This weeks preps check-in

[Brent S]

might try using that septic tank in correspondence with your rain catch system,by transferring the water to it.but then you'll have to come up with a way to move it close enough to the garden and then use it to water your crops..is that wheel and tire a part of it.?or just sitting there? i have a 5 gallon bucket of chicken manure left over from last year..the watering can idea is a good idea..how much chicken manure do you mix into 2 gallons of water? we have a 2 gallon watering can already...

The tire is just an old spare leaning against it. I am renting a backhoe in about three weeks for a few days, and was planning to set the tank into a hill behind the carport it's in front of right now. That would give me the elevation to run a garden hose from it to the garden, but the tank would still be just below the gutter line of the carport and garage/workshop. It's a great idea, I'm just not sure about the plastic the tank is made of being safe enough to water the garden with. I wouldn't drink it, but maybey it will be good enough for the plants?
I don't have an exact measure on the chicken manure, I put about two to three inches in a five gallon bucket and fill it up to the top with water. I also am careful to pour it only on the soil around the plants. You don't want it on the plants as it can burn them, but also it's kind of dirty and I don't want to get E. coli or anything.

 

[Sue@planforit]

Finally have gotten back to the point financially where we can work on our food storage and other things. Bought two Baofeng radios a couple of weeks ago, have been playing and working with them ever since. Bought another shelf two days ago and spent yesterday putting it together then organizing our food storage better than it was. Good to be making some headway again.

 

[Dani]

I got the main garden tilled as well. I'll till it one more time just before planting. And the pile of sawdust that's been composting for a year will go in it as well as a whole bunch of rabbit droppings. I used to till in the chicken manure but now I mix it in a bucket of water and use a watering can to apply around the plants. That alone has made more of a difference in my gardening success than anything else I've done. The only down side is chicken manure in a bucket of water, in the summertime, is the most foul smelling mixture around! Luckily the plants don't seem to be able to smell it.

My most foul smelling around the farm is the pigs. . . that alone can drop you on your feet! Honestly when my hunny is not feeling well and I have to go out. . . Just thankful their pen is not by the house, but when there is a northern wind you can get a swift of it every now and then. They just plan stink! I just don't understand why they taste so good ib the long run.

 

[Dani]

I got a deal on a plastic septic tank, unused of course, and was planning to use it to catch gutter runoff. Well I called the manufacturer and found out the plastic isn't considered safe for water storage. Damn! I'm debating on trying to line it with something, or just sell it and use the money for something else. If I decide to line it, any ideas?View attachment 2267 That really sucks as it's 1050 gals. And would be a perfect way to use gravity to water the garden. I have two pumps and two good creeks, but if there's no electricity then I'm back to buckets.

It is still good to have around for water storage. . . you can always 'purify' to drink so I don't see a prob

 

[jimLE]

well brent using the septic for a rain catch system to watering the garden sounds like a good idea..remember suwage does make a good fertilizer..but what you have there aint full of it..so i dont think you got any thing to worry bout there..

well i got me to 2 more cases of canning jars today.1 case of pint and 1 of quart..and a sure tight band tool..

 

[Brent S]

well brent using the septic for a rain catch system to watering the garden sounds like a good idea..remember suwage does make a good fertilizer..but what you have there aint full of it..so i dont think you got any thing to worry bout there..

well i got me to 2 more cases of canning jars today.1 case of pint and 1 of quart..and a sure tight band tool..

I bought two cases of half pint jars recently too. Lots of times I don't have enough veggies to fill one last quart jar, so now I have a smaller option to work with. I still have a ton of pickles and a good amount of spicey pickeled okra left. I just tipped a delivery driver from lowes a quart of each, as I'm not able to eat all those pickles! I probably have about three dozen quart jars that I've eaten from last year just waiting until this years crop comes due. I still want to try some of the tattler lids before long. Have you ever tried using the wax seal?

 

[jimLE]

im still way new at canning..so my primary trail n error is the foods that go bad after wards..and so far that be stew.seeing how thats all i've tried so far..

 

[Dani]

Have you tried buying a Ball Canning Recipe book or maybe another canning book? Better Homes and Gardening has one too. These give step by step recipes on both water bath and pressure canning

 

[jimLE]

yeah i got a ball canning book.but its mostly reading right now..on acount i need on hand experience to go with the reading as well..i went to a diff wal-mart today. theres a woman working there.and she does canning..i figure it might be a good idea to talk with her more

 

[psalm 7]

Reloaded a bunch of 300 Win Mag rounds alot of stuff you read say this cartridge is hard to reload because of the short neck but I have no problem with it . My Wife wants to move our Garden to the other end of our property so I started clearing it off . She says it will be easier for her to work there but I know she realy thinks she will find more arrow heads there . We find alot every year we work up the Garden . Tomarrow is back to work so I want get much done at home for the next few days .

 

[jimLE]

yall have a good collection of arrow heads yet? any of them not broken or chipped where its not supposed to be chipped?

 

[psalm 7]

Wehave had lots of them that were perfect . We have giving most away and kept a few . Thats why my wife is wanting me to til up a new spot .

 

[TheShadowKnows]

Got two more gallons of water jarred up and ready for a few years of storage. Got the wife a .22 rifle, test fired it, got it into a tactical stock. Did some practicing with our pistols as well. Another weeks worth of canned food into storage. Got myself a good tactical backpack and moved my bug out stuff to it. Will post a review later in the appropriate thread.

Quite a productive week.

 

[rudyc]

i finally got around to buying a rechargeable radio.
Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160WXR Microlink Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger (Red)
for 20 bucks. it recharges with the sun, or a hand crank. has flash light, am, fm, weather radio. and a usb to charge a phone, but it may charge an older phone, since many phones now days, need 500 mah power to start charging, and my phone requires 1,000 mah so this may not do it, but, a small mp3 player, or some other small device that charges via usb, but over all, i have tried it, and it works well.
i also bought a few extra rechargeable battery chargers. one charges via usb, and another charges via solar powered.

 

[jimLE]

we have one as well..and i like it..plus our electric went out for almost 2 hours one night..i had just brought it in that evening from recharging it...it held it's charge during the time electric was out....one thing i learned..is to make sure i take it outside to recharge time to time..and if i don't.the batteries will run down when listening to it..

 

[jimLE]

well i bought a Stanley PC1A09 100 WATT Power adapter yesterday..it's to use for recharging my stanley rechargeable/portable jump starter..should be getting said item some time later on this week at the latest.. i hope..it has 1 electric outlet.and 1 usb port

 

[jontte]

got home with some cans of food,rice and beans,some more seeds and a box of 12gauge shells(250 pcs),

 

[jimLE]

great..what seeds did ya get?

 

[jontte]

carrot,parsley,cucumber,french beans and beetroot,if i have time on sat,will do some more shopping

 

[jimLE]

good luck with buying more saturday and the garden..

here's what i got and their all heirloom seeds..so i can save seeds from my crops
Summer Crookneck Squash
Emerald Okra
Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn
Tendersweet Carrot
National Pickling Cucumber
Habanero Hot Pepper (for pepper spray only.)
Lincoln Shell Sweet Pea
Black Eyed Pea
Butterfly Weed - Pleurisy Root - Asclepias tuberosa
Borage
Cinnamon Basil
Anise Hyssop
Iroquois Cantaloupe

 

[jontte]

good variety with yr seeds,wish we had a longer and warmer summer here,it would give me more variety what to grow,on my balcony there might be a chance to grow something special,well,think i will write down some of yrs and se if found here,make use of my balcony in a more sensible way

 

[Sue@planforit]

Got some accessories for our radios to give them more power and help them go longer range. Have been testing out the range of the radios with one of the repeaters in the valley we live in. Our C.E.R.T. here is doing radio training and making a plan for radio usage next week so that should be fun.

 

[Tyler]

Today is my birthday and now being 18 I got to sign up for alot of classes and things that I've wanted to get done. I'm going to start taking 3 online classes on herbs, and how to identify plants. I'm also starting to look into get my rpal (a firearm lisence in canada that lets mw get restricted firearms, such as pistols and ar 15) I also will be upgradeing to bronze VIP this weekend (hopefully it is this weekend )

 

[Maverick]

picked up a couple of lifestraw family 1.0 water purifiers today

 

[psalm 7]

Took all my firearms out and checked the zero and cleaned them . That was fun stuff .
I saved some seeds from a pear tree last year thats nearly 100years old on a old farm site not far from here I planted them today as you will never see pears like these in the store and the old tree must be resistant to every thing .
Found a good deal on camping/emergency stuff like mylar blankets , water proof matches , candels .

 

[Overlord]

No activity as of now due to restricted finances. Have to pay tuition for my 2 kids (1 college, 1 elementary).

Does having a few beers count?

 

[jimLE]

drink one for me while your at it..lol..awww heck.make it at least a 6-pack

 

[Snowflake]

Im throwing out a challenge to everyone to post what they do for prepping. I know time and money can limit what people can get done. Even one thing a week, no matter how small gets you one step closer to your goals. Over the next year this should be a huge thread and all of us should have 50 projects done.

This week my son and I picked up 700 223 brass and 800 40cal brass to reload. Cost was nothing but an hours time. Now the work starts to prepare it to reload and locate bullets.

What have you accomplished this week?

I joined this site and had my eyes opened a bit wider, It's gave me more motivation to up my fitness regime, I'm getting a new bug out bag this weekend and starting to put a bag together for my kid.

 

[jimLE]

how old is your kid?there's a great topic about folks with kids.and great ideas and points in it..here's one link about prepping with kids..
http://www.doomsdayprepperforums.com/index.php?threads/prepping-for-children.1026/#post-42673

 

[jimLE]

here's another for good measure

http://www.doomsdayprepperforums.com/index.php?threads/homeschooling-info.3444/#post-40794