Member BentNeedle
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Books on medicinal herbs, basic plumbing and wiring and anything my spawn might find useful to thrive without 20th century comforts. Anything pertinent to the systems/equipment already in place on my property so they might maintain it. I’ve complied a scrapbook style gardening book with as much info I could find from seed catalogs and online specifically about the seeds in my collection. The info on packets these days is pretty sparse any many are just in little plastic bags. I also include info on the roots that I’ve bought and planted in the forest. Who knew that Comfrey tea is also useful as a fertilizer!
Oh, and don’t forget the value of novels. Fiction has it’s place in any library. I’m especially fond of historical novels.
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I’m not the expert and I have some modern medical supplies as you have BUT what happens when they run out? Hopefully, they are enough for one’s own family but if one has renewable sources (plants!) especially when it comes to antibiotics then more of our tribe can be saved. I was stuck by the strips of gauze bandages that were boiled and reused in WW1 portrayed in the TV series “The Crimson Field.”
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“A country boy can survive” because they’re rebels which is the exact same spirit that built America. Those that strive to tear it all down tend to forget that.
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I bought the roots from ebay sellers for around a buck apiece. The goldenseal (seller: prettylittleorchids_15) hasn’t come up but it’s purported to be slow and may not come up until spring. I’m in zone 8a. The true comfrey (seller: shastastar) came up – all of them and the Bocking 14 (seller: treasuresold-new) all came up albeit a little slower than the true variety. Yup, there are sellers offering better quality (probably bigger roots) at much higher prices (strictlymedicinals comes to mind) but I went for quantity as my thumb is sorta on the black side. The comfrey is thriving in a variety of pots that I’ll move into the greenhouse even though it’s supposed to survive at -40 degrees. I want them to be root bound when I plant them on the north side of the house in March. Texas sun is brutal in the summer.
Also, salt is a good thing to have on hand in large quantities for baking bread, as a brine for beans so they cook faster and for teeth when all the toothpaste is gone. Evil sugar too as sweet treats are good for the soul in hard times.
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I bought toiletries, diapers and sanitary supplies back in my couponing days. I sewed cloth diapers for both my babies ( a looong time ago before it became fashionable again!) so I expect I’ll be sewing them again along with menstrual pads for those survivors that can handle the yuck factor of washing out poo and blood. The expired bleach, pool shock and chlorine tablets may not work for purifying drinking water but should still be OK for cleaning.
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I just planted GoldenSeal (natural antibiotic) along with other medicinal plants that grow wild in a forest canopy. Any one of us here can grow cayenne that’s good for bleeding wounds (even to stop bleeding from a tooth extraction!) as well as heart attack, stroke and lowering blood pressure. Most people are unaware of bentonite clay used externally for staph infections, diaper rash, any type of fungal or bacterial problem including gangrene. I’ve used a clay mask beauty product containing kaolin for fire ant bites and it took the sting out forthwith. Health food stores used to sell “Aztec Secret” (external use)a powder to mix with water. Drawing capabilities are excellent and any clay doesn’t go bad on the shelf.
I’ve also used clay internally – good for GI problems such as IBS, colitis, etc. It’s also wonderful for FOOD POISONING which is a necessity for questionable times ahead. I use Tecopia Essential edible clay but it’s out of stock now and no notice when it’s available. I’ve taken Pascalite internally with no problems. They used to market it for internal use but the FDA has clamped down doncha know. It’s mined in Wyoming. https://www.pascalite.net/ (read their FAQ)
Sodium bentonite swells to 10x it’s own weight where calcium bentonite is non-swelling. A blend of both is ideal but internally either can be used. Start with 1/4 tsp mixed in water using a plastic spoon and wait an hour to see if a 2nd dose is needed. It’s far superior to Pepto Bismal and for loose stools you’ll know when the “plug” is working lol. Stay hydrated too. Do not use Aztec Secret internally. Way too powerful!
Disclaimer: just anecdotes here, more than a passing interest in medicinal herbs with many years of self experimentation. My supply of “fish” antibiotics has long expired but not a problem with fresh roots. I’d also suggest growing white willow for it’s bark (headache remedy before commercial aspirin was invented) and since we’re going back to medieval times….basket weaving.
Apologies for the tome.
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The link to your youtube channel posted above goes to a freecode site in Korea. A google search turned up your channel and went to the correct url – https://www.youtube.com/c/permapasturesfarm21
It’s interesting that Comfrey grows in lousy soil as Coe’s Comfrey recommends “fertile holes” for planting even though it grows in sand or clay.
http://www.coescomfrey.com/grow.html
Bocking #4 has the deepest roots, right? I ordered True and Bocking #14 from Ebay and they’ve all up (planted in containers) and my plan is to keep them in the greenhouse over winter (zone 8a) so they’ll get a head start before transplanting into the garden this Spring. I realize they are super hardy but I’m mostly growing Comfrey for fertilizer and I don’t want to lose even one plant. Am I too cautious here?
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Looking for “positive qualities” is how I ended up with so many different varieties of seeds in my collection! The trials this year were winter squash with just about every moschata I could find. The winners were Trombocino and Ramplicante and yes, this variety has very few seeds comparatively. Our spring crop of tomato plants had twisted leaves and we suspected Grazon as we had gotten a fresh load of dairy compost. Ended up pulling them all up and started new seeds of every heat tolerant variety I could find. Many of them survived the endless 100F temps here in Texas, flowered when it cooled down but fruit is sparse. We shall have our tomatoes by growing Tiny Tims in the house!
As for the Grazon, it wasn’t as the pea and beans I tested were just fine and everything else we grew in the same soil wasn’t twisted. Still a mystery.
The sweet peppers did poorly (too hot!) but are now producing and we ended up with a purple jalapeno that I’ve never planted in my life. Weird summer indeed.
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This is what you end up with the Trombocino (should have been trellised) and the snake Ramplicante. My husband picked the borer eggs off the plants in the first round (we have multiple seasons of vine borers) and just let it go since. We pruned it back *severely*, haven’t fertilized and maybe watered once a week since the temps have cooled off to under a 100F with no rain. Yeah, that’s the front yard. Normally we don’t sun shade the front beds but radiation intensity deemed it necessary. Aesthetics be damned! This late in the season we’re still picking the young uns as zucchini. The yellow ones in the pic have matured and supposedly taste like butternut. This is the only moschata we’ll be growing next year as the Dr. Earth that Danny had success with regarding the borers didn’t work for our c. pepo zucchini.
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In my area Blackrock invests er owns the electrical infrastructure for most of the DFW area, the power plant that converts the natural gas to electricity and my bank that merged twice becoming a bigger financial conglomerate. Texas kicked them out of state pension funds but that’s just a fraction of what they own. As for doctors, I avoid them like the plague they’ve become and the plague they would foist on humanity without blinking an eye.
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I bought a small bag from the supermarket and while I was trying to figure out a location to store them through the winter, they sprouted on the kitchen counter. So, they are now planted in the greenhouse where it’s still very warm (zone 8a). Obviously, wrong season for a crop but shouldn’t they produce some vines that I can keep alive through the winter and root them in the spring? Total newbie here when it comes to sweet potatoes.
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Scrap quilts are my thing but plants come first so sewing is limited to grow bags and lately covers for mason jars to block the light for the latest experiment…..hydroponic Kratky system. I’ve grown herbs indoors through the winter before but have a hard time preventing the infiltration of gnats that love wet soil so we’re going with water this year.
My granddaughters keep me motivated and working towards their survival keeps me sane.
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I don’t spin but I quilt, knit, sew, crochet, etc and I’m hoping someone will start a fiber arts group here. I’d do it myself but I don’t qualify. I’m not a promoter, don’t have a youtube channel and I’m pretty much a quiet, loner type of person. I do run a free vintage embroidery pattern site that exists solely to share my pattern collection without the affiliate marketing and ads that most freebie sites are so fond of!
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Same here. I have a ham radio but I’ve also collected a number of CB radios over the years for close communications instead of walkie talkies. I also like the fact that the lowly (and cheap at garage sales) CB runs off a car battery that is in every driveway in America.
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+1 for moshatas. We got fed up with the pepo varieties having to inject them with BT, applying neem oil at least once a day only to lose the plants. This year we grew 2 unique Italian moschatas….Trombocino and Ramplicante and they are still producing. They aren’t as watery as zucchini and can be picked young as a zucchini OR left on the vine and they mature to become a butternut. They look weird, skinny and/or snakey but they fry up just fine in bacon grease.