David Morris
www.Twitter.com/SurvivalDave
SurviveInPlace.com
UrbanSurvivalPlan.com
Storing Home Grown Onions
My wife and I store our onions this way. Works great putting them in the freezer and makes them handy for cooking. A side tip is that we also store our peppers this way. Great for cooking with green and red peppers.
www.survivalistboards.com Growing onions at home can be an easy and satisfying project. Onions are easy to grow, tolerant of soil conditions and just about the whole thing is edible. But once the onions are harvested, what now? For about 3 – 4 months after the onions are harvested, my wife and I store them in a mesh plastic bag. In November we will usually slice them up, put them into a plastic bag and store in the freezer. In December I will plant some more onion sprouts and get ready for next year. home grown onions storage garden urban survival survivalist shtf teotwawki onion gardening home gardening
End of the World Fortress
I just finished a conversation with a friend that I found disturbing and thought I would share.
Due to the economy he has decided to purchase land and build a bunker. He stated he wanted to be like me. Just for the record, we are not “bunker” people! We are prepared homesteaders, there is a difference. We have our gardens, food storage, water storage, etc. We do live in a populated area. I do not agree with the idea of “heading for the hills” when the economy goes bad. This is just not realistic. It is better to have a home that you live in everyday. Your neighbors can help keep an eye on things. If you build something in the middle of nowhere you will most likely loose it. If you research the economic collapse in Argentina you will see where I am coming from. The small villages and farms were the first to be destroyed. It’s just too much to defend.
Anyway, again this is not how I think. Being a “prepper” in my opinion is not building a fortress of defense. This just makes you a target. The key is to look like every other broke person on the street, but be well stocked at home. Just a thought
Posted onthefly from phone……
Survival Kit in a Tin-Urban Survival
Here’s my survival kit in a tin. Contents include a lighter, matches, ferro rod, button compass, alcohol wipes, bandages, fishing line, sinkers, hooks, jig, ear plugs that can be used as hearing protection or as floats/bobbers, tinfoil, orange marker tape, safety pins, can opener, razor blades, snare wire and duct tape.
Vehicle Supply Storage
Here at Homestead Basics we have a one year supply of food, six months of water, and a decent financial reserve. Today I was down at NAPA purchasing everything to do an oil change on our Project HOSS. I cant believe I never thought of this, but I don’t have many supplies for vehicle maintenance. Remember that your food storage and other reserves are not just for if the world goes down in flames, but what if your job goes south? What if you get injured enough, you cant work full time? NAPA was running a sale on filters, so I purchased a case. I also purchased eight cases of oil. That is enough to change the oil every two months for each of my vehicles (My wife’s suburban or HOSS).
So go through your vehicles and do a quick inventory. Oil and oil filters are a first. Fuel filters would be next on my list. I also thought about air filters, but I run K&N air filters, so they are cleanable and limits supplies needed. Next I would get brake fluid, windshield washer fluid, and any other fluid you might need. Go through you vehicle and just make sure you have everything to keep it going.
I don’t recommend stocking every wearable part on the vehicle, just the maintenance stuff. Maybe do some research on your vehicle and find the most common wear items. If you have the room and extra money, it can be a good idea–such as a fuel pump, etc.
Anyway, just something to think about.
Orange Peel Uses Around The Homestead
I love fruit. I really love Cuties during the winter months. I eat up to four a day. I have been throwing the orange peels into the compost bin all winter. I peeled one last week while driving around and left the peel on the floorboard and forgot to grab it as I got out. The next day, my truck smelled very pleasant, so that got me thinking about other uses for the peel. I hit the world wide web and came up with this: … Continue Reading
Living the Simple Life-Solar Homestead for under $10,000
I was so impressed when I watched this video. I was jealous of the freedom. I did not think I would be. Here I live fairly well, I don’t owe anyone for anything-except my house. Then when I watched this video, I must admit, it really stirred things up. How wonderful it would be to be totally self sufficient and owe nothing for everything I have. The freedom that would create would be wonderfully refreshing. Anyway, check out the video. You can also see his site at www.simplesolarhomesteading.com
5 Health Benefits of Chocolate
Now this post is right up my alley! Chocolate! Just saying it makes my mouth water, but did you know the true benefits of chocolate? I found a great article over on the Survival Spot blog explaining the benefits of chocolate.
“For hundreds of years chocolate (really cocoa) has been a beloved sweet food, really more of a treat. Despite the delicious nature of chocolate, we have been told that it is unhealthy and should be avoided. But maybe chocolate isn’t as unhealthy as you’ve been told. In fact, chocolate has a wealth of health benefits that most people are unaware of. Let’s explore just a few of them.”
- Brain Booster
- Muscle Recovery
- Circulatory Benefits
- Mood Enhancement
- Aphrodisiac
Click Here to get the FULL Story!
Top 10 Reasons Why The Future of America Depends on Survivalists & Preppers
There has been a lot of derogatory talk lately about “preppers” and “survivalists” and I’d like to take a minute to point out 10 reasons why preppers and survivalists have always been vital to the United States and why it is essential that we have as many as possible to survive future disasters.
1. FEMA–The cost for local, state, and federal agencies to plan, equip, and staff for EVERY disaster that might happen is cost prohibitive. When disasters strike, government is quick to talk, quick to “ramp up”, but government help is slow to come and inefficient when it arrives.
Survivalists and preppers on the other hand are able to act quickly and efficiently to take care of their own house and provide stability, structure, and assistance for their streets, neighborhoods, and beyond.
2. Stable Base–An organization (or nation) of people with specialized skills may accomplish great things when everything is going smoothly, but it quickly fall apart when trouble comes. The survivalist & prepper mindset of “Jack of all trades, master of ONE” makes for a stable organization (or nation).
3. Joseph in the Bible–Preppers/survivalists have been around saving the day since the beginning of time. In Genesis 37-50, Joseph sees trouble coming and prepares for seven years. At the end of seven years, a severe drought/famine hits that lasts for the next seven years. Because of Joseph’s preparations, Egypt survived the drought/famine and was able to help the surrounding nations.
4. Founding Fathers–With the Constitution and Bill of Rights, our founding fathers pushed responsibility from the federal government down to the individual citizen and promoted a survivalist/prepper. They did it with the 2nd and 4th amendments, they did it by example (Washington leading a mostly barefoot army across the Delaware,) and they did it throughout their writing, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.” –Ben Franklin
5. Siege warfare–Many of the things that happened after Katrina are textbook examples of why siege warfare is so effective. The normal city has a 3 day supply of food. The normal prepper has a 6-24 MONTH supply of food.
Which do you think is more stable in the event of a siege that is due to disasters or war? If you ONLY focus on food and water supplies, a city/county/region/country with many preppers will be much more resilient to being cut off from outside help than one with few preppers.
6. Independent from the government–How much leverage does an energy tax (or most other taxes) have on a family who’s living off the grid? The more self-reliant you are, the less control the government can exert over your life through taxes.
7. Criminals fear the aware and prepared–This is fairly straight forward. Preppers & survivalists gradually become more aware and prepared than the average person. This will show itself in your walk, in your eyes, and how you carry yourself. In short, you stop looking like a wounded gazelle and more like a badger…cute & cuddly, but ready to do anything necessary to stop a threat to him/herself or loved ones.
8. Tyrants fear survivalists and preppers–In addition to living a lifestyle that insulates them from siege, some taxes, and being nannied, survivalists and preppers are usually well armed & seek advanced training. Good men have nothing to fear from an armed populace, but tyrants who seek to control the lives of others will always try to disarm them first through confiscation, taxation, or pressure through media and the educational system.
It worked for Hitler, Mao, and many more narcissistic, mass murders suffering from munchausen by proxy throughout the ages. So far back, in fact, that Aristotle spoke extensively about how, in any society, those who control the arms control the state.
9. More preppers = fewer refugees & faster recovery from disasters—After a local, regional, or national disaster, the number of refugees will be inversely proportional to the number of preppers & survivalists in the area. In other words, the more preppers you have in an area, the less strain the hospitals, volunteer organizations, and government run refugee centers will have.
10. More able to help their fellow man—After a disaster, you’re not going to see very many refugees donating their food/supplies/time. It’s not that they don’t want to, but rather it’s because they are in a fight for their lives and may be dehydrated, hungry, and tired.
Preppers and survivalists who have food storage, water or water treatment tools, and who have prepared themselves psychologically for disasters will be able to help in several ways. First, they’re less likely to become refugees or use the time/resources of first responders. Second, since they ARE prepared for disasters, they can help the people in their immediate area which will lessen the load on first responders and reduce the number of refugees. Third, by helping themselves and their neighbors, preppers will increase the quality of care for people who DO end up still needing first responder care or to relocate to a refugee center.
In short, the more survivalists and preppers that we have, the more stable our families, cities, and the country as a whole are. If you believe in this message, please forward it to your friends and family, tweet it, and link to it from your website or Facebook page.
And, if you have any interest at all in preparing so that you can survive disasters in urban environments, you really need to check out the SurviveInPlace Urban Survival Guide.
Other people like you who’ve taken the course agree that it is the best book or course on surviving disaster in an urban environment that they’ve ever read. Here’s what Doug in California had to say:
“In 23 years service in the Air Force, I completed both arctic and jungle survival training, many combat/battlefield skills courses, and I served under daily fire in Vietnam. I think I’m fairly well prepared to survive the environmental hazards.
However, your course has significantly broadened my perspective when it comes to urban survival and surviving both the good and malicious intent of my fellow citizens. Thank you so much for digging out the information and for shortening the learning process.”
-Doug (Retired Air Force) in California
All I can say is, “WOW!” Thanks Doug.
To see the special, limited time offer and get signed up, go to:
www.UrbanSurvivalGuide.com/index.php
www.secretsofurbansurvival.com
Urban farming, going green
Our first mobile chicken coop, easy to move and safe for the animals, please let us know what you think, thank you Keeping hens in your own backyard is easy with the mobile chicken coop, Roll-a-coop rotates slowly allowing new pasture to be accessed and leaving waste behind, Animals stay more active and more productive, gone are the messy chores of cleaning plus the uv light sterilizers the cage on its slow rotation,
Can the Building You are in Survive Earthquake?
In certain areas of the world, it is crucial to shape structures to endure the vast shock and hurt associated with earthquakes. Unfortunately, skill has not yet urban an early word scheme that can give immediate observe when an earthquake is eminent. Thus, we are completely at life’s mercy to live an earthquake, and buildings must be built to subsist an earthquake at any time.
Much explore and cram has been loving to culture which types of structures fare best in an earthquake. Generally talking the consensus is the metal buildings fare better than physical.
However, one might ask: does this mean that all metal buildings can resist an earthquake?
The answer is no. Just because a shop is metal does not mean it will automatically do well in an earthquake.
Metal structures are more possible to survive earthquakes because they are more yielding — they can bend and bend lacking breech. This characteristic is crucial in a staid earthquake.
The most public lettering of metal worn to create earthquake-prudent buildings is steel rebar. Steel rebar has the ductility that is essential to absorbing earthquake and is very solid, making it the best and most helpful selection for edifice in an earthquake zone.
Steel rebar has proven to be a brilliant structure important that can withstand earthquakes, but it not fool evidence in and of itself. It must be practical with the tweak engineering and architectural principles to expand its effectiveness. If you are considering using steel rebar to build an earthquake-strong configure, be absolutely assured your tactics and methods amend, or hire a designer who is easy with such structures.
Other types of metal buildings are far less strong to earthquakes, and can be somewhat unsafe in earthquake-prone areas. The metal modular homes are not constructed to withstand the tremendous shock of an earthquake. These types of buildings would be very unsafe in an earthquake zone. Also, leaf metal buildings are very fragile and warmly apt to attack during an earthquake. Experts do not counsel either of these types of structures to be sited in an earthquake zone. Some zoning laws forbid them altogether.
Another very important reason that influences whether a structure will survive an earthquake is the distribution of credence. A house that is top-weighty is more likely to reduction than a structure that is lightweight at the top. An earthquake-nontoxic house not only should be constructed with steel rebar. It should be framed with lighter supplies in the greater floors and have a brutally reinforced inferior split.
The most important message to learn from this discussion is that just because a house is made of metal doesn’t necessarily mean it is earthquake evidence. To be wholly earthquake resilient, an edifice desires to be built with the amend supplies (like steel rebar) and be built according to the rectify standards.
If you are edifice a commercial flare, you owe it to manually, your customers, and anyone who uses the building to use the best materials and techniques presented to you. You want to get the most out of your investment, so give it the attention it qualities.
Find tips about hurricance facts and volcano facts at the Natural Disasters Facts website.
Hunting and Survival: Some Tips For Beginners
Hunting is as old as humanity-older, in fact-and as new as the latest high-tech gear they’re selling at your local sporting goods store. Fossil evidence indicates that early humans were hunting with spears as long as 16,200 years ago, and scientists estimate that we’ve been eating meat much longer than that-for nearly two million years, a span of time that long predates the emergence of homo sapiens.
And in that time we haven’t merely hunted animals-we’ve made the experience of hunting part of the myths, rituals and arts of human culture. The cave painters, who are humanity’s first known visual artists-and still among its best-seem to have made hunting one of their major themes; there are images tens of thousands of years old that seem to depict animals wounded in a hunt, and some speculate that the reason for the overall predominance of animal imagery in those paintings reflects their origin in some sort of pre-hunt magic-an early instance, if you will, of visualization.
Agriculture, and animal husbandry, reduced the importance of the hunt slightly, but it’s remained a part of human life. Its decreased necessity, in farming societies, allowed it to become a social outlet, even a sport, for those who could afford the time-which, for much of European history, was not many people, given the brutal laws that affected laborers’ ability to sell their work for a greater-than-subsistence wage. Hunting became a pastime for the idle rich, one that was thought to build character. In the Europe of medieval and later times, hunting grew to be so firmly associated with the upper classes that the rich hunter became a sort of stereotypical figure-one that survives to our own day in the cartoon character Elmer Fudd, that befuddled but well-off would-be wabbit hunter of Looney Tunes fame.
In nineteenth-century America, by contrast, the slaves and poor whites of the South insisted, in practice, on their right to hunt for food (often from sheer necessity). Hunting thus became, for Americans, a more democratic pastime. The Second Amendment, and the resultant tradition of American gun ownership (not to say worship), helped reinforce this idea. So did such iconic American figures as the writer Ernest Hemingway, who returned to the subject in one short story after another, and the president Theodore Roosevelt, whose obsession with “virility” (as he defined it) drove him to a near-worship of sports. So as well did the practical importance of hunting to the settlers of the West and Middle West-who carried on from thousands of years of Native American hunting of the same territory, though generally without the ecological sensitivity and local intelligence of those peoples. (Thus the near-extinction of the Bison.)
These days, hunting faces some controversy, as animal-rights activists call the sport barbaric, and environmentalists worry that its ecological consequences may be dire. Yet conservationism is also woven into the history of American hunting-Roosevelt, that pivotal figure in its history, was also among the first Presidents to enact environmental-protection laws, and his legacy lives on among hunters who support efforts to protect certain wildlife habitats. In any case, hunting remains one of the few activities that allows contemporary urbanized Americans, the vast majority of whom live in cities and towns, to interact with animals and to see forests.
But for this very reason, hunting imposes certain dangers-after all, it asks people who may have little experience of surviving in the woods to do so, perhaps miles from familiar civilization. Here are some tips to keep in mind on your hunting trip:
1) Remember the “rule of three.” In general, humans cannot survive three hours in extreme low temperatures; three days without water; or three weeks without food.
2) Always bring a first-aid kit.
3) Make sure someone knows exactly where you plan to hunt, and exactly when to expect you back. If you get trapped in the woods, you want to know there’s somebody back home who can alert authorities in the event of your going missing. Hunt in a group, if possible.
4) Observe basic gun safety at all times, no matter how experienced you consider yourself to be. Don’t point a gun or bow at anything you aren’t sure you want to shoot. Don’t rest the muzzle against your foot, keep the safety on and the trigger untouched until the moment you’re ready to fire. Unload or unstring your weapon when it’s not in use, and keep it safely locked up. Wear hearing and eye protection, leave the beers at home, and in general, always treat your gun or bow as if it were loaded and ready to shoot-always.
5) Don’t hunt during periods of low visibility-children have been shot at a range of seventeen yards by hunters who forgot this bit of common-sense advice.
6) Wear bright-orange gear to ensure your own visibility to other hunters. If other hunters in the area seem to behave recklessly-an increasing problem as methamphetamine usage takes more and more of a toll on the same rural areas that provide many with hunting grounds-get out and get home, as fast as you can.
7) Spot-check your gear before you leave, especially if it has been in contact with the ground. Otherwise you may bring home unwanted “guests” in the form of scorpions, snakes, bugs and other undesirables.
8) This is not a complete guide. Your library or local DNR office will have information you need-make sure you avail yourself of all of it.
9) A good hunter is not one who laughs at danger or never feels fear, but the one who takes danger seriously and fears the right things.
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Rammed Earth Construction- Pros and Cons
Rammed earth construction is gaining in popularity with home owners seeking to build Eco-friendly. Rammed Earth Construction is basically using the dirt under your feet, or from a local quarry to build a wall, house, shop, or anything else you can think of. Its a great concept since it doesn’t require brick, wood, quarried stone, etc to be used and transported. Everything is local!
Rammed Earth Pros:
Winter Wood Supply Completed
We brought some wood from our Missouri Homestead with us, but that wasnt enough. Most of it being oak was sure nice as that is not near as common here in Colorado. We were getting ready to go to the mountains and grab some when I thought I would check Craigslist real quick to see what might be available. Sure enough, there was a listing for a large amount of apple, pine, maple, aspen, etc available from a recent clearing of some land down the road. We jumped in the truck and was able to gather all the wood needed to get through the winter.
OBSESSIVES: URBAN FARMING – CHOW.com
Novella Carpenter started small, with some plants in an empty lot next to her house in Oakland. A couple of years later, she was tending to a full-blown farm, with goats, turkeys, ducks, pigs, and a robust garden. This video tackles questions of neighborliness (which is more offensive: police sirens or roosters crowing?), environmental poisons (raised beds are key), and the all-important slaughter question. The answer: Yes, she does (and yes, there is some bloody footage).
Alemany Farm: San Francisco Urban Farming
Alemany Farm is a 4 acre, fully functioning urban farm nestled between a major highway intersection, a newly gentrified neighborhood on a hill and a housing project- the perfect place to grow some food! We got a tour (and some amazing fruit) from Antonio Roman-Alcalá, Volunteer Coordinator and soon to be videoblogger/documentarian extraordinaire. The work being done at Alemany Farm proves the point that urban farming and local food production is totally possible and necessary for the health …
Worm Farming Secrets – Best Selling Guide To Worm Composting.
112 Page Exclusive Manual – The Business & Biology Of Raising Earthworms – Includes Over 124 Individual Back Issues Of The Worm Farming Secrets Newsletter – More Than 1,200 Additional Pages Of Worm Composting Content As A Free Bonus.
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Urban Farming: Hydroponics in the City
Keeping agriculture sustainable increasingly means keeping it local. Besides the environmental benefit of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel guzzling transportation, eating local food is a more seasonal and often healthier experience. With concern about food security growing, it might turn out to be safer, too. The folks in charge of the Science Barge, a new urban farming experiment in New York, are bringing local food production closer than ever. In this video Vanessa Rae learns about the …