Vegetable Days to Harvest

Too often, we might think we are well prepared, but we are not.  A key part of being prepared is having a sustainable food plan like covered in the Prepper Handbook on Amazon Kindle.  In addition to knowing the Planting Dates, we need to know how long we will have to wait before our garden starts providing us with food.

Building your food stores the right way starts with enough canned and dried foods to last 12 months which allows time to plant our garden, harvest, prepare and preserve food for the winter.

Planting some foods that harvest early could be the difference between surviving and starving after a hard winter.  Here are the Days to Harvest for a long list of foods you should consider. The ones listed in red are Heirloom varieties that you can save seeds from and grow them again next year.  Seeds from hybrid varieties often will not reproduce.   Having both may be a good idea, but they must be planted far apart to prevent cross pollination as Bees will carry pollen great distances.  Of course, having a Green House for year-round food and/or Aquaponics represents an advanced level of preparation that most do not have and a much more reliable plan.

Vegetable	Variety	Days to Harvest
Asparagus	Jersey Gem	300
Asparagus	Jersey Giant	300
Asparagus	UC-157	300
Asparagus	UC-72	300
Bean - Lima	Henderson Bush	65
Bean - Lima	Jackson Wonder Bush	65
Bean - Lima	Dixie White	70
Bean - Lima	Fordhook	75
Bean - Lima	Florida Speckled Pole	85
Bean Bush	Tendergreen	40
Bean Bush	Greencrop	50
Bean Bush	Long Tendergreen	50
Bean Bush	Topcrop	50
Bean Bush	Improved Golden Wax	52
Bean Bush	Pencil Pod Black Wax	53
Bean Bush	Tendercrop	54
Bean Bush	Early Contender	55
Bean Bush	Goldcrop Wax	55
Bean Bush	Jumbo	55
Bean Bush	Blue Lake	60
Bean Bush	Roma II	60
Bean Pole	Kentucky Wonder	60
Bean Pole	Romano Gold	60
Bean Pole	Dade	65
Beet	Pacemaker II	50
Beet	Green Top Bunching	52
Beet	Ruby Queen	55
Beet	Detroit Dark Red	56
Broccoli	Green Comet	40
Broccoli	Packman	50
Broccoli	Southern Comet	50
Broccoli	Premium Crop	55
Brussel Sprouts	Jade Cross	80
Cabbage	Early Jersey Wakefield	53
Cabbage	Market Prize	76
Cabbage	Ruby Ball	78
Cabbage	Bravo	85
Cabbage	Green Boy	85
Cabbage	Rio Verde	85
Cabbage	Sanibel	90
Cabbage	Savoy King	90
Cabbage Chinese	Jade Pagoda	65
Cabbage Chinese	Michihili	80
Cantaloupe	Primo	77
Cantaloupe	Caravelle	80
Cantaloupe	Magnum 45	80
Cantaloupe	Mission	80
Cantaloupe	Hales Best	82
Cantaloupe	Perlita	85
Cantaloupe	TAM Uvalde	85
Cantaloupe	Ambrosia	86
Cantaloupe	Israeli	90
Carrot	Royal Chantenay	65
Carrot	Nantes Half Long	70
Carrot	Red Core Chantenay	70
Carrot	Imperator 58	75
Carrot Baby	Thumbelina	55
Carrot Processing	Gold King	68
Carrot Processing	Danver 126	75
Cauliflower	Imperial	60
Cauliflower	Snow Crown	60
Cauliflower	Snowball Y Improved	60
Celeriac	Large Smooth Prague	110
Celeriac	Marble Ball	110
Chives	Chinese Chives	80
Chives	Garlic Chives	80
Collards	Blue Max	68
Collards	Georgia Southern	75
Collards	Vates	75
Corn	Mirai	70
Corn	Merit (Yellow)	75
Corn	Honey n Pearl (Bicolor)	78
Corn	Snowbelle (White)	79
Corn	Summer Sweet	81
Corn	Sugar Loaf	83
Corn	Crisp-N-Sweet (Yellow)	85
Corn	White Lightning (White)	86
Corn	How Sweet It Is (White)	87
Corn	Kandy Korn (Yellow)	89
Corn	Sweet G-90 (Bicolor)	90
Corn	Silver Queen (White)	91
Cucumber Pickling	County Fair 87	48
Cucumber Pickling	Carolina	49
Cucumber Pickling	Calypso	52
Cucumber Pickling	Homemade	55
Cucumber Pickling	Little Leaf	55
Cucumber Pickling	National	55
Cucumber Slicing	Burpless	55
Cucumber Slicing	Sweet Success	55
Cucumber Slicing	Dasher II	60
Cucumber Slicing	Poinsett 76	60
Cucumber Slicing	Straight Eight	60
Cucumber Slicing	Sweet Slice	62
Cucumber Slicing	Ashley	65
Daikon	Misato Rose Red Meat	60
Daikon	Myashige	65
Eggplant	Easter Egg	52
Eggplant	Black Magic	72
Eggplant	Early Long Purple	75
Eggplant	Black Beauty	80
Eggplant	Florida Hibush	85
Eggplant	Florida Market	85
Eggplant	California White	120
Eggplant Oriental	Tycoon	54
Eggplant Oriental	Ichiban	61
Eggplant Oriental	Long Tom	75
English Pea	Sugar Bon	55
English Pea	Dwarf Gray Sugar	60
English Pea	Little Marvel	63
English Pea	Green Arrow	65
English Pea	Sugar Mel	65
English Pea	Wando	68
English Pea	Sugar Snap	72
English Pea	Sugar Daddy	75
Garlic	California Early	120
Garlic	California White	120
Garlic	Elephant	120
Garlic	French Mild Silverskin (Heirloom)	120
Garlic	Mexican Purple	120
Greens	Early Wonder Tall Top	55
Greens	Malabar Spinach	70
Greens	New Zealand Spinach	70
Honeydew Melon	TAM Dew	100
Kale	Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch	55
Kale	Green Curled	75
Kohlrabi	Grand Duke	45
Kohlrabi	Early Purple Vienna	55
Kohlrabi	Early White Vienna	55
Leek	American Flag	130
Lettuce Butterhead/Bibb	Tom Thumb	45
Lettuce Butterhead/Bibb	Bibb	60
Lettuce Butterhead/Bibb	Buttercrunch	70
Lettuce Crisphead/Iceberg	Mission	75
Lettuce Crisphead/Iceberg	Classic	85
Lettuce Looseleaf	Black Seeded Simpson	45
Lettuce Looseleaf	Simpson Elite	45
Lettuce Looseleaf	Salad Bowl (green)	49
Lettuce Looseleaf	Oakleaf	50
Lettuce Looseleaf	Ruby Red	50
Lettuce Looseleaf	Red Sails	52
Mustard	Florida Broadleaf	40
Mustard	Green Wave	45
Mustard	Large Smooth Leaf	49
Mustard	Southern Giant Curled	50
Okra	Cajun Delight	49
Okra	Lee	50
Okra	Clemson Spineless	55
Okra	Louisiana Green Velvet	55
Okra	Emerald	58
Okra	Burgundy	60
Okra	Dwarf Green Long Pod	60
Onion Bulb	Crystal Wax (Short Day)	60
Onion Bulb	Early Grano 502 (YWR, Short Day)	80
Onion Bulb	Eclipse (White, Short Day)	80
Onion Bulb	Granex (YWR, Short Day)	100
Onion Bulb	Yula (Intermediate Day)	103
Onion Bulb	Candy Super Star (Intermediate Day)	110
Onion Bulb	Red Burgandy (Short Day)	110
Onion Bulb	Yellow TX Supersweet 1015 (Short Day)	110
Onion Bulb	Ringmaster	120
Onion Bunching	Evergreen Long White	65
Parsley	Moss curled	75
Parsley	Plain Italian	78
Parsley	Banquet	80
Parsley	Champion Moss Curled	80
Pea Snap	Sugar Ann	60
Pea Southern	Texas Pinkeye	60
Pea Southern	Blackeye #5	65
Pea Southern	Mississippi Silver	65
Pea Southern	Pink Eye Purple Hull	65
Pea Southern	Champion Cream	70
Pea Southern	Knuckle Purple Hull	70
Pea Southern	Texas Cream 8	75
Pea Southern	Zipper Cream	75
Pea Southern	Brown Sugar	80
Pepper Hot	Long Red Cayenne	65
Pepper Hot	Cayenne	70
Pepper Hot	Hungarian Yellow Wax	70
Pepper Hot	Jalapeno	70
Pepper Hot	Super Cayenne	70
Pepper Hot	Anaheim (Chile)	75
Pepper Hot	Big Jim (Chile)	85
Pepper Hot	Hidalgo Serrano	85
Pepper Hot	Hot Portugal	85
Pepper Hot	Red Chili	85
Pepper Hot	Super Chili	85
Pepper Hot	Habanero	100
Pepper Sweet	Golden Summer (Bell)	65
Pepper Sweet	Gypsy (Bell, YOR)	65
Pepper Sweet	Sweet Banana	68
Pepper Sweet	Bell Tower (Bell)	70
Pepper Sweet	Big Bertha (Bell, Green)	70
Pepper Sweet	Summer Sweet (Bell, Yellow)	70
Pepper Sweet	TAM Mild Jalapeno	70
Pepper Sweet	Emerald Giant (Pimento, Red)	75
Pepper Sweet	Jupiter (Bell, Red)	75
Pepper Sweet	Yolo Wonder (Bell)	75
Pepper Sweet	Keystone Giant (Bell)	78
Pepper Sweet	Senorita (Mild Jalapeno)	80
Pinto	UI 114	85
Potato Irish	Kennebec (White)	80
Potato Irish	Norland (Red)	80
Potato Irish	Purple Viking	90
Potato Irish	Superior (White)	90
Potato Irish	Yukon Gold	90
Potato Irish	Red LaSoda	100
Pumpkin Large	Big Max	120
Pumpkin Large	Big Tom	120
Pumpkin Large	Connecticut Field	120
Pumpkin Medium	Jack O’Lantern	110
Pumpkin Small	Jack Be Little	95
Pumpkin Small	Lady Godiva	95
Pumpkin Small	Small Sugar	95
Pumpkin Small	Munchkin	100
Pumpkin Small	Triple Treat	110
Radish	Champion	20
Radish	Cherry Belle	22
Radish	Early Scarlet Globe	24
Radish	Scarlet Globe	24
Radish	Easter Egg	25
Radish	Sparkler	25
Radish	Summer Cross	25
Radish	White Icicle	30
Rutabaga	American Purple Top	90
Shell	French Horticultural	70
Squash Summer	Early Prolific (Yellow, Straightneck)	40
Squash Summer	Senator (Zucchini)	41
Squash Summer	Dixie (Yellow, Cookneck)	45
Squash Summer	Hyzini (Zucchini)	45
Squash Summer	Earl’s White Bush (Scallop)	47
Squash Summer	Butterbar (Yellow, Straightneck)	49
Squash Summer	Hyrific (Yellow, Straightneck)	49
Squash Summer	Pavo (Crookneck)	49
Squash Summer	Sure Thing (Zucchini)	49
Squash Summer	Blondie (Zucchini)	50
Squash Summer	Burpee’s Butterstick (Yellow, Straightneck)	50
Squash Summer	Hybrid (Zucchini)	50
Squash Summer	Multipik (Yellow Straightneck)	50
Squash Summer	Peter Pan (Green, Scallop)	50
Squash Summer	Sunburst (Scallop)	50
Squash Summer	Supersett (Yellow Straightneck)	50
Squash Summer	GoIdfinger (Zucchini)	51
Squash Summer	Storrs Greer (Zucchini)	51
Squash Summer	Gold Rush (Zucchini)	52
Squash Summer	Aristocrat (Zucchini)	53
Squash Summer	St. Patrick (Scallop)	55
Squash Summer	Yellow Summer (Crookneck)	55
Squash Summer	Patty Pan (White, Scallop)	60
Squash Summer	Smoothie (Straightneck)	60
Squash Summer	Sundrop (Yellow)	62
Squash Summer	Bennings Green Tint (Scallop)	63
Squash Winter	Royal (Acorn)	70
Squash Winter	TabIe King (Acorn)	75
Squash Winter	Butternut Types	90
Squash Winter	Improved Butternut	90
Squash Winter	Table Queen (Acorn)	90
Squash Winter	Burgess Buttercup	95
Squash Winter	WaItham (Butternut)	95
Squash Winter	Ebony (Acorn)	100
Squash Winter	Spaghetti Types	100
Squash Winter	Vegetable Spaghetti Types	100
Sweet Potato	Vardaman	100
Sweet Potato	Beauregard	150
Sweet Potato	Centennial	150
Sweet Potato	Jewel	150
Swiss Chard	Fordhook Giant	50
Swiss Chard	Bright Lights	55
Swiss Chard	Rhubarb Red	59
Swiss Chard	Ruby	59
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Better Boy (I)	70
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Mountain Glory (I)	72
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Big Beef (I)	75
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Pik Rite (D)	75
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Brandywine (Heirloom)	80
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Floradade (D)	80
Tomato Large > 12 oz	Early Big Red (I)	90
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Ultra Sweet (I)	62
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Carnival (D)	70
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Celebrity (D)	70
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Golden Jubilee (I)	72
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Mountain Spring (D)	72
Tomato Medium 4 - 11 oz	Porter Improved (I)	78
Tomato Paste	Chico III (D)	70
Tomato Paste	Roma (D)	75
Tomato Small < 3 oz	Sunsugar (Cherry, I)	62
Tomato Small < 3 oz	Small Fry (D)	65
Tomato Small < 3 oz	Cherry Grande (D)	74
Turnip	White Lady	40
Turnip	Royal Globe	45
Turnip Greens	All Top	35
Turnip Greens	Purple Top	55
Turnip Roots & Greens	Tokyo Cross	35
Turnip Roots & Greens	Shogoin	42
Turnip Roots & Greens	Purple Top White Globe	50
Watermelon	Bush Sugar Baby	75
Watermelon	Petite Sweet	75
Watermelon	Prince Charles	80
Watermelon	Calhoun Grey	85
Watermelon	Charleston Gray	85
Watermelon	Crimson Sweet	85
Watermelon	Mirage	85
Watermelon	Tendersweet (Orange)	85
Watermelon	Allsweet	90
Watermelon	Supersweet	90
Watermelon	Jubilee	95
Watermelon	Royal Jubilee	95
Watermelon Seedless	Tri-X 313	85
For more information Table of Contents	RED = Heirloom  visit our

Vegetable Planting Dates

 Here are the planting windows of time for zone 8 & 9 (orange).  Colder zones will need to adjust spring planting zones to be later and fall planting zones to be earlier. 

CROP	SPRING PLANTING DATE	FALL PLANTING DATE
Asparagus	2/1 – 3/15	N.R.
Beans, Bush	3/15 – 4/15	8/1 – 9/1
Beans, Pole	3/15 – 4/15	8/1 – 9/1
Beans, Lima	3/15 – 4/1	7/15 – 8/15
Beets	2/1 – 4/1	9/1 – 10/15
Broccoli (plants)	3/1 – 3/15	8/1 – 9/15
Brussels Sprouts	N.R.	8/1 – 10/1
Cabbage (plants)	2/1 – 3/1	8/15 – 9/15
Cabbage, Chinese	2/1 – 2/15	8/15 – 9/15
Carrots	2/1 – 2/15	8/15 – 10/15
Cauliflower (plants)	2/15 – 3/1	8/15 – 9/15
Chard, Swiss	2/15 – 4/1	8/1 – 10/15
Collard/Kale	2/1 – 2/15	8/15 – 10/1
Corn, Sweet	3/15 – 5/1	8/1 – 8/15
Cucumber	3/15 – 4/15	8/1 – 9/1
Eggplant (plants)	4/1 – 4/15	7/15 – 8/1
Garlic	1/15 – 2/15	9/1 – 10/15
Kohlrabi	2/1 – 3/1	8/15 – 9/15
Lettuce (leaf)	2/1 – 3/1	9/15 – 10/15
Muskmelon (Cantaloupe)	3/15 – 5/1	7/15 – 8/1
Mustard	2/1 – 3/1	9/15 – 10/15
Okra	4/15 – 7/1
Onion (plants)	2/1 – 3/1	N.R.
Parsley	N.R.	8/15 – 10/1
Peas, English	1/15 – 2/15	8/15 – 9/15
Peas, Southern	4/15 – 6/1	7/1 – 8/1
Pepper (plants)	4/1 – 4/15	7/1 – 8/1
Potatoes (Irish)	2/1 – 2/15	8/15 – 9/15
Potatoes (Sweet) (slips)	4/1 – 5/15	N.R.
Pumpkin	4/1 – 5/15	7/1 – 8/1
Radish	2/1 – 4/1	9/15 – 10/15
Spinach	2/1 – 3/1	9/1 – 10/15
Squash, Summer	3/15 – 4/15	7/15 – 8/15
Squash, Winter	4/1 – 4/15	7/1 – 7/15
Tomato (plants)	3/15 – 4/1	7/15 – 8/1
Turnips	2/1 – 3/1	10/1 – 11/1
Watermelon	3/15 – 5/1	7/1 – 8/1
Watermelon (Seedless)	3/25 – 5/1	7/1 – 8/1

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents;

Gardening Links
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
Vegetable Days to Harvest

Budget Garden Preparations

Common Sense Gun Laws

What are "Common Sense Gun Laws?"  They are a phrase that has been focus group tested by the gun control lobby and found to be more agreeable to American Citizens.  So lets explore this further.

Should we prohibit guns from criminals & those who are mentally ill?  The obvious answer seems to be yes, but think about this.  If we disagree with the government, they can declare us criminals or mentally ill.  Anyone who would want to own a gun must be mentally ill in their minds.... right?  Anyone who owns the wrong kind of gun, that gets more and more restrictive over time is a criminal, right? Can you see where this could go.  Next, an annual mental examination will be required to own a gun at our expense and a huge government fee/tax.  Slowly over time, more and more "Common Sense" gun regulations are put in place until it becomes nearly impossible to legally own a gun... no problem for criminals as they actually prefer unarmed victims.  Interesting how a large majority of all mass shootings are in Gun Free Zones.  Perhaps the people who implement those gun free zones are in part responsible for the victims who are shot, far more so than the gun manufactures being responsible when a criminal uses a gun to commit a crime.

Ok, but obviously we should keep guns out of the hands of Terrorist?  Problem with that is the FBI definition of Terrorism would include George Washington and basically every other hero who fought in the American Revolution for our freedom from an oppressive government (England) who would have also been glad to ban our guns.

So it is very important to realize that "Common Sense Gun Laws" are part of a strategy to slowly take away the right to bear to bear arms over time and effectively ban guns just like Australia did. Australia first required that every gun be registered and then a few years later implemented a mandatory buyback. This is the type program that gun banners like Hillary Clinton support.

We hear the figures 90 gun deaths per day from Gun Banners. According to PolitiFact, this includes police shootings and only 1/3 are from homicides.  The largest part are suicides who would simply find another way if they didn't have a gun. Of the gun homicides:

• 71% of gunshot victims had previous arrest records.
• 64% had been convicted of a crime.
• Each had an average of 11 prior arrests. ^{1, 2}
• 63% of victims had criminal histories and 73% of that group knew their assailant (twice as often as victims without criminal histories). ³
• 74% of homicides during the commission of a felony involve guns.

If we want to act on Gun Violence, we should start by keeping these criminals in jail instead of releasing them early.  Since most crime is committed by repeat offenders, we could cut crime in half by putting and keeping them in jail or use the death penalty.

Unfortunately, we hear few statistics to demonstrate how many crimes are avoided, and lives are saved because of the presence of guns and the media never covers these cases like shooting victims get.
But as Gun ownership has increased, crime has gone down according to the FBI background checks required to buy a gun and their crime statistics.

We also know restrictive places like Chicago and Mexico that have very few guns per capita (mostly the criminals & drug cartels), their Homicide rates are much higher than the US average which has a high gun ownership rate per capita.

In fact, crime is at a 44 year low according to FBI data complied by the NRA who is the leading supporter of American gun rights.  Every Patriot who believes that American should have the right to own guns should join this organization.

We hear statements like Europe bans guns and have far less gun deaths, but their total violent crime is much higher and in France (and California) where guns are highly restricted, they have more mass shootings than the US and our population is five times larger.  If you don't count the 5 US states with the strictest gun laws, then our crime rate is lower than most countries that ban guns.

There are many things that cause more deaths than guns like heart disease, tobacco, aids, cars and even swimming pools.  Yes, there are far more (about 11X) children die per swimming pool than there are per gun in the US.  the purpose of Gun Control is not really about public safety or saving lives, its about controlling we the people, so the Government can do what ever they want to. The more the government infringes on the right to bear arms, the more we need that right.  The right to bear arms is not about the right to protect your home or hunt, it is to insure a Free State.

 Abortion Doctors kill about 1,000 times more children each year than guns do, so gun control is NOT about protecting children. Granted the Supreme Court has said this is a woman's choice, so I'm not debating this issue but if a criminal kills a pregnant woman and her unborn child they are charged with a double homicide.

 

According to the US Constitution, only the powers it grants are given to the Federal Government.  All others belong to the States and Citizens.  So the Federal Government should not even have the power to regulate guns, even those that cross state lines.

So once again, every Patriot who loves this country and believes that Americans should have the right to own guns should join the NRA.  You can apply for membership here.

As a note, this content was not reviewed nor approved by the NRA and does not necessarily reflect their opinion or position on the subject of gun control.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents;

Gun Free Zone Facts
Why I avoid doing business in Gun Free Zones 
The Rule of 3 (set priorities by this);

The Best Gun
Best Handgun Selection Criteria

The right amount of Ammo  

Terrorist Attack - Best Preparations

Protecting America 

Urban Survival Perspective

Using your garden to provide cover

Vegetable planters can provide food and 4 foot of dirt for cover.  With one at each corner, you can feed a family of four vegetables and guard your home against attacks from all directions with guards located at any two diagonally opposite corners.

Using Heirloom Seeds will allow you to save seeds from your best growing vegetables and plant them year after year. In many cases, wild plants will come up in your vegetables beds where seeds fell.

For additional Prepper information:
Blog Table of Contents

PVC Survival Tube

Using a short piece of PVC pipe with some end caps, you can make your own PVC burial tube to store a host of supplies (list below).  The end caps glue on one end and press/screw on the other end for easy removal, OR glue on both ends for the most secure long term water tight seal.

Using a 6 inch (or larger) diameter PVC pipe sized to fit your stainless steel guns, you can use two of these low cost flexible PVC caps to cover the ends: http://www.amazon.com/Fernco-Inc-PQC-106-6-Inch-Qwik/dp/B000VZPZNG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

An advantage, or possible disadvantage of this model is that the metal hose clamp would be easily found with a metal detector.  It could also rust and be hard to get off or even break and fall off over time making it ineffective.  So I might limit this to a shorter term, lower cost alternative.

Another alternative are these slip/glue on caps that can be used on one or both ends:  http://www.amazon.com/Genova-40156-Cap-Sewer-Drain/dp/B000BQPAJ4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A1SV1BYDTUK2Z5

A more expensive alternative is to use on of the above glue on caps on one end, and these two items on the other end for a screw on/off access: 
http://www.amazon.com/Spears-Series-Fitting-Cleanout-Adapter/dp/B009H4245Y/ref=pd_bxgy_328_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1FZAXFPZTXCND1PZ7QXJ

AND

http://www.amazon.com/Spears-P106-Series-Fitting-Cleanout/dp/B009H41U1S?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=A2LMF55FDXFV7T

These two combined look like a common sewer clean out port and can be installed in plain sight and still look normal.  They are also likely to last the longest.

There are also off the shelf Burial Tubes for firearms that are available like this one, but remember that PVC has been used for underground pipes for many years because it lasts the longest.

Including some desiccant to absorb moisture along with some of the long term storage bags might be a good idea. Be sure to bury them in a location that you will be able to find them for many years to come, and share one but not all of your locations with different trusted family &/or friends.  Keep a record of who you shared each one with for obvious reasons.

Here are some of the things you can store in a PVC Burial Tube:

1. Take down Stainless Steel 22 caliber survival rife (Marlin or Ruger).
2. Stainless Steel Revolver
3. Ammo with Chrome/Nickle plated casings if possible.
4. Gun oil
5. Old US silver quarters and dimes
6. Magnesium fire starter
7. Water straw filter
8. Para cord
9. Stainless Steel Knife & saw
10. Fish hooks (plated), steel leaders and braided fishing string.
11. Candles
12. Compass
13. Small survival blanket

Remember buried storage items are likely long term which is why stainless steel and other more durable goods are suggested like a filter straw instead of tablets for treating water, or a Magnesium fire started instead of matches. Putting perishable items like batteries could age, corrode and damage many of the other goods in your tube so caution is advisable.  Water containers could leak, so avoid including water (and other liquids), but rather add a water filter.

For some additional ideas on what to pack see the following video:  Wilderness Survival Pack
For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

Here are some additional links for building a PVC burial tube:

http://preppers.org/pvc-survival-time-capsule-make-one/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe_vXdMrHHseZ_esYUskSBw

Aquaponics - A combination of fish and plant production using aquaculture and hydroponics systems, is moving from the realm of experimental to commercial. While it is not a commonly seen method, the USDA has some good information on the topic.  Elsevier, a leading publisher globally, reports that you need to raise about $5,000 per year of food to break even.

For a Prepper, Aquaponics is particularly interesting as a sustainable method for producing food.  This however is a partial - facially because as we harvest food from the system and consume them, the nutrients and mass must be replaced. For example; we remove 10 pounds of food then 10 lbs must be replaced. If not, the system rapidly becomes depleted and unproductive. This can be achieved by supplementing your system with organic fertilizer like chicken or horse manure.

A system like this that produce both vegetables and fish, along with a half dozen free range chickens (or other source of manure) to replenish the system, could potentially provide a sustainable supply of food for a long time.  In the Prepper Handbook available on Amazon Kindle for $4.99, I calculate that it takes about 7 acres to sustainability grow enough food for 1 adult.  This includes rotating the land and having space for cattle, goats and chickens.

I am cautious about using Aquaponics, or Hydroponics as a stand alone sustainable food production method for a Prepper.  But such a system could clearly provide diversity and be essential for a person in the city with limited land and valuable as a winter supply of food being raised in a green house to help supplement your dried, canned and smoked food stores built up in the summer.  I also believe that raising a pond of catfish or trout can be a good supplement to your sustainable food plan.  This is discussed in he Prepper Handbook along with a complete sustainable food plan. 

For additional Prepper information, see our Blog Table of Contents

For additional information on Aquaponics, read below on some inflation from the USDA website:

Aquaponics

Dan Burden, AgMRC Content Specialist
D. Allen Pattillo, Department of Natural Resources Ecology & Management, Iowa State University; North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC)

Overview

Aquaponics is a hybrid food growing technology that combines aquaculture (growing fish) and hydroponics (growing veggies in non-soil media and nutrient-laden water).  This is a relatively new hybrid technology; a survey of readily available professional and hobbyist Internet resources will quickly give one an appreciation of the wide breadth of and passion for this technology.

Aquaponics is intended to be a highly sustainable production system that incorporates principles of water conservation, sustainable vegetable production and perhaps organic plant and animal agriculture.  Systems vary in size from small indoor or outdoor home or classroom hobbyist units to immense commercial units. The systems are usually fresh-water based, but salt-water systems are used for some high-value fish or crustacean production.  It should be noted that the corrosive effects of salt-water can greatly increase the establishment, maintenance and depreciation costs of the production system.

In traditional tank-type aquaculture systems, the fish are raised within a mostly closed system where water is recirculated.  Since it is a closed system, filters are required to remove fish effluent and remove aqueous toxic compounds that result from the effluent or its decomposition.  If not removed, the effluent and its toxic nitrogenous bi-products quickly reach levels that are fatal to fish.  In aquaponics systems, the effluent is as passively managed as possible within the system using sumps and biofilters.  Some solids may be physically separated and removed; however, the majority of the toxic compounds are biologically converted into plant-usable nutrients through bio-conversion by beneficial bacteria within the biofilter.  This nutrient-laden water is now the fertilizer component of the plant aspect of the system.  The plants then remove the nutrients and the “de-nitrified” clean water is returned back to the fish, crustacean or mollusk aspect of the system as their water input.

An intermediate-scale pre-commercial aquaponic system.

The systems are highly sustainable and can be highly efficient to operate.  To create maximum efficiency and the highest return-on-investment (ROI) in a commercial system, energy inputs in terms of lighting (for the plants), aeration (for the fish) and pumps or uplift systems (overall system recirculation) should be carefully considered and reflected in the design of the system.  It is easy to build a working system.  It is challenging to fine-tune that system for maximum efficiency (lowest-cost and lowest-human-intervention operation; highest sustainability), maximum highest-quality plant production and best fish, crustacean or mollusk growth rate and health.
This closed-loop system has many advantages over conventional “open-loop” crop production systems:

• It uses approximately 10% of the land area and 5% of the water volume required by conventional vegetable crops.
• Due to less water and land use, aquaponics is perfect for highly efficient use of existing space or for special applications like intensive urban gardening.
• Crop production time can be accelerated.  For example, butterhead lettuce varieties can be produced in about 30 days, instead of the typical 60-day growing period needed for conventional production.
• Production can occur year-round under a greenhouse or in a temperature-controlled enclosure.  This allows producers to market fresh produce during seasons when trucked-in produce is at their highest seasonal prices.
• Aquaponics is an adaptable process that allows for a diversification of income streams.  High-value herbs, vegetables, and leafy greens, as well as fish, crayfish, worms, mushrooms, and a number of other crops may be produced, depending upon local market interest and the interests of the grower.
• These systems allow agriculture to take large innovative steps toward environmental sustainability.  Because these are mostly-closed-loop systems, nutrient effluent leaving the facility is virtually nonexistent.  Additionally, fish, plant, and other waste solids may be captured and converted into value-added fertilizer products for wholesale or retail sale.
• Growers can start small, with minimal investment, perhaps using scrounged materials to see if the venture is “right for me,” then scale-up as markets and expertise develops.

The Australian Red-Claw Crayfish is an example of a crustacean that can be reared alone or with fish in an aquaponic system.

A nice tilapia harvest.

Example of a simple, but highly-effective siphon and sump used for an ebb & flow system.

Example of “deep-water culture” or “floating-raft” plant-growth technology.

One example of a commercially-available channel system used in Nutrient Film Technology (NFT); note the down-slope oriented channels and the common out-flow return collector.

This vertical drip installation maximizes available space, and is a highly adaptable modular installation.

There are many fish, crustacean or mollusk species that are well suited to aquaponic systems. With respect to fish species, tilapia and barramundi are fast-growing species well suited to the water temperatures of most aquaponic systems.  Other species, e.g., trout, hybrid-striped bass, bluegills, yellow perch or ornamental species like koi or pet-trade cichlids can be raised in these systems, but each species presents its own set of unique challenges and unique markets.  Crustaceans include fresh-water, salt-water and brackish-water shrimp and prawns, and crayfish.  Mollusks (snails) have been raised in some systems.
There are four major types of plant growth subsystems.  These include:

• Ebb and Flow  - This method, also known as flood-and-drain culture, requires the use of a substrate, like pea gravel or expanded clay, for the plant roots to grow in for stability.  This method uses a constant inflow of water and auto-siphon device to flood then quickly drain the grow bed, usually on a 20- to 30-minute cycle.  This periodic water emersion and air exposure produces an environment highly conducive to healthy plant root systems.  This method has the advantage of structural support for larger and heavier fruiting plants, like peppers or tomatoes, that otherwise could be problematic.
• Deep-water Culture  This method, also known as floating-raft culture, requires the use of a platform to support the plants and holes for the roots to access the water.  Styrofoam insulation is typically used as the raft and plastic net pots support the plants.  Aeration should be supplied via air stones in the water under the raft to ensure a high oxygen concentration should the water cease to circulate or become stagnant.  The larger volume of water required for this method has benefits.  It increases overall stability in temperature and water quality, which translates to lower overall maintenance and greater system stability.
• Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) This method of plant culture allows the plant root systems to absorb nutrients from a thin film of water (up to ½-inch depth), while maintaining high oxygen exposure through high atmospheric air contact.  NFT is typically done by emitting a small amount of water into one end of a channel or gutter, and allowing that water to flow by gravity to the other end where it drains into a common collection area.  Because of the high potential surface area, this method allows for greater plant production with less water.
• Drip Irrigation  This method uses drip emitters to provide a constant supply of nutrient-rich water to plant root systems, contained in large buckets of substrate, usually expanded clay or slabs of rock wool.  This method is very well suited to the production of fruiting, vine-type plants that can be grown continuously for multiple years, like cucumbers, tomatoes or some tropical fruits.  Plants generally are ‘trained’ to grow onto a trellis or similar structure for ease of harvest and maintenance.  An advantage to drip irrigation is the more inherently modular design.  If one plant dies or becomes diseased, it is easy to remove that plant or unit of plants and disinfect the area without sacrificing the entire crop.  Also, this method works well for large, heavy plants that need to sit on the floor, perhaps in a large pot.  Although in a large substrate container, the plant and its support infrastructure can easily be maintained, repositioned or modified.

There are hundreds of ways to build an aquaponics system.  Systems can be successful as a hobby-scale installation in a garage or basement, seasonally in the backyard or on the deck, or as full-blown commercial-scale ventures.  The critical considerations for any producer are: the amount of available space; the amount of available money for the project; the intent for and amount of food to be produced; and if a commercial venture, how the products will be marketed.  Aquaponically grown products, like other fish or produce, are highly perishable; it is important to keep in mind that harvest- and post-harvest handling and related marketing considerations are critical components of any aquaponics business plan.

Resources

Aquaponics overview from Growing Power a community group in Wisconsin

Aquaponics How To

Do It Yourself Aquaponics

Friendly Aquaponics

NCRAC: North Central Regional Aquaculture Center

Nelson &Pade a commercial system supplier.

The Aquaponics Source.Com
Seafood Safety

Wikipedia overview of aquaponics
Links checked: August 2013.


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