Posted on 10/07/2015 9:35:22 AM PDT by w1n1
The first step should always be building up a larder- by buying on sale.
That makes for a 25% food savings.
Once a person learns that there are huge savings received now by prepping- they’re hooked. Plus it provides funds for the other things.
Great fun! I spent a year in two rooms while I fixed this place up.
Had water but no electricity. Think I had it better than you. Water is heavy.
Couldn’t do it again though. Getting too old for that kind of fun.
IMHO, the major force driving people back to self reliance and independent life styles is the federal government.
Almost every major issue that lurks in the background with the potential to destroy the economy and the nation is directly or indirectly caused by the federal government.
Fifty years ago and more, people who fit much of this characterization weren’t called Preppers - they were just people.
Of course even then 99% of them lived outside the cities.
They were do-it-your-selfers with useful skills who grew, gathered or hunted food to can in the summer to get through the winter, etc.
One big difference between then and now is that the federal government had not yet grown in to a behemoth with an oppressive presence that made life more difficult for the independent minded and made most things worse with their incessant meddling.
If/when the stuff hits the fan you can be certain the root cause is the federal government.
/johnny
/johnny
bfl
Don't overlook the simple Well Bucket (aka bailer bucket) for pulling water from your drilled well in emergencies.
You can buy them ready made ofr make one yourself.
Just google WELL BUCKET or DIY WELL BUCKET.
Here is one ready made:
http://tinyurl.com/Lehmens-Well-Bucket
Here is a D-I-Y model:
http://tinyurl.com/D-I-Y-Well-Bucket
Do you have a Bison pump, which kind, about how much did you spend, how often do you test/use it, what did you need to get besides the pump, etc?
**** “Learn to garden NOW.” ****
I guess I will have to learn how to eat Sand Spurs and Johnson Grass as that is the only thing that grows here.
(there are times when those 2 struggle)
But lots of Fish & Crabs
I have the SS model that sits down at 80’.
If I remember correctly I spent about $800-$900 on the complete kit, rods, pipe, pump and top unit. The unit is good from 200’.
I use it when I need to get a drink from the well or just need a small quantity of water.
Thank you.
As a parent of teens, I am so stealing this line ... “Experience is a great teacher. The tuition is pretty expensive, though ...”
/johnny
IMO the best gardening book ever, and the only one you’ll need, is
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible by Edward C. Smith.
Before getting this book I had no clue. I just wore myself out with trial and error, and hours online, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Six bell peppers that cost $400 worth of labor.
The first chapters are an overview of basic theory and methods —his way contrasted with everybody else’s way. Then some chapters on bugs and weeds, then individual sections on specific plants and how to plant them.
This book is so well organized, no matter what veggie you’re planting or what question you might have, you just flip to the page and your answer is right there.
Once I got started using this book’s methods, I’ve found that I do almost NO WEEDING!
Gardening is far more complex than just poking a hole with your finger and sticking in a seed. His method is labor intensive at first, but once your garden is laid out, it keeps paying off in ease of maintenance and super high yields.So in the long run, it’s a lot LESS work than trial and error.
This author shows how to do it the right way from the beginning, so you’ll produce food, not weeds or bugs!
I’d love to have that well pump. SHTF, you can pump the water by hand and run it through a biosand filter for good measure.
I like your styling red door and stove ;-)
I will buy the book, and as a salute to prepping, it will be paper not kindle - grin.
Container gardening works even in concrete jungles. I am having to learn to grow food in the deep forest. It is a fun challenge.
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