Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
LOL, I feel so strong about the Walton’s food, that I answered the wrong post.....
The tiny survival kits are good and a lot can go in one.
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I was quiet impressed with the thought that the emergency blankets, would work to build a solar cooker, they are about $2.00 and that is less than a roll of tinfoil.
Just keep them away from cats, mine must have worked all night, they had a war with the one that I left on the chair and I had a few small pieces in the morning.
LOL, mad yes, I was, but I would love to have watched the battle.
God must have liked my turn of phrase too, for he kept it coming most of the day and kept the yard hidden.
Glad you found us, will get a ping out when I can.
Dang, I was hoping that Walton would have some naked oats but no luck.
I want to plant some of them as a trial this spring. Regular oats are such a pain and next to impossible to hull without a lot of equipment.
Walton is great on those things that they do carry though.
Start early on spring gardening
By GARY TILGHMAN
For the Daily Times
GLASGOW —
You don’t need to wait for warm weather to start your vegetable garden. Several types of vegetables can be started as early as March. Radishes, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, onions and many more vegetables are all quite frost tolerant, and you can seed or transplant them in the garden from mid March to early April.
If you want to get an even earlier start, you could try covering an area with clear plastic film to create a mini greenhouse where plants will thrive. To try this season-extending technique first work up the soil for your plot and stretch some black plastic over the area for a couple of weeks. This will help warm the soil and give seeds and transplants an added boost.
After a few weeks under black plastic, the soil will have warmed a few degrees, and you can prepare the bed for planting and transplanting. Once planted, you should install a wooden or metal frame over the bed and cover it with clear polyethylene film. Anchor the film at the base with boards, bricks or soil, but remember that occasionally you will have to remove the poly to tend to the plants and to harvest the crop.
For this reason, it’s best if you don’t permanently attach the plastic to the frame. It will also be necessary to open sections of the covering for ventilation on warm sunny days. You can easily accomplish this by designing the ends of the covering so you can easily open or remove them during warm weather.
For more information on early spring gardening techniques or other gardening topics, contact your County Cooperative Extension Service.
food pantrie dehydrator and seed sprouter
Sorry, your link made me laugh, it is the old hippy way to dry food and you can make it for $5.00, less if you already have the stuff on hand.
It was in Mother Earth News in the 1970’s and you may well find it in the 1800’s how to books.
You could use window screening, the wire or fiberglass.
If I were making it myself, I would buy a small roll of baling wire at the hardware store and leave at least a foot between the shelves. This would make the hangers and the cross pieces for the shelves.
Make it to the size of the tray you are going to use and I would look at making my trays of screen so the air can circulate, you want a remove able tray so you can wash it.
In my large homemade dehydrator, it has window screens for trays, just as you would use on a small window, frame and all.
The outside could be the cheap nylon net, we used to buy it in any fabric shop for 25 cents a yard and as I recall it is 72 inch wide... Now it will be a dollar or more and Walmart has it.
We used it in the 50/60’s for make the slips to go under the skirts and make them stand out. And under square dancing outfits, now it is used in crafts and it is washable.
Bill made me a hanger for the greenhouse, attached to the rafters, that looks the same and used old oven shelves, we did not cover it of course and the cover is the easy part, either sew it on, or use regular clothes pins to hold it on and gather the top and bottom and pull it in tight, to make a tube over the frame.
Just look at the photo in the ad and try to guess what I wrote above.
LOL, the source of the catfish in a barrel was a lot worse than the NYT, but I wanted the information.
Good information, is where you find it.
Thank you for your post, it was useful and interesting.
Check the last few pages of thread #1 and you will find info on dehydrators.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?q=1&;page=9901
Here’s a recipe for dried cured meat using a grill:<<<
Thanks, that is simple enough and should be good with the smoke taste.
You will enjoy your greenhouse and want to enlarge it before winter, for they fill up fast.
Like everything, we scatter the greenhouse info throughout the thread.
Sounds like you are ready for your new life, it does change when the kids leave.
My daughter never did adjust to the desert, she was shocked to find her Christmas dinner served on a cafeteria tray and not the china and crystal she was raised with.
I found about a dozen of the trays at a garage sale and at 25 cents each bought them all, they are wonderful for camping and crowds that are going to find ‘somewhere to sit and hold a meal on their laps’.
Yes, I am near Kingman.
You can have my share of the snow, it has fallen all day and is very cold.
I am at 4 layers of clothes now and need more.
survival bump to top :)
Along with planning your garden, now is the time to get ready for canning. This is a perfect time to contact your County Cooperative Extension Office and have the pressure gauge checked on your pressure cooker.
Every County has an extension office - check it out in the phone book - give them a call (all of them are required to provide this service of checking the pressure gauges) this is to assure that you are getting the proper cook on anything you can.
Don’t have a pressure canner? It is the ONLY way to safely process low acid meats and vegetables for long term storage. Freezers are great, but when the power goes off, you have all your food starting to defrost. Canned goods do not require refrigeration and have a shelf life of many years. Your pressure canner also serves as an excellent sterilizer for turning torn strips of sheet into sterile bandages or to sterilize items for medical proceedures should TSHTF.
Pressure canners can safely turn bacteria laden water into sterile drinking water. No matter how long you boil water it will only get to 212 degrees (at sea level - lower at higher altitudes) and this is NOT enough to sterilize water. A pressure canner can raise that temperature to 240 degrees at 10 psi or 250 degrees at 15 psi. These temperatures are high enough to kill all known disease organisms.
Pressure Canners last for generations. One of the best investments you can make. Just think of all the produce from your garden neatly filling your pantry and ready to use whenever you need. Also it is great for when you make large batches such as spaghetti sauce or chili. Consider it for this year - you will be glad you did.
So, knowing this, understand that you can if really needed, save those seeds but understand that you just will have 3 different variations of the plant. Don’t throw them away if you don’t have a way of replacing them with open pollinated seeds.
<<<
Wise comments, thank you.
And then you have folks like me, who see a seed and want to plant it and see what you get....LOL
Kingman is famous for its high food costs, it is all trucked in, every bite and the closest cheaper food is Las Vegas and that is over a hundred miles.
I swear, I was just thinking about you! Are you alone up there? I’ve heard there are some places that got 2ft. of snow.
It was very windy here and lots of rain @8P.M. I think it’s stopped.
Try to stay warm (four layers of clothing)!!
Will check in with you tomorrow. Off to bed. Goodnight.
Welcome and thank you for the cheese recipes, they are good ones to have and make.
There are several on the tread that have asked about making cheese.
If you have others, please share with us.
Have you made them with powdered milk, I read that it can be done, but have never attempted it.
Vickie the food storage article is excellent, as are all that you have posted.....
Thank you for your help on getting the information posted.
Hugging you,
Wonderful you found us.
Thank you for coming to read the thread, there are good additions to the list, added by others in later posts.
It would please me to walk out any door of my house and feel like I’ve walked into an unplanned natural area. Only have it feed me what I like!<<<
I agree, it would also suit me.
I was a florist, before becoming a rockhound and prospector, so for a long time thought I should collect rocks for flower arrangements.
Brad you are on the ping list, as I post so much as a rule, I don’t ping except seldom, to make sure you all have the link.
Thank you for reading the thread.
Welcome and be sure to keep reading, as there are additions to the list, posted later.
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