I’ve been reading about managing Solonetzic soils (again) and getting anxious to get out and start building some new garden beds. Our soil is classified as Solodized Solonetz and without getting into too technical an explanation, it means we have a lot of work ahead. But given all of the work and research by independent and government agencies put into developing these soils, I’m confident we’re on the right track with our soil building and raised gardens approach. In fact, there seems no other real option.
Recent announcements about rising prices have me a little concerned. Some of those prices- gas for example, and coffee, and fresh produce- have already taken a substantial leap. And living in a rural area, our costs for groceries are quite high to begin with never mind the fact that we often can’t get the same foods as our city neighbours. Gardening for us isn’t just something we hope to do as a past time. It’s necessary if we want access to fresh foods. Yes, I will also be glad to eat food that hasn’t been genetically modified and/or grown and processed with the addition of chemicals. But mostly I will be glad to eat when costs become prohibitive.
In addition to seeds and food we will harvest from the garden, we have stocked cans, assorted dried beans, rice, pasta, flour, grains and other supplies. We’ve been building our stock for some time now and have a pretty decent cache. Luxuries like coffee, cocoa, dark chocolate bars, and myriad baking supplies round out our cupboards. We’ve also stocked up on everything from Exedrin to lozenges, toilet paper, toothpaste, aluminum foil, and assorted first aid supplies- according to Procter and Gamble’s recent announcement, none too soon.
Can I just say this- being prepared is not something that should not be the sole domain of “preppers”. My grandparents weren’t preppers, and they always had a fully stocked basement. They bought everything from toiletries to food items when they were on sale and stored half of what they’d purchased as a matter of ‘good sense’. And they knew how to garden, harvest, and store foods. Not preppers- just solid, practical people who weren’t willing to depend on a never changing or ending cash economy to provide for all of their basic needs.
I understand some people’s hesitancy to accept the lifestyle we’ve embarked on. We’ve gone from city dwellers with good jobs who never gave a second thought to simply spending money on whatever we needed and wanted to owning an acreage in the middle of nowhere Alberta with less money than land, and plans to live in what amounts to a very large mud hut with primitive heating and plumbing. We don’t buy baked goods, we make them, we won’t vacation in planting or harvesting season, and we scavenge the transfer site with the same excitement as some people anticipate boxing day. I get it- it seems like quite the leap. But I worry about people who haven’t made any plans for the possibility of economically challenging times.
I have friends who admittedly live paycheque to paycheque and yet they still shop more than I do- just not for necessities. I’m really concerned for them. Some of them have children, some are single parents, many work in the general workforce without any specialized skills to protect them in times of downsizing. Rising food costs are a serious threat to their standard of living and job loss could result in total calamity. And still- they refuse to prepare. I just don’t understand the lack of any planning whatsoever.
This is not a Chicken Little lifestyle. I’m not running around screeching ‘the world as we know it is ending’, even though it very well may be is. (Okay, I won’t lie but I’m not screeching about it.) I’m simply preparing for inevitable change. Eating is important to me. So is staying warm. And I like to pee when the urge strikes, even when there’s a power outage. It’s the little things…
I understand that contemplating a radical change in lifestyle may be too much to bear, but are you prepared for change of any sort? Job loss, rent increases, rising property taxes, fuel costs, the high cost of ‘living’… What have you done to insulate yourself and your family from the impact of these possibilities? You don’t have to be a prepper to be prepared.
We seem to have the same idea. Here at Pot-Hole-Farm we stock our root cellar with our garden canned produce and also cases of other food supplies. Remember, just after WWII the first thing the government rationed was Sugar.
We went shopping on the weekend and sugar had gone up $5 for a 10 kg bag. Yikes!
This is a hard thing to feel you’re bearing witness to. And you probably also feel that all your effort is a fraction of what is needed in your own lives. Awareness can be such a cold shower!
Here in Canada, teen- to family-aged generations don’t know the first thing about deprivation (myself included, although I have a vivid imagination). And I know many who choose to believe this land of plenty is immune to the stark shifts happening all over the globe. How could we know differently?
Have you thought about what will change in your life (or perhaps WHEN, possibly by choice) without the Internet? I am fairly certain that our online conversations will disappear in our lifetimes. That’s one reason I highly value my memory.
And why I value your sharing while I have access to it. There are a billion blogs on the Internet; this is one of them.
Sounds like you have some fun challenges ahead growing your garden. Read ‘The Magic of Findhorn’ by Paul Hawken.
You’ll be inspired. Good luck – you’re living my dream!
Hey there;
where can I send you a great e book that I just got. It might help you out a lot. Where I am going to be living part time this summer and working on gardens etc., and full time this winter, we will be implementing this book, it is very cool.
It has some very simple and easy ideas for heating and for making additives for your soil and creating compost.
Cheers
or look up..
THE METHODS OF JEAN PAIN
OR
“another kind of garden”
Being prepared isn’t crazy.
When i lived with my ex wife, she is a “shopper” she makes 3 times what i make, and spends 4 times… we bought houses, i fixed them up, and she would get “bored” and we would sell them… making a profit in the process, BUT a big chunk of that profit went to “getting back to zero” debt wise. we started ina modest Toronto house, with a hot tub and pool… it was a small 3 bedroom. but we are a couple with no children, at that time, just 2 cats! we bought a bigger condo, then a dog (tiny dog) then an even BIGGER house, so that the dog had somewhere to play! when we seperated, we had filled a large 3 bedroom house with a full finished basement… and I had become somewhat of a “shopper” too. We seperated last year, and sold the house for what WOULD have been a nice profit, but used the money to square away debts.
I am now in a condo, and for months have been selling off or getting rid of “crap” in order to simplify. I spend much less money (since most goes into housing expenses) and i live on less… I buy extra “staples” as my mom would call them, to make sure I am always ready for a bad week. I can eat for 3 or 4 weeks on what I have in stored goods. not a massive wealth of food, but for a small condo thats pretty good! I am current;y looking at small parcels (3-10 acres) not too far from the city in order to start a small “retirement homestead” and my new girl is right on board. I have friends who make the same or more than me who are shocked that i am in a condo that i own (partially, damn mortgage) and am somehow able to save money for a land purchase. But of course, they have shiny new cars every few years, 3 bedroom homes and condos for one or 2 people to live in, and like to jet off for vacations.
Sorry for the long response!
I am embracing a “small life”
🙂
Bravo to you, I too have been stocking up. I recently started couponing after watching a show on it on TLC and frequently reading thekrazycouponlady.com blog. It is amazing how much a person can save when using coupons to buy staples. There are times when you can even get things free. Our plans were interrupted by job loss and now we are living in a duplex and will be paying for a mortgage to boot just so that we can have a job and survive. Thankfully our company is paying the rent on the duplex, but I will still prepare for when we have to pay them both. It never hurts to prepare for the worst no matter what the situation, and besides it is fun to play the game just to see how much can be squeezed out of a dollar. Keep up the good work. Krazy coupon lady and all the other couponers have basements full of stock and pictures to proe it like you.
Its crazy how so many people , like us, around the world are on the same trip. Sometime I think I must be mad, but then blogs like this, keep meclear that I am on the right path.
It IS a worldwide phenomenon. I think that people all over the world are starting to change from the “consumer” model that has been so popular in the last generations. I don’t think it’s crazy to be prepared… its something many previous generations dealt with, that has simply fallen “out of fashion” recently. But the thought that you don’t need to prepare, because you can just go and buy everything you need at the store is crazy to ME!
Thanks again for the great post! Gave us some ideas of things we don’t have stored yet….I can’t believe we hadn’t thought of TP or chocolate!!!
Some other things you didn’t mention, vitamins, protein powder and water……
Question, what do you have in the plastic tubs in the picture?
We’ve done some traveling in the past few years and “prepping” feels like getting ready for a trip to another country, where you’re not too sure what they will have so you bring a little bit of everything ‘just in case’.
I love the feeling this ‘new’ life is bringing to our house and community.
Jeff (with 2 other permies) just finished teaching a 2 day permaculture intro course down by High River and so we’re going to be doing another 2 day course right here around Rocky and if the interest is there we’ll do another one before spring hits. Then maybe next year start doing our own 2 week PDC!
There are a couple of people around here that are super excited for all of these new changes and so it makes it easier to ignore the retards that choose ‘not to believe’ in something that is staring us right in the face!
Keep up the posts you are ever so inspiring and I really hope to meet you guys some day, you really help keep me positive!
Cheers!
Juli and Jeff
(aka J2)
Shane picked up the plastic containers from the Co-op bakery. They were used for icing and would be thrown out otherwise, and they’re perfect for storage. We packed everything from grains to baking supplies in them.
Great news on the permaculture course! We have a friend who’s putting one on in the summer too, in Alix, Alberta. http://abconvergence2011.blogspot.com/
I’m so happy to know that so many people are embracing the move towards a more sustainable lifestyle!