[roaringaslan]

A few days ago, I bought many 40# bags of good quality soil and laid them out in "beds" in my backyard. I do not have my ground soil prepared, and I can't afford the wood I need for the raised beds that I want to put in this season. But some of my seedlings need to go out NOW. I read an article in mother earth news that suggested just planting directly into the bags that are laid out where you want your garden to be (you have to cut large square sections out of the top of the bags, and poke holes in the bottoms for drainage)...they will kill the grass and after harvesting you can remove the remaining bag parts and work your soil into the existing hard ground, add compost etc. I will add the wood sides to my raised beds and add more soil to fill them at that time. Also, the bags should provide good moisture control, help keep the soil warm, and keep out weeds. Hoping that this works out for me. My only other vegetable gardening happening right now is interspersed with my flower beds (lettuces, cabbage, stuff like that) and in containers (peas, strawberries, tomatoes) on my front porch, so I am excited to get into veggies that take up more space and will give me more variety. I am out the door to put in my first plants! I'll try to post pictures soon.

 

[rhrobert]

Yep, bag gardening is good if you have poor soil/rocky ground.
The last 2 years that is what I did. Poke about 12 holes in the bottom of the bag, cut a rectangle out of the top, and plant away. You can reuse the bags in place the next year, just work some compost in.
This year we moved, so I built raised beds, and also doing some bucket planting. Started my seeds inside inside early, tomatoes are about 14 in and flowering already, peas are about 6-8 inches, but the last storm wiped out my 18 in bean plants.

 

[GreyWolf]

A few days ago, I bought many 40# bags of good quality soil and laid them out in "beds" in my backyard. I do not have my ground soil prepared, and I can't afford the wood I need for the raised beds that I want to put in this season. But some of my seedlings need to go out NOW. I read an article in mother earth news that suggested just planting directly into the bags that are laid out where you want your garden to be (you have to cut large square sections out of the top of the bags, and poke holes in the bottoms for drainage)...they will kill the grass and after harvesting you can remove the remaining bag parts and work your soil into the existing hard ground, add compost etc. I will add the wood sides to my raised beds and add more soil to fill them at that time. Also, the bags should provide good moisture control, help keep the soil warm, and keep out weeds. Hoping that this works out for me. My only other vegetable gardening happening right now is interspersed with my flower beds (lettuces, cabbage, stuff like that) and in containers (peas, strawberries, tomatoes) on my front porch, so I am excited to get into veggies that take up more space and will give me more variety. I am out the door to put in my first plants! I'll try to post pictures soon.

Being on a tight budget myself I know how it is. I stumbled across a deal the other day that helped me setup more raised beds. While I was at a locally owned small lumber yard picking up some materials I noticed a stack of warped landscape timbers. I asked the guy about them and ended up purchasing all 27 for $15. The more warped ones I was able to cut into end pieces and the rest worked out ok .

 

[roaringaslan]

raised beds

Thanks for the tip GreyWolf! I will check that out, I could afford $15 or so. Got my first plants out yesterday, we have a storm coming (well it's already raining), so I hope my beans can withstand it! Is there something I can do to protect them? They are nearly 2 ft tall, and don't seem very strong. I am going to put up a "string lattice work"/support system. I would try putting milk jugs over them, but here in nebraska the winds are pretty strong. That might cause more damage than it would prevent. Plus the top of the plants would have to stick out through the hole in the top of the jug by about a foot. We'll see how it goes I guess.

 

[bunkerbob]

Taking classes for advance in my Ham license from technician to general, test this Sat.
Purchased 10 more cases of military MREs with heaters and put in shelter. Added heavy-duty plastic shelving in shelter. Also added 3 fold-able cots with mattresses down there and more 5 gallon water containers and a very handy hand pump that snaps on the top of these for dispensing.
Got two large in-line fans that are twice as big as the ones I have for my whole house NBR filter system. This will add for internal pressure to overcome some of the unsealed areas around vents and such. Photos to follow as usual.
Bought more food grade buckets, I will be storing Ramen in them, with CO2 and O2 absorbers.

 

[allen_idaho]

Last night I got 20 huge bags of angel soft toilet paper for $20. Fantastic Deal. I'm set for butt cleaner for a while.

 

[roaringaslan]

Omg

I never even thought of toilet paper! I suppose there are other things that would suffice in a pinch , but prefer not to go without TP. Still, that's going to have to wait in my situation. Still working on stocking up on the essentials! Is anyone concerned about collecting medicines? I have asthma, and the thought of living without inhalers is frightening to me. I am studying up on herbal medicine too, but I still want to have a good supply on hand.

 

[UncleJoe]

prefer not to go without TP. Still, that's going to have to wait in my situation. Still working on stocking up on the essentials!.

TP IS an essential!

 

[NaeKid]

UncleJoe - not only is TP essential, but, we also must have the means to dispose of it. Dig your pit for the outhouse now, purchase a few large plastic bins to fill your shed with and fill those bins with TP or Sears catalogs ..

I only keep about a years supply of TP. 100 rolls in the bathroom plus another 400 (or so) rolls in my storage area.

 

[mosquitomountainman]

The ancient Greeks and Romans used sponges dipped in buckets of wine vinegar in their public outhouses (20 seaters!) You used the sponge then rinsed it out in the wine vinegar and left it for the next person. On the home front you can use rags and wash them in bleach or boil them to sterilize and re-use. Sounds gross but you do the same thing with cloth diapers for your babies. In a long term SHTF situation many changes will have to be made in things compared to the way they're done now.

When using an outhouse if you put the toilet paper in a plastic bag after using it and burn it or dispose of it in other ways the outhouse will take a lot longer to fill up before you need to dig a new pit.

Or better yet make a composting outhouse and shovel it out when full. Use sawdust or lime to cover your "leavings" and it will have little odor and compost down to very good fertilizer. If you build a "double" outhouse with two composting chambers you can use one while the other breaks down into compost.

In a SHTF situation do not neglect sanitation. Be ready with primitive methods. Poor sanitation leads to diseases and related problems.

 

[Seneschal]

The ancient Greeks and Romans used sponges dipped in buckets of wine vinegar in their public outhouses (20 seaters!) You used the sponge then rinsed it out in the wine vinegar and left it for the next person. On the home front you can use rags and wash them in bleach or boil them to sterilize and re-use. Sounds gross but you do the same thing with cloth diapers for your babies. In a long term SHTF situation many changes will have to be made in things compared to the way they're done now.
In a SHTF situation do not neglect sanitation. Be ready with primitive methods. Poor sanitation leads to diseases and related problems.

Actually, from what I understand, the primitive Roman 'sponge on a stick in vinegar' was actually more sterile and clean than our current methods! The vinegar sterilizes the sponge, from what I understand, and there's no need to worry about what to do with the toilet paper.

...Still, I think I want to use toilet paper for as long as possible in a SHTF situation...

 

[Genevieve]

today we bought 1 solar generator kit and 2 wind generator kits, all for $199.00 each. The solar kit is a 4 panel one and it was almost $600 dollars at one time!
now we need to start gathering the batteries for the bank and build a shed to house them in. Our power company has already said that they were going to raise rates by 14%. Thats the problem with a monopoly, they can do what they want and we have no other company to get power from. Hopefully we can cut our electric bill by a large margin using the solar and wind.

 

[truecarnage]

I think a new set of "FRS hand-helds" would prove to be a better way to communicate with others than "CB radios" especially if you’re on the move as opposed to being static.
Just something to think about ~

 

[UncleJoe]

today we bought 1 solar generator kit and 2 wind generator kits, all for $199.00 each. The solar kit is a 4 panel one and it was almost $600 dollars at one time!

WOW! Where did you find a deal like that?

 

[*Andi]

WOW! Where did you find a deal like that?

That's what I want to know also! Great find!

 

[horseman09]

Mosquitoman, I think you are absolutely right -- mundane things like toilet paper are actually life and death items. Sanitation -- and the resources and energy it takes to maintain it -- would be far more critical if TSHTF than in normal times. Unless strict hygene rules are followed to the letter, little or no available medical care means folks will die of preventable hygene-related diseases. Infants and children are even more vulnerable to diarrhea-type diseases than adults. As more and more inhabitants in a closed environment become diseased and exhibit intestinal symptoms, group health declines even faster. Think POW camps and other similar situations involving concentrations of humanity in poor sanitation environments.

Other items to store are lots of alcohol, bleach, soap, detergents and anti-diarrheal meds. Dehydration caused by diarrhea is one of the leading killers of infants and children in the world.

 

[WhipNasty]

How do I post a new discussion? Where to buy cheap bullk supplies?

So I couldn't find where to post a new discussion, but I am looking for suggestions on what else would need and where to buy cheaply. My list is:
wire
wire cutters
hooks
lighters
matches
flint
magnesium starters
knives
22 ammo and guns
Chlorine powder
rope
hand drill
hack saw and replacement blades
field surgical kits
waterproof bags
compass
night vision binoculars
gun cleaning kits
sharpening files and rocks
tarps
swiss army knife (old school can opener)
Salt
Baking Soda

 

[Genevieve]

WOW! Where did you find a deal like that?

Our local Tractor Supply store.
This is something that we've been discussing. We have a genny but it's quite loud.And we may not be able to afford or even get the fuel to run it at some point in time. And this is more of a long term energy thing also. Hubby saw the prices and we snatched them up!

 

[rhrobert]

Our local Tractor Supply store.
This is something that we've been discussing. We have a genny but it's quite loud.And we may not be able to afford or even get the fuel to run it at some point in time. And this is more of a long term energy thing also. Hubby saw the prices and we snatched them up!

Is this it? 60 watt 4 panel?
60 Watt Solar Charging Kit - 8500151 | Tractor Supply Company

Thanks

 

[Genevieve]

Is this it? 60 watt 4 panel?
60 Watt Solar Charging Kit - 8500151 | Tractor Supply Company

Thanks

yes it is. I don't see the windmills tho. they're not listed on that site