The Preppers Diary: What did you do today to prepare...

I guess it's more of what I DID NOT DO lately to prep? I did not go to AZ like I usually do this time of year. The problems on I-10 (think southern border not far south) even with increased support were more than I wanted to confront. I have never feared when driving or stopping, but was quite concerned in 2 rest areas when the water jugs and rugs were easily seen lying out under the desert shrubs... they'd probably like a big van to ride in?

But this will be the year I go off main grid. I have secured a domain address other than the house that I am about to put onto the market. I'm right where I didn't want to be... wanting to get out on the road so bad I might hire a realtor! lolol (no offense but...).

I have downsized my clothing immensely though I still have more than I hope to need. The 10/10 storage unit was emptied, brought to the garage and mostly given away. I got a 5 x10 which is only half full now and that will be that way... things like deceased relatives records and documents from 1800s etc... you know and other stuff you can't replace. I can't find any family who wants the silver, chine, nor crystal so I have decided that if the Lord delays and I end up in a studio or 1 bedroom apartment somewhere in a year or three, I will wear my jewelry, sip tea from the china cups, water from the crystal glasses and eat with silver ware on the china dishes

I acquired a new gun... but not any gun. I have any guns. This one matched the pistol I carry with the same magazines so that they interchange. I went hunting and identified 6 different prints from coyote to coon, no rabbits. Hummm. Haven't seen a rabbit in 3 years out there. What is happening? Something or somebody is eating them rabbits. Pondering the meaning.

Busy busy for the last week or so.

• Completely tilled and dug out several of our raised beds... about 75 feet.
• Laid down hay, wood chips, compost starter, as well as anything else we could find to encourage composting the soil.
• Triple 13.
• Watered it to puddles.
• Covered that with 3 or 4 inches of dirt.
• Added another round of hay, wood chips, etc....
• Added another layer of dirt.
• Watered again to puddles.
• Raked it all down when it dried.

Created a new 12 foot raised bed. Ditto the above.

Extended our Sun-choke bed from 4 X 4 to 10 X 7.
Did the same as above to the bed.
Put down 25 tubers of Sun-chokes and a few Chinese Artichokes.

The wife planted 3 rows of carrots, a row of onions, and a row of lettuce.

Tilled up a 10 X 17 bed for potatoes. Threw in some compost, wood chips, and some Black Kow.
Going to add some Triple 13. We bought 5 kinds of Potatoes today. They are just about ready to develop eyes. As they do we will lay them into the ground and when they come up, we will lay fabric around them and start watering.

We also got:
9 more asparagus roots,
40 strawberry slips,
100 onion sets,
2 rhubarb plants,
4 garlic bulbs,

Gobs and gobs of seeds.

We are still harvesting lettuce, broccoli, rutabaga, and soon cabbage and spinach. Wife thinks some of these may be kohlrabi. Sometimes you just lose track.
By next year, we plan on being self-sufficient with the veggies and a lot of fruits also.
Our ultimate goal is to be self sufficient enough so that when and if stuff hits the fan.... the transition will be quick and easy.

They say that whatever you do on new years day you will be doing the rest of the year. So wife and I went out to the winter garden and harvested some goodies. Got a bunch of lettuce and some Jerusalem Artichokes. We saw some Broccoli and some Cabbage heads starting to form. Did a little hoeing. Started the lawn mower to keep the battery good till spring. Put up the winter bird feeder for our flying friends.
Sat on the porch and waved to neighbors as they walked by. Thank God for another year.

Talked to a realtor.

Thought about the folks here who don't know to prep...and those of you reading here needing help.

The current increase in price for paper goods (whether it has already occurred or not) should give you cause. I cannot really stock up bc there's just so much room on my van... I do have alternative measures though.

Some of the things I thought about for the above mentioned:

IF you are not used to eating every morsel of food off your plate, begin doing so. If it's consistent that you leave some food (or someone in the family does) give them less, make/cook less. Not only is "left over" food a waste of food problem ongoing during difficult times, but garbage (not just trash but garbage) is too. Food scraps are not only wasteful but difficult to dispose up if there's no city pickup, for example.

I would also suggest... buying disinfectant wipes to the max...these stock up on! They work really well for cleansing dishes, for example, when water is the biggest commodity... they also work well for cleansing door handles, hands, and tushes, etc! But some without bleach for the latter (I can't handle bleach anyway but I know you guys need to.) My dog and i have made several month-long trips without water source and didn't get sick (except when we drank hotel water at Tuscon! Had planned to camp but God said no, get a hotel...)

Just my thinkin'

One foot in front of the other.
God's timing I'm sure.. BUT?...

I had a major fail in the van ... while reorganizing I found it... I had closet maid baskets attached to the ribs of van and the metal broke on one. Really not a huge item since I had a bank of them attached and attached to each other... nothing fell. But... I have just come to the place, after 33 years of disability, where I felt comfortable with perhaps having solid cabinets put up over the back windows where I have the baskets... I can't risk having anything fall on me at this point... so my assistant was here yesterday and I had her empty and take them all down.

I am sorting again the items I put under the bed ('garage') when it's down off the ceiling... downsizing no less so I can put the kitchen appliances and paper products under there too...with no overhead baskets nor cabinets.

drjean said:

One foot in front of the other.
God's timing I'm sure.. BUT?...

I had a major fail in the van ... while reorganizing I found it... I had closet maid baskets attached to the ribs of van and the metal broke on one. Really not a huge item since I had a bank of them attached and attached to each other... nothing fell. But... I have just come to the place, after 33 years of disability, where I felt comfortable with perhaps having solid cabinets put up over the back windows where I have the baskets... I can't risk having anything fall on me at this point... so my assistant was here yesterday and I had her empty and take them all down.

I am sorting again the items I put under the bed ('garage') when it's down off the ceiling... downsizing no less so I can put the kitchen appliances and paper products under there too...with no overhead baskets nor cabinets.

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Consider that you found it before it became a real problem and you did not have help or the resources, or time to repair and reconfigure. God does wonderful things that way. I have seen Him work so many times I am no longer amazed. Rather, I am proud to call him my God.

Starting another book... actually volume 2 of "Diary of a Christian Prepper." Most of it will be posted on these threads since that is how I write most of my book content. If I see a good post by a friend I may ask you permission to use it. You are some smart peoples!

Pesky wabbits.
Had to put up 120 feet of chicken wire fencing today. Rabbits (Hares) ate the tops off Barbara's bush beans.

Had four days straight of rain. Now me tomatoes are cracking!
They will go into the dehydrator soon.

What did we do? Bought a portion of a mountain in Colorado that nobody would want no matter how bad it gets. But the wife and kids and I consider it God's Double Portion. Seriously. We went in buying what we thought to be a bit of heaven on earth. At closing, they handed us the keys, and I do not exaggerate, twice as much as we thought we were buying. Water, wells, new systems, unbelievable. God is so good, HE is good ALL THE TIME!

marineimaging said:

What did we do? Bought a portion of a mountain in Colorado that nobody would want no matter how bad it gets. But the wife and kids and I consider it God's Double Portion. Seriously. We went in buying what we thought to be a bit of heaven on earth. At closing, they handed us the keys, and I do not exaggerate, twice as much as we thought we were buying. Water, wells, new systems, unbelievable. God is so good, HE is good ALL THE TIME!

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Fantastic. The Lord Blesses!
Share some wisdom here on the forum if you are of a mind.

Let the harvests begin. Daily basket full of tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and even a few late carrots. Peppers are on the vine and will soon be ready for harvest. Summer squash are about to bust out. We have a dozen or so melons at softball size and below. Not a lot of bugs yet.. but we have the neem oil and dish detergent at the ready. The Sun-chokes are at least 10 feet tall. Best crop yet. Barbara says there is a volunteer eggplant coming up on the previous compost heap.
God is good!

Was slicing potatoes today on our new mandoline. Forgot, or rather neglected to put on the protective glove. Sliced off a chunk of the last knuckle on the ring finger of my right hand. Down to the bone. If you have never seen blood spurting out of a cut a foot or so... you do not want to. After about an hour of a tourniquet and multiple band aids the bleeding stopped. It is unsightly.. but still bends. Did not really hurt until I put it under the running water in the sink.
Be careful peeps.
Life is an adventure...

Bringing in pounds and pounds of tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash, and soon green peppers. Banana peppers on the way. Some nice sweet watermelons.
We are trying Sweet Meat for the second year. No luck last year but my sister in law got a couple so I know the seeds are good and they do grow in SC.
Lots of Roma tomatoes on the vine.
Barbara made 4 jars of salsa and 3 jars of Spaghetti sauce. 4 jars of dill pickles and 3 jars of bread and butter pickles. I'd say the garden is coming through for us.

You’re doing well and have gotten a lot done. I started canning last week. Several items with peaches, white peaches, white nectarines and yellow plums. I still have cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and rhubarb to deal with. And I have to make the bbq sauce.

I don’t have a garden and decided against growing herbs due to the maintenance. But we have access to organic produce and are procuring our meat in bulk in the fall.

The farmers market is in full swing and I plan to dehydrate herbs, fruit, and tomatoes of course. Our Romas usually arrive in August.

Glad to hear your hand is okay!

LaBèlla said:

You’re doing well and have gotten a lot done. I started canning last week. Several items with peaches, white peaches, white nectarines and yellow plums. I still have cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and rhubarb to deal with. And I have to make the bbq sauce.

I don’t have a garden and decided against growing herbs due to the maintenance. But we have access to organic produce and are procuring our meat in bulk in the fall.

The farmers market is in full swing and I plan to dehydrate herbs, fruit, and tomatoes of course. Our Romas usually arrive in August.

Glad to hear your hand is okay!

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Thanks LaBella. Good to hear from your. I think we were both in another thread recently.
Sounds like you are doing well. Good to hear people are dehydrating and canning. We have rhubarb in the garden but the heat does not do it well. We have a mulberry tree on one side of the house... the birds love it. Tons of berries. They stain.
We are pulling tomatoes now... planted them in March.
Good to know how to do these things... may need the skills one day.

SavedByGrace3 said:

Thanks LaBella. Good to hear from your. I think we were both in another thread recently.

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Yes, it is. I’m glad to meet you too.

I’m doing well but it’s a lot of work and I’m balancing 3 classes in between. This is the busiest point because of the berries. But once I’m done I’ll be able to pickle a few things and rest until the tomatoes are in.

Rhubarb usually arrives early in the season. It pairs well with strawberries for jam and I make liqueurs. You can freeze it too or dry it for yogurt and granola in the fall.

I remember mulberries as a child. My are they messy! They stain the sidewalk pretty bad.

I worked on an organic production farm for a season to learn gardening. I was thinking of homesteading and needed to see if I’d enjoy the work. I did and found a program that would have educated me on all aspects of farming but it wasn’t the Lord’s will for me to go. He had another plan in mind. I let it go and purchase farmer direct whenever possible.