Preparedness Nuggets Part 3

8/14/2019 Preparedness Nuggets Part 3

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Preparedness Nuggets Part 3Return to Preparedness Nuggets IndexBetter Times Cookbook V | Justpeace | Better Times | BobWaldrop.net | Access toEnergy Conservation | On Pilgrimage in Oklahoma City | Bookstore | Better TimesII | Bulgar Bugle | Mutual Aid (Grassroots home and community scale disasterpreparations)Preparedness NuggetsA Cyberbook of Practical Wisdom for Daily LivingPart the Third

Acorns and CattailsAlternative Power ExplainedEating DandelionsFlowers but no Tomatoes?Free internet classified adsFree Plastic BucketsGoats Milk Baby FormulaHow to hook up a generator to your household electrical systemHow to Sell Your HomeMulching with HayOxygen AbsorbersOut of Print BooksPlanting in Leaf Mulch

Quick and Easy GreenhouseUnderground HouseUse all the fruit, including the apple cores and peach skinsUsing RainwaterWild OnionsWind Power-----------------------------------------------------------EATING DANDELIONS TOP1. Did we eat the flowers....YES, the bigger the flower the better. You want toget them early in the spring.2. I did not eat the greens but my neighbor did and says the fresh tender springgreens are best....they get bitter the longer they grow.3. I don't know about using the leaves for tea....all the medicinal herb books I

have say to use the fresh or dried root for tea.4. Yes, you can cook the greens. The Southern way is to wilt them in bacongrease...I would just saut them in butter or oil and garlic.----------------------------------------------------WILD ONIONS TOPIn regards to those wild onions....I use to use the greens all the time in TN.Sometimes they were all over our yard. I even transplanted them in a patch closeto the house for cutting so dear hubby didn't mow over my ready supply. The bulbis quite strong in flavor but great for soups, stews and chilies....a littlebulb goes a long way------------------------------------------------------------------QUICK & EASY GREENHOUSE TOPYou get 16' concrete rebar, stick one end into the ground, and bend it over and

stick it into the ground 12' away... make these hoops until you have it longenough for the size greenhouse you want, cover with clear plastic, and VOILA!Instant greenhouse! it WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO STOCK UP ON BOTH CLEAR PLASTICAND BLACK PLASTIC, FOR GARDENING PURPOSES POST-Y2K.-----------------------------------------------------------------FREE INTERNET CLASSIFIED ADS TOPI just wanted to let everyone know that I have just begun hosting a freeclassified ad page for anyone(no porn, etc.) to advertise businesses, land, orwhatever they wish. I hope this is very useful to many people. You can find themathttp://rodweb.localweb.com/classads/sites/1104723.htm


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-----------------------------------------------------------FREE PLASTIC BUCKETS TOPI have been getting free plastic buckets with rubber seals from our localgrocery bakery dept. We use these buckets and other food grade buckets and theslight odor never affects our grains at all.

----------------------------------------------------------------FLOWERS BUT NO TOMATOES TOPYou might try mulching heavy or find some way to keep them cooler. Tomato pollenwon't work right over about 92 degrees so you get no tomatoes. If you want areal good crop, just go out and occasionally "thump" the plants when they areblooming. Not hard, just enough to make the pollen dislodge. (Maybe "tapping" isa better word :) When I do this, the tomatoes line up like grapes in a bunch.-------------------------------------------O2 ABSORBERS TOPYou can get the 02 absorber at the Mormon Bishops' storehouses for $8 per 100.-------------------------------------HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME TOP

From: [email protected] (Donald J. Cassidy)I am reading W. Effros book, "How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days". It is sointeresting. We are wondering how many of you have used his plan and youroutcome. It seems pretty scary to carry it out, although he says the seller isalways in control. How did it pan out for you all ? Did you really get 40families for the inspection ? Did you set your price LOW and have bidding warsto up the price ? Did you sell your house Sunday night ? Did you get the priceyou wanted ? Any regrets ? Please feel free to email me privately if this isn'tappropriate for the digest.------------------------------------------------ALTERNATIVE POWER EXPLAINED TOPI came across an interesting on-line catalog which actually has factual,explanatory material on alternative power sources: wind, solar, and water. The

prices seem very high to me (I have found some of their products elsewhere for alot less money), BUT the information is free and seems pretty comprehensivegiven the limitations of length.http://www.realgoods.com/renew/cat/intro/pv.htm----------HOW TO HOOK UP A GENERATOR TO YOUR HOUSEHOLD ELECTRIC SYSTEM TOPFrom: Frank Trozzo I've been generating now for about four years, mostly for convenience knowingthat it would only be a matter of a day or two before the power returned. SO Iwould like to share some info as to how to hook up a system. It can be veryconfusing and cause more problems as well as electrical accidents. Severalimportant issues need to be addressed.

Power RequirementsLook into your fuse box for the largest size breaker. AC units are usually thelargest at 40 amps. Well pump 20 or 30 amps. Dryer 20 amps, Stove maybe 30 amps.Examine all your circuits and clearly label them. Write down all the breakersizes and what they supply.A 20 amp, 220 volt breaker that runs a well pump for instance requires 4,400watts or 4 kilowatts (kW). 20 x 220 A 20 amp, 110 volt breaker that maybe runs arefrigerator requires 2,200 watts. etc. etc. etc.If you are on well water, the 5 kW generator will run the well pump alone, butif you have electric water heater with a 30 amp breaker, you'll need 6,600


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watts. A 5 kW generator will barely do the job. You need at least a 10 kWgenerator if you're an electric household. Same goes for heat pumps usuallyrequiring 8,800 watts. 10 kW units are very expensive, $5,000 and up.If you're on gas, you can do it with a 5kW unit and will be able to run all yourappliances one at a time. A gas furnace only needs about 2,200 watts to run itsblower motor, so you can have heat no sweat. A gas water heater needs no power,you only have to run your well pump to have a hot shower.The main deal here is to establish your needs and determine how many watts you

need to run at any one time, to establish the generator size.A standard Coleman or DeVilbiss 5kW unit with a seven gallon tank is availablefor $500. If you want electric start plan on $1500 and up.HOOK UP -Herein lies a problem. Utility companies and building codes require a fail safeswitching device to go between the generator and the power panel. Guess howmuch? $250 + $250 to install !!! You just doubled your cost. UNLESS you know howto backfeed you power panel safely and can follow a disciplined procedure,usually while in the dark.BACKFEEDING IS BY ELECTRICAL CODE ILLEGAL AND FROWNED UPON BY THE UTILITIESBECAUSE IT IS NOT FAILSAFE. IT IS NOT EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF YOU DO ITCORRECTLY, BUT IS VERY PRONE TO ACCIDENT IF NOT FOLLOWED EXACTINGLY.You need a 220 volt breaker installed in your panel, with a 220 receptacle

positioned near where you want your generator usually on an outside wall. Youcan tell the electrician you'll be doing some welding. The dangerous part isthat you need a 220v - 10 gauge extension with male plugs on each end. One goesinto the generator the other into the wall outlet.Now, the 220 breaker becomes you backup main breaker after the main is thrownoff. Your panel is now energized and ready to feed any other circuit byselectively throwing the individual breakers.I have written an emergency backup power procedure and placed it inside my panelbox. It is as follows."Backup PowerUp Procedure"1. Try to remember which lights and appliances were on in the house when thepower went off and turn them OFF.2. Throw Main Breaker to "OFF"

3. Turn "OFF" the 220v backup main power breaker4. Turn "OFF" nonessential circuits. Anything you know you won't need, you canlabel them "NE" in red5. Turn "OFF" Optional circuits. Those circuits you know you'll be using, labelthem "OPT" in blue6. Unplug Driveway lights, Humidifier, and Air exchanger. These are units in myhome that are plugged into my furnace and refrigerator circuits which need to beunplugged manually. Look for yours!7. Bring Generator up to full speed -- 2 to 3 minute warmup to stabilize thevoltage.8. Plug extension cord into 220 volt wall receptacle9. Plug extension cord into generator10. Turn "ON" 220v backup circuit breaker Label this "Backup Main" in bold black

letters11. MAIN PANEL IS NOW ENERGIZED12. Turn "ON" optional circuits as needed

The easiest way I've found is to turn off everything in your whole panel box,except the lights which are colored green. When the generator is running smooth,throw the backup main. Then pick among the optional circuits colored blue.NOTES: These are specific to my house but illustrate how to choose among theoptional circuits.2. In order TO RUN WELLPUMP, leave the pump breaker "ON". Turn "OFF", both


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refrigerators, and furnace. Do NOT use washer, dryer, range or microwave.3. In order TO RUN FURNACE, Turn "OFF" Wellpump, both Refrigerators, and do NOTuse washer, dryer, microwave and range.4. Label all your light circuits "LITES" in green and leave them on at the panelbut off at the upstairs switches. This will allow you to go into any given roomand just turn on the lights, generally one room at a time. Very convenient !!"Power Down Procedure"Use if generator runs out of gas while supplying house

1. Turn "OFF" optional circuits2. Turn "OFF" the 220v backup main breaker3. Refuel and restart generator until running smoothly.4. Turn "ON" 220v backup breaker5. Turn "ON" optional circuits as needed."Switching Back To Utility Power"1. Stop generator2. Unplug at generator3. Unplug at wall receptacle4. Throw Main Breaker to "ON"5. Turn "ON" all breakers."OTHER INSIGHTS"A double throw disconnect switch is a 3 position switch that has a top, middle

and bottom position, which would be for "utility power", "off" and "Generator".This would be fail-safe if you were to throw it to utility it automatically cutsoff the generator and visa versa.Backfeeding allows the possibility of accidentally throwing the main whilefeeding into the backup line simultaneously. Bad News here..... We're talkingpotential for big explosion !!!!!!The next consideration is an extension with male plugs on both ends. AgainPotentially very unsafe. If left plugged into the wall outlet and the backupmain is turned on, you have 220 volts on the end of an exposed plug. Be verycareful not to let that happen.I hope this is helpful to you all. It illustrates the fact that you really justcan't go out to Wal-Mart and buy a generator and come home and plug it in andgo, without some important preparation and considerations.

Frank--------------------------------------------------------------->

USE-IT-ALL APPLE CORES, PEACH SKINS TOPI make apple butter from just the peels and core of the apples, so peach jellyfrom the skins would not be too much of a stretch. Put the skins in a large pan,just cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil it til the skins are reallydepleted looking, til the pulp is all off them and they are shriveled to almostnothing. Then strain them in a cheese cloth. Let them drip over night. Next day,throw away the skins and put the juice in a large pan. Bring to a boil again.Taste it. If it is not strong enough, boil it down a little. Keep tasting til ittastes right.

When it is like you want it to taste, add sugar according to the instructions onthe pectin box. Then proceed as indicated on the pectin box recipe.-----------------------------------------------------UNDERGROUND HOUSE TOPFrom: [email protected] homestead here in VT. My name is Wendy. Our growing season varies from 90-120days. One summer we had a frost every two or three weeks!I live in an underground house back in the woods. We built it ourselves usingthe $50 and Up Underground House book by Mike Oehler. The main house is 14x48ft,with a 12x48ft attached solar greenhouse and an 8x8 root cellar. We use ahome-made composting toilet (5 gal bucket in a wooden cabinet with a vent pipe).


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We dump the full bucket into 55 gallon drums with covers. These rot for 2 yearsand become beautiful compost that we use to fertilize flowers and to put aroundthe orchard trees. (Do not use in such a way that it would touch a food crop,e.g. not around your strawberries!)There is 100 feet of black hose curled up on a greenhouse bench for hot water inthe summer. In winter the water runs through a box on the woodstove. We took anold cast iron bathtub, coated the bottom with tar and sunk it into a bed of sandin the bathroom. This takes only a small amount of hot water to keep nice and

warm. I developed a spring uphill from the house. It's gravity fed inside.Wendy Martin, Peace and Carrots Farm VT--------------------------------------------------------------------GOATS MILK BABY FORMULA TOPI have been told by midwifes that Goat milk is lacking in sufficient amounts offolic acid and iron. If you choose to use goat milk.....get a liquid ironsupplement.Goat's Milk Formula2 c. raw certified goat's milk1 cup distilled water1 1/2 Tbs.. lactose sugar1/8 tsp. cod liver oil, mint flavored, the Vitamin D helps the baby absorb thecalcium and the mint aids in digestion

You can also add blackstrap molasses to add more vitamins.When we lived in WA I ran a licensed daycare. Several of the children were ongoats milk instead of formula....most recommend, raw and fresh from thegoat...not the stuff you get at the grocery store.

------------------------------------------------PLANTING IN LEAF MULCH TOPI read this book not long ago about a man who owns a shredder, and instead ofshredding Little Rock papers, he shreds leaves. And instead of merely using theshredded leaves for mulch, he uses them for his soil. That's right. He makesthem about a foot deep and uses no dirt. He lets the leaves rot into a soil-likeproduct. Each year he adds a new layer of leaves. He says he gets fantastic

results because the moisture is retained very well by this method. Hefurthermore states that he gets no weeds, diseases, and/or bugs. He had a screenon top, to keep the leaves from blowing away. I think the idea has merit becausethe last thing you want in an emergency situation is a failed garden due to bugsor disease.-----------------------------------------------------------MULCHING WITH HAY TOPWe have been mulching ALL garden beds with hay for approximately 3 years now.The hay we use is old and partly rotten, as it had been sitting on a neighboringfarmers land, in bales, for some time.This has been very successful in retaining moisture, stifling weeds and -dah dah- encouraging earthworms!What we do is lay thick newspapers (not glossy prints) over the area for the

bed, add manure of any kind (chicken is good - TURKEY is better!), or, if youdon't have manure, (we have not always had chickens) - we use blood and bone,then we add the hay.We lay the hay in 'biscuits' across the area, carefully overlapping each other,somewhat like a shingled roof. We break the biscuits up around existing plants.So far - so good. Perhaps the seed is dead when we lay the hay? We have, in thepast, used 'commercial', finely chopped hay for mulching. However, we haveexperienced weed seeds in this and prefer the plain, semi-rotted bales for thisreason. Furthermore, it is far easier to spread in "biscuits."---------------------------------------------------------------------ACORNS & CATTAILS TOP


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To save list band width please contact me about this off the list with thesubject of acorns or cattails. I will post the results and a few URLs aboutusing these plants then.< John Goude > ham: KE6VUBYucaipa, CA 92399-5605e-mail: [email protected] http://www.eee.org/bus/nature

----------------------------------------------------------OUT OF PRINT BOOKS TOPhttp://www.abebooks.com--------------------------------------------------------USING RAINWATER TOPRain is funneled from the roof into gutters and from there into a holding tank(a cistern). The water will keep best if it's underground (cool & out of thesun) -- even so, the first couple minutes of a rain should be channeled awayfrom the tank so that the roof can be washed off, and clean water enter thetank. Filtration can take place right at your sink with a portable camp filteror a more elaborate (non electric!) system. Clothes washing and showers can bedone without filtration, as long as the water smells okay and looks clear -- anywater that touches food or your hands should go through the filter.

In our area, the best rainwater is spring and fall waters; summer water isconsidered pretty poor, easily goes moldy, and tastes bad -- something to dowith the bacteria and heat. If you have reasonable rain during the coolerseasons, you can store excess water (chlorine bleach comes in handy) for the dryseasons.If you store water in an underground tank, you'll need a simple hand-pump todraw it up -- they run around $50 here. Alternatively, you could just lower a(clean) bucket into the water by rope and haul it up.Anyway, the system will work! You'll probably have more water available by thiscistern system than you realize. Plus, it's relatively cheap to set up.How to build a rain water filtering system.http://www.baproducts.com/freefilt.htm

---------------------------------------WIND POWER FOR OFF-GRID ELECTRICITY TOPGoing completely solar is cost prohibitive, we found. We were quoted $75,000 tohave a solar system that would keep us off the grid. =:-oWind seems to be the best bet...but it'll only work in certain areas of thecountry. Check out the wind map at http://www.nrel.gov/wind/usmaps.html --WindResource Database -- to see if you are in an area that is efficient for wind.A great site to check out is http://www.worldpowertech.com/ World PowerTechnologies, Inc for more information on wind turbines. They sell one of thebest...the Whisper. They also have lots of links on their resource page.http://www.homepower.com/ Home Power Magazine, the hands-on journal of ...justdid an article this month on how to pick a wind turbine. It's in Adobe (which I

have successfully downloaded!!! YEAH!!!) and was very helpful.It looks like we'll be able to set up a complete power system (wind, with solaras a backup for windless days) for around $7,000...and that will keep us off thegrid.Better Times Cookbook V | Justpeace | Better Times | BobWaldrop.net | Access toEnergy Conservation | On Pilgrimage in Oklahoma City | Bookstore | Better TimesII | Bulgar Bugle | Mutual Aid (Grassroots home and community scale disasterpreparations)

Preparedness Nuggets Part 3

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