I read about Ferfal and a few other Europeans, particularly Bosnians, Lithuanians and Latvians, over at shtfplan.com. They all agree that stacking of practically anything is advisable, but anyone trying to go it alone will die. They can't maintain OPSEC alone, as they can't stay awake 24/7, peering out of each and every window. Family and community ties were essential. In Bosnia, the banking, water and power went off for a year. You'd want to have a bloody lot of notice over here, in order to pull up the lawn for potatoes. I'm a permaculture gardener and even my potatoes were hit and miss last year.
I remember stories my Grandma told me of the Bosnian War which happened in the 90's, where the serbs were confiscating PM's and an old lady buried her Gold and the Serb's knew she buried it, So they dug up her house and couldn't any gold. After the war she got her gold, bought a brand new VW Golf and drove around giving everyone the finger. Also another Mother kept her family fed by every month taking a link off her gold necklace and trading it for food. All the more reasons to own gold.
Ag-ness Re post 41..What do you think is the trick in growing potatoes successfully. Its no fun planting 20 or 30 potatoes.. They seem to grow well with very healthy bushes, flower and die. Then comes the day to dig them up and low and behold, you have a poor crop, 3/4 potatoes a plant. What's the answer, anyone know? Regards Errol 43
I think you cover the stem with dirt & they grow from there too...dont take that as gospel a friend used to grow them when i was a kid & vaguely remember him doing that
I have seen the practice of placing a car tyre around the plant and adding soil/potting mix. As the plant grows keep adding tyres and soil. When the growing is over pull off the tyres and you will have a tower of potatoes. I have never actually done this myself. http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2007/03/growing-potatoes-in-tyres.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M7qki-wp20
I had a raised garden bed, which was mostly empty. I put the potatoes on the bottom and kept adding soil and compost, as they grew, so that only the top few leaves were visible. Tons of spuds resulted, but there were a few squashy ones. Different bed next year. I wouldn't use tyres personally, because of the pollutants. Still a good idea structurally, just kick the stack over. In an extended economic crisis, I would expect to get a couple of boarders, as friends lose their accommodation. If they're staying, they're planting and weed pulling and bug flicking with me. No idle bread, as Granny used to say.
As Ag-ness says potato's grow from the bottom up , sort of like a vine that produces fruit along it's length, get a spud with ears ? the little growths you notice on old ones and place it in soil so the growth parts (ears) are just showing, as vegetation (the vine) is growing keep adding soil over it till just the top 10 % is showing and keep that up till you have a good two feet or so of growing medium above your original starting level , once you have that level you wait for the plant to flower and seed and then you can start harvesting. Potato's produce tubers in between the origin (seed or old potato with ears) and the above ground part of the plant once flowering and seeding have occurred , You can just dig a spud with ears down and wait for it to surface if you want but if doing so make sure you know what a spud plant look's like first and plant a good half dozen or so to ensure a good crop in case of rot or bugs. You can harvest a good 50 kg of spuds in a 2x2x1 deep mt space quite easily with a half dozen spud's . Good friable medium soil is best and also good drainage and regular watering.
Those people in the article are doing a good job in their current situation. Of course, the article is slanted towards the residents and against the US/cities. A lot of the individual stories don't make sense. The Florida musician lost his home in the housing crisis. So why not rent an apartment? The lady from Poland misses her relatives. Wouldn't they take her back in Poland? And it is possible that the city was forced to tear down the buildings or lose the land due to adverse possession. In my state, if someone openly treats a property as their own for 7 years and you don't do anything to stop them, they get the property due to the adverse possession law. Where I live, most of the homeless have mental problems. It is unfortunate, but society has decided that we will not spend the money to care for all those in need. I blame a lot of the homeless on the fact that the socialist system has fostered dependency upon the government. And a lot of the ones the government won't take care of give up. As times get much harder, there will be many victims. Some will perish and the others will become stronger. Of one thing I am certain. In several years, priorities/values will be much different than they are today. Religion will regain more popularity, and communities and neighbors will become much closer. Hard times are coming, but a lot of good will happen too. Those of us who have prepared, will be able to care of ourselves, families and friends.
GEAB N60 is available! Global systemic crisis USA 2012/2016: An insolvent and ungovernable country 16 Dec http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-60-is...insolvent-and-ungovernable-country_a8481.html
The big mistake most people make with planting potatoes is you've got place them with the eyes faceing up and trim the eyes on the under side.
A huge thanks for that tip. It's one that i'll be filling away for the future. I mean, old tyres are a problem to get rid of, so you can get them for nothing, in fact they'll be happy that you take them off their hands.
Possible Greece default within this week...... Apparently!!! http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/Banks-set-worst-eurozone-abc-2008950326.html?x=0
Occupy Psychopaths 1 (OWS vs. the Pathology of the 1%) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xx1i_Fzrd3o
Oh, I'll believe it. I've had trouble finding a resource that says how much one should plant, of each thing, to feed X number of people for X long. They all say "it depends on what you like" etc. My great grandparents whole quarter acre was growing food in the depression, and they were still thin and pale, with bad teeth. They were feeding 11 little'uns though...
All decent carb or protein rich foods are tricky to grow unless your a farmer. Even when you get them up slaters or other grubs can sneak in and wreck the crop. Or weather can wreck it. Farming is hard work too. I advocate growing food yourself but in today's economy, with sugar $1kg, kidney beans at $6, it hardly makes sense unless you live in the boonies. One thing I have put up is a couple of hundred kg of NPK fertilizer in drums. I know the perma folk will choke at this but the reality is fertilizer can speed up growth and increase yield dramatically. If and when it ever gets as bad as some here expect you will need to grow at some point or perhaps face starvation. Having an edge could make all the difference. So if you don't have a garden up yet try storing some just in case you need it. It will keep for ever and you can always trade it later with a farmer. After all, 99% of our foods are grown with it now anyway.
"Poverty is gradually increasing in the country every day, where one in six Americans now depend on food stamps (35) and one in five children has experienced periods of living on the streets (36). Public services (education, social, police, highways...) have been significantly reduced across the country to avoid city, county, or state bankruptcies" Like a slow motion train wreck.