Your Preps Library

Doomsday Prepper Forums

Help Support Doomsday Prepper Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I've thought about goats, but figured the coyotes, wolves, bears and mountain lions would haul them off faster than I could stock them.
We have a pond here, about a half mile from the house, that I planted blue gill, catfish and trout. I dont think the trout survived though. We see fish jumping all the time so something survived.
We do some trading around here now. I recently traded a beef for firewood.
In Africa I was in Liberia, Tunisia, Morocco, Sierra Leone and the Sahara. Some beautiful country in places.
I guess it will just depend what the hubby feels up to doing since he's retiring. Would be hard for me to take care of it all on my own and working as much as I am right now.
Have always wanted to travel to Morocco. Sierra Leone, not so much with all the violence that went on. While we were there, we were supposed to go to Zimbabwe - to the falls, but that is when there was so much unrest, we weren't able to go.
 
If you plan to garden, keep in mind that "heirloom seeds" are seeds that are unhybridized. This means that you can save seeds from this year's crop, and plant them next spring.

I have planted vegetables from seeds that I saved from grocery store tomatoes . . . and they grew, but the quantity and quality of the harvested tomatoes was poor.

Also, some seeds can be stored in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life. If you do this, mix the seeds with some white rice to absorb the moisture so you don't get mold.

It's considered cheating, but I like to start most of my garden seeds with Jiffy peat pellets. They are available at Walmart for a reasonable price.
 
While on the subject of gardening, I've been experimenting with different ways to plant food crops.

I have been finding a lot of prickly-pear cactur growing wild, so I've been playing with the idea of planting them as a border around the garden as a kind of living barrier against animals.

I don't know if it will work, but I thought it worth a try, as prickly pear is edible . . . and also has some medicinal value.
 
I got some seeds from Baker Creek - they are all heirloom. This will be the 5th year, but I want to learn how to start harvesting the seeds. I rarely buy any produce at the grocery store anymore. The tomatoes sold at the store are tasteless.
Compared to home-grown tomatoes, I'm sure that store tomatoes are tasteless.
 
Compared to home-grown tomatoes, I'm sure that store tomatoes are tasteless.
No kidding!
Every place I've lived before here I had at least a tomato patch and sometimes much more. But I can't keep a tomato plant alive long enough to produce here, I don't really know why. But then it's hard to keep even grass alive here. 🙄
 
I got some seeds from Baker Creek - they are all heirloom. This will be the 5th year, but I want to learn how to start harvesting the seeds. I rarely buy any produce at the grocery store anymore. The tomatoes sold at the store are tasteless.

Back when I lived in the sub-burbs (hell), I had to run out to the local Wal-Mart for a peach for dinner (did not have one on hand).
It might of looked like a peach.
Kinda smelled like one.
But tasted like cardboard.
 
If you plan to garden, keep in mind that "heirloom seeds" are seeds that are unhybridized. This means that you can save seeds from this year's crop, and plant them next spring.

I have planted vegetables from seeds that I saved from grocery store tomatoes . . . and they grew, but the quantity and quality of the harvested tomatoes was poor.

Also, some seeds can be stored in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life. If you do this, mix the seeds with some white rice to absorb the moisture so you don't get mold.

It's considered cheating, but I like to start most of my garden seeds with Jiffy peat pellets. They are available at Walmart for a reasonable price.
The wife has some gizmo that she bought to make something similar to the Jiffy peat pellets. Seems to work fine.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they expand when you add water to them and they are supposed to be good for starting plants.

@MOS0231 gross, nothing worse than a tasteless peach. Our fruit trees haven't started producing yet, so I just walk down to the neighbors farm and buy them from their stand.
When I was doing my undergrad out in the inland empire (CA) - I used to walk across to the orchards and get oranges or grapefruits, it was so great! Now that whole area is just apartment complexes.
 
Just started building my new smoke house today. Ok, so far I all I have done is the gravel pad leveled out for it. I'll pour a cement pad for the floor and the building will be made out of cedar. Yesterday I bought a cast iron door that will mount into the front door of the smoker that will be used for feeding the fire.
Eventually I'll add a fire box outside of the smokehouse for cold smoking.
 
One of my favourite books (I prefer physical books because they don't require batteries that can go flat) is 'Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way" by Wesley Greene, which is about 18th century methods for today's organic gardeners. I got it because it's (obviously) organic gardening and (equally obviously) low-tech, and as a bonus they dress up in cool 18th century gear in the pictures. But I've found it has a lot more advantages than that.

For example, when do you plant tomatoes? Answer: when the last crocuses fade. Some years spring is late, sometimes wet, sometimes cold, sometimes early, warm and dry. The crocuses fade when conditions are just right -- and those conditions are just right for planting tomatoes. There's a lot of stuff about companion planting, how to harvest the plants, how to save and store seed, how to make things like trellises and the like, and there's also loads about some of the older plants and heritage varieties that grow great in gardens but don't suit the supermarket system. So I'm growing salsify again this year and will grow gourds again for containers. A plant I found in a seed saver site (where I got salsify and gourd seeds etc) was Mangel Wurzel, which isn't in Greene's book, but turned out to be a great plant -- you can eat the greens all year like spinach, but the root (like a big turnip) doesn't go woody so can be stored in the ground. (It's great boiled and mashed with potato.). It's led me on a bit of a gardening adventure, and has been great as I now have a much more varied selection of vegetables, and lots of flowers. I just need some 18th century clothes to dress up in now!
 
One of my favourite books (I prefer physical books because they don't require batteries that can go flat) is 'Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way" by Wesley Greene, which is about 18th century methods for today's organic gardeners. I got it because it's (obviously) organic gardening and (equally obviously) low-tech, and as a bonus they dress up in cool 18th century gear in the pictures. But I've found it has a lot more advantages than that.

Sounds like an interesting book! Will look and see if I can find it. My library of gardening is already a large one, but I never tire of reading what others have done that works well for them.
 
Just got these delivered over the weekend. Looks pretty helpful on first scanning.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0661.jpg
    IMG_0661.jpg
    4.7 MB · Views: 12
Have
Just got these delivered over the weekend. Looks pretty helpful on first scanning.
Dr. Jenner . . . speaking of crocus (mentioned earlier in the thread), have you considered planting crocus for medicinal purposes? It's excellent for gout (if used sparingly), as that's where cholchicine comes from.

I may be mistaken, but I think that all you have to do is make an herbal tea out of it, and start off with a really small amount and gradually titrate up over time. See below:

https://naturespoisons.com/2014/02/14/colchicine-dont-eat-the-crocus/
 
good idea @Kevin L will add that to my medicinal stuff. I have a book on herbs that I intend on planting as soon as we get into our property next spring. I'm thinking the medicinal stuff will go into containers?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top