Fuel Storage Basics

Having a supply of fuel is very important for emergency situations and disaster preparedness alike. You never know when you might need emergency fuel for transport, heat, or cooking. With the importance of fuel comes the importance of fuel storage. Storing a surplus of fuel requires careful handling, planning, and an understanding of different kinds of fuel.

Different fuels have different shelf lives and necessitate different storage procedures. As a general rule, always color code and/or label containers with different fuels. Also, store fuel only in sturdy, durable containers with good seals. Here is a breakdown of some large scale fuel storage tips for different kinds of fuel.

Standard Gasoline

Gasoline can be optimally stored for about two years. After this time petroleum tends to go ‘stale’ and may not be ideal for motors. There are, however, stabilizing agents you can buy and add to the gasoline to keep it better for longer. Always store gas in a durable, sealed, preferably red, container out of direct sunlight in a ventilated space.

Diesel Fuel

Diesel fuel has a short shelf life--anywhere from 6-12 months. Because diesel fuel oxidizes after it leaves the refinery and sediments form that can clog motors, stabilizers should be added to the fuel to slow this process. Diesel should not be stored for more than two months, so use up the supply in a vehicle or generator then rotate your supply.

Propane

Propane should always be stored outdoors in a well-ventilated area. Place the propane tank upright on concrete away from any other flammable objects or liquids. Storing away from wet areas or places where large amounts of water won’t fall on the tank is also a good idea to prevent rust on the tank cylinder.

Kerosene

Kerosene doesn't evaporate as quickly as gasoline and can remain stable while being stored without any extra treatments. Because of this, kerosene is an easy and popular fuel to store. Make sure kerosene containers are well labeled and possibly stored in a different colored container than gasoline or other fuels. Kerosene has a shelf life of about 3 months and there is a risk of mold forming in the containers for longer storage, so rotate your kerosene.

Butane

While less popular in large scale fuel storage than propane or kerosene, butane has a variety of uses in heating and cooking. If you need to throw on a pack and take to the woods, butane can be your companion for cooking and starting fires. Store butane in a cool, dry place out of direct sun. The canisters have a high resistance to heat, but always keep them out of extreme temperatures for good measure.

Dry Fuel (Charcoal, Coal, & Wood)

The dry fuels are the easiest to store since they are not extremely volatile compounds like most liquid fuels. Most of the time having canisters, waterproof containers, and a dedicated area for the fuel is the best storage plan. Keep firewood away from the house and covered to prevent it getting wet if left out in the open. Both coal and charcoal should be kept dry and in some kind of container or bin. Make sure to keep these fuels separate from any flammable liquids.

An Aquaponic System...

Many people are familiar with hydroponics, the method of growing plants in mediums other than soil, often under artificial light. A well-balanced hydroponic system can produce large amounts of produce, and not surprisingly, many amateur pot farmers are dedicated hydroponic enthusiasts!

Aquaponics adds another element to these systems, live fish, so not only are you growing produce with their important nutrients and micro-nutrients, but you’re growing fish as well for a continual source of protein.

Fish serve a vital purpose in the system because their poop serves as a fertilizer for the plants as the water is pumped from the fish tank and then filtered by the plants in their grow bed.  The plants take their turn in this synergistic system by cleaning the water that is then returned to the fish tank. It’s 100% win-win for the fish, the plants, and the lucky people who harvest and enjoy the produce.

Just think. You could sit down to a delicious meal of tilapia, flavored with herbs and accompanied by steamed veggies and a fresh salad, all grown in your aquaponic system! You’re in complete control when it comes to selecting the types of produce and fish that are grown.

 If you’ve been worried about serving your family GMO crops or have been concerned about pesticides and other chemicals used on America’s large commercial farms, an aquaponic system will bring peace of mind.

A simple solution for long-term survival

Is an aquaponic system something you could set up in your home or backyard? Definitely!
Aquaponic systems range from small tabletop systems to those that utilize a backyard swimming pool!
The backyard swimming pool system may look impressive, but it isn’t the most efficient use of water, space, and resources, not to mention the expense of building the pool in the first place and the cost of running the large pool motor 24/7 and replacing large amounts of water lost to evaporation.

I can tell you this. If we had a backyard pool, I sure as heck would want to use it for keeping the kids entertained during the summer and not as a home for fish! (You’d have to live through a few summers of 115^o Phoenix heat, cooped up in the house with kids, to fully appreciate my sentiments!)
Putting together a smaller system, then, is the far more practical approach for most people.

I’ve seen many DIY systems online and in YouTube videos, but when Chad Hudspeth ofEndless Food Systems invited me to take a look at his designs, I was impressed. His systems are simple to put together and designed for maximum efficiency. In a worst case scenario, water and energy will both become luxuries. Chad told me that an Endless Food System uses about 90% less water than a conventional garden and in a grid-down scenario, the system could be operated by a solar panel system.

Another selling point for me was the raised beds to make planting and harvesting easier on my back and the fact that I’ll never have to pull weeds again!
In fact, once set up, an aquaponic system requires very little maintenance on a daily basis.

This sounds too good to be true!

The overall concept is very simple, but putting all the pieces together so the right balance is achieved and maintained between water, fish, and plants does take a bit of doing.
From Chad Hudspeth:

“Aquaponics is a simple theory: the water from the fish tank is pumped into a grow bed where it is filtered and used by the plants.  In reality to jump out there and build a system can be challenging.
I am a pretty mechanical person and have a history of building all kinds of devices.  In addition, I love to research and so when I decided to create and mass produce aquaponic kits, I really thought it was going to be a piece of cake.  As I began to go deeper into it and figure out the true parameters it became much more complex.
I had to figure out things like safe levels of dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, how to control the levels easily, water volume ratios, pump size, aeration pump size, structural concerns, space requirements, cycling a system to get it started, worms, diseases and a lot more.”

In spite of all this experimentation, Chad told me that not a single fish has died under his care, other than those on his dinner plate!

What about DIY systems?

When I visited with Chad and learned about his Endless Food Systems, I liked everything about it but wondered if it might not be possible for a fairly handy person to just make their own. He says,

“There are a lot of “tote” systems out there. Totes are cheap and available but very ugly and hard to work with.  I wanted to offer a very easy snap together system that would look attractive.
Another big issue to assembling a system the right way, is that there is not one place you can go to get everything you need.  At a minimum it takes parts from big box hardware stores, pet stores, and many specialty parts online.  So after approximately 6 months of research and building prototypes, we came up with our finished product and we are very proud of it.”

However, if you’re ready to tackle this project on your own, Endless Food Systems offersan ebook with detailed instructions for building your own system. They are happy to provide not only the plan designs, videos, and all they have learned from working with aquaponics, including an online forum for their DIY customers. To my knowledge, this is unique in the world of hydroponics and aquaponics.

This option will be most viable for the person who is not only handy but lives in an area where the supplies are easily available.

Does a more expensive system pay for itself?

Whether you select an energy efficient system from Endless Food Systems, use their plans to make your own, or venture into aquaponics on your own, the materials to build the system, fish, plants, and other supplies will range anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand.
Keep in mind that the system is a one-time purchase unless you decide to expand it in the future.
How quickly it provides a return on your investment depends on several factors:

1. Whether or not you stick with it long enough! Let’s face it. A lot of us jump into one hobby or another and it eventually becomes a money pit. An aquaponic system willeventually save you money, but not if you lose interest. At least keep it running for the sake of the fish!
2. How you currently eat. If you normally purchase more expensive organic produce or expensive cuts of meat, then you’ll see a return on your investment more quickly. If you are already pinching grocery pennies, then it will take longer.
3. Whether or not you actually eat, or at least preserve, what you grow. We’ve all seen the slimy remains of formerly fresh produce in our refrigerator bins. If you allow your homegrown produce to suffer the same fate, then you’ll be losing money, not saving it. Be sure to grow produce you and your family will eat!
4. Will you be preserving the extra produce? If so, you can plan on extending your savings far into the future.
5. Might you be able to sell your extra produce? Once your aquaponic system begins to really produce, you may very well be able to set up a table at a farmer’s market, making your system a producer of food and revenue!

Answers to frequently asked questions

Q: I don’t have much space in my home. Will that be a problem?
A: An aquaponic system can be as small as a couple of large pots hooked together with a small pump. A set up like this would be great for growing a selection of herbs indoors and having a few fish for an occasional meal. It will only need the proper type of lighting to thrive.

The Concept 10 system by Endless Food Systems requires a minimum space of 6’x6. This could easily be kept on a small patio, in a garage or in a small spare room. (This particular system, however, cannot be expanded.)

Q: My kids don’t care for tilapia. What are my other choices?
A: Tilapia do very well in hot climates in the southern part of the country. Depending on where you live, you may want to grow catfish, crappie,or large mouth bass. If you truly don’t like fish but still like the idea of aquaponics, you can grow goldfish, koi, or other ornamental fish.

Q:  I’ve heard these systems can produce huge amounts of food each year. Is that true?
A:  According to Chad,

“There are a few DIY e-books out there making extraordinary claims such as a 300 gallon system will produce 700 pounds of fish per year.  This is complete insanity and but there is really no central authority established yet for people to get accurate information, and a lot of dis-information is floating around.”

Based on his own research and personal experience and for comparison purposes, this is what the Endless Food Systems are capable of producing.
1. The Concept 10 system can grow produce and fish as a supplement to one’s diet but is not large enough to fully feed someone.
2. The Habitat 32 can perpetually feed one person or provide supplemental food for a family. This particular system is expandable and has 32 square feet of grow space.
3. The Sanctuary 128 can produce enough food to completely feed 3-4 people perpetually with its 128 square feet of grow space.
An interesting note about this numbered system is that it represents not only the number of square feet in the system but when multiplied by 10, the number of pounds of produce the system is capable of producing in a year.
For example, the Habitat 32 system has 32 square feet of grow space and can grow up to 320 pounds of veggies per year.
A 300 gallon fish tank is capable of producing up to 100 pounds of fish per year.
These ballpark figures should help you calculate what you and your family or group might need.

Q:  I’ve seen these systems online and it seems that all I need are some plastic containers, a pump, and some PVC pipe. Why are the Endless Food Systems so expensive?
A:  A quote that I’ve come to trust and appreciate is, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” A few plastic pieces may not cost much, but will they produce a non-stop food supply and how much trial and error will go into finally getting it right?

The concept of aquaponics is simple, but quickly establishing a food producing system, not so much.

It’s possible to amass plastic totes, some lumber, and PVC and construct something on your own, but the ready-to-assemble systems offered by Endless Food Systems are simple to put together, come with difficult to find parts and pieces, and come equipped with a long list of supplies.*

One thing you might consider is joining with another family in the purchase of one of the larger systems. Since all but the Concept 10 is expandable, the original purchase could be divided, but two families could reap the benefits of this high quality system.

The average family of 4 spends around $500-600 per month on groceries.  This amount doesn’t include meals eaten in restaurants. That comes to well over $6000 per year, and it’s easy to see how an aquaponic system might pay off in a fairly short amount of time.

If you have more questions about these systems, contact Endless Food Systems at EndlessFoods@gmail.com.

LOOKING TO FIGHT BUGS THIS SUMMER? INNOVATIVE REPELLENT IDEAS TO WIN THE BATTLE (INCLUDING THE TOOL THAT’S PROBABLY ALREADY IN YOUR FRIDGE)

Going on a hike or just outside pulling weeds in the garden, Amy Scher would recommend you use an insect repellent for most outdoor activities.

It’s not just an irritating scratch she wants to help people avoid, but more harmful effects like the disease that nearly killed her.

In the early 2000s, Scher went hiking in California and didn’t wear a repellent. Unknown to her at the time, a tick had latched on and gave her Lyme disease. For years, Scher began experiencing strange symptoms, which were misdiagnosed, as they often are with the tick-borne illness. But then things started getting worse.

In 2005, Scher was sitting in a Jacuzzi and lost all feeling in her legs.

“Everything went downhill from there,” she said.

Scher became bed ridden. Scans found lesions on her brain. The bacterial disease had spread to every organ in her body and into her bone marrow.

Scher was taking dozens of medication and antibiotics each day to fight the infection, and she eventually went to India for an experimental treatment, which she said helped boost her immune system so she could eventually fend off the disease. Even the lesions on her brain healed.

This is why Scher, now 33, advocates people wear an insect repellent.

“Anytime you would wear sunscreen, I would say put on insect repellent as well,” she said.

There are a variety of repellents on the market targeting everything from ticks to mosquitoes. Some are natural and some are chemical. Some are applied topically, while others take the form of a patch or create a perimeter around a designated space.

Here’s a look at a few different an innovative choices (it should be noted that not all the repellents below are approved by the EPA, which has a list of approved repellents that have been tested here):

Go natural: Ticks-N-All is the repellent Scher uses. It’s an all natural brand that is applied as a spray and protects against a variety of biting insects. Scher also noted some using geranium oil as a natural bug deterrent. Another from an all-natural line is by Ava Anderson. Anderson told TheBlaze in an email that her spray uses organic catnip to achieve the repelling properties, which she says are “10 times more effective than DEET.” Not to mention she thinks it smells great compared to what many are used to of bug sprays.

DEET: A common insect repellent, DEET, is well-known not only for being a very effective but also because of health concerns some have linked to it. DEET was originally designed for the U.S. Army in the 1940s and began being used by the public in the 1950s. In 1998, the EPA reviewed the efficacy and safety of using products with DEET and concluded “as long as consumers follow label directions and take proper precautions, insect repellents containing DEET do not present a health concern.” This is under the assumption that exposure to the chemical is not over a long period of time. There are currently 140 products containing DEET registered with the EPA.

Put on the patch: Some claim vitamin B1 (or thiamine) emitted through pores will produce an unattractive scent to mosquitoes that is not detectable by you. But it would require a significant amount of thiamine to be consumed and would take a long period of time to get through the body’s system. Some manufacturers have created a patch though that gets the vitamin into the system faster with the aid of sweat. The Insect Defend Patch, which is sold by some retailers in Canada and has been approved by Health Canada as a natural solution to protect against insects. One of the benefits of the patch James Krane, the president of Safety in Motion, which makes the Insect Defend Patch, said is that unlike lotions and sprays that run off with sweat and in the water, the patch will stay in place.

Off the body protection: Some people plant geraniums or citronella to create an attractive border that can repel some mosquitoes. Citronella candles, which are infused with citronella oil, are less effective than applying an oil topically, and an NIH study found it is less effective than DEET in terms of duration of protection though. Alternatively, there are companies that can create a bug-repelling perimeter. The Mosquito Squad in the Washington, D.C., area, for example, has several chemical and natural options that can be applied to help create a bug barrier.

Bruce Lubin, author of Who Knew?: 10,001 Easy Solutions to Everyday Problems, has a tip for keeping mosquitoes at bay that could be located in your refrigerator now. He suggests rubbing an orange or lemon peel over your skin to help repel the biting insects. He also notes that avoiding dark blue clothing could be beneficial as well.

Dr. Myles H. Bader, who is known as the “Buggy Professor” and is the author of Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You, suggests these natural options using anise oil as well:
Place a small amount of anise oil into the wash cycle so that it mixes with soapsuds and places the oil into your clothing in order to repel mosquitoes.

Add a few drops of the oil to commercial bug repellent might make it more effective and help it to last longer — not to mention smell better.

From Natural Born Killer To The Jolly Green Giant

It is Spring and it is the perfect time to get that garden started. If you’ve never grown anything before, or you are a beginner, you’ll find this article inspiring as I’ll tell you how I went from being a natural born killer, to growing the giant beanstalk, and the secret to a green thumb. I’ve worked with thousands of people over the years and I’ve found the biggest block to getting started is what I call “black thumb syndrome”. A lot of us just don’t have any experience growing things and we are pretty sure everything will die. Or, many people have tried getting started a few times, had some failures, and gave up not realizing there are some very simple principles to being a super gardener. I understand completely because that is my story. Seriously, when I first started out on the journey to become self-reliant I had very little experience in gardening or farming. I was great in the business world – I could run meetings, organize events, and handle office politics – but grow food? No. Every houseplant I ever had died of something or other and my yard only seemed to survive because it had been there forever anyway.

But I knew I had to learn how to grow food. I saw problems on the horizon and I felt the very real possibility that growing my own food might be the only way I could get to eat. Watching my two kids play, I knew I had to be able to provide for them if the unthinkable ever happened. So I plunged in, and the first place I started was the instructions on the seed packets. They said “plant and come back in 90 days”. So I planted, and I watered, and I watched, and I prayed. And everything just died. You ever had that experience? I tried again a few more times getting more and more discouraged.
One time all my broccoli died after a light frost. I couldn’t understand why. Broccoli is a cool weather plant and is supposed to be able to handle freezes. Why did mine die with just a light frost?

Fortunately there were some experienced gardeners in my neighborhood. I kept looking at their robust, healthy, vibrant plants, and my pathetic little struggling vegetables. Why were their plants so healthy and mine so sickly? I kept going back and forth and asking questions. Surprisingly, even those experienced gardeners couldn’t really tell me why they were so successful.

Being able to grow my own food was too important a skill, and I couldn’t give up. So I kept visiting more successful gardeners and farmers, reading, researching, and trying experiments until I finally understood this very simple principle. The biggest difference was in the soil. My neighbor with the best garden was planting in beds made with two feet deep of richly composted horse manure. While my soil was essentially plain sand with little organic matter and almost no nutrients.

Once I understood this simple principle I began to see it everywhere. The most common mistake that beginners make is they don’t realize how important good soil is. Almost all of the common vegetables we like to eat require rich, fertile soil to grow well. Plants need nutrients to be strong and healthy. They need the nutrients to be able to handle temperature extremes, wind, and variations in water.
Once I got really good soil going in my garden my plants thrived. The really awesome thing is that the plants pass those nutrients on to you when you eat them. And as you eat more and more nutrient dense food, you will become stronger and healthier too. You will be better able to handle extremes in temperature, wind, thirst and hunger. You’ll also be able to toss out a lot of those nutritional supplements as you will no longer need them. It all begins with the soil. I can attest to this. For most of my life I was ‘cold sensitive’ and would start grabbing for a sweater when the temps dropped into the low 70’s. After several years of eating deeply nutritious home-grown food, I happily run around barefoot in 40 degree weather.

Having great soil is the #1 key to a green thumb.

The early settlers of our country knew the value of good soil and our earliest towns were founded in areas because they had rich soil. But that was at least a century ago, and since then, those areas with great growing soils have been paved over with shopping malls, buildings and subdivisions. It is not likely many of you have access to good soil naturally.

So how do you get great soil? If you can afford it, and you want to get the best possible start, go to a reputable local nursery and buy some rich organic soil and have it delivered to your site. And, I am also really big on doing things sustainably and for free. Going out and buying soil is not really sustainable. Plus as time goes by, you’ll need to keep adding to your soil to replenish it, and you don’t want to have to keep buying things. So what to do? The key to good soil is compost. And good compost fixes any kind of problem soil you have; be it rocky, sandy, clay, or none. Making compost is easy and is usually made from stuff you typically throw away; junk mail, lawn clipping, leaves, coffee grinds, and vegetable scraps. Making compost is a really simple process where nature does most of the work. Don’t worry about the details too much for now. Just designate a small corner of your yard or garden area and start piling up those scraps. If you live in an apartment I suggest you start with a worm bin under the counter. When done properly, it only smells like rich earth.

Fertility, compost, and soil building is so important to your health, and the health of your garden and livestock that I will come back to this topic many times in future. Here is a quick demonstration of what fertility can do for you. Below is a photo of two trees of the same species; both have the same soil and both get the same water and sun. Yet the one on the right is clearly more healthy with its abundant dark green leaves.
Why the difference? Well, I happened to have a small flock of geese who loved to sit in the afternoons in the shade of the tree on the right. Geese are a bit messy (to put it nicely) and while they rested there, they would of course, add a little fertility to the spot each day. The extra fertility those geese gave the tree on the right made a huge difference as you can see.

An ancient wisdom that you’ll come to appreciate more and more is encapsulated in the saying – “all true wealth comes from the ground”. In my next article, I’ll go through three simple steps to getting started – and I’ll help you avoid another one of the biggest mistakes I see new gardeners make.

Until then, stake out an area for a small garden bed, clear out the weeds, and get the best possible soil you can! And by all means, start a compost pile.

Andrea Bocelli and the Mormon Tab Choir! I dare you not to cry.

Benjamin Franklin

"Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion."

Shelter: Off-Grid Cooking

Even preppers who buy and store large quantities of pre-prepared food eventually may get tired of eating it at room temperature, and those who grow their own crops and raise animals for meat will need a way to cook what they produce. Properly cooking food is an important way of preventing food-borne illnesses, as this U.S. government food safety web page details. Additionally, as Practical Preppers consultant Scott Hunt notes, being able to enjoy a good-tasting, well-prepared and varied diet is an important factor in maintaining morale in difficult circumstances.

In order to eat well and stay healthy, you’re going to need the means to cook your food. But you’re also going to have to learn to cook without using some of the conveniences to which many of us have become accustomed. Without a utility company hookup, your standard gas-fired or electric oven and range isn’t going to be of much use. And depending upon your electricity-generating abilities, you may have to reconsider your use of appliances such as microwave and toaster ovens. (From Consumer Energy Center, here’s a chart of how much electricity various home appliances use.) Instead, you’ll probably find yourself having to rely more upon renewable sources of heat, such as wood, for your kitchen.

Here are some key points for setting up a sustainable kitchen in your shelter.

Get a Wood Stove: According to Hunt, a wood cook stove probably is your best option for several reasons. If your property is in or near a wooded area, you’ve got a reliable, sustainable source of fuel. According to a 1991Mother Earth News article on the subject, preppers who cook with wood as a heat source may need to learn different culinary techniques. The surface of the stovetop may not become hot enough to fry foods in a skillet, but it’s perfect for simmering and slow cooking, and the oven inside the stove can be used in a fashion similar to an outdoor charcoal grill to cook vegetables or meat. And in addition to providing a means to cook your food, a wood stove also can provide heat for your shelter during the cold months—a typical stove that generates 35,000 BTUs of heat will keep a 2,000 square-foot home warm, Hunt says. (For efficiency, the stove needs to be centrally located in the home, so that the heat radiates throughout.) To get a high quality stove that is versatile enough to be used for baking, broiling and stove-top cooking and also can provide home heat, you’ll probably need to spend upwards of $4,000. Wiseheat.com offers reviews of different brands and styles of wood stoves. Woodheat.org offers this Q&A about wood stove cooking.

Learn About Wood as a Fuel: For your stove to work properly, you need the right wood in the right amount, and you need to prepare it properly for burning and use good fire-building techniques. The Environmental Protection Agency offers this best burn practices page, which covers the key points. Ideally, you want to use hardwoods, and wood should be seasoned outdoors for six months before burning it. You’ll be able to tell, because it will be darker and have more cracks in the grain than freshly cut wood, and will make a hollow sound when you smack it against another piece. Additionally, according to the EPA, you should purchase a moisture meter, a device that allows you to test wood to make sure that the moisture content is less than 20 percent. You also need to regularly remove ashes from your stove to maintain proper airflow.

Propane: If you prefer cooking with gas, a propane-fueled stove is an option—though Hunt cautions that you’ll want to cook outdoors, to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide buildup, which can kill you. “A large 100 gallon tank hidden in crawl space or basement can supply for months depending on outside temperature,” Hunt explains. You’ll also need equipment to transfer your fuel from the big storage tank to smaller tanks that you can attach to your stove or grill. From the Modern Survival Blog, here’s an article on proper storage of propane.

If You Only Do Three Things:
Get a wood stove. It’ll double for cooking and as a heat source.

Stock up on cooking supplies and equipment. A cast-iron griddle like this one will enable you to cook everything from steaks to pancakes on your wood stove top. Be sure also to stock up on supplies such as aluminum foil and matches.

Be wary of carbon monoxide. Hunt cautions that any sort of open flame—from candles to camp stoves—can cause a fatal buildup of this deadly gas. So never cook over an open flame indoors.

The Dollar Value of a Garden

One of the most self-sufficient steps you can make, is to start a garden and relearn that life saving skill at one time all Americans knew; how to grow your own food. But have you ever wondered if you are really saving any money working away the summer in your garden? I even hear preppers claim that they aren't really saving any money. Society has become so good at avoiding what seems like ‘work’ we can reason our way out of almost anything, can’t we? Even something as beneficial as gardening. So let’s address some of these issues.

At face value, the National Gardening Association (NGA) estimates that the average garden plot of 600 square feet produces an average of $600 worth of produce. But some people would think that’s a fairly conservative figure especially if you take the value of ‘organic’ local produce into account. That figure may be closer to $2000 per 600 feet (Off The Grid News). Now if one uses those numbers; a single acre could theoretically produce nearly $50,000 worth of organic veggies, fruits, and nuts per season (Off the Grid News). How is that figure for you naysayers?! Now that figure isn’t based on 600 square feet producing a couple of tomatoes plants, and some cucumbers or squash you’ll snack on only during the summer, it’s based on that 600 square feet producing absolutely as much as possible and you preserving what it produces - eating that during the winter instead of running to the grocery store every week. Also bare in mind, that when food prices go up so does the value of a home garden.

“Water and irrigation costs money.”

Making use of rain catches, and/or a drip system you can significantly reduce your cost to water the garden. The rain gutters on your home can be run into rain barrels, when the spring rains slow you can then use that water to supplement what you are already using for your garden.

“Good seeds every year are expensive.”

Invest in heirloom seeds; learn the skill of saving seeds and you will have a renewable garden every year, except for specialty items. Hybrid seeds are what is most commonly sold in most stores unless they are marked as otherwise, hybrid seeds are not genetically modified seeds, but they are seeds that resulted from the crossing of two different inbred parent plants. So the resulting offspring may or may not reproduce. Therefore seeds may not grow and if they do, the resulting plants may not be as bountiful as the original parent plants that you enjoyed so much. So while there is no real harm in growing hybrid seeds, you can save heirloom seeds tend to be the better option for cost saving and sustainability. 

“Fertilizer and pesticides cost money too.”

By going organic you avoid chemicals that could be harmful to you and your pets in the long run, and you also lower your costs. Compost – the ‘gardeners gold’ can be made by you for nothing but a little time. A quick search over at the APN forum will provide you with all the information you need to have your own bountiful organic garden. It may take some time get your soil in line but once that is done you will reaping the rewards of a little hard work for years to come.

“My time is worth money too.”

Think of your garden as an investment on the above mentioned garden value. Nothing is free. Rather than spending your time inside on the computer, you could be outside enjoying the weather and getting a little exercise. Instead of running children around to activities that they don’t enjoy as much as they enjoy spending time with you , spend the time outdoors in the garden with them teaching them how care for plants, veggies and ultimately themselves. I don’t think you can put a dollar sign on an entire family learning a survival skill and spending time together. To me, that, is money well spent.

“Then I will have to spend money on all the stuff I need to preserve the food.”

You can find most of the equipment you need to freeze, dry, and can your own food at fairly affordable prices in thrift stores, on Craigslist, and at yard sales. Most of this equipment is reusable; there is no reason to buy new if you don't want to. Again, this will be an investment, every year you grow a garden and put away food that equipment will pay for itself.

When its all said and done, growing a garden and storing the food you produce is one of the best things you can do to bring your monthly food bill down, and to protect yourself from possible future food shortages. Don’t just store food away for emergencies, use it everyday. In the winter eat your home canned veggies instead of buying them at the store. Some experts say that the average gardener can cut their monthly grocery bill by more than half by making wise use of their garden produce.

During World War II, it’s estimated that over 20 million Americans planted Victory Gardens due to a massive effort to take the pressure off the food industry so they could produce cheaper food for military personnel overseas. Victory Gardens provided about almost as much vegetables produced during that time as the food industry during normal production. Gardeners who didn’t have room for their own garden made use of vacant lots, building rooftops, balconies and public spaces. Today, gardeners are starting to do the same again discouraged by skyrocketing food prices, tasteless pesticide laden food, and genetic modification.

Learning how to garden is easy once you make the decision to do it. Contact your local extension office and garden clubs for classes and free information on how to grow a garden in your area.

Click Here to See a Survival Seed Kit - having a back up seed kit stored is the next best thing to having your own garden now. While it's always important to learn how to garden first, a survival seed kit is there if you need it.

Water: Purification Methods

When Lewis and Clark explored the nation’s vast interior in the early 1800s, they actually obtained some of their drinking water directly from the Missouri River. Amazingly, they didn’t do anything to purify it, other than probably leave it sit in barrels so that the silt would drift to the bottom. Today, of course, if you did that, you’d become extremely ill; after a hard rain, the river is filled with all sorts of pollution, including poorly treated sewage overflow from waste water treatment plants. The upshot, for preppers, is that you have to get used to the idea that we no longer live in a pristine world, and even if civilization collapses, it’s not going to revert immediately to its unspoiled state. Thus, whether you resupply from a stream or from rainwater, it’s not safe to drink that water without treating it to remove harmful substances and pathogens that can make you extremely ill.

Fortunately, according to Practical Preppers’ Scott Hunt, water purification is something that preppers can easily accomplish, thanks to a multitude of technologies that are available, ranging from the old standby of boiling water, to ceramic filters and ultraviolet light. As prepper author James Wesley Rawles notes, various purification methods may remove one sort of contaminant or pathogen, but let others slip through. Treating water with chlorine will kill bacteria, but not all viruses, for example, and no filter system is 100 percent effective at removing herbicides and pesticides that may contaminate an open body of water. So if you filter water, you’d be smart to use distillation, ultraviolet sterilization, and/or chemicals as an additional precaution. One how-to manual that gives a detailed rundown on pathogens, contaminants and various methods of water purification is the Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, by Arthur T. Bradley and several co-authors.

Here are some tips on how to make sure that the water you collect is fit for drinking and other uses.

• Know Your Water. Hunt recommends testing the water source in advance to determine what sort of microorganisms or contaminants it might contain, so that a prepper can have the right filters to deal with each problem.

• Master the Easy, Basic Techniques for Killing Bacteria.  Boiling is one of the safest and most effective methods of treating water, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In  a large pot or kettle, bring water to a boil—you’ll notice the bubbling and steam streaming out out the vessel—and keep it there for one minute. (Keep in mind that some of your supply will evaporate, so don’t let it boil too long.) Then let the water cool to a temperature that’s comfortable for drinking. Boiled water will taste better if you re-oxygenate it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. Another way to kill loathsome critters in your water is to treat it with bleach. Use a regular, unscented variety that contains 5.25 to 6 percent sodium hypochlorite, and buy a lot of small bottles, because bleach’s potency diminishes after it’s opened. To treat water, add 16 drops (1/8 of a teaspoon) to a gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. Hunt notes that  ceramic filters provide good protection against bacteria, and they don’t require any energy expenditure—just gravity. “You just dump the water in the top, and it filters down,” Hunt explains. “The bacteria can’t get through the top.

• Use Distillation to Get Rid of Really Nasty Stuff.  Distilling water will remove microorganisms that somehow survive bleach, boiling, and other methods. In addition, it will remove heavy metals, salts, and other chemical pollutants that can harm your health. Basically, the process involves boiling water so that it leaves behind all the stuff that has contaminated it, and then collecting the vapor and allowing it to condense back into liquid water. You can create a simple distilling apparatus simply by suspending a cup by attaching it to the inside of a large pot’s lid, and then putting a layer of water in the bottom of pot and boiling it for 20 minutes. As the pot cools afterward, the water that drips down into the cup is purified. If you’re concerned about using up fuel, it’s also possible to build a solar energy-powered distiller. Here are some simple instructions on that from a prepper blogger.

• Get an Ultraviolet Light.  Large water treatment facilities have used ultraviolet radiation to kill pathogens for years, but small portable units for use in the home or out in the wild have only recently become available. Basically, an ultraviolet purifying unit is a bottle with a small light source that’s inserted into the water. After 30 to 80 seconds, the radiation kills most microbes. Ultraviolet treatment won’t remove impurities such as dirt, metals or chemicals from the water, however, so you’ll have to combine it with another method to get really clean water.

If You Only Do Three Things:

• Get a Basic Ceramic Filter.  This is the lazy man’s way to get rid of bacteria, but Hunt says it’s pretty effective.
• Stock Up on Bleach. It’s great for killing microorganisms that can may you really sick.
• Boiling Water is a Really Easy, Quick Method of Purification.  You can bring a pot or kettle of water to a boil and keep it rolling for a minute, let it cool, and you’re pretty safe from bacteria.

Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith taught: "We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker, and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same." (TPJS, p.51, emphasis added.)

Elsewhere he taught: "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God." (Id.,p.217.)

He also taught: "if you do right, there is no danger of your going too fast. He said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue: resist evil, and there is no danger; God, men, and angels will not condemn those that resist everything that is evil, and devils cannot; as well might the devil seek to dethrone Jehovah, as overthrow an innocent soul that resists everything which is evil." (Id., p.226, emphasis added.)

Oklahoma Tornado Advice

 We just went through the Oklahoma Tornado and learned a few things, some which were surprising:

(1) Storing all of your preparations at home may not be a good idea. Police prevented homeowners from returning to their homes EVEN IF they could prove that they were residents.

(2) Don't depend on phones or cell phones. We have all become comfortable with cell phones and being able to call whomever we want whenever we want. Cell phone towers went down, and what little coverage was available was reserved for emergency responders.

(3) Have a family "evacuation and meet" plan. Our family was spread out across 20 miles.

(4) Use real keys, not garage door openers. My SIL was stranded OUTSIDE of his home because he uses his garage door opener instead of a key. If you can't carry a key, at least hide one somewhere safe in your yard.

(5) Have some preps in your car, particularly clothing. Daughter and SIL were both away from home and could not even pick up a change of clothing.

(6) Make sure you have phone numbers memorized, and that there is someone in another area with a LAND LINE that everyone can contact to relay and receive information.


(7) Be prepared to invite extras into your home. Glad we haven't down-sized yet - plenty of room to accommodate extra bodies for as long as necessary.

Space-Saving and Effective Sub-Irrigated Planters

Earlier in the Spring a friend of mine suggested I try out Sub-Irrigated Planters, also known as “SIPS” or sometimes “Self-Irrigating Planters.”  These types of planters can be purchased or improvised, and employ a reservoir of water that allows the plants to wick the proper amount as they grow.  My SIPS are mostly constructed from materials I had around the house or purchased from The Dollar Store, while many other effective designs can be found online.  I am amazed at how the plants thrive in these planters, and at how little space they require.

This Plant Spa was purchased at The Dollar Store for less than $5 as part of my experiment.  Please note the reservoir opening at the bottom.



I improvised two large SIPS by using standard hole-in-the-bottom planters.  The reservoir is made from a plastic colander and an inexpensive plastic dish tub (see below.)  The colander and tub prevent over-watering and root-rot by allowing excess water to overflow out of the planter.  The colander also allows for aeration as the plants “wick” the required moisture.




Lastly, I improvised a “colander” out of a juice bottle so that I could turn an ordinary clay planter in to a small SIP.  A hack saw was used to saw the bottle in half.



Next I used the awl of my Swiss Army knife to punch holes in the plastic, giving it the look of a colander.



The clay SIP ended up looking like this:




I stirred a dash of lime into my fertilized potting mix, then added tomato and pepper plants.  During the first week, I watered the plants from the top, ensuring that the reservoir below was always full.  Since then I only add water to the reservoir as the plants are clearly wicking the perfect amount.



After six weeks of growth, I am thrilled with the size of my plants!



My design was inspired by Jim Annerton’s detailed PDF, which can be downloaded here.  I am so thrilled with the results that I cannot wait to try more SIP designs next year!

Go Ahead and Buy Extra of These Foods

Sugar
Regardless of whether your sugar is white, brown or powdered, it will never spoil because it doesn't support bacterial growth. The challenge with sugar is to keep it from hardening into chunks. To keep sugar fresh, store it in an airtight container or seal it in a plastic bag. If your brown sugar is more like a brown rock, you can revive it with just a minute in the microwave on low heat. Or by throwing a piece of bread in the bag with it. The next time you grab it - it will be good as new. Brown sugar costs a bit extra so if you want to skip it you can add a little molasses to your white sugar (one cup of sugar to one TBS of molasses) and make your own brown sugar. As you may know molasses is the by-product from making sugar white crystals so you are just adding that back in. Sugar can also be combined with iodine to make "Sugardine" - a homemade antiseptic commonly used on horses and livestock for abscesses and thrush but theoretically could also be used on people. The theory being that sugar doesn't support bacterial growth and neither does iodine - combine the two you have an antiseptic paste that lasts forever.

Molasses
And yes, I would add Molasses to the list of Foods that will out last you. GO FOR IT. Its good for you as it contains

minerals like iron and magnesium. Its appealing to livestock and good for them too. Its a nice flavoring in recipes - you can't really go wrong with it, and its not going to go bad on you. if you see molasses on sale grab a bunch of it! If you see some that says "sulfured" that just means that it was the by-product of immature sugar cane plants and they added a little bit of sulfur dioxide to it as a preservative - its perfectly safe. "Unsulfured" molasses doesn't need a preservative. Molasses can also be added to garden soil in small amounts to promote "good bacteria".

Blackstrap Molasses is made from the third and final boiling of sugar cane to get sugar crystals and is the least sweet and most bitter but contains the highest amount of minerals and vitamins - you can usually find it at health food stores. It's this form of molasses that is usually used in "sweet feeds" for livestock. It's also is used to make rum and ethanol alcohol (a fuel you that can be used for cooking or light or,.... if you have "kahunas" you can drink ethanol - the 190 proof Everclear is an example of ethanol alcohol).

Pure vanilla extract

If you have real vanilla extract in the back of the cupboard, there's no need to throw it out because it lasts forever. It may be more expensive than its imitation counterpart, but its shelf life certainly outweighs the extra cost. Keep that vanilla flavor at its best by sealing the bottle after each use and storing it in a cool, dark place. Vanilla is really affordable right now, and it's also easy to make yourself but if that's not your thing try Sam's Club or Costco for nice bulk prices. Same goes for all the other extracts. Click here to see how to make homemade extracts.

Rice
White, wild, jasmine, arborio and basmati rice all keep forever so there's no need to throw them out. Brown rice is the one exception because it has a higher oil content so store it in the refrigerator or freeze it to maximize its shelf life.

Once you've opened a bag or box of rice, move it to an airtight container or resealable freezer bag to keep it fresh. Rice is wonderful, it is a perfect emergency food to keep on hand, its still cheap right now you can pick up 25 lbs at Cash and Carry or Costco for around $10.95. It's an expander - it makes a bigger meal out of everything you put it in and you can even pop it like corn or make dessert with it. Most white rice is enriched with B vitamins in the US - so even if you have a diet rich in white rice you are not at risk for any deficiencies. Rice is a source of protein but it is not a complete protein so you should always be pairing it up with nuts, meat, fish and other sources of protein.

Corn starch

You can thicken gravies and sauces for years with just one box of corn starch because it keeps indefinitely. Store this kitchen staple in a cool, dry area and be sure to reseal it tightly after each use. Sealing it well keeps critters out of it too. Any flour or starch you choose to buy extra of and store should be stuck in your freezer for a minimum of 3 days to kill any insect eggs that are most likely hiding inside (gross - but its legal because the eggs don't hurt you any, they are just annoying when they hatch and eat your food. Personally I take them out of the freezer and then in 24 hours stick them back in for another 3 days). Corn starch can be added to gluten free flours to help make gluten free bread, as a powder to sooth irritated skin, as a paste to help draw out the pain of a sting or bite, and as a binder in many crafts. It's also used make the white markings on a horse sparkle and is the grooming secret of many professional riders.

Honey
Whether you use it in your tea, on your toast or as an alternative sweetener, that jar of pure honey is good forever.

It may get grainy or change color, but it's still safe to eat — and delicious — because its antibiotic and anti-viral properties keep it from spoiling. You can help keep it fresh by storing it in a cool area, and you can improve the quality of crystallized honey by placing the jar in warm water and stirring it until the grainy parts dissolve. Honey will only have those "antibacterial and anti-viral" properties that are so useful for when we are sick, if it is "raw" honey and has not been pasteurized. Raw honey should not be fed to children under the age of 2. Honey does NOT require stirring to de-crystalize just let it sit there - it will happen on its own, if the water cools and the honey is still hard - warm the water back up again and repeat until clear and liquid. You can also stick a honey jar in an oven over night with the oven light on - and in the morning your honey will be good as new. This low heat will not ruin your raw honey, but high heat will as it will pasteurize it.

Hard liquor

Keep the bottles tightly closed and store them in a cool area away from direct heat or sunlight. High proof booze can be used to disinfect wounds or surgical tools, add flavor to recipes, vodka can fluff up pie crusts, and can be used as house hold cleaner. Ethanol alcohol, such as the 190 proof Everclear is also fuel you that can be used for cooking in alcohol stoves (these can be homemade and pop can and a soup can). And historically booze has ALWAYS been an item of barter.

Salt
The contents of your salt shaker will never spoil, regardless of whether it's basic table salt or sea salt. Simply store it in a cool, dry place and salt will keep indefinitely. 

With water, salt and sugar you also have homemade gatorade to administer in conditions of high heat, fever, or dehydration (6 tsp sugar, 1 to 1/2 tsp salt to one liter of water).

Twice daily salt water rinses are helpful to for sores in the mouth, bitten tongues, and tooth aches. Saline rinse for the eyes can remove debris and other irritants. Iodine deficiency commonly leads to thyroid gland problems, is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation, specifically endemic goiter, a disease characterized by a swelling of the thyroid gland, usually resulting in a bulbous protrusion on the neck. Iodized table salt has significantly reduced these disorders of iodine deficiency in countries where it is used. That being said *today* the average person gets more than enough iodine in their diet so iodized salt is not required in a healthy diet - however if you are storing salt for emergencies (5 lbs per person in your family is the MINIMUM recommendation) iodized salt is a GOOD thing.

Syrup
If you come across a years-old bottle of corn syrup in your pantry, don't throw it out. This sweetener keeps indefinitely as long as you keep it sealed and store it in a cool, dry area. You can also make your own.

What good are pancakes or waffles without maple syrup? Luckily, this flavorful syrup will never spoil if you refrigerate it or freeze it. For long-term storage, seal it in an airtight plastic container and freeze it. Even if Maple

Syrup does crystalize, as I have never heard of it "spoiling" - you can heat it back up to a liquid form much like honey so I would forgo freezing. If you are looking to make your own, you will need several mature sugar maple trees but you can also make syrup from other maple trees - sugar maples have the highest concentration of sugar which is why they are used, but if you had to you could boil almost any sap down to make syrup - its just going to take ALOT longer and you're going to need alot more sap. Let me put it this way, for sugar maples you need 20-50 liters of sap to make ONE. Liter. Of syrup. And you'll have to boil it for a couple of days. That's why other trees usually aren't mentioned. Grade B is the premium grade of maple syrup and also indicates a darker color and richer flavor than grade A.

Same goes for Agave Syrup. Which has a lower glycemic index than corn, maple, or sugar and it a good choice for those keeping tabs on their sugar. Plus Tequila is made out of it, so how bad can it really be?

Distilled White vinegar
This wonder product can be used for everything, from making marinades and salad dressings to cleaning house and doing laundry. But the best thing about distilled white vinegar is that it lasts for years. Simply close it tightly after each use and store the bottle in a cool, dark place. If you use vinegar for canning like I do you may want to have as much of it as you can. My household cleanser recipe is one part water, one part vinegar, with a good dose of lemon juice thrown in for scent and extra cleaning power.

Baking Soda
Baking Soda is pure "sodium bicarbonate", it is primarily used in cooking (baking), as a leavening agent. It contains NO aluminum. Baking soda is one of the most useful things you can stock up on and it will last forever as long as it is sealed properly and stored in a cool dry place, preferable vacuum sealed and doesn't come in contact with anything acidic or damp.

The uses of it are too many to list. It is a miracle in the absence of yeast. It can be used with cream of tartar and corn starch *to make Baking Powder* (1 tsp. baking powder = 1/4 tsp. baking soda + 1/2 tsp. cream tartar + 1/4 tsp. cornstarch) and when you make it yourself there is no aluminum in it. In most brands of commercial Baking Powder there is aluminum, which as been linked to Alzheimer's disease and other disorders. Baking powder only lasts a year two - so when we last ran out, I switched to making my own and I am actually more happy with the homemade stuff.

Baking soda can be used as a household cleanser with scrubbing power, bubble power, and odor absorption power. It can also be used in first aid as paste to draw the pain out of bites, stings, to sooth itching. It can be used in baths to soften and sooth skin. It can be taken orally to ease heartburn, used as a mouth rinse, made into a paste with hydrogen peroxide to use as a tooth paste, and it can be used as a first line treatment for burns.

Baking soda is also a proven weapon against grease fires and it can balance the water in your pool - just go ahead and fill up a shed with the stuff, its amazing!

Other Items that Store Well

-Macaroni Noodles (dry canned in a mylar package)
-Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (dry canned in a mylar package for storage)
-Wheat Berries (dry canned in a mylar package)
-Dried Beans (dry canned in a mylar package)
-Dried Corn (dry canned in a mylar package)
-Popcorn Seeds (dry canned in a mylar package)
-Mustard (in a cool dark place)
-Super Dehydrated fruits and vegetable (dry canned)