Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

AirborneSapper7, the last several posts have excellent supply lists for varying specifics.

Thank you.

Psalm 91

I just worry I am doing a good enough job or that people are even reading some of this.. I really think we need to get back to basics and are able to take care of ourselves better ... I'm glad you liked the posts GeorgiaPeach

AirborneSapper7, for you, it's one of those things where you can know that you are providing information and offering a service, something to benefit those who want to learn. I am sure that as people are seeing the future, many of these things are good to incorporate in life, with or without a crisis. Learning to prepare, learning how to put things together, learning more skills, even in cooking, can be good education. Kids can begin to learn some of these survival things as well.

I started watching the pickling video for vegetables. I hear from more people that they are growing their own food more, looking for community gardens, and storing long term items. A friend of mine has their seeds, a garden, fruit trees, long term storage, medical supplies ready, and they are planning for animals this year. They even have a small area in their supply for me, and I am thankful for that.

People can do small or large things to get prepared. Solar radios, flashlights, cell phone chargers, small or large generators, canning, steri-pens, gathering heirloom seeds, there are some baby steps that people can take. And, it is can be fun to learn and plan together with family and/or friends.

Keep the information coming.

Psalm 91

Nah Airborne. Don't doubt yourself. I still use this a reference point for covering the basics. Which I will have a better grasp on since I will have the time this year to put in a vegetable garden, and can dstuff for the long winter months. I want to be totally self reliant next winter on my own food stuffs. No hunting or gathering at the store unless it is absolutely needed.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Help You

March 23, 2010 by Dr. Mark Wiley


I am often asked by patients, friends and acquaintances whether or not I think traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can help them with their problem. My answer is always a resounding yes. Help comes in many forms and many levels, and TCM offers health rewards in abundance. Here is how TCM can help you and why you should look into it.

To begin, traditional Chinese medicine offers, as its foundation, the promise of homeostasis. That is the understanding that the body wishes to exist in balance, that only imbalance causes pain, illness and disease, and that uncovering and balancing the imbalance is the only way to truly “cure” one’s self of anything.

Did you every wonder why ibuprofen worked for your pain yesterday but today it seems to do nothing? Have you ever wondered why sometimes you get headaches at the front of your head, while at other times it’s on top or on the sides of the head? Why last month your pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) had you buckled over with cramps yet this month there is little cramping but lots of headache pain?

That is because the imbalances in your body are different at different times, and pain and illness are born out of those imbalances. Thus, taking the same medicine for a frontal headache as one at the base of the skull is nonsensical. Treating PMS this month the same as you did last month, even though the symptoms are different, just doesn’t add up. And when you do find relief it’s only temporary and the problem comes back another day.

TCM can help you with this. Actually, knowledge of TCM theories or an examination at the hands of a qualified practitioner can help you. This branch of medicine helps by identifying the specific imbalances in your body that are allowing the health symptoms to exist. Once the imbalances are identified they are viewed and understood as a pattern. And these patterns have different signs and symptoms attached to them. What’s more, the methods used to balance the pattern of imbalance are different. And it is these specific pattern-identifiable methods that will eradicate the health concern.

You might think it is difficult, in the throws of innumerable signs and symptoms that have persisted over many years or decades, to be able to identify a pattern. I often hear the following: “I have no pattern. I watch my health and there is no pattern of why or when the symptom arises, like when it rains or I don’t get enough sleep.”
That’s not the type of pattern I am speaking of here.

For TCM, pattern means a grouping of signs and symptoms that are matched with the patient’s specific pulse and tongue geography, skin tone and complexion, etc. It’s like opening the cupboard and finding crackers, soup cans, tuna and cereal, and opening the refrigerator and finding salami, milk, mayonnaise, bread, celery, mustard and butter.

The untrained eye would say there are a lot of unrelated things. The trained eye would see a complete recipe (pattern) for a tuna salad sandwich and soup and crackers amongst the clutter. TCM practitioners are trained to identify patterns of imbalance from the clutter of signs and symptoms.

Once the pattern is identified the practitioner can be certain of the underlying cause of the health symptoms, be they hemorrhoids, osteoporosis, insomnia or PMS. Once a pattern is discerned the signs and symptoms are intellectually set aside and focus is placed on what is needed to balance the imbalance, to return the body to homeostasis. That is, to make the body healthy.
Methods of healing are then prescribed such as medicated diet therapy (knowing which foods to eat and which to avoid to help the situation); Qigong energy work (self-regulating exercises and clinically administered treatments) to balance energy in the body; herbal therapy in the form of teas and pills to balance organs, blood and fluids, resolve masses and remove obstructions from the body; stretching and strengthening exercises to correct somatic imbalances that cause pain; mind/body exercises to quiet the mind, center the spirit, induce the relaxation response, reduce stress and so on.

The main things TCM can help you with are identifying what environment within your body is allowing ill health to remain there, and what you can do specifically and synergistically to return the body to homeostasis and live at optimal health.

Yes, the theories and concepts of traditional Chinese medicine are foreign and seem odd to Westerners. Yes, it takes an open mind to listen to a practitioner of these healing systems tell you about your health in terms you may not understand.

However, if you allow yourself to listen and then do research based on what you are told, you may find that the seemingly strange-sounding syndromes espoused in TCM are actually simple paradigms of health that can be shifted and resolved toward better health.

—Dr. Mark Wiley

http://www.personalliberty.com/alter...-can-help-you/

how to make a survival knife by hand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioPgi...eature=related

Stress-fighting foods

March 29, 2010 by Personal Liberty News Desk

Many people eat when they’re stressed. But there are certain foods that can actually help reduce stress and help individuals stay healthier by avoiding stress-induced health problems such as hypertension, heart disease, stomach problems and obesity.

Foods high in folic acid such as asparagus, help the brain produce the chemical serotonin, which is a mood stabilizer.
Experts say foods high in antioxidants including vitamins C and E, as well as the mineral selenium can repair damage to cells caused by stress. Citrus fruits, berries and nuts are all known for being high in antioxidants.

Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids may also be beneficial for fighting stress. Experts say packing a tuna sandwich for lunch on particularly stressful days can help avoid stress and depression.

EMaxHealth.com suggests eating oatmeal as a healthy carbohydrate to fuels the brain’s production of serotonin. Putting milk on your oatmeal also fights stress since because foods high in calcium can reduce muscle spasms and soothe tension.

Nutritional supplements containing these stress-busting vitamins can also help individuals who don’t get enough from food sources.

And, exercise, meditation and deep breathing exercises may also help keep you healthy and stress-free.

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/...ighting-foods/

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Install the Best Garden Fences

When you protect your garden with a critter-proof fence, you can love the wild things, sleep peacefully at night and grow a great garden.

April/May 2010
By Barbara Pleasant
garden fences


You can add picket fencing over your basic perimeter fence to give your garden true country charm.
ILLUSTRATION: ELAYNE SEARS

Most gardeners eventually have heated encounters with unwanted wild animals. The best and kindest solution is to keep them out with the right kind of garden fences. A good farm dog can be a huge help, and repellents and scare devices work sometimes for some animals, but you can’t beat well-chosen garden fences for reliable long-term, around the- clock protection.

Assessing Your Needs

When the primary purpose of a garden fence is to deter animal pests, you need to know what they are before deciding which kind of fence you need. The eight most prevalent wild animal pests of gardens are (in alphabetical order): deer, groundhogs (woodchucks), pocket gophers, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and voles. Note that opossums and moles are missing from this list. Neither species directly damages garden crops, and both eat enough insects to be considered beneficial.
To help you identify which animal (or animals) is making mischief in your garden, match the evidence you see to the damage descriptions in Who’s Raiding Your Garden? Most animals leave signs of one kind or another — footprints, tooth marks, scat or the way they dig as they forage for food. Check with your local extension service to find out which types of animals are known for damaging vegetable gardens in your area.
You can often witness damage being done by birds, squirrels or groundhogs during daylight hours, but the night shift can be harder to track. If you can’t figure out which critters are doing the damage, station a $10 wireless motion-sensor light in your garden, and then turn off most of the lights in your house. The light might scare the animals the first few times it comes on, but after that they will accept it if doing so means getting a good meal. Have binoculars handy to get a good look at your new enemy.
Permanent Perimeter vs. Temporary Pop-Ons

Do you need to fence your whole garden, or are there only certain plantings in need of protection? If your only problem is protecting strawberries from birds and squirrels, making a secure cover for one bed using chicken wire, row cover or both is much less work than putting up a fence. Raccoons after your sweet corn are another problem that can be handled on a small scale with a carefully positioned two-strand electric fence, with one strand 6 inches above the ground and the other 12 inches high. See Electric Fencing for a full report on your electric fencing options.
You probably need a perimeter fence if you need to exclude chickens and other domestic animals, if deer are a serious problem, or if you are battling territorial critters, such as pocket gophers and groundhogs. Plastic mesh fencing can be an inexpensive option to deter deer, but be aware that rabbits will quickly gnaw through the plastic, creating openings for smaller critters. You may be able to cut some of the posts you will need from your own land if you have rot-resistant woods such as cedar, locust, mulberry or Osage orange. In locations where appearance is important, you can build an attractive wood fence and line its base and the ground surrounding it with poultry netting (chicken wire) or hardware cloth to keep animals from digging their way in. This add-on feature is necessary if any fence is to exclude rabbits, pocket gophers and other small animals with sharp teeth.

On many homesteads, the garden fence also controls the movement of goats, dogs, pigs or chickens, so many folks start with a post-and-wire perimeter fence, and then add poultry netting or electric fencing to enhance the fence’s pest-deterrent properties. For the main fence, there are three economical choices:

Woven wire fencing must be forcibly stretched between sturdy posts, so the ends and corners require secure bracing. On the positive side, woven wire’s flexibility makes it resilient and easier to install on uneven terrain than other types of fencing.
Welded wire fencing is stiffer than woven wire and requires minimal stretching, so it is easier to install (and requires fewer deeply set, reinforced posts) compared to woven wire. Welded wire works best on relatively level ground. Welded wire products with smaller mesh along the lower edge (intended to keep horses from getting their hooves caught) also deter some animal pests.
Stock panels are rigid fencing panels sold in standard 16-foot lengths. They range in price from $20 (for a 34-inch-high panel) to $45 (for a 5-foot-high panel). Installation is a simple matter of attaching them to metal posts with clips — no stretching required. And they are easy to relocate if necessary.
Multi-Critter Security

Any of these basic fences need more features before they can serve as barriers to smaller animal pests. To keep out pocket gophers, groundhogs, rabbits and skunks, you will also need a buried barrier of poultry netting or hardware cloth that flares outward from the base of the fence. How deep the buried edge must be varies with the creature’s ability to dig. If you only need to deter rabbits, you can securely pin the flared section to the ground. Better diggers, such as groundhogs and pocket gophers, often require deeper deterrence.
If you have never handled poultry netting or hardware “cloth” (which is made of metal), allow yourself time to learn which materials best suit your needs. Buy small rolls to experiment with before choosing a fencing product for a big project. You also will need heavy gloves and wire snips strong enough to cut your fencing of choice. If you are working alone, have secure weights handy (stones, bricks, buckets of dirt) to hold the fencing to the ground as you unroll it and bend it flat.
Fencing Out Deer

We could go on for hours discussing deer deterrence, which can include many other methods in addition to fencing (such as growing catnip and daffodils in deer access paths, or hanging dirty dog blankets from trees). But when you get to the ultimate solution — an effective fence — set aside the notion you may have that height is what counts most. Height certainly helps, but it turns out that depth (as in two fences) is the critical factor. Deer are great jumpers, but their depth perception is poor. Here are two ways to create a three-dimensional fence to keep them out of your garden.

If you already have a fence that’s not keeping out deer but your kids play there so you don’t want to go electric, you could install a second fence about 3 feet inside the outer fence. The two fences — one inside the other — will deter deer from jumping in because of their limited depth perception.

Where deer pressure is severe and losses cannot be tolerated (such as new fruit orchards), you can deter deer effectively with a 3-D electric fence. You can use strand-type electric fencing if you like, but it’s even better (and cheaper) to use electrified tape because it’s easier for deer to see. You will need a minimum of three lines: Two of them form the inner fence (about 2 and 4 feet from the ground, varying slightly with the size of local deer), and the third hot line (about 3 feet from the ground) creates the outer fence, 3 feet away from the inner one. Most deer leave after getting zapped while eating grass and weeds beneath the singlestrand outer fence. If they attempt a jump based on the more visually prominent inner fence, their front hooves will likely connect with the outer fence before their rear hooves leave the ground — a critical detail for a successful zap. This electric fence can be integrated into a wire fence quite easily.

Not everyone likes to use electric shock to get the attention of animals, but sometimes difficult choices must be made. When you install a critter-proof fence, you can keep your food garden and local wildlife peacefully separated.
Contributing editor Barbara Pleasant gardens in southwest Virginia. She dares any vole to make it through the new underground, hardware-cloth barrier that

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organ...en-Fences.aspx

How to Grow A Survival Garden To Survive The Recession

By Doodlebugs,

Grow A Survival Garden To Survive The Recession

Now is the time to prepare your survival garden to help put food on the table during these tough times. Here are some ideas on what crops are best.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Start planning your "survival garden" for the spring. Now more than ever gardening can help close the food budget gap. You will want to focus on hardy vegetable varieties that are abundant producers.

If you don't already have a garden winter is a good time to break ground (provided it is not frozen.)

Choose a spot that gets a good amount of sunlight throughout the day and is not located on or near a septic system.

Break up the ground well with a pick and bust up the dirt clods. Rake out the lawn grass roots and rocks. You may need to bring in more soil. If you have been a heavy lawn chemical user it may be a good idea to remove the soil and bring in organic topsoil from an organic garden center. Avoid manure that has not been composted since it can burn new growth.

Step 2

Include varieties that bear through most seasons of the year in your survival garden. You should check with your local County Extension Agent for a planting schedule for your area. Your local garden center may be able to help as well with dates and varieties to plant.

In early spring you can plant lettuce, especially reddish varieties that resist cold weather. Some kinds of peas are cold tolerant as well.

Greens, such as kale and mustard greens are an important part of a survival garden. Since only a couple of rows of greens can provide enough for several meals a day they are worth adding. Kale is high in vitamin A and other nutrients.

Beans also provide a good quantity of food for the table. Once they start bearing one twenty foot row of beans should provide all you need for eating and freezing for later. In early fall you may be able to grow cold tolerant vegetables like broccoli and cabbage depending on your area.

Step 3

Grow root crops in addition to above ground vegetables. Potatoes are another important part of a survival garden. Although potatoes are cheap in the store there is nothing better than "new" potatoes or the small reddish kind that you can cook along with green beans or serve covered with cheese.

Add staple crops like corn, which can be prepared in a variety of ways and also shades tender plants like squash and beans. Sweet corn is a good survival garden component although it takes quite a while to grow.

One of the most prolific survival garden plants are tomatoes. Plant both cherry and regular tomatoes. Check with your garden center for the kinds that do the best in your area. Beefsteak is one popular variety that bears a lot of fruit.

Don't forget to round out the salad vegetables with carrots, parsley and cucumbers.

Dedicate a small portion of the garden to spices that you can use in pickling and cooking. Add dill weed, cilantro and basil for everyday cooking.

A survival garden can save you money in these difficult times and provide healthy organic produce too.

Ask your local organic nursery about organic pest control methods.

Tips & Warnings

* You can keep bugs at bay with natural methods like Safer soap which is available at your local garden center.

* Keep a step ahead of bugs. Use ladybugs, which are sold in organic garden centers to control aphids and inspect your garden daily for signs of caterpillars and other buts. The sooner you treat the easier they are to get rid of.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4698588_grow-su ... ssion.html

Teawell 50 Extract Shown to Protect Brain Cells
Green Tea Extract May Delay or Prevent Alzheimers

By Online Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A new study has indicated that Teawell 50, a green tea extract from A. Holliday & Company, may delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Teawell 50 is a 50% pure extraction of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

The study was performed by Dr. Stephane Bastianetto, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Results showed that rats fed food that contained Teawell 50 extract showed had an 18% reduction of free radicals compared to a control group. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that damage cells and accelerate the loss of neurons in a key region of the brain that is involved with learning and memory. Typically, this region is severely damaged where Alzheimer’s disease is present.

“This suggests that regular consumption of green tea, specifically the extract Teawell 50, may protect brain cells against the deleterious effects of oxidative stress, delaying or even preventing age-related memory deficits,” said Dr. Bastianetto. For further information: www.teacoff.com

http://nutraceuticalsworld.com/issue...t-brain-cells/