[lohi]

Firs of all hello to all and thank you for taking the time to share your opinions, ideas and let's not forget criticism for my questions.

For the last year i have started to take my preparations a bit more seriously then before(before being keeping enough food(perishable one) for a week) and thinking i was prepared for any eventuality :headshake:

The current situation i have is as follows

-water: have 2000l in a plastic container in my basement

-food: i have a small plot of land surrounding the house 0.30 acres(hope i did the conversion right) currently growing potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and beans(although i feel the amounts are abysmal for any kind of prolonged survival. Also i have a couple of sacks of flour, potatoes, salt, beans stored + i recently started to vacuum pack food.


Now i know this is just a start and i have a gazillion of plans in my head so i'll run it by you so i can get some info on feasibility of implementing them.


1. The biggest worry i have is that the water storage i have even with using rainwater for my garden will not last me long. What are your thoughts on wells? I was interneting and found an interesting well solution that would not be to difficult to implement it's called "driven well" basically you drive a piece of pipe in the ground till you hit water. I would appreciate any pro's con's for such a solution.

Also concerning the water storage in my plastic tank i have covered the tank with black nylon so as to prevent the light(it's a white pvc tank) hitting on in(dunno if that was necessary since the tank is in my basement but hell i'we read somewhere that algae can develop that way) but my question is how often should i exchange the water? i know i can use purification tablets but i also read you can use bleach(better financially wise) so is there a time limit i can purify the water chemically before i really need to exchange it.


2. Food: I know i am limited space wise for planting so can anyone suggest better crops to grow on such a limited space? Also since i have another basement room extra does anyone have any experience or advice with growing mushrooms in such a space? does it even make sense? I would dearly love to have some chickens, goats or other livestock to raise but considering my job and other obligations that is just not feasible right now.

3. Power: The BIG one: Since i'm in the Med i have a fair amount of sunshine but limited finance to do what i want(cover my entire roof with solar panels) i was looking at windmills but i just don't think i have a constant enough amount of wind for that solution to be feasible, generator(well we can forget about that one considering the oil prices), ideally i would have a water driver power generation (am just missing a river or a waterfall for that one thought) so do you have any ideas or recommendations on how to solve that problem?


There are a ton of other question i have such as weapons, vehicles, skills, equipment etc.. and we'll get to them in the future but for now i would appreciate your thoughts on the above mentioned issues.

lohi

 

[unknownsurvivor]

1. Water. No need to exchange anything. Water is water. Feed your gardens sparingly and hope you get enough rain to collect in your tank AND water the garden. Filter drinking water from the tank as you need drinking water.

2. Power,,,,Why is it a BIG one? We have plans that heat the house in the winter but really plan on doing with out electricity. We have done so before in the aftermath of hurricanes an got along just fine.

 

[Meat Guy]

1. Water: It depends on the depth of your water table as to what type of well you put in. The IBC food grade totes work well for water storage with a limited space.

2. Food: You might look into aquaponics. At least a greenhouse would increase your growing season.

3. Energy: First, reduce your need for electricity as much as possible. LED lighting, preserving food without the need for refrigeration. Set your home up like an RV using LP when possible and have multi-power appliances.
Consider a slow speed generator, solar, and wind to be used together to provide power.

 

[Allamakee County]

I'll speak a little to #1:

That kind of well you're reading about, around here we call it a sandpoint well. They are very shallow wells, you're just getting ground water, you'll not hit any aquifer that way. So you're going to get whatever water is nearby. If you have any pollutant sources nearby, then the water will be nasty, too. But it's still wet. With a good filter system it should keep you from being thirsty.

You don't need to exchange out the water in your tank so long as it's not growing anything. It'll taste rather flat after sitting for awhile, but you can re-aerate it if that's a problem for you; let it sit in an open basin overnight, and/or pour it from pitcher to pitcher a few times. It sounds like a very nice tank to have.

 

[Madgie]

Raised garden beds and vertical growing saves space and increases your volume of foods. Fireplaces and wood burning stoves are good for heating and cooking when there is no electric. Learn to cook outside over a pit are camp fire. Welcome to the board and hope to see more post from you!

 

[Daggel]

As Allamakee said, those driven wells are for really shallow wells. You would be hard pressed to get one deeper than 25 feet. If you are really close to a creek tho, they are nice because you don't always have to go and get water out of the creek with a bucket. I had one in Alaska at my cabin and I was about 30 feet from the creek bank. It was really nice in the winter when the creek froze to the ground and I didn't have to melt snow and ice.

 

[lohi]

Well as conserving electricity goes i already have lights that are more economical and i have noticed the reduction in the electricity bill although LED lighting sounds like an even better solution and i'll check it out. As heating goes i do have fireplace and wood stoves in the house and the location is heavily wooded so no problems there.

In the last couple of days i have been trying to get more info for the well solution and i should be getting the water table chart for the property soon and that should show if the sandpoint well is feasible or a classic one will be needed.

As for cooking on the open fire i am BBQ and roasting enthusiast so to speak(hell i'd eat roasted pork for breakfast if i could so that cooking wise i'm set. Also i will be doing some first tests with dehydrating food and i hope that will give me another way to store food for longer periods we shall have to see how it goes.

lohi

 

[ELBUFO]

Warning

Do not buy a muzzle-loader!!! They are highly addictive!!!

 

[lohi]

Do not buy a muzzle-loader!!! They are highly addictive!!!

Well unfortunately since not everyone has a 2nd amendment obtaining permits for firearms is a bit hard at times with all the red tape. However i found out that i do not need a permit for a muzzle loading weapon(although i have to register it once it is purchased).

So as far as weapons go legally i am very limited in what i can own and getting a carrying permit ranks the same as winning the lottery.

I have already decided to get a compound bow when my finances allow for it but i am also interested in practicality of a muzzle loader for defense and hunting.

lohi

 

[kev]

Rain water - run it through a slow sand filter and it should be safe to drink.

PDF files describing a slow sand filter:

http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1395
http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=162
http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=161


Crops

I think some of the best crops for you would be:

Radishes - the whole plant is edible, so nothing goes to waste
snap beans - high producing plants
potatoes in a box or tires
onions - nutrient rich
Garlic
Zuchinni
Spinach
Asparagus

Setup 3 rows of 3 raised beds. Do crop rotation between the rows, and use the off season to use 1 row as a compost pile.

*Note - greens (mustard, turnips,,,) contain a lot of vitamin K. People on heart medicines are sometimes advised to limit their vitamin K intake. So planting a lot of greens may or may not be advised for your situation.

Muzzleloader:

Black powder is corrosive, you will have to clean the firearm within 24 hours of being shot. And you are going to need a lot of cleaning supplies on hand.

 

[lohi]

Thanks kev for the links and the suggestions for growing crops i can definitely see potential in some of the crops you mentioned and will be trying some of them out as soon as my current crop is done.

As for the weapons and the cleanliness of it i look at them as i do on any tool if you're done using it clean it and prepare it for future use. Also i'll be sure to read all the printed material on maintenance and any issues in servicing the chosen firearm.

lohi

 

[kev]

Thanks kev for the links and the suggestions for growing crops i can definitely see potential in some of the crops you mentioned and will be trying some of them out as soon as my current crop is done.

My ideal small garden, would be 3 rows of 3 beds made out of cross ties stacked maybe 2 - 3 deep.

Or, get some pine 1X12s, and make the bins 24 inches tall X 8 - 10 feet long.

First season:
First set of bins - planted
second and third set of bins - sitting idol as compost bins

Second season:
Second set of bins - planted
third and first set of bins - sitting idol

Third season
third set of bins - planted
first and second set of bins - sitting idol

With this rotation, a set of raised beds has a whole year as a compost bin between plantings.

 

[AdventurousBones]

Power, power, power, the big thing is to limit the amount of power you consume. a small generator run for an hour a day will charge a small bank of batteries for lighting and you can run the high power consumers when the genset is on. Solar is fine but only after you get your consumption level down. Same with a windmill, it's all good in theory but they don't produce enough electricity to run everything you are accustom to using. It's a life style change more then anything. A good option for a generator would be a Lister type diesel farm motor attached to a generator head. Diesel keeps a lot longer then unleaded.

 

[wilhelm]

A location, even a general one is a good place to start so we can check annual rainfall, understand what and why your firearms laws are the way they are etc, etc.

This bit of info helps us help you.

Right off, buy a wristrocket and practice with it. Buy extra rubber bands, because they age and crack. These are cheap and can probably be ordered online without anyone being the wiser.
Short range weapons like a sling shot are devastating to small game, and larger 2 legged varieties as well. Can you get a black powder pistol? Uberti makes some really nice old time black powder revolvers, with a few extra cylinders preloaded can increase your rate of fire dramatically.

Hope this helps.

 

[lohi]

I live in Croatia and the annual rainfall is not bad for growing crops although the earth is claylike here where i am. As for the firearms laws they are restrictive but as i said earlier i can get a black powder weapon without the license including pistols but i have to register them.

The slignshot idea is GREAT and i cannot believe i did not think about it earlier and i will be sure to get one asap and thanks alot wilhelm for that advice.

lohi