Show Notes
This week I begin
with the Blizzard Survival 20% discount Offer, Self-Sufficient Britain-NOT, The
Midimax 10% Discount Offer, Support these companies, CB Radio the Post SHTF Comms Solution, The Ribzwear 30% Discount Offer, Testing
the Plan, The Wilderness 121 10% Discount Offer, Wilderness Survival, The Field
Leisure 10% discount Offer, Survival Tips, The Buggrub 10% Discount Offer, Are
Aquaponics the Answer? More companies to support, Homemade Laundry Soap, Hunters-Knives
10% Discount Offer, Growing Your Own Food & Becoming Self-Reliant, Further
companies to support, Starting Preparing, An Extension Event.
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Self-Sufficient Britain-NOT!
Britain has become so reliant on imports that the country
would run out of food if we only had UK-grown produce to eat.
Our farmers now produce just 60 per cent of the total food
we consume - meaning that if our import supply was cut off we could only feed
the nation until August 7 each year.
Agricultural self-sufficiency has fallen 15 percentage
points from 75 per cent in 1991, according to Government figures.
Farming leaders insist they have the capacity to boost
production, but they say they need the support of politicians, retailers and
consumers to ensure increasing demand.
The National Farmers Union last night called for a coherent
plan to boost agriculture, including better promotion of home grown food, more
tax breaks for farmers and better support from supermarkets.
Farmers react to markets, they react to confidence levels,
and they are willing to invest in the future if they have that confidence.
Otherwise we will end up with 70 million people in the UK,
only able to produce half of the food we need.
We need to ratchet up our ability to produce.
‘We need to sit down and develop a growth plan because the
industry is going to require a huge level of investment in the years to come.’
Ministers are worried not only about the impact on UK
agriculture, but also about being too reliant on inconsistent foreign food
supplies and turbulent prices.
With a growing global population, the problem is only going
to get worse as more people compete for resources.
What needs to happen now is for us as a country is to give
farmers the green light to produce more food for us.
Our aim is to ensure the country - consumers, politicians,
retailers and the wider food industry - is backing British farming, and within
this, a solid plan for agricultural growth to ensure the current
self-sufficiency trend is reversed and long-term food security is supported.’
Part of the problem is that Britain does not just ship in
exotic produce such as bananas and pineapples, but also buys in cheaper
varieties of food we could produce perfectly well in this country.
It means that food such as French apples, Spanish cucumbers,
Danish bacon and Mexican runner beans fill our supermarket shelves, even in the
spring and summer months.
Last year we imported 27 per cent of food that could have
been produced domestically, up from 23 per cent the year before, and 13 per
cent in 1991
In a bid to tackle the problem, the Government last month
announced that the Armed Forces and all Whitehall departments will now buy
British food where possible, even if it is more expensive, and schools and
hospitals will be expected to follow suit.
It is therefore vitally important that we all plan to grow
as much of our own as we can, we must also become proficient in all the
different preserving methods to deal with the volume of extra food we will
inevitably produce.
We would also be extremely foolish to ignore Auaponics as a
solution to providing us with much needed protein and vitamins.
We as a country must revert to only eating seasonal foods
whether that be vegetables or game, summer fruits or salads.
But it is now clear to me that we must look after
number one as it appears we have no other choice.
Ken at MidiMax.co.uk is offering 10% off any product by
using the code Midi10 so check out www.midimax.co.uk
If you are looking for
some new kit then please Support these Companies
The following
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For Survival Knives and Survival Kits
For the Nano Striker fire starter
For tasty MX3 Meals
The Lifesaver bottle
For the Knot Bone Lacelock
For the Wild and Edible Nutrition E Book
Browning Night Seeker Cap Light RGB
Multi lite Multi-tool
For the Ghillie Kettle
For the Blackbird SK-5 or his handmade leather sheaths http://www.hedgehogleatherworks.com
For the Farside Outdoor Meals
The Survivor knife
For the Chris Caine companion survival tool
Day Ration Pack
Vango Storm Shelter 400
myFC PowerTrekk
It runs on water, it really does
The Paper Shower
The Life Straw
Purinize is a 100% all-natural solution of concentrated
mineral salts and purified water.
Is a solar powered
phone charger really useful in the UK?
Recharge via mains
usb, PC, Car usb and in addition, Solar
Hold charge for
months, even when in a pocket
Any direct sunlight
will trickle charge the battery.
Get more charges per
given capacity and very useful in an emergency
CB Radio the
Post SHTF Comms Solution
No, you don’t have to call out “Breaker
breaker good buddy” when using one, or listen to Truck Driving Hits of the
1970s on 8-track tape while operating it.
Citizens Band radio
is a free to use public radio communications service. It enables members of the
public to communicate without the need to pay any subscription, fee or charge
per minute.
It really is free,
you don't even have to register to use it.
Simply get the
correct equipment, connect it up, and get chatting. No license is required in
the UK nowadays. Most C.B. Radios these days come with 80 channels (40 UK and
40 European).
All these channels
can be used in the UK, but only the 40 channels designated for use in mainland
Europe should be used in the rest of the EU. However, this point seems largely
to be ignored.
The C.B. radio is
actually an outstanding option for your post-emergency communication. In fact,
it makes sense to have more than one on hand — one in the glove box of your car
or motorcycle, one in your bugout bag, and then one at home.
Entry levels are
extremely affordable and offer you instant plug and play communications.
Since a majority of
Britons now have mobile phones, 75,750,000 wireless connections and most of
them assume mobile phones will suffice in an emergency situation.
But mobile signals
rely on a network of advanced towers, cables, satellites, super computers and
droves of maintenance workers. One big disaster could bring the whole network
down- or the region you rely on, and I’m sure you’ve experienced times when you
really needed to use your mobile phone just to have the screen say “no
service”.
You can’t rely
solely on a mobile phone for emergency communications.
Imagine there’s a
huge storm headed your way and you need to get home- there may not be a way to
know if the bridge over the river ahead of you is still there.
Our infrastructure
is in bad shape and being able to communicate with other motorist is more
important than ever.
Radio towers which
transmit important information can be easily taken out with high winds,
electrical storms, water damage and debris.
Their towers are all
over, most people receiving a signal from within a 40 mile radius so that the
information is tailored to your local area.
The downfall to BBC
emergency/weather warnings on your vehicle radio is that it is only a receiver.
This means you can listen, but you can’t call for help for help.
A CB radio (Citizens
Band) doesn’t rely on towers and connects you directly to anyone else in your
range with a CB radio. The range of signal transmission and reception can vary
depending on different factors but you can usually count on 2 to 5 miles of
range with a CB.
Add better antennas
and signal boosters and you could increase your range upwards of 20 miles.
This may seem like a
limited range, and it is but our roads are filled with CB radio users and in
rural areas the farmers and tractor drivers use CB’s to communicate between
each other around the farm.
This means that
there will almost always be someone to communicate an emergency situation to no
matter where you are. As long as you have an operational CB radio.
Tip: Be prepared for
a loss of power at home. CB radios operate on 12 volt car batteries.
I’ve personally used
a CB radio when travelling and the information I’ve received about road
conditions, police speed traps and other situations have been very valuable.
Especially during bad weather when I’ll need to watch for ice, snow, wind and
other dangerous conditions.
In a SHTF scenario a
CB radio could be of great importance to find out which roads are closed or
opened, and where you can go to get help! There are 40 channels on the CB radio
with channels 19 and 17 being the most common used motorist channels to
communicate over.
Channel nine is
reserved for emergency use and is the channel where emergency information is
transmitted.
I’ve heard of lives
saved in blizzard conditions because motorist could communicate their
positions.
But you’re not
limited to only using a CB radio in your vehicle. There are many kits where you
can install one in your home to communicate with the outside world and there
are even hand held radios as well.
Being more local and
commonplace than a HAMM radio, and much more affordable it‘s a great way to
boost your communication network.
To guarantee its
availability when needed, I suggest that you keep a spare set in a faraday cage
as should an EMP attack/event occur then you will need a comms system that
works. Check out www.cbradio.co.uk/
30% DISCOUNT FROM RIBZ
A front pack is a pack or bag that allows for access of
equipment from the persons chest. Front packs first and foremost allow for easy
access of gear without the removal of any equipment.
In many adventure outdoor activities it can be critical to
the sport to have the ability to reach essential gear fast without the removal
of a backpack. Simplicity is the foremost purpose of the front pack but there
are many additional benefits as well.
Weight distribution and balance is a key element in the
utility of the front pack. Shifting weight forward in situations when carrying
heavy loads can be critical to the comfort and balance of an individual.
Backpacking is a sport where in many situations it is
critical to both minimize and maximize the contents of your load for a longer
or lighter duration of stay. The ability to move small amounts of weight to the
frontal region significantly reduces overall stress on a person’s shoulders and
back.
Moving a small amount of heavy equipment forward to a front
pack can allow for an individual to either maximize or minimize the overall
load contained in a backpack.
In all there are unlimited uses for the front pack. Front
packs are the best compliment to any outdoorsman’s gear when accessibility,
functionality, mobility and simplicity are required. From horseback riding,
long distance biking, motorcycling and kayaking. All sports where fast and easy
access of gear is essential, a front pack is your best solution and as you can
imagine it is going down a storm within the prepping and survivalist community.
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Testing the Plan
Have you ever tried to discover any weaknesses or
vulnerabilities in your survival preparations? In the military, they do
unexpected drills where soldiers must quickly pack up all their clothing and
gear and be ready to head into action at a moment’s notice.
The reason for this is so they can discover their weaknesses
and make adjustments. It’s a very effective exercise, and I recommend you do
the same thing at home.
Although disaster can strike anywhere at any time, the first
time you do this survival stress test it’s best to do it at a time in your life
when things are relatively stable (you’re not expecting any guests or emergency
phone calls) and during a time of the year when it’s not extremely hot or cold.
Wait until you have a few days off, or just do it on the
weekend. You might want to start on a Friday or Saturday evening at 5pm when
everyone is home for the night and go until morning.
Although the longer it lasts, the better.
Here’s what I recommend you should do:
Here’s what I recommend you should do:
Flip the circuit breaker that provides electricity to your
house. (You might want to eat most of the food in your refrigerator before
this) or do it before a monthly shop.
Take the batteries out of all mobile phones and
battery-powered devices.
Pretend the taps don’t work. Put something over the handles
to remind you not to use them. (You can still use the toilets, just write down
how often they’re used and remember you’ll need several gallons of water to
refill them each time.)
If you have gas-powered appliances, do the same thing with
them.
Take all the keys to every vehicle and put them away
somewhere.
Pretend your neighbours are in the same situation and that
they have nothing you can borrow.
Doing these things will give you a glimpse of what life
might be like after a collapse. It will expose your weaknesses and help you
identify which areas you need to work on.
You’ll have a whole new set of questions and find out what
you want to learn next and what types of items you need to stock up on.
To make sure you learn from this experience, get a notebook
and write down your experiences. Concentrate on areas like hygiene, food,
cooking, lighting and security. Write down how many things you use (you’ll probably
use more supplies than you estimated).
Take note of which family members complain the most so
you’ll be prepared to deal with them in a real disaster.
Here are few sample questions you should ask yourself:
What would it be like after two weeks of this? Or two
months?
How long does it take me to cook a meal without a microwave
or stove?
How long would my water last? How much work would it be to
purify nearby water?
Are my camp grills, lamps, and other gear in working order?
Who will stand guard and when?
There are many more questions you could ask yourself, but
this should get you started.
Now you might be thinking, “There is no way I can get my
family on board with this.” Well, you might have to do some creative
negotiations.
For example, “If we do this tonight, tomorrow we can go to
the shops/park/whatever.” But don’t act like it’s going to be a miserable time.
Make it fun!
Tell the kids you’re going camping at home, talk, tell
stories, play games, and enjoy yourself. But don’t forget to learn as much as
you can.
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Wilderness Survival
When an outdoor accident occurs no matter how slight, or
when you realize you are lost, panic is the first reaction we all must
encounter and defeat before it brings on more harm. How you handle the effects
brought on by panic can determine your rate of success or failure in any
outdoor emergency situation.
Anyone can become lost, separated or stray too far from camp
as night sets in. Just remember that you have within you the ability to protect
yourself. Survival is a common element in all human beings, we do it every day
in the concrete and asphalt jungles of civilization… now you have to do it in
the wilderness.
The premise is the same, keep your wits, and use your brain.
DO NOT PANIC… let your positive side rule your decisions?
To emphasize the effect that panic has on an individual, let
me familiarize you with the "RULES OF 3."
Experience has shown that you can only expect to survive a
panic induced emergency situation for 3 seconds, you can only survive without
oxygen or from severe bleeding for up to 3 minutes, you can survive exposure to
excess heat or frigid cold for up to 3 hours and you can survive without water
for up to 3 days.
Panic is your major enemy, panic is the one thing you must
overcome at once because panic can and will harm you.
To help you deal with panic let’s look at a simple method of
handling an emergency situation. Remember the acronym S.T.O.P. Sit
-Think - Observe - Plan.
SIT: When you realize that you are lost take the time
to sit down and collect your thoughts. You are not lost, you are right where
you are, your camp, vehicle and everyone else is lost.
THINK: What do I have at my disposal both physical
and mental that can help me in this situation? Take an inventory of your
survival kit items and how you will use them. Take an inventory of your mind,
remember what you always thought you would do if you got lost. Most of all
remain positive, you will survive.
OBSERVE: Look around, is there shelter, water, high
ground, an open area so the searchers can see you. It will be easier for those
searching to find you if you can stay in one selected location that will allow
you to build a fire, provide shelter, set out signals and be in an area that
can be seen at a distance or from aircraft.
PLAN: Now create your plan of action. Be positive and
take care of yourself. If it is late in the day, build a fire for heat and
signalling, find or make a shelter against the weather, and most of all remain
positive, you do have the ability to survive.
You have conquered the major danger of not allowing panic to
cast your fate, you can now conquer anything else that confronts you.
SUGGESTED SURVIVAL KIT
This is only a
suggested outline for a personal outdoor survival kit, you should customize
your kit to meet your specific needs.
Leave a detailed trip itinerary with someone you trust
A. Never forget that your brain and your ability to
remain calm and not to panic are your most important survival tools.
B. Make sure your personal survival kit is
waterproof, compact and fairly lightweight, so you will carry it always.
Know how to use each and every item in your kit. Don't wait
till you need it. Make your kit fit the appropriate outdoor environment that
you are venturing into. No one kit meets every need—customize your kit to your
needs. (Cold climate, heat, wet conditions, mountains, desert, one day or
longer).
C. Suggested Survival kit gear:
- Heavy Duty Aluminium foil (cooking, signalling).
- Heavy Duty plastic bag—large zip lock (water, food storage).
- Space Emergency Blanket (shelter, signalling, personal protection)
- Flares, bright coloured bandanna or flag or an Emergency Strobe (visual means of signalling).
- Whistle (sound signalling).
- Compass (navigation).
- Matches, candle (fire starting) one match-one fire, light.
- Bouillon cubes, one small pack of instant soup, salt (cooking, flavour).
- Spark Light, magnesium starter (or any other back up fire igniters).
- Sewing kit including some tape (repairing clothes and equipment).
- Small multiple function knife (general tool needs).
- Water filter or purification kit (potable water).
- Fishing kit (line, hooks, lures, snares, repairs).
- Signal mirror (daytime visual signalling).
- Wire saw (shelter building, tinder making).
- Boiled sweets or high energy bar (survival food).
- Rope, string (shelters, snares, repairs).
- Insect repellent (personal comfort/protection).
- Small first aid kit (suited to terrain, area and personal needs).
- Personal needs medication.
- A picture of your loved ones (will to survive).
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Survival Tips
Making a Basic Survival Water Filter from Scratch
The first thing to consider when
collecting water is to think about how soon you will need to drink. If you have
time, collect standing water in a container and let it sit for a few hours.
This will allow anything that floats to rise to the surface, and you can skim
off any debris.
If you have two containers, try
this method for filtering water: Take the first container and fill it with
water. Then, put your shirt or some sort of porous layer over the other
container. Put your pebbles on top of the cloth and filter your water by
pouring it over the stones and into the container. Next, remove the pebbles and
put sand, a finer material, on top of the cloth. Filter your water again.
Finally, the most effective way
to filter is to crush up charcoal, put it on your cloth and let the water run
through it. Charcoal filters remove sediment, many contaminants, and improve
taste. Charcoal is used in store bought home and backcountry water filters.
You can make your own charcoal by
making a campfire, covering it with dirt and ash, and allow it to cool
completely. Once it has cooled, crush it into small pieces. Pour the water
through the charcoal several times.
If at all possible, build a
contraption that will combine all three filtering steps, letting the water flow
from one material to another. This will make the water gradually clearer as you
filter it again and again.
If you don’t have a manmade
container, some natural materials are great alternatives. Bamboo is a prime
example. It is hollow in the centre and water can flow through it easily. There
are many other plants with hollow centres. Use these to your advantage.
A hollow log can be a great
option. Place the materials (pebbles, sand, cloth and charcoal) in layers
through the various parts of the bamboo or log. Remember to think about what
materials you are carrying and check out your surroundings in any survival
situation.
This should provide you with a
basic insight on how to create a survival water filter. Realize that it is
still possible to get sick, even if you follow the guidelines in this article.
Then you must boil this water before you ingest it.
Always contact a physician after
you drink questionable water. The side effects of pathogens and microorganisms
will take at least a week to start affecting you. If you are in a survival
situation, keep hydrated and worry about those side effects later.
Earthquake
If at home crawl under a sturdy
table and cover your face and head with your arms. Stay away from windows and
large bureaus or bookcases that could fall. If you become trapped under debris,
cover your mouth with a cloth or shirt, and tap against a pipe or other object
to make noise.
(Don't yell for help unless you
have to; you risk inhaling dangerous quantities of dust.) If you are able,
leave the building once the shaking stops--aftershocks can bring down a
structure compromised by the initial quake. Finally, if you're outside during
the quake, steer clear of buildings and utility wires.
Tornado
Once you hear a storm warning,
seek refuge in a basement--either your own or a neighbour’s--or go to an
emergency shelter. As a last resort, stay on the lowest floor of your home.
If you're in a car as a tornado
approaches, get out and seek shelter indoors. If you're caught in the open, lie
flat in a ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands.
Flood
If a flash-flood warning is
issued, move to higher ground immediately--don't wait to gather belongings. In
any flood, avoid downed power lines and moving water. Six inches of moving
water can make a pedestrian fall, while a foot will float most vehicles
Hurricane
Heed evacuation orders, first
shutting off utilities ("Shut down Your Home in 5 Minutes"). If you
stay home, turn off gas lines and fill your tub with water. Secure shutters.
During the storm, move to an interior room and close all doors.
BEYOND FIRST AID
A basic first-aid kit may not be
enough to get you through the worst of a disaster. It's a good start—you do
want bandages, gauze pads, aspirin, hydrocortisone, antiseptic wipes, etc.—but
unexpected emergencies demand unconventional remedies. So what have you got around you that you
could use in a medical emergency?
DUCT TAPE—great for wound
closure, splints, and casts.
SUPERGLUE—excellent for small,
deep wounds. Use tape to hold while drying.
TAMPONS—an unexpected tool for
stanching heavy bleeding.
PANTY PADS—as a wound dressing
NEEDLE-NOSE PLIERS—Use for
removing large splinters or nails.
WATERMYTHS
Boil for 10 Minutes - This is one
so old, I don't even know where it came from. I've also heard 5 minutes, 15
minutes and even 20 minutes of boiling time.
All of these are B S I’ll keep
this short... if the water reaches boiling point, it's safe to drink, period,
end of story.
SHELTERMYTHS
High Ground is Warmer - This is
one survival tale that keeps popping up all over the place.
We're told that when considering
locations for a shelter, we should avoid valleys and low lying areas because
cold settles there and it may be several degrees colder than higher ground.
This is scientifically sound, but
in actual practice... it's pure, unadulterated bullshit.
This is because while a
thermometer may show a few degrees difference between two elevations,
thermometers are incapable of measuring wind chill factors.
In most cases, higher elevations
are exposed to a lot more wind while small valleys and lower areas are
sheltered from it.
A thermometer may show that actual
air temperature has increased 2 or 3 degrees by moving to higher ground, but
the temperature as far as your body is concerned is likely to have dropped by20
or 30 degrees.
Wind will suck away your body
heat faster than you can generate it. Today as I write this, it's almost 50
degrees and sunny outside... a seemingly nice January afternoon.
However, today's wind chill
factor drops that to somewhere between 20 and 30... And suddenly it's not so
great!
Shelters Should Be Built From Dead Materials
This one came from our friends in
the "green “survival movement.
They are far more concerned that
a few trees might get killed than they are about your life.
All advice from them should be
considered highly suspect. Imagine building your shelter as a big pile of dead
leaves and wood.
Now imagine having a campfire
anywhere near that. Do you really want to climb in there and go to sleep? Nuff'
said.
Plants Are a Good Source of Food in the Wilderness
Unless you're a certified expert
not just in plants, but in the plants of the given region you happen to be in,
stay the hell away from the plants!
Here's the facts...
ALL fur bearing mammals are safe
to eat, and will provide you with nutrients and calories.
ALL 6 legged insects are safe to
eat, and will provide you with nutrients and calories.
Almost all freshwater fish and
almost all birds are safe to eat, and will provide you with nutrients and
calories.
...and finally - MOST plants will
harm you, make you sick, or worse... poison you.
There are actually very few that
will provide you with any nutrients or calories.
It's a simple equation... if it
walks, crawls, swims, or flies, the odds are in your favour that it's not only
safe to eat, but that it will provide you with the nutrition and energy your
body needs.
If it sits there like... umm...
like a plant, the odds are against you both for your own physical safety, and
for nutritional content.
It's just not worth the gamble
unless you're absolutely sure!
IF LOST
Stay put: You arrive at
“lostness” from one direction, a single degree out of 360.
You have 359 chances to depart
your situation in the wrong direction.
The simplest Survival Navigation
Technique
Things happen...you’re GPS or
compass may become lost or broken.
You may find yourself needing an
alternate method of finding your bearings. You can use terrain association, if
there is some readily identifiable features in view, but you really need to
orient your map to a direction.
Anyone who has gone through any
survival courses has been taught a variety of methods of survival navigation.
Most have two problems in common, first they only apply to certain conditions,
second they are a little too complicated and very easy to forget.
If you wish to use the North
Star, it must be night, you need a clear night sky and must be in the northern
hemisphere. The watch method of survival navigation is difficult since almost
no one can remember which hand does what, and how north is indicated.
Also most people now wear digital
watches without the hands on them, especially during outdoor activities. The
stick shadow technique for survival navigation is simple, easy to remember and
works anywhere on the planet in conditions where you can see a shadow.
The improvised Survival
Navigation Technique is the simplest and most versatile method for direction
finding without a compass.
It works anywhere on the planet
as long as the sun throws a shadow. Equipment needed is simple: only a stick or
straight object such as a pen, and two small objects like pennies or rocks and
you will be able to find north.
Step One of the Stick Shadow
Technique for Survival Navigation
Place your stick or any straight
object into the ground, so it throws a shadow.
Step Two
Put a rock or penny at the tip of
the shadow, something easily identifiable and wait 15 or 20 minutes.
Step Three
Place a second object at the tip
of the shadow's new position.
Step Four
Place your left foot on the first
rock or penny and your right foot on the second object. Just remember that you
read left to right so your left foot goes on the first object and right on the
second object, or if you are military-minded you always start off with your
left foot.
You are now facing north!
All you really need to remember is to place the two rocks at
the tip of the stick's shadow. Then place your left foot on the first rock and
right foot on the second rock. if you ever find yourself without a compass and
in need of a little help orienting yourself, then this technique is easy to
remember and needs little equipment or special conditions.
Peter at buggrub
who not only sponsored the competition on my website is offering a 10% discount
on all his products. So have you got the gonads, can you walk the walk, dare
you, I dear you to buy some buggrub and then eat it, go on I dare you. Peter’s
website is www.buggrub.com
Are Aquaponics the
Answer?
Harvesting food from Aquaponics seems to be a topic that a
lot of preppers and even survivalists are interested in today. Unfortunately,
there’s a lot of misinformation, grandstanding and downright B.S. out there
about the realities of aquaponics. So I am going to try and separate the facts
from the fiction when it comes to using aquaponics as a food production system.
What is aquaponics and why should I care about this?
Aquaponics is essentially a modified form of Hydroponic
gardening. These two systems use a water-based solution and a soil-substitute
medium instead of traditional soil for plants. In a hydroponics system, plant
nutrients are added to the water solution to promote better growth and yield.
In Aquaponics, these nutrients are supplied mostly by waste
from living fish that are kept in a tank within the system.
The main advantage to aquaponics compared to hydroponics is
that the fish in an aquaponics system are supplying the nutrients to the
plants, which means you do not have to add additional nutrients to your
solution.
Oh yeah, and you can eat the fish too!
Can aquaponics produce 100% of my food?
This is probably the most-hyped claim for aquaponics
systems. The fact of the matter is that aquaponics can provide an abundance of
vegetables and supplemental protein from an enclosed, fairly easy to maintain
system…..to a point.
But I think the idea that you could provide 100% of your
food with aquaponics is a little far-fetched unless you’ve invested in (and
spend a lot of time maintaining) a very large aquaponics system.
For the majority of people, this type of setup is just not
practical and therefore, no, an aquaponics system is probably not the end-all /
be-all answer to your food production needs.
How much food can a small aquaponics system realistically
produce?
One of the most popular aquaponics designs (because of the
low cost of setup) is using 300+ gallon plastic IBC containers as fish ponds
and 55 gallon tanks or drums as garden beds. This setup is on the smaller end
of aquaponics systems and still requires a decent amount of space.
There’s no definitive formula for how much food you’ll be
able to harvest from a system like this but it’s fairly easy to guesstimate.
The 55 gallon tanks have a surface is that is usually no
larger than a couple feet square. At most, you’ll be looking at no more than 4
small plants per tank at one time.
Although plants grown using aquaponics do tend to grow much
faster and have a higher yield than a conventional garden (if done right), the
fact is that 4 plants is a pretty small amount of food.
Realistically, in a perfect small setup like this you would
be able to reliably harvest 1-2 fish a month (during a typical growing season)
and with the right climate and temperatures, about 4-5 separate vegetable
harvests per year.
Realistically, even a fully-optimized, full-time aquaponics
system of this size wouldn’t be able to produce much more than about 5-10% of
an average person’s required calories per year.
Obviously adding additional or larger systems could increase
that percentage significantly; however the upkeep on these larger systems is a
lot more than a standard IBC container/55 gallon tank system.
What do you have to do to maintain an aquaponics system?
Well maintaining an aquaponics system can take less than an
hour a week or it could be a full-time job depending on the size and complexity
of your setup.
For a smaller, more typical setup you have to make sure that
the temperature stays consistent, the fish are fed, the PH levels in your pond
are in line with what you need for the plants you’re growing and most of the
other basic maintenance tasks for a conventional garden.
Realistically, the setup of the aquaponics system is the
most time and resource intensive part. Maintaining it doesn’t require much more
time than a regular soil garden.
What types of plants can I plant in an aquaponics setup?
One of the major benefits of using an aquaponics system is
that as long as you can maintain the right PH, temperature and sunlight, you
can pretty much grow whatever you want. This means that you can grow plants
that normally wouldn’t grow in your area, as long as you can replicate their
typical growing conditions.
How much does a small aquaponics system cost to set up
and maintain?
This is the most commonly asked question about aquaponics.
The cost of an aquaponics system ranges from dirt cheap to ridiculously
expensive. A D.I.Y. setup using an IBC tank and 55 gallon drum shouldn’t cost
more than a few hundred pounds from start to finish.
A larger system using specialized tanks and growing beds
could potentially cost $10,000 or more to design, build and install.
Conventional gardening seems a lot easier and cheaper.
What makes aquaponics a better choice?
Conventional gardening is a lot easier and it’s definitely a
lot cheaper to set up. However, the benefits of aquaponics could make it worth
the learning curve and expense.
Besides the obvious advantage of being able to harvest fish,
plants grown in aquaponics systems typically grow much faster and have higher
yields. It’s also possible to grow many plants you wouldn’t ordinarily be able
to grow in your conventional garden in an aquaponics system.
It’s really up to you if those benefits are worth the
hassle.
If the world as we know it came to an end tomorrow, would
you still be able to use aquaponics to feed yourself?
Aquaponics could definitely make a dent in feeding an
off-grid homestead but it’s unlikely it could be a primary food source for most
people. You would have to have an extremely large aquaponics system to make it
your primary source of food.
Most fish take well over a year to mature and unless you
have a way of introducing new fish into your system every time you pull one out
to eat, they’re not going to last long. It would take a lot of fish to make
that completely sustainable on its own.
It would also require a decent amount of power to run pumps
that would have to come from solar or other alternative power methods.
Here are some more
companies to support
72 hour survival pack
Blizzard Survival jacket
Survival Ration Packs
SOL Complete Survival Kit and SOL Bivy Bag
The answer to rough ground sleeping
For all your military equipment needs
NEW MRE’s
The Fire Piston
Great tasty MRE’s
The 95 Puukko Survival Knife
Gold Standard Whey Protein isolates which are 90% pure
protein by weight
The RIBZ Front Pack
The LuminAID
Your own water purification system
Nut, gluten- and milk-free foods for nearly a decade here.
The Survival Slingshot
Homemade Laundry Soap
So you’re surviving in the woods, or on the move into the
wilderness, or you have arrived at your BoL.
Sooner or later you are going to want to in fact need to
clean your cloths and perhaps even your bedding.
Beating your clothes on rocks by the river is one way but
imagine having real laundry soap.
I knew it had to be easy...but I didn't know it was this
easy. Most of the recipes I've seen for it use Fels Naptha Soap, a real soap
that's been around for 100 years and is specially designed for the laundry, you
can buy it on Amazon.
However the good news is that you can substitute any bar of
soap, though I recommend one that's not
got a lot of extra oil (super fatted).
A lot of people use a 100% lard soap with 0% super fat. You
want a good, super-cleansing bar. (Extra oil is good for your skin, not for
your clothes.) If you don't mind that it's not a "natural" soap, the
Fels Naptha Soap works great.
Ingredients
1 bar of fels naptha (or other) soap
1 cup of borax
1 cup of washing soda
1 gallon + 1 quart of water
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Preparation
First, using a food processor or manual grater, finely grate
the bar of soap.
Bring a quart of water to a boil on the stove and slowly add
the soap, stirring gently.
Reduce the heat and let it simmer gently until all of the
pieces of soap are melted/dissolved.
Add the borax and washing soda and stir until they are
dissolved.
In a separate pot, heat up the gallon of water or measure
out a gallon of very hot tap water.
Pour the soap/borax/soda mixture into a large container and
slowly add the gallon of water to it.
Stir until the mixture is well mixed.
Let it sit overnight. It will "gel"
together...kind of a custard-like consistency
Stir or shake the soap each time you use it.
You should use this soap in conjunction with the Breathing
Mobile Washer from http://breathingwasher.com/
Nigel at www.hunters-knives.co.uk has offered
you dear listener 10% on all his products simply by using the code PREP10.
Growing Your Own Food & Becoming Self-Reliant
Your preps, your stock of food and water will not last you
forever and if you run out, you need to be able to figure out what to do. Even
if your supplies will last a year, what if the shortages last longer?
When you run out of food you’re just like the rest of the
unprepared people out there. OK look, you were prepared for the disaster or
emergency, but you might not be prepared for the aftermath. If you have no way
to replenish your supplies after you run out, you’re as good as dead.
This is where self-reliance comes into play.
It is necessary to begin preparing to not rely on anyone. Reliance is the main
problem with people not being prepared today. If everyone could provide for
themselves, then there would be much less risk if anything major ever did go
wrong.
Think about it, if everyone could grow their own food and
never had to go to the supermarket, then there wouldn’t be the chance of panic
buying. If communities bartered and traded within, the communities themselves
would become much more self-reliant.
People would have to trust themselves and know that they can
provide what they need. This way, there is no chance of a major unexpected
problem.
The one main way to become self-reliant is to grow your own
food. Have a garden with many different types of food that you know how to grow
and harvest.
This is something that you can do all of the time, not just
in times of crisis, and it will grow your skills so you know how to do it if
you ever find yourself in that situation.
Be sure to know what to do with your harvest as well. If you
plant wheat, know how to make bread. There are many other skills that are
needed to be completely self-reliant, but gardening and homesteading seem to be
number one.
In order to grow your own food you will need seeds.
Seeds are a very popular item for preppers to store. Seeds
can definitely come in handy in a time of need. You need them to grow your own
food, and without them, you can obviously not do so. Seeds are the one most
important things you will need in order to prepare to be self-reliant.
If you’re going to buy seeds to store and to use, there are
certain types that you should look out for.
The main types of seeds are hybrid and non-hybrid seeds. You
might have no clue about the difference between them, but one kind is good and
the other is simply bad.
Hybrid seeds are the bad kind. With hybrid seeds, you plant
them and the plants grow, that’s it. On the other hand with non-hybrid seeds,
when the plants grow, you can collect their seeds and reuse them again and
again.
This clearly makes a big difference when it comes to an
emergency or SHTF event.
You will want the non-hybrid seeds, trust me. This is the
key to being self-reliant.
You plant the seeds, harvest the crops and their new seeds,
and repeat the process. If this is done properly, you should be able to survive
on your own land.
Growing your own food can be done by individuals, families,
or even whole communities working together.
The more people you have contributing to this, the better.
Another thing you want to look for in seeds
is whether or not they are GMO, or genetically modified.
Genetically modified seeds have somehow been altered to
perform better. These seeds also are not organic and do not produce crops with
the optimum amounts of nutrition, but may be engineered to repel bugs and
pests.
Non-GMO seeds are completely organic and grow healthy, nutritious
crops. This is just something else to watch when buying seeds, and non-GMO
seeds are the better choice.
The best practice for storing seeds is to have a lot and use
what you need, while keeping the rest. In order to do this, you will need seeds
that are packaged for storage and have long shelf lives.
Most common seeds found at garden stores have relatively
short lives and are required to be planted right away, but certain seeds made
for preparedness can live much longer.
A great option for seed storage is a company called Heirloom
Organics.
Heirloom Organics’ seeds are all non-hybrid, non-GMO, and
all have about double the shelf life of most other seeds.
They are everything that you need in your seeds and have
many different varieties.
Heirloom Organics uses a special packaging process that
prepares the seeds for long-term storage without adding any unwanted chemicals
or preservatives. This process is designed to give normal seeds twice their
average shelf life by using advanced moisture management and double sealing of
the individual seed packages.
All of the seed packs come in resealble, moisture and
waterproof, green buckets that also add to the protection and storage of the
seeds.
If you’re only storing seeds for a family of two, or even
the Walton’s, it can’t hurt to get extra seeds. Now if things get bad enough
and no one has food, your food and seeds could be worth a great deal.
What is money worth if there is no food to buy with it?
Everyone could have millions of dollars but it might mean nothing if they’re
starving and all anyone wants is food.
At a point like this, your seeds could be worth more than
gold.
Bartering is a real possibility and seeds would be a very
popular currency.
Everyone needs food, so if they don’t have it and you do,
they would be willing to give you other valuable items that you may need.
You can get a ton of seeds for very reasonable prices. Seeds
are definitely something worth stocking up on and are something that would be
infinitely valuable to you during any food shortage and emergency.
Further Companies to
Support
Uses natural fuel
EDC steel tools
Highlander Trojan Hydration Pack – Multicam
CUDEMAN HEAVY DUTY OLIVE WOOD BUSHCRAFT KNIFE - 111L
Alum Crystal and natural spa products
Tool logic Survival 11 Credit Card
BackHawk Web duty Belt
Guppie Multi=tool
Go Survival Pack
Beautiful Handmade Catapults
1 Person BASIC Backpack Survival Kit, the back pack that
does it all
DD Hammock –The ultimate in Travel Hammocks
Elzetta ZFL-M60 Tactical Weapon-Grade LED Torch
Ultimate Adventurer Survival Kit everything in one kit
Adjustable Knife Lanyard Review
Handmade knives by James D. Sanders
Mini alarm Device with an Ultra bright White LED
Lightload towels
The LUCI light
Fire Dragon Gel
TBS Boar Folding
Pocket Knife
Live Fire Emergency Fire Starter
THE ultimate Emergency Survival Fishing Kit
Gerber Mini Remix -
Drop Point, Fine Edge
The Mule Light
The BodyGard is the
Rolls-Royce of keychain emergency tools. Its two essential (and life-saving)
tools are its seat belt cutter and door glass breaker.
The BodyGard also includes a sonic alarm (to attract attention and ward-off a would-be attacker), LED flashlight, and distress flasher (a bright red flashing light).
The BodyGard is compact and smartly attaches to your keychain so it's within reach during an emergency. You owe it to yourself and to your family to carry a BodyGard.
The BodyGard also includes a sonic alarm (to attract attention and ward-off a would-be attacker), LED flashlight, and distress flasher (a bright red flashing light).
The BodyGard is compact and smartly attaches to your keychain so it's within reach during an emergency. You owe it to yourself and to your family to carry a BodyGard.
The powermonkey
explorer is not just for adventure travellers.
Compatible with the majority of smartphones including iPhone and
BlackBerry, mobile phones, iPods, MP3 / MP4, PDAs and portable games consoles,
the powermonkey explorer is a portable charger for your 5V devices - giving you
96 hours of standby on your mobile, 40 hours on your iPod, 5 hours on your
games console, 48 hours on your PDA and 6 hours on MP3/MP4 players.
Starting
Preparing
Now you know much of
what emergency preparedness is about. It might seem a little overwhelming to
you, and if it does, that’s perfectly normal. There are endless numbers of
things that you can do to prepare. Infinite possibilities of ways you can do
things. It would be weird if this wasn’t overwhelming to you.
I
guess if you’re very wealthy it would be extremely easy. Simply go out and buy
the latest and greatest products and the best bug out location and really do
everything right.
However, for many
people this is not the case. Many people have to spend their hard earned money
and figure out the most cost effective ways to go about prepping.
So how do you begin
preparing with all of the options out there? There might seem like so many
things that you can do. You might be worried if you will do the right thing or
if it’s not enough.
Where do you really
start?
Well the truth is
that anything is better than nothing. Just get into it and start taking action,
you’re sure to fail if you don’t even try. If you can afford some of the best
products, then do that, as they are some of the very best options for you.
But if those
products are out of your price range, start adding a couple of extra tins of
food every time you go shopping.
Get some extra
toilet paper and paper towels, some toothpaste and matches. Start picking up
some inexpensive, everyday items when you’re out. Get them even if you already
have a bunch of it.
Once you get things
rolling you will want to think of a more definite plan.
What do you really
want to prepare for? Think of the timeframe, how long you should prepare for,
and how many people you will be preparing for. This all determines how much of
everything you will need.
Next, start to think
about what you will be preparing for. Will it be a flood, a power cut, a
natural disaster, a manmade emergency, an economic collapse, or what?
These are things you
will need to think about because the supplies you will need for an economic
collapse are much, much different than what you would need for a two-week power
cut in your town.
This might require some serious though but it will give
you much more direction.
With the amounts and
what you want to prepare for covered, you really need to analyze your thoughts
to see if you’re a die-hard prepper or just some average person concerned about
how things are.
This will also
drastically affect your preps and purchases. If you are just casually doing
this and you only have some minor concerns about emergencies, you probably
won’t be buying 20 pallets of bottled water or year’s supply of food.
You would likely be
sticking to some of the smaller products and regularly stocking when you shop.
There is nothing wrong with this.
If you truly are
serious about emergency preparedness, you might view it as more of
a way of life. You might be much more willing to spend large amounts of money
on supplies and it might be something you think about all of the time.
You might actually
be looking into some bunker in the hills or have a years’ worth of food
already.
Gradually building
up your preps is the most reasonable and cost effective way to do things. It
also gets you moving as fast as possible so you don’t waste any time being
unprepared.
You would want to
start off being prepared for short timeframes and gradually build up so you can
be self-reliant for longer and longer times.
Obviously the longer
you are prepared for, the better. If you can go out and buy thousands of pounds
of things, then do it.
Spending money on
emergency preparedness is always a wise investment for you and your family and
knowing that you have those preps gives you a great peace of mind. You will
feel safer and less scared if you’re prepared.
For the many people
who can’t go out and buy a bunch of preps at the beginning, here is a system
for you.
This system of
preparing gets you to get ready for certain lengths, one step at a time. This
system I call Prep Steps and with it you will start out being prepared
for days and end up being prepared for six months or more.
Step One: One to three days.
This could be a
short-term power cut, a snowstorm, a fire or flood, or something else where you
would need to evacuate your home or be confined to it.
Basically you want
to have the necessary items that could get you and your family through a three
day period. You will need to be ready to Bub-In and also be ready to get up and
leave at any second.
Some items that you
would need include food, water, first-aid, and sanitation.
Step Two: One to four weeks.
Larger power cuts,
panic buying, and local or regional natural disasters, along with other things,
can all be a one to four week emergency.
Here you will still
have the same priorities as in step one, but you want to include more of
everything.
Make sure you have
warmth and shelter, food and water, and first-aid and sanitation covered.
Step Three: One to three months.
Some emergencies
that may last this long are food shortages, riots, strikes, transport strikes,
fuel shortages, and more major natural disasters along with other things. Here
you should be worried about having longer term, replenishable water storage,
capturing water and filtering it, and more food storage.
You should also
start looking into home security because if the people around
you aren’t prepared, they might be coming to you. You obviously just want to
keep adding onto what you have as well.
Step Four: Four to six months.
Here you have the
exact same priorities, but on a much bigger scale. You will want more food,
water, and everything else, but you will want to be able to replenish your food
supplies.
Here is where you
really start becoming self-reliant. Fishing, hunting, gathering, and growing
your own food are all great ways to restock, but these all need skills in order
for you to do them.
Practice and
training may be required, but this is also just another aspect of being
prepared.
Step Five: More than six months.
This would be if a
major natural or manmade disaster affected your entire country.
You can’t go
anywhere to escape it and you need to deal with it for extended periods of
time. In this time, you would need to have the resources and knowledge, skills,
and abilities to be self-sufficient forever.
If you can do it for
six months to a year, you should be able to rely on yourself for a lifetime.
This process isn’t
intended to give you step-by-step instructions on how to go about preparing,
but instead give you some idea of what to do. The main goal of this is to
really get you started.
So whatever you do to prepare do it now.
An Extension
Event
As far as Mother Nature-induced Armageddon scenarios
go, the simmering super-volcano underneath the Wyoming Yellowstone Park is
surely one clear and present danger not to be ignored.
After a super
eruption event crops will fail, monsoons will fail, animals will die field full
and on a global scale as the dust traverses the globe up into the Stratosphere
where it will reflect sunlight and bring about a volcanic winter or worse, and
people will turn on each other for even basic survival items to feed themselves
and their families.
IF you are in the
immediate downwind area and within 1,000 miles of the volcano, you need to
think about the following.
Only people who have
large enough bunkers and enough static and renewable resources and supplies to
survive for a minimum of 3 - 5 years will have any chance of staying alive.
If you think that
you and your family will have enough food or even be able to live in a 20 or 40
foot shipping container for 3 or more years, then you are deluded.
Most people will end
up with Cabin Fever within 3 months and this will be compounded by a dramatic
loss of Vitamin D as the years progress.
Lack of Vitamin D
causes libido loss mainly in men and hair loss as well as thyroid problems - to
name just a few - so the stress levels will certainly be active.
Gluttonous people
who gorge themselves in the beginning of their ordeal will quickly find that
they will run out of food.
How many Super Volcanoes are there?
It is estimated that
there are approx. 40 Super Volcanoes around the world and most (we think) are
extinct.
Yellowstone however,
is definitely an active Super Volcano which first erupted 2.1 million years ago
followed by 1.3 million years ago and then 640,000 years ago and based on that
cycle, is due for another pop soon, this may be next week or it may be
in another 50,000 or even 100,000 years from now.
Let’s look at Yellowstone
Based on current
information and given the fact that it does not matter which Super Volcano
actually erupts first, I am going to focus on Yellowstone since it has been
displaying serious movement since 2003.
Some of the negative
global effects will include, such as global cooling by 10 - 20 degrees, this
will disrupt many of the "seasonal" rains such as the African and
Indian monsoons, the die off of food crops, the enormous destruction of the
American food belt, the fighting and wars which will ensue will have the
potential to throw us back to the stone age as groups vie for supremacy led by
people who are usually more brutal than intellectual.
Within 3 months of a
Yellowstone Super Volcano EVENT, both China and India may easily lose over 75%
of their populations. The same applies to Europe and most other countries in
the Northern Hemisphere.
Sulphur forms
sulphuric acid aerosols when ejected high in to the Stratosphere and these
particles form a veil that deflects sunlight and depending upon the amount of
sunlight deflected, has the potential to plunge the world into a Volcanic
Winter (at best) or a Mini or Major Ice Age at worst.
This would cause
catastrophic snow falls which would quickly cover around 1 third of the Earth.
Anyone living above 30 degrees north or below 30 degrees South will also need
to consider escaping from dozens of yards (meters) of snow.
This snow would
persist for at least several years based on current data inputs but this may be
longer due to the fact that each eruption is unique and as such, the data
parameters would be different for each event.
Downwind will be worse
Those who will
suffer the worst are the people who live up to 1,000 miles downwind of the
eruption.
It is estimated that
the pyroclastic flows from Yellowstone will kill almost every person within at
least 60 - 100 miles. This may be even further based on the following facts.
The Mt St Helens
Pyroclastic flow went almost 15 miles from the volcano.
Pyroclastic flows
from a Super Volcano are predicted to exceed the speed of sound which is over
760 miles an hour. So a Pyroclastic which stays active and hot for say 30
minutes would cover over 300 miles).
Those who live
further than this will also be at risk due to the amount of dust and ash in the
air which, when inhaled, will sit in your lungs like concrete and eventually
asphyxiate the victim.
The Mt St Helens
eruption covered an area of approx 300 square miles so image that multiplied by
2,000 + times and you will have some idea of the potential magnitude and scale
of the destruction area.
A Yellowstone
eruption would almost immediately affect up to 75% of the United States and
parts of Canada. It would then carried on to cause global decimation by the
prevailing upper atmosphere winds which would then go on to affect the rest of
the world within 1 - 2 weeks.
WHAT CAN I DO
For most people,
especially in the immediate area, it will be a simple matter of quickly bending
over and kissing your ass goodbye. You will look at the fast approaching ash
cloud and you will be thinking that this cannot be happening to me because I
have a brain and I am too smart to die. Many other people will be thinking the
same thing.
While this may not
be very helpful, it is unfortunately true. Most people within 100 miles of the
epicentre will be dead or possibly buried under many dozens of yards of ash and
dust very quickly.
Those who do have a
shelter and can get to it will need to have a way of (firstly) surviving for at
least 1 or 2 weeks until the ash settles, down and then "possibly"
digging through 100 feet (30+ meters) or more of fine, soft, lung filling ash.
For those who can
travel and who live further away from the epicentre, you will need to travel
NORTH or SOUTH away from the centre of the ash cloud as fast as possible once
you get notification of the event
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