Preparedness for when

pineapple

metherer wrote: »

Has anyone seen this chap's videos before?

What do you think of them?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRjIbIRXnQM&list=PLDF146EDA9066E4D5

No but thanks for that. I'll give it a proper look through when me and the family dog have had our 'constitutionals'
First thoughts are that anyone who is prepared to put themselves out there to help others deserves a thumbs up.
And as ever sometimes the comments on these things can be as useful as the original info so I recommend scrolling down.
There are also a ton of what seem to be really useful links on the right hand side :beer:

pineapple

boultdj wrote: »

Don't panic hun, I'm also asthmatic and know that during the war the goverment incouraged the picking and eating/drinking of nettel's 'cause they contain a natrual anti-histamine.hth

Indeed. Maybe this is a timely reminder - especially for those of us who have health conditions - to do some research on alternative/natural remedies. The latter does not necessarily mean better, but it could be better than nothing.

mardatha

Second that Pineapple - we need to find out what people used before we had these drugs and at least know how to use them. I used to be really into herbs and found that thyme cough mix was excellent stuff. There are loads of variations on that - get a herbal, an old one, and keep it. I have Culpeper.
We've also got a 16th cent (cheap copy!) treatise on looking after your hawk which is great reading - how to make a soothing infusion for a goshawk will certainly come in handy post S !

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Is anyone storing seeds???

I am prepping for financial meltdown ( well for the ever increasing prices of EVERYTHING)

Up until now I have been half heartedly doing things, but thinking about it loads....

so with the ever increasing costs, we might as well have power cuts etc, as we will not able to put the lights on......

Also with the erratic weather we have been having over the last few years food prices are going to get worse and worse... and possibly seed prices will start going up too, as the demand is getting more, and poss less seeds being produced because of the weather??

I am going to look into which is the best way to store seeds for long term ( years) storage, before I spend hours searching anyone know????

mardatha

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

How did you cope?

More to the point, how did any non-prepping neighbours cope?

************************************
We live in a tiny village at the end of the line and it used to happen all the time Bob, so folk are prepared for it. I've got a coal fire and calor gas cooker, so life in this house goes on as normal, but reading instead of yakking on forums Use candles in groups of 3 with a mirror behind them, and paraffin lamp in the kitchen.
Neighbours, some are all electric now but they have calor super ser heaters and camping stoves. The whole village went out and cleared the snow every day then all piled into somebody's house for tea or somebody brought out cups of soup, so gossip replaced the tv.
We ate the meat from the freezer then all claimed Scottish Power for freezer contents, got a cheque and started again We do often get powercuts still but that was the longest one.

westcoastscot

Thanks Zaxdog - I'm 40 miles south of you - Oban is my nearest proper supermarket (not counting the Co-op). That's really kind of you to offer, I'm fine just now though as have two grown children at home.

Mar yes we have power cuts every year also - last winter was particularly bad here though. Most people managed fine - remember we are remote and rural anyway so pretty hardy to start with - we don't have an over-reliance on technology here either, still having open fires etc. People rallied around and helped each other - the small dispensing surgery helped co-ordinate efforts to assist older/vulnerable people and make sure they "visited" with families to remain fed and warm.
We had a couple of people evacuated by air ambulance, but by and large we managed fine.
Months on we got a modest payout from the hydro board (our elec company) and one particularly remote community are putting theirs together to purchase a genny for the village hall so that in a similar event everyone within reach can gather together.

edited to add: that's funny Mar my son asked me about a knitting machine yesterday also. Shall have to have a look at them!

WCS

mardatha

Watch youtube videos and see if you think you could manage, that would be worth the money for you - get family to club together and buy you one. Might get on Gumtree or ads in shop windows. It comes under "prepping"

pineapple

Not sure what it's like but hey it's free!
Download free kindle app for PC on Amazon if you don't have a kindle.
With thanks to whoever alerted me to these!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Sufficiency-Survival-Follow-ebook/dp/B00CB93M12/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1379233533&sr=1-15&keywords=free+kindle+books+survival

GreyQueen

I'n not expert of seed storage but I will say don't bet the farm on being able to store carrot seed.

It's one of the most difficult for commercial producers to get viable seed from, so much so that it's allowed to have a lower proven germination rate than other commercially produced seeds for the back garden grower.

Generally speaking, seeds need to be very dry and cool or cold. They also need to be protected from vermin like mice and other insects.

Some veggies (carrots, parsnips etc) are biennials which we grow as annuals. If you let a few go to seed, you can easily harvest your own. I've had good results with parsnips; allow to bolt into a seed stalk, let get brown and dry, put a paper bag over the end and shake the seeds off.

If you think you might want (or need) to self-save seeds, be sure that the ones you buy aren't F1 hybrid seeds as their "offspring" won't be the same. You want non-hyridised seeds, the Americans seem to call them heirloom seeds.

Also look out for what your neighbours are growing successfully as they may have found, through trial and error, varieites which are particularly suited to the soil and climate where you are.

Generally speaking, the big seeds like beans and peas will stay viable for several years with pretty indifferent storage ( I keep mine in the shed in paper bags, in a meat safe in case the mice were to get in there).

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along later with better info/ pointers to a website or book of advice.

Another thing to consider as part of garden preps is to build up the fertility of your soil. Have you got compost heaps and muck piles going? At the moment, you may be able to collect manure already bagged by car for free or a neglible amount of money, or have a load of manure delivered for a few tens. If SHTF, there may not be vehicles/ fuel available for this.

I'd say to anyone eyeing up the backyard or the front lawn and thinking that they'll start gardening when it all goes t*ts up; it ain't as easy as experienced gardeners make it look.

Under grassland, there is liable to be a quantity of soil-dwelling pests which will wreck havoc on the first season's roots (thinking wire worms and tatties in particular) and it's best to get that ground turned over well before you need to do emergency growing. Soil is a complicated world of its own, not just dead brown stuff, and if you want it to produce more than it would naturally, you need to work at it.

In this latitude, bare soil wants to become grassland and grassland wants to become scrub then temperate forest.

There are also some crops like perennial spinach which can be left to get on with it and the leaves harvested on a cut-and-come-again basis. I dunno how well this copes with the extremes of Scotland but I've seen it recover easily from vicious frosts and snow here in southern England.

Today's cunning plan it to chill a bit more then head up to my allotment where I'm bringing a new section into cultivation for the first time in over a decade. It's a ghastly mess and will require lots of TLC and I'm already getting some of the grubs up and ready for the birdies. Depending on how it shapes up in the next few months, I may risk getting a tattie crop off it next year, accepting that it will be chewed a bit by critters, or I may treat it as an area on special measures and keep turning it over by fork for a season.

I'm expecting that every weed seed dormant in the soil, which was suppressed under the top growth of couch grass, nettles and brambles, will be triggered into growth by my disturbing the ground. Could be in for an interesting 12 months.

Once I've got it to behave itself, I intend to have perennial fruits bushes in there and some herbs. It's the section closest to the top of the lottie (my shed is at the very top) and so is farthest from prying eyes on the street. I'm thinking both summer and autumn fruiting raspberries, a gooseberry bush, maybe redcurrants.........happy plans.

At the moment I'm harvesting chickenwire, brickbats, glass and nails...........the only way is up!

[Deleted User]

If you have a riding school nearby, wouldn't they let you have the manure?

I'd imagine they'd be glad to get rid if it.