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I'm wondering what people think the important first step or steps are right after you purchase land and take possession. Let's say it is rural land with a well and nothing else.
I was thinking that the most important thing would be safe storage for tools and such, maybe a shipping container. I wouldn't want any tools or an expensive generator to get stolen right off the bat.
What is the first thing you should do after buying land? How about learn what to do with it so you can actually grow food? I would say that is a hell of a lot more pressing and more useful than burying a shipping container in the dirt.
What is the first thing you should do after buying land? How about learn what to do with it so you can actually grow food? I would say that is a hell of a lot more pressing and more useful than burying a shipping container in the dirt.
Bingo! I was wondering if anyone was going to think of that besides me.
Speaking of which, what I would do is get an arborist out there and cut down some trees and without making it look too obvious of your plans to grow food, I'd find the best spots I could to get the land ready to grow perennials choosing sites as per what this guy says. I'd put some cardboard down in those spots and then put wood chips over it. It turns out that is all you really need to get to get the soil nice and fertile after a few months.
This guy has the right idea as far as I'm concerned and I'd do something like what he's doing. His point is not to draw attention to your garden. I disagree with him about tilling the soil though. However he's done survival gardens before.
The 2nd thing to do on land with water already there is dig a latrine. The 3rd thing to do is build a shed/cabin you could sleep in, and store tools a working cabin/shed that does it all. That cabin might be 6 feet by 10 feet and only 7 feet tall.
From there you can do what ever else matters to you.
emilybh I like the garden ideas he has too, but garden theft can only happen when things are ripe, so theft is limited to certain times depending on what is ripe.
My garden always get raided by bandits wearing black masks. I found out real quick raccoons can climb fences..
I also think that guy will have a lot of work on his hands just checking to see if what he thinks is ready is.
And of course in shtf if i catch anyone in my garden, they will become a slave to it or else. But maybe not if nothing is ripe. Another thing is i have lived roaming around and that life is not for everyone, so in shtf you more or less must have a safe place not matter what it takes to make that place safe.
It could be very hard for 1, nearly impossible for just 2, but then the more people there is the harder it will be to feed and control everything for any leaders, and most any groups should have 1 leader.
My guess would be about 6 people to a group and they would all have to have like minds and 1 leader.
I won't have access to that, and for me it would be just 2.
The 2nd thing to do on land with water already there is dig a latrine. The 3rd thing to do is build a shed/cabin you could sleep in, and store tools a working cabin/shed that does it all. That cabin might be 6 feet by 10 feet and only 7 feet tall.
From there you can do what ever else matters to you.
emilybh I like the garden ideas he has too, but garden theft can only happen when things are ripe, so theft is limited to certain times depending on what is ripe.
My garden always get raided by bandits wearing black masks. I found out real quick raccoons can climb fences..
I also think that guy will have a lot of work on his hands just checking to see if what he thinks is ready is.
And of course in shtf if i catch anyone in my garden, they will become a slave to it or else. But maybe not if nothing is ripe. Another thing is i have lived roaming around and that life is not for everyone, so in shtf you more or less must have a safe place not matter what it takes to make that place safe.
It could be very hard for 1, nearly impossible for just 2, but then the more people there is the harder it will be to feed and control everything for any leaders, and most any groups should have 1 leader.
My guess would be about 6 people to a group and they would all have to have like minds and 1 leader.
I won't have access to that, and for me it would be just 2.
I know garden theft can take place when things are ripe but I think the only thefts that might take place from a garden like that are by animals because he's making a point to have it not stand out from the air or the perimeter of the property. He said to expect 1/3 loss. It sounded like he was using the land to start a bunch of plants but he said he'd possibly dig some up and transplant them closer to his cabin or wherever he might be staying.
I think it is a good idea to have your food planted in a secret place where most people wouldn't dream of looking.
He also made a point of saying try to use different routes so that paths wouldn't form and make it easier for people to access.
I can see value to what this guy is saying, but I do question his choices as lettuce and radishes have low food value as far as carbs or starches, and why grow greens when the whole forest has all kinds of greens available?
To me, growing something that will last into the winter and feed you would be of far more value. Pumpkin, winter squash, potatoes, turnips, even carrots would all have far greater food value and will store in a root cellar.
One thing I noticed, he is in an area with a lot of what look like hardwoods, and in my country, what would be considered a river or creek bottom.
To me, that means that deer and coons are the least of your worries as bears can and will target gardens and eat everything, and then look for more. You won't deter a bear with a few scraps of wire either.
I could see where in my area a few hills of pumpkin or winter squash would blend right in with the landscape and vegetation, or potatoes, or even a patch of turnips or rutebega would go unnoticed, so I am not saying the technique is without value, but if you are going to the trouble of planting, why not plant something native to the area that will grow year after year like berries or ferns? Those would be natural and unnoticed as a cultivated site.
Root crops can provide you with greens if that is what you want for your salad, but also provide starches and carbs for later on.
Personally, I could see a couple of exploitable food sources in his film, and would probably use them instead of trying to fight nature to grow a head of lettuce.
emilybh, The wind noise in the video was more than my ears could take so i watched it in silence.
If i was living out off the land and there were a lot of other people also doing so then his tactics might be of more use to me.
I tend to wander all around even if the signs say i can't, and did all over the place on my USA tour. I found a lot of meth labs no longer in use, and a lot of bucket farms for pot too....
The whole USA is littered with that crap. I didn't find any one growing plants to eat though, or any evidence of.
Wandering and not making trails is a good idea, and or using trails already in place.
A lot of these farms for pot are in National Forests where they growers use the existing trails and then get off the beaten path for the farm buckets.
Don't get this wrong I don't do this! I just find evidence of it being done, usually after the fact.
A lot of how I find things is i am just out for walks, and then I see something that seems out pf place.
I can see value to what this guy is saying, but I do question his choices as lettuce and radishes have low food value as far as carbs or starches, and why grow greens when the whole forest has all kinds of greens available?
To me, growing something that will last into the winter and feed you would be of far more value. Pumpkin, winter squash, potatoes, turnips, even carrots would all have far greater food value and will store in a root cellar.
One thing I noticed, he is in an area with a lot of what look like hardwoods, and in my country, what would be considered a river or creek bottom.
To me, that means that deer and coons are the least of your worries as bears can and will target gardens and eat everything, and then look for more. You won't deter a bear with a few scraps of wire either.
I could see where in my area a few hills of pumpkin or winter squash would blend right in with the landscape and vegetation, or potatoes, or even a patch of turnips or rutebega would go unnoticed, so I am not saying the technique is without value, but if you are going to the trouble of planting, why not plant something native to the area that will grow year after year like berries or ferns? Those would be natural and unnoticed as a cultivated site.
Root crops can provide you with greens if that is what you want for your salad, but also provide starches and carbs for later on.
Personally, I could see a couple of exploitable food sources in his film, and would probably use them instead of trying to fight nature to grow a head of lettuce.
Just my 2 cents.
Yeah , my way would be for heavy food like taters.. Drag off a bunch of dead tires to a sandy waste lot, fill them with straw and add tater seeds Sort of hidden in plain sight.
I turned off the sound at radishes for the wind noise.
I wondered what they would be for..... Salads huh
He has good ideas but I don't think it showed well in the video, and that damnned wind noise needed some work.
I have no idea about the mics on cam corders, but there must be something you can do. Old socks on hand held mics can work wonders for wind.
To me, that means that deer and coons are the least of your worries as bears can and will target gardens and eat everything, and then look for more. You won't deter a bear with a few scraps of wire either.
You won't deter a hungry bear with a whole barn surrounded by an electric fence and barbed wire!
And moose aren't that easy to keep out of the garden either... deer nibblings are a pain, but a moose can topple a stout fence and eat a whole row of cabbage in a blink of an eye
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Sort of hidden in plain sight.
