Posted on 12/21/2010 5:00:48 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
It's been a crazy past few years. We've seen gas prices hit all-time highs, been hit by major and catastrophic weather disasters, and watched as banks and major financial institutions disappear overnight in the midst of what appears to be an actual, real-life economic depression. Our stable, comfortable lives suddenly don't seem so stable any more.
Here are 10 things you can do to improve your chances of riding out a major disaster without looking like a total lunatic. If you get all 10 of these items checked off, let me know so I can come crash at your place when aliens attack.
I’m a budding gardener (heh heh), and recently got a book for winter reading as I plan my 3rd season garden—very interesting stuff. I wonder if you’ve seen it or read it? One of her early comments struck me—if you only plant a garden for salads, that’s all you’ll know how to do. So in addition to my salad garden, I am going to try my hand at a few staples, like corn and potatoes this next season.
“The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times”
In the short run evil men who act alone will win some major battles. Yes, they will steal the food of others. But they will lose in the long run because good men will band together and fight as one. That said, part of me feels compassion for the young father who didn’t think it through - and must steal or watch his children starve to death. We need strong and good ideas in place to combat the horrors - should they come. The generation that lived through the depression had those - we don’t.
In the short run evil men who act alone will win some major battles. Yes, they will steal the food of others. But they will lose in the long run because good men will band together and fight as one. That said, part of me feels compassion for the young father who didn’t think it through - and must steal or watch his children starve to death. We need strong and good ideas in place to combat the horrors - should they come. The generation that lived through the depression had those - we don’t.
Face it, no one can have enough. It’s a pipe dream. If you hunker down with your preps, someone bigger and stronger will just plink at you until you are gone. Firebases need air support and artillery to survive.
The key is mobility and the ability to hide. Then you can plink at the supply bases and take their stuff.
My wife is into gardening too. She was raised on a farm,a nd they still have a good sized garden out there that she helps with every year.
You simply cannot get a good tomato unless you raise it yourself! The ones in the store are all bred for impact resistance (for handling) and picked way too early.
I presume you can stuff too then?
Welcome to FR!
Yeah. The article is from a hippy-dippy site, but sometimes those blind squirrels over there find a nut, LOL! :)
I have a .22 and plan on adding a Mossberg Mini to my arsenal when I hit the after-Christmas sales. :)
Duck & Bump! :)
No! Now don’t be hatin’ us outdoorsy-types in winter! I don’t have a sled (yet!) but my new Atlas Snowshoes arrived today via UPS. Wa-Hoo!
Santa’s been good to me this year. :)
I have nothing against snowmobilers in general, but I live on a long bay. The bay is maybe 300 yards wide. They plow the snow, and then race back and forth along the center of the ice for up to 12 hours a day (weekends), and pretty much every evening. 150 yards from my back door.
Santa’s been good to me this year. :)
Snow Shoes? How cool!
Snow shoes are quiet, and really good exercise!
Lucky girl! Santa loves you!
In the summer when the temperatures are extreme..you can use it to sterilize your potting mix for the next year.
Canning, freezing and drying. But I’m doing more canning and less freezing. I am trying to ‘unplug’ as much as I can, and now that I don’t have five mouths to feed, I can cut down a little on that and sell extra produce versus having to produce so much food for consumption around here.
But don’t tell anyone...Shhhh! :)
Thanks for the book tip!
Potatoes are worth growing. Corn is a PITA. You don’t get much corn, it takes up a lot of space and HOGS soil nutrients and the raccoons ALWAYS get it at peak ripeness, LOL!
Reminds me of when we lived on Silver Lake when I was a kid. Same situation. We lived on the BAY end of the lake for the peace and quiet in the summer...but in the winter, the snowmobilers were there in full force. *SIGH*
That’s a good idea! :)
Maybe down the road.
The plan right now is to post a few Important articles here and there under this new name.
Thanx.
Just watch out for those rowboats……
And another potential customer! *<];-')
The new "greenhouse" is working out fine as a chicken coop. Down to single digits over night, and the hen still had liquid water in the waterer. Even brought in an egg today; first in about 3 weeks.
I finally found the hardware cloth panels the hippies cut & left next to one of the barns, so I'm going to go ahead and add some rabbit cages to the "greenhouse", along the north wall. I finally got a hot tip about a local source for meat rabbits.
Hassenpfeffer! Oh, and manure & worms for the garden, too.
Sounds like a GREAT plan for that building!
My hens are relatively comfy, but we haven’t hit the REALLY cold weather yet. This week they’re getting fresh straw...they’ll be SO excited! No eggs for me right now, either. They just don’t lay when it’s cold and overcast and the days are so short. Most of them are a little long in the tooth (hens teeth!) so a new batch of chicks will be arriving this spring. I love raising chicks!
I’m looking into raising Angora Rabbits for the fur to spin into yarn or to sell to people as pets...or just turn it into a MLM ponzi scheme as they did with llamas, LOL!
I’ve got a big old pole barn just sittin’ there waiting to be turned into a money-maker. :)
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