Friday, June 30, 2023
Building a Hügelkultur raised bed
by Mic Roland
For a while now, I’ve wanted to try out some Hügelkutur in my gardening. This Spring provided an opportunity. This post is a step-by-step of my experiment.
I’m always looking for where else around the property I might grow things. Being a hilly property surrounded by tall trees, not everyplace is suitable for a garden. I identified a spot that got good sun and only mildly sloped.
One reason I wanted a raised bed is to thwart the voles. I’ve had occasional trouble with voles burrowing under my fences and eating my root crops. They love things like potatoes, carrots, beets, etc. Since voles seldom come above ground, they’re tough to trap.
A raised bed with a bottom of 1/2-inch hardware cloth would be fairly vole resistant. A raised bed would be easier to tend and keep my garden soil contained. I had a lot of old 16-foot deck boards from when we resurfaced the deck. Ideal salvage for a raised bed. I did have to buy the hardware cloth, though. I didn’t have enough scrap of that.
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Guide to Mason Canning Jars: Sizes and Uses
The glass jars used for home canning purposes come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Choosing the right size will depend on a variety of factors.
Here’s a look at the canning equipment necessary to get started with home canning.
Understanding Canning Jars
The canning jars most commonly used for home preservation these days go by two recognizable brand names: Ball mason jars and Kerr jars. These are both made by Jarden Corporation. (You might also hear a canning jar referred to as a Mason jar, after a vintage brand.) There are others, of course, but to keep it simple we’ll focus on these commonly available options.
These glass jars are endlessly reusable. Once you have a stash of jars, you can continue to refill them with new canned goods from year to year as long as they are free of flaws.
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
How to Get Hot Water for Your Off-Grid Home
By Bob Rodgers
A lot of folks are dreaming of making the switch from a modern lifestyle to off-grid living. In fact, more and more people are looking to buy land to build a new life, searching for freedom and independence in a rural environment.
Preppers are perhaps more inclined toward this change since emergency preparedness and survivalism don’t go well with a large population density and the dependence on public utilities.
However, besides the challenges one has to face when embarking on such a journey, like finding the right piece of land and obtaining the finances to purchase the land, there are other less obvious things one needs to prepare for.
For example, hot water is one of the core requirements of our modern lifestyle, and nothing beats a hot shower after a hard day’s work. Having access to hot water not only helps you maintain good personal hygiene but can also provide a morale boost during hardship when you just wish to wash the day away with a hot bath.
In today’s article, we will look at how those wishing to live off the grid can obtain hot water for their household, and hopefully, it will help folks out there better plan and prepare before making the move to an off-grid lifestyle.
The Need for Water
Monday, June 26, 2023
How To Make Your Home Fallout Proof
A nuclear attack or disaster will come without warning, and while it is not practical to harden your home against the shockwave and thermal blast of an atomic bomb, you can take steps to shield yourself and your family from the impending fallout.
A purpose-built fallout shelter is ideal but also prohibitively expensive and outside the reach of most of us. The good news is that we can take steps to secure our homes against fallout without digging a bunker in our backyard.
What Is Fallout?
Nuclear fallout is caused by the vaporized debris mixing with the radioactive particles that make up a mushroom cloud. The wind then carries this fallout downwind from the blast.
Related: A Strange Thing That Might Save Your Life in A Nuclear Aftermath
Fortunately, most of the fallout in the immediate area will fall within twenty-four hours and look like ash or sand.
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Surviving in the Aftermath of a Nuclear War
By Bill White
Here in the prepping community, we’re accustomed to talking about EMP as a TEOTWAWKI event, perhaps even our “favorite” such event, at least from the viewpoint of planning for it. But somewhere along the way, we’ve managed to lose track of the fact that conventional nuclear war is still a very real possibility. Our “friend” (cough, cough) Vladimir Putin has reminded us that such a possibility is quite real.
Granted, if Russia let loose a full-blown nuclear attack against the United States, there would probably be at least a few missiles fused for a high-altitude burst, generating an EMP. But that’s an assumption on my part. What if there weren’t any fuses like that, or what if those fuses didn’t work right? We’d be looking at a conventional nuclear war without the EMP taking out the grid.
Saturday, June 24, 2023
6 Pioneer Skills: Incredible Lessons You Can Learn
By Linda Loosli
Many have become pretty lazy and far too dependent on today’s technology to meet our every need. A number of crucial life skills that our parents and grandparents once knew have long been forgotten because some people feel they no longer are necessary.
What if you were to wake up one morning and find that technology, along with its comforts, is no longer available to you? Would you still be able to provide for your family even when the rest of the world seemed to be forcibly shoved back into the dark ages? My guess is, probably not.
Friday, June 23, 2023
How to Keep Pests from Ruining Your Food Storage
by Bernie Carr
I recently wrote about storing food staples in Mylar bags which generated a lot of interest. One subject that is a concern for readers is how to keep pests from invading rice, flour, pasta and other staples. No one wants to find a bug or two in their food storage let alone have an infestation that ruins their stored foods. Let’s discuss how to keep these pantry pests away.
Foods that can attract pantry pests
Thursday, June 22, 2023
3 Expensive Survival Foods That Are Not Worth Buying
There are a lot of great survival food products out there. At the same time, there are many survival foods that are simply not worth buying.
Before you buy survival food online or at the store, it may surprise you to learn that you can make the same thing at home for just a fraction of the cost. When you buy prepackaged MREs from some big camping company, it’s doubtful that you’re only paying for the food inside.
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
A Simple Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking for Everyone
Have you ever wondered how you would cook when there is no gas or electricity for an extended period?
Ice storms and tornadoes take out power lines for weeks. Earthquakes break natural gas and electrical lines. Hackers breach power grids and knock out power.
All of these scenarios have happened. And any of these emergencies could happen to us today.
So, how would you cook food?
Enter Dutch Oven cooking.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
What are the Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
By Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD
With the increasing popularity of apple cider as a health remedy for numerous ailments, many may wonder which apple cider cures are fact and which ones are truly just fiction.
The truth is that much of the marketing hype is just that: hype. So to help clarify which benefits you can really expect from adding apple cider vinegar to your daily routine, we address in one of our recent “Get The Skinny” segments the true science behind the claims.
What Apple Cider is:
Monday, June 19, 2023
Turning Fruit and Vegetable Scraps Into Vinegar
By Bob Rodgers
Becoming and being frugal is the right way of living for many preppers, and learning how to recycle and reuse stuff is the way to go if you plan to become self-sufficient and independent.
In today’s article, we will cover the topics of reusing kitchen scraps and how to turn these food scraps into one of the world’s oldest condiments, vinegar.
The luxury of wasting food
As a modern society, we have developed the habit of throwing out a lot of food, and we don’t think twice about the amount of waste we produce every year. In fact, it is estimated that each day, one pound of food per person is wasted in the United States.
This means that about 80 billion pounds of food are thrown away each year, and food waste in our country is projected at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. Other countries don’t have the same luxury, and they have strong politics regarding food waste and how the food reaching its expiration date should be reused.
However, it wasn’t always like this for Americans, and throughout history, most of our ancestors did not have the luxury of letting anything go to waste. Every item, edible or otherwise, was reused and recycled to obtain various benefits and exploit it to its full potential.
For people back then, forgetting about food or tossing away any part of food items wasn’t an option. Even the parts that they couldn’t reuse were turned into compost or used for feeding the animals on their homestead.
Today, with all the efforts to end food waste, there’s still a lot of work to do, not only on the field, in factories and restaurants, but also in your own kitchen. Making your own vinegar, the world’s oldest and most flavorful condiment is one of such methods you could implement to reduce food waste.
Making your own vinegar
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Could You Stomach Any Of These Great Depression Meals?
By
Do you know?
With all the talk about food storage and growing our own food, I did a little digging around to find out what food people ate during America’s Great Depression of the 1930s.
Surprisingly, a few of these were made by my mother and grandmother, traditions, I’m sure, from those frugal years. Cookbooks like this one document many of these meals.
I still have a soft spot in my heart for Chipped Beef on Toast!
As you read this list, you’ll notice how simple and basic they are.
Saturday, June 17, 2023
What To Do When You’re Lost
There are two main approaches to dealing with being lost: Don’t get lost in the first place, and make sure you’ve told someone exactly where you’re going and when to expect you back just in case you do get lost.
Not getting lost in the first place means having basic skills with a map and compass, and perhaps also having a GPS for backup. It also means being mindful of not getting lost—paying attention to your surroundings and being deliberate about your movement.
And consider always going out with a companion; solo hikers are much more likely to get lost than those in a group.
How to avoid getting lost
Friday, June 16, 2023
HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK IN THE WILDERNESS?
In the wilderness, a heart attack can quickly become a matter of life and death. Most people are familiar with the basics of CPR, but in a remote setting, this lifesaving technique is often not enough.
If you find yourself in the wilderness without access to medical help, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of survival.
First, it is important to stay calm and focused. If possible, find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down. Then, take several deep breaths and try to relax your body as much as possible so that you can decide what you should do.
You really only have two options: wait for help or walk out. What would you do?
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Things To Know About Floods
Original Article
BY
Flooding is one of the most common natural disasters affecting U.S. citizens, causing deaths and massive property damage. Flood are overflows of water that submerge land which is normally dry. Some floods develop over time, while others can become dangerous very quickly and affect areas where it isn’t even raining. Unless you live on a mountaintop, you’re eligible to be a victim of a flood. The family medic who prepares for flood events can prevent injuries and illnesses with a plan of action.
Types of Floods
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Best Canned Food for Survival
By NADIA TAMARA
With the ongoing food shortages, price increases, and uncertain times we’re living in, it’s important to stock up on foods that not only can last a long time on our shelves, but also provide the necessary nourishment.
In this article, we discuss how to pick the best canned foods for your emergency stockpile, and if it’s possible to survive entirely on a canned food diet.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CANNED FOOD FOR LONG TERM STORAGE
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
FORAGING WILD BLACK CHERRY (PRUNUS SEROTINA)
Wild Black cherry (Prunus serotina) are absolutely delicious, and one of the best wild fruits available anywhere. They taste more or less exactly like cultivated sweet cherries (though they’re smaller), and can be harvested over a wide range in the US.
Wild Black Cherry Fruit
Wild black cherry is a choice edible wild fruit that’s sweet and delicious, with no hints of the bitterness you’ll find in chokecherries or tart flavor in pin cherries. Honestly, they’re not all that different than cultivated sweet cherries in flavor, with that deep, rich red-wine-like complexity you’ll find in a perfectly ripe bing cherry.
It’s sometimes referred to as “chokecherries’ better cousin” because the fruit look quite similar, but black cherry has a number of characteristics that just make it better (at least to human tastes).
Monday, June 12, 2023
How Competitive Shooting Can Effect Your Survival
By Crystal Perry
You may think this is extreme; that I look more like I am going to battle in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan. However, this is not too far off from what our world may look like in the next couple of years. One of the biggest hurtles that I believe America faces today is the fact that, we as a collective believe that we are impervious to the types of warfare, terrorism, conspiracies, emergencies, crime, economic meltdowns, etc. that the rest of the world faces on a daily basis. Venezuela’s economic crash and subsequent government tyranny is one good example. Currently, we watch Ukrainians picking guns out of crates with no gear and no experience, and they have been called on to fight in the resistance. If there ever was a time to wake up it would be now.
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Is Prepping Pointless? 6 Tips to Help You Understand
By Linda Loosli
Unfortunately, there are plenty of naysayers out there who will go out of their way to argue with you about how pointless it is to try and prepare for various types of emergencies.
Others will tell you that the chances of a catastrophe ever happening to you and your family are slim to none. What may surprise you is that they’d be right. Well, sort of.
If you’re prepping for the wrong reasons or don’t have all the necessary supplies beforehand, when a disaster situation comes your way, all your time and preparation may be for nothing. That could be something that you didn’t want to hear but is necessary to think about. So, is prepping pointless after all? Keep reading to find out!
Saturday, June 10, 2023
The 10 Best Raccoon Baits You Can Use
By
Raccoons are common cohabitors with humans all across North America. These large and furry critters are definitely charming, at least when they are at rest, thanks to their dusky gray fur, iconic black mask, and ringed, puffy tail.
And those little paws that are so much like hands in their dexterity!
Precious, but these mobile mammalian miscreants have something of an unsavory reputation thanks to their propensity for breaking into trash, sheds, and even homes in search of food, even stealing it right out the bowls of our pets. The nerve of these procyons!
Unlike most other mammalian pests raccoons represent something of a challenge when it comes time to get rid of them, or relocate them.
Friday, June 9, 2023
Take Your Kids Fishing: 11 Amazing Reasons Why
By Linda Loosli
If you want to get your kids into prepping, one of the best things you can do is take your kids fishing. Fishing is a great way to teach kids about survival skills and how to be self-sufficient. It’s also a fun and relaxing way to spend time together as a family.
11 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Kids Fishing
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Trigger Finger Positioning, Hand Clenches, and Accidental Discharges
Ten years ago, an experienced handgun instructor contacted me to help him reconstruct the events of an accidental shooting. This instructor shot himself while reholstering after doing a demonstration during a basic concealed handgun class.
I know what you are thinking….
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Places To Avoid: Where Looters Will Strike First When SHTF
MICHAEL MAJOR
Whenever we think about natural disasters, the subject of looting is not far behind. Looting does indeed occur in the wake of disasters, but the truth is, that it is not nearly as widespread as we are lead to believe.
That being said, in the event of a total failure of the grid, economic collapse, large-scale civil unrest, or nationwide national disasters, the prospect of no help on the horizon will drive a lot of people to take to looting as a way to get the supplies they need to survive.
What follows is a list I have compiled of the places where I believe you will see looters strike when SHTF.
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