» rain http://thesurvivalnut.com Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:05:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 A Few Fall Survival Gardening Tips http://thesurvivalnut.com/2009/08/01/a-few-fall-survival-gardening-tips/ http://thesurvivalnut.com/2009/08/01/a-few-fall-survival-gardening-tips/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:15:10 +0000 Survival Nut http://thesurvivalnut.com/?p=316  

A Few Fall Survival Gardening Tips  

by John Wesley Smith

Late July and early August is the time to start planning for fall gardening. You may be in the harvesting and preserving mode, but you can keep on gardening and add to your food supply with new crops of several vegetables. You don’t have to limit yourself to a spring crop of lettuce or carrots.


Not only does gardening provide you with food for survival, it teaches you valuable lessons that help develop a survival attitude. A gardener should always be analyzing, evaluating and looking ahead. As a gardener, you do this all the time without giving it a second thought. How are those beans doing in that location? Why are the tomato leaves turning yellow? What are organic solutions for insect problems? You’re asking questions, seeking answers, and applying those answers.

How does this apply to fall gardening? The first step to take is to evaluate how the season has gone for you. What succeeded? What failed? How can you make better use of available space? Should you try different varieties? What can you do differently next season or for the remainder of this season?

Because climate is so diverse throughout the country, I can only give general tips and offer more questions than answers here. Check with your local university extension service for growing guides for your area. The experts in your local area know about frost dates and weather patterns you’ll experience. They can make recommendations as to the best vegetable varieties for you. They will also be familiar with what problems you might anticipate from insects and diseases. Realize their solutions to these problems conform to conventional gardening methods, and you may need to look elsewhere for organic or natural solutions.


A first fall frost date is very important to know. For example, if you want to plant something that takes 55-60 days to grow, do you have 55-60 days left before a killing frost? Can you give the plants protection to get them past that first frost? Have mulch, plastic or floating row cover on hand. Do you have a cold frame or greenhouse? If you’re container gardening, you have the advantage of being able to bring containers into a garage or greenhouse if frost threatens.

Try growing plants that like colder weather, such as kale, cauliflower or broccoli. Try a crop of lettuce, especially if hot weather in spring causes it to bolt too soon. Be sure to keep seeds and young plants well watered and fertilized, just as you would for a spring planting. Use mulch to keep soil cooler and more moist if it’s too hot when you plant.

Whether you plant transplants or seedlings depends on how much cold the crop can tolerate and the time left before frost. Vegetables that tolerate frost include beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collards, garlic, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions, parsley, spinach and turnips. Vegetables that don’t tolerate frost include beans, cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, okra, peas, peppers, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes and watermelons.

One important fall gardening task sounds merciless, but it’s necessary. Pull up old plants that are no longer producing well, such as tomato plants that have passed their prime or are diseased. Avoid putting diseased and insect ridden plants in your compost. Ask yourself what you can put in the space left behind by the uprooted plants. Maybe you want to start adding soil amendments like organic matter there and not bother with planting anything in that spot.

Since pumpkins and several squashes aren’t ready to harvest until fall, make sure you keep everything that’s still in your garden well watered. Of course, anything you plant, whether transplants or seeds, needs watering as well. Don’t count on the weatherman’s predictions for rain.

When weather gets colder, listen for frost and freeze advisories and warnings. Before a hard freeze, root crops such as carrots and radishes should be harvested or mulched. Harvesting of mulched root crops can often be extended will into the winter. If your winter is mild, you may be able to continue harvesting until spring.


Plan ahead. Consider what plants will make it through winter where you live. For example, I plant yellow potato multiplier onions in early September, which gives them a chance to become well established so they’ll get through winter and produce next season. If you enjoy perennials, are there shrubs or bulbs you can plant before long? What can you buy now for planting next spring?

Fall doesn’t have to mean the end of your survival gardening efforts. It simply means that as the seasons change, so does what you grow and how you garden. With survival gardening, you need to grow all the food you possibly can.

About the Author

Explore this and other topics related to survival at http://www.destinysurvival.com where John Wesley Smith is author and editor.





]]> http://thesurvivalnut.com/2009/08/01/a-few-fall-survival-gardening-tips/feed/ 0 Essential Outdoor Emergency Supplies For Camping http://thesurvivalnut.com/2009/04/29/essential-outdoor-emergency-supplies-for-camping/ http://thesurvivalnut.com/2009/04/29/essential-outdoor-emergency-supplies-for-camping/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:09:12 +0000 Survival Nut http://thesurvivalnut.com/?p=108

Essential Outdoor Emergency Supplies For Camping

Copyright (c) 2009 Jonathan Perez

Since the beginning of human history there has always been a fascination with discovering nature, known to many as the great outdoors. Not only is it a love of hiking enthusiasts, but also for families in general. But in order be certain that you can fully enjoy your camping excursion, you need to plan ahead with outdoor emergency supplies and kits.

 

If you look all the way back in early history, you might be surprised to find that there [has] always been some kind of ointment or creme used specifically for someone who may have suffered some type of insect or animal bite, a scorching burn, or even from protection [from] harmful UV rays. Outdoor emergency supplies didn’t just pop onto the scene in recent decades, since very early cultures would make their own from items they found within nature itself.

You can pretty much count on the fact that, being that you all will be active in the outdoors, the terrain will result in one of the individuals in your pack[...] cutting, scraping themselves, or getting a hematoma. Insects can be a pretty big irritant as well. A bee sting or pesky mosquitoes can turn a pleasant trip into a nightmare if precautions aren’t taken to avoid or treat them.


Well stocked first aid kits should always include essential outdoor emergency supplies such as a flashlight with extra batteries, as it will be crucial if you are out hiking and night falls faster than you anticipated or if you become lost. A sharp knife should also be included because it will come in handy for a variety of things such as cutting string for the tent, cleaning fish, and for countless other situations you may not even realize.

A whistle is a great addition to your kit in the event you become separated from your camping party. Fire starters are useful, specifically if the area you are camping in has had rain recently and the kindling and small branches you would normally collect and use for starting a fire are damp.


A variety of over the counter medical supplies should always be stocked in first aid kits. Band aids and gauze for wounds, punctures or cuts are a must have. If someone experiences this type of accident, then an antibiotic that you can manually apply on the skin and injured area would be great to have on hand. Aspirin, antacids and ibuprofen are good for headaches and muscle aches. Creams to relieve burns and itch relief from rash or bug bites are good to have, also.

Perhaps none of the things that you pack in your first aid or survival kit [will] ever be used, and that’s what you hope and pray for, but better to be safe than sorry. It is always smart to be well prepared to ensure everyone stays healthy and any injuries are treated as quickly as possible and with the proper supplies.

About the Author

There is no way to go over all of the information that you should be aware of in regards to outdoor emergency supplies. Go over to http://www.thecampingoutfitter.com/wordpress/outdoor-emergency-supplies-are-necessary-when-camping to delve deeper into this subject.

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