ARE YOU REALLY PREPARED
BY GREYWOLF


I have recently been had time to do some thinking. You see I have been helping my VFW. And because I have stepped back it gave me time to acess some things.
I remember saying that all my preps were done. Well they basically are. But after stepping back I realized maybe there were other things I could so. Plus after reading an article ConSigCor posted awhile back, I knew that I should do a complete acessment.
Maybe you should too. If you've been around awhile you should check the condition of all your gear,food and shelters.
If your a newbee maybe you are like I was when I first started years ago and focusing on weapons (which is great too) but lacking the focus on your survival gear. It is just as important. You can aquire or make weapons if you survive long enough.
After checking my supplies a few months ago, I realized I had some out dated supplies and renewed them. I was surprised to find that I also overlooked items.
You must sit down and think about what type of life you want after the SHTF. proper planning will make survival easier, but not a sure thing.

1. do you have a years worth of food stored. If you live in the country do you have the garden planted and the ability to can the food for the winter. Even in the cities you have the ability to plant a garden in even a small yard. but that leads to number 2

2. Do you only have your present location or have you built retreats to go to. are those retreat stocked or were you planning to travel those dangerous roads with all your supplies.
I know your present compound as the Initials will call it is supplied, but is your retreat supplied and comfortable enough to stay in till spring. Because if your plan is to run to the hills and live in a tent. That will be a hard thing to do for 6 months or a years through the winter till you can build a cabin. That cabin will also take most of the summer to build by hand and you still have to grow food.

3. I know all the young single guys are thinking they will be able to handle living out in the field. In the field for the military, you had supply line and others to depend on. Your unit will not be resupplied for a long time. so you will need retreats and supply storage areas hidden and safe. You will still need to feed you unit. As for that year supply of food that each man should have, well if your lucky if will last a year, but a year will go fast when your moving and fighting. That is if you live that long. I really think more will perish from lack of planning then fighting.
4. There is always that one guy who thinks he will steal all the food or ammo he needs. That just makes you a target of everybody including the militia. That is why for at least 20 years I know of militia men have been preaching be supplied and ready. 20 years come on, if your not prepared or mostly prepared. we are in trouble. I have never seen a country have twenty years to get ready for a war. So forget the thief stuff and prepare!
5. Your present (compound) home. Is it fully stocked. Did you plan for power outages. Yes that means generators, but generators require full even with 500 gallons. Most generator use 5 gallons every 8 hours. So you still only have about 14 days of fuel, If your lucky! You must have other forms of power making capabilities. Solar,wind for example. I have a friend whos home had a 15,000 kw generator and 500 gallons of fuel, but he forgot to run a cable to his well, so when the power failed, he had no water. oops!!!. He know had it hooked to the generator plus a solar panel to power it during a crisis.
6. Raising food for years or decades of life without the normal structure your use to. That means my friends even if we are lucky and the great tyrannical leader fails. Our economy will be devastated for decades. Not to mention our enemies who will take advantage of our temporary weakness to attack us. So be prepared to live like your ancestors did. 1930's all over. If your a city dweller, your preps must be perfect, Country folks mostly have the skills, just need to learn how to do it without all the luxuries, such as tractors.

This is the end of the section one of being prepared and living well.

Part two will dicuss how to supply your retreats and farms, moving to the country and what to look for in a property.

I am a little busy but there is one thing I want to say.

Any Generator that uses 5 gallons every eight hours is the WRONG Generator.

The Generator should be one of the smaller Honda Type Generators with just enough capacity to power the one thing you need to supply power for that uses the most current, like the Refrigerator or Freezer. Everything you need to power should only be connected to the Generator when needed. There is no reason for everything in the house to be hooked up to the Generator at the same time.

Ok Sniper, That's an Idea, but most generators use more fuel then you'll want to spend once the SHTF.

ARE YOU REALLY PREPARED CONT.


HOW MUCH LAND DO YOU NEED.

For most people it is a mistake to buy too much land. All land requires alot of maintenance. You must keep the weeds, brush down and mantain grass and wood lots. Not to mention more land means higher land taxes for most.. I really can't give you a definite number of acres, but I can say most of you don't need more then a few acres, 15 tops. I have seen nice homesteads on 5 acres of really good land. if your land is in the southwest or west then 15 would be your number. add another 5 acres of wood lot in the east half of the country. 10 acres of wood lot out west.
LOCATION: The best location for a homestead is on a gentle slope with good water and soil. stay out of valleys although the do have better land. they are more likely to flood also. Stay of the top of the hill to stay out of the weather and wind, but also keeps your home stead from standing out against the sky. look for good southern exposure and protection from pervailing winds.
Your water needs can be met by springs or existing wells, if you have a year round spring then site your house below the spring so a gravity feed water line can suppy an tank next to the house. If you have to drill your looking at from 10 dollars to 20 dollars a foot according to where you are. Then add costs of pumps and water lines and permits. Most well companies will not drill without permits, unless they know you well. Make friends with the kind of people you'll need help from to complete your Homestead, trade work with them. They can be extremely valuable to your survival.
Remember not only do you have to be able to defend your homestead location, but you have to be anble to escape quickly.
The best homesteads are partialy wooded with enough open area for a house, garden, and pastures. In the north, heating with wood is often necessary. So is a woodlot. If the land is completely wooded, remember clearing land is time consuming and hard work. So be prepared.

To be continued: ( I gotta feed my stock)

Before we go much further, I want to say That all the preps I have talked about are designed for the single family, that said if you are prepping for a commune situation, then you have to expand these figure by the number of people you are supplying.
Though I should point out that I have seen farms in SW Virginia families that have 11 or 12 members, living perfectly well on 7 or 8 acres. It just takes good planning and excellent farming techniques. Which you can learn.
I have been told that some intend to stay in the cities or think that they can prep for a year on their own. By the next year everything will be back to normal. Not going to happen. Think about it. The last major depression last 10 years. That was without the feds trying to disarm and control our lives as they are today. A major depression now could last decades. Plus then you have to worry whether some other country will attack us during our weakness,
WWIII.
I mentioned in the first part about having two retreats. One is the home you live in (if it is located in a safe usable area). The other is your escape retreat. It must be just as prepared as the other. Yep I know some of you are saying "Hey I ain't running". Well my friend having places to go and rest, rearm, and know while your out there fighting your kids are fairly safe, Ain"t running. I have three retreats, but not because I am loaded, I'm not. I have two here in New Mexico and one in SW Virginia. The one in Virginia is my grandpa's old farm. If I can make there, which I doubt, when the SHTF. But it is a good place for my folks, who go there for the summer to keep it up for me. My uncle does it during the winters. The other two are within 50 miles of each other. My main home is remote, but the retreat needs day light pumped in. Ok maybe just a little. So you can never be too prepared.
Here is some things that you should do to set up a productive homestead.


1. Make sure that every inch of the property can be used to your advantage, by that I mean the more you use the less time you waste maintaining unused land. Keep your wood lot clear of under growth.
2.the garden area must be large enough to support your family, easy to cultivate and if your in a temperate area, run the rows north-south. in hot arid areas run east- west to shade delicate plants. More on gardening soon.
3. Pastures must be cross fenced to allow you to rotate your stock from field to field. this prevents overgrazing. I goofed up my first year out here and allow some overgrazing in my fields during the drought. It took a couple years with patience to get my fields to recover. First the went to weeds, Normally I would burn the fields and that allows the grasses to come back. When you burn though, you attract attention. so I had to mow the weeds for a whole summer once a week. I had to water the fields because of the drought. The next spring I got lucky and the drought ended. I still mowed the weeds and the grass slowly recovered. Although I must also mention that after the weeds died that first winter, I went out and burned in the night, right before the first big snow hit. We cover this too.
4. Plant your veggy garden handy to the kitchen and your root cellar too.
5. compost heap must be between the garden and barn. more on that later.
6.Trees in the homestead area should not crowd each other but should provide privacy. Cover this during security section.
7.shower, bath, and dressing rooms should be accessed from outside also, but don't have them unprotected.
8. Barn should be lee of the house, and close enough for you to supervise, and protect your livestock.
9.lots of storage, this would also help during a raid. you should have escape plans for each building.
10. A good work shop with all the tools ( more on that later).

I will end the list here for now. I have to get some supplies today. see you soon.

Cont:

11. Housing for all your equiptment needs. This is a matter of how much room do you need. In a small homestead 5 acres or less a couple 10' x 20' storage sheds will do, maybe a carport like shed for tractors, mowers and other equiptment.
I have brought many different pieces of equiptment and have found that some where just too much for my land. So I will dedicate a section to equitment and tool needs.


12. You'll need cold storage room for veggys and can goods. It should be a least 3.5 feet by 7 feet. that size will allow you to enter and exit, believe it or not a cellar that size will hold 28 half bussels of produce.
If you choose to build it in a corner of your basement, then stud it in and vapor barrier it with6mil plastic cover outside with drywall, insulate it ( use the same styrofoam panels to insule the frame, just cut them to fit inside the studs.), then styrofoam the inside over the studs, make sure there is a basement window you can open during cool weather to keep the room at the best temp. but cut styrofoam panels to fit in the window opening if it is too cold. If your basement is parially above ground in a cold climate, then insulate the upper 12" odf existing walls Build this unit low enough to rafter the roof area and insulate it, styrofoam it too. more on this later,


13. Olan your homestead site carefully in other words the less you have to move to move and feed your stock the better. Fence your fields so that stock can be turned into wich ever field you want from the barn. The same reason your compost pile should be between your garden and the barn. Planning is everything in farming. luck helps but planning will save your ass and your back.


14. Please plan a spce near kitchen for a second freezer or if your plan is for a summer kitchen or canning kitchen then plan to have the freezers there. I say you need 2 freezer. Others might say that"s to much. I say you can't have to much food, unless you let it waste.


15. You should have an orchard and it should not shade your garden. Some afternoon shading does not hurt in the heat of the southwest. but don't over do it. I would tell you what to out in your garden, but that will be according to your growing zone.

ARE YOU REALLY PREPARED PART II

The first thing you should do is find a place that exists, That means home, barn, coop, you can arrange everything else.
Plan for your first winter if their is a home or no existing home.
Do you plan to spend that first winter in a well supplied trappers or guide tent. It can be done, it is tough, but you can do it. They are made of canvas and have wood stoves, bring a generator, cooler or mini fridge and plenty of blankets. I lived this way in Alaska for a year and a half.
Either way you should have brought a year and a half worth of food and supplies. It is August now so you'll need to make it till late summer next year.
That is when your first crops will come in.

But this fall and winter must be spent preping the garden areas for crops next spring. They will need to be cleared burn cutting and burning if legal in yor area, Or you could till them in and add compost, manure and cover with plastic for a month.
You will need meat and staples such as flour,suger,tobacco and salt/pepper. any other spices you like.
no reason to live like animals.

If your doing this alone, I can tell you from my time in Alaska, It gets mighty lonely out there in the middle of no where.
But keeping a low profile is what we want to do. There will be time to get to know the locals and see how many are with us.

Before I go any further, I know some think that they need to prep to fight not to survive. I disagree, your preps must be well rounded.

You really need to stock ammo and weapons,but just as important is the ability to feed yourself and troops.

Some might think the Government will be able to find your farm and shut you down.

Maybe if you spend alot of time there.

If you just use it as a place for your kids and family, then just resupply there. it will last for a while. What WE must learn is to keep our mouths shut.

Your retreat is your business, so is the weapons you own.

I have preached against posting your weapons,preps or pictures of your retreats.

A long time ago a member posted pics of weapons and ammo stashes, He missed the fact that an old license plate of his, was on a shelf in the back ground. I told him about it and he doctored the pic.
My point is little things are important now.

The Feds will pour over every pic with a magnifying glass till they find something to lead them to you.

YOUR PREPS ARE YOUR BUSINESS. Please treat your home place as such.


Do not leave things in your name if you are a leader of the movement. Do not purchase anything with a credit card or leave info about yourself. If this land will be your escape retreat and the place you plan to use aa home base.

IT MUST NOT BE IN YOURS OR YOUR WIFES NAME.

You must learn how to build things without purchasing new equitment or having permits to do so. In other words don't be near a main road where inspectors will check on your construction.

Don't be visible from any road and make your entrance look like a game trail when your retreat is being worked on or used.

If your not able to complete any of these ideas I will show you. then make your current place as self reliant as possible. I have seen gardens of the roofs of buildings in the city. I have seen pretty good gardens on surburban lots.

It is your kids lives you are protecting. Time to get mean and do your duty. Give your family a fighting chance. They are your future.

TOOLS

1. wood chisels, you need several sizes starting at 1/4" to 1". Hey spend the extra dollars and buy a good set. cheap ones are just dangerous and don't sharpen well, a good set will last a lifetime.

2.wood planes the old timey type, different sizes and jobs. these are not cheap but you can get lucky at yard sales and swap meets.

3. boring tools, this includes drills and bits up to 1" also you should own a hand drill(Brace) and wood bits ( high quality auger bits) for it, in case you can't make much noise. make sure the brace is double acting. (rotates in both directions).

4. Tape measures, a 25 foot and 12 foot and 100 footer. I have a 300 footer for fencing but you can get away with a 100 footer.

5. pry bars from a cats paw up to a breaker bar for dismantling homes.

6 complete set of concrete tools mag trowel, wood trowel, finish trowels, floats. you'll also need a good set of cold chisels for block work.

7. hammers from a 12oz finish to a 22 or 28 oz framing hammer, yes a nail gun and compressor works but you should have old fashion backup too.
although I have framing guns and finish guns stapler and coil roof nailers and 3 compressors. I one day will need the hand tools and I have them. Plus if I needed to travel light I doubt I will be dragging all that around. Even though I keep in in a pull trailer, it is still not all that portable. But a couple of tool boxes are.

8.Electrical tools from wire strippers totesters, needle nose to dikes (linesmans) combo stripper and crimper comes in real handy. When you buy a screwdriver set for your tool box make sure they are insulated. It don't hurt to have the cordless drills and batteries, a complete set are sold in kits. they have sawzall, circular saw and drills, sometimes a flashlight, I found a dewalt kit with an impact instead of the flash light.

9. Plumbing tools, include a set of good leather gloves for working with hot pipes. large cresent at least 10" and a pipe wrench the same size. a torch kit and soldier kit for copper pipe work. Pipe dope for galv pipe work.

10. two good saw horses you can buy them but I would recomend you buy just a kit and cut the wood out of scrap lumber.


The next section will be on power tools and garden tools and equiptment.

Greywolf
Your assessment is what I believe to be spot on. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. I agree with you and see this to be very realistic. Americas future is looking pretty sketchy at this moment in time.

We as citizens need to be vigilant and ready for anything that comes our way. Please continue to inform those on this forum and anyone else. They will be sorely needed in the possible near future.

Thanks again.

Thanks leonidas,

I have been havesting the last few days, so I have been unable to get to the next section. This weekend I hope to continue with the next tools section plus your kit that you should have when you reach your new retreat.


greywolf

Looking forward to the next section. I already do an understand what your talking about. This is all inline with what I tell my guys all the time. Its nice to hear someone else say it, besides me.
I'm sure that many will benefit from what your saying. That will assist the movement in positive and productive way.

For anyone who doesn't understand this. You cant fight if your not eating. Pretty simple really.

Still working on harvest and canning, but I think I should add to the last section.

That if you are planning to put your retreat in the mountains remember that growing food above 6000 ft elevations has it's own problems.

I am at 6300 ft, and as the beginning of September begins, I must harvest all the plants that are not in the green house and put temp green houses over the main garden to estend the growing season.

I started most of my gardens in the green houses this year, so I was able to harvest in late august.

But remember at this elevation, the last frost of the year comes in May, The first in early September. That is a short year folks.

Another thing to think about is how much time you have to give to your homestead.

The days will be 16 hours or longer, that is just to set up your homestead.

If you plan to work the most you can give is 8 hours.

The reason I say this is If you plan to put in a 8 hour day on a job and commute home then work yor homestead for 8 hours. You will only get about 4 hours sleep a night.

I remember growing up on my Grand fathers farm. He worked the fields from about 0400 to 1100 when he left for work on the 2nd shift at the mines. He worked till 8:00 or 8:30 pm came home, washed up and ate. Checked the animals and fields.

Then went to bed and started all over the next day.

We kids were up at 0400 and milking by 0430 spent all day in school then came home at 1600 hrs and right to the fields after changing our clothes.

Now That is a day for a young man, he was in his 40's or 50's. but he was use to it.

If you are that least old you must think about whether you can dedicate that much time to this.

If you have sat at a desk the last 20 years, your best bet is to work with friends and family in a commune style system.

That kind of system will allow you to share the load with family or like minded folks. But choose your partners well.

The commune lifestyle has its own unique problems.

Of course if you are Morman or planning to join the Mormans you could have several wives to help with the work ,

I think having one wife is punishment enough for any man.

Finally done today figured I start the next section. I apologize for the delay. But the late summer and early fall is the time to prepare for the making it over winter.

Power tools and garden equiptment.


As we discuss the needs of your homestead, you should understand that you can be to well supplied. I understand that I have had 25 years or more to aquire the tools I have. So to start out on your homestaed we must choose well the tools we need. You can always add on to them as time goes on. If time goes on.

The size of your homestead will be a major consideration on what tools you will need to start.
Like I said early I have seen homesteads on five acres, but the smallest I have seen was on 2.5 acres. This homestead was very well planned out and on very good land, This size would work only in the most fertile areas.


The tools you should gather to begin your garden and building needs are

1. A good quality chainsaw min 16" blade. I prefer a 20" or larger. I have a stihl and a homelite. Though the Stihl cost more and is suppose to be higher quality. With rregular maintence the homelite has kept up. If you believe in high quality. buy the stihl, if you are like me and believe in daily maintence buy any good quality saw. and take care of it.

remember a chain saw will only work if you have the 2 stroke oil and gas. If you are preparing for a long term survival situation then you should buy hand saws also, such as two man crosscut, broad axes, wedge axes, felling axes. more on these later.


There are three types of senerios you should plan for at least. One is a short term wheather related power and supply outage.
two is a tyrannical long term hide your family problem. three is the longer term life has changed as you know it outage. that means 18th century all over again, but with the social problems of the modern society.


2. skillsaw or wormdrive. If your planning on building your homestead building by yourself, you will need a long lasting circular saw.


yes I went against what I said about the chainsaw.


The reason is most cheaper circular saws have brushes in the electric motor that wear out, finding replacements are difficult, chain saws require you to keep them up and will last according to how well you maintain them.

A cheap circular saw will not last as long initially as a well build one, not to mention that they are planned as throw aways. I prefer the well built wormdrive.

but they require maintence and I mean daily maintence. plus most builders of these saws sell replacement parts such as brushes and bearings.

The wormdrive has a plug on the side to check the 90W oil, and you should check it everyday. I have the worm drive that I bought in the 80's, I have a new one too but the old one works just as well.

If your planning on framing your own buildings, wormdrive is the saw.


3. levels, yea I know it is not a power tool but if your building a homestead you need them, at least a 2' and 4' I have a 6' and a extendo level, You don't have to go that far if you don't want. The extendo level requires maintence and careful storage, very easy to knock out of plumb.


4.compressors. There are several choices here. small pancake compressor to large shop compressor. I have all three sizes so I can tell you which is the best to start out with, but let's talk about all three.

first: The pancake compressor(cost $199 with finish gun) is a small 1 to 3 hp electric compressor used mostly from finish work, like trim in your house anything you need finish nails or staples for,
Hey I have used one from small framing jobs but I would not recommend it.

You will burn it up with constant use.

Make this your last purchuse after you set up in your homestead. It will not be needed it is a convenence.


second: gas powered twin tanked contractors compressor ( cost $699 and up)is a commercial grade framing compressor that I think everyone should own one of.
It is not mandatory, you could use a shop compressor and a lot of hoses.This contractor compressor is gas powered so no electric on site needed, it has the ability to run several high air use tools at the same time.
It is portable and usually has a wheel on the front to move it around. If you maintain it it will last for years. It can be dialed up for the largest framing jobs, then down for the smallest finish job. good all around tool, but loud.


Third: The shop compressor, usually a 60 gallon stationary bolted down tool.
Great for the shop to build furniture or auto work, anything you need stationary air for. It can be used to frame your homestead if you have a lot of hose and a stable platform to set it on.

They come in 110 or 220 electric models (inside shop) or gas powered 5hp models Outside shop under protection.)

I would make this your second purchase after your set up.
But like I said your choice it will work just protect it from the elements.


5.Air tools, This is a homesteaders choice matter. You will need air framing guns and staplers, unless you plan to use hammers and nails.
but they make just about any tool you need in air tools from auto sanders to chisels all the way to wood framing tools. some are fairly cheap to moderatly expensive.
Start off with the basics and add as you need them. I would say a good framing gun ($ 399) will be a good start.

But like I said above hammer and nails work, just time comsuming. I remember the days of framing with a rigging axe and green nails, made my arms big and my back tired your choice save your back or walk around with big guns.


6. Sanders and grinders, If your not planning on using air tools outside then pick up a belt sander, maybe a finish sander when your finishing the inside of your buildings. belt sanders come in several sizes, buy the in the middle size about 4" wide belts.


7. plumb bobs, yep It ain't a power tool either but if you know how to use one you can make any building wall plumb. I use the extendo level, but a $15 plumbbob works just as well, They are just more time consuming to set up.

All I have to to is extend the extendo level till it touches the top and bottom plates of the wall bring it to level and brace.

With the plumb bob you must nail a block flat to the top side of top plate the mark a line on the concrete floor a 1 1/2" inside if bootom plate bring the wall in very slowely and line the point of the plumbbob with the line on the concrete. Hold steady till the bob stops swinging and brace.

As you see a little more work, but can be done.


Let's skip over to Garden tools for a while.


1. Tillers This tool will be according to how big your garden is.
As I said earlier I have fed a family of seven on a 20'x30' garden plot. That is well inside the walk behind gas tiller range.

a 5hp front tine tiller can do a job that size in 3 or 4 hours.

But if your garden is spread around your city lot in small 4'x 8' mini plots that also second as yard decoration, a even smaller gas mini tiller will work.

but so will the 5hp.


If your land is not as fertile or your needing to can alot of food and have a larger plot.

a small trctor will work ( not a lawn trator) but something like a 1950's or 60's ford 8N or massy fergison 3 cyl.

The older tractor are made to last forever, new stuff has what they call planned obsolescence.

Older tractor can be rigged with parts from other vehicles. Kinda like the older harleys used 283 chevy engine points.

Just make sure your tractor has a 3 point hitch and is well maintained by the previous owner. about $2000 to $4000 without implements.

Though you'll need tiller or plow iplements, and brush hogs. The implement should cost around 500 or less each. yep, homesteading is expensive to start.

But if you plan on the animal drawn plowing equiptment wait for that section coming up later.

Going to stop here for a few see you later today!

I have been attempting to write this little article as I type on here. It is difficult, but that has been how I write things on this forum. I think I need to do this in word and then just down load it. Otherwise it will take me forever with all the stuff I am doing right now. So be a little patient I'll be bac with you soon...

Will there be any more additions or parts to this? This has been a very informative line as it is.

soon parasks, I have been dealing with some other issues. sorry for the delay

It is winter now...

So time to burn your garden and then add manure to it.

put about 1 Inch over the entire garden. Then plow it underand cover with black plastic if garden is small enough.

other wise plow it several times over the winter months.


Come spring we will pull off plastic and let the weeds come up and burn it one more time before they seed.

This way by planting time all the weed seeds left in your garden are gone.

You'll just have to deal with the ones that blow in.

Remember some manures will have weed seeds in them. Heating the manure above 150 degrees or burning the garden after the weeds appear and the veggies are planted should rid you of this problem.

proper garden prep will give you a head star on the rest.

Heres some more suggestion for your Fall/winter months....

Season Ending Garden Prep


Are you willing to do a little work this fall to save time and effort in the garden next spring? Want to make your garden as comfortable as possible during its winter slumber and ensure that it will awaken next spring well rested and ready to grow?

Want to prevent your garden plot from becoming a winter haven for weeds, insect pests, their eggs, and the remnants of left over produce that could overrun your garden with unwanted volunteers next summer?

Will you be ready and able to plant at the slightest inkling of spring, or will you be forced to wait until after the garden can be tilled before setting out those early spring transplants?

Well here’s a checklist of simple gardening ideas that can be implemented this fall to clean up and help build a healthier vegetable garden that’s enriched and revitalized when spring arrives.

You’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a more productive garden that offers fresh produce far earlier and with less effort.


Fall Garden Clean Up: At the end of your summer growing season clear out all of the weeds, garden debris, spent vines, and any fruits and vegetables that weren’t harvested; rather than allowing this litter to remain in the garden over the winter.


Provide Cover for Wildlife: Leave a brush pile or similar cover in your landscape to provide shelter where birds and other wildlife can take refuge during harsh weather conditions. Also allow ornamental grasses and flower heads from plants such as Black Eyed Susans to remain standing and provide winter forage for wildlife.


Remove Garden Equipment: Remove and store plant stakes, tomato cages, garden fabrics, trellises, and any other gardening tools and equipment that is scattered about throughout the garden. A little care will reward you with a longer useful life and avoid the need to replace expensive gardening equipment that is lost or damaged.


Add Soil Amendments: Autumn is also a great time to add compost, mushroom soil, and leaves to the garden beds. Incorporating in the fall will give the soil amendments plenty of opportunity to decompose and mellow before it’s time to put those sensitive young seedlings in the ground.


Fall Tilling and Cultivation: If you till your garden during the fall, keep the cultivation shallow to avoid bringing weed seeds that were buried in the soil to the surface levels where they can germinate. I garden exclusively with raised beds which remain loose and ready to be planted with just a light once over with a garden fork or wheel hoe.

Plant Leafy Fall Greens: Now that the garden is vacant and inviting, why not plant a few fall veggies? Leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, collards, mustard, and spinach will grow right into the winter months and provide you with additional harvests from the fall garden. In many regions they will even survive the winter to produce early spring greens.

Don’t Forget the Garlic: In cold climate areas fall is the best time to plant gourmet garlic, shallots, and even some types of onions. My garlic seed was planted just last weekend. The goal is to allow the seed cloves to develop strong root systems during the fall that will support rapid above ground leaf growth at the first hint of spring.

Sow a Cover Crop: Not interested in fall vegetable production? Then plant a cover crop to protect and enrich your garden’s soil over the winter months, as well as crowd out weed growth. Annual ryegrass is my favorite choice for a fall cover crop. Other good choices include winter wheat, oats, rapeseed, barley, and peas.


Apply Winter Mulches: Too late for you to sow a cover crop? Well you can still cover your garden during fall and winter with a mulch of compost, mushroom soil, or a blanket of leaves. A three or four inch layer of shredded leaves in particular will restrict weed growth and encourage earthworm activity.

Gather Organic Materials: Leaves, straw, spent corn stalks; fall is a great time to locate supplies of these and other organic materials for use in the garden and in compost piles. Shredding will make the materials easier to handle and utilize.

I use a leaf blower to shred every leaf that I get my hands on during autumn.


Follow these suggestions this fall and your garden plot will be protected from the elements and erosion, while friendly soil organisms and earthworms work year round to improve the texture and fertility of your soil.

You’ll also control weed growth, harvest more fresh produce, and get your garden off to an earlier start next spring

How to Freeze Vegetable Seeds for Storage
By Greg Lindberg

When you purchase your seeds, you will typically not need to plant all of the seeds that come in the seed packet. Instead of throwing them out you can store them by freezing them for use the following year.

You can also freeze seeds that are taken directly from vegetables. The best time to remove the seeds and store them is immediately after harvest. Seeds can also be stored in your refrigerator short-term.


Things You'll Need:

Plastic bags
Vegetable seeds
Paper towel

1. Keep your vegetable seeds in the packets you bought them in so you will be able to easily identify the seeds. Keeping the seeds in their packet is also a beneficial way to keep the planting instructions for the seeds. If the packet has been opened, fold the top of it over to keep moisture from getting to the seeds.

2. Place the packet of vegetable seeds into a small sealable plastic bag. Write the date on the bag with black marker. If you want to freeze more than one type of vegetable seed, you can place all of the bagged seeds into one large sealable plastic bag.

3. Place the bags of seeds in your freezer. Make sure the bags are sealed well before storing them. Also, make sure the temperature of your freezer is between 24 and 28 degrees.

4. Keep your seeds frozen until the next spring or longer, depending on the seed. Check the seed packet for the seed's specific freezing duration.

5. Take out the bags when you are ready to plant the seeds. Store the seeds at room temperature for at least one day before planting. Wash your seeds in cool running water and allow them to dry on a paper towel.

A suggestion from ole greywolf is Please use non hybred seeds.....

Fall & Winter Vegetable Planting Guide
by Ed Hume


Fall and Winter gardening, although an old practice, is an excellent solution for keeping the tilth and fertility of your garden's soil at its peak levels. At the same time it yields crops of delicious vegetables throughout the fall and winter that cost a fraction of produce purchased in the supermarket.

When it comes to vegetable and flower gardening, the climatic patterns of the lower elevation areas west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon, Northwestern California, and British Columbia are quite suitable for Fall & Winter gardening. Winter low temperatures range from 35oF. to 45oF. with occasional cold continental arctic air outbreaks lowering it to +20oF. to 0oF. or so. The garden soil can freeze 3 or 4 inches deep for short periods, but the usual winters are not severe enough to damage carefully mulched winter vegetable plants.

Many southern areas of the U.S. are actually more suited to winter crops, while some northern regions have to rely on cold frames, hot beds, or greenhouses.

The key to successful winter gardening is knowing the average date of the first killing frost in your region (for example late October in the Pacific Northwest). You then plant your winter crops early enough to let them reach their full maturity before that killing frost. Local garden authorities can give you information about the timing of first frosts and the hardiness of various crops for your area. The planting suggestions in this booklet are based on a late October first freeze. If your killing frosts come earlier or later adjust accordingly.

Late maturing crops - Approximate maturity 90 days. Plant by mid July for fall harvest, later for spring harvest.

ROOTCROPS
Beets
Carrots
Parsnip
Rutabaga
Globe Onions
LEAFCROPS
Brussells Sprouts
Cabbages
Cauliflower
Fava Bean


Mid-season crops - Approximate maturity 60 days. Plant by mid August. Use any of the dates from above as well as the Best Dates below.

ROOTCROPS
Early Carrots
Leek
Turnip
Kohlrabi
LEAFCROPS
Early Cabbages
Winter Cauliflower
Collards
Perennial Flowers
Perennial Herbs
Swiss Chard


Early maturing crops - Approximate maturity 30 days. Plant by mid September. Use the dates from the previous page as well as the Best Dates below. The latest dates are for warmer climates, later frosts, or protected plantings.

ROOTCROPS
Chives
Bunching Onions
Radishes
LEAFCROPS
Broccoli
Cover Crops
Leaf Lettuces
Mustard
Spinach
Lawn seed


LENGTHENING YOUR GROWING SEASON


Windbreaks and Walls

You can add from 10oF. to 15oF. of warmth to your fall and winter garden by taking advantage of windbreaks and walls. Many gardeners have discovered by surprise that a south-facing wall of the home, shed, or greenhouse is ideally situated for constructing easily built structures that use the free solar energy of the sun.

Cloches

Cloches provide an elevated warm climate around your winter row crops. They can best be described as portable green houses of various designs that work with solar energy to warm the immediate row or plant they are placed over. Many designs have been tried. Ideas range from very stiff wire frames holding glass panes, to clear gallon-size plastic bleach or pop bottles with their bottoms removed.

All cloches have two drawbacks to consider. First, on bright sunny winter days they have to be manually ventilated, to prevent excessive heat build up. Second, poorly constructed or "staked-down" cloches can become kites during winter windstorms.

Cold Frames

Cold frames are permanent structures that considerably lengthen the growing season. They are an excellent way to grow fall and winter crops. Cold frames provide protection from strong winds, elevate the daily and nighttime temperatures around the plants, and protect frost sensitive vegetables or flowers. They are easy to build and the vegetables and flowers in them will require minimal care. In short season areas, a cold frame will allow you to start seed up to 8 weeks earlier than you can outdoors.

You can use an old window sash of any dimension to build a cold frame. Fiberglass or polyethylene can be used if the glass is broken. The ideal cold frame is built about 18 inches at the back and 12 inches at the front. The slope allows rain to run off and affords a better angle for gathering the sun's heat.

Your cold frame should face south for maximum exposure to sunlight. Also select a location with a slight ground slope to provide adequate drainage away from the frame. To provide ventilation, partially open your cold frame during sunny, warm weather. During cold snaps, cover the cold frame with burlap or heavy cloth to provide extra warmth.

Hot Beds are cold frames with a source of bottom heat. Today, that heat comes from electric heating cables. A few hot beds are still constructed using the old method of a layer about a foot and a half thick of decomposing manure beneath the soil of the cold frame as the source of heat. Either way the hot bed remains frost-free during the winter. See Also: Cold Frame Gardening

Greenhouses


Greenhouses are structures that provide frost-free climates all year around. There are perhaps as many designs for greenhouses as there have been imaginative gardeners. Unheated greenhouses are great for raising seedling crops of many of the most delicious leafy and root vegetables. Greenhouses can also be heated for raising tropical plants. Some greenhouses as far north as North Pole Alaska have been used for extensive winter production of commercial crops of tomatoes and cucumbers.

Raised Beds

Permanently edged raised beds have been used for growing vegetables and flowers for centuries. They may be made of stone, bricks, concrete, or with either treated or untreated lumber. (These beds are made with untreated 2X10s.) The soil in a well made and maintained raised bed can be between 8 and 12 degrees F. warmer than the same soil in the surrounding garden areas. Another advantage is the lessening of the need to bend over to work in, or harvest from, the raised beds.

Single plant raised beds can be made from old tires stacked together. The black tires absorb heat from sunlight, warming the soil even more than ordinary raised beds. They are great for growing tomatoes, peppers and potatoes during the spring growing season and are good for crops like cauliflower and brocoli during the fall and winter.

See Also: Raised-bed Vegetable Gardening, Wide Row Vegetable Gardening



MULCHING


Late October-early November is an excellent time to begin preparing the vegetable garden for normal cold winter weather ahead. Mulching serves many purposes in the winter garden. In addition to insulating the plants with a blanket of protection over the root system, it will help discourage the winter growth of weeds and pesky grasses. Mulch also helps reduce evaporation of moisture from the soil during dry periods. During winter's heavy rainstorms it helps prevent the soil from eroding away.

The most common materials used for winter mulching are peat moss, bark, sawdust, and shredded newspapers. Both sawdust and bark leach nitrogen from the soil. Therefore, steps must be taken to replenish this nitrogen before replanting. We recommend a layer of one to two inches of mulch material. The best winter crops to protect this way include beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, rutabagas and turnips.

Occasionally, dig down through the mulching material and check to see that the soil has sufficient moisture. Plants that are in dry soil will not survive the winter as well as plants that are in moist soil.

As spring begins, and the sunlight warms the soil, a layer of mulch prevents the soil from warming. Remove or spade in the winter mulch to enable the sunshine to reach the soil and warm it as soon as possible. Seeds can be sown much earlier in unmulched soils.

ROTATION OF VEGETABLE VARIETIES


This is a very critical part of any garden scheme. Do not plant the same fall or winter vegetable crops in the same location as they were planted the previous year or the summer season. It is important to note that if the same crop is planted in the same location, not only will the soil be weakened through continual loss of the same nutrients but the plants will also attract the same insects and diseases to that part of the garden.

COVER CROPS - GREEN MANURES


Even though a portion of your acreage or garden lies idle for a time, the soil can be built up by growing cover crops. Cover crops are fast growing green plants that can be chopped up and spaded, plowed, or tilled into the soil, adding green organic matter that then composts into humus. Plants of the Legume family also add nitrogen to the soil. Some cover crops can be spaded into your garden and with others it is better to cut off the green tops, add them to the compost pile, and spade only the roots left behind into the soil.

In the Fall, sow the following cover crops to turn into the soil in Spring: Alfalfa, Austrian Field Pea, White Clover, Alsike Clover, Crimson Clover, Red Clover, Purple Vetch, Hairy Vetch, Woolly Vetch, Common Vetch, Fava Beans, Wheat, Oats, Cereal Rye, Winter Rape, and Lupines.

The following are some Warm Winter Cover Crops: Cowpeas (Southern peas), Hairy Indigo, Bell Beans (a small Fava Bean) Lana Vetch, Winter Peas, Lupines, and Purple Clover. See Also: Cover crops



Quick Tips


Try successive plantings of quick growing items like leaf lettuce, beets, spinach and radishes.

Don't be afraid to try planting some crops later than recommended. While it is a bit risky, the rewards are definitely worth the risk.

Harvest over-wintered carrots early in spring before they start to go to seed and the roots get woody.

Self-blanching celery makes an ideal crop in cold frames if planted during July.

The Chinese Cabbages and Mustards also grow especially well in cold frames. They taste great, too.

Parsnips are best when pulled in January or early February after the heaviest frosts have turned them the sweetest.

Try using cheesecloth or clear agricultural cloth over rows of leafy crops. It will keep out pests and may hold in a bit of heat.

Keep a record of what you planted and when, and what succeeded or failed to help you do better in the future. We hope this guide, combined with your own experience, will help you have a bountiful late season garden.