Hi Everyone,
NOTES:
* You are supposed to plant peppers indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date. For zone 9B, that’s now. (We had 2 frost days last year in 
March). In this video, he will show you EVERYTHING you should know about growing peppers. Pepper Growing Tips – Complete Gardening Guide on How to Grow Peppers They like early morning sun but will get sunscald if the sun is too hot, especially in the afternoon. Two years ago, ALL my peppers got afternoon sun and had really bad sunscald problems. Last year, I put them on the north side of my house and they did much better. Peppers need to be planted 18 inches apart. If you use a container, use a minimum of 5 gallons. Watch the video for more information.
* Want to use a bucket for growing food? This site will tell you how to read the recycle symbol on the bottom of the bucket to find out if it is food-grade. How to Identify Food Grade Buckets: 9 Steps (with Pictures)
LONG TERM FOCUS: Beans
Technically, it’s March and we should be on a new subject…but we only got 3 weeks of beans, so I’m doing one last
week before we move on.
* Want an official science experiment? This person experimented with soaking beans in salt brine, baking soda brine, and salt AND soda brine: He did kidney beans and black beans and then posted the results with a lot of fancy words and numbers (ugh…stats). Why You Should Soak Beans in a Salt and Baking Soda Brine Before Cooking His conclusion? Salt AND baking soda work best for softening hard beans.
* How much should you store? 2 1/2 lbs per person per month. One pound = 2.5 cups of dry beans. When you cook beans, they triple in size. If you look up how many cooks that is when the beans are cooked, answers vary from 2-3 cups cooked per pound of dry. Taking an average that anywhere from 6-7 cups per pound. (Stay with me…) 6-7 cups per pound times 2.5 pounds is about 16 cups of beans per person per month. Please consider that this is only about 1/2 c. of beans per day. Assuming that’s all you have to eat, it’s not very much
SHORT TERM FOCUS: Other Condiments
Depending on the recipes you plan on using, maybe pick up an extra bottle of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, whatever. You don’t have to load up on all the sauces, just one or two extra bottles of something you use a lot.
MISC FOCUS: Paper Goods
It wouldn’t hurt to pick up 1-2 packages of paper plates (the really cheap kind that stick together). If the water supply is interrupted, you don’t want to waste precious drinking water to wash dishes. Get cups too. Store them in the garage, or under a tarp in the backyard. LOL
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES
It seems that a few weeks ago, I only included “part” of a recipe and then got distracted and never finished the directions. Thanks to an observant reader, who pointed this out, I will try to be more careful in the future. But, I’m including it AGAIN, just in case anyone is actually interested. LOL
Red Beans and Rice
from The Pioneer Cookbook, by Miriam Barton
1 lb dried kidney beans, rinsed well
8 c. water
ham bone (optional, but yummy)
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 green or red chili pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
Place all ingredients in a large stockpot. Cover and cook on medium heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
1 1/2 c. rice – Stir into the pot for the last 40 minutes of cooking. It may be necessary to add more water if it cooks out before the rice is soft.
The beans and rice are done when they are tender. Remove the ham bone before serving.
Refried Beans
Yes, you can make your own. This recipe is from cookieandkate.com. It calls for 2 cans of pinto beans. It would be a good idea to practice using canned beans before you cook up a big pot of beans yourself. When my kids were little and I was very poor, I made my own refried beans a lot! It was easy to do, and I liked the taste.
In a medium saucepan (I used to use a frying pan), warm
1 TB olive oil until shimmering.
1/2 c. finely chopped yellow or white onion (about 1/2 small onion) and
1/4 tsp salt. Cook onion and salt until the onions have softened and are turning translucent. About 5-8 minutes.
Add:
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Cook for about 30 seconds.
2 cans (15 oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained, or c. cups cooked pinto beans
1/2 c. water. Add beans and water. Stir, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and remove the lid. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork (that’s what I did) to mash up about half of the beans, until you reach your desired consistency. Continue to cook the beans, uncovered for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in:
2 TB chopped fresh cilantro (I never did this)
1 TB lime juice, to taste. Add more salt and/or lime juice if necessary. If the beans seem dry, add a very small splash of water and stir to combine. Cover until you’re ready to serve.
Wheat-Bean Burgers
from Pantry Cooking: Unlocking Your Pantry’s Potential
2 c. cooked whole wheat. Cooking the wheat in a slow cooker will make it softer and easier to grind or mash.
(Cook wheat like oatmeal: 2 parts water, 1 part wheat. Season with a little salt and cook till water is absorbed)
Put wheat through the finest blade of a food grinder or mash thoroughly. Mix wheat with
1 can refried beans or 2 c. cooked beans, mashed or ground.
Spoon about 1/3 c. of this mixture on a lightly oiled skillet. Flatten lightly. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Cook on medium to low until browned. Turn and brown the other side. Serve plain or with chili sauce.
Marti
Mylar Bags.
supply of canning lids (but it is never enough). There has been a shortage of jars and lids since 2020, so I look for them EVERY time I’m at the store.
So I watched a video from a “camper” who dehydrated a lot of his food for backpacking. One of the things he did was dehydrate sauces: tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup, etc. for use in casseroles. So I thought I’d try it. I opened some tomato paste, and measured out 1 TB at a time onto my dehydrating sheets and flattened them out. I did two cans. They came out as nearly black rectangles. The next step is to rehydrate and see what I get. Stay tuned.
and celery. The French call this combo a Mirepoix. The Cajuns call it the Holy Trinity of cooking and often substitute bell peppers for carrots. Other cultures also combine peppers in the vegetable combo to create what’s commonly called Sofrito in Italy and with Leeks called Suppengrün in Germany. You can make copious amounts of this in your freeze-dryer for pennies and will keep your cooking perfectly balanced and flavorful with minimal effort on your part. If you have eaten a good meal, it probably had a medley of Mirepoix in it. From stews to stuffing to Jambalaya to rich bolognese sauces, use a handful or more of freeze-dried Mirepoix to start, and you will have 25-years of perfect meals.
these freeze-dried vegetables is you always have them on hand, and you can just toss them first in water, warm butter, ghee, olive oil, or some broth you’re cooking with, and they will rehydrate and marry their flavors into what you are cooking. It’s like a kiss of the perfect blend of flavors that should be the base of almost every savory meal you cook. If you’re new to cooking, just starting your savory meals with a handful of freeze-dried mirepoix will help to make your food taste like you are an expert chef. With just a few runs of your freeze dryer, you will have over a year’s worth of a base for perfect meals. At the bottom of this page, you will find my recipe for Mirepoix Rice with Fresh Herbs.
you could crumble it between your fingers to complete dust if you wanted to. So, if it’s too big, you can reduce the size as you place it in your cooking just by crunching it up with your fingers. For the celery, simply cut off the ends and tips, run it through the mandolin, or chop it into pieces no bigger than roughly a quarter inch. You can chop the leaves and all. It’s all edible, and celery is an aromatic vegetable, meaning that it will impart its flavor essence into what you are cooking. The mandolin did an excellent initial job, but I followed up with a knife to rough cut it into even smaller pieces.
However, with these three vegetables, the freeze-dryer is so effective that it’s pretty much a non-issue. You just want all three ingredients to be around a quarter inch or smaller.
I planted the carrot tops directly back into the garden, and I will eat whole carrots from them again.
are cooking without needing to rehydrate them separately, and they make for a quick handful of added flavor and nutrients in just about anything you can cook, from eggs to stew to chicken noodle soup to hamburger patties. With freeze-dried mirepoix you don’t have to cut your vegetables, so your prep time in cooking is a fraction of the time.
correctly in an oxygen and moisture-free environment. If you put them in smaller mylar bags, you can have the perfect portion for a meal. I just put mine in a jar with an oxygen absorber and use it by the handful when cooking. Even with opening it and grabbing handfuls out to use, it will keep for well over a year because it is almost entirely devoid of moisture. 
tarragon kick. I highly recommend fresh French Tarragon if you can find it or grow it.
cook something. Right? Do you have a recipe box with Grandma’s handwritten recipes? Or are they all online? If your recipes are online, there is no losing them, spilling food on them, or dealing with messy boxes or folders. BUT, if your recipes are online and the grid goes down, you will lose them. 
When we prep for any single event, we have the advantage of prepping for many different types of events. After all, that 72-hour container of food will be edible for the first 72-hours of any possible disaster you might face. That gallon of water you can drink in the aftermath of an earthquake, tornado, wildfire, even an EMP. While this is true for many preps, it is far more effective to prep first for the most probable events and disasters you could face. There isn’t a cookie-cutter solution to all situations regarding preps. There isn’t a one-sized fit-all solution to plugin. If you live in the southeast United States or the tropics, you should be favoring ways to treat and filter water over storing it. If you live in the southwest United States or the desert, you should be focusing on storing water first.
We have heard it said that the first rule of prepping, like Fight Club, is you don’t talk about your preps. We both agree and disagree with this. In most cases, you should avoid discussing your preps, even with other preppers. Nobody has to know your inventory of food, water, or ammo. What good will it do that person to know? Nobody has to know what you are prepping for. You don’t even have to use the term prepping when you talk about your activities in that area. The fact is that everyone in California, for instance, should be prepped for a possible earthquake. Everyone from Texas through to Michigan should be prepared for inclement weather. Everybody on the east coast would be wise to prepare for a hurricane that could knock out services for a few days. 
This is probably the biggest mistake preppers make. They take a scattergun approach and hope it comes together for them in the end when the chips are down. That doesn’t always work out. It often leaves gaping holes in their preps. This is why my approach is systematic. One of the things we teach in the Prepper’s Roadmap is to get complete preps for three main milestones– 3-days, 3-weeks, then 3-months. You can take a scatter gone approach and focus on food one month, water the next, and energy needs the month after that; however, if the disaster strikes in your second month of getting prepared, you will only have food, little water, and no power or fire.
Not making a bugout bag is a huge mistake. The starting point for any prepping is the bug-out bag. The bug-out bag is your survival pack that is purposefully designed to get you through a bug-out situation and help to keep you alive for at least 72 hours and probably longer. It is often overlooked because people maintain that they will just stay put or die, even though the likelihood of death is most probable if they stay put. The majority of disasters can drive us from our safe homes and the bulk of our preps. Staying in your home as a wildfire or hurricane races towards you isn’t going to be an intelligent choice. Still, many fail to pack and maintain a bugout bag with the appropriate materials needed to survive on your own for days or weeks. You should have a bugout bag for every member of your family. If you have a large dog that can carry its food after a disaster, you should have a pack for them as well. While always your best option, staying put should not be your only option.
Another major mistake many make is planning to go it completely alone after a disaster. Sure, at the end of the day, the only person you can truly rely upon is yourself, but your odds of survival increase exponentially when you are networked in a group or have at least one other person who has your back. Disasters can bring out both the best and the worst of a community. We have seen several instances where neighborhoods have banded together and pooled some resources after a disaster, where they looked out for neighbors they barely knew and bonded as friends as a result of the disaster they all faced. We have also heard stories of people turning on each other and preying upon each other. The simple fact is that your odds of survival go up when you have at least one other person vested in your success. You don’t want to be in a post-disater situation when you have to determine another person’s true intent. You want to start instead building those connections of community right now.
Another big mistake many preppers make is never drilling or practicing. When was the last time you checked all the fire alarms in your home and discussed the exit strategies in the event of a fire with all occupants of your home? When did you last go camping or cook a meal entirely outdoors? When did you last use your backup generator or change the batteries in your flashlights? Where are your flashlights? Many preppers buy equipment, but they don’t put the equipment to the test before a disaster. We had a subscriber just email me that before the cold storm that went through Texas recently, he finally pulled out a generator he had bought several months before. When starting it up, it had a major malfunction. Fortunately, the manufacturer covered it, but had the power gone down in Texas, he would have been in trouble. The point here is that I wouldn’t want to find out my generator is worthless after a disaster when the stakes are much higher. By the same logic, you don’t want to pull out your solar-charged battery only to find out that there’s no charge in it. You don’t want to pull out your first-aid kit only to find out that none of the band-aids stick. Pull out your equipment and use it.
Prepping doesn’t have to be expensive, but it will cost a little bit of money. Some people make the mistake of spending gobs of money on things they will never use. Others don’t have a big chunk of expendable cash, so they think they can’t prep at all. A simple prepping activity like learning how to cook a pot of chili versus eating fast food makes you better prepared and keeps money in your pocket. Buying two cans of food and setting one aside can be the first step in building a 3-month supply of food. There is no significant difference between a penny-pinching prepper and a prepper who spends a ton of money on their prepping. If there is, we would have to say that the thrifty person probably has a few more skills and is perhaps a bit more resourceful.
Finally, the biggest mistake preppers make is to neglect one of the core prepping areas. Shelter, food, water, energy, medical needs, security, communication, and community are all critical aspects of prepping that have to be developed. Overlooking or lacking in any one of those core pillars of prepping will significantly reduce your odds of survival in an SHTF situation. A sack of hard beans isn’t much use to you if you lack the water and skills to cook them. Knowing how to hunt or fish isn’t going to help you if it’s unsafe to leave your house for a week or month. Not knowing where a loved one will go when a disaster strikes and they’re in the north part of town will make it difficult for you to communicate and reunite.
that are hard, white, and bitter. I try to wait until prices are under $.50 per pound, and even then it is hardly worth it, except for my finicky preferences. I’m hoping that this year’s garden, with 10-12 plants of determinate tomatoes, will give me a good harvest that I can “can”.
Time to store another package. I like the Costco brand which has 30 rolls in a pack. Keep it in the garage, or in the tool shed, or anyplace where it will be dry. We ALL know what it’s like to go to the store and NOT have toilet paper. One roll per person per week.
Fingers softened by punching a keyboard all day won’t respond well to twisting wire, and you don’t want to risk dental damage by trying to cut or break things apart with your teeth. A good, well-built, multi-tool just might save your life. These come in many different brands with a range of features. Some people swear by certain brands: Leatherman, Gerber, Pohaku, Mossy, and more. Whatever you select, make sure it has pliers, a cutting mechanism, a serrated edge, and a file of some type. Then, put it to the test and use it frequently. Make sure it’s sturdy and you know how each tool works. Whether fashioning a fishhook from a soda pull tab, cutting wire and rope, or pulling a tooth or nail, you will be glad to have one of these in your inventory.
The use of cordage and duct tape is without limitation. From tying down a structure or setting up a rain tarp, you are only limited by your knowledge of how to use them. Pay up for a good paracord and understand its uses. Do the same for duct tape. There’s a big difference between Gorilla all-weather duct tape and the silver stuff you can buy cheap. You do not want to find out its cheap tape or cord when it’s raining on you. As for bungee cords, from tying things down to fashioning a makeshift bow or slingshot to functioning as a belt for your pants, a bungee cord is a go-to item that should be in your inventory. It’s a compression device with a built-in clasp, basically, and you will find it helpful in so many different situations.
Without water, you won’t survive three days. Consider a LifeStraw or Mini Sawyer. These won’t be a permanent solution for you, but 1,000 or 100,000 gallons of water will get you a lot further down the road than a case of dysentery. Consider too germicidal water purification tablets. While these won’t filter toxins, they will kill all biological organisms in your water. You can easily get both of these solutions in your pack at just a few ounces of weight, so make this survival essential an absolute priority.
Tarps and heavy-duty trash bags allow you to haul things, direct rainwater, store items, or even allow you to construct a makeshift shelter or poncho to protect you from the elements. Simply having an instant roof over your head when you are out in the elements could mean the difference between life and death. Even if it’s not that extreme of a situation for you, having the plastic to dispose of waste or cover a storm-damaged roof can turn a bad disaster into a minor disaster. Here too, you can have a thick tarp and thick, contractor-grade trash bags in your bag for barely any weight.
If we had just one means to start a fire, a lot could go wrong. If we had just one accelerant, it would be a wax candle. We suggest you have multiple means of starting a fire, from regular old bic lighters to matches to Ferro rods. Getting a fire going is essential, and not everyone is an expert at getting fire from two sticks. Because of this, candles make lighting a fire so much easier or can simply be used for the light they provide. When placed on a beginning fire with the wax dripping, you will have an inferno in just a few minutes. 
You will need some power, even if it’s just to charge up a flashlight or smartphone. A hand crank charger or a small solar battery can generate the electricity you need. Some have built-in emergency radios, flashlights, and other features. Read the reviews to ensure you’re getting a quality unit. You will burn calories operating a hand crank charger, but you will also function with fewer electrical requirements.
Remember playing with dad’s trusty old metal flashlight that took two D-Cell batteries and had one bulb? You might still have that around to this day. It’s time to upgrade. Flashlights have advanced a thousand times over since then. They can come super bright and rechargeable. It’s time to upgrade your flashlight. A headlamp frees up your hands and be sure to pick up a light with a red light to reduce drawing attention to yourself and maintaining your night vision.
Your first layer of protection from the elements is what you are wearing. If disaster strikes and you are thirty miles from home and dressed business casual, you may find it challenging to get back home. Having a hat, rain jacket, fleece jacket, socks, and an old pair of walking shoes or sneakers in your bag can put the odds back in your favor. And, if you are going to be out in the wild for any amount of time, I always recommend leather gloves. Some gloves these days look excellent and sturdy, but they aren’t. They tear easily or separate, but we have never had a leather glove fail me once.
The one-way communication of your emergency radio that may come with your crank charger is excellent for finding out the threats around you. A walkie talkie or Ham Radio is better because it will provide two-way communication. You do need to get a license to operate legally for the Ham, but during an emergency, it is not required. You may just monitor the chatter or look for responders or survivors of whatever disaster has befallen you. Having at least some form of two-way communication in your group is a game-changer.
Having a lidded stainless steel container isn’t something you might think you need, but after a disaster, you will be glad to sterilize water in it, even carry water in it. You will want non-insulated stainless steel you can put on or near a fire if you have to. Have at least one in your Everyday Carry bag. If all you ever have to do is heat some water to pasteurize it and make it drinkable, you will be glad to have these.
Hatchets, knives, and folding saws only come in two styles– cheaply made or good. Invest in a fixed blade knife for processing wood, hunting, cutting, setting up camp, that is preferably a full-tang knife. The folding saw is useful on small logs and branches. The hatchet is a long-term solution. A fixed blade knife will serve you much better than a pocket knife will. All of these can be used for self-defense, as well.
After a disaster, street signs and landmarks may be non-existent. Roads may be impassable. We suggest, that you have a area specific map of no more significant than 50-miles around you and a simple orienting compass. Sometimes you have to get from point A to point B, but you have to go through Point G to get there. Have at least some hardcopy navigation tools in hand to get you where you need to go when your GPS isn’t working, even if you know the typical route.
No matter where you get your first aid kit, always think of it as a starter for you to build upon. You want to make sure the band-aids genuinely stick. You want medicines in there you know are up-to-date and provide the broadest of treatment regimens. And, you want it small and portable. Whether it’s a minor scrape or a significant trauma, you absolutely need a first aid kit in your bag.
Have some freeze-dried foods, calorically dense bars, and maybe some seeds. It doesn’t hurt to have all of these in your bag. Sometimes you just need a quick meal to clear your brain fog and restore nutrient levels. Additionally, depending on where you may be forced to bug out and for the potential amount of time you may be stuck there, having seeds may help in your next evolution of survival. With their size and weight, it’s not a bad consideration.
Often forgotten but part of your shelter, you need sunscreen and insect repellant. If you have ever been eaten alive by bugs or had a sunburn so bad you blistered, and it hurt to move, you know how important these can be. For minor and temporary disasters, any sunscreen will do. For insect repellents, they range from the natural to the extreme. You use what works best for you and your skin type, but get these protective layers in your bag.
* It’s not too late to start seeds. My tomatoes are up and growing, but I haven’t done the peppers yet. According to this video, peppers can be started 12 weeks ahead of time. Gotta get on that. 
wrote the date on it. 
Russia wants Ukraine. China wants Taiwan. Vladamir Putin and President Xi Jinping have met several times. Most recently, they held a virtual meeting on December 15th, 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi earlier in 2021. Sino-Russian relationships have sweetened in recent years. They announced their first joint space project together. Even as a non-Arctic state, China is aligning itself with Russia strategically in the Arctic to ensure northern trade routes and resources. Sino-Russian trade hit the equivalent of 110 billion dollars in 2020, with both sides aiming to double this by 2024. Free trade agreements between the Eurasian Economic Union, whose most prominent member is Russia, exist with Egypt, Iran, China, and Vietnam. Free trade agreements are in discussion for the countries of Mongolia, India, Singapore, and Indonesia. There is clearly a growing alliance between the two countries.
Russia and Ukraine account for about 30% of world wheat exports, and Ukraine exports about 16% of world corn exports. An invasion of Ukraine would create chaos and embargoes against Russian grain exports. China would most assuredly not embargo Russian grain. Russia and Ukraine’s combined wheat exports for the 2021-22 marketing year are estimated to account for 23% of the global total of 206.9 million metric tons. Ukraine accounts for an estimated 16% of global corn exports. So, you can quickly see how critical Ukraine’s resources are to the totality of Putin’s power. For its part, China produces 134 million metric tons of wheat. Combined, it is 44% of the entire world’s wheat supply. 
All this information taken together points to only one conclusion. We even have a realistic timeframe for it. We have previously covered Russia’s chess game in Ukraine, but we haven’t covered China’s intentions with Taiwan and the South China Sea in-depth. Based on this information, we can deduce that the two countries’ territorial aspirations may be in concert with each other. The two countries have had more official and unofficial meetings. The two countries have territorial ambitions. The two countries have been hoarding food and fuel. The two countries have sought to destabilize opposing countries through orchestrated misinformation and division campaigns. The two countries have engaged in state-sponsored cyber warfare intended to destabilize adversaries. The two countries have profited the most off of the rest of the world’s over-dependence on supply chains and fossil fuels. Both countries have Anti-Western sentiment and a deep dislike for NATO– Russia because it sees the organization as a threat to its sovereignty and autonomy, and China because of the 1999 Nato bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. That led to Chinese officials condemning the attack as a “barbaric act” and a “war crime.” It also led to Chinese students around the world protesting what it called NATO fascism. China has also long been vocally opposed to the West’s “Free Tibet” movement.
Let’s just call it at this point and act as if China will move aggressively against Taiwan and Russia will move aggressively against Ukraine. Diplomacy hasn’t diverted them from their respective paths. The Western alliances are fragmented. The world still reels from the failings of the supply chain it has become overly dependent upon. The world is still recovering from a bad case of COVID. Western countries suffer from deep political divisions that are stoked by foreign troll farms and render positive governance and legislation impossible. To that, any unified, coordinated, and popularly supported retaliation for Russia or China’s overreach would be weak. Expect embargoes. Expect some limited military support and actions that could escalate dramatically. Large wars that unite a population against common enemies also bring that population together in its suffering. A larger war may be the cure for Western divisiveness.
There isn’t much you or even one country can do against such a larger and orchestrated scheme, the parts of which we don’t fully grasp. Many countries, the U.S. included, are looking at a multi-year retraction from the world stage and global influence. Many countries may have to move away from the U.S. dollar for the purposes of international trade. World-systems will require national and regional solutions. Some will need to shrink even further into local systems to meet their resource needs. The search for cheap labor and the global addiction to overseas products appear to have reached their climactic conclusion.
salve. 