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Running a 55 gallon drum of water into household pipes
George - May 26, 2021 I’m on a well, so when the power goes out, I don’t have any water. The power company shut off the power to work on the lines today, so I decided to test out my backup water scenario. I installed a water faucet in the side of a 55 gallon barrel, at the bottom. The drum had been used for food previously. I sanitized it with bleach and water, emptied it out and then filled it with water from the well. (For long term storage, I’ll use 5 drops of bleach per gallon in the water according to this site’s recommendation.) I closed the valve between the well and the house and connected a 5/8″ RV water hose to a faucet on the outside of the house. I opened the faucets on both the tank and the house. The bottom of the barrel is 4′ above the level of the house. I wasn’t expecting lots of pressure, but the toilet tank takes about 3 hours to refill, yet I can get a gallon of water from the bathroom sink, which is about 6″ higher, in about 3 minutes. I can fill a bucket from the sink to flush the toilet, but why does the toilet take so long to fill? By the way, with the hose not attached to the house, I get a very strong flow out of the barrel.
Read MoreThe Everyday Grommet (humor)
Seasons4 - May 26, 2021 I recently received a mailed catalog listing educational courses on a wide range of topics available for purchase. I flipped through the pages, skimming the titles. One caught my eye — “The Everyday Grommet.”
Hmmm, I thought, that sounds interesting. I didn’t know there were everyday grommets and special grommets. Imagine my disappointment when I read the title more carefully — “The Everyday Gourmet.” 😉 I give credit to Ubique for giving me grommet brain.
Have you ever caught yourself making assumptions or reading something wrong because prepping was on your brain?
Read MorePsychological First Aid
Bob - May 26, 2021 https://relief.unboundmedicine.com/relief/view/PTSD-National-Center-for-PTSD/1230010/all/Introduction_and_Overview#:~:text=Psychological%20First%20Aid%20includes%20basic,activities%20in%20a%20flexible%20manner.
Good morning,
Link above is a comprehensive intro to psychological first aid. It’s responder-oriented but the principles and concepts mentioned can be used for one’s family, for self, for “stranger” disaster “victim” who appears out of nowhere into your immediate environment.
Some misc comments;
One of the best government agencies – my opinion only – with real good publications (no-cost to requester) is SAMHSA, a small agency of Dept of HHS. They have an A+ pocket size Field Manual titled “Field Manual For Mental Health and Human Service Workers In Major Disasters”. A favorite line I photocopied:
“Disaster mental health assistance is often more practical than psychological in nature.”
…….
For your psychological first aid research do learn about the topic called “compassion fatigue”.
……
Keep notes and understand that they’re restricted health care information.
Read MoreDrought and how to prepare for food production
UbiqueContributor - May 26, 2021 I am posting this separately so it doesn’t get lost in the original thread “Adventures in survival gardening: planting, sunstroke and aphid apocalypse” that led to this thread on “Drought and how to prepare for food production.”
There are two more issues to deal with:
I just came back in from finding a carpenter ant. Luckily, I had experience with them once and now I spray any vector points for entry into my home including up between the foundation and stucco to ensure they don’t get in the house that way.
These ants, for those who haven’t seen them, are gigantic. They will destroy the wood in your house as will a termite, however they don’t eat the wood but nest in it by tunneling throughout the studs. They can turn wood studs into chop sticks.
The search for info on aphids resulted in the news article linked below. We are in some big trouble if we don’t get rain.
The irony is that I remember when I first moved back to Manitoba in 2005, we faced record breaking rainfalls. There was the “worst flood in 50 years” and then the “heaviest rainfall in 100 years” until they gave up quantifying it and just called the heavy rainfalls “record breaking.”
It is official. The prairies are in a drought, but as the article states, so is a swatch that stretches from Vancouver Island (known for it’s lush rain forest and dewy weather), to southern Quebec down into the USA into California and Mexico. They are calling this drought “never been seen before.”
We are in the red zone in southwestern Manitoba. Crop failure in the Saskatchewan and Manitoba areas are bad news as they grow the bulk of legumes and grains. Alberta is beef cattle ranch country and beef farmers here are worried about having enough water for their livestock. Dugouts and other sources of water drying up or dried up.
Shortages due to crop failure and lack of water for cattle are going to translate into more money for the consumer as well.
Drought declared and details
What I am concerned about as a prepper is how rapidly food production is impacted when the weather becomes extreme. And, per the original post, how quickly insect pests that can affect food production can populate so quickly.
I am still searching for info on how to change my preparing in order to cope with this situation. I am looking at how to shift my food production, if it is possible.
In the “dirty ’30’s or The Great Depression, crop failure due to a long drought was a feature of life. It continued for 10 long years. People in Canada affected by it simply packed up and left. Some people starved to death.
Dorthea Lange made an incredible photographic record of images showing how a natural disaster like drought and a financial disaster like The Great Depression could impact people. Her photographs were of American people. In Canada, our images were the same. Overwhelmed people fleeing a disaster.
Dorthea Lange and images of drought during The Great Depression
Our hope is for the rain that is again promised to come. So far we have had a few sprinkles but the regular rainfall that we see is predicted and then doesn’t happen.
Even if we get the rainfall that is once again predicted, to the extent that we now need it, I will never forget this experience and how rapidly we were impacted by drought conditions. Never again will I omit food production during a drought in my preparedness planning nor how fast insects can take over.
I will post any helpful information on alternate grow methods or strategies as I can research and find them.
Read MorePrepping for economic collapse
UbiqueContributor - May 26, 2021 What does economic collapse mean to you?
To me, economic collapse isn’t the stock exchange disaster of the 1930’s. It is the slow decay and crumbling of our independence and self-sufficiency.
I used to move money. It could be a fifty-dollar transaction bound for Vietnam or a boat in Indonesia or a fifty million settlement heading to another bank. It was a very high stress position with zero margin for error.
There was a bank of clocks on the wall that represented cities like San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris and New York, who were all part of a routing system to move money globally. The clocks acted as a reminder of international cut off times for payment traffic.
I processed telexed and trader payments that landed in my in basket, took payments from branches and other banks over the phone, and ensured that what I processed was delivered correctly and on time.
This involved a series of intricate fail safes and verifications. It was an area of banking that was a target for fraud and required high degrees of vigilance.
I used to wake up with nightmares from the stress of my job. The first thing I did when I left that job was to take off the watch I wore as part of the time critical component of my work. To this day, I don’t wear a watch.
My time in that position came on the heels of three years spent in the letters of credit department. The orders were shipped to other countries because of their less expensive labor costs.
The point of telling you about this experience as the lead in for prepping for economic collapse is simple. Everything money related is moving around you all the time, quietly in the background. Deals are made. Money is bought and sold. Trade happens.
Meanwhile, you go to work, earn a pay check and live your life. You spend money and contribute to the trade and commerce around you. If you save money your bank gets the use of your money and pays interest to you for that use.
Everything is interconnected now because of trade and international lending. This is not a case of you have something and I have something and let’s trade. It is a case of competition, trade quotas and trade sanctions, and of maintaining a complex balance.
International trade is not symbiotic, meaning that the relationship is not mutually beneficial.
We trade now because we have to do it. We are not sustainable. We gutted our jobs in North America.
My Dad and I used to spend hours in debate and discourse. This subject was one of them.
Dad’s position was that we had priced ourselves out of the labor market due to unions and that manufacturers went for the cheap labor elsewhere.
My position was that our labor costs were being undercut by countries with an entirely different standard and cost of living. How were we ever going to compete with that?
The end result is that container after container of manufacturing equipment, some hundreds of years old and highly specialized were disassembled, and shipped elsewhere, and our jobs left with it.
The finished product was shipped back to the company who then sold it to us at the same price as if it had been made here. It was a version of enterprise that destroyed jobs, manufacturing and charged us more to shop while they did it.
I remember some companies hung on as did some consumers who refused to buy anything not “made in Canada” or “made in the USA.” Now, those labels are deceptive because they aren’t entirely made in either country. Parts come from elsewhere or something is partially assembled elsewhere.
Which brings me to economic collapse. Have any of you ever wondered about how easily this whole thing could go off the rails? I do and probably not for the reasons that other people do. I don’t get caught up in economic jargon or theory. It’s simple and straightforward.
I look at our countries as preppers who were capable of self-sufficiency. We joined with a group of other prepper countries to trade and barter. We made a bad choice and put ourselves in a bad position.
We can’t make the items we used to make and are now dependent upon other countries for items we need. We are no longer self-sufficient.
If there is a disaster in the other preppers’ country or we have a dispute with the other preppers or one of their friends’ countries, then we get cut off from the items we need.
That doesn’t sound like solid preparedness to me.
Our goods used to be closer to home.
To make our arrangement work, we need to ship goods over long and sometimes difficult routes. The grounded container ship in the Suez Canal was a good example of how easily the arrangement can grind to a halt.
The current pandemic could easily run us aground in a different way. We have no idea when this pandemic will be over or if it will ever be over. The mutations carry the possibility of antibody resistance which is a big concern.
India is being overwhelmed by the pandemic. They, like China, may have a huge population, but their workers dying or unable to work will impact their production.
We also can’t forget the long term effects of Covid-19 upon people who survive it. Some are dead six months later. Others are left with permanent lung or other debilitation.
I can’t change history. I have no control over other people. What I can do is adjust how I prepare in the face of the potential for economic collapse.
I have started researching which items such as medicines are made in other countries. I am also researching which items are made entirely in North America and making a list of suppliers and manufacturers.
Part of my search is for local and regional suppliers because in an economic collapse, shipping long distances may not be viable. It is also a way to foster mutually beneficial relationships for long term survival.
I am making a list for stocking more of certain items that could be impossible to get if a supplier country halts or reduces production.
I am also looking at what skills or items I could make if necessary and getting the knowledge or instructions hard copied and in place now.
What do you think economic collapse will look like? What are you doing to prepare for it?
Read MoreAn analysis of the movie Red Dawn
JB - May 24, 2021 I love the movie Red Dawn. There is the 1984 original and then a 2012 remake under the same idea but with updated modern day action.
Here’s a quick summary of the plot. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen it:
Kids are attending school when all the sudden enemy paratroopers begin landing outside of their school and attacking. A small group of students are able to escape and flee to the mountains to their summer cabin. They then enact guerrilla warfare on the town below where all the adults and their fellow students are held as prisoners of war under the name of their high school mascot the Wolverines!
I’ve always enjoyed this movie because of the idea of a WWIII event happening here in your local home town. (would dread this if it ever happened, but its a fun scenario to think about)
What would you do if you were in the position of these kids who have evacuated to the mountains? Would you bunker down or fight back and save your family?
Read MoreEasy raised bed trellis
Josh CentersContributor - May 24, 2021 Trellises are essential when growing vining plants like indeterminate tomatoes and pole beans. And they can help you maximize limited garden space. Here’s how to make an easy trellis for your raised beds.
For each eight-foot long raised bed you’ll need:
Three ten-foot lengths of 3/4-inch PVC Two 3/4″ elbow connectors and one t connector Three 18-inch lengths of 1/2-inch rebar String Screws or sticks (thin bamboo works great)Note: You can use PVC or CPVC, but just make sure you don’t mix them, because they’re measured in different ways. CPVC couplings won’t fit on PVC and vice versa. PVC is also an endocrine disruptor, so if you’re worried about that, you can use metal electrical conduit instead.
You’ll also need a hammer or mallet to drive in the rebar.
You want to keep your trellises on the north side of your bed to keep from shading out other crops. Start by pounding in two pieces of rebar on each end of the north side of your bed. I drive in the rebar so it doesn’t stick out above the garden bed, so I can sit on the edge without getting poked.
Take the three lengths of PVC and cut off four-foot lengths from each one. You should end up with three six-foot lengths and three four-foot lengths. You can set one of the four-foot lengths aside.
Place two of the six-foot lengths over the rebar. They should stand upright. Put the elbow connectors on top, insert the four-foot lengths, and connect them with a t-connector. Then insert the third six-foot length in the bottom of the t-connector.
You need to drive in one last piece of rebar. Figure out where the middle posts sits, drive a piece of rebar there, and slip the piece of PVC over it.
Now you just need to tie some strings for plants to climb. If the bed is wood, put a screw in front of each plant to support, tie a string to it with a simple double knot, and then attach it to the top of the trellis with an adjustable hitch knot. Tighten it up to add some tension to the line. This is a good opportunity to practice your knot tying.
For metal beds, I just take foot-long lengths of bamboo, shove them into the ground by the plant, and tie to that. If the string slips off, I use the saw on my Leatherman to cut a notch in the bamboo to hold the string in place.
Pros: Cheap, quick to set up, you can reach between the strings for weeding and watering, nothing for the wind to catch
Cons: PVC is nasty, tying the knots can be time-consuming
Read More
Selecting water purification strategies, method and equipment for bug out and bug in scenario
LNMOt - May 24, 2021 Hello!
I’ve spent the better part of the last 10 months working hard on getting a 8-12 month food supply in place – I’m pretty much there. I’ve got the beginnings of a decent first aid kit / medicine stock, etc – more work to do here but I have a good base to build on. We have a solid plan for home and property defense. But when I take a good hard look at my preps, I realize my water prep situation is in need of some serious improvement. And since, without water safe drinking water, my 8-12 month supply of food will be pretty useless, I figure I should go ahead and get things corrected as soon as possible.
I read the fantastic Prepared review / guides on Best Portable Survival Water Filters and Best Home Water Filters. Great information, but I must admit I am still quite overwhelmed as there are so many different options and set ups! I believe I am stuck in an “analysis paralysis” situation. So I thought I would post asking for some guidance in making a decision on what gear to buy.
First, let me outline my current water situation and also what I’m trying to prepare for:
Current Water Situation and Set Up:
I have about 1.5 weeks worth of drinking water (store-bought bottled water) in my prepper pantry. I am going to try to add a bit more bottled water but there isn’t much more space for it. We own our own house – we live in a smaller resort town in New England, but the area where our house is located is relatively rural. On our property, we have a good sized pond with a small natural fresh water stream feeding the pond. We are going to be adding trout to our pond in the next few weeks. Our pond water is not clear and there is a large amount of muck and silt on the bottom of the pond – we have been working hard to clean it up. Needless to say we don’t swim in the pond. This will take some time to clean up. I do have a biomass emergency stove that I bought several years ago that I could use to boil water (for dried food pouches, etc). But boiling for water purification just doesn’t seem like a good long term option, as pointed out in some of the excellent guides on this website.What I Would Like to Prepare For:
Get Home Situation – surviving on foot getting back to my house from my work. On foot it would be probably a two day walk if on the highway / paved roads, probably a day or more longer if I had to go through rough terrain like the woods. While it’s possible I would encounter water sources on the journey, I haven’t really spent much time planning a route back home from my work, nor have I spent any time looking at potential water sources that I could find on the way. However, it’s safe to assume that in Northern New England in the woods I would encounter some fresh water on my way. Also, if we had to bug out, I would imagine my water preps for the get home situation would also work for a bug out situation? Bug In Situation – most scenarios I am preparing for center around a bug in situation that would last months, perhaps up to a year. I am not at the point in my preparedness where my family and I could survive long term (gardening, chickens, livestock, etc). At this point my goal is to ensure myself, my two small children and my husband could survive without having to leave our property for up to one year.A Few Other Things For Consideration:
For all of my water preps, I am concerned about filtering out viruses as well as bacteria and protozoa. Chemicals if possible. I have a two year old and a 4 year old, so hard to suck from water filtration bottles aren’t an option for them, nor is the survival straw option really. I am willing to invest in the best, most durable water filtration / treatment options. Even if it takes multiple months I’ll save up the money. Buy once, cry once? One thing that I am quite confused about is finding a filtration option that will last reliably for a year? I know there are so many options and there are limits on how long the filters will last.I appreciate everybody’s help in advance with helping me make these decisions and providing guidance and feedback!
Read MoreWhat is some bad prepping advice?
Mike Hill - May 24, 2021 I’m sure we all have received some bad prepping advice over the years. Be it from the unprepared, misinformed, uneducated, or it could have been good advice at the time but has since been debunked.
Two come to mind right now:
Your entire food storage consists of beans and rice. You get some big rambo knife and think that’s all you need to bug out with.What bad prepping advice have you heard?
Read More“Rethinking Disaster Readiness”
Bob - May 22, 2021 COLUMN: Rethinking Disaster Readiness Before a Potentially Active Summer
Good evening,
This is an article well worth reading. Note “the private sector truly controls a community’s destiny; the same is true after a natural disaster”.
The FEMA Community Lifeline doctrine has categories applicable for private citizen preppers also.
Read MoreInsect cuisine
Bob - May 21, 2021 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cicada-cookies-recipe/
Good afternoon,
In all seriousness, subject topic could be worth researching for some.
Above link has a recipe for the cicada bug.
It’s been reported that confined victims of the Pol Pot “Killing Fields” of Cambodia tried to survive on insects. A few did survive.
Had once taken a survival course and the Edodus story was mentioned whereas one insect … believe the locus/grasshopper was allowed to be consumed. Believe this is now a controversial matter for current times.
My only participation in re insect dining was when I was the all-you-can-eat buffet. They dined on me.
At the article’s end is a “Disclaimer”. Please use the disclaimer also as a warning requiring checking if insects OK for your health condition.
Read MoreRe-purposing items like radiant heated floor systems to create better gardens and for other prepping needs
UbiqueContributor - May 21, 2021 I woke up this morning with radiant heated floors on my mind.
I wondered if it could be possible to use this kind of heated floor system in the base of a raised bed garden to warm the soil for germination, and later turn if off so that the germinated seeds can develop properly at a cooler temperature.
Water doesn’t bother heater floor systems. They last 100 years according to the info I read this morning and they use about 300 watts which are less than the average space heater.
The vegetable roots shouldn’t be an issue for the network of pipes that form the framework of the heated floor.
I thought it might be a way to cope with fluctuations in temperatures that seem to be more common. In a crisis, more reliable germination could also save seed from being wasted.
From that idea, I began to consider dual use items or re-purposing items for prepping.
My husband knew a person who used a hot water tank and and the heated water to heat his house. He just kept it circulating throughout the house and this was before heated floors became popular.
Do you re-purpose items in prepping? For anyone who gardens, does the underfloor heating sound viable?
Read MoreChanging the way you write
LBV - May 20, 2021 Just been thinking and thought I would talk about refillable pens. I initially went this way because of the plastic issue, as pens are essentially a disposible product. I ended up driving to another town to visit a specialised shop that deals with everything pen and ink related. That was my introduction to fountain pens. Being refillable, they are environmentally friendly, but recently looking at it from a different perspective, they are also a good prepper item as well.
I ended up choosing a fountain pen over rollerball or ballpoint as you do not need to use pressure to write (which minimises pain when writing).
The pen I chose (Lamy Al-star) was appealing, not only due to comfort, but also due to the fact that every part of the pen was replaceable, meaning I didn’t have to buy a completely new pen if something got lost or broke. I also chose the adapter over cartridges, so I fill my pen from bottled ink – and this is where it is good for prepping. Once an ordinary pen runs out – that’s it. However, a small bottle if ink goes a very long way. I have had my pen for over two years and have barely made a dent in the ink container (50ml).
If you choose a fountain pen, you will need to use ink designed for it. Bonus is the range of colours that are available. As they are water based ink not all inks are waterproof, so be aware of that when choosing your ink.
Read MoreAdventures in survival gardening: planting, sunstroke and flea beetle apocalypse – Edited to add frost and snow
UbiqueContributor - May 20, 2021 Edit May 18: Pest now correctly identified as a flea beetle
Edit May 17: To add frost and snow – please refer bottom of post
Have you ever planned something to the very last detail and then had your project go completely sideways once you actually began executing the plan?
All winter I had poured over gardening information. I made lists. I made more lists. Then I organized my lists and began buying supplies. There has been increased interest in gardening due to Covid and I wanted to be ahead of potential shortages.
This was to be the year that I tested some of my ideas about survival gardening. How much food could I grow? Could I create a kind of secret survival garden in my yard? Would the idea of growing food plants among my flowers work?
I had spent last Friday and Saturday driving to two cities to collect bedding plants, six more 60 lb bags of soil and seven bags of assorted compost. My steel drive in posts and deer fencing had arrived. There were other garden supplies and all of it was neatly arranged inside my house. I managed to carve a path from my living room and the den to the rest of the house.
Did I mention that my husband is tearing apart the garden shed this year? He is redoing the shed storage he constructed last year. The shed was originally purchased for outdoor maintenance and tool storage. He now seems to consider it his workshop.
Last year it was below freezing before he finished his shed storage projects.
This means that this year everything is torn apart again and there is no room for garden supplies. I am also slowly inheriting odd automotive parts and snow shovels that were supposed to be housed inside that garden shed.
Despite the inside of my home looking like a retail garden centre, I was determined to learn and enjoy every moment of the gardening to come.
I had pre-arranged my bedding plants into groups for the planters and pots. They were lined up on foil pans ready to grab and go.
This past Wednesday, the weather finally turned and out I went to plant the three foot wide new planters on the North side. It was a slightly overcast day and nice for working outside.
I transplanted the bedding plants in the first and second North side planters without a problem. Then I hit the third planter and noticed these tiny bugs on my nice new white planters and trellis.
They were tiny, dark, fast, and jumped about very quickly. And, there were a lot of them. On the other side of my new planters is the neighbor’s brick outlined crushed rock bed with a few low evergreen shrubs planted in it. I had no idea where these bugs had come from or what they were.
I called my husband to look and he hadn’t seen anything like them either. He ran to the store to buy bug spray just in case. I kept planting and finished the seven planters, watered them and hosed off the bugs. I sprayed them all with bug spray to be on the safe side.
From there I went over to plant the thirteen front stoop planters and discovered that these tiny bugs were there as well. The bricks and lawn furniture were black with them.
Every planter had multiple marigolds as a deterrent for aphids. I also planted a lot of geraniums. Keeping ants away from the house and flowers usually keeps aphids at bay. These bugs didn’t look like aphids I had seen.
I finished planting, repeated the watering, hosing and bug spray and discovered I had been outside for seven hours straight.
The next day, I had to take my dog to the vet and pick up her heartworm medication for the year.
In the morning I checked my security cameras and discovered that my front stoop plants didn’t look right. I rolled back the footage and found the culprit. A single doe, very pregnant, had daintily nibbled her way through six geraniums, alyssum and lobelia. She actually climbed my brick stairs to do it.
Luckily, I had fencing stakes on hand for fast barriers and created a six strand deer fence with fishing line before I left for the vet.
While my dog was at the vet, I managed to pick up replacement plants and headed back home.
As the day went on, I was feeling more unwell. There was no fever, but I was in a cold sweat and really dehydrated. My husband has his industrial first aid and other training. My hair was up and he noticed the back of my neck. “You’re sunburned.” I told him I was wearing sun screen. “Did you wear a hat?”
Um. No. I planned to wear a hat, but my big sun hat wouldn’t fit over the hair comb that was holding up my hair. It was overcast and I was excited to get outside and start work, and yes I’m the idiot who didn’t wear a hat.
My husband got two cold towels for my head and back of my neck. “You have minor sunstroke because you didn’t wear a hat.” “Overcast days are the worst for sunstroke.” “Next time wear a hat.”
Note to all prepping gardeners: wear a hat. Sunstroke really creeps up on you.
The next morning I felt a bit better than the night before and decided to work in the shade by my back door. I planted five ten gallon pails of assorted kinds of tomato seed and three smaller pails of Genovese basil seed. These pails were neatly lined up on the rock around the sunny South side of my house.
I covered the pails with plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect and hopefully sprout them faster. I left a bit of a gap for air flow.
The raised beds couldn’t be planted until I finished my garden tags for the seeds. I still wasn’t feeling all that great, so I decided to work indoors on that project and do a last minute check and revision on companion planting for the vegetables and herbs.
I took a break to check the front yard plants and discovered that they were swarming with those little tiny bugs. They were so thick, that they now looked like moving black sand. I sprayed everything again. There were more dead plants.
Now I was really concerned about the vegetables that were going to be growing in the raised beds.
Saturday morning came and I checked again and the bugs were everywhere. I moved supplies around in my den so I could get to the computer and searched.
I found a photo that could have been one of my plants. Sure enough, they are aphids. I had never seen newly hatched aphids before. I checked the front stoop and there were dead bugs all over the stoop. This meant that the insecticide my husband brought home had worked, but there were more of them. I sent him back to the store for more of it. They only had one bottle left, so we weren’t the only ones with a problem.
I don’t like using insecticides, but this is way beyond what hosing them off can control. I used a fine textured garlic powder and sprinkled that over the planter soil and plants. I couldn’t get it underneath the leaves very well, but I am hoping it will help to save what is left of my bedding plants.
I have never seen aphids in this number before, here or anywhere else. It is frightening considering the damage that they can do. It is one thing to lose flowers, but my real concern is their effect upon the food crops I plan to grow.
I have ornamental bedding plants, but the gardening is mainly about food production for survival and prepping. In the years I lived on a farm and gardened, we never had anything like this happen.
There is a difference in geography. When I lived on a farm, in an area near Lake Manitoba, there was pasture, bush and trees and some smaller fields. There was a mix of agriculture, such as dairy, mixed farming, and beef producers. Where I currently live, there are massive open treeless tracts of fields for the huge grain farms.
Trees and bush hold moisture. We had more snow and more rainfall where I used to live.
I have been racking my brain since yesterday trying to figure out what is happening.
This is a very dry year for us here. We didn’t have much snow pack last winter. The local agriculture is in trouble and they are talking drought. One community about an hour away has no potable water and is on water rationing. Their water comes from a man made lake.
Our natural lake is about five feet down and I could smell algae on the lake yesterday.
There doesn’t seem to be more ants, but I noticed that there aren’t any ladybugs.
Several years ago, Southern Manitoba had a problem with imported Asian ladybugs that had been brought in to control aphids. These ladybugs are not like our native ladybugs. The Asian ones bite. They became very invasive, swarming and intruding inside homes.
I am wondering if they are displacing the native ladybugs and plan to do some reading to find out more. I want native ladybugs and won’t order imported ones.
This is a huge infestation of aphids and they are killing plants rapidly. The way they are killing the plants doesn’t look like normal aphid damage. The plant is swarmed and literally collapses, shrivelled up and dead with some holes in the leaves.
Usually aphids will suck the leaves, which turn yellow and sometimes leave a black mould. Perhaps it is the life cycle that the aphids are at that is causing this different kind of damage?
As of this writing, I plan to go ahead with seeding, but am now scrambling to figure out how to protect the food crops first.
I am also concerned about how our climate is changing and the effects upon our food crops by predator insects. If a single winter of reduced snow pack and one dry spring can produce drought conditions that can impact predator insects this quickly, then there are some new things to consider in survival gardening.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, or has ever encountered this type of situation with aphids, please help.
Also, has anyone else noticed such a dramatic change in their gardening or environment after one season of reduced snow or rainfall?
I am going to continue searching for information and will check back later after I get some sleep.
May 17, 2021: I am typing this with one eye on the horizon and listening for the sound of thundering hooves. Another horseman comes riding, this one bears frost and snow.
Nope. There is no way to make what I have to communicate sound any better – I cannot **sassafrass**scoobie-do##double hockey sticks** believe this!!!
We are getting a low of 0 Friday and a low just above freezing the next day! Accompanied by, you guessed it: Rain! 15 mm of Rain! Plus some snow. It’s 30 degrees right now!
Do you know when I found this out? When I came indoors to get more seed. I planted more seed this morning and came in to find this out.
*Deep breath* I have had some time with a spoon and some ice cream to reflect and regroup.
This is a good lesson for preparedness. Usually people here don’t plant until after May long weekend, which is this coming weekend for us. Sometimes, people wait until the end of May.
This is on me. I made the decision to plant and seed now instead of waiting. I got taken in by the heat. Beware of fluke fluctuations in temperature.
My action plan to counter this news:
I have lots of plastic on a roll as part of my preps, so I am going to tent my flowers on the stoop and the flowers in 21′ of new planters, south side tomato and basil seeded pails, and the 4’x16′ planter that is seeded with lettuce, radishes, carrots, chives, peas and beans. It’s a long shot because seed needs a certain temperature to germinate. The plastic might give it a bit of a greenhouse effect.
I have starter soil and plenty of containers so I am going to start a bunch of plants inside, beans, tomatoes, etc. This will give me a chance to germinate the older vegetable seed to see if it is viable. I had planned to do this anyway as a survival garden experiment. If it works, I can keep some and give some to others who may have lost their vegetable seeds or plants in the frost.
The positive side:
I learned a really good lesson about gardening too early. I was too eager because last year I did wait until just after the traditional end of May planting and got nailed by low temperatures. I had to replant all my seed.
I learned not to get caught up in a stampeding herd of gardners. This year, stores were selling out of certain items. I had most of what I needed, but I got caught up in garden fever and started stampeding with the rest of the herd right out to the planters with my kneeling pad and bucket of seed.
This freezing spell may kill off those sassafrassing aphids.
I learned again to value having a huge roll of plastic on hand. I can’t count the times it has come in handy for emergencies.
Biggest lesson: Redneck is right: You can’t have enough seed. So many things can go wrong and today is a prime example of it. Even after our traditional planting times here, we have had snap freezing spells. Even one night is enough to kill plants and germinating seed.
What saved my neck is that I have extra vegetable seed on hand and plan to get more if it is available.
Thank you Redneck and please keep telling people to get extra seed, because nothing grows without seed.
I am going to catch up on the board, then get my supplies to start germinating seed indoors.
I think some Tom Petty is in order. “I won’t back down.” “You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down.”
Yeah, horseman, I can ride, too. Bring it.
Read MoreCanning jars: fabulous in freezer, reuse for decades
CR - May 20, 2021 Hello All, I posted this as a reply to a thread by Ubique, but it occurred to me it would be useful as a forum topic on its own. Canning jars are awesome for freezing most anything that’s liquid or cut small enough to fit! Reusable for both jar and lid, and I’ve never had a case of freezer burn even 3-4 years in. Flavors don’t transfer or degrade, in my experience. Since gardens and fruit trees often alternate off years and bumper years, it’s nice to freeze extras for the poor harvest years.
Make sure to pack food in tightly, and for something with lots of gaps like green beans add some water to reduce air. Be sure to leave the top inch empty (or even more headspace with larger half gallons) for freezing expansion, and DON’T crank lids tight; close lightly, and tighten after solidly frozen if desired. Honestly I usually forget to do that, without bad results.
Works best in an upright freezer in sturdy tray-like boxes such as what fruit comes in at stores, so they don’t fall out as you rummage around. Soups, spaghetti sauce, burger, stew meat, fruit, juice, etc…thaw in fridge for best results.
Generally, pints are the most durable and useful for our family, plus the wide mouths have no shoulders so partially thawed contents can slip out into saucepan if you’re in a hurry.
I love the fact that my jars & lids can be reused for decades (yes, some of mine are that old!) as long as I’m careful with them, unlike other freezer packaging. Since the contents don’t contaminate the lids, they last perfectly too. I write contents & date on the glass sides with a Sharpie, which wipes off easily with a dash of baking soda when you wash jar. Anyone else do this?
Read MoreI bought one of those “lifelike” masks from Facebook and it’s total garbage
shtfhappens - May 20, 2021 Duh, I know, no surprise. But sharing to help you avoid the same mistake!
Does anyone else see/remember those video ads on Facebook about lifelike face masks? The videos made it look like there had been some big improvement in the technology or something, and that these cheap masks were now good enough to fool people or cameras that are not looking too closely at you. I’ve seen other reports like this one that do show more lifelike masks, so I thought it was feasible.
I’ve always thought about having some kind of identity concealment for those rare situations where you might need to hide who you are. Maybe it’s from mass facial recognition, participating in a protest, or something like that. Even if you’re not doing something wrong, the day may come where you need to hide.
So I spent the $40. It ended up being blatantly false advertising… what they delivered was nothing like the videos shown. And now the Shopify store that sold it is entirely gone.
I still have hope about affordable and worthwhile masks in the near future. But definitely avoid the advertised ones on Facebook!
This is where it ended up
Some close ups
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Electric net fencing
Josh CentersContributor - May 19, 2021 I don’t keep my chickens in a traditional hen house but in 4×8 chicken tractors made of wood and wire. They work great for giving the chickens fresh air and fresh ground, but I decided that my flock didn’t have enough room. I don’t have a lot of room to work with, and I never know when I’ll have to make room for something, so I wasn’t keen on a permanent fence. I wanted something mobile.
I opted for the PoultryNet Plus starter kit from Premier 1. It includes 100 feet of electric net fencing, four extra support posts, a solar fence charger, and a fence tester.
The included manual is written in broken English, which is irritating given the high cost. Thankfully, Premier 1’s YouTube channel is helpful. I followed their videos to set up the charger, which I then plugged in for a while to give it an initial charge-up.
The fencing is easy to set up in theory, but it takes some practice. You have to carefully unroll it and lay it on the ground in the rough shape you want. The trick is not twisting up the fence and arranging it so the end meets the beginning. Easier said than done. My first setup took a couple of hours and the second took an hour. They say you can set it up in 15-30 minutes and maybe I’ll get there.
I was worried that the included posts with double spikes wouldn’t work in my hard ground, but they do okay. Better in some spots than others. If one spot is too rocky, I just move it over an inch or two until I can find one that’s softer. It’s also tricky angling the fence to keep tension on the net. It doesn’t have to be super tight, since it’s electric, but you don’t want it saggy.
Getting in and out is pretty easy. I turn off the energizer, and simply spread the beginning and ending posts apart (they’re super flexible) to step in. At night or when I leave, I tie the posts together with one of the included strings.
At first, I wasn’t sure the fence worked. Chickens would brush up against it, seemingly unbothered. Then two of my birds tested the fence and started flapping and clucking. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. They quickly learned to not test the fence, and none have tried to fly over it.
There are two things I don’t like about this fencing. One is that the grass has to be super short or otherwise the fence grounds out on it. This happened with my first setup, but it didn’t produce any ill effects other than popping sounds and visible sparks at night. When I moved the fence, I mowed the fence area super short, leaving tall grass in the middle for the chickens to eat. If you left it in one spot, you’d have to move a section once a week, mow, and then move it back.
Another is that the solar charger runs off a battery, and that battery only lasts about five years at most. Unfortunately, I don’t know any way around that limitation, other than using a plug-in energizer or stocking up on batteries and hope they last on the shelf.
Pros:
Effective Mobile Works off-grid Works well on uneven ground, like hills and dipsCons:
Expensive Grass must stay short Set up has a learning curve Easy to tangle Battery must be replaced every few years Read More
Investing in gold/silver
Cady - May 19, 2021 I’ve been talking with my partner about putting some of our savings into gold and silver – or other materials that will likely hold their value no matter what the stock market does and no matter what happens to US currency. Ideally we’d have some small pieces/coins easily accessible in case SHTF. Anyone do this or have suggestions for how to get started? Good resources to check out? Reputable sellers, etc.? I’m starting with very little knowledge.
Read MoreHistorical forensic study; food scarcity diet
Bob - May 18, 2021 http://modernworldsurvivalists.com/2021/05/18/study-reveals-food-scarcity-desperate-diet-of-marine-killed-in-korean-war-nebraska-today/
Good morning,
This short article tells about a scientific research project on what some Marines ate during the Chosin reservoir battle of the Korean War.
Note the article’s mention that “cinquefoils can be called starvation food – … only eaten … extreme scarcity … “
Above link originally from “Blog, Food and Farming, Survival …”
Read MoreStudying the limits and possibilities of knitted materials will lead to ultra-tough materials
Bob - May 17, 2021 https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a36276147/hidden-binary-of-knitting/
Good morning,
Above article introduces different stitches that change the aspects of common fabrics.
Mentioned is “knot theory” as it relates to knitting.
Over the years I’ve heard references as to how garments are “knit” that determines their desirability between the brands. My key reference was hearing that Jaegar brand of wool long underwear (“long johns”) was warmer than competing brands due to their method of knitting. This linked article is probably the clarification to what I heard.
Somewhere here in my research files … applied research; for actual use when looking to purchase garments … is information on the “best” wools such as musk and cashmir. Enhancing the textiles made from them is also a cost-savings measure.
This article got me to thinking about those Austrian wool socks whereas water cannot drip through them. It’s how they’re knitted.
Much to learn …….
Read MoreI was not prepared – Scrambling before a hail storm
Robert LarsonContributor - May 16, 2021 For months I have thought about what I would do to protect my car against a hail storm. Living in the mountains of Colorado, we can get some nasty storms and I’ve seen too many cars get totaled because of a hail storm.
My idea was to save up the bubble mailers and cardboard boxes of my Amazon packages and tape them into some sort of soft cushion that could be quickly deployed on my car before a storm. But plans without action are useless for when the disaster comes.
We had about a 5 minutes heads up from a family member a couple miles away of the storm and quickly ran around and were thinking about how we could protect our car.
I took some cardboard boxes that we had saved up, and my wife grabbed some blankets and we rushed out. We threw the blankets over the hood and windshield and closed the corners of it in the door frame. Broken down cardboard boxes were placed on the roof and rear of the car and held together with packing tape.
We took the rubber floor mats of the car and placed them on open areas along with a dog blanket and tarp that normally lives in the back seat.
The hail came with marble sized pieces as we scrambled to Christmas wrap our car. Don’t know if the hail would have actually dented the metal or cracked the glass (sure dented my head though), but we were able to protect it.
It’s just not worth the $500 deductible, taking time off work to take the car into the shop and pay for a rental while it’s getting worked on, and if the storm is bad enough you car can forever lose thousands of dollars and will have hail damage permanently listed on the title.
Don’t be like me. If you live in hail country, and don’t have a garage, then plan now and be ready.
Read MoreCar transport of extra gasoline containers
Bob - May 16, 2021 https://www.nps.gov/articles/fire-p52-gas-cans.htm
Good afternoon,
Preface: Gas cans in car can become dangerous. Use max caution and prudence.
Am using above link to start a thread of loading, refilling and safely hauling 1 to 4 gasoline containers. Believe the basic maximum amount is 4 containers of 5 gal each. Can also guess various states allow for larger quanties. Thus the required research for the planning.
Ref the link’s number 7; Consider carrying your own rags to wet with water and wipe down the filled container(s). Then throw away the rag used per fill and refill. Place emphasis on the nozzle section fitting of the container.
The link mentions when filling to have an extinguisher nearby. When transporting, recommend a fire extinguisher in the vehicle.
Read MoreColonial Pipeline Attack -The rise of cyberware attacks and the future of prepping
UbiqueContributor - May 16, 2021 Another cyberware attack in the news, affecting fuel. This kind of crime is on the rise for business and personal users. What does this mean for the future of prepping?
None of us can control the methods or security used by business, so how safe are we? What do we need to do as individuals to prevent personal devices from being shut down?
In the early days of computer use in business, I was taught: the computer you are using is nothing more than an electronic filing cabinet. It is not infalliable. Print hard (paper) copy of anything important.
So for anyone relying soley on external drive backup or thumb drive, if all the computers/phones are shut down, how will you read your data? For any important prep info or instructions: hard copy on paper.
Here’s the article:
Colonial Pipeline Cyberware Ransom Attack
Read MoreMaking cycling a part of your prepping
Kris DzrContributor - May 14, 2021 The average walking speed for an adult is about 3 to 4 miles per hour, or 1 mile in 15 to 20 minutes. Add on a 25 lb. backpack and chances are you’ll be moving even slower. Unless you’ve been training, in less than an hour, only 3 miles toward your destination, your shoulders and feet are going to be aching. Trust me, I know. Last summer I put on a 25 lb back pack and walked 3 miles several times a week. The first time was brutal. The second and third times weren’t much better. After a few weeks I was able to walk father, faster eventually hitting 12 miles in about 4 1/2 hours…but it still sucked. It REALLY sucked! My hands swelled, my shoulders ached and my feet were killing me! At that same fitness level, I was able to ride a very casual, easy 22 miles in less than 4 hours, and carry a much lighter bag but more gear. And this was on a $125 big box store bike.
Cycling is a great, low-impact workout to improve cardio, endurance, build leg strength, balance and coordination. With the right gear, you can carry far more than you could on your back. It’s environmentally friendly, quiet, requires no fuel and minimal maintenance and is a great way to meet people, hang out with friends and enjoy the outdoors. And honestly, it’s just fun. As more cities become bike friendly and gear more available, bikes and e-bikes as a part of prepping becomes a no-brainer.
But where do I start?
What kind of bike do I need for prepping?
How do I maintain and repair it?
What tools and accessories do I need?
These are all really good questions, and I’ll try to answer them as best as I can in this thread. But I also have a YouTube channel where I cover this topic and a lot more. Check out http://www.youtube.com/c/ReadyToDieFighting. I add videos every week and have a playlist dedicated to essential bike skills for preppers.
But where do I start?
If you have a bike, just start riding. It’s the fastest way to build your stamina and skill. You’ll also start figuring out what you like, need and want. Metroparks often have great trails to ride, but riding through the neighborhood or riding to run errands is a lot of fun and great exercise too. We often even bring the dog and people always stop and watch as she jogs alongside the boy on his bike. It’s adorable!
While riding, be on the lookout for shortcuts and paths you may need or want to take while bugging out. Make note of potential obstacles and areas or roads you may want to avoid. Build up your endurance until you can bike to your bugout location, then work on your time. get there faster. Find alternate routes. Learn how to efficiently go up and down curbs, bunny hop over obstacles and most importantly, safely navigate through traffic.
Look up the bike laws for your state and city. I found a pamphlet for my state called What Every Michigan Bicyclist Must Know. There is probably something like that for your state as well. Find it.
https://www.lmb.org/bike-mi/what-every-michigan-bicyclist-must-know/
Make friends with your local bike shop. Or even better, find a bike co-op. They often offer classes on bike repair, sell used bikes and gear and may even fix your bike for free. You may also meet cool people and learn about events, trails and other bike related stuff. I learned almost everything I know about fixing bikes from the cool guys and gals at the local bike co-op. Time well spent.
If you don’t have a bike, start shopping around. There are so many options, you should take your time and test ride several before making a purchase. Go to bike shops and see what’s available, read reviews online and consult friends who have been cycling for a while.
What kind of bike do I need for prepping?
TL;DR: A mid-range gravel, trail, or hybrid bike.
The best bike is the one you already have. Especially this year. New bikes are hard to come by thanks to Covid-19. But, you can probably find some nice used bikes. But, for simplicity’s sake, let’s say you can find some new bikes. What kind should you get? You have a lot of choices, but lets break it down into a few categories: road bikes, mountain bikes, commuter bikes, e-bikes, cruiser bikes, and lets group the others into specialty bikes.
But which is best for prepping? And what’s the difference?
REI does a great job at providing an overview of the different types of bikes you can read here: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bicycle.html
I don’t think I can pick one for everyone. It definitely depends on your needs, skills, terrain and fitness level and budget. But here are some things you should look for:
The most important thing to look for, is to make sure it fits you. Buying from someplace like Wal-Mart, you don’t typically get much choice in sizing. But if you go to a bike shop, or surprisingly Dick’s, you can get a bike that is actually the correct size for you. This is based on the actual frame of the bike. Tire size can also make a big difference. I wanted a bike with 29″ wheels for myself because bigger wheels offer a smoother, more efficient ride. But I’m too short, to safely and comfortably ride 29″wheels. So I had to get 27.5″. Best way to know that is to go to a bike shop and try it out. Look for name brand components, especially with the drivetrain. Look at the shifters, Shimano or Sram are your two choices here. Some people prefer one over the other due to feel, but they are equals in quality and reliability. Shimano seems a bit more common especially on entry/midrange models. There are other brands, but chances are they are not going to very good quality. Which doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy the bike, but be aware of what you’re getting. My last bike had off-brand components and I rode it for a season without issue. But, had I needed to replace parts, they may have been difficult to find. And it was only $125. Don’t pay more than that for off-brand components. Make sure you test ride it. Ask lots of questions about the features and how things works. Make sure it’s comfortable and that it fits you. Make sure all the parts are tight and well lubricated and there’s no weird noises or clunkiness. Change the gears, slam the breaks. Hop up and down a curb or two. If anything feels off, find out what it is. It could be a really simple fix or sign of future problems (especially if buying used). Color! You wanna look good don’t you?Things you should NOT worry about: grips, pedal, seat and seatpost. These are all relatively cheap and easy to replace. They are also very personal items. These are your contact points with the bike, so I would argue that you should replace them to get what is most comfortable to you regardless of which bike you get. If the seat is too high or low, the seatpost can be cut or replaced for around $20. Pedals can get really pricey, but you can get some really nice ones in the $50 range. Keep in mind, mid-level and higher bikes typically don’t come with pedals. Seats vary in price quite a bit and it is probably a better investment to buy padded biking shorts than spend too much on a seat, but that’s up to you. And locking grips can also be had for around $25, which will be much nicer than what come on most entry level bikes.
So what did I get for myself?
I bought my son a $200 Nishiki Pueblo trail bike (type of mountain bike) from Dick’s Sporting Goods in spring of 2019. We had 3 several color options, and even more sizes to choose from. It was easy to find one that fit my son perfectly. It had Shimano drive train, 26″ knobby tires, his favorite color and it’s very easy to work on. The sales person also did repairs in the store and gave the bike a checkup before we left with it. We’ve easily put hundreds of miles on it, gone on mountain biking trails, bike camping, and a lot of falls and crashes. With a few minor upgrades and regular maintenance/repairs, it’s held up remarkably well. The only issue we have is sometimes the handlebars loosen or chain slips, especially after a crash. But it’s an easy fix and is to be expected for the price of the bike. I definitely recommend it for people on a budget, who aren’t afraid to work on their bike.
We immediately bought him a kickstand (many bikes don’t come with them), upgraded his shifters from the twisting style grip shifters to smoother and more accurate trigger shifters. Here is where getting name brand components is a benefit, upgrades like this are easily and inexpensively done without having to worry about compatibility. Then I got him some nice lock on grips, far superior to the slide on grips that can scrunch and slide when wet or dirty. This year I added some reflective stripes as we’ve been doing more road biking and head and tail lights. If he were pickier, I would get him some nicer pedals, but he doesn’t seem to care, so I’ve left them as is. With about $100 worth of upgrades, this bike went from being decent to pretty nice. I rode it recently and was really impressed with the feel and control.
You can find it here: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/nishiki-mens-pueblo-26-mountain-bike-15nisanshkpbl14xxrmb/15nisanshkpbl14xxrmb
For myself I found a clearanced Haro Subvert HT5 from 2017, brand new. I fell in love with it immediately. It had all the features I’d been looking for in a bike for a fraction of the price: plus sized tires for sand and snow, hydraulic disc brakes for effortless stopping, thru-axles, quality name brand components and my favorite color. I haven’t had it long enough to speak on the durability or what upgrades I may make. But so far, I am happy with my purchase, though I don’t think I would recommend it for prepping purposes. The bike is fun to ride, and definitely looks cool. But it is inefficient on flat pavement. This bike was built for the mountains, but I live in Michigan. Most of our biking is on flat pavement, or slight inclines. That means I’m working harder to go the same distance and speed as others. This became painfully obvious when I went on a ride with a friend on a road bike. She effortless floated over the pavement with her thin, smooth tires while I pedaled twice as hard to keep up worth her. The tables turned however when we went onto a gravel road. My fat knobby tires and suspension allowed me to ride on loose gravel as easily and with as much control as I had on concrete. My friend, however became slow, shaky and eventually got off and walked her bike until we got back on pavement.
Check it out here: https://archive.harobikes.com/mtb/2017-mtb/subvert-ht5-2017
My son’s bike, an inexpensive almost mountain bike performs really well on smooth roads. But he can also follow me just fine on dirt paths, gravel and even winding mountain bike trails over roots and rocks, pump tracks and little jumps. His suspension can’t handle anything too crazy, but it’s enough to give him a nice ride on bumpy roads. And I’ve loaded him up with gear when we went bikepacking. The little trail bike is an all around winner. If you want something similar, check out gravel bikes, hybrid bikes and trail bikes between $200 – $750. There’s really no need to spend more than that unless you just want to. The benefits to the casual rider are minimal.
How do I maintain and repair it?
Your most common and likely repairs are going to be fixing flats, oiling/changing chains and changing brake and shifting cables. These are all pretty easy and there are a ton of YouTube videos that explain how to do this, including my channel. If there’s interest, I’ll follow up this post with step by step instructions on how to perform some of these tasks.
What tools and accessories do I need?
Helmet Bike lock Chain oil Tire levers Spare inner tubes Tube patches or tire plugs if tubeless Tire pump Lights Multi-tool Water** UPDATE **
Here’s the kit I usually take with me. I own all but 1 of these products (KMC 3 in 1 Tool , but I’m ordering one) and have tested them out either at home or on the side of the road/trail. So far, I’ve been happy with them all.
That’s it for now. Get out there and ride!
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