A Lesson Learnt.

Autumn is well and truly here, and it's time to look at those seeds that want the cold weather. Admittedly, that's not much that falls into that category...

And that's when I looked in one collection of grain seed, and found that weevils had found it a most bountiful home. Rye and wheat seed (about a pound of each) now useless... The rye, in fact, looks a little fermented. Unusable, at any rate.

Lesson learnt: there's always something that will want to have a go at the seed you've carefully tried to store. That's even if it is still viable.

It seems that one of the best way to store seed is to be using it, refreshing your supply from what grows. It would be easier if I could devote more time to gardening, especially when it comes to grain and vegetables.

On the other hand I've found that one of my coffee trees, about three years old now, has plenty of beans on it. Processing is apparently a bit of a pain, particularly if you're only doing small quantities... It seems economy of scale rules again. It seems to be the way of things, of course - it's not much harder to do processing of a lot, than to do processing of few. A bean that I planted a year ago is developing quite nicely - and it had been so long that I didn't recognise it for a couple of weeks, until the leaves developed into the recognisable shape.

Coffee beans still on the tree.

So I have about five coffee trees of various ages... Come the apocalypse, at least I'll have my own source of fresh caffeine.

The Black Sapote is coming along promisingly, I'll have to propagate its seeds... Having grown that one from a seed, it's a good bet that it will be easy enough to grow more. My olive trees are very slowly putting on size, I don't expect them to to come into fruit for some time - it's good that I'm not desperately depending them to grow quickly... I should probably get a few more, see if there are better spots in the garden. 

Having said that, my citrus are the favourite targets of moths/butterflies... I don't want to continually spray, so I have to search them regularly for catepillars. I think, though, that they might be a preferred target - much tastier than anything else... This is why a garden with plenty of variety is good.

Ages ago, I looked at a "survivalists' real estate agency" - and noted something very striking. A lot of the properties available were useless from a self-sufficiency point of view - basically rocks and dirt as far as the picture showed. No creeks or rivers, no sign that you could make a good effort of growing anything. A couple of them were promising - permanently flowing creeks, lots of trees growing, even game... A lot were only worth anything because there was nothing going for them... Camouflage, I suppose - be so desolate and out of the way, with no way of long term self-sufficiency, that no one bothers to look too much closer. Sounds like too much hard work and money - a couple of years supplies, a big basement, some large and well hidden water tanks....

I still need water tanks... I should just pop a couple onto the credit card (although I loathe that idea), and be done with it.

In the Land of Cotton...

I've found out that one of my plant & seed suppliers has cotton! At least, seed suitable for planting, so I have ordered some. Having cotton means the capability to produce fabric, hence being (theoretically) self-sufficient in that respect. There are plenty of people in the area who raise sheep and goats, and I'm sure a few people in the area have what only can be described as hemp - all sources of material for clothing. Admittedly, cotton can be a water intensive crop, as well as being labour intensive... There was an Industrial Revolution for a reason... Producing cloth for clothes is a full-time job for someone...

More reason for building up a community of preppers.

Don't get me wrong - I appreciate that there will be opportunity to scavenge... But scavenging is for limited resources - with people competing for it. At some point, it will run out... or rot... or burn up... Then, you have to know how to make or grow it.

Admittedly, when it comes to fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, it's a more difficult process to make. Not impossible, but how many preppers/survivalists are also industrial chemists? I must admit to cheating slightly on the fertiliser front - nitrogen fixing plants are so very useful. Of course, that's one chemical out of a whole lot that mean that we have more food than we know what to do with.

On another industrial chemistry note, the woad and henna are growing fine, but I should get some indigo and madder - and a book or two on dye plants and how to use them. I should also get a greenhouse, but that's another matter...

Each new day...

I've begun to appreciate something very important.

Each day the world doesn't end is one more day...

One more day to prepare...

One more day to gather the tools and equipment...

One more day to practise growing food and other crops...

One more day to learn the skills needed to thrive, not just survive...

One more day to learn and make mistakes that aren't going to risk your life...

Growing continues, some trees are proving good, some not. Tomatoes are spreading - I'm not really controlling them, just letting them spread around the place. Luffas are growing like weeds, but I've though of something interesting - see how many dried ones I can sell in the local area at an interesting price, marketing them as locally grown and organic... A local store has thin lengths of bamboo, barely a metre and a half, tall selling for $16... If someone is willing to buy at that price, I will have to find out who - and start cutting down and drying for that long. That money can then go back into prepping...