Are you raising chickens for eggs or meat? If not, you should, it’s easier that you think!
Back in the days, raising chickens was a normal thing, even in the city, as part of a self-sufficient life. Why not doing it again, especially if you need a food plan in case the SHTF? You and your your loved ones will enjoy fresh eggs every day and fresh, chemical free meat.
After deciding on the best chicken breed, it’s time to take the next step – prepare the chicken coop. With this thing in mind, for this week’s Prep Blog Review I’ve gathered some amazing DIY chicken coops projects you can build right now.
1. 57 DIY Chicken Coop Plans
“If you’ve found this article you`ve at least thought of raising chickens one day and as any experimented householder would recommend, you need to build a chicken coop before actually purchasing the little creatures; you are here because you have realized that a pre-fabricated coop might not be something that suits your needs and you’ve made the right decision, you need to build an easy simple chicken coop tailored to your needs, the following article contains spectaculous diy chicken coop plans in easy to build tutorials, 100% free of charge.”
“Have chickens or looking to add them? A coop will be near the top of your list of needs for sure, it is important for protection from weather and predators too.
Even if you free range them a coop will give them a safe place to go and a place for them to lay eggs as well. You may have chosen to DIY a Chicken coop to save some money or create a custom look.”
“Raising baby chicks is a right of passage for any homesteader or self-sufficiency folks. But when you’re a beginner raising baby chicks, you want to make sure you’re caring for your animals correctly, after all, this is your egg and meat production.
These tips on raising baby chicks pertain to chicks purchased from a hatchery, feed store, or in the mail, when they haven’t been hatched out with a Mama hen. It’s much easier when we let nature do her thing, but many people don’t have the luxury of an already established flock or broody hen and need to begin their flock with baby chicks.”
“Losing animals is an inevitable part of raising them. No matter how careful and diligent you are, at some point you will have to deal with saying goodbye – and not just due to old age, either – to some members of your flock or herd. This is heartbreaking even if your animals were meant to end up as dinner at some point. So much more if you treat your livestock somewhat like pets. I remember one time years ago, crying and telling my husband I’d rather give it all up and never keep anything living but plants again.
We have lost a lot of chickens during the years – to predators, diseases, accidents, and sometimes for no visible reason at all.”
This article has been written by Drew Stratton for Survivopedia.
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We have used many things for chicken coops over the years. A garage, dog crates, pet carriers, pens constructed from insulation panels, scrap wood, and mismatched cuts of wire fencing, plastic, and whatever else could keep chickens contained. It was a shantytown for poultry but it did the job.
With a change of residency came the opportunity to actually construct a coop that would be something I could stand in, walk through, and not worry about it falling over. Being a thrifty...
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Well folks, here we are once again. Are you still prepping? Did you do anything to become better prepared for the next coming disaster? If so what?
But before we get started with this weeks “what did you do to prep this week” blog segment I’d like to thank Matt D, Kim , Mathew H and John M for their contributions this week via paypal. Thank you. If you feel that this site has helped you in some way and you would like to give something back then you can do so here. Or, if you order from Amazon.com then you can help support this site by using our amazon.com affiliate link...
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I personally shop online for almost anything I can for a couple of reasons. First is the incredible ability to research and check prices. I can read or watch video reviews for any products I am considering before making a final decision. Secondly, I hate going to the mall or just about any other shopping center type of place with a passion – I would just about rather take a kick to the head than go to the mall during Christmas, but even the rest of the year shopping online is just my preferred option. I was looking around for more prepper and survival gear the other day and often readers ask for gear recommendations so I wanted to give you this list of the best-selling prepper items but with a twist. I want to also give you my opinions on why this list is wrong when taken from the standpoint of what people should be focusing on. I will show the best sellers and give alternate items you should have if you don’t already.
The LifeStraw is a great idea and Water is the highest priority, all things being equal, you should focus on when preparing for any kind of unforeseen emergency. But I think the LifeStraw itself has some limitations and drawbacks that would make me choose another option for water filtration.
For starters, the LifeStraw is really meant for only one person. If you have a couple of people to provide clean water for, this isn’t ideal. Next, you must stick your face down in the water for this to work. Not only does this require you to get up close and personal with your water source but it also prevents you from being able to fully stay aware of your surroundings. Yes, you can fill a container up with water and stick the LifeStraw in that, but why? Additionally, can’t take any water with you for later because the LifeStraw only works when you have a water source to stick the straw into. Lastly, the LifeStraw only filters up to 1000 liters before it is no longer safe.
For me, there are a couple of other options. For just about the same price, size/weight footprint, the Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System is far superior. It filters 100, 000 gallons, comes with it’s own bag that you can fill to quench your thirst, then refill for the road and still has all the microorganism filtering benefits. To me, these are the most minimal and basic water filters you can get, but it’s probably better to expand to a slightly larger capacity system.
The best solution in my opinion is a gravity fed water filtration system. Why? Unlike manual pump filters like the Katadyn Hiker or the MSR Miniworks (which I own and like), gravity fed filtration systems have no moving parts to break. Also, you can just let the water filter do its job while you move on to other issues like setting up camp or observing your surroundings. I am a HUGE fan of the GravityWorks by Platypus, but they are much more expensive. They taste far better than any type of Iodine water filter system like the Polar Pure, last far longer too, can easily support multiple people and I don’t have to worry about those little glass bottles breaking on me.
The next 3 items on the list of best-selling prepper gear are food so I will combine them. Mountain House is listed as the best seller and I certainly have recommended their products as a great camping or backpacking option that also work great as a preparedness option. They only require hot water and you have a meal. Now, is this the best prepper food you should get if you are trying to stock up food for emergencies?
Maybe.
Mountain House or any one of the many other manufacturers of quality freeze-dried food out there fill a need and as part of a larger food self-sufficiency strategy I think they fill a great role. If you have nothing else but Mountain House, you will still be able to feed your family with decent tasting food that requires nothing more than a fire or stove to heat the water. You can even eat out of the bag. However, I recommend a little more diversity.
Your pantry should be filled with a larger portion of foods you already eat and let the Freeze-Dried food supplement that should you need to. You probably wouldn’t want to break out some Mountain House Lasagna with Meat Sauce if your friends were coming over for dinner, but after a snow storm knocks your power out for a week, this stuff is awesome. Your own family’s needs and preferences will dictate what you store but for tips on how to get started, check out my article on 30 days of food storage for ideas on how to get a jump-start.
No offense to the good-looking group pictured here, but preppers shouldn’t be buying these cheap bags expecting protection.
Number three on the list of the best-selling prepper gear is Emergency Rain Ponchos? Seriously? Granted, this is from Amazon.com but these are glorified trash bags meant to give you some protection if you are out at a theme park let’s say and an unexpected downpour threatens to ruin the fun. No self-respecting prepper should have to resort to this because if you can’t find out what the weather is going to be and plan accordingly, you have bigger things to worry about most likely.
Instead of a disposable trash bag, if you are looking for some prepper gear that isn’t a rain jacket, consider a legitimate poncho instead. These are more expensive, but the construction is vastly better and you can use these to provide shelter if you combine them with a little paracord. Usually they come in camouflage colors but you do have options if you are trying not to look tactical. You can even combine them with a poncho liner to have a great cold weather system that can keep you dry and warm.
Number 4 is a means to start a fire and magnesium fire starters are a great grid-down item to have. There are many other brands out there and while I haven’t personally tested the Gerber line, I have been very happy with the craftsmanship and quality of other items like their multi-tools that I own. The Bear Grylls Fire Starter is just branded merchandise but it should do the job admirably.
Now I own several fire starters like this but you know what I own more of? Disposable lighters. They are cheap (you can get a pack of 10 for the price of one fire starter) and easier to use. Yes, they won’t last anywhere near as long as a fire starter, but if I needed to get a fire going quickly, I would much rather start my tinder off with a quick flick of my Bic and then move on.
Keep the rain off you? Maybe? Sun? Yep. Will it keep you warm in cold climates?
Number 5 on Amazon’s list of best-selling prepper gear is essentially a big piece of Mylar with some rope. It is cheap, lightweight and compact, but when it comes to staying warm, I don’t see how this big open tent is going to help you.
In the right environment, creating a survival shelter is a free option but that assumes a lot of things. First that you have materials you can make a shelter with. Debris shelters are all the rage on YouTube for preppers and survivalists, but what if you don’t have any trees, limbs lying around or millions of leaves to cover it with?
A better option may be a survival bivvy. Advanced Medical Kits sells an Emergency Bivvy that will keep two people warm. First, it’s enclosed so you don’t have air blowing through it and wiping away any heat convection your body was making – think survival sleeping bag. It doesn’t require trees to string a rope and you get the added benefit of body heat from your buddy – assuming you are with someone. It is a little more expensive and does take up a little more room, but seems like it would be more effective at keeping you protected from the elements.
Is Best Selling Gear really the Best for You?
There are many other items on the list of best sellers and I just scratched the surface. I think in some cases; the things people buy are often out of convenience and cost savings but those two factors alone could leave you just as unprepared as if you didn’t purchase any prepper gear. Before making any prepper gear purchases, use the internet and conduct research. Take a look at what your survival priorities for the place you are or where you are going. Read articles – there are thousands out there on just about any subject related to prepping you can think of. Watch videos on YouTube and make your own mind up on what makes sense. But don’t stop there.
Actually try out the gear you just purchased. Use it to collect water and drink from it. Take that freeze-dried food out with you and make a meal. Try spending a night in that shelter or working in the rain in that poncho – start a fire. You will learn more from your own experience than anything you can read on a prepper blog and it will give you the knowledge you need to make your own, better, decisions on survival gear that works best for you.
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1. Cabela’s Sees Decline in Gun Sales Post-Trump Win…
Cabela’s (CAB) said Thursday demand for firearms and ammunition weakened in the first three months of 2017, citing the election of President Donald Trump. Via Fox Business.
2. In the aftermath of Trump election, gun sales, carry permits drop…
When it comes to the gun industry’s bottom line, the Republican president has been bad news. Via My AGC.
3. Gun Sales Decline Nationwide Since President Trump Took Office…
A lot of changes have taken place since President Trump has taken office, including one that involves...
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You start by planting seeds and hope to have a small crop but they don’t even sprout. Or you buy healthy seedlings and they just come to your home to die.
Your container gardening is just not working…
Just like with flat gardening, you’ll come across some problems when you’re practicing container gardening, too.
Are you going to give up before reading how these 8 problems can be solved?
Plants grow but don’t produce fruit
There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your plant grow from a seedling into a lush, beautiful plant, then waiting for fruit that never comes.
There are a couple of different reasons that this may happen.
Plant isn’t pollinated
If you’re growing plants that require cross-pollination, they won’t bear fruit if they aren’t pollinated. Usually, bees take care of this, but not always, especially if your containers are in a protected area or you live somewhere with a small bee population. These plants include squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, and some cucumbers to name a few.
To pollinate them so that they bear fruit, simply take a small, soft paintbrush and gently run it around the inside of each flower. Don’t forget to do the first one twice!
If you still have a problem, you may not have both male and female plants. Female plants may not develop if the weather is cold or too wet. You can determine which flowers are male and which are female, by their appearances. If you do this, then you can just pick the male flowers (only females bear fruit) and pollinate the females with those.
The easiest way to tell if many plants are female or male is to look at the base of the flower. For instance, with squash, the female flower will have a little squash underneath it at the base of the stem and a raised orange structure inside. The male will just have a stem on the bottom, but there will be an anther with pollen on it inside of it.
This will vary from plant to plant, so know how to tell the difference on your individual plants. Usually, though, the presence of the pollen-covered anther will be a dead giveaway.
Another reason that your plant may get bushy but not produce fruit is because they won’t produce if the temperature is too high or if the pollen can’t spread. This is particularly applicable to tomatoes and peppers.
If the temperatures regularly reach 85-90 degrees during the day and 75 degrees at night, the plant may not set fruit. If it’s too humid, the pollen may be too sticky inside the flowers to spread from flower to flower. If it’s too arid, the pollen may be too dry.
The best solution here is to protect your plants from the heat as much as possible, and make sure that they’re fed and watered correctly. Even though most people will tell you that tomatoes and peppers prefer full sun, if you live in places such as the southern US where temperatures can be brutal, “full sun” means “full sun in the morning.”
Plant your seedlings where they’ll get full sun in the morning but shade in the afternoon.
This is incredibly frustrating. You’ve taken the time to choose your seeds and plant them, then you wait … and wait … and wait. And nothing happens. No seedling pokes through. What went wrong? Well, again, it can be a couple of things.
Seeds were too old
Seeds are only good for an average of a couple of years – some seeds may be good for up to five years – but don’t count on them for more than two years. To make sure that your seeds are good, germinate a few of them before you plant the rest.
Do this by placing ten seeds, evenly spaced, in a wet paper towel. Roll it up and put it in a baggie, then put the baggie in a warm spot in the kitchen for two to seven days. Check the seeds after then and see how many of them germinated.
The number of seeds that germinated will give you a good idea of the percentage of the other seeds that will germinate, thus giving you an idea of how many to plant in order to get the yield you’re looking for.
Incorrect amount of water
This is possibly the most common reasons why seeds don’t germinate. Some seeds, such as tomato seeds, like plenty of water. Others, like peppers, germinate better when the soil is fairly dry. The only solution here is to know what conditions your particular plants require in order to germinate the best.
Planting too deeply
This is a common mistake made by new gardeners. Most seeds don’t need to be planted more than an inch or so beneath the soil. Planting them deeper will either delay the appearance of the sprout or cause the seed not to germinate at all.
Planting in cold soil
Most plants need the soil to be at least 50 degrees in order to germinate, and 65 is better. If you live in an area that gets extremely cold, start your plants inside in order to get your seeds to germinate. A combination of planting too deeply and planting in cold soil is the most common reason for seeds not to germinate.
Plants have mold
You may notice a white mold growing on the top of your soil. This in itself isn’t cause for concern, though you do need to change the environment around your seedlings. The soil is either too wet or it isn’t getting enough sun, or both.
The white mold actually helps organic matter decompose, but you don’t want it to grow in your plants. Don’t freak out, though. It doesn’t mean instant death. Scrape the mold off the surface of the soil, then don’t water your plant again until the soil dries out.
Setting up a fan to circulate air may help, too. Just put it on a setting that causes the leaves to flutter.
Your plants may also get what looks like a white film over the leaves. This is actually powdery mildew and is one of the most common and easily identifiable fungal disease in plants. Unlike mold, mildew favors dry foliage. Like mold, though, it also favors low light and high humidity.
You have a few effective natural treatments, but the best is vinegar. Combine 2-3 tablespoons of ACV with a gallon of water and spritz on the leaves a couple of times a week until the mildew disappears. Be careful though, because vinegar can burn the plant. A combination of 1 part milk and 2 parts water is strangely effective, too.
Nobody really knows why, but it works! Sulfur and lime/sulfur works, too, but can easily damage your plants, so try the vinegar or milk first.
Tip: increase drainage holes, use a lighter soil mix.
Plants are “leggy” (spindly and unproductive)
Cause: not enough light.
Tip: relocate the plants.
Leaf edges die
Cause: too much salt.
Tip: leach container regularly by watering until water drains from drainage holes.
Plant turns yellow at the bottom
Cause: too much water.
Tip: water less and ensure good drainage.
These are most of the problems that you’ll run into with container gardening, aside from insects and other diseases.
If your plants become covered with spots, develop dead, dried, powdery, or rusty areas, you may have a few different issues. Your plant may not be warm enough, the soil may have low phosphate levels, or you may have a variety of diseases.
Start by separating the plant from your others and setting in the sunlight. Pull off the dead or damaged leaves, if you think the plant is salvageable. Also, spray with neem oil and/or vinegar water to kill a variety of bugs and diseases.
Container gardening is typically easy and most problems are related to water, sunlight, and temperature. The best way to avoid most of these problems is to know the needs of your plants and meet them.
Back in the days, people knew how to do it. Click the banner below to discover the long forgotten secrets that helped our forefathers survive during harsh times!
If you have any other questions or suggestions about container gardening, please feel free to share with us in the comments section below.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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Everybody’s eyes are on North Korea now because the pot is boiling and expected to blow up. And if it does, it’s going to be huge.
Amongst the various ongoing situations that Donald Trump inherited on ascending to the presidency, was an ongoing problem with North Korea. The former president, Barack Obama inherited that ongoing problem, as has every president since the end of World War II, when the Korean peninsula was divided.
The problems associated with North Korea erupted into bloodshed in 1950, when the North Korean army invaded the south. Although South Korea and the United States were totally unprepared for that conflict, we ultimately fought the North Koreans and their Chinese backers to a standstill. The armistice signed in July of 1953 has led to an uneasy peace for the last 64 years.
I say an “uneasy peace” because it has been punctuated by many threats, probes, and shots fired across the DMZ (demilitarized zone), the no-man’s land between the two countries.
But the North has never been happy with the agreement, nor with the division of the Korean peninsula. They have remained convinced that Korea should be reunited under their leadership. It doesn’t matter that the South Korean economy is over 30 times larger than the North’s, or that the people there live in freedom, under a democratically elected government. In the eyes of the North, and especially in the eyes of their government, South Korea belongs under their rule.
This is actually very similar to the problem between China and Taiwan. To the communist Chinese government, Taiwan is nothing more than a rebellious province, having broken off from China in the aftermath of World War II. The reason why mainland China can’t do anything about it is the same reason why North Korea can’t do anything about South Korea, both South Korea and Taiwan are backed by the might of the American military, the most powerful military in the world.
For this reason, our relations with China have been strained since World War II, even though we helped to liberate them from the Japanese. It is also behind the hatred that North Korea has maintained towards the USA. Kim Jong-Un’s grandfather, the first dictator after the Korean War, used his propaganda machine to teach the North Korean people that American soldiers tore the limbs off of innocent Koreans and cut off their eyes, noses and lips, hanging them on trees.
This sort of propaganda is necessary, even though it is untrue, to help Kim’s regime keep the people in check. The North Korean policy of “military first” which keeps the people starving, while every possible Won (the North Korean currency) is spent on the military, creates an atmosphere that is ripe for rebellion.
By giving the people a common enemy who is pictured as cruel and destructive, Kim is able to keep his own people in check, while investing millions in building an nuclear arsenal and missiles capable of reaching the hated enemy.
Of course, the North Korean leadership knows the truth about the Korean war, and as has been heard from defectors, there are people who still remember the kindness that American soldiers showed to their children. But the younger generation didn’t experience that and has largely bought into the government’s propaganda.
It appears that Kim Jong-Un believes his own propaganda machine as well, or at least believes it enough to match his rhetoric to the official line he is promoting. But there is an inherent danger in that. That is, at some time his actions much match his rhetoric, or he will be shown to be a fraud. That’s something he can’t afford.
So whether Kim actually wants to launch nuclear tipped missiles at the United States or not, he has painted himself into a box where he will eventually have to. As a dictator, the price of not doing so would be too high. He would lose face before his people, which could easily be followed by losing his head.
North Korea’s Nuclear Capacity
Whether Kim John-Un’s actions and rhetoric are intentional or merely the ravings of a madman are inconsequential at this time. Like the rest of the world, he must live and die with what he’s said. Chances of his backing down are extremely slim.
So North Korea continues on the march to becoming a nuclear power, developing nuclear bombs and long-range missiles which can be mated together to become ICBMs that can reach the United States. The real question at this point in time, is how close he is to actually accomplishing that goal.
It is a known fact that North Korea possesses nuclear bombs. The question there is whether they have achieved the necessary miniaturization needed in order to put them on the top of a missile. While North Korea claims that hit has reached that point, we just don’t know. Of course, we have to assume that they have, as to assume anything else would be extremely risky.
But to accomplish his goals, Kim needs a missile that can reach at least the West Coast of the United States. In that, his scientists and engineers have been running into some difficulty. While they currently have four different missiles in their inventory, the one which has the greatest range also appears to be the most unreliable. As seen in their most recent test flight, firing a missile into the Sea of Japan, it has a propensity to blow up all on its own.
Yet North Korea persists and we can assume that they have competent engineers. That means that each failure of a missile brings them one step closer to finding all the problems that can cause them to go awry and brings them closer to having a successful, reliable missile.
Once that happens, we are truly in danger. Right now, we’re protected by the fact that North Korea doesn’t have the technical expertise to match their leader’s ego. But that can’t last for long.
Killing people who fail is a great incentive for those who remain alive. They push harder to ensure that they won’t be the next one executed.
The Risk of a North Korean Missile Attack
I have to put myself firmly in the camp of those who say:“It isn’t a question of whether North Korea will initiate a nuclear missile strike, but when.”
Kim Jong-Un has painted himself into a box and I really don’t see any indication that he wants out of it. He seems to see his out as going through with that attack and proving to the world that his tiny nation is more powerful than the United States of America.
The other question that we have to consider is what form that attack will take. The fact that North Korea’s missiles are all on mobile launchers gives Pyongyang an incredible amount of flexibility. It also makes both locating and countering those missiles a much harder task for our military.
It would be extremely easy for the North Koreans to load missiles and their launchers into specially constructed cargo containers and send them our way. As long as those containers were on the top level of containers in the ship, they could be launched without impediment.
The scary part of that scenario is that such a launch could be made very near our shores, extending the effective range of their missiles. In such a case, it wouldn’t just be Los Angeles that would be at risk of being targeted, but a large part of the Continental United States. If you include the Gulf of Mexico in any potential planning, there are few parts of the United States that North Korean missiles couldn’t reach, based upon what we currently know about their missiles.
The greater risk to our country is not from a ground burst or near ground burst, but from a high-altitude EMP. As attested to by the report of the EMP Commission, such an attack would destroy the USA, putting us back somewhere around 150 years. We would become a very unique third-world country.
What Can We Do?
Now we need to look at the other side of the equation, what can the United States military do against such an attack? There are always two sides to any military equation and hopefully North Korea is failing to do their math right.
Defending against nuclear missiles is not a new problem for the United States military. Throughout the Cold War, we lived under the threat of the now-defunct Soviet Union lobbing thousands of ICMBs at us. President Regan’s “Star Wars” program was developed in anticipation of such an attack. By comparison, the few missiles that North Korea could send our way is a minor risk.
But the problem we have is that the United States of America is a vast country, with thousands of miles of boarders. A truly effective anti-ballistic defense network would have to cover all our borders, as well as US possessions around the globe. That complete a system has never been fielded, due to the massive cost of such a huge system.
Rather, the Department of Defense has deployed much smaller systems, located in strategic areas. These systems stand an excellent chance of thwarting any attack by Pyongyang.
Specifically, we have what are known as “midcourse defensive systems” positioned at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. While that may not seem like much, we have to take into consideration the altitude that ballistic missiles fly. Missiles from either Alaska or California have the capability of intercepting ICBMs at the apogee of their flight, over most of the North Pacific Ocean.
Considering the low number of missiles that North Korea would be launching against the USA, the chances of this system in intercepting those missiles is rather high. That probability can be increased, by adding in the capability of the Aegis missile system. Aegis missile cruisers off the Pacific Coast of the United States would also engage those ICBMs, probably as they returned to Earth.
The greater risk is the one I already mentioned, if the North Koreans launch their missiles off of a container ship, nearer to our coastline. That would reduce the reaction time that these missile systems and their operators would have to react to the attack.
If the North Korean missiles came in at a lower trajectory, rather than at a true ballistic trajectory, they might actually be able to make it through those defenses.
In such a case, we could expect the damage to be extensive, at least to a few American cities. Which cities that would be is a question that is hard to answer. A lot would depend on the results that Pyongyang was seeking. While destroying Washington, DC would be the most logical military target, with the greatest impact on the USA, it would also probably be one of the hardest targets for them to hit.
You can be sure the nation’s capital will be defended and such an attack would have to come from the Atlantic Ocean, which increases the danger for the North Koreans.
A Preemptive Strike?
Former President Obama’s policy of appeasement hasn’t worked any better with the North Koreans, than it did with the Iranians. That is, unless the goal was to help those two rogue nations become nuclear powers. If that was the goal, he was highly successful.
President Trump hasn’t followed the same policy. Rather than bowing down to the rest of the world, he reasserted the United States place as a world leader. While some have complained about this, including Kim Jong-Un, it was definitely the right thing to do. Only the United States has proven to the world that we can be trusted to be the world’s police.
As part of that, Trump is taking a very hands-on approach to the multiple problems that exist with North Korea, especially their threats to the United States. As part of that, the United States of America has sent the USS Carl Vinson and its associated fleet to the area off North Korea as a deterrent, as well as other naval forces, including a nuclear-powered missile submarine, armed with both nukes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Of course, North Korea is taking that as an escalation, not as a deterrent. They’re also accusing the USA of creating the tension in the region. Neither are surprising. Despotic rulers and governments always try to blame their actions on others; just look at Hitler’s actions at the beginning of World War II.
But having naval forces in the area gives President Trump and the Pentagon some additional options, including a preemptive first strike. Should it look like North Korea is preparing to launch a nuclear-tipped missile at anyone, that might be the best action to take. But it’s not an action without consequences. North Korea would definitely take that as a provocation and respond to it.
In other words, trying to stop one nuclear launch could very well become the trigger to causing another. The situation is that complicated now. North Korea apparently feels they can’t back down, so they may very well push things into a war.
While there is nothing that President Trump has said, which indicate that he wants war with North Korea, it is looking more and more like one is coming. Sometimes, when you push the bully, the bully backs off; but there are other times when the bully chooses to fight. This is beginning to look like one of those situations where the bully chooses to fight.
But What About China?
The wildcard in all this is China. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, recently spent a weekend with President Trump in his Mar-a-Lago resort. At the end of it, Trump claimed success and that the Chinese president was willing to work with the US to curb North Korean violence. That could be a real game changer, as China is North Korea’s biggest ally and biggest trading partner.
So far, China has moved 150,000 troops to the North Korean border, in a move that can be seen either as putting pressure on Pyongyang or as offering them support. As we haven’t heard the message that went with that move, we can only guess. But the Chinese have also refused to accept shipments of coal from North Korea, which is the North Korean’s biggest export. So, from that alone, it appears that China is playing ball.
Between Chinese pressure and US diplomacy, it is possible that war can be abated. But in reality, I think that the best we can hope for is for it to be delayed. Unless something happens to Kim Jong-Un, who is still a young man, chances are that North Korea will continue in their warlike direction.
What do you think?
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This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.
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When it comes to preparedness – or life in general – there’s a ton to buy. When we can reuse something, it helps. One, there’s the direct cost application. Two, looking at something and seeing its ability to be something completely different has enormous benefits in opening the mind in general.
If we’re preparing for a crisis, gardening and the ability to provide fresh foods in the gulf of winter and spring take on a far greater importance than just a hobby or a passion. Happily, there are some things that can be salvaged for free or found at very low-cost that make a world’s worth of difference. Channel your inner Julie Andrews with me as we look at a few of my favorite things. There’s some non-gardening uses for each listed as well.
DVD Racks
Years ago I picked up a free DVD rack to be a bean trellis for a Rubbermaid tote garden. I have since been in love, and it’s one of the things I consistently watch for at yard sales, curbside pickup listings, and foreclosure cleanup sites.
I got lucky, and mine have a rounded top at the sides. If you find some that don’t, just glue on a milk jug cap for some of its applications.
They go way beyond trellising.
They work for the far ends and sometimes central support “poles” of low poly tunnels or low hoops for garden beds and rows. A little free bamboo or PVC to span distances, some binder clips (Dollar Tree) to clamp the plastic on, and you’re in business.
They can also be set up long-wise down the middle of a bed to form an A-frame style “camping tent” poly cover if desired, which works really well for peas, with roots and salads to the outer verges, and converts well to later tomato beds.
They also form plant racks for inside near windows, against pale walls, or outdoors to keep salads conveniently close or make use of vertical height.
Mine all hold square plastic coffee tubs (they need a length of string along the front unless it’s a really well-protected area), #2.5 cans (the large tomato or peaches can), and V8 bottles without any modification at all. They’ll hold 2L bottles on their sides for longer, shallow containers, or Lipton and Arizona tea jugs of both types and sizes either cut off vertically or horizontally.
I can do square juice jugs as well, but they overhang enough to make the dog tails an issue on their sides, and I’m more comfortable with some twine or wire looping them to the back bar.
I prefer the open-dowel construction type, just because it leaves me options. I can add thin saplings, bamboo or thin sheathing to convert them if needed, but the open frame allows more light and nestles the rounded-bottom containers well.
Outside Gardening the DVD racks have the ability to hold larger canned goods and bottles of water, be used to dry clothes as-is or be half of a frame of dowels or saplings to create a larger drying space, and the poor kid used to have a pair that were hung with a curtain, topped with a chunk of (free) plywood, and outfitted with $2 in hooks to hang her uniform shirts and pants, like a mini closet that was also the mirror and vanity.
Storm Doors & Windows
These guys don’t multipurpose to the same degree as the DVD racks. They’re really handy to run across, though. One, having a backup is never a bad thing. Two, they are ready-made cold frames and pest exclusion frames.
I like a 3’ width for garden beds, permanent or bounded, and they fit pretty perfectly as-is. I can tighten up and use straw bales to create a different kind of cold frame with them laid across the top. I can run them in series or as individual structures.
An A-frame can be pretty quickly mocked up and is one of the easiest builds for getting your feet wet. It’s also handy in that it sluices ice and snow build-up and is more resistant to winds. The doors and windows get hinged at the tops, any stick or tool props them so they don’t flip the frame or ka-bong off your noggin, and cats, dogs and goats are less likely to stand on them.
Just the mesh from storm doors and windows is useful. So is mesh that comes off when you repair those.
It’s going in the garden, so some stitching or a little duct tape on both sides to repair a rip isn’t an issue. All it’s doing is protecting seed-stock squash from cross-pollination or keeping creepy-crawlies from eating the brassicas, lettuce, and beans before you can.
The advantage to taking out the mesh is that it’s an even easier build yet. There’s no hinges (unless you hinge the whole frame) and there’s less weight. That means more materials become potentials for the frame itself. You can tie some loops to go around a brick or post, or add some eye hooks to keep it in place.
Do keep the builds small enough that you can lift or flip by yourself once plants are in there. Some posts to the inside of the bed or rows can create a pivot point for flipping.
Painter’s/Construction Drop Cloth
My first set of drop cloth came from a part-time job in high school. I have been in love ever since.
It’s not super expensive, and it’s a toss-up whether the construction poly or the garden poly is cheaper to buy new, but it’s usually the totally clear construction drop cloth in our area. The 5+ mil I use is fairly durable in Southern wind storms, sun rot, ice and freezing rain, and Mid-Atlantic snow.
Contact handyman type businesses and painting businesses – for these as well as the windows and storm doors, and the mesh from those. Usually they’ll only use them for so long and as with the mesh, a few duct tape patches and the paint stains won’t impede too much structurally or light-wise.
Should you see them pop up cheap or free somewhere, don’t neglect those fancy-people outdoor grill, furniture and sofa covers, or any clear, thick, translucent vehicle covers.
Like the totally clear and colorless painter’s plastic, they all make for great garden hoop houses. Some of them can also be outfitted with sturdier construction to form a more permanent greenhouse.
Outside Gardening drop “cloth” or storm doors and windows can also be assembled into wind and snow-blocking shields around exposed doors at the home, or can enclose part or all of a porch to turn into a mudroom in an emergency or during snowy weather. Doing so creates a buffer chamber so there will be less polar vortex entering the house with every human and pet.
Plastic can also be used to cover windows and doors inside or out to decrease drafts and increase insulation value.
The painter’s plastic has the same value for livestock in extreme environments, especially if a normally warm climate is experiencing sudden return-to-winter weather after flocks or rabbits have adjusted to 60s-70s-80s, or if it’s so rare to have severe weather, coops and hutches were never built for extreme cold.
Drop cloths and poly covers can also be used to line bedding for the young, ill and elderly, so that every sneeze and cough or “mommy, I feel- blech” does not lead to disinfecting a mattress as well as changing bedding.
Wire Shelving
Really, do you ever have enough shelving? I particularly like seeing the simple-frame, open-weave, metal-wire shelving for bathrooms, laundry rooms and closets pop up in junk piles, yard sales, and Craigslist, because it’s super handy, super versatile stuff.
Like the DVD racks, it’s indoor-outdoor tiered plant stands, either year-round or during seed-starting and transplant season(s).
It can also be wrapped in our reclaimed plastic sheets or form part or all of the structure for salvaged windows or poly covers to make a mini greenhouse on a porch, beside a house or garage, for growing later and earlier in the season.
Then it gets even more useful.
Even if the whole is a little rickety, the shelves themselves can be removed and then turned into trellises. They can be rearranged around their original legs-stand or affixed to bamboo or the legs from old tables or chairs to form short garden fences to discourage turtles and rabbits, and limit dogs running through beds.
As an added bonus, if you have a senior gardener or an injury, sinking some of those sturdy table legs or a bundle of 3-4 larger bamboo canes 18” deep and up to hip or rib level can be a major aid in keeping them gardening.
The sturdy supports can then be covered with netting or sections of storm door mesh to act as a further bird and pest exclusions.
Outside Gardening there are endless uses for shelving, from water collection to organizing anything at all. Wire shelves also offer a lot of airflow for drying clothes.
The shelf “planks” of wire units can be used to patch and shore up fences and coops, especially somewhere something dug. They can be used to cover vehicle and house windows to limit damage from thrown bricks or if a storm window is damaged during a crisis.
They can also be reconfigured into a cage or crate for rabbits or small birds, to expand flocks or because they happened to be stacked from Craigslist and Freecycle runs ahead of time and now there’s a puppy to crate train or weather has shifted and we’re worried about the next generation of layers.
The shelves can be used to sift the largest chunks out of compost or soil in some cases, help form a gabion to slow water and keep it from increasing erosion, or can be lined with mesh or cloth for drying foods or seeds.
The shelves can usually be easily reconfigured with larger or smaller gaps than originally intended to facilitate buckets, larger boxes, or drying seeds and grains.
They don’t pop up as much as they used to, but some can still be found on the freebie sites as curbside pickup, or for <$15-20. They also sometimes pop up at Salvation Army/Goodwill, and if you cultivate contacts, sometimes you get your hands on just the shelf parts because the rest of the racks have been lost during multiple transfers or all the pieces weren’t donated.
Garden Reuse-its – My Favorite Things
These are just a few of my favorite things to re-purpose for growing veggies. The world is full of things like laundry bags we can use to prevent caterpillars and squash bugs on our cabbage and beans and zucchini, and old carpeting we can layer deep in garden walkways to cut down on maintenance time.
Any time we can reuse something, it cuts down on waste, making for a better world – not just the world around us. If we’re saving time and money, and if we’re developing some creativity and a new way of looking at things, we increase our preparedness and better our own world directly.
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First, the disclaimer: This is an article about learning to shoot firearms, also known as ‘guns’. Specifically, handguns. All firearms are dangerous. Handguns are especially dangerous. Do not attempt this while distracted by anything, including children (especially children) or spouse(s), radio, Tv, CD, DVD, dinner bells, bills, IRS audits… anything that distracts you can at least cause injury, at most, death, to self or another. Remember: the life you save may be dear to you. Also, any body parts you damage may...
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1. LIMBAUGH WARNS PENCE: You guys were sent there to drain the swamp…
Limbaugh asks, Mr. Vice President, why vote Republican? What is the point of voting Republican if the Democrats are gonna continue to win practically 95% of their objectives, such as in this last budget deal? Via Rush Limbaugh Show.
Could it be that they are becoming part of the swamp?
2. China clamps down on online news with new security rules…
This is also the U.S. governments and mainstream medias wet dream – they would love and are working on Chinese style censorship here in the U.S. and world wide, so...
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The survival market is changing. It has come a long way since the days that it could barely support a couple of magazines and the occasional book.
Now it seems like TV series every time I turn around, which is remarkable to many of us who have been survivalists for twenty, thirty, forty years or more, because aspects of survival are being accepted as mainstream for the first time in our lives.
This is what the last PrepperCon show was about, it was an opportunity to show off solutions for a changing market.
For a couple of days, survival experts and gear providers gathered in Utah, for one of the main preparedness and survival expos in US. I’ve been there, and now I’m sharing with you the highlights.
Preparedness is Going Mainstream
This year, I was interviewed by a major media outlet from NYC and the NY Times is writing an article about PrepperFash, the fashion portion of the expo.
I certainly never thought I would see the day either of those events would happen, but the survival market seem to attract more moderates concerned with the inevitability of climate change. You don’t have to be conservative or liberal to understand that as our world grows more complicated, it also grows more fragile or to understand that being prepared for emergencies is a responsible precaution.
This level of growth in the survival has made it possible for many more of us to make a living in the field we are passionate about, brought about survival expositions like PrepperCon and has made possible much more specific, detailed and well thought out survival solutions than existed in years past.
Here are a few highlights to help your prepping.
Survival Medical
The owner of the company is a supply chain logistics genius who supplies hospitals with medical supplies. This enables Survival Medical to sell hospital quality supplies packaged for long-term storage cheaper than you can buy the individual components.
Long Term Storage: Survival Medical engineered special layers for their Mylar packaging so cotton won’t yellow and turn brittle, adhesives won’t stop sticking and ointments won’t dry out. This is huge for survivalists storing or caching medical supplies. They have kits packaged in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seals lids that store neatly with food storage. 5 gallon buckets are tremendously useful tools in a long-term survival situation or infrastructure breakdown. They are extremely useful for hygiene and water treatment, lots of them. Survival uses for both forms of packaging are only limited by the imagination.
Price: Prepping is expensive and time consuming and saving both enables you to reach your preparedness goals sooner. Being able to buy long-term packed kits for less than you could buy the components saves time and money.
Survival-Specific Solutions: They have created a vast array of mission and threat-specific solutions for survivalists. If you are a boater, they have a kit for you. Whether that boat is a kayak or a blue water sailboat, they have a kit for you. Going to store it at a fixed site or transport it in a vehicle? Need a kit for a pack? Ride a horse? Having a baby? It just goes on and on.
Modular: I pioneered the Modular Survival Kit so it is exciting for me to see someone else applying modularity to survival kits and specifically to the first aid aspect of them. You can use a module without cracking the seal another and then just replace what you used. This is a huge deal.
FithOps 209 Shotgun Primer Perimeter Trip Alarm
You may have noticed a perimeter trip alarm in my article about booby traps that you can slide the base of any number of 12-gauge shotgun shells into. That type of contraption is not without its uses, but it is heavy and shells or even just shell bases are bulky.
The upside is the ability to fire flares, blanks or less-lethal munitions such as OC (Pepper Gas) cartridges and FithOps has a model of that type of perimeter trip alarm coming soon.
What the owner of FithOps has done is that he has dramatically reduced size and weight of the device by creating a trip alarm that fires only the 209 shotgun primer as opposed to an entire shotgun shell base. That’s all I use most of the time, so I was glad to find this product.
What this means is that the device takes up very little space and weight in your pack, enabling you to do the same job with a lot less equipment or carry more of them and deploy a lot more alarms. The body is only about .5″ diameter and just under 3″ in length making it a little fatter than a .410 shotgun shell and since it is machined from aluminum, it is very light and the 209 shotgun shell primers it fires are tiny but are plenty loud.
You could create a perimeter with just two of the devices, but I recommend J-hooking your trails in and out of camp and setting up a couple more or maybe even mix in model or two that uses shotgun shell bases to add flexibility, but that would depend on what you are trying to accomplish.
At just $25 each, they are a great value and I know from personal experience that this type of alarm is very effective. I have set up many a trip trap for students and buddies over the years and have yet to ever have anybody find one before tripping it. Just make sure they don’t have a heart condition, because they can really get the old ticker thumping on excitable types. And yes, the owner claims they work on bears and tweakers alike.
Deluxe Camping
Anyone who has been into emergency preparedness for a long time knows that you need pretty much the same stuff to survive a great variety of threats. A simple solution for many of our basic needs is vehicle-portable camping gear.
Deluxe Camping has taken functionality and efficiency of many basic needs of camping to the next level. The owner was a primitive skills student of Larry Dean Olsen so he understands the fundamentals of camping at a level which most folks do not and this enabled him to innovate some
Rocket Stoven Combo
Very efficient multi-tier rocket stove/oven that can cook an entire meal at once with very little wood.
Burns wood completely creating very little smoke.
Deluxe Tent Shower
Pressurized hot shower that can be used inside or outside a tent.
Captures water and drains it outside.
Deluxe Filtration Camp Sink
Hands Free: Foot pump means you can wash your hands and pump water at the same time.
Self-contained: Captures gray water so no puddle on the ground.
Deluxe Off-grid Laundry
Large 28-gallon capacity the same as a home washing machine.
Rust Free
Smooth circular motion. No repetitive up and down or back and forth motion.
Can re-capture and reuse water
Ringer attachment for complete off-grid laundry solution
Education on Laws Governing the Use of Public Land and Natural Resources
The Celebrity Panel gave attendees the incredible opportunity to ask questions to Dave Wescott, David Holladay, Dr. Nicole Apelian and Alan Kay regarding the relevance of primitive survival skills in our modern world.
One of the topics that came up was the laws governing use of our public lands and resources and how we can practice primitive without running afoul of the law. For instance, Alan Kay pointed out that in many states it is illegal to harvest road kill.
The answers boiled down to the fact that life is an act of consumption.
Dave Wescott shared:
You can’t preserve it, you can conserve it. Leave no trace is a physical impossibility, we need to consume to be alive.
Everything comes from somewhere, but unfortunately “leave no trace” is the guiding ethic determining how most of our public lands are used.
The primitive skills veteran advocated “technique over tech” and that “camping badly in any mode is bad.”
David Holladay said that he loves the story of Robin Hood where the king owned all the deer but the people fed themselves anyway.
He said:
There is going to be a day when it is illegal to eat or be a human being.
He and explained how one of our neighbors to the South sprayed defoliants on people’s gardens because they were worried that they might contain an insect that could damage the monocultured crops of giant corporate farms and how Mexico passed a law declaring it illegal to be Yaqui.
Members of the Native American tribe were forced to abandon their religion and their culture or move to Arizona. He said: “Live long enough to apologize to the judge, in a survival situation.”
Dr. Nicole Apelian noted that in some states it even is illegal to catch rainwater or highly regulated.
The sick irony is that it is often illegal to feed yourself or to shelter yourself without using products made from fossil fuels that came from some land somewhere and will end as trash somewhere else.
The food in backpacking meals and bags they are packed in come from somewhere and so do the bags many areas require you to use to haul out your urine and feces.
Do they really think food comes from the grocery store? Is it OK to leave a carbon footprint as long as it is in someone else’s country? Because that is exactly what we are doing. We are essentially trying to preserve our own lands in glass showcases while we exhaust resources of other nations or land we call farmland.
Everyone would probably agree that we need rules for high traffic areas, but our current laws serve to separate man from nature. This is an unnatural practice. Humans have been part of most land-based ecosystems a lot longer than we have had laws. Rights and property predated law. Law was created to protect them but is now used to legally plunder the very rights and property it was created to protect.
Our forefathers followed this path and survived for centuries. Learn from their knowledge to find your own way to survive!
This article was written by Cache Valley Prepper for Survivopedia.
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You start by planting seeds and hope to have a small crop but they don’t even sprout. Or you buy healthy seedlings and they just come to your home to die.
They go way beyond trellising.
