Vegetable garden: It's NOT too late!!

Two things prompt this post. First, I got an email from someone wanting help getting her veggie garden in. We had talked in the past, and she knows it's not too late. Second, Another Prepper has a post today at American Prepper. He shares a touching story and asks for suggestions on how to stretch your food $s. Immediately I think, "grow your own!"  

I like American Prepper's philosophy: Freedom through teaching others self-reliance. It's what I do: teach people to grow their own produce, and prepare & preserve its bounty. (Not selling you anything, but here's my web site.)

It is not too late to put in a vegetable garden. On June 30, there are some things to take into consideration when planning your garden. But it's not too late to plant a garden that could potentially keep you in beans, squash, pickles, peppers, tomatoes, collards, okra, ...,  all winter! And it's certainly the right time to plan a fall garden with lettuce, mustand greens, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, ... .

Objections? 

Costs too much. Hogwash. A packet of yellow squash seeds is about $1.50. If all you grew was squash, you'd also have to buy a bag or two of rotted composted manure. That's $3.00 total. Total expenditure = less than $5. Six squash plants (you can save the rest of the seeds for next year) will produce about 24 pounds of squash, which-- and not including what you eat fresh this summer-- makes about 15 pounds of frozen sliced squash, enough to last pretty much all winter, I'd say. What's a pound of frozen squash going for these days? At least $1.50 I'd guess. $1.50 x 15 = $22.50. How does a garden cost too much?

Takes too much time. Poppycock. One nice weekend to get it in, a little pampering while it's getting established, 15 minutes a day just checking on it. Then you harvest. 

Plant a garden. It's not rocket science-- people were growing their own long before you & I came along! If you need help or encouragement, comment or email me: northside.guerilla.farmer@gmail. I'll teach you what I can!

OBQD #8: Nobody but Americans...

From "The shot heard round the world world" in Julian Hawthorne' United States (v. 2, 1898).

... But Boston, having shown that she could do without tea, and without commerce, was about to show she could also do without George.

Nobody but Americans could govern America. The people were too intelligent, too active, too various-minded, too full of native quality and genius to be ruled from abroad. If they were to fall under foreign subjection, they would become a dead weight in the world, instead of a source of life; as Adams said, every increase in population would be an increase in slaves. And that they preferred death to slavery was every day becoming increasingly manifest. They felt that the future was with them, and that they must have space and freedom to bring it forth.

Blog stroll: from leftie monkey to CCW to mobil homes!

Attack of the Leftie Hate Monkeys Nothing particularly substantive, just a fun read. "Used to civilized debate with liberals and conservatives alike, you can’t quite take in what’s happening at first." I've been there. It's like trying to have a rational argument with an overgrown three year old. 

Ron Paul's Audit the Fed Bill Gathers Steam. I'm sure many of you all are very familiar with this bill. It's a major TEA party theme. 

The Brevity Act: Time for the 28th Amendment? "Earlier this year, Congress passed a “Stimulus” Bill.  It was 973 pages long. This past Friday, the House passed a “Climate Change” Bill.  It was more than 1200 pages long. This got me wondering: how long, exactly, is our Constitution?  How many pages did it take our country’s founders to lay out the structure and functions of our Federal Government?" 

Ug-99 and The Ugly Times Ahead At Survivalblog.com  A wheat famine would not be pretty. (Might have to scroll down)

Buying a used mobil home at Backwoods Home Magazine.

12 pages of tips on the "subtleties" of concealed carry. Gets off topic in some posts, lots of jargon, but well worth the read, especially if you are a newer CHL holder.

And last but not least, Tom has several new posts up at American Prepper. All worth the read. Looks like some fellow preppers need some help.

OBQD #7 (one of my favorites)

From "Chapter V: Growth of Social and Intellectual Autonomy" in Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard's A Basic History of the United States (1944)

Years marked by wars, religious controversies and persecutions, political disputes, and royal despotism lay behind the decision to leave Europe and migrate to the English colonies. But there was something in the spirit of those who made the break-- a force of character not simply determined by economic, political, or religious conditions-- that made them different from their neighbors who remained in the turmoil and poverty of the Old World.

Old Book Quote of the Day #6

When I became a real contributor to this blog, I thought it would be fun to post a quote of the day from an 'old' book. Introducing the idea that old books have two sorts of values, I wrote, "The second sort of value is the values old books subtly-- and sometimes not so subtly-- convey to the reader."

With Independence Day just a week away, yesterday I posted the first of a week's worth of quotes about The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, Americans, and citizenship. I could try to articulate why I think preppers do/should care about these, but my guess is I don't have to.  

Preface

A knowledge of their own government is to any people a matter of the greatest importance, and to a self-governing people an absolute necessity. No need to education is more urgent than education for citizenship, and no course of study can properly fit young Americans for citizenship than the study of their own government. ... The author believes that the government of the United States is most satisfactorily taught and learned by following the order of the Constitution.

(George Morris Phillips. Nation and State: A Text-book on Civil Government. 1905.)

  

Friend's recipes

Just +1'ing a prepper pal who has some good recipes on line.

Buckeye vs. OFCC

Interesting:

I'm a rather recent member of Ohioans for Concealed Carry (about 6 months now or so), and was curious as to the differences between OCC and Buckeye Firearms (hopefully this isn't a taboo subject lol).

Do the two organizations work together or is there some sort of competition? The reason I ask is I rarely (if ever) see the other organization mentioned on either OCC's website or on Buckeye Firearms's website, even though both organizations are very active in perserving gun rights for Ohioans. You would think they would be actively working together, but I have never seen any joint legislative actions or events mentioned by either organization.

More with some history.

Private party sales, what's the best way to conduct it?

Informative post & comments at OFCC (Ohioans for Concealed Carry) addressing the issue of:

I am thinking about buying a handgun from someone else (that I do not know) here in Ohio. I know private party transaction from one Ohio resident to another is legal but what is the best and safest way to conduct such a transaction.

Continue reading the post & responses... 

OBQD #5

Introduction

"The front of this book shows the official poster of the Unites States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission... ; and like that poster and the work which the Commission expects to do, this book is dedicated to "We the People"-- to the 128,000,000 who desire to know something about the story of the Constitution, and to have it told to them in such a way that they can understand it. It tries to reach the millions who are not judges or lawyers or professors or historians or otherwise trained in a knowledge of the Constitution which governs the daily lives of us all. It is a book for the people. ... having told how and why the National Government came about, the books tells what the Constitution stands for... ."

(The Story of the Constitution. Unites States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission. 1935.)

Bread link

____(fill in everything you already know about the goodness and virtue of home baked bread here)_____. Now bookmark this link.

Breadbasketcase is a Marie Wolf's blog about baking bread. She posts way more than just a recipe. Her posts include lots of step-by-step instructions with photos, sometimes a bit of the bread's history, and a critical review. 

From here latest, Pane al Latte (Italian Milk Bread): 

From Carol Field's The Italian Baker, this is a delicious, slightly sweet, slightly eggy, slightly rummy bread. It's too sweet for sandwiches, except maybe for peanut butter and jelly, for which it would be fantastic. If I had to fit it into a bread niche, I'd say it was made for some good fruit preserves and a cup of strong tea. Don't skimp--it should also have a layer of butter before you slather on the jam. ... 

There's a Willie Nelson song (at least he sings it, don't know if he wrote it) that begins, "There is great confusion on Earth." When this line pops into my head-- which it seems to be doing more & more lately-- I wander over to Breadbasketcase. I mean, c'mon, "slather on the jam." As long as folks are still slathering on jam, somethings are still making sense. 

The 8 cap-and-tax Republicans…and the 44 Democrats who voted no

Michelle Malkin has a list of the eight Republicans who "sold out the American taxpayers" with their "yes" vote on cap-and-trade, and a list of the 44 Democrats who didn't. (I'm sure there are a tons of these lists, this is just the first I stumbled upon this morning.)

Final vote 219-212.

I tried calling my congressman repeatedly yesterday. Busy. Busy busy. He is not among the 44. Somehow I don't think the line was busy b/c his constituents were calling him to tell him to vote "yes." 

UPDATE: Here's the full list of "yes" votes at one of my favorite blogs (although I don't always agree), "Shout first, ask questions later"

UPDATE*: Ohio: ALL Ohioians 2day protest Rep John Boccieri's office @ 3 pm 300 W. Tuscarawas St. CANTON out front 3-5 CAP & TRAITOR!!!

*I know this isn't an expressly political site. Just passing on this info for those who are interested.

You Can't Help Anyone Who's Not Willing To Help Themselves

From Matt at Kentucky Preppers Network (via American Prepper):

If you're reading this then you're probably a prepper, or at least a person that see's prepping as beneficial. But there are a lot of people out there that don't prep and don't think it's worth anything to do. I'm also sure that most people reading this know some people, possibly family members and close friends that refuse to prep or think it is nonsense. These are the very same people you have preached to over and over about the importance of prepping against the looming economic collapse and real chance of unemployment.

Now the SHTF and those same people are starving and suffering. Their precious government and FEMA are nowhere to be found, and they're left stuck to take care of themselves.

Keep reading... 

OBQD #4

Posting this a bit early b/c we've got work to do tomorrow. 

That's Old Book Quote of the Day (OBQD). Today's quote is for the younger set (or is it?):

Birch and green holly, boys,

Birch and green holly.

If you get beaten, boys,

'Twill be your own folly.

Andrew M. Lang, ed.

(The Nursery Rhyme Book, 1897)

Not your mother's who had you when she was 17. Not your absent father's. Not your under-funded school district's. Not McDonald's, KFC's, Pepsi's, Lay's, or Snicker's. Not the Devil's. Not your attention deficit disorder's. Not the stress of homework's, peer pressure's, or great expectation's. Not the heat's. Not the cold's. Not poverty's. Not wealth's.  

If you get beaten boys,

'Twill be your own folly.

And certainly not mine!

fol⋅ly

  [fol-ee]  Show IPA

–noun, plural -lies for 2–6.

1.	the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.

2.	a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity: the folly of performing without a rehearsal.

3.	a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure.

4.	Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc.: found esp. in England in the 18th century.

5.	follies, a theatrical revue.

6.	Obsolete. wickedness; wantonness.

Let me emphasize: this was a nursery rhyme. What were they teaching kids back then??

Oh wait... . Could it be taking responsibility for the consequences of one's action? How old fashioned can you get? Geeze. 

Couldn't resist

Off to the garden to pick some stuff, but couldn't resist posting this. According to my father-in-law's email, it's about 15 years old. What's old is new again.

Click to enlarge. Sorry about the weird formatting.

Thursday blog stroll

Busy day. Here're a few interesting tidbits I've come across this week. Let me know which you enjoy most.

Tom over at American Preppers Network posted, and is taking a poll, on "Is political activism related to prepping?" Interesting question.

This week's Organic Consumers Association newsletter (which I don't always agree with but is fun) links to "What's on my food?" a site I haven't independently checked out but that climes to list all of the pesticides found on common food items. YIKES! Its' reporting 48 pesticides residues found on blueberries. (Which reminds me I need to get out there and pick mine so I can make blueberry buckle tomorrow.)

Katn over at Flourish in the Kitchen (cook better to feel better to live better) has an interesting post on Flourishing and Happiness. It's not the silly sort of happiness she's talking about. It's ... well, read it. Here's a snippet

To flourish, or live the good life, I need to think beyond the idea that consumption brings happiness.  Happiness can’t be bought for good reason. Happiness requires action!

  

Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC) links to The Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner for a story on tomorrow's one-year anniversary of D.C. v Heller.

And just so we're all over the map here, I have short post at Northside Guerilla Farmer with a few links to on-line vegetable insect pest identification sites.

Old book quote of the day #3

And now for a twofer, one old, one new:

49. George Washington was born in A.D. 1732, and lived 67 years. In what year did he die?

50. Alfred the Great died in A.D. 901; thence, to the signing of the Magna Carta was 314 years; thence to the American Revolution, 560 years. In what year did the American Revolution begin?

66. The area of the United States up to 1897 was 3681661 square miles. Since then there have been added the territory of Hawaii containing 6449 square miles; Porto Rico, 3531 square miles; Philippine Islands, 114410 square miles; Guam, 150 square miles; Tutuila, 77 square miles; and Wake Island, I square mile. What is the present area of the United States?

(Ray’s Modern Practical Arithmetic, 1877)

Knowledge of America and her history taught in arithmetic class. Weird, man. Sort of makes you wonder if the goal was an educated citizenry, doesn't it?

Contrast that with the Overview of Ohio’s K-12 Mathematics Content Standard:

The mathematics academic content standards prepare all students for success in the workplace and post-secondary education.  Competency in mathematics includes understanding of mathematical concepts, facility with mathematical skills, and application of concepts and skills to problem-solving situations. Students are able to communicate mathematical reasoning using mathematical and everyday language.  

Whenever possible, students should have opportunities to learn mathematics through real-world contexts, including practical applications, real data, and numbers often associated with situations and problems encountered in the workplace and daily life.  All students should be exposed to a mathematics program rich in technology, including calculators, computers, and technology applications. 

I’d have to say, this first highlighted bit going to well, based on my experiences with younger folks who look at me funny when my bill is $15.51 and I give them $21.01. But that’s a rant for another day. 

I’m especially interested in the second bolded part. Exposure to technology is one thing, total reliance is another. 

Thoughts? Anyone else think part of self-reliance is being able to add in your head? Anyone out there home-schooling?

UPDATE: Here's a link to an 8th grade examine that's discussed below. It's from Morehead State (KY) so hopefully legitimate.

Preparing for... the best!

[I’ll wait while that sinks in.]

Here’s the initial observation: things are bad. I do not need to tell you this. You’ve only been blogging around for 10 minutes and already you’re anxious, mad as hell, frustrated, or some miserable combination of all these. Things are bad. Sure, you’re trying to prepare for the worst, but you know you’re no where near where you should be if SHTF this afternoon. It could. It did one bright fall morning just a few year back.

But here’s another observation: the BEST things do happen. 

[I’ll wait while that sinks in.]

I’m not talking about the little good things in life-- the first tomato of the season, the first grouping all in the inner circle, the spontaneous hug from your kid-- I’m talking about the BEST things. 

A BEST thing happened recently to us, and I am ashamed to say, we were not prepared. And being unprepared for this BEST thing that we’d been hoping for years would happen, is now costing us valuable time, and money.

What might these BEST things be? I’ll start with ours, and then suggest some others. But ultimately, only you and your family know what these BEST things are, and how they might affect your lives. Only you can make the necessary preparations.

Dear husband (DH) and I are from the South. A career move took us to Cincinnati. And while we have nothing against Cincinnati-- in fact we’ve had a great time here, learned a lot, developed many skills, etc.-- we don’t care for the climate, and we are just not city-folk at heart. So we’ve dreamed of moving back down South and buying a farm. In DH’s line of work this was not out of the question-- he can make his own opportunities and apply for positions whenever and wherever they open up. Of course the problem is that these opportunities aren’t a dime a dozen. So here we are going about our business in Cincinnati when... poof and out of the blue... our BEST thing happened! We’re moving to rural Mississippi!

Unfortunately, and although we’ve dreamed of, and sought out, an opportunity like this for several years, and although we knew that this BEST thing would eventually happen because we wouldn’t stop looking and working for it, we were not prepared when it did happen. So instead of being in Mississippi right now looking for farmland, we are scurrying to get our house here in Cincinnati on the market.* Everything we’re doing-- from purging the basement of worn out fishing gear to ridding the attic of blown out Christmas lights, from painting woodwork to stripping wall paper, everything-- could have been done before. But wasn’t. 

Our BEST thing is the opportunity to move. And we will. But not as soon as we might have, had we been prepared. 

What is your BEST thing? 

Winning the lottery? Sure, you’d pay off your bills. But what if you win $5000, and are $10,000 in debt? Paying off some will affect your credit score more than others. Do you know which are which? 

A baby? Whoa. You weren’t expecting that! But it might be the BEST thing that’s ever happened. Are you prepared to live off one income for a few months or years?

Stumbling upon a gun store stocked with reasonably priced ammo? Hey, these days some of us would consider this one of the BEST things that could happen. If you do, do you have $100 squirreled away in your wallet for just such an occasion? 

As preppers, we deal in “what if?” situations. Naturally, we tend to focus on the worst case scenarios because if we’re prepared for the worst, the bad isn’t all that bad. But I think there’s some value in thinking through the BEST case scenarios from time to time. If we had, we’d be in Mississippi.

*If anyone’s interested in a freshly painted “urban farm” here in the heart of Cincinnati... . :-) 

Old book quote of the day #2

Here’s the second installment of “old book quote of the day,” a series intended to highlight the values of American culture that are captured in old books.   

The Cook’s Creed

The health of my family is in my care; therefore--

I will preserve as far as possible the nutritive elements in foods which are delivered to me.

My family’s enjoyment of food is my responsibility; therefore--

I will preserve and enhance the attractive qualities of he food with which I work.

Stretching the food dollar is part of my responsibility; therefore--

I will take such care of food that none will spoil. I will use left-overs with thought and skill.

A well-prepared dish and an appetizing meal are a creative achievement; therefore--

I shall derive happiness from work itself.

Good food is of prime importance to my family; therefore-- 

I shall take pride in doing an outstanding job of cooking.

Meta Given (The Modern Family Cookbook, 1942)

Responsibility. Frugality. Achievement. Pride. Not to mention that the “health of my family is in my care” not Nanny’s. How old fashioned.

American Red Cross

Car accident. Allergic reaction. Choking. Severe burn. Broken bone. 

You are at the scene. 

Will you be the one frantically searching for your cell phone? Or will you be the one taking action?

The American Red Cross provides training classes in basic first aid, adult and infant CPR, babysitter skills, disaster response, among many others.

American Red Cross home page here. From there click on training & then enter your zip code to find your local chapter. Cincinnati area chapter here.

The ARC site also has a quick check list for home fire, and emergency preparedness. For example, this under "blackouts" (that I'd never thought of): 

If you have an electric garage door opener, find out where the manual release lever is located and learn how to operate it. Sometimes garage doors can be heavy, so get help to lift it. If you regularly use the garage as the primary means of entering your home upon return from work, be sure to keep a key to your house with you, in case the garage door will not open.

Old book quote of the day

I have a passion for old books. Someday I will write about this, but for now suffice it to say that I think that old books have two distinctly different sorts of "values." Old books* contain information. Granted, in the time it takes to find the book, look though its index, & so on, we could have just googled what we were looking for in the first place. But from a prepper's point of view, old books contain information at hand when the lights go out. (What is the difference between a square and a granny knot? Which slips?)

The second sort of value is the values old books subtly-- and sometimes not so subtly-- convey to the reader. On what I hope will be a fairly regular basis, I'd like to share with you some short passages from my collection of old books. I think the values implicit (or explicit) in these passages are a fundamental aspect of American culture. I think they are values that we shouldn't passively let go by the PC double-speak wayside of "popular" culture. You may or may not agree-- and that's what the comments sections is for! I'm hoping we can have some interesting discussions about these values, then & now.

And so we begin... 

With the increased mechanization of farms, it has become necessary for the successful modern farmer to be proficient in the use, repair, and maintenance of mechanical equipment of various kinds. ... Although the farmer needs to be an unspecialized mechanic, rather than specialized mechanic, he should nevertheless be a good one. He should be thorough and systematic. Slovenly or slipshod methods have no more place on the farm than in other business or occupations. Machinery that works well, gates that open and shut easily, and buildings and fences that are orderly and in good repair not only save time and money for the farmer, but contribute to morale and the pride of ownership. 

Mack M. Jones  (Shopwork on the Farm, 1945)

What words or passages would you highlight here?

* "Old books" is a non-specific description with respect to age. I have a gardening book from the late 70s-- it's old. I have grammar books from the late 1800s-- they're old. "Old" to me pretty much means I picked it up for a buck or two b/c it was "out of date." Heh. 

And... we're back!

At least we hope to be back getting to know one another, sharing information, and getting our preps on.

Ohio Preppers Network (OPN) is part of the American Preppers Network. OPN was born late January 2009. Unfortunately, it’s had a few growing pains and lost its moderator a few weeks ago. I’ve volunteered to take on this role temporarily, until a permanent moderator can be found.* Meanwhile, I invite everyone-- anyone!-- who’s still hanging around from the old days to contact me (just as soon as I figure out how to make that work!) if you have posts or other items of interest you’d like to contribute, and to invite your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers to stop in at OPN.

If you’re new to prepping sites, Farmer Geek had a great post back in February defining “prepper”:

Some people may be put off by the term "prepper". So let's talk about exactly what is a Prepper.

prepper: one who prepares. Period.

This means that Boy Scouts, homesteaders, survivalists, and even most "normal" people are preppers by definition. The real difference between a prepper and a Prepper is in attitude.

Keep reading...

* This isn't because I'm lazy! We are moving from Cincinnati to Mississippi later this summer. I simply thought it was a shame to see this site go untended. I know preppers are out there in Ohio! Let's hear from you.

HAM radio followup

From Mississippi Preppers Network. Thanks, Aggie!

WVSanta over at West Virginia Prepper has supplied me with links for Ham Radio Operators. He also is starting Ham Radio 101 and lesson number one is the phonetic alphabet. Check it out! The other resources are: eHam.net and
QRZ.com. Both had forums and a lot of articles, reviews and faq's. I have gone through some things on these sights but I am very green to this so I will be visiting West Virginia Prepper often for more installments.

Oops, there I go...

As with all life, things move on, things come up... Well, in my life, there are too many things that have gone on and come up recently that are forcing me to be unable to complete the obligations that I accepted when I took over the Ohio Preppers Network. For this reason, I am stepping down and I am putting out the call for a preparedness minded person to step up and help provide us Ohioans our prepping information.

If you have the time and the inclinations, please contact Tom over at the American Preppers Network and ask him to help you get set up and started.

Thanks, and always Be Prepared.