It is generally sound advice to not spend money you haven’t got – so as to have money to spend when you need to buy something. But we live in unsound times, especially as regards the money – which it isn’t really – we’re forced to transact business with.
This money is just paper. It is alarmingly possible that it will soon be worth the paper it is written on – and perhaps not even that. While most people have been allowed to work again, they are working for less – in terms of what their money will buy. The sheet of plywood that cost $20 this time last year now costs $60. The not-quite-a-pound anymore pack of bacon (which they can’t make any smaller without it becoming too obvious what’s going on) now costs $7.
More, if you don’t want nitrates with that.
A small bag of McFood at the clown store costs $20.
The minimum wage may be going up, but it is buying those who earn it less. And everyone else less, too. No one who works for a living isn’t paying more to live. We have taken what amounts to a 5 percent or more (depending on whose numbers you use; the government’s being as reliable as the soundness of its paper money) pay cut this year so far.
What happens when it becomes a 20 percent pay cut? 50 percent? When people can no longer afford to buy anything because their money isn’t worth more than the paper it’s written on?
You can have $15,000 in the bank but what good is it if it doesn’t have the purchasing power of a stack of copy paper? This has happened. It is happening, again. Not yet at the rate it happened in Germany back in the ’20s and in Venezuela, just recently (and ongoing). But to deny it is happening here – and getting worse – is almost as delusional and believing that wearing a “mask” serves a medical rather than psychological purpose.
Such delusions are dangerous.
Like not spending what you can’t afford to save anymore – given the unsound times in which we live.
On things which will make you capable of continuing to provide for yourself and your family, in the event the money you have can no longer provide things like food, bought from a store.
How much food does a stack of copy paper buy? Ask a Venezuelan. Just be careful not to get too close as he may be hungry.
And also dangerous. If it should come to pass that our money becomes Bolivarian there will be a lot of very hungry – very desperate – people afoot. It will not be a good time to go shopping with your wheelbarrow full of American Bolivars.
Better to stay home.
But it is also good to not starve at home, either.
Yes, there is Amazon, but that means being beholden to Bezos and dependent on his grace to allow you to shop from home – assuming your money still buys anything and assuming, quite possibly, that you have had “your” shots and can prove it.
I’d rather raise – and grow – my own food. A central bank and its puppetized politicians cannot inflate away the value of the chickens in your backyard; the cost of their eggs will not double overnight – though the value of them may, giving you something more like real rather than paper money; i.e., something of intrinsic value that can be traded/bartered for other things of value.
I’ve written previously about the soundness of getting a small flock, which doesn’t take a lot of money but which could return a lifesaving investment in terms of the food – the protein – it will provide if you find yourself unable to buy it at the store. Whether because your money is worthless – or digital and you want no part of that and the near-certainty that you will only be permitted to use this digitized “money” if you obey, including the command to extend your arm – and the arms of your kids – to receive the blessing of the entities that control your now-conditional privilege to buy using their “money.”
You may need more than a few chickens in the backyard.
Especially in the winter.
It is hard to grow food when the soil is frozen and covered in snow. But if you have a greenhouse, you can go grow all you can eat (and then some) all year-round and never have to worry about buying the vegetables that are just as necessary to the maintenance of health as the protein you get from chickens.
And free – of genetic modification – assuming you use sound (non GMO) seeds.
But a greenhouse is more expensive than a backyard flock – especially if you want one that’s durable, with glass rather than plastic panels that will stand up to wind and not disintegrate after a season or two. One that can be built on a foundation, plumbed for water and electricity. One that will save you money (and effort) in the long term, in other words – like high quality real wood rather than particle board furniture or “drop forged” (i.e., someone in China dropped them, near a forge) tools rather than more expensive but much higher-quality tools you’ll pass on to your kids.
Plus, there is also the what-if-the-system-doesn’t fail thing to consider. Do you want something ugly in your backyard that will detract from your home’s value? Erecting an attractive, high quality greenhouse kills both birds with the same stone while also transferring paper into a kind of gold.
The copy paper money you spent is now worth something. And what you bought will increase the value of your home, a durable/tangible asset of intrinsic value as a place to live as well as an investment.
A greenhouse doesn’t have to be used to grow plants to eat. It can be used to grow plants that are pretty. It can serve as a solarium as well as food source – one under your control.
The only downside, if it is one, is the putting it on the card – if you haven’t got the roughly $4,000 cash it takes to buy (as I’ve priced it out) an 8×8 or so glass-paneled, metal-framed kit.
Here’s the one I’m eyeing.
Ordinarily, I never buy anything I can’t afford – which I define as anything I can’t pay for when I buy it, in cash. I cannot afford to buy a $4,000 greenhouse in cash. But the more I think about it, the more I think I cannot afford not to.
How much does the average family spend on food at the store right now? It is said to be around $400 a month and that is likely a lowball estimate. And it is a right now estimate. How much will the average family be spending this fall?
That $400/month pays down a $4,000 greenhouse in ten months. And once bought – even on credit – the price doesn’t rise. And once paid for, that greenhouse can eliminate or at least greatly reduce that $400/month otherwise spent at the store.
If there are still stores open (and open to us, the un-Needled) ten months from now.
. . .
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I spend about ~$450 a month on food, just for myself (one person). I only eat organic food, and I shop at a major national chain which is probably pricey. What else am I going to do — eat OMG or glyphosate food? No thanks. I just started a garden this year, but where I am in OR, we only have about 4 months per year to grow a garden.
I don’t think we’re going to be homesteaders living off of our land, like the 1800’s. I think we’re all making a grave mistake thinking we’ll all be able to do that. What we really need to do is to start a real actual society/community/civilization, one that is not run by insane dictators/govt officials, because we all see how they are negligent and wreck everything.
Hi Harry,
Decentralization is the key to wresting control back from centralized apparatus, both corporate and government. Part of this, I hold, is working toward a much greater degree of self-sufficiency as regards life’s essentials. Of course it is good to partake of health community, including what I would style local specialization; e.g., buying from local producers of food rather than chain stores. But I also think it is prudent to be in a position to hunker down for what I think may well prove to be a dark period that could last months or even years (worst case) during which we may be very much on our own or at least, dependent on family and close friends/immediate neighbors.
In my case, a greenhouse makes sense because (a) my girlfriend is a to-shelf gardener with a lot of growing experience; (b) our climate is moderate (usually) and so year-round growing is viable; (c) I’m planning on erecting this greenhouse close to existing electrical supply (and heat) so it will not be a problem to maintain heat when it is cold and (d) it will be built nicely, on an 8×8 slab and upon a course of faced block so that it will be durable and attractive as well as functional. One could enjoy sitting out there, solarium-style. In other words, I think it will add to rather than detract from the appeal of the property, generally – which shouldn’t hurt in the event I ever decide to sell and flee to deeper Woods!
Yes, I do agree with you, it can’t hurt to have MORE self-sufficiency. I’m just saying, I think we all need to work together more in general… IOW local people need to work together outside of govt. Yes, I agree with decentralization, relative to states & national-level stuff, but on a county (or tri-county) basis, I think we need centralization. But, as you know, our country’s people are not organized like that at all whatsoever yet. But we need to get started with that. So, yeah, it never hurts to have some preps though, I don’t mean to ‘throw anyone under a bus’ for being more self-sufficient. Good for you man! I wish I could afford a greenhouse right now. I’ll probably just set up a couple of grow trays to put near a window, indoors this winter.
Again, your past thoughts about how states are too big, sounds spot-on correct to me. I’d like to see this country reorganize on a ~tri-county basis. In the meantime, we need some leadership to install a fraudproof election system in every county, but so far no-one seems to be doing that. I’m planning to try to get a hold of the organizers of that health & freedom conference and/or that red-pill expo, and ask them if they can get this going. They need to recruit leaders to get ~tri-county groups going and put pressure on the counties to install a new system.
BTW, please check out newelections.forumotion.com for details of America’s new election system.
In a shtf future, how long before your greenhouse and chicken coop are looted by starving hordes from the city? Being part of a like-minded community might be the only realistic way to exist in relative security.
Hi Karalan,
Indeed. As you you say, having the support of a local network is important; friends and neighbors you trust who share your views. I also think that the farther you are away from urban/suburban areas, the more the odds are “ever in your favor.” I suspect this is dawning on lots of people and accounts for the diaspora away from those areas.
Assuming the federal government doesn’t go Full Stalin (or Lincoln) areas where the population density is low, where a sufficiency of them remain “American” in their general attitudes (e.g., respect private property) ought to be okay. My great worry at the moment is what I am hearing about the federal government wanting to export the pathologies – and politics – of urban areas to rural areas, as by declaring it “racist” that some people have arranged their lives so as to live as far away from those things as possible, with the solution to that “problem” being to Section 8 great hordes of the “disadvantaged” out to the country, a la Dr. Zhivago.
Morning Eric,
Off topic, check this out,
https://reason.com/2021/06/30/san-jose-wants-to-force-gun-owners-to-carry-insurance-and-pay-fees/
I seem to remember you arguing that seemingly innocuous intrusions establish a principle leading to greater and greater intrusions.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
I’m not surprised – but what an SOB. The “taxpayers are not obliged to subsidize the cost of gun violence.” Excuse me? What costs did the person who never shot anyone, never mishandled his firearm, impose on anyone?
God damn these people.
Very much related to WHY to prepare. Things like what the city of San Jose, CA is doing aren’t logically linked to solving this problem of “gun violence”, for, as you pointed out, it’s rather unclear as to what “costs” were imposed on the good folk of San Jose by LAW-ABIDING gun owners. Likewise, should a special tax be imposed on vehicles registered within that fair city so that its residents don’t “bear the burden” of traffic enforcement and emergency response to vehicle collisions? Although certainly folks have every right to operate a motor vehicle within the city limits, that’s not a SPECIFIED Constitutional right, however; the ability to KEEP and bear firearms IS. Of course, gun-grabbers and other “Big Government” don’t give a “flying ‘fig’ ” for the Bill of Rights when it gets in the way of their schemes. The entire tax thing, like the National Firearms Act of 1934, is a disingenuous attempt to do a “end run” around 2A, relying on a taxation scheme rather than an outright ban. Of course, what insurer is going to offer a policy that’d meet the requirements of this ordinance?
But the San Jose PTB have the same warped mentality as those demanding “reparations” for slavery…that is, government-mandated transfer payments, mulcted from hard-working taxpayers, from those that never owner slaves, to those that have never been slaves. In the end, just another hare-brained idea to justify plunder.
Hi Eric,
Leaving aside the idiocy of the term “gun violence”, politicians are largely responsible for violence, gun or otherwise. It’s particularly rich in California where decades of loathsome policies have destroyed economic opportunity for so many. California has some of the most draconian licensing and regulatory laws in the country. These laws always create barriers to entry (which they’re designed to do) which prevent the enterprising, hard working poor from building their own businesses. Add the insane drug war, which creates a highly profitable avenue for those effectively barred from the “legal” market, and one shouldn’t be surprised when many choose the illegal path. Finally, the incessant, and intentional, campaign to create race and class division, quite predictably, fosters violence.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Before purchasing the greenhouse mentioned I’d recommend having a lot of experience growing outside in the winter on a smaller scale-like a hoop/poly sheet setup. Once you try to grow veggies in the dead of winter then you realize the heat/light energy needed-especially here in Kansas. It’s incredibly difficult. In the cold months I prefer to grow greens indoors with a grow light setup-can be done easily and inexpensively with some practice. Visit The Rusted Garden Homestead Amazon page-the $11 and $12 grow lights are great!
Another way to get a little more self-sufficient is to install solar panels with a storage battery. The price for lithium iron phosphate (LiPO) battery banks has dropped quite a bit lately as production is ramped up for electric cars and other uncle-mandated uses. Yes, it’s no where near as efficient as grid production, but with incentives and tax brakes you can build a system that should provide power at a price that’s competitive with a generator, but without the maintenance requirements. Though there’s still a dependence on weather and seasonal factors that require some hard choices in winter months. And once the major lifting of installing the interconnect and inverter are done if you find you want more capacity it won’t be costly to add since the DC side of the system doesn’t require certified electricians to wire.
After last year my leisurely stroll towards being more self sufficient turned into more of a brisk jog, and at times a Sprint.
Helluva lot of work but, wish I had started years ago.
Expanded the poultry house and hope to see our first round of meat birds in about 8 weeks. Eggs are piling up rapidly.
Garden is doing we’ll and we’re starting to pull in our first round of root vegetables and squash. Greenhouse will have to wait till next year.
Speaking of generators maybe consider getting a smaller version with an automatic transfer switch for handling select “critical loads” like refrigeration, heat, convenience outlets etc. I picked up a 7500 watt propane powered generac at lowe’s last year for under 2K. Installation requires a professional through definitely not “plug and play.”
I’ll put a link at bottom for the generator. It’s been a champ so far and doesn’t use nearly the fuel the larger ones do. Not to mention propane ages a helluva lot better than gas or diesel
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Generac-PowerPact-7500-Watt-LP-6000-Watt-NG-Standby-Generator-with-Automatic-Transfer-Switch/1000815538?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-bing-_-pla-_-240-_-1000815538-_-0&kpid&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclsrc=ds
It’s a pretty greenhouse, doubtless, but $4k for 8×8? Seems a little pricey, but that might be the state of things.
My GF wants a greenhouse more than anything, but I’m not there yet, either.
I’ve considered an insulated shipping container, illuminated inside night and day by red LEDs of the proper wavelength for photosynthesis. This can be completely climate controlled and exclude most of the detrimental wildlife. It can easily be solar powered, as even a great many LEDs take relatively little power, and the power needed for climate control is proportional to the insulation used.
Just a thought.
Hi BaDnOn,
It is all dependent on the size and quality of the product. The greenhouse, itself, is not $4K, but is probably $2400-$2500 (not including shipping – which isn’t cheap). Then you have cement for the base, rocks or gravel, shelving, fans, planters, seeds, electric wiring, louvers and fans, etc. By the time it is done it is $4K.
Hey Raider,
Yeah, I could see that, perhaps, though Eric said $4k for the kit. Shipping might be freight, which can quickly get ridiculous. I’d do a components pricing, but I’m busy. 😉
Oh, and I’m with you and Helot’s neighbor regarding polycarbonate, especially UV-resistant PC, as it can handle some terrific abuse, as well as has a lower thermal conductivity than glass.
I just looked at the one that Eric is purchasing and yes, you are right, with freight it is going to be about $4K, but it includes the heaters, the shelving, benches, etc. Once he builds the foundation and the seeds/plants he is going to be pretty close to $5500. It is expensive, but what is the alternative? When I purchased mine earlier this year availability was an issue. There is no doubt the costs have increased due to the limited supply of aluminum and the ridiculous amount of freight. Soon they will be like generators and an individual won’t be able to get one.
RG, in fact, the very availability issue, which also affect PRICE (e.g., supply and demand) makes getting one, even having to use the dreaded credit card, a priority that justifies it.
Sure, we can each lambaste each other for FAILURE to prepare when things were “good”, but too much energy can be frittered away on “woulda, coulda, shoulda”. As is acquiring food storage, which is STILL financially feasible for most, IF one is willing to cut back on the indulgences and “toys”. Let alone firearms and especially AMMO. Just try to acquire more .223 Remington, and I would NOT in California even if you can get it, as current anti-2A laws here mean that the nosey authorities can track your purchases and label you as “stockpiling” (well, DUH!) ammo for your “assault weapon”. Gets undue attention of cops that don’t respect your 2A and 4A rights as it is, but are too COWARDLY to actually deal with gang-bangers.
Hi Doug,
I agree with you. Putting the money down on priorities (food, water, ammo, etc.) is well worth it. I have been pricing ammo up here (actually along the southeastern US) it is ridiculous. It is anywhere from $.60-$1 per cartridge.
I just tried pricing out home generators…Generac…..$12K and it will be available in October…maybe. Procrastination is expensive.
“Gets undue attention of cops that don’t respect your 2A and 4A rights as it is, but are too COWARDLY to actually deal with gang-bangers.”
They’re NOT “cowardly”; they’re FOLLOWING ORDERS. And those orders involve destroying the fully-functioning, independent middle class. It’s the same reason the BLM crowds were ALLOWED to “peacefully protest” (i.e. murdering, burning everything to the ground, etc.), while those of us who refused to cover our faces were labelled as “terrorists”.
RG,
I’ll ponder on alternatives. 😉
One I have already given. Not sure how well it compares according to price, but I’ll compute that when I can. The one thing my alternative would do is 24/7 lighting, switching to 12/12 when plants are ready to fruit, depending on what you’re growing. But it does rely on some technology, where simplicity is an advantage, especially in times of scarcity.
Hi BaDnOn,
I’m planning on establishing the greenhouse adjacent to what I hopefully call my “guest house” – which was the previous owner of my house’s dog kennel. But I upgraded the electrical panel and there’s water there, too. It’s my plan to have both wired/plumbed (plus solar for back-up) with the whole thing built on an 8×8 slab with a course of block wall around the lower perimeter. I will post more about this as it proceeds!
Hey Eric,
Awesome. This really is good stuff, and we all need to be headed in this direction.
BTW, have your chickens ever “gone broody”. Our chickens seem to have done that. My GF tried to give them chicks, but they killed them. They are now unproductive and this is unacceptable.
You can always EAT the “problem”.
True, Douglas. Don’t tempt me. 😉
Eric,
Just an FYI: It is a bitch to install. It is a 2-3 person job and the instructions, well let’s just say I am pretty sure IKEA is the one typing them….in Swedish.
Once it is ready it is awesome though. Nothing like being a bit less dependent on the grid.
Hi RG,
Oh, I figured! I’m used to that! But I actually dig such projects. I’m laying out the markers for the slab today, hopefully…
Another option: grow a garden in the ground and get a pressure canner (All-American’s don’t use a big gasket. I always see gasket failures in other brands, owned too many old beater cars I guess?). Set it on a good propane camp stove and you’re set for the power outages.
I have seen images online of pantries with a good Winter supply of pressure canned vegetables and meats to get through until the next growing season, I don’t have that. Maybe someday?
We’ve been doing a ton of research on homesteader blogs and such, the high tunnels (I saw a used, almost new, snow load bearing, 30×90 one on Craigslist for $8,000 perhaps an older one can be had for les$?) and the smaller covered rows with wire in gardens seem like very good ideas.
We’re leaning towards the small ones, especially with all the !@^%$-fairy butterflies around laying their hungry larvae, and they are cheaper.
I built two small cold frames to extend our growing season, don’t know how well they’ll work, it’s our first year with them. One I built super cheap, used storm windows I scrounged from an alley, placed on top of cinder blocks held down by some 2×4’s, used door hinges and 4 fence posts, the other, don’t ask how much I spent on cedar lumber and will never go that route again. And, imho, don’t use heavy storm doors (even if it was free) it’s great insulation, how-freaking-ever; it almost requires a winch to lift it open.
The idea was, you can open the storm windows with screens, rather than just open them wide up to the bugs. Just don’t add extra screws, extra tight, so the windows don’t slide open. Again, don’t ask.
I also added mesh wire on the outside for hail protection. Overkill? Idk.
There’s also straw bale cold frames, those are ultra-frugal! Four bales and an old window (or plastic sheet?) on top. It seems more guerrilla gardening-like, too.
An old old woman nearby has some chicken coops she turned into greenhouses and has a small business from it. One of the coops was a free tear-down she got from a neighbor. ANyway, she is Very firm on the idea that polycarbonate sheets are THE way to go. I didn’t see a single pane of glass at her property.
One of her secrets to seed sprouting indoors (which I probably shouldn’t share as it’ll create a mass panic buy? Ha.) is using an old heated waterbed to set the seed trays on in your bsmt, if you have one. Much cheaper than any other seed warming thing I’ve heard of.
I’ve been looking at polycarbonate, at one point, it seemed like they were all sold out and unavailable. I’d like to get some, but there’s only so many Dollars. I have my eye on a manual pump a company makes, simply stick it down your well-head. ~$250. First step, measure how deep the well is & just where did I put those fishing bobbers?
I, second, the polycarbonate sheets for the greenhouse. My greenhouse has them. Glass was a concern for me because of thunderstorms, snow, hail, etc. I also have some crazy dogs and a couple of teenagers that toss baseballs back and forth in the backyard. I saw too many potential catastrophes. The roof will actually hold up to 15″ of snow. We usually don’t get that much where I live, but 7 or 8″ isn’t out of the question.
‘It will not be a good time to go shopping with your wheelbarrow full of American Bolivars.’ — EP
Sad when a hero’s good name is besmirched by affixing it to worthless scrip. Simón Bolivar was a native of Venezuela, but also is regarded as the liberator of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama from the Spanish Empire.
Confronted with likes of Venezuela’s current leader, Madouche-o, Bolivar would pivot in disgust on the heel of his polished bot, walk away, and begin again the task of liberating Venezuela from a ruinous socialist dictator.
It’s becoming equally disgraceful that the good name of George Washington is degraded by applying it to a ‘dollar bill’ (once a silver certificate, recall) that has a purchasing power today of approximately 2 cents, compared to what it bought before the criminal Federal Reserve was created by a criminal Clowngress.
How about Uncle puts socialist clown NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio on the $1 bill, and third world Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot on the $20?
I know my Uncle, he’s as honest as me
And I’m as honest as a government man can be
— Grateful Dead, Me and My Uncle
If you get involved with a green house, be aware, in many climates they require a heat source in the spring. This could be wood heat. In fact I would suggest attachment to your living space, so you and your greenhouse can share heat. In the dead of winter, depending on your latitude, there may not be enough sunlight to make it work. Plants require X many hours of sunlight per day depending on the plant. Just the rambling of an old man.
Indeed- a very good design is to incorporate a solar room on the south side of your house including polycarbonate roof and windows, a short block wall down low and a concrete slab, preferably heated under it all. In high summer you’ll need shade/curtains, but spring, fall, and winter it’s a nice greenhouse/added living space. Southern exposure is critical of course.
My wife works spring work at a local greenhouse, the local greenhouse business has 25 greenhouses to plant and then sell the plants. One of the greenhouses is called the million dollar greenhouse. Lots of employees during the greenhouse rush to move and distribute the plants hither and yon.
Last year, everybody planted gardens, out of fear, and the local greenhouse business sold garden plants like there was no tomorrow.
This year, plants for gardens didn’t sell as well. All the people who tried to raise gardens found out how much work it is, this year, avoided all of the work.
If you want to have a successful garden, it takes a lot of work. The best plan is to transplant after the seedlings are of sufficient size so they don’t dry out and die.
Onions can be a problem, but nothing eats onions. Chicago is the Native American word for ‘home of the onions’.
Carrots and beets can be direct seeded, carrots need water everyday to sprout, then weeds grow up to provide some shade for the green shoots of carrots. Once the carrots are growing, you can weed to have a fairly clear row.
Potatoes are planted directly into the soil too. Zucchini and cucumbers are direct seeded.
Cabbages are transplanted, kohlrabi is transplanted. Some 1500 plus transplants this year. Peppers do good and all pepper plants are transplanted. Same for broccoli and Romanesco.
The sweet corn is direct seeded of course and is up and growing. I always plant the sweet corn later, the best sweet corn is picked in the middle of September. This year’s sweet corn variety has a price of 200 USD per pound for the seed. The seed was given to me, approximately 20 dollars worth.
Green beans are direct seeded and are good sellers, always. Peas are direct seeded.
The time to plant spinach is after the Fourth of July, the photo-period is waning, the spinach crowns don’t go to seed. Green onions do better planted later too.
Been planting a commercial garden for the fifteenth year this year. You gets lots of experience, you find out what works and what doesn’t.
What is inside the greenhouse always looks like you think it should. Out in the garden is a different story.
You won’t regret having a greenhouse to begin your planting regimen, a huge advantage to have one, will eliminate a lot of frustration.
Oh yeah, tomatoes are transplanted and have a tough go of it to root into the soil, need water in the beginning. Have approximately 100 tomato plants this year, some don’t make it, the way it always goes.
Indeed a lot of work. And not easy work either. Predation can be a problem, as my daughter in law who is new to the craft has discovered. Deer can destroy a garden, as sprouts are what they love, and they really like nightshade sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, and such. Even though they are toxic. Which I discovered from a friend with a pet deer who swore he never had to empty an ashtray. Just let the deer in the house and he would eat all the butts. Tobacco being a nightshade. The very best deer repellant is a good size dog running free on the place. Good luck with insects. Organic is the best of course, but depending on where you live, they may overwhelm you. My former wife was shocked when we moved from town out into the county. In town you get a halo effect from generations of pesticides in the ground. Not so out in the county. I have found a very effective pesticide that performs about the same as seven dust. Diatomaceous earth. Apply it the same as seven dust, and it kills anything with an exoskeleton. And you can eat it. In fact its a good intestinal wormer. But it does need to be reapplied every time it rains, like seven dust. Enough useless advice from an old fart.
John,
Perhaps the deer problem is transformed into a meat garden. 😀
Easier said than done. They do their predation at night. Since we are out and about during the day, they hang back until we aren’t. If times get hard enough, I might put some light on the subject. One does not want to hunt those closest to home first. Save them for the need.
Im waiting for the dollar to devalue to pay the mortgage…. no more extra payments to get it paid off faster. Money is better spent on tools and vehicle parts, oil, store-able food ect. I have a guy in my neighborhood whose garage is half full of plywood….good move assuming it doesn’t get stolen. If you have no room, ag or au are good buys to store wealth
It is not only inflation that is a worry. As of now California is suffering from a tremendous drought. The state is responsible for almost 2/3 of our agriculture supply in this country. They grow 97% of our celery and plums, 99% of our walnuts, and a large portion of onions and garlic, as well. Thirty percent of CA right now rivals a dust bowl. Many farmers have stated they will not be planting this year due to the lack of available water for irrigation. What happens 3,6,12 months down the road when this food isn’t available for consumption? Amazon is fine if it is available. What happens when it isn’t available? What do people do? They panic, that’s what they do. All of a sudden instead of celery and onions missing from the store shelves all produce becomes limited, because that is what panickers do. We saw this with the Great Toilet Paper Fiasco of 2020 and the East Coast Oil Shortage of 2021. The Great Toilet Paper shortage didn’t even just involve tp, but every paper product known to man….paper towels, tissues, napkins, paper cups and plates. In May 2020 our country’s grocery stores looked like some Venezuelan street market. To this very day the stores still suffer limited inventory from time to time.
I urge everyone to at least have some supplies on hand…..water, batteries, ammo, a few months of food that you recycle out, maybe a few homegrown plants out on the patio (berries and tomatoes are super easy to grow), etc. Even if a food shortage doesn’t occur (which I hope is the case) you will at least be saving money. The canned black beans from the grocery store today will likely double in the coming months. Both your wallet and sanity will thank you.
Regarding water, your water heater has from 30 to 52 gallons of it if it comes down to that.
Regarding food, after three days without groceries, the thin paint job of “civilization” peals off. Do NOT cook where others can smell your food. Be prepared to kill to keep your groceries. They will become the most precious possession you have. Gangs will emerge, touring for targets of opportunity. Don’t be one. If the gang shows up, shoot the one doing all the talking. These are ugly things to consider, but so is a starving horde. Steel yourself for violence. Men are better at it, but mothers are nearly as good. Us old farts will disappear, but this one whishes you good luck.
Hi John,
Good idea about the water heater….I didn’t think of that. I actually bought a rainwater collector recently…..it holds about 60 gallons when full, that I planned to use for watering the plants. Unfortunately, we have not had a lot of rain lately. I can’t believe we aren’t even receiving any evening thunderstorms with as hot as it is.
Getting all your rain at my house in Missouri. Flash flood warnings, no less. We’ve been getting significant rain every day for a week or more. Mowing the grass is going to be a challenge, if it ever stops raining and dries out so I can. Also a couple of gallons in your toilet tank, though some may balk at drinking it, it is safe to drink, but it can be used for cleaning, watering plants and such.
That’s when all the firearms that “fell into the lake from my fishing boat” miraculously re-emerge.
Hence why I’m stocking up on TP and other NEEDED paper products (not so much napkins, but in an emergency where SAFE drinking water has been (hopefully temporarily) cut off (water purveyors can be sabotaged, or, “non-compliant” households have theirs cut off, just as the mayor of LA threatened to do last year to those not “complying” with his “fatwas”), it’d be handy to have paper plates, cups, and plastic dinnerware. Used paper plates can be BURNED, in case garbage isn’t being picked up. BTW, even if you don’t drive an “oil-burner” like an old Mercedes 300D, it might still be well to have a couple of five-gallon containers of DIESEL on hand, as gasoline is more dangerous to keep on hand and doesn’t burn up trash as easily..or SHIT, if it comes down to having to dig a latrine in the back yard. Just think of PFC Terry “Toad” Fields, having to take care of the latrine “waste disposal” from the less-well-received 1979 sequel, “More American Graffiti”.
Hi RG,
Another good thing to have is a freezer, we have a large chest freezer that is full to the top with meat that I get whenever it goes on sale – beef, chicken, pork, whatever. I put whatever it is into individual bags and write the date on it so we can rotate through the supply without anything getting too old; last year found a steak on the bottom that was about three years old, still edible but somewhat shoe-leathery 😆. Also have an inverter and a couple car batteries to run it if the power goes out, plus I can keep the batteries charge off the car if we’re out for a long time since I’ve gotten in the habit of keeping both cars filled up.
Hi Mike,
I do have an extra freezer for my meat and frozen veggies, but I really like the inverter and car battery idea if the power goes out.
In February, when I cleared out our freezer I found an old piece of sockeye salmon that was five years old…..I wasn’t even going to taste test that. Seeing the $27 price tag I debated it though. 🙂
I did read an article the other day that a full chest freezer will hold temperature up to 4 days as long as it remains closed. A half full freezer will go about two days and the side by side refrigerator/freezer combos will go about 24 hours on the freezer side and 4 hours on the refrigerator side.
If there’s an extended power outage (like what happened in the West back in 1996, I and my kids sweltered through it that summer), quickly grab a few days worth of meats and veggies, thaw them, and start barbecuing. That’s where a propane (and propane accessories) grill is handy, in an extended power outage, in some places, natural gas supply will also be curtailed, as the gas company (PG&E here in NorCal) will likely cut off residential service for industrial and government customers of “higher priority”. A grill capable of taking either (usually means switching regulators) is the best. Also, having a “camp fridge” that runs on propane will be worth its weight in gold! Back to the unplugged freezer…once the area around the compressor has cooled, usually takes about an hour, lay some blankets and/or tarps to further insulate it. KEEP IT OUT OF THE SUNLIGHT, if it’s on a patio or porch.
Grill the thawed meats and veggies in one go, and CHOW DOWN. It’ll take your mind off your troubles, and if things REALLY get serious, if, say, the power outage continues for three or more days, and folks start getting desperate as their food spoils and/or stores, if they haven’t already closed due to the power outage, will be stripped bare. Also, you don’t want the aroma of cooking to draw unwanted attention, so enjoy the feast while you can.
Of course, be aware of your proximity to the “ghetto”, as after 3-4 days, things are gonna get “dicey”. If the situation is still dire, and relief isn’t in sight, that’s time to “bug out”…your SURVIVAL will likely be at stake.
Hi Doug,
I actually have a really cheap portable Weber grill that needs nothing, but some charcoal, lighter fluid, and a match. It actually cooks a pretty mean steak. 🙂
I am looking at investing in a solar generator to keep the refrigerator and freezer running. I have been researching a few brands, but hubby is balking at the $5K + price tag. I am balking at losing several thousands dollars worth of meat and other foods.
Currently, this is what I am eyeing.
https://www.goalzero.com/shop/portable-power/goal-zero-yeti-6000x-portable-power-station/
I do have a bug out location if needed, but that is a last resort.
Hi RG,
Funny… we are looking at the same; the back-up power source for the freezer. I already kind-sorta have it covered in that I have an 8500 watt generator and always keep at least 25 gallons of gasoline on hand. That is enough to keep the stuff from going bad for at least a week or two but it is not a permanent solution, obviously. I’ve taken steps toward that by converting my gennie to dual fuel and I have enough propane to run it for a month. But – again – not a permanent solution. The solar panels aren’t the big thing; the storage batteries/inverter are. Let me know what you come up with and I will do the same!
Methinks your money would be better spent on a backup DIESEL generator and a couple of 55-gallon drums to store fuel, and a hand-cranked bunghole pump. Solar works where there’s a LOT of sunshine (note: it doesn’t have to be warm, there are solar panels used in Antarctica and, of course, in space with satellites and probes, and even the International Space Station), if that describes where you live, then OK. You could still devise a battery charging bank and a small inverter, and charge them off the generator or your vehicle.
As always, a priority in your “prepping” plan should be “Ghetto Repellent”, of whatever rounds you shoot. Which can be difficult and much more expensive these days. As “E” (Brad Bird) from “The Incredibles” reminded Bob Parr, aka “Mr. Incredible”…” ‘Luck’ favors the PREPARED.”
Hi Doug,
I have a 5500 watt generator and a 500 gallon propane tank, so if the electric goes out that will tie us over for a week or two, but I am trying to think long term if we were without electricity for a month or more. Also, the generator I have is loud, really loud. When we had the ice storm last December we, and a couple six houses down, were the only ones that had power in our neighborhood…..we got a loud of glares though.
I am worried if I don’t have access to fuels. With the solar backup I could that use that and only use the propane when the panels are charging.
FYI….the propane is also our heating source so if it cold out it can run easily through 20-30 gallons a day, maybe more, depending what other appliances and lights are on.
Ice and snow can really reflect sound, but I suspect the real reason for the “glares” from your neighbors is ENVY. I suggest enclosing that generator with an insulated cover, provided the rig doesn’t overheat. Remember that Twilight episode about the bomb shelter and the panicked reaction by the neighbors that once ridiculed the family that built it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shelter_(The_Twilight_Zone)
That’s one reason I keep stressing to keep one’s firearms in good order, and one can’t have too much AMMO.
The last time there was a chronic multi-year drought Uncle dammed up the rivers for storage. Over time He has forgotten the purpose, instead allowing the water to run through in the name of “river health” and for the revenue generated by providing electricity. Now California is worried that they won’t have enough electricity or water. This is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons.
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-hydro-20150517-story.html
Maintain the “dam” level is a “Damn” tricky thing. Hold back too much, and it can unnecessarily bring on danger of flooding or even failure of that “dam” thing. Recall what happened to the Oroville “Dam” thing in 2017. Fortunately, only the spillway was damaged. In a way, it also indicates that there was either “fault” (pun intended, given that it’s in Cali(porn)ia) in the design and/or construction, or maintenance has been neglected (surprise, surprise!). I agree that if there was a decision to dam up a river at all, then getting one’s panties in a wad over the “ecosystem” downstream is stupid and fruitless; that ship is supposed to have already sailed.
There’s also issues with adequate electricity for the once- Golden State, not only due to mismanagement by the State in its power management agency, but also the hostility towards construction of ANY facility that generates power. It always seems that there’s some agitation group that has a reason to prevent these projects, and it comes down to, they have THEIR properties in CA, and want to prevent others from moving in and/or acquiring their own (i.e. “smart growth”, or “sustainable growth”, which means NO growth whatsoever). And these same nitwits bemoan that there’s no “affordable hous8ing” for the “poor”! Or that electric rates are taking off like a Russki S-400 missile. The San Onofre Nuclear Plant closed down eight years ago, and PGE’s Diablo Canyon, the only nuclear generating station in the State, is slated likewise to shut down in 3-4 years. I recall the agitation of Tom Hayden, at the time the husband of “Hanoi” Jane Fonda, in his efforts to get Rancho Seco, the nuclear plant about 25 SE of downtown Sacramento, closed, which was achieved in 1991…AFTER SMUD spent almost a BILLION dollars (that’s with a “B”) to upgrade it. Of course, WHO did that leftist nitwit THINK really paid for that waste? May he rot in Hades.
Eric:
It’s high time I sent you another c-note for supporting my sanity, which is on the way. It’s not much, but you’ll be 1/40th closer to a greenhouse.
Thanks, Mister!
And: This goes both ways. You and the rest of the crew here help keep me sane; keep me from jabbering like a poo-flinging ape at the zoo!
“Poo-flinging apes at the zoo” make make more sense than much we are being fed.
The “poo-flinging-apes” resent being compared to a certain subset of the “Hew-Mon” race that typically inhabit USA inner cities, as well as most of sub-Saharan Africa, of a DISTINCT “hue”…at least according to infamous cartoonist “A Wyatt Mann”.