One of the benefits of growing heirloom plant species over other types is that after growing heirloom plant seeds to harvest, they will provide you with a new batch of seeds. Due to the industrialization of agriculture, fewer and fewer varieties of plants are grown, which means overall less genetic diversity among these species. Also, most of these varieties will not provide you with a new batch of seeds with which to grow a new year’s crop. This means having to buy new seeds year after year.
Tag Archives: Food
The stuff you eat so that your body has energy and repairs itself so you can stay alive and keep functioning, pretty important stuff.
Growing Your Own Food and the Benefits of Heirloom Plant Species
Posted by Survive
on March 11, 2012
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Fishing Gear: The Speargun
Posted by Survive
on February 1, 2012
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Hunting: The Pit Trap
Posted by Survive
on December 6, 2011
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A pit trap is one method for capturing prey animals in the wild. In fact, human have used pit traps to trap larger game animals such as elk, wolves, bears, and reindeer going all the way back to the stone age, when people didn’t have fancy tools like guns and ammo to help take down such large prey. Once the pit is dug, the pit trap is the gift that just keep giving provided you are in an area with enough prey animals to eek out a living. In theory, a pit trap could be used in self-defense against anyone trying to turn you into their own prey.
Con – Pit traps are location-specific, you can’t dig one just anywhere. Concrete is pretty difficult to dig a hole out of, so in the city you might have to use different kinds of traps. Read more »
First Aid: Fever
Posted by Survive
on November 8, 2011
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Fever can indicate a number of medical conditions, for example infection. A normal temperature can be slightly different in either direction from the average body temperature of 98.6 F (37 C). Even just slightly elevated temperatures among infants and young children can indicate serious infection. Either a below normal temperature or a fever can indicate serious illness in newborns. Among adults, a fever usually isn’t a serious danger until it gets to 103 F (39.4 C) or more.
Disclaimer: The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first-aid training. If you find yourself in a life-threatening/emergency medical situation, you should seek medical attention immediately. Read more »
Survival Gear: The Fishing Reel Yoyo
Posted by Survive
on October 8, 2011
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The fishing reel yoyo is a handy little fishing tool that automatically reels in when triggered, enabling you to bait it and leave it to catch fish. You can use it anywhere you can suspend the device a few inches over the water, such as a tree branch or the side of a boat. You could even get a few of them set up simultaneously, just make sure you also have some fishing line, hook and some bait. The fishing reel yoyo is often used to catch catfish and crappie.
Note that some fishing locations have a maximum amount of fishing reel yoyos you are allowed to employ at any one time, so be familiar with your local fishing laws and restrictions before going fishing with a box of these.
Animal Sources of Food in the Wild
Posted by Survive
on September 9, 2011
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Trout makes for good eating
If you are out in the wild without any food rations, you had better think about catching some food before you starve. Nutritionally, animals provide the greatest food value per pound. Unless you have the opportunity to hunt larger game, you should concentrate your efforts on smaller animals because of their greater abundance. Smaller animal species tend to be easier to prepare.
It is very helpful to learn the habits and behaviors of different kinds of animals. Try to learn the food choices of a particular species. You will have to overcome any aversion to particular legit food sources. Most people in starvation situations have resorted to eating anything possible for nourishment. A person who ignores an otherwise healthy food source due to a personal bias, or because he feels it is unappetizing, is not a real survivor. It might be difficult at first, but a true survivor will eat what is available to maintain his or her health. Now that that’s said…
Remember to kill the animal before handling it, as a distressed animal can attract the attention of your foes. As a general rule, don’t stick your hands or any other body parts into dark holes.
Mammals – Usually found by sources of water or feeding spots. Keep an eye out for fresh animal tracks or droppings. Be careful about the animals you choose to hunt and don’t take on anything that can easily overpower you, like a bear. Note that should you find yourself eating a polar bear for whatever reason, their livers are toxic to people due to high concentrations of vitamin A.
Birds – Listen for bird song or watch the direction of flight in the early morning hours and late afternoon to find where they feed, find water, and nest/roost. Bird nests can provide eggs.
Insects – Can be found under rocks, in dead logs, tree stumps, by sources of water. Dead insects quickly spoil, so don’t try to save them for eating later. Make sure you avoid poisonous insects, such as scorpions, centipedes, or poisonous spiders. Many poisonous insects are brightly colored (and the brightly colored should be avoided), but not all. Also, avoid insects that carry diseases, such as ticks, mosquito, and flies. Safe insect species include crickets, grasshoppers, cicadas, some species of ants, moths, butterflies, and locusts. Those with exoskeletons are great because the exoskeleton allows for moisture to be sealed in during grilling.
Fish – Obviously found in bodies of water. Before entering any body of water, make sure you have shoes on to protect your feet. Kill fish before you bring them out of the water and onto your boat. Do not eat fish liver or eggs or any fish with spines, a gross odor,slimy pale gills, sunken eyes, flesh that stays dented after being pressed on, or flabby skin. Avoid crustaceans if found above the high tide mark. Also, avoid anything with a cone-shaped shell as they are frequently poisonous.
Hunting/Fishing Tools – A slingshot is very handy for smaller prey you can’t easily catch. A spear is also very useful, and a makeshift spear can be improvised from a knife and a pole (as long as you have a method for securing the knife to the pole). Setting traps/snares is wise, as these can work without being watched by you. Even a club or a rock is better than nothing.
Featured Photo by Tony Warelius
Survival Gear: Improvised and Prepared Food Rations
Posted by Survive
on July 31, 2011
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When planning food rations to consider for your bug-out bag, there are a few considerations to make. You should pack enough to keep you energized and moving for the next 72 hours. Any food you include should be able to withstand spoilage for those 72 hours and be dense in calories as well. Furthermore, you should get food that will stay fresh for longer than a mere 3 days since it may be sitting around in your BOB for months or years before being used. It’s important that you periodically check the expiration dates on your food rations so that they don’t expire on you just before you are about to make your great escape. Check out some suggestions for food rations on the other side of the fold -
1. Beef Jerky – Lightweight, lots of protein to keep your body going longer than a mere sugar or carbohydrate-rush provided by some of the other items on the list. Turkey jerky works too.
2. Emergency Food Rations – You can buy emergency food rations in the form of high-calorie food bars that have a five year shelf life. These often have 2400 or even 3600 calories each.
3. Hard Candy – Perhaps not healthy for you in the long run, but in the short term, hard candy is one of the most caloric-dense foods you can get and it will last far longer than most foods. Also, a sugar-rush might be the thing you need (barring your handy adderall stash) to get you out of a bad situation in a rush. Also, hard candy usually comes in individually wrapped wrappers, protecting them from spoilage even better.
4. Granola Bars – Like beef jerky and hard candy, granola bars are both lightweight and dense in calories.
5. Trail Mix – Good for same reasons as mentioned above, a decent shelf life, protein, fats, and carbohydrates to keep you moving. Read more »
Survival Gear: Hunters Soap
Posted by Survive
on May 20, 2011
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Some hunters use specially formulated soaps, body sprays, even dryer sheets and storage bags to hide their natural odor from the animals they hunt, who often have olfactory senses superior to humans and may be downwind of the hunters. Normal soap might make you smell clean to yourself or other people, but compared to your prey, your sense of smell will be nothing.
Many deer hunters have attested to these products ability to help them get far closer to deer than they otherwise could. The Scent-A-Way brand makes a wide range of odor removal products you can check out. Read more »