The Road Home

The Road Home
There is no place like home.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Gardening As If Your Life Depends On It

You may remember the article a week or so back titled, Survival Gardening Scenario. Well folks, the reason I wrote that is because I truly feel like we are living out that scenario in real life right now. There are so many indicators of catastrophic events that are almost on our doorstep, that I feel a great sense of urgency to
continue planting and growing as much food for Frank and I, as well as some for our animals, as I can. Normally I would not be turning new ground and planting new crops at the end of June. By now the summer is heating up and it's much easier to sit in the house in the heat of the day, nice and cool in an air conditioned building, sipping coffee and reading this and that on the internet. But this is not the case on our homestead this year. Frank is pursuing completion of a number of projects as quickly as he can. Not only will these projects provide us with water, food, and comfort, they are investments in our survival. We can keep the money in the bank and lose it all in the coming world wide financial meltdown, or we can invest it in ways that will make our survival physically easier for us when the time comes.

We realize that not everyone is able to grow a garden because of location, physical limitations or restrictions where they live. There are other ways of insuring an adequate food supply for your family if you are in this situation. Please consider the message of this article in whatever situation you find yourself.


I want to share an article that Micheal Snyder, from The Economic Collapse, published today titled Lindsey Williams, Martin Armstrong and Alex Jones All Warn About What Is Coming In The Fall of 2015. I strongly recommend you read it and watch the videos. This is just one source of warning among many that the thin, fragile fabric that holds our world together is unraveling at an alarming pace. Mr. Snyder begins his article with these words. "Not since the financial crash of 2008 have so many prominent people issued such urgent warnings about a specific time period.  Almost daily now, really big names are coming out with chilling predictions about what they believe is going to happen during the second half of 2015.  But it isn’t just that these people have a “bad feeling” about things.  The truth is that we are witnessing a confluence of circumstances and events in the second half of this year that is unprecedented.  This is something that I covered in a previous article that went mega-viral all over the Internet entitled “7 Key Events That Are Going To Happen By The End Of September“.  Personally, I have never been more concerned about any period of time than I am about the second half of 2015.  And as you will see below, I am definitely not alone."

So, with all of that said, here is how our garden is doing. Over the past few days I have made a substantial dent in the crabgrass and weed population
out there. I recently had a phone call from a gardening friend that also feels a great sense of urgency about producing as much food as she can this summer. Last summer both she and I were hopelessly overwhelmed by the weeds that overtook parts of our gardens. The other day she proudly announced that she was keeping on top of the weeds and continuing to plant more and more. When her teenager asked why they had to plant so much, she was told to think of it as the only food they would have to eat for the winter. Chilling statement? I don't think so. I think it is wise council. Well, I can't say all of the weeds and grass are gone, but I have made some very good progress. Here is a run down of most of our crops.

A couple of days ago I harvested five smallish heads of cabbage and shredded them for another batch of sauerkraut. It wasn't enough so I added one store bought head to fill up the crock. We took the kraut that was in the crock out and filled up four quart jars which are now being stored in a dark corner of the pantry. I'm sorry, but I didn't take any pictures of the harvest or processing. Honestly, I have been doing a lot of things lately that I haven't taken the time to take pictures for you. Until we started blogging I was never much of a picture taker, and now I feel guilty if I forget to take some for the blog. When I was out planting today, I stopped and came in and got the camera just so you would have something to look at in this post. Over the next few days I will start pulling the rest of the broccoli and cabbage plants and feeding them to the chickens, goats and pigs. Surprisingly, two of the broccoli plants finally put on small heads last week. Having broccoli produce heads in the hot summer of June is really unheard of here. It's been a weird weather year. And yet, if you read Patrice Lewis over at Rural Revolution, you will find that late summer events are already happening in northern Idaho. Leigh at 5 Acres & A Dream is also having very dry weather over by the Appalachians, which has affected her garden. Weird weather all around the country.

 



The cowpeas are really producing. They are much happier now that they have been released from their overcrowded condition caused by a tremendous amount of crabgrass. This particular section was really overgrown and I feel much better now that I have it weeded.

The okra I replanted for the third time, between the rows of cowpeas are growing very well. And now that this area is weeded, they should really take off in this hot weather they prefer.

 






Our Cushaw squash is growing and producing very well. A few plants have died due to squash vine borers or rotting. I will replant these hills tomorrow to increase our yield. They are prolific here, which is great. They are good keepers and provide a lot of nutrition for both humans and animals.

 







 


We had our first mess of green beans last week. These plants are doing well. I am trying a new variety this year called the Missouri Wonder Bean. We'll let you know what we think.

 
We have carrots growing here and there. Some by the collards and turnips, some on either side of the tomato trellis and some on either side of the green bean trellis. I think we will have a good amount to can this summer, which is very good.
 







 

Some of our yellow squash plants are doing well, and some aren't. We have lost more of this variety than the others, so I will be replanting them as well. I would like to can as many pints as possible. I have canned squash for a couple of summers now and find them tasty and easy to use in many different dishes. We have been eating fresh squash for several weeks now, sauteed in butter with salt and pepper. It's great!


Our tomatoes are doing good. This is another crop we will use to fill as many jars as we can. We will can plain tomatoes and salsa, which is what we use the most. An aside here. Last week we made chili from the tomato sauce we canned two years ago. You know what? It tasted sweet, even though we added no sweeteners at all. Since we have been on our low carb diet for over six months with no sugar at all, we were very surprised to find that the tomato sauce tasted sweet. Interesting.

We are growing Buttercup winter squash this year again. We have had good luck with them in the past, but not so this year. There are a few of them growing, but that's it. It's too bad too, because Buttercup tastes a lot like a sweet potato and they're very good keepers. It looks like Cushaw will be the main winter squash crop.

The peppers I planted are finally growing, even though I lost a few more. I did buy two Jalapeno pepper plants just to make sure we had some. Since the cats stirred up the pepper plants like spaghetti before I got them planted, I'm not exactly sure what kind I have out here. I'm kinda sure that there are a few sweet pepper plants, Corno di Toro Red, a sweet Italian bullhorn that we really like, because they were the biggest plants in the tub before the cats got hold of them.

We still have beets growing here and there. I planted three short rows of beets, collards and spinach a few days ago since we don't have enough of them. I also wanted to see how the collards will do in the hot summer. 

I pulled up about a quarter of the turnip patch the other day, then blanched and froze the greens. But first, I had to sort out all of the grass, weeds and bug eaten leaves. Sorry, no pictures. I will see if I can get the rest of them frozen this week. Then we will put up a trellis and plant more green beans.



The pinto beans in the new part of the garden are doing okay, but not great. They need to be weeded. In the next few days Frank is going to disc either side of this trellis again and I will be planting peanuts. It's something we like to eat and they will help improve the soil in this new area of the garden.














I got out our Mantis tiller and worked over this end of the new garden section. I know it will be extra weedy and don't expect the plants to do as well as the ones in the main garden, but I'm very, very glad we increased the size of our garden this year. Today I planted sunflowers and cowpeas. The purple hull peas we are growing vine out more than the black eyes we grew a few years ago. So this year I am trying to give them something to climb on. Here I planted cowpeas on either side of a row of sunflowers. We'll see how that works.














This afternoon Frank brought down an old bale of hay for me to use as mulch in the garden. Now that I just about have a handle on the weeds, I will be mulching throughout the garden. This will help retain moisture, cool the roots of the plants in the hot summer, and help with weed control.

Next week as the barn lean-to project progresses, we will be working on the new garden area in the pasture again. It was put on hold because of all of the rain, then delayed again while we have the lean-to built onto the barn. I will be planting a variety of things in that pasture. The vegetables will have lots of competition with the weeds, and I won't have as much time to tend that garden as the main one, so we will see how it produces. We will try to employ more hay mulch in this garden as well.

After the barn project is complete, the next project on the list is our greenhouse. I am very excited about this because it will provide us with the ability to grow food year round. We have never had a greenhouse or tried to grow food through the winter, so this will be a big learning curve for us. I already have a number of books and some supplies, but I'm sure there will be more to things to get that we haven't thought of yet. I'll take pictures of the process and explain our plans and reasoning behind them as the project unfolds.


There are many people that dismiss articles such as the one from Michael Snyder as doom and gloom. There are folks that make fun of preppers and homesteaders for the life style they have chosen to live. There are folks that accuse anyone that tries to prepare for a natural disaster or world wide calamity of being kin to Chicken Little running around exclaiming, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" I agree with what Mr. Snyder said at the end of his article. If only it wasn't so. If only we could keep sitting back in our air conditioned environment reading nice, comfy articles from the news and our blogger friends. But I truly believe it just ain't gonna be so. There are too many different indicators that things are coming to a head. That our government is doing everything within it's powers, which grow more everyday, to bring our country to it's knees, negate any miniscule bit of freedom we have left and make our slavery to it's wants, needs and desires complete. There are whisperings of war, World War, on the wind from different locations on the globe. The tensions among racial, ethnic and religious groups around the world are escalating in a way we haven't seen or experienced before. The planet is like a giant powder keg just waiting for the perfect spark which will ignite a firestorm like we have never seen.

So, am I full of gloom and doom, shouting warnings about events that will never come to pass? Do I really need to be out there sweating and working like this food may mean life and death for Frank and I? Is it all for naught? I can only pray with all my heart that it is so.

Until next time - Fern

36 comments:

  1. The sense of urgency has become stronger each year but this year is the first time we are actually anxious. We have noticed more and bigger gardens on our drives this year. Seasoned gardeners making their gardens bigger is unnerving!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fiona, what is even more unnerving to me is the number of people that don't have a garden, period. I know some people that have expanded their gardens also, but the vast majority of folks that could expand their gardens are not. Yes, it is unnerving.

      Frank

      Delete
  2. It is not just you, we have felt that same sense of urgency, we have read the websites and are growing as much as possible. We watch the drought in California (we have family there) and the over abundance of rain in the midwest (family there as well) the price of food almost has to go up and the amount available grown in this country almost has to go down. We are trying to be ready for whatever comes, ever larger gardens and trying to get more yield, we will be doing cool weather crops this fall for the first time and two plantings of some crops for the first time as well. We pray...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy, prayer is good. It's good for the family and it helps bring balance to a changing routine. Fern and I pray often. We're middle aged older adults, and we pray for signs also, and we get them often. There's a lot of people worried right now. Some are acting on their worries, but most are not. These are the ones that worry me. Take care.

      Frank

      Delete
  3. It's not just you and not just there. I am in South Australia. Before Christmas I felt strongly prompted to start filling my cellar with supplies. Really strongly prompted. I started reading prepping blogs and in comments I saw all these other people saying they were experiencing the same thing. I felt a bit of a shiver about that. Anyhow I've been working on building up my pantry and cellar for six months now, I run a blog to encourage others and that's how I found you. I read with great interest. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Annabel, two years ago when Fern and I started this blog we knew very few people that could either feel or see what is coming. Yes, there were a few doom and gloomers out there, but not people that could genuinely feel what is coming. Since we started this blog, we have grown an appreciation that we are not alone. The number of folks that we associate with personally, that can see what is coming, hasn't really changed any. But the numbers of folks that we communicate with electronically, that have the same general type message, grows daily.

      Not everybody has the means to live on a 100,000 acre ranch and build a big wall around it. Actually very few do. But we can all do something to better our situation, and most don't. Thank you for your comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  4. Great post. We have felt the same sense of urgency. We have planted every in of our garden, plus I have planted several flower pots. I am going to replant broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage this week. I have noticed the prices already rising at our local grocery stores and the dollar stores.

    Ann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandmother used to plant every square inch of her flower bed in vegetables, Ann. I always thought she was just some crazy old woman. I wish I could tap into her knowledge now, but I can't. It's too bad I didn't have the sense at the time to realize what was in front of me.

      We've had so much rain this year that it looks like a jungle. If I were growing grass, I'd have a bumper crop. Wonder how that would taste boiled? Thanks for the comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  5. I'll just bet that your canned sauce tasted sweet because you've gotten your natural taste buds back in rhythm since giving up the sugar. This makes me sit up straight and clap my hands for you! Love, Love, Love everything you write, and really can't thank you enough for the inspiration! Onward we go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. L.Q., taste bud realignment? Could be I guess. Is that anything like an attitude adjustment? After just one session we see things different? But now that you mention it, many things do taste different. We tried a hamburger lately with a sourdough bun, lettuce and onions. There wasn't much zing there. We also tried some homemade chili, no zing there either. I'm going to be really angry when I can eat peanut butter again and the zing is gone. But I guess that's a good thing. When your taste buds change, your life changes. Or is it when your life changes, your taste buds change? Some of my old friends aren't appealing at all anymore. Interesting thought.

      Frank

      Delete
  6. I feel it too. We just bought more fruit trees and I keep planting vegetables in any container I have. I also see people expanding their gardens locally. There is anxiety everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dr. Mom, there should be anxiety everywhere. Our congress is about to pass a trade agreement that most of them have never read, and refuse to share with the general public. So, what is in this trade agreement that they don't want us to know? I've got a real bad feeling about that.

      When our elected representatives pass bills that THE PEOPLE cannot know the contents of, sounds like tyranny to me. What's next? Will it be a secret too when the buses pull up in the middle of the night? Sounds and smells like 1930's Germany. Don't get on the bus.

      This secret trade agreement could contain anything and once it becomes law, it can't be changed easily. I feel that the American People are being abandoned, and there is no way to stop it. Because when they pass this secret trade agreement, and the president signs it, the next day we could be under a different form of government. Nobody is talking about it. Nobody. Hope we're all here in a few days. It could have anything included. Anything.

      Frank

      Delete
  7. I just recently started following your blog. I found you through Rural Revolution. Honestly, I feel panicky. I don't know how to garden. Reading about it and actually doing it are two different things. It is mostly a failed experiment this year. And no one around here seems to have even a hint that something bad could be coming. My Christian friends all seem to feel that just relying on the Lord is enough. No need to do anything different. I don't quite know how to answer them. And just to let you know, I really appreciate your photos. They are great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great comment, and thank you. We also have a number of friends that believe that God will take care of them. And I do believe that God will take care of us. If I'm going to take a long trip, I will take God along with me, but I don't expect Him to pump the gas and pay for it. I don't expect Him to buy the meals. And I don't expect Him to do the driving either. Even though He will be with me, there are many things He expects me to do. I know that some people will find what I just said alarming, but I believe that God expects me to do my part, and I expect God to do His part. But I still have lots of friends that are doing nothing to prepare for anything because they believe that God is going to take care of them. I don't know what else to say.

      In relation to your gardening failure, sometimes gardens fail. Ask around to those that have successful gardens. Check with your county extension agent. Ask for God's help, and don't give up, keep trying. Find someone that has a successful garden and ask them to teach you. Church is a good place to start. We have learned every year from our garden failures. This year, we've had flooding that washed our seeds away, and the ones that did survive, some of them have rotted. So we have replanted, some twice. Best of luck.

      Frank

      Delete
    2. I have been gardening for 40 years, my tomatoes are doing terrible from all the stupid rain, beans are great, cukes great, peppers are starving for Sun, it is gray every day. I'm going to farmers market and buying a bushel of different things to can. Even seasoned gardener s have bad year.

      Delete
    3. LTW, you're exactly right. I know folks that have a couple of bags of seeds put back and think that if things get bad, they'll just plant a garden. And as you illustrated, it just doesn't work that way. There were some things we replanted three times this year due to excessive rain. Please don't think I'm complaining about too much rain. We take what we get, or some years, don't get. But we still planted some things three times this year. I wish everybody could read your comment. Thank you for sharing.

      Frank

      Delete
  8. As I've stated before I have little space for anymore garden, and feel my money is better spent purchasing food for storage than on soil to put in containers to try to grow things. We now have backyard chickens, so next year I should have good compost to work with to fill grow bags and such.

    However, I think preparing is partly an attitude and being open to what God is providing. I am trying to put our needs at wants at his feet for guidance. A friend has said we may come and pick mulberries from their trees, which I will freeze and maybe make jam or jelly with. I have tried them in muffins and we like them that way very much.

    Thank you for sharing your efforts and I pray God blesses them and continues to speak to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eileen, a couple of years back we made apple butter. The apples came from a young couple's yard that had no need for them. So her father gathered them up, put them in buckets and gave them all away. Sad, but true. The pears that we can every year come from a friend's trees. There is an abundance of pears and the majority of them rot on the ground.

      Mental preparation is probably the most important item that people miss. Many folks do a lot of storage, but they don't prepare mentally for the real reason that they're storing. Some concepts are hard to wrap our mind around. Why would anyone store in the land of plenty? Folks have asked us for years, why do you do all that work when you can just go to the store and buy it? We choose not to ignore the obvious, therefore, we prepare mentally and physically. Thank you for your comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  9. Fern,

    I think we've read a few of the same articles regarding the future.
    We feel the urgency here to make sure were totally prepared. We continue to add to the garden, pantry, security,first aid, education, and safety.

    Hugs,
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy, that's an excellent list you have. We don't talk a lot about security on this site, but everybody knows there is a need for it. The biggest security issue that we face, Fern and I, is limiting the exposure that we share with our neighbors. Today most of our neighbors are good, decent folks. What are they going to be like when their mother, wife or child is starving? A natural man can be very dangerous. It's good that's you're thinking about security and safety. It's just kind of one of those things we don't talk about much here on the blog. Not that it's a bad issue, it's just difficult to talk about preparing to do the unthinkable. Take care. Watch your back.

      Frank

      Delete
  10. So appreciate your blog and your writing. First a question - how do you freeze your greens? Do you use ziplock bags or some other method? And why freeze instead of pressure canning?
    I, too, am gardening as much as I can. I'm limited in space as I now live in an apartment. However, I am in two community gardens and have many 5-gallon buckets in my apartment's side yard. The urgency I feel is to save seeds and to buy seed whenever I am able to do so. Take care. SJ in Vancouver BC Canada

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, SJ. The reason we freeze greens is because we are new to preserving green, leafy type plants. So, this is our experimental stage. We wash them, blanch them, let them cool, then freeze in Ziplock bags. We'll do a second crop come fall and try canning some then.

      If you want to can other items that you don't or can't grow, go to a farmer's market and buy in bulk. An example would be carrots. Just food for thought.

      Frank

      Delete
  11. Yup - same here! Living in California and seeing how the drought is effecting us makes me nervous! Avian flu? Great. Now the price of chicken and eggs has gone up. And then all of the unsustainable handouts our government continues... well, don't get me started! BTW - I really love your header pictures. Today's is particularly beautiful! Now I'm off to read that article. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What doesn't grow in California is going to affect the entire nation, Vickie. I don't know where this Avian flu thing is going to go, but I sure hope it doesn't get any deeper into the commercial meat market. I hate to sound this way, but I wonder if this is a naturally occurring event, or if this is just one more scheme that our government uses to control the people. A number of years ago I would have never had thoughts like that, much less shared them. Facetiously speaking, I know that our government has our best interest at heart. That's why they won't tell us what's in this new trade bill. We just don't have the sense to understand complicated things like 2 + 2 = 3. Thank you for the comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  12. When you have time, check out Back to Eden gardening method. I am going to try this next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb, thank you for the idea, we'll certainly take a look. If it can make life easier, I'm all for it.

      Frank

      Delete
    2. I have been using this method for some years and the results get better with each year that passes. I highly recommend it. You just have to be careful to keep the wood chip on the surface as much as possible and not allow it to get too much into the soil.
      Blessings sue

      Delete
  13. We are getting our first greenhouse this fall. What do you plan to do for supplemental heat? I recently read an article where they were using son m67 surplus heater it heat a stock tank holding a couple hundred gallons of water. It sounds like a hood plan to me.

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, Mark. I'm not familiar with the heater you mentioned, but I will take a look at it.

      The plan to heat our greenhouse is ten, new 55 gallon, plastic water drums filled with water. These will be sitting on a piece of plywood that rests on top of a concrete slab. Two of these 55 gallon drums will make the legs for a 3/4" 2 x 8 sheet of plywood, acting as a workbench top. Theoretically, the water will heat via sunlight during the day, and retain most of that heat during the overnight hours. This is my winter time heating plan. I'll let you know how it goes here about March. Our southern latitude shouldn't be a serious problem with heat.

      Thanks for the question and recommendation.

      Frank

      Delete
  14. I feel the same way...something wicked this way comes...and sooner rather than later. Doing as much as we can to get ready...have our 23 acres, mostly forest (for heat); 3 wells (1 artisian), 2 ponds, 2 streams for water; large gardens being expanded whenever we have a moment; Nubian dairy goats and chickens for milk, cheese, eggs, meat and manure (and entertainment); orchard of 50-70 fruit trees and an old amish cider crusher/press and untold numbers of various berries, grapes, hops to turn into potent potables for a cash crop in really hard times (great-gramps was one of the biggest bootleggers east of the Mississippi); a woodstove for heat and a Kitchen Queen wood cookstove with 27 gal. hot water reservoir, big enough to bake 8 loaves of bread at a time...and I still worry. Been building closer relationships with our neighbors, trading our excess with theirs, helping each other with projects. Luckily, my family were the original settlers here, so related to a large segment of the population...this will be a great boon during the hard times coming. Getting set up to start a trading post/medical center/inn for after the initial fallout. Even have an 8' chalkboard to replace the internet (hehe). Let's just say even the local Amish think I am going too far...and still I worry. Not so much about us, but for most everyone else.
    All the folks on the survival sites who plan to bug out with nowhere to go and nothing to offer are going to be in a world of hurt if/when they get to the country...and find us all here, ready to protect what is ours. At best, they can hope to become slaves or sharecroppers for those with land and the means to work it. Doesn't anyone read history anymore?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story, GardenLady. No, I don't think people read history anymore because most people don't read anymore. If the TV doesn't tell them what to think, then it doesn't need to be thought about.

      You seem to have a very good plan in place, and I dearly hope things work out for you. The medical idea you mentioned seems very interesting. We don't have a lot of medically trained folks in our area. No doctors, no veterinarians, in our immediate area. A few RNs and LPNs. Interesting idea, though. Our local fire department is talking about getting an AED, so we'll see how that goes.

      If there are other people in this area that are preparing like you are, then I am not aware of them. That's good in some ways, because if I were aware of them, then the not so honorable folks would be aware of them, too. It's good to build community relations. I'm currently trying to do that with a radio class. I'll let you know how that goes in about 7 or 8 weeks. Thank you again for sharing.

      Frank

      Delete
    2. Glad to share...my long-term plan centers on the trading post/medical center/inn/library. After something bad happens, information will be of prime importance. Historically, the trading post/inn was always the center of the community. Where everyone local went to find out what was going on in the area, what news any travelers had brought and to trade their goods. By having the trading post, people will be bringing the information directly to me...and bringing their trade goods (so I get first pick - hehe). The medical center will be run by my sister, her husband and their daughter. Sis and her husband were both advanced EMTs and ran our volunteer ambulance service. Their daughter works as a CNA while she is in college to become an OB/GYN nurse practitioner...following in Great-Grandma Sarah's footsteps as a midwife. We have quite a stock of medical supplies - everyone in the neighborhood brings us the stuff they no longer need...braces, crutches, slings, wheelchairs, walkers, canes, hospital bed and other supplies. I am growing the medicinal herbs and making the disinfectant (alcohol). The medical center will bring in folks to the trading post. As will the inn aspect...with the ability to make potent potables without outside input and the ability to bake bread/other things in the big wood cookstove oven. And be able to sell hot baths, with the 27 gal. hot water reservoir on the cookstove! My husband and a few other locals will provide musical entertainment. And between my sister and I, we have as many books as our local library...so we will continue to have access to knowledge beyond our ken. Even have a nephew who is a blacksmith, for the necessary metal work.
      Plus, my sister's husband is our volunteer fire dept's chief...and the fire barn is just 1/2 mile down the road. He already has plans/supplies to change a few fire vehicles to wood gasification and/or methane.
      And with all these plans in the works, will be able to employ and teach locals to help...since so few have any plans on how to survive. And have plans to set up younger men to be traveling traders, to cover a wider area to bring in even more information and more trade goods. That way I won't have to feed them for free or worry about them going rogue.
      Now I just need a couple railroad hand carts, to be able to get 45 miles down the tracks to where there are old salt mines most have forgotten...
      We don't plan to survive...we plan to thrive! Hope to make ourselves so valuable to the community that they will follow where we lead...hopefully to a better future based simply on The Golden Rule.
      I do hope your radio class connects you with some like-minded folks. There is safety in numbers and you can't do everything necessary yourself.
      GardenLady

      Delete
  15. It's interesting. I actually strayed away from my homesteading and went to a more "normal" type of life for about a year. I seem to be drawn back to it this year. I'm hoping, like you, that we won't need to use these survival skills. But, I'm afraid that we are going to have to, and soon......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SFG, welcome back. There is just too much writing on the wall to ignore. If there were just one or two agendas, but it's not. Every negative agenda that there is, is being forced upon THE PEOPLE. It seems that even the Pope lately has jumped on the band wagon, which really shocks me. Heard anything about Jade Helm lately? Not a word. This new trade agreement that congress is about to pass? Why are WE THE PEOPLE being kept in the dark? I was under the impression that the congress worked for WE THE PEOPLE, but it's apparent that WE THE PEOPLE don't figure into the equation any longer.

      WE are in trouble. I would be very close to home when congress passes this bill and the president signs it. Very close to home. It's too late to be scared, might want to stock up on potato chips now, or anything that you can't live without, because things could literally change with the signature of a pen. We have no idea what's in that bill. Take care.

      Frank

      Delete
  16. You garden is looking better and better every time you post photos Frank and Fern. Like you I'm feeling a real sense of urgency to prepare. Thankfully yesterday our above ground pool was removed and sold so now I have another huge area to turn into vegetable garden. It will be spring until it's ready to plant - but in the meantime I will do all I can with what I have. The cabbages are nearly big enough to can and I can see the beginnings of the broccoli heads forming. Turnips are plumping up nicely and the peas have flowers on them. A good beginning.

    We had a wake up call regarding our big freezer if the power goes off - DH was trying to run it purely on solar but it couldn't cope with the "flickers" of power that sometimes happen. DH and I were in Melbourne at the beginning of the week visiting eldest daughter and came home to find our big freezer not working. Luckily it hadn't been opened by the children who remained home so most of the comments were still frozen but it could have been much worse. A quick switch around of power sources and it's up and going again thank goodness. I'm going to experiment more with canning meat as well as canning more vegetables so I know we will have self stable food no matter what.

    The price of food is increasing daily and now our government in its infinite wisdom (which I seriously question at the best of times) is proposing to add more taxes to our fuel to raise money which will supposedly help fund other projects. Of course they tell us it is for our own benefit but it will mean higher prices on everything and as always who knows what those other "projects" are or who they are meant to help.

    Like so many others I trust in the Lord to keep us safe but I also firmly believe that God helps those who help themselves. Like you I don't expect him to fill the car with fuel or to drive me somewhere but I know that he is beside me every step of the way.

    Blessings to you both.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your experience, Calidore. We can all learn a lesson from your example. I'm afraid higher prices are going to be a way of life until the shelves are bare and there is no more shopping. I pray you get enough rain for your garden.

      Fern

      Delete