A couple of weeks ago my kids and I went to the camp for 2 days. While we were there we decided to walk around the property at night. The following is what I like to call the “can opener” effect – its were you get so involved with the bigger things that you overlook the small stuff.
During the rush to get packed, all three of us forgot to grab a good flashlight. After looking through the flashlights that we have stockpiled at the camp, I realized that we had several hand crank flashlights, but no good quality LED flashlights. Hand crank lights are fine for inside the house, but when you need to secure the property, you need a good quality light. The only good quality light my kids and I had was the Surefire 6PX Tactical on my AR-15. My daughter and my son were able to find some cheap led lights that were barley bright enough to see the ground. We walked around the property, looked at some stuff and then went back to the trailer. While my kids and I were walking around in the middle of the night, I made up my mind that some good LED lights would be in my next purchase.
Purchases for March 6 2011 include:
6 – 1 pound 10 ounce containers of salt
100 rounds Winchester 9mm 115grain round nose
4 pack Energizer AAA Lithium batteries
1 – Coleman 90 lumen LED flashlight
1 pound regular pinto beans (for the garden)
1 pound yellow dent field corn (for the garden)
$1 worth giant noble spinach (for the garden)
20 pounds seed potatoes – hopefully to get planted next week
For my sons birthday he got a coleman LED flashlight at 75 lumens. Over the next few weeks the 2 lights (75 and 90 lumens) will be compared. When I decide which flashlight I like the best, a few more will be bought and left at the camp.
Salt is for iodide and for preserving food.
Winchester 9mm FMJ – It might be better to stockpile some hollow points, but the thing with the round nose – they will feed in just about anything. Lets say that you and your buddies have your plans worked out. If some kind of long term SHTF situation happens, everyone is going to fall back to the bug out location. Instead of stockpiling all different types of ammo that will feed well in a variety of firearms, just stock round nose.
Energizer AAA Lithium batteries have a 15 year shelf life. The plans are to buy several packs of AA and AAA lithium batteries and leave them at the camp.
Pinto beans are an excellent source of protein. If your going to stockpile seeds for a survival garden, pinto beans should be at the top of your list.
Nutrition information for pinto beans:
Serv. Size: 1/2 cup (85g)
Amount Per Serving
Cals: 116 From Fat: 0
% Daily Value*
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 3%
Folate (Folacin, Folic Acid) 36%
Thiamine 11%
Calcium 4%
Iron 12%
Phosphorus 35%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Spinach is an easy plant to grow, all you need is mulch, or manure – something with plenty of nitrogen. One of the things with spinach, you can cut more leaves off and the plant keeps producing. Spinach is one of my favorite plants to grow in my survival garden, I just do not grow it that often.
Yellow dent field corn – open pollinated / heirloom, non-hybrid corn so that the seeds can be saved. Now I just need to get some 16-6-12 fertilizer to plant the corn with.
Potatoes – one of my all time favorite crops for my survival garden. Cut the seed potatoes into chucks, spread some 10-20-10 along the rows, and plant the cuttings 3 or so inches below the surface. When it comes time to harvest the potatoes, just pull the plant up.
The next few weeks will be dedicated to planting the garden. With 20 pounds of seed potatoes we should be able to plant 3 – 100 foot long rows. My cousin got a tiller for the tractor and tilled up 4 or 5 acres of land for the garden. Starting next week my kids and I will be planting as much of that land as we can. With the price of gas going through the roof, we have to save money somewhere. Growing our own food is one way to save money.
I am hoping to plant enough potatoes that we do not have to buy any from the grocery store for most of the year. With the corn, i am hoping to can most of that in jars.
During the rush to get packed, all three of us forgot to grab a good flashlight. After looking through the flashlights that we have stockpiled at the camp, I realized that we had several hand crank flashlights, but no good quality LED flashlights. Hand crank lights are fine for inside the house, but when you need to secure the property, you need a good quality light. The only good quality light my kids and I had was the Surefire 6PX Tactical on my AR-15. My daughter and my son were able to find some cheap led lights that were barley bright enough to see the ground. We walked around the property, looked at some stuff and then went back to the trailer. While my kids and I were walking around in the middle of the night, I made up my mind that some good LED lights would be in my next purchase.
Purchases for March 6 2011 include:
6 – 1 pound 10 ounce containers of salt
100 rounds Winchester 9mm 115grain round nose
4 pack Energizer AAA Lithium batteries
1 – Coleman 90 lumen LED flashlight
1 pound regular pinto beans (for the garden)
1 pound yellow dent field corn (for the garden)
$1 worth giant noble spinach (for the garden)
20 pounds seed potatoes – hopefully to get planted next week
For my sons birthday he got a coleman LED flashlight at 75 lumens. Over the next few weeks the 2 lights (75 and 90 lumens) will be compared. When I decide which flashlight I like the best, a few more will be bought and left at the camp.
Salt is for iodide and for preserving food.
Winchester 9mm FMJ – It might be better to stockpile some hollow points, but the thing with the round nose – they will feed in just about anything. Lets say that you and your buddies have your plans worked out. If some kind of long term SHTF situation happens, everyone is going to fall back to the bug out location. Instead of stockpiling all different types of ammo that will feed well in a variety of firearms, just stock round nose.
Energizer AAA Lithium batteries have a 15 year shelf life. The plans are to buy several packs of AA and AAA lithium batteries and leave them at the camp.
Pinto beans are an excellent source of protein. If your going to stockpile seeds for a survival garden, pinto beans should be at the top of your list.
Nutrition information for pinto beans:
Serv. Size: 1/2 cup (85g)
Amount Per Serving
Cals: 116 From Fat: 0
% Daily Value*
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 3%
Folate (Folacin, Folic Acid) 36%
Thiamine 11%
Calcium 4%
Iron 12%
Phosphorus 35%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Spinach is an easy plant to grow, all you need is mulch, or manure – something with plenty of nitrogen. One of the things with spinach, you can cut more leaves off and the plant keeps producing. Spinach is one of my favorite plants to grow in my survival garden, I just do not grow it that often.
Yellow dent field corn – open pollinated / heirloom, non-hybrid corn so that the seeds can be saved. Now I just need to get some 16-6-12 fertilizer to plant the corn with.
Potatoes – one of my all time favorite crops for my survival garden. Cut the seed potatoes into chucks, spread some 10-20-10 along the rows, and plant the cuttings 3 or so inches below the surface. When it comes time to harvest the potatoes, just pull the plant up.
The next few weeks will be dedicated to planting the garden. With 20 pounds of seed potatoes we should be able to plant 3 – 100 foot long rows. My cousin got a tiller for the tractor and tilled up 4 or 5 acres of land for the garden. Starting next week my kids and I will be planting as much of that land as we can. With the price of gas going through the roof, we have to save money somewhere. Growing our own food is one way to save money.
I am hoping to plant enough potatoes that we do not have to buy any from the grocery store for most of the year. With the corn, i am hoping to can most of that in jars.