not be included. Working that out will be up to the prize donors and Nivek.

Second Prize:  The Jewish Prepper, for How NOT to Build a Retreat

Third Prize:  GritsInMontana, for From the Deep South to Northern Rockies

Honorable Mention Articles (the writers will receive $30 Amazon gift cards)

The prizes for Round 82 will be:

First Prize:

  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:

  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:

  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.

Round 82 ends on May 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.

Get your article written and send it in soon. The top three prize winners will share more than $11,000 worth of prizes.

S&W M&P 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio

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Back in the day, I used to be a huge fan of S&W firearms. It was usually my preferred choice in a handgun. However, over the years, some of S&W politics turned me off, as well as a few times I encountered poor customer service. S&W is less political these days, and their  customer service is said to be better. Today, we’re checking out the M&P 9mm Compact semi-auto, and it’s a real dandy for concealed carry.

I’m not really bashing S&W these days. Far from it – the old guard at S&W made some bad business decisions some years ago, under the Clinton Presidency, and it cost them a lot of business. Make no mistake, Smith & Wesson, still produces some of the best handguns to be had. S&W has taken a big chunk of business from Glock, with their M&P handgun line – available in .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The county sheriff’s department in my area switched from Glocks to the M&P. The deputies I’ve talked to say that they prefer the M&P over the Glock, in a big way. And, I’m not knocking Glock, they set the tone for polymer framed guns back in the mid 1980s. I own more than a few Glocks myself, and I love ‘em, too.

Many Variations

When it comes to the S&W M&P line-up, you can have many of the models in a full-sized duty form, or in a more compact (and subcompact) handgun for concealed carry. I’ve owned all three sizes in nearly all the calibers. I really like the full-sized 9mm and .45 ACP models. When it comes to a .45 ACP I love the M&P Shield, and I can be caught carrying it quite often. It just fits my hand perfectly and feels great. I’ve owned the M&P Shield in 9mm and .40 S&W too – but I prefer the .45 ACP over those two calibers–even though the .45 ACP version is a bit bigger.

Let’s take a quick look at the specs on the M&P 9mm Compact version: Of course, it is chambered in 9mm and can handle all the +P ammo you want to fire through it. It comes with two mags, each holding 12 rounds. On the pinky catcher mag, I added some skate board friction tape, so that my pinky stays locked on under recoil. The gun only weighs 21.7-oz, so it’s a light-weigh for concealed carry. The barrel is 3.5-inches long, and the width is 1.18-inches. Of course, it is semi-auto, and short-recoil operated, the frame is black textured Zytel polymer.

Continue reading“S&W M&P 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Enola Gay’s Beef Cabbage Soup

This recipe first appeared in Enola Gay’s book: The Prepared Family Cookbook.

By the way, we highly recommend both Enola Gay’s Paratus Familia blog and all of her books.

Ingredients

1 Pound Ground Beef (or venison, rabbit, etc.)
1/2 Head of Cabbage, shredded
2 Ribs of Celery, sliced (or celerac)
1 Small Bell Pepper, cut into small pieces (or dried peppers)
1 Medium Diced Onion (or dried onions)
2 Cups Cooked Kidney Beans (or (1) 16oz. can)
2 Cups Diced Canned Tomatoes (or fresh)
4 Cups of Water
2 T Beef Bouillon (or pwd soup base)
1/4 tsp Garlic powder (or 3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

Brown ground beef, and drain. Add remaining ingredients to the ground beef. Add more water to achieve desired consistency. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least one hour, or until the veggies are tender.

Alternative Method

Left-over meat works well in this recipe. Often, I will use roast meat from a previous meal. Canned meat (either venison or beef) also works well.

For a quick meal, I can my beans in the pressure canner so they are ready to add to the soup without having to sit overnight. During the fall, I can tomatoes with onions and green peppers and add that to the soup rather than the individual ingredients. I make sure to add the liquid that the veggies have been canned in, to add extra flavor.

Notes and Serving Suggestions

This is our hands-down favorite winter soup. Cabbage keeps well in the cellar and is a staple of many winter-time recipes. This soup is flavorful and hearty – a real crowd pleaser when served with fresh, warm bread.

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

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 focus on housing bubbles.

Precious Metals:

We’ll start today with this from Frank Holmes: Gold Mining Stocks Are Surging On Global Economic Fears

o  o  o

Are We Running Out Of Gold?

o  o  o

And for the chartist believers, there is this from Clive Maund: Gold – Is A sharp C-wave Drop Imminent?

Economy & Finance:

Some polling data, cited by Zero Hedge: America 2050: Inequality Crisis, Automation Threat, Debt Shock

o  o  o

Michael Snyder: Wall Street Red Flag: A Bond Market Indicator That Has Predicted Every Recession In The Last 50 Years Just Got Triggered

o  o  o

And at Wolf Street: The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America Deflate Further. A snippet:

“The most obvious one was Seattle. Now it’s joined by a second most obvious one, the San Francisco Bay Area. According to the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index released this morning, single-family house prices in the five-county San Francisco Bay Area — the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo (northern part of Silicon Valley), Alameda, Contra Costa (both part of the East Bay ), and Marin (part of the North Bay) — fell 1.3% in January from December and are now down 4.3% from the peak last July, the biggest six-month drop since the six-month period ended in February 2012, the bottom of Housing Bust 1.”Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 31, 2019

March 31 is the birthday of economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  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:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. 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).
  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. 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.

Round 81 ends on March 28th, 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.

A Greenhouse for Your Homestead, by Ozark Redneck

8

“Breathe in. The air is rich, humid, fragrant and full of life, warm on your face. It’s comfortable. What is it about a greenhouse or sunspace that feels good to almost everyone? It’s more than just stimulation of the senses. It goes deeper, further back. The tropics were the womb of human life, and the greenhouse is a connection to our origins.” – Shane Smith, in Greenhouse Gardener’s Companion

Having a greenhouse can extend your growing season, allow you to start plants earlier and perhaps allow you to grow food that couldn’t survive in your outdoor garden. We started our greenhouse in 2012. I will share what we have, how it was built and some tips we learned along the way.

We inquired about building our own greenhouse or having someone help us at the local commercial nursery/greenhouse. She suggested this retired couple that lived in a nearby town that built greenhouses. Their 10’ x 20’ prefabrticated greenhouse unit was perfect for us. The boards on the bottom frame of our unit are treated 2” x 6”. All of the other wood was regular untreated kiln dried lumber.

Note: The next one that I buy or build will be built out of all treated lumber, since the door frame and window frame have experienced some decay with the weather.

The hoops are made of 1-3/8” galvanized top-rail (like used for chain link fencing). The window is an aluminum storm window with screen, 30” x 44” in a 2” x 4” frame. The door is 36” wide by 75” tall and made from 1” x 4” lumber inside a 2’ x 4” frame. The total height of each end (door end and window end) is 86” measured from peak of greenhouse roof to top of 2” x 6” base. Galvanized pipe was used for the bracing on the front and the back. You will need the 20’ x 50’ 6ml poly sheeting to build the 10’ x 20’ green house.

Continue reading“A Greenhouse for Your Homestead, by Ozark Redneck”