“Turn Key” Adversity

This afternoon I decided to run to the store really quick to pick up some extras for dinner. With anticipation I turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened.
What??? I turned it again and nothing. I realized then, that when I had come home from the gym a few hours before, I, in my distracted state neglected to turn the key completely and remove it from the ignition.

The battery was dead…

I felt so helpless and empty….

The lack of expectations not immediately met – had me reaching for my coloring book…

…for only a moment  ~  then it was time to act.

I contemplated my actions – Do I call someone and awkwardly admit my indiscretion? Should call roadside assistance – in my driveway – again? (Last week it was a flat tire.)
Or bother a neighbor to ask for help? As I contemplated my dilemma, wishing I had purchased a portable battery charger, I realized that I had my old beater truck in the driveway, conveniently backed in. The brakes were failing, so it was in limbo until I could fix them.

The engine on my beater is still good, so I shifted my van into neutral and pushed it up to my truck.  Blessedly the batteries were parallel!

Next – I had to remember HOW to jump the battery.  At first I confused the cables – shocking!  I then humbled myself and inquired the know-it-all internet.

Remember peeps – reds on the positive terminals (battery posts) and black on the neg – terminal on the battery that is jumping the car and the other black attached to a non-painted bit of metal not connected or near the battery (this is to ground the charge).  I found the latch for the hood to be good grounding spot.

I stood back and had my daughter start the truck – no explosions or shocks – good to go!

I started the van and kept it running as I went to the store and back  – yep I live in one of those quaint and fairy-tale type of towns that you can leave just about anything lying about or running and nobody will bother it  – actually my teen was in the car – but nobody would have bothered it even if it was empty.

Back to reality.

You know, I hadn’t even cracked the hood of my van in the 4 months I have owned it.  I was like – wow, the battery is green, that’s different!  Yep, I have upgraded to paying to have my oil changed.  Loving it – soooo worth it.

Whilst I was trying to solve my crisis, I pulled out a battery charger from my closet that I had purchased for a few dollars at an auction about a year ago.  It was then that I realized that when I bought it, I failed to snatch the power-supply to charge it. 

Sometimes it takes real life moments to compel a person to reconsider their ways.  One of those things will be purchasing a portable battery charger that is small enough to go where I go and can be charged at home as well as in the van because the next time I have a battery problem I may not be in my driveway or where I have a signal to reach roadside assistance.

Let me be honest – In this day and age, it is not advisable to leave yourself vulnerable, waiting for a good samaritan with unknown intentions.

Having what you need when you need it is the best kind of prepping there is.

If you want to know how much food you need to prep wisely then

Get THE BOOK today.

I found other merchants trying to sell MY book for near-twice my price!
Click the link above to get the authors price and not another markup.

 

May the Storage Be With You 🙂

 

Growing Potatoes Part I – Two Great Ways to Grow Potatoes

I planted potatoes, twice.  Both times in the ground and both times it was an utter failure.

The first year, the potatoes were small and a mole was very well fed at the end.  The second year, I moved the potato planting location to see if I could get better luck.  It was worse this past year.  Little did I know that walnut trees have murderous intent toward certain species of plants and potatoes are one of them.

I came across these two sites about growing potatoes and I am feeling inspired.

One site shows how to grow potatoes in a very nice crate, the other shows how to grow them in a 5-gallon bucket.  I liked both methods and decided to inspire you with the idea too.

 

I haven’t planted my potatoes yet, I think though that I might just give it another try.  

Here are a couple of methods I am considering:

Growing Potatoes in a Crate

Source: https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2016/06/30/23048/

With Jim and Mary, our potato growers, it all started with a simple desperate experiment – that was a success!

They also felt that there was an easier way, that would take up less space and result in a successful crop.

They built simple crates that tip over so you can dump your crop out, instead of digging it out.
They even provide the specs for the crates: Making Our Potato Crates

 

They even grow sweet potatoes this way.  so check out their site and article at: Source: https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2016/06/30/23048/

 

Growing a Potato Farm in Buckets

http://fivegallonideas.com/potato-farm/

Mark, the author of this article, is from the Netherlands and he has all kinds of 5-gallon bucket ideas, but we will be focusing on growing potatoes today.

I like his idea because it is simple, easy and no real skills are necessary to start.

I learned that the best potatoes to use are NOT Russett, but the red and yellow potatoes because they are healthier.

There are two reasons to plant in buckets:
1.buckets are portable so you can move them into the sun and to a protected location in case of severe weather.
2: There is no digging involved, just tip the bucket and harvest the potatoes.

About 2 lbs of potatoes can be harvested from each bucket ~ I personally think that could be stretched…but that’s my opinion.

Here is his video about growing potatoes in buckets.

I think that this is an effort I am willing to invest in.  You can get food grade buckets at Menards (cheapest price), Lowes and Walmart for 5 dollars or less each.
Or you can build your own crates from scrap wood and save your money to purchase the seed potatoes.

Either way – if you grow your own potatoes, you will know how they were grown and what they were treated with.  

Now that the FDA has approved GMO potatoes for the general market, you won’t know what you are getting at the grocer.  Make sure your seed potatoes are non-GMO.  You can’t use grocery store potatoes, gotta get seed potatoes.  You can get them at the store during growing season or through a catalog.

Make sure your seed potatoes are non-GMO.  
You can’t use grocery store potatoes, gotta get seed potatoes.  
You can get them at the store during growing season or through a catalog.

However you choose to plant – plant happy!

May the Storage Be With You,

Anne 🙂

 

 

No Doctor? What Do You Do Now?

Okay, it’s a TEOWAKI moment, you have some basic band-aid skills,
but you or a loved one are injured – not life-threatening, but still
injured well enough that infection could set in if not treated.  

Getting into the ER is impossible, the medical tents are out of beds and there are too few doctors and nurses to go around – worse yet, you may be too far away to get help.

That is so not a cool place to be
– injured and lacking the knowledge to help yourself and others –

Buckle up, we’re taking a trip back in time when you were a year or two younger, fretting over this type of scenario and asking yourself how you could help yourself and others in case something like this ever happened.

You don’t have the room in your schedule or means to become a doctor or a nurse,  you are not looking to make a career out of it ~ you want a backup plan ~ Just.in.case. 

In your daily web surfing adventures, you have come across articles or blogs about how plants/weeds can heal injuries and illness.
It seems too good to be true, yet something about natural healing resonates within you and have wondered:  How do these plants work? What can I use? How do I learn to use them?

Well, you could peruse the web reading lots of articles
while trying to figure out a plethora of information
OR
you can become educated and actually know what you are doing
by becoming an herbalist.

Herbalist???  

Visions of tree-hugging vegetarians coming to mind?
Peace Dude – it’s all good.

An herbalist is a person who understands how to use plants to alleviate injury and sickness until the affected can get professional medical treatment.  An herbalist is not a doctor, but like a first responder, they can be a great help in stabilizing the injured and ill until help is available.

Just like a medical professional, you need to really know what you are doing to understand how to help yourself and others in an emergency.
To do this – you will need to go to school…

I know you don’t have a lot of time, with a job, family or other
pressing matters, but if you could spare a couple hours a week,
learning at your own pace and getting a fantastic education
for less than the cost of a 3 credit college class,
wouldn’t that be pretty awesome?

Well, you can.

The Home Grown Herbalist is a school that fits this description perfectly.  

I am enrolled in this school and have found it to be way beyond my expectations.  I possess an associates degree in medical assisting and have been a certified EMT.   This course is an excellent addition to my very limited medical knowledge.  I feel more at peace knowing the how’s, what’s, why’s and where’s of growing, harvesting, processing and utilizing plants to help and heal.

This course costs less than a 3 credit college course and it is not a brick and mortar school – it’s all online.

The classes are set up module by module, there are challenging learning games and memory boosters and the pod-classes are straightforward, easy to understand with PDF notes you can print and follow along with.  There is even a slideshow presentation if you aren’t able to watch the video on your pc.

The name of this school is The Home Grown Herbalist, it offered by Dr. Patrick Jones who uses the knowledge he offers in his everyday practice.  

You can unbuckle now, the time travel adventure is over, you have taken my advice, enrolled and completed the course.

It’s TEOWAKI time and you are ready.  

 You have learned what weeds, plants, trees, shrubs and other down-to-earth info to help you own this and have to ability to help yourself and those around you.  

Be TWOWAKI Ready – Get Educated – Empower yourself

Click the banner below to learn more and tell Doc Jones that Anne from the How Much Wheat Book sent you.

I would wholeheartedly recommend that you check out this school out today.
(Unfortunately, I did not address this scenario in my book.
Weird that I didn’t even consider this in the Self-Sufficiency Section. Sorry.)

May the Storage Be With You!  🙂