Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today - an On going Thread #2]

May 05th,2008

[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

[nw_arizona_granny]

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[nw_arizona_granny]

God has given you that gift.<<<

Yes, God gave me the ability to see the beauty he created, but he forgot to add the artistic ability to paint it.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I got them out, cold, and tried to make up mashed potatoes. They were like glue!<<<

We have all had disasters, and some of mine couldn’t be blamed on being a bride.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Welcome, we are glad you found the thread, I see you are joining in and that is wonderful.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Granny, it is kind of like “Watching the Radio” that we used to do many moons ago... ;o)<<<

LOL, speak for yourself, I don’t own a tv, so still ‘watch’ the radio.

My minds eye is good enough to see pictures of the vegetables, if I see the name....LOL

I can taste them to, from seeing the name.

[nw_arizona_granny]

re: Gatorade. Use the powered stuff. It’s available in bulk at my Sam’s, <<<

Good advise, but if using in your storage food, be aware that I did have the plastic containers go bad on me.

The first thread has recipes for making your own, forgot the number, the link is on the first page of this thread, there are 10,000 posts in it.

I am glad you found the thread and you are welcome to share your knowledge and questions with us, we are learning all the time.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Can you tell me how long most folks are provisioning for? In other words 30 days, 90 days, one year, etc.?<<<

Start with 30 days and then go for longer.

If this turns into a hard depression, we are looking at 5 to 10 years.

I buy food from Walton’s Feed, both the large cans and the sacks of bulk grains and beans, lentils, rice, flour,etc.

http://www.waltonfeed.com

They have many pages of information and also pages of the old ways that were common when I was young.

The old style dried foods in the cans lasted 10 to 20 years and the new style should also, they have changed the way they dry the stuff over the years.

20 year old wheat in the cans will still sprout and can be eaten. I cooked it, I did not grind it for flour, as I didn’t have a grinder available.

A Mormon friend had given me her supply of food, to feed the wild animals where I lived, as she was moving out of town and some of it was over 20 years old.

I got sick, couldn’t work and ate her old food, some was bad or so ugly that I did not cook it, other items, milk, grains, etc I still use.

I am finding that the normal cans of stuff bought at Walmart are unsafe to eat in 6 months to a year, every time I look at my cans, I have to toss some that are bulged, and I don’t have a lot of them, just misc foods in cans, for I no longer can drive and can’t get to the stores, so it is easier to buy ahead.

There are storage food recipes and amounts to store, mixed in the #1 thread and Tenth Amendment has captured most of it and made it available as a download.

She just posted the link a couple days ago and I didn’t write it down.

Vickie do you recall the links for your download on thread #1?

Thanks for always being alert and reposting the links.

Mike, I am glad you found us, you are welcome here anytime.

[nw_arizona_granny]

My son will be going into the AF this summer, after he graduates high school. He STILL hasn’t gotten his school set up - and he went to MEPS last August! They said it should take 2 months. ;) (I told him get used to it, working for the government!)<<<

I am so proud of him.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Granny, my problem is waiting for the ground to thaw! I can’t do much gardening until May! But there IS a five to six month growing window with a HOT summer!<<<

The hot summer and a good greenhouse and you will be sitting pretty.

If you could build the goat house, using one wall of the solar greenhouse, then the goats would get heat from the wall and give more milk all winter.

You could also put vents into it, so you could give them the heat, make the vents large enough to poke weeds and scraps through and they will fertilize the ....for the plants.

If you have a west and a south wall of glass or plastic, then the chicken house can join it also and you will have more eggs from the solar warmed chickens.

Have fun, you are on an adventure, keep lots of notes and write a best seller about this move, for those who don’t as yet have the ‘nerve’ to make the same move.

Hugs, for you and your Lady.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I don’t know if this has already been posted on this thread (I’m still behind, but gaining).

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2195759/posts
<<<<

Worth posting again, we all need to make the calls.

The truth hurts, and it will really hurt when the store shelves are empty.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Limit 10 Lot of veggies and flowers too.<<<

I expected to start hearing that, any day.

Someone to help you build?

Put it in your tag line and I bet one of the Texas race thread folks will help, if you feed him........

Texas Cowboy would have.

[nw_arizona_granny]

if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. — Mark Twain

And even more true today.<<<

I stay in trouble with my zombie family, they turn on the tv, leave the room and swear they are up to date on the news.

[Secret Agent Man]

People are stocking up on things they believe will be in shorter supply in the future. It may account for a slight rise in prices but the food producers right now aren’t having problems filling the grocery store shelves.

[nw_arizona_granny]

* 2 ounces pancetta, diced<<<

Yes, the recipe tempted me, but what is pancetta?

[nw_arizona_granny]

In your #10, you forgot to add okra in the okra soup.<<<

Welcome to the thread and thanks for reading it.

Knowing me, the Okra is still sitting on the counter, where I forgot it, LOL.

All the folks who read this thread and none said a word about it, guess they don’t like Okra as well as I do.

[nw_arizona_granny]

slight rise in prices but the food producers right now aren’t having problems filling the grocery store shelves.<<<

Here in the Kingman, Az area, we are finding that things we have bought for months is not in stock, and I mean the common items, that are on the list every month.

And yes, the prices are going up.

I have seen what the only large market in this town looked like with all the shelves bare, during the Truckers strike in the late 1970’s.

The Store Manager was hauling all he could from Las Vegas, over a 100 miles away, and you were allowed to buy one of each item, mainly bread and milk.

I have always stocked up, as a child we were sharecroppers in Texas and you went to town once or maybe twice a year for supplies, IF you made a crop that year that was salable.

I have also had a husband come in and say “Can you take me to the hospital, I think I am having a heart attack”, it was two years before he could work again.

So I am for food storage, I may live under the tree, but I will eat, if God is willing.

As for our future here, I think all of you will one day wish that you had supplies on hand and a garden, our future is not all that bright in the coming years.

Welcome to the thread, I am glad you stopped in to read.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.rusticgirls.com/make-your-own-tobacco-pipe.html

[Has many good comments]

How to Make a Classic Wooden Tobacco Pipe
Rustic Home > Fun > Wooden Tobacco Pipe
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Old Fashioned Wooden Tobacco Pipe
Pipe smoking goes back to ancient times, but the first documented evidence for it was during the Dark Ages when the Irish people invented the “dudeen,” which is a short clay pipe. Smoking a pipe has the lowest risk of health problems out of all forms of tobacco products (although we do not encourage anyone to start smoking). Perhaps you would like to make your own old-fashioned tobacco pipe. This article explains how you can.

First, you will need a seasoned limb from a cherry tree, the diameter of which should be the size of your pipe bowl. Cherry is the best type of wood to use for a pipe, but hard maple or plum will also work. Make sure that whatever type of wood you choose has been seasoned for at least two or three months.

Cut a section from a cherry tree limb that is about six inches long. Mark it to the length of the pipe bowl you want plus 1/2 inch to allow for the pipe stem. To mark it with the bark on, simply cut two lines about 1/8 of an inch apart around the entire circumference of the limb and then remove that small strip of bark. Do not saw the bowl from this piece yet, you will need to clamp it so you can drill out the center of the bowl first.

Begin the hole for the bowl with the tip of an ice pick or a knife, being careful to keep it centered. Then select a small diameter bit to drill a pilot hole with. Wrap a small piece of tape around the bit for a depth gauge after measuring against the side how deep you want your bowl to be. Remember not to drill into the 1/2 inch pipe stem portion at the bottom.

Now clamp the section below the bowl into a vice, or use a C-clamp to fasten it to a solid object. Drill the hole as straight as possible, stopping at the tape on the bit. Then use progressively larger bits that are taped at the right depth to enlarge the hole to your satisfaction.

Next, you will need to drill the hole for the pipe stem. After the bowl has been drilled, measure the depth on the outside at the spot where you want the stem. Mark it about 1/4 inch higher than the bottom of the bowl. Start the hole there with an ice pick or the tip of a knife. Then select a small pilot bit. Clamp the section below the bowl and drill it at a 90 degree angle, being careful to stop at the depth of the bowl side. Now enlarge the hole to 5/16 or 3/8 of an inch.

The next step is to saw the bowl carefully out of the section of wood, making sure to leave enough wood below the stem hole for strength. Simply shape it to the type of bowl you would like.

To make a pipe stem, you can use a section of elderberry branch. Since elderberry has a pith that can be easily removed with a wire, it is perfect for a pipe stem. Just choose a branch of the proper length and diameter. Catalpa and Ash are also woods that have a pith and will make good pipe stems.

Simply insert the pipe stem into the stem hole and your old-fashioned tobacco pipe is ready to go. To add to the smoking experience, you can put on your favorite smoking jacket and slippers and relax with a good book or maybe even contemplate a difficult physics problem. - By Jason Earls

Check out our growing tobacco page

Comments

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.rusticgirls.com/gardening/composting/trash-barrel-composting.html

Trash Barrel Composting?
Rustic Home > Gardening > Composting > Trash Barrel Composting (08/25/2008)
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Rich, Hardwood Mulch
Yes, it can be done.

I have a small garden that I keep fertile with my compost tumbler and worm farm. This system works pretty well but having recently stumbled upon a fairly large source of free horse manure, I needed a much bigger system to handle this. ( I like to compost manure before i use it to kill weed seeds flush some of the salts inherent in manure and lower the ph). I considered purchasing another tumbler but for the $200 price tag, I figured there has to be a cheaper way.

While on a trip to Goodwill scouting for more worm bins, I found two 30-gallon plastic trash cans for $2 each, and decided it was time to try “trash can composting”. I’d heard of this before. I had considered just creating a large pile of manure in the yard. I do this with some of the manure but I like the idea of a secure system to help manage the flies, animals, and odors emanating from the manure.

Generally speaking 3’x3’x3’ is the minimum size needed for a compost pile to get “hot.” The trash can is about 20 inches wide and three feet tall. A wee bit smaller than needed, it would seem. After worrying that my much smaller worm bin was going to heat up, I now have a much larger trash bin that I was afraid *wouldn’t heat up.

A 30 gallon bin is about 4 cubic feet. The 3x3x3 pile is 27 cubic feet. I’ve gotten hot compost in a bin that holds about 11 cubic feet, but I was thinking 4 cubic feet is pretty small to expect much.

I filled the first trash barrel about half full with a little food waste, and a lot of horse manure. I wet it down a little and let it sit. It didn’t seem to heat up “cook” at all. I added more “green” material and mixed it all up good, adding water until it had about the moisture level of my worm bin. I even added a couple of handfuls of compost from my worm bin, as an “inoculant.” I mixed it up good and then sprinkled a couple cups of soil from the garden over the top.

I checked it the following afternoon, and the pile was definitely hot. I could feel the warmth on my palm from an inch above the top of the pile as well as t through the sides of the trash barrel. I don’t have a thermometer to check, but I know it’s hot enough that if I had worms in there, they’d be either dying or escaping.

I have just a square of cardboard loosely covering the top. This is good for air access, because I don’t have a drill and I was too impatient to get started to wait until a friend could drill holes in it for me. I was hoping that stirred up well, loosely packed, with a loose top, the pile would have enough air to at least get started, and it seems to be working so far. I’ll figure out a way to punch some holes in it within a day or two.

It doesn’t bother me to stir it up by hand. It might be harder with one filled to the brim. I wanted air holes in it, so I drilled 1/4” holes all over the 2nd barrel (about 20) and poured the contents of the first into the second. Now, it really heated up.

I was tired of stirring it so I bought 2 more barrels with locking lids. Now, instead of stirring it, I roll it around the yard every few days.

Horse manure is easy to compost; after 3 weeks the barrel stops heating up and I toss the completed compost into the garden and yard.

Well, it’s been a few months and I now have 4 trash bins stewing compost. I like barrel composting as it’s easy to fill, easy to feel for it heating up and portable.

Tip 1: Make sure you get the kind of can where the lid clamps on somehow, because being able to kick the thing on it’s side and roll it around the yard makes turning the pile so much easier.

Tip 2: Drill about 20 1/4” air holes all over it, top to bottom.

Tip 3: In cans, the water will go to the bottom and stay there, even with some holes in the bottom, making it slimy. Keep the lids on.

Here are some more tips

Next, I’m going to try worm composting with these trash barrels.

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http://www.rusticgirls.com/gardening/composting/newbie-compost-tips.html

Newbie Composting Tips
Rustic Home > Gardening > Composting > Newbie Composting Tips (08/28/08) Guest Post

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Rich, Hardwood Mulch
I started composting in February using one garbage can that I drilled holes in. By March I had 2 garbage cans and by May I added a third. I read a lot here on this site before starting. I also read a lot of material from state and local extension services on the web. Here are my notes from my experiences:

1) Shred, tear, rip everything as small as possible. Keep sticks and thick items out unless you like to wait a long time.

2) Mix well often. If you have grass clippings, these must be tossed and turned and mixed or they will layer and make a slimy gooey smelly mess. Paper should be shredded or torn and then crinkled or they will layer and absorb moisture also and not heat up.

3) Have at least 4 or 5 different main ingredients. This not only insures a better mix of nutrients, but if the carbon and nitrogen (greens and browns) are balanced well and turned every 3 or 5 days, then it will get hot quicker and be ready in a matter of weeks instead of months.

4) Biggest reason for failure? Do not over water. Most of the greens have a high moisture content...as much as 95%. In cans, the water will go to the bottom and stay there, even with some holes in the bottom, making it slimy. Keep the lids on.

5) Best sources for getting free ingredients? Coffee houses like Starbucks or those gasoline stations that have coffee. The back woods in my development: Neighbors dump leaves and grass clippings back there. Paper from work and the newspapers that are free or tossed away. Grocery store produce area, they often have a trash can full of aged produce and often by the corn is can full of husks for customers to toss them. Walmart will let you have corn husks! I just take the entire large garbage bag out. Since mid February, I have had 2 cans 3/4 full of rich black crumbly compost. I will have one more in a couple weeks and 2-3 more by fall.

Comments
More tips
Allen:
i have one of those big wooden planters that are wide at the top and tapers towards the bottom. they have slats about 1/4” wide between the boards which is good for air circulation. you can remove the bottom if you like but i didn’t. my pile is heating up as i write this.

My ingredients were straw (different than hay), cow manure, grpeace clippings, kitchen scraps (veggie and fruits pealing and spoiled whole pieces) and a couple of pounds of used coffee grounds from good ole starbucks.I cut or break the larger pieces of veggies down

I am starting lasagna beds and will get some horse barn waste etc. from a coworker who has two horses. like it has already been said don’t overwater. just use a garden watering can and fill it. that should be enough water for the whole pile. bury fruits and veggies within the pile. I mistakenly left some spoiled swiss chard on top one evening and by the morning the critters climbed into the pile and stole them.

Also don’t add too much grpeace clippings without using alot of browns because it will stink. Have you ever leave a big of grpeace clippings for too long and then open the bag? same for your compost. consider sheet composting/lasagna bed.
#0 - Al - 08/28/2008 - 14:24

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.rusticgirls.com/food/cooking-tips.html

Here’s a list of ten helpful tips that you can use in your kitchen at home.

1) Store all of your cooking oils in plastic squeeze bottles. This will allow you to control the amount of oil you pour into a pan or pot.

2) Whenever you are cutting a cream pie or ice cream cake, dip the knife you are using in hot water before making each slice. This will prevent any filling from sticking to your knife.

3) You will find that egg whites will whip much quicker if they are at room temperature. You can freeze any left over egg whites in ice cube trays and use them later for any future baking.

4) After removing a roast from the oven, make sure you let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes before you begin slicing it. You will find that the meat will retain its juices and that it’s much easier to work with.

5) Practically all recipes in cookbooks use large eggs. If the size of egg is not indicated in the recipe, it’s safe to assume that you should use a large one. Whenever working with eggs, you will notice that it is much easier to separate them if they are cold.

6) Before squeezing a lemon, lime or orange to extract juice, place the fruit on a flat surface and, pressing down firmly with your hand, roll the fruit back and forth several times. This will yield a greater amount of juice.

7) Heavy cream will whip faster if the mixing bowl, the beaters from you mixer and the heavy cream are cold.

8) Placing a ¼ teaspoon of salt in a pan will prevent any splattering when frying foods.

9) Before draining pasta through a colander, always spray it down with cooking spray. This will eliminate any starchy or sticky residue and make it easier to clean.

10) If you are dealing with a sauce or gravy that is lumpy, place it in a food processor and process for 10 seconds. This will give the sauce or gravy a smooth texture.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.rusticgirls.com/food/pickling-olives.html

Pickle Your Own Olives
Rustic Home > Food > Pickle Olives

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Pickled Olives in Market
Many people are baffled as to how to pickle their own olives. Here is a simple, traditional method of pickling them the Mediterranean way for great tasting olives that you can serve up as a tasty Spanish or Greek style snack. The method involves selecting the olives, washing them then leaving them to ferment. As well as showing you how to do it, we also cover why these steps are necessary.

First of all you need to start with olives that are freshly picked and in good condition. There are three stages in ripeness that you can use for pickling. They are green, ripe green which is a slightly more yellow colour and black which is fully ripe. Black olives are usually not fermented, which is why they have a milder taste than the green ones. Green and ripe green olives produce stronger flavours. For this method, we will use about twenty five pounds (10 kg) of green olives.

A food grade container of around five gallons (20 litres) is used for the pickling process. The olives are traditionally soaked in spring water for several hours to wash them. They are then drained. To prepare the pickling solution you will need about one and a half gallons (7 litres) of spring water at room temperature. Add one and a half pounds (800 grams) of sea salt and about half a pint (300 grams) of vinegar. White wine or cider vinegar is best.

With a sharp knife, make a single deep cut lengthways in each olive to assist the fermentation process then put them in the container with the liquid. Weigh the olives down with a large diameter plate so they are all covered by the liquid. The plate should not fit too tightly in the container so the gasses can escape. It is not critical to exclude oxygen as in the winemaking process, so with this method there is no need to seal the container.

The olives should be fermented at room temperature for up to a month before they can be eaten, but will become more flavoursome and fully mature after three months. They can be tasted any time during fermentation as a way of checking their flavour. The bitter compounds are safe to eat.

The reason for fermenting the olives in this traditional way is to break down the phenolic compounds and the glycoside, oleuropein which are contained in the raw fruit that give them their harsh bitter taste. When these compounds are broken down, lactic acid is produced. This is an excellent natural preservative which will enable the olives to be stored without refrigeration for several months.

Aside from the fiddly, time consuming process of cutting each individual olive, this traditional method of pickling olives is quite straightforward and produces excellent results. The final product can be served with many different herbs and spices, steeped in olive oil or vinegar flavoured with chilli, garlic or lemon juice or stuffed with peppers, cheese or anchovies. By using this traditional and relatively simple method you never need to feel put off pickling your own olives again.