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03-20-2012, 07:08 PM #1921
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03-20-2012, 08:23 PM #1922
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03-21-2012, 08:40 AM #1923
Unfortunately if you have one bit of wood heat, even not in use, then your whole insurance premium jacks up sky high.
It's silly in a way... Because the old country wood stoves are the ones that used to fail and cause all these fire problems... So the insurance industry sees wood heat as dangerous by the old stats. But modernized wood stoves are just as safe, if not more safe than say an old gas furnace.
(Granted I still have an old wood stove)
The wood stove industry is starting to push back with high efficiency wood gasification stoves (Which burn most of their own smoke and reduce the creasote issues that are the biggest factor in fire danger... But it's still a long road because they'll have to prove that to the insurance industry over time with good safety stats etc...6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-21-2012, 09:41 AM #1924
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03-21-2012, 10:20 AM #1925
- Join Date: Oct 2004
- Location: In Hawkeye Country!!!!!
- Age: 45
- Posts: 23,239
- Rep Power: 48484
We went out on a bike ride last night, and I got to thinking. I need to get racks and bags installed on the bike so i can haul stuff if I need a secondary bug out vehicle........and that stuff is surprisingly expensive.
The hardest part of a zombie apocalypse will be pretending I'm not excited.
in omnia paratus
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03-21-2012, 10:21 AM #1926
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03-21-2012, 10:46 AM #1927
so that would include fireplaces then
i thought there was a new one.
had the family living in georgia. huge 5000 sq ft house. tons of food. trained with guns.
wanted to teach their german shepards to be attack dogs. made fire cakes out of wet newspaper and leaves
next was the radiation-is-falling-from-the-sky guy with tons of seeds in his fridge.
seemed questionable
then another crazy lady
then a welder who made nifty bunkers but lived way too far from one in a place that snows most of the year
(i liked some aspects of 1 and 4)
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03-21-2012, 12:28 PM #1928
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03-21-2012, 02:14 PM #1929
Yep... Even fireplaces... However there are some updates codes on "New Construction" wood burning fire places that while they are still a "Bend you over the back of the couch and do you in the ass" with your insurance premiums, they don't use a ball gag and after they are finished they leave a mint on your pillow.
(No Homo)6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-21-2012, 02:19 PM #1930
Well... It's official... I go in tomorrow for the closing on the new place... When you shake out ALL the red tape I didn't get the UBER deal I'd hoped for... But I still got a good deal...
So now I will have my wooded 10 acre ponderosa deep in the country side as my home/Bug-In location.
Now it's all set except for the signature, the move in date and the plans for the gun turrets!
6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-21-2012, 02:21 PM #1931
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03-21-2012, 02:30 PM #1932
LOL... My buddy Marlon has a co-worker... Vietnam vet with untreated PTSD...
When they're on the road (Construction) no one ever wants to room with this guy. There were all these rumors about how he keeps a loaded AK-47 in the cab of his truck.
So Marlon gets stuck on a road trip... Broke... Needed a room, everyone else was packed in... But this PTSD guy said "Marlon, you can stay with me for free."
Marlon accepts his offer to share a room for a week.
As they're moving all their stuff in PTSD-Guy says "Just remember, when it happens, just roll against a wall so I know where you are... Don't want you to get hit by friendly fire."
Then I guess the guy spent ALL NIGHT... EVERY NIGHT... for a whole WEEK standing guard at the windows peaking out the curtains. Marlon said he must have slept in between dump truck loads when he was working, because the guy stood there nearly motionless every night, gripping his AK and waiting for "Them" to ambush their hotel room.
Now that's the kind of guy I need for my gun turret!6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-21-2012, 02:52 PM #1933
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03-21-2012, 05:07 PM #1934
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03-21-2012, 05:10 PM #1935
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03-21-2012, 07:16 PM #1936
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03-21-2012, 07:43 PM #1937
Too soon on the Muskmelon and Cucumbers... Made this same mistake before I have!
Planting them into cold soil will cause them to false flower and actually set the plant back 2-4 weeks at planting...
You can compensate by making a cold frame NOW to start pre-heating the soil.
Basically melons, squash, eggplants and cucumbers shouldn't be going into the ground as Seed until the Lilacs are about to bloom their purple flowers.
In fact you actually companion plant them with lettuce and spinach, because the leafy spring greens die at the same heat that the Squash, melons and cucumbers thrive in.
Google up "Building a Cold Frame" or "Building a Hot Box."6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-22-2012, 05:07 AM #1938
- Join Date: Oct 2004
- Location: In Hawkeye Country!!!!!
- Age: 45
- Posts: 23,239
- Rep Power: 48484
Really? The packsages on the melons and cucumbers and lettuce all said to start inside 4-6 weeks before average last frost date..........and honestly, I'd almost think starting them outside would be okay the way the weather has been. no lows under 50 for the past 2 weeks, and the extended forecast is saying more of the same for the next two weeks. But I'm not putting anything in the ground till late April, early may, just to be safe.
The hardest part of a zombie apocalypse will be pretending I'm not excited.
in omnia paratus
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03-22-2012, 07:34 AM #1939
The lettuce you can plant outside right now... Greens like that "Bolt" (Which is turn their leaves to starch and make seed) in the high heat of late june and early July.
You can start those melons and cucumbers inside... But they thrive in heat and warm soils... Putting them in cold soil they'll false flower... Which is make flowers as a reaction to soil temp (Mistaking cold soil for fall) But then they won't have the chemistry and temps needed to set the fruit and they actually fall behind season.
Now you can start them indoors right now. But when planting time comes (Cucumber and Melons go in the ground 2-3 weeks AFTER tomatoes and peppers) you will have a viney snarly mess.
And I tell you it is absolutely heart breaking to have this gorgeous three foot vine you've been nursing along (They are vigorous growers in the juvenile stage) and then just as you go to plant it a giant gust of wind hits you on the walk out and the tender vine snaps 6 inches from the root!
Of course all this advice ^^^^ is based on a normal spring... Which lets face it... A normal spring could still happen etc...
If you wanted to find some middle ground insurance... I would get some old windows (Or even just a big sheet of plexiglass from Menards) and build a cold frame or a hot box. (Google up those terms and you'll find basic enough plans to get the gist of it.)
With a hot box outside you could warm up the soil a week or two in advance, and then when your vines are a foot or so long transplant them and the hot box will give them the temps they want, so they won't false flower.6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-24-2012, 06:42 PM #1940
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03-24-2012, 07:41 PM #1941
Remember... The best prepping also saves you money...
For your next money saving trick... I would look into butchering your own meat primals.
For instance I buy Beef Loins for a third of what you pay for a steak per pound... Then I trim the rinds/silverskin/excess fat etc... And cut my own steaks... So not only do I keep my butchering skill set sharp... BUT I also save money per unit per meal for my money.6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-24-2012, 07:52 PM #1942
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03-25-2012, 09:38 AM #1943
The only place you can find primals in the urban environment is in a Sams Club or maybe a Costco (Don't have one here)
But if you get out in the country and you look for a real country butcher, you'll find one who's will work a deal with you.
It just won't be a "Retail" experience... You have to build a relationship with him, so that the next time he goes to slaughter or order primals, or however he's getting his wholesale, that you can get in on the action.
Like my Pork Belly/Bacon guy... I place an order for a belly... And 2-3 weeks later I get a call telling me it's ready for pick up... Then I get it for half the price of buying it in the store... Because now that butcher doesn't have to add labor of cutting/processing/packing/employee benefits/cost of lighting/storage space and all the other overhead.6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-28-2012, 05:07 AM #1944
- Join Date: Oct 2004
- Location: In Hawkeye Country!!!!!
- Age: 45
- Posts: 23,239
- Rep Power: 48484
So I got the soil testing done. Very slightly acidic, good phosphorous and potash levels, but needs some nitrogen. And the neighbor came over and tilled the garden last night. I'll get some fertilizer on it then till it again in a couple weeks.
The hardest part of a zombie apocalypse will be pretending I'm not excited.
in omnia paratus
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03-28-2012, 06:32 AM #1945
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03-28-2012, 07:02 AM #1946
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03-28-2012, 07:07 AM #1947
That's pretty much the best news you can possibly get for a "New" garden.
Nitrogen is the easiest thing to fix... It's the driving force of miracle grow, you can augment it into the soil with grass clippings and adding more of it just keeps the soil acidic!
FYI Having low pot ash for a tomato and pepper garden is a pain in the butt... Because the best way to add more potash is to burn... BUT spring usually carries burn restrictions so you can't always do it... AND charcoal and ash turns the soil PH towards Base.
The next question is "What kind of soil is it... Sand or Clay?"6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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03-28-2012, 07:11 AM #1948
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03-28-2012, 07:11 AM #1949
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03-28-2012, 07:30 AM #1950
A little clay is alright... (Which is what my main garden is) definitely saves you a little on watering during a drought stretch. And it's easier to lighten up a clay soil by adding sand... Than it is to say add clay to an overly sandy soil etc...
I actually started a new raised bed a few years ago with clay heavy soil that I had outback in the old orchard... I actually bought 5 bags of play ground sand... I tilled them into the 10X20 raised bed... Then with each plant I put in I hand mixed a little sand into each hole at planting time. Didn't run into any water logging issues.
The really big problem with clay soil comes with fruit trees... There's an old saying "Apples don't like having wet feet."6'4"
258
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting." The Buddha
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