Friday, August 20, 2010

Survival Seed Bank

Now you can grow all the survival food you will ever need anywhere in the country with a kit that contains a special seed bank of hard to find, open pollinated... super seeds, grown by small, fiercely independent farmers.


Let's face it. If the stories coming out on the world's food supply are even half right, we've got real problems and they aren't going to go away quickly. Here are a couple stories that I ran across recently:

• WorldNet Daily cites strong evidence that some government agencies are stockpiling huge amounts of canned food.

• Jim Randas, former U.S. Intelligence officer, appeared on ABC telling Americans to start stockpiling food.

• Grocery store prices are rising faster than any time in U.S. history.

• Worldwide grain stocks are dropping precipitously as bio-fuels consume inventories... and on and on and on.

You don't have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what's going on all around us. A desperate lower class demanding handouts. A rapidly diminishing middle class crippled by police state bureaucracy. An aloof, ruling elite that has introduced us to an emerging totalitarianism which seeks control over every aspect of our lives.


As the meltdown progresses, one of the first things to be affected will be our nation's food supply. Expect soaring prices along with moderate to severe shortages by spring. If you don't have the ability to grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger. Supply lines for food distribution in this country are about three days, meaning a dependence on "just in time" distribution systems, which will leave store shelves empty in the event of even the smallest crisis.


Thursday, August 19, 2010

Bell Peppers

Peppers are best started from seeds indoors in late winter and then transplanted into the garden after the soil and air have warmed in the spring. The plants cannot tolerate frost and do not grow well in cold, wet soil. When night temperatures are below 50° to 55°F, the plants grow slowly, the leaves may turn yellow and the flowers drop off. Raised beds, black plastic mulch and floating row covers may be used to advantage with peppers to warm and drain the soil and enhance the microenvironment of the young pepper plants in spring, when cool weather may persist.


Set transplants 18 to 24 inches apart in the row, or 14 to 18 inches apart in all directions in beds. A dozen plants, including one or two salad and hot types, may provide enough peppers for most families; but with so many colors, flavors and types available, more may be necessary for truly devoted pepper lovers or for devotees of ethnic cuisines.

Peppers thrive in a well-drained, fertile soil that is well supplied with moisture. Use a starter fertilizer when transplanting. Apply supplemental fertilizer (side-dressing) after the first flush of peppers is set. Because a uniform moisture supply is essential with peppers, especially during the harvest season, irrigate during dry periods. Hot, dry winds and dry soil may prevent fruit set or cause abortion of small immature fruits.

Fruits may be harvested at any size desired. Green bell varieties, however, are usually picked when they are fully grown and mature—3 to 4 inches long, firm and green. When the fruits are mature, they break easily from the plant. Less damage is done to the plants, however, if the fruits are cut rather than pulled off. The new, colored bell pepper fruits may be left on the plant to develop full flavor and ripen fully to red, yellow, orange or brown; or they may be harvested green and immature. Some (including "white," light yellow, lilac and purple) are colors that develop in the immature fruit and that should be harvested before actually ripening, when they turn red.

People who use tobacco should wash their hands with soap and water before handling pepper plants to prevent spread of tobacco mosaic disease. Grow resistant varieties if possible.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

MAKE A PLAN

A PLAN for DISASTER

THE 4 STEPS TO SAFETY

1. Find Out What Could Happen in Your Area.


• Find out what your community’s warning signals are, what they sound like and what you should do when you hear them.

• Learn about the disaster plans at work, school, daycare and other places where your family spends time.

• If you have animals, find out about animal care. They may not be allowed in some places during and after a disaster.

• Find out how to help the elderly and disabled.


2. Create a Disaster Plan for your family.


•Meet with your family and discuss what types of disasters could happen in your area and what to do. (Page 25)

•Discuss the steps of evacuation. (Page 22) •Choose 2 places to meet family members:

◦Outside your house if members are home.

◦Outside your neighborhood in case you can’t get to your home. (City Park, church, school play ground, etc.)

•Ask an out-of-state family member or friend to be your family’s “Contact Person”.

•After a disaster, communications can be difficult. Many times it is easier to get through to your contact person out of state than to make a local call. If your family members become separated in a disaster have them call this person and let them know where they are and if all is well with them.


3. Practice and Maintain your plan


•Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills. •Quiz your family every six months so they don’t forget.

•Test and recharge fire extinguishers.

•Check/rotate food & water in your evacuation-kit every 6 months. •Test smoke detectors monthly. Change batteries every 6 months. •Remember to always remain calm. Panic causes accidents.

QX7NRSPKJFMW

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A must see

Some History on Backpacks

A backpack (also called rucksack, knapsack, packsack, pack, or Bergen) is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions. Light weight types of backpacks are sometimes worn on only one shoulder strap.


Backpacks are often preferred to handbags for carrying heavy loads, because of the limited capacity to carry heavy weights for long periods of time in the hands. Large backpacks, used to carry loads over 10 kg (22 lbs), usually offload the largest part (up to about 90%) of their weight onto padded hip belts, leaving the shoulder straps mainly for stabilizing the load. This improves the potential to carry heavy loads, as the hips are stronger than the shoulders, and also increases agility and balance, since the load rides nearer the person's own center of mass.

Back in the days, the backpack was used as a means to carry the hunter's larger game and other types of prey as a way of easier transport. In the cases of larger hunts, the hunters would dismember their prey and distribute the pieces of the animal around, each one packing the meat into many wrappings and then into bags which they placed on to their backs. The bag itself was made up of different animal hide and skin (depending on what sorts of animals were in the area) and sewn together by the intestines of said animals, which were woven together tightly to make a sturdy thread-like material.