what are y'all saving from the wild to deal with coming crisis?

[CoturnixComplex]

Happy to have found the nutty prepper corner. Trying my hand at growing our produce this year and earning a lot of respect for how hard it is! I think I've managed a single salad. Attempting to get clover and ryegrass patches established for the critters but I'm battling the hordes of ants and chipmunks.

Biggest thing I'm worried about, especially up here in our weird thirsty climate, is pollinators. I'm sowing flowers and putting up bee homes and birdbaths right and left but I doubt any tiny oasis is actually going to do enough to guarantee they hang around as global populations go south.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We are not at all self-sufficient. I keep a supply of foodstuffs and necessities on hand, not because of the Great Oncoming Disaster, whatever it might be, but because my nearest Walmart is 30 miles away, 60 miles roundtrip, and the idea of needing an ingredient halfway through a recipe drives me to disrraction.

In the event of an emergency, if we lost electricity, we would soon have no water, because we are on a well and the pump requires power. I keep a case of bottled water on hand that would last a day or two and hope the power would come back on in short order; so far it always has. I also keep buckets of water on hand for flushing (you use it to fill up the tank and then flush normally; don't pour it into the bowl).

Watching the news, disasters happen quickly and thoroughly. Your two years of food do you no good in a forest fire, tornado or flood when you lose everything and are lucky to escape with your life, children and one pet. The community rallies around and restores you, as we jump in to help others. Whatever happens, we'll be okay. Or not. Either way, we WILL be okay. We know what comes next. We know Who holds our future. Its all good.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

no chickens, no silver coins, no guns, no photos of great grand parents, no pressure cookers, no pinto beans, the list seemed endless yet when the auction was over I got one cent to the dollar

No pinto beans?

Big Midwest farmers grow corn and soy beans, which are predominantly used in processed foods. If you eat whole foods, then a low supply of corn and soy beans won't effect you.
I buy scratch and peck chicken feed, which is more expensive, but it is corn and soy free, so my chickens won't be effected by the flooding in the Midwest this year.

We wish. The price of food commodities isn’t that simple. I suspect it will affect all of us.

I’ve focused on growing fruit and vegetables. California and other vegetable-growing states seem so vulnerable, and importing these foods seems ridiculous.

As for the science...I think there are valid points in all of it, but we won't know what's going to happen until it does.

But it is happening. Weather is weather, and our weather extremes may or may not be a symptom of climate change. But the rise of sea level (it’s not on my doorstep, but look at Miami Beach, one of the more scary examples of coastal cities) and dozens of other symptoms are already happening around the world.

I love that we can have this discussion. I haven’t thought of myself as a “nutty prepper,” (@cotournixcomplex!) but whenever I think about these issues in any depth, I plan for more food storage, water storage, and learning survival skills.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

@trumpeting_angel

I have come to self-describe that way to people in general to throw the vibe a little more towards "goofy hobby" and less "deeply pessemistic person convinced we're going to see massive waves of climate refugees and food shortages accompanying them in our lifetimes."

It seems like even the people that can read the writing on the wall don't generally feel comfortable discussing it as a serious possible reality yet. Which is why this is a refreshing thread!

Wildfire is a big one for us. We have one of the worst population to escape route ratios in California. Best laid plans will go up in literal smoke. We have 3 years of pine needles getting cleaned out next week, thank goodness. After that, looking into sprinkler systems (only if we can hook them up so they're not competing with firefighter hoses, kind of useless otherwise).

At least we have a giant lake to dive into, worse case scenario. Pretty sure the truck can get us to the shore with or without an accompanying road.

 

[Ra_]

It would be crushing to grow a crop all summer and then have it stolen right before harvest.
Sunflower fodder, or microgreens, can be grown in 7 days.
They are loaded with nutrients and protein for both birds and humans.

A delicious and stealthy food source is Purslane.
Almost everyone things it is just a decorative plant.
You can just break off branches and munch them, or put it into recipes.
I find it to be delicious just raw. Cuttings root easily.
Highly nutritious.
It's the Portaluca family but I tasted some labeled Portaluca and it was bitter and terrible. Look for stuff labeled Purslane and taste it before buying.

A food thief would likely walk right past those hanging baskets, not realizing what a valuable food source they are.

 

[m1chelle1]

Good post. I planted natural chicken forage in my back lot, and i live in the great PNW as my icon says- so the forage should stay sound and watered (enough) year round. Rain isnt something we typically lack, barring abnormal drought. But i figure that if it gets THAT droughty here, then the rest of the world is in a big pickle!
all joking aside, if the weather gets that extreme, which it may for various seasons, or for a while, then we are going to be in a "world of hurt" for various other reasons- and famine, disease, anarchy will start running rampant But i do grow my own veggies and ensure to save seed, i like to stand by my where there is a will there is a way. Even through drought there are things you can do to grow vegetables such as planting drought resistant crops and such. I mean, things grow in Phoenix and people are still alive down there, so its def doable in other places.
Luckily i feel my chickens could mostly live off of our table scraps so if worse comes to worse id eat my non egg laying hens and id breed the rest and eat eggs as probably a primary protein source....we would be in a lot better situation than those without a self sustaining food source. Would likely have to defend our food from invaders and theft, too. So on and so forth...i digress......

 

[CoturnixComplex]

It would be crushing to grow a crop all summer and then have it stolen right before harvest.
Sunflower fodder, or microgreens, can be grown in 7 days.
They are loaded with nutrients and protein for both birds and humans.

View attachment 1824584

A delicious and stealthy food source is Purslane.
Almost everyone things it is just a decorative plant.
You can just break off branches and munch them, or put it into recipes.
I find it to be delicious just raw. Cuttings root easily.
Highly nutritious.
It's the Portaluca family but I tasted some labeled Portaluca and it was bitter and terrible. Look for stuff labeled Purslane and taste it before buying.

View attachment 1824587

A food thief would likely walk right past those hanging baskets, not realizing what a valuable food source they are.

To expand on that, I've just been made aware how easy it is to build fodder systems out of those cheap plastic carts we all have lying around, and now I am obsessed. Probably have to clean it well and often but can't see many other downsides.



Also, someone may have mentioned this already, but find out what your local native edibles are! We have tons of fireweed and curly dock that most people just think are weeds.

 

[m1chelle1]

Happy to have found the nutty prepper corner. Trying my hand at growing our produce this year and earning a lot of respect for how hard it is! I think I've managed a single salad. Attempting to get clover and ryegrass patches established for the critters but I'm battling the hordes of ants and chipmunks.

Biggest thing I'm worried about, especially up here in our weird thirsty climate, is pollinators. I'm sowing flowers and putting up bee homes and birdbaths right and left but I doubt any tiny oasis is actually going to do enough to guarantee they hang around as global populations go south.

i was thinking about this exact same thing. people dont want to get us nutty preppers talking about the end of the world, we could go on and ON!!!! hahaha.
anyway.
I like the pollinator comment, but luckily, if such events happen, we would likely be enabled to take the time to pollinate our crops, trees, etc by ourselves. Some varieties of dates require human intervention to pollinate because the (bee, animal?) required to pollinate such varieties only exist in one are of the world. Quite fascinating

 

[CoturnixComplex]

i was thinking about this exact same thing. people dont want to get us nutty preppers talking about the end of the world, we could go on and ON!!!! hahaha.
anyway.
I like the pollinator comment, but luckily, if such events happen, we would likely be enabled to take the time to pollinate our crops, trees, etc by ourselves. Some varieties of dates require human intervention to pollinate because the (bee, animal?) required to pollinate such varieties only exist in one are of the world. Quite fascinating

Yeah, I've figured as much. But uh, farming is a ton of work and I am...ahem...lazy. I am going to keep those little guys employed as long as possible.

 

[ocap]

pansy is my choice, never any left over for my chicks so no table scraps