A Group of Your Own

Is it a natural occurrence for people to come together as times get harder? In some instances, I would say yes, and in others, no. For example, there are more and more violent attacks happening around our country. Some only involve one victim and others many victims, but the same event touches people in different ways. In some people it fosters a festering hatred for anyone associated with the perceived offending group. In other people it brings out an increase in empathy and altruism. These are two diametrically opposed opinions and perspectives about a single event.

For instance, take the murder of police officers across the country. For some reason, there are people that have decided, and some even loudly advocate, the murder of law enforcement personnel. Not because these particular officers have done anything to offend the killer personally, but just because they chose to protect and serve the community for a career and as a means to pay the bills and raise a family. That's a good, logical reason to commit murder, wouldn't you say? I know that is dripping with sarcasm, but really, some people seem to truly believe there is nothing wrong with this activity, they even preach it from their pulpits.


As offensive as this situation is, it has brought some people together. In some instances, I would even guess it has brought people together that never had anything to do with each other before. These murders have become their common bond and motivator. They have joined together to take care of each other in some form or fashion.

The murders that took place in Oregon a few days ago targeting Christians have resulted in comments by a number of people. One I read said that Christians need to have concealed carry permits so they can protect themselves. The campus that the shooting occurred on was a gun free zone. If someone there had been able to carry a concealed weapon, legally, you have to wonder if there would have been as many casualties and injuries. 

But there is another group these shootings have brought together. They are those that would take away guns from everyone. Except the criminals, of course, they would have them anyway. 

The people in these two groups will never see eye to eye. One group claims guns kill people, even though they are inanimate objects and can do nothing of their own volition. The other group claims that the right to keep and bear arms is part of the basic foundation of our Constitution and no other law can infringe upon that right. Along with the right to keep and bear arms comes the right to protect yourself against those that threaten your liberty or life. 

Group. Faction. Division. Clique. Sort. Classify. Club. League. Cabal. Caucus. Union. All adjectives that can describe a number of people that join together for a particular purpose. 

The time is drawing near that everyone will have to choose what group they will belong to or attempt to join. So why not choose ahead of time and develop relationships with folks in your area? Folks that have the same goals of survival and self-reliance that you do. For a long time Frank and I didn't talk to anyone locally about what we were doing and how we were trying to prepare for the coming collapse of society. We tried to gently warn people to have some extra food, grow a garden and store some water. Most people just gave us that funny stare like a third eye had just popped out of our foreheads or something. Others saw no reason to do all that work when you can go to the store any time you want for anything at all. Then we started the blog and started sharing with you. At first we were very careful about what we shared and what we said. Don't get me wrong, you don't know everything we're doing or thinking. We're still careful. But the time has come that we have started sharing with some of the local folks, like the people from the radio class.

Frank told you in the last article that you too can start a survival radio communications net, and he's right. That is one way you can join with other people to increase the chance of survival for everyone in the group. It is a way to begin a core group of people that are now beginning to look out for each others safety and well being. Now think of ways you can expand that thought. That is what we are doing.

We have friends who garden and preserve their harvest. This is another way to join together for the benefit of everyone. You don't have to garden together, but let's face it, there is a lot to be said for encouragement. If your friend down the road is fighting the same squash bugs you are and has found a better solution, that's very good information to have. It could mean the difference between a productive garden with food on the shelf, or a failed crop with no food on the shelf. In a collapse scenario, that could mean the difference between life and death. Dramatic? I really don't think so.

So how are you going to communicate with that friend down the road in a collapse situation? By radio, of course. See how everything ties together?

 
Medical skills will be a highly valued commodity in a collapsed society. Do you have any skills? If not do you have supplies that can be bartered for those services? Do you have medical supplies that can become part of the service needed? 



What I'm trying to do is give examples of ways we can develop a means to help and support each other when the time comes that what we have is all we have. That includes people and their skills, whether it is gardening,

radio communications, running a sawmill or tending livestock. Even though Frank and I are natural loners and would like nothing better than to be alone on our homestead, in a collapse situation, that just won't work. We can't do all the work necessary, guard our place and each other, and get enough sleep to survive. No matter how much we want it to be so, it just isn't feasible. That means we need other people, and for us to fulfill that need, we need to reach out to others and develop the relationships necessary to not only receive, but provide support to others.

Is this a scary proposition for us? Yes. At times do we feel vulnerable to what may come of sharing some of what we are doing and how we are preparing. When, not if, the SHTF will there be

people showing up at the gate we have to turn away, even by force if necessary? We can only pray that it would not be so. I was talking to a long distance friend today and we discussed this very thing. What she told me really struck a chord. She said that we have been called to live this life in this manner. Not only that, we have been called to share with others to try to help them prepare as well, and if that leads us into danger then God will take care of it. 

Folks, it's time to join together in neighborhoods or communities to support each other during the coming calamities. Trying to make connections and build relationships after the SHTF will be very trying and stressful. If you have built a foundation ahead of time, you will have something to fall back on, others to turn to if there is a need. Don't wait until all hell has broken loose to show up at your neighbors gate and say we need to work together now. It will then be too late and you will be seen as a taker. Takers are apt to be turned away with whatever force is necessary. Don't be a taker, be prepared to be a benefit and support, not a burden. Frank and I have been saying this more and more, and I'll say it again. The time is now.

Until next time - Fern
 

Prepping the Garden for Fall, Part 1

We have started preparing the garden for planting fall crops, but we're not finished yet. I have a few pictures of the beginning, but we probably won't get it finished up until Saturday when I hope to get many, many wonderful, miraculous little seeds planted. I am always in awe of how a tiny little seed can turn into so much food. It is truly a miracle to me. 

It is really nice to see the tall grass down and turning brown in the hot sun. I hope to rake it up and remove it so we can run the disc through there again before I plant. I'll give you another update when we get it finished. Due to several upcoming obligations, it will take a few more days than I would like. Some of the crops I will be planting are 120 days to maturity, like peanuts and Mangel beets, which means our window of opportunity is closing soon. Our first average frost date is October 31st, so July 31st is my very latest goal date. I hope I make it.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Listen for that inspiration that will lead you the next step you need to take in your preparations. And remember, you can never have too many seeds. Never. They will be more precious than anything made of metal. You can't eat metal, but you can feed yourself with seeds. Never plant the last of your seeds. What if you have a year like it has been here and just to get anything to grow you have to replant two or three times? What if a storm destroys your plants like it did to CQ from Hickory Holler? (She is on our blogroll.) What if insects destroy some of your crops? What if you are planning on that food to get you through the winter? Will you make it? Really inventory what you have and determine what you need, then get it and store it along with the information you need on how to grow, harvest, preserve both fruit and seeds, then inventory again. I am.

Until next time - Fern

Survival Gardening Scenario

I have a scenario for you. Somehow, it doesn't matter how, you have found conclusive evidence that there will be a catastrophic collapse of societies, governments and economies worldwide sometime between the end of October and the end of November this year. Remember, this is a fictional scenario I am giving you. There is already evidence of disruptions in the food supply for the coming months, along with sharply rising prices.The media dishes out a plethora of reasons for these problems that amount to nothing but more wasted oxygen by never ending talking heads. You have some things growing in your garden, enough that you can preserve some of it for winter. But now you realize that you need to grow food. A lot more food. As much as you possibly can, for the rest of the growing season in your area.

My questions are these. What will you grow? How will you preserve what you grow in the shadow of an impending collapse? Do you have the space, seeds, and supplies you need to do so? If not, are you still able to procure what you need?



I would really like to hear from as many people as possible. There is much we can teach each other, and I learn a lot from the differing perspectives, locations, and experience of the people that read here. So, please share your thoughts. An example. Our friend Grace down the road a ways, can grow things in her garden that we can't grow. We can grow things that she can't. I have bug problems she doesn't and she has some that I don't. It's important to know what grows well in your garden, and how to preserve the harvest of your labor. Remember, this is a collapse scenario, so you can't put it all in the freezer unless you have a reliable source of power.

The other day when I was out in the garden, I took stock of what is there. At the end of that exercise, I felt like there wasn't much in the way of food quantities. I still have places that need to be replanted and have plans for those areas. There are crops that will soon be harvested leaving more space for additional crops that will grow into the fall. And yet, even with all of that planning, I felt like there wasn't enough of a food supply to sustain Frank and I for the winter. 

When I posed this question to Frank he had a ready answer. Plant what grows here. Simple, direct and right on target. He said we know we can grow green beans. If we have enough green beans to eat everyday, great, that's what we'll eat. We also know we can grow squash, tomatoes, cowpeas, cucumbers, turnips, peppers, beets and carrots. Plant as many of all of these as you can. What we don't preserve we can give away, and many of these crops are also great for our animals.

I have written articles about the nutritional contents of some of the vegetables we grow. My purpose was to see if the things we can grow will provide the nutrition we need to remain healthy and active in a collapse situation. I have yet to go back and evaluate the information on these vegetables as a group to see if they would meet our needs or not. But in the long run, what we can grow will be what we eat.

There are many ideas and scenarios I ponder from time to time. Some realistic, some idealistic, and some just down right silly, but this one has stuck with me like it is something very important that I need to pay attention to. We have many things vying for our attention right now at our homestead and I am not spending near the time in the garden I should. It continues to beckon me with it's empty spaces. Spaces that need to be planted, for the time is near. There are many indicators that the fall of the year 2015 may be monumental in the history of our planet Earth. The world has become a much smaller place with the complexities of interwoven economies, food supplies and power struggles. The fall of the year may bring the fall of us all.

So, tell me. What would you grow and why?

Until next time - Fern

Are Insects Beneficial? They Can Be

It's time for me to share my latest bug adventure. This year I have imported bugs to our homestead. It's not like we don't have enough bugs here already. I know there are bugs that live in other places, but sometimes it seems like we have every bug known to man living on our homestead. One of the problems with that is that they want to eat our vegetables before we do. This year the bug battle is being fought in earnest.

About a month ago, I ordered 1000 green lacewing and 600 praying mantid eggs, along with enough nematodes to cover all of the garden and herb bed area. This is the first time I have ever purchased bugs of any sort. I guess I get stranger as I get older. I have bug books and get bugs in the mail. Neat, huh? Even though the cabbage worms have appeared after the first batch of lacewings were applied, I received and applied another 1000 eggs last night. I just hope they hatch and latch onto a plant so they don't get washed away in yet another bought of rain that is arriving for the 

weekend. I won't be able to see them when they hatch, according to the directions, even full grown they only reach 1/2" to 3/4" long. According to my bug book, The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, the lacewings are effective against corn earworms, cucumber beetles, corn rootworm, and thrips. Frank just asked me, "What?" And I said, "Thrip. There are actually different kinds of thrips, and some of them kill onion plants." Yep. Stranger every day.

 
The praying mantid eggs haven't hatched yet. When I talked to the company to place the second order, they told me it could take up to six weeks. Praying mantis will eat any insect it can catch, beneficial or pest, including each other. My order came with three cases, which I would describe as cocoon type structures made from something that resembles the outside surface of a wasp nest. Two of these I placed out in the fork of a tree on the edge of the garden, the third I put in a jar with a paper towel and rubber band on top. It's sitting in the kitchen window so we can watch them hatch.

 
 

The nematodes I ordered are only viable here in the summer, since at 20* they will die. At first I wasn't going to order any because I wanted something that I could get established in a way that would be sustainable. But when I found out they are effective against many pest

insect larvae, as well as fire ant larvae and queens, I decided to give it a try. When I asked what nematodes actually are, I found the description to be rather interesting. They are a microscopic worm that parasitizes other soft bodied insects. Some of the insects nematodes are effective against are carrot rust fly, carrot weevil, cucumber beetles, cutworms, flea beetles, grasshoppers, grubs and June bugs, and strawberry root weevil.

First application, May 3rd

Nematodes live on the moisture barrier of soil particles. Interesting, huh? To 'apply' nematodes you need water. If you have one of those fertilizer sprayers that fit on the end of a garden hose, that would work. We don't have any of those, but we do have a two gallon sprayer that worked just fine. It also allowed me to apply the nematodes in very specific areas as I

May 21st

walked through the garden and herb bed. Last night I applied nematodes in these areas for a second time. We have probably lost over an inch of topsoil in parts of our garden this spring due to some torrential rainfall, and I wanted to make sure we still had a good population of nematodes. 

 Yesterday we also received 250 assassin bug eggs. We already have some assassin bugs, but last year there were very few compared to the years before, so I ordered these to boost the population. I saw an assassin bug nymph a few days ago on the comfrey, and was glad to see they have survived and are starting to emerge. I hope the new additions will increase the overall population for years to come. Assassin bugs will eat many different kinds of insect pests, including flies and caterpillars. Even though they look pretty creepy, once I figured out what they were, I encourage their residence in our garden.

 

And last, but not lest, I also received over 1000 parasitic wasp, or trichogramma eggs yesterday. A few years back I kept seeing these little, light golden wasps working over our corn crop. I couldn't figure out why they were there. I didn't think they harvested pollen, but I was stumped. Then one day I was looking in one of my bug books and ran across parasitic wasps. Wa-la! I was excited to know that the draw for the wasps was the corn earworms, of which we had few that year. Since then I haven't seen near as many parasitic wasps, just like the assassin bugs, so I ordered these to boost the population. They are effective against Colorado potato beetles, corn earworms, European corn borer, gypsy moth, Japanese beetle, leaf hoppers, leaf miners (which we have actively working now), mealy bugs, Mexican bean beetle, stink bugs, tent caterpillars, tomato hornworms, fall webworms, and whiteflies.

 

 

 











It will be very interesting to see if the introduction of these insects have an impact upon our food production in the garden this year. I will keep you updated and let you know whether this was worthwhile, or a waste of time, effort and money. I also wanted to let you know that another interesting development occurred this week. I discovered an all day class that is being offered in our area discussing beneficial insects. So I signed up. We talk about learning all the time here on the blog. This is an example of taking

advantage of what is being offered around you, whether it is a class, the chance to work with or listen to an older person with experience in what you are trying to learn, or the good old school of hard knocks with hands on trial and error. It always helps if you find what you are trying to learn fascinating. Like Frank and radio communications. He has found his calling as we approach the edge of the precipice in civilization as we know it. Me? Food. I need to know how to produce, harvest and preserve food. This role has been given to me, and so has the fascination with fulfilling this role. It is varied and includes plants and animals, wild and domestic. Again, I urge you to learn something new and useful that your family will benefit from. You just never know when you will be called to put it to use in a most important way.

Until next time - Fern