Survival and Bushcraft Tips

Important Reasons to Stay/Become Fit For Survival

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
12
Jun

There’s more to survival than just stockpiling food rations and building an impenetrable shelter. You’ll also need to ensure you’re in good physical condition to battle the odds if the situation deteriorates. After all, it’s the survival of the fittest and the physically fit will always have a better chance of surviving incredibly hard times.

Physical fitness is generally crucial for mental, physiological, and emotional well-being. Some studies show that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can improve thinking and cognition. In addition, it also reduces short-term anxiety for adults.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also notes that regular physical exercise can reduce health risks like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer risks, etc. It also increases your chances of living a longer life.  

You’ll need to be more fit than ever if an emergency occurs.

Reasons to Get Fit for Survival

Here are some reasons fitness is crucial for survival. They include:

Carrying Weight

Whether you’re carrying an emergency survival kit or scavenged supplies, you’ll need the strength to carry the weight over large distances.

Fending for Yourself

You’ll need to have the stamina and strength to defend yourself from criminals and attackers. You also need that same stamina and strength to survive in the wilderness. You’ll probably have to hunt your food. Consider asking yourself: do you have the fitness to carry the deer you painstakingly hunted? If the answer’s no, you need to work on fitness.

Increasing Your Stamina

It’s no secret that the fitter you are, the longer you can withstand prolonged activity. Therefore, you have to build your stamina to survive. Consider incorporating cardio exercises into your workout regimen to ensure you have the stamina required.

Exercises to Build Strength

Here are some essential exercises to build strength for survival fitness. They include:

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are a compound exercise that works out your glutes, arms, back, core, and hamstrings. You can’t go wrong with it. However, ensure you follow the proper form to prevent injuries.

Squats

Squats are another compound exercise that helps you develop the necessary core and lower-body strength for survival. You can start doing squats without any equipment.

Pushups and Planks

Pushups and planks are fantastic exercises for developing your upper-body strength. These exercises are tried-and-tested and have been a staple in the fitness community for decades.

Pull-ups

You know you’re approaching peak physical fitness when you can crank out pull-ups without breaking a sweat. Pull-ups are phenomenal exercises that work your upper-body strength.

Bench Press

The bench press is another exercise the fitness community swears by, and for a good reason. Presses help enhance upper body strength.

How to Know If You’re Fit for Survival

Here’s how to know if you’re fit for survival:

  • You can comfortably survive on 1,500 calories while performing vigorous physical activity.
  • You carry a 30-pound backpack for at least eight to ten hours.
  • You can lift a seven-gallon water container and carry it at least 100 feet.
  • You can carry a 150-pound person for 100 feet.
  • You’re able to swim across an average river.
  • Running a mile over unpaved ground isn’t challenging.
  • You can defend yourself against an opponent.
Prepping Info

The Prepper’s Basic Guide to Securing Your Home

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
04
Jun

Pause momentarily, and imagine what happens if disaster strikes today. Let’s assume emergency services are suspended, meaning you have to fend for yourself. The situation seems bleak and full of despair. 

It’s no secret that the government and law enforcement agencies go a long way to ensure some semblance of order in society. If these agencies and institutions weren’t around to protect you during an emergency, you would be vulnerable to hardened criminals, looters, and violent people.

That’s a frightening thought for many, causing preppers to secure their homes to prevent such issues if a crisis strikes. 

Securing your home is easier said than done. Numerous cases of home invasions and burglaries exist today, yet people don’t take adequate measures to protect their homes. Living in a civilized society gives people comfort and a sense of security.

However, both these things are likely to evaporate if disaster strikes. Hence, preparing your home for such situations is crucial. Fortunately, preppers have the right idea about home protection so let’s assess how they secure their homes against threats.

Classify Your Property Based on Importance

It can be challenging to protect your entire property from criminals and looters if an emergency occurs. The best initial step to take is to divide your property into zones. Classify it from the most crucial zones to the least important ones. Ideally, your critical zones will be storage and living areas, where you keep most of your essential supplies. You’ll want to ensure you protect these areas better than others.

Create Layers of Protection

The next logical step is to create several protection layers to secure your property against any possible threat. Your goal is to deter looters and burglars from entering your home. There’s no reason to go overboard because if someone wanted to break into your property, they could drive a bulldozer through your walls.

Again, your goal isn’t to fend off a private army. Instead, it’s to protect yourself from desperate looters. Consider installing barbed wires along your walls to prevent unwanted guests from jumping over your walls. Some people also install CCTV cameras and other security solutions for extra protection.

Another crucial thing to consider is that you don’t want to secure your home to the point where you cut off emergency exits.

Appearance is Everything

Your home’s appearance matters. If you’ve decked out your home with expensive ornaments and luxury cars in the driveway, you’re asking for trouble. People will come across your home and see it as a shiny object full of riches. Your goal is to make your home look less appealing to looters and burglars. Try to blend in with your neighborhood. Consider parking your vehicles in the garage and closing the garage door.

Use Deterrents

Criminals don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to their illicit activities. Light and sound often spook them. Consider installing solar-powered security lights and motion-sensitive security lighting around your premises to thwart them. Some preppers also like to have multiple strong watchdogs on the property because they provide excellent protection.

Prepping Info

Important Supplies To Have in an Emergency Survival Kit

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
26
May

Preparing for an emergency is easier said than done. It requires extensive knowledge and skill to prepare adequately for an unanticipated emergency. Most preppers struggle with finding the right mix that will help them get through an emergency if they’re on their own for a few days.

However, that’s the best-case scenario. You could be stuck by yourself for a few weeks or months without external assistance. It’s best to prepare yourself accordingly. Ask any prepper worth their salt, and they’ll tell you the importance of building an emergency survival kit to get you through the bad times.

What Your Emergency Preparedness Kit Should Contain?

Here are some items that your emergency preparedness kit should contain. They include:

Water

The first and foremost item you need in your emergency survival kit is bottled water and multiple water filtration devices. You don’t know if you’ll have access to clean drinking water in an emergency. Hence, it’s best to prepare in advance by stocking up on purified water.

Red Cross recommends carrying one gallon of water per day for one person. The amount of water in your emergency survival kit depends on the kit’s intended purpose. If you’re preparing a kit for traveling, consider stocking it with enough water for at least 5 to 10days.

On the flip side, stock your kit (if enough space allows) with water for 2-6 months if you’re preparing a kit for your home.

Food

Food is another essential element for survival. Humans can go for approximately three days without food. However, your fitness, health, performance, and lucidity will suffer the longer you starve. Consider stocking your emergency survival kit with canned goods and power bars. These items have long shelf lives and don’t require any prior preparation. You can consume them immediately without needing any cooking apparatus.

Flashlight

Electricity is one of the first things to go when an emergency occurs. You’ll need a variety of flashlights and headlamps to operate in the dark effectively. In addition, if you’re preparing a travel survival kit, you’ll need a couple of flashlights to help you navigate the wilderness.

Battery-Powered or Hand-Crank Radio

Establishing communication is crucial at some point after an emergency. However, you’ll struggle to do so without the right tools. A battery-powered or hand-crank radio is an essential item in your survival

First-Aid Kit

A first-aid kit is another essential item to have in your survival kit. Whether you get cut or sustain a serious injury, you’ll need something to patch yourself up with, particularly since ambulances won’t be a viable option in an emergency scenario.

Medications

You’ll also need medications for any existing conditions you might have. It’s also wise to stock up on common, over-the-counter medicines for headaches, upset stomachs, pain relief, etc.

Multi-Purpose Tool

I think you would be pretty surprised how truly useful this type of tool can be for accomplishing a variety of tasks. Be sure to keep a variety of them in all of your camping, bugout bags and emergency kits. A multi-purpose tool can prove beneficial because it can help you cut cordage, tree branches, carve out wood to make bowls, spoons, chairs, pinch and twist things with the pliers.. etc.

Shelter and Clothing

Shelter and clothing are other essential needs for survival. It’ll serve you well to have an extra pair of clothing in your survival kit. In addition, carrying a reflective emergency blanket is also crucial. You can also use this blanket as an emergency shelter if the situation requires it. Another valuable addition to your survival kit is a waterproof tarp for extra coverage.

Prepping Info

How to Strategically Stockpile Food Rations

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
19
May

Ask any prepper, and they’ll tell you the most important things for survival are food, shelter, and water. You can’t expect to last long without having food to sustain you. After all, you’ll have no sustenance, meaning you won’t get much work done on an empty, rumbling stomach. 

Preppers often go to extensive lengths to prepare their food rations and stockpile them accordingly. Let’s assume an emergency occurs tomorrow. How many days can you last with the food in your house? The answer’s probably a few. You might last a few weeks if you’ve got some canned goods in your pantry. But eventually, you’ll need to make a food run.

However, you won’t fare well going to the supermarkets in an emergency. Preppers understand this notion, which is why they ensure they strategically stockpile food rations to outlast most emergency scenarios. 

Considerations When Stockpiling Food Rations

Stockpiling food rations is a skill that you must master. You’ll have to consider several things before stocking your home, including the following:

  • Taste: You’ll probably not be eating Michelin-starred dishes when resorting to your food rations. However, you’ll still need food that’s appetizing enough to eat for an extended period.

  • Cost: While food rations last a long time, they have an expiry date. You’ll have to replace them with new ones eventually. You have to ensure your food rations aren’t expensive and worth the investment.
  • Storage: You might fancy selecting some frozen items for stockpiling. However, you have to be cautious. What happens if you’re without electricity for an extended period? You’ll need food you can store easily without taking too much space.

  • Nutritional value: You have to ensure your food is rich in nutritional value. You can follow the World Health Organization’s daily nutrients requirements to follow.

  • Longevity: Most food products have a shelf life. You don’t want to select products with a short shelf life because they’ll likely expire before consumption.

  • Trade Value: If the emergency scenario persists for a long time, you’ll likely need to barter with fellow survivors. Hence, consider picking food items with an inherent trade value.

Storing and Rotating Your Food

How you store your food impacts its shelf life. Experienced preppers will often prepare a dark, cool location for storing their food, whether it’s a basement or a storage cabinet. Ideally, you’ll want to use airtight storage containers or mason jars for storing your food to prevent moisture contamination. Likewise, these containers also prevent damage from rodents and pests. 

You’ll also have to rotate your food periodically. Some food items have a long shelf life, while others have a shorter lifespan. The best thing you can do is take inventory of all your food items when you first purchase them.

Keep a notebook and track crucial details like buying dates, individual items’ shelf life, rotation dates, etc. Doing so will help you manage food storage and eliminate unnecessary waste expenses.

Some Foods You Should Stockpile

Here are some foods you should consider stockpiling because of their long shelf lives and high nutritional values. They include:

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is an American staple because it provides great value for money. It fulfills all your nutritional values – protein, fats, and carbs – at a low cost. More importantly, peanut butter has an extensive shelf life. Canned variants will usually last for five years, while powdered peanut butter has a fifteen-year shelf life if stored properly.

Coffee and Tea

Coffee and tea have great inherent trading value, particularly in collapsed economies. In addition, instant coffee usually has a shelf life of over 25 years.

Powdered Eggs

Eggs are rich in protein and amino acids. In addition, they’re a flexible ingredient you can use for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Powdered eggs have a shelf life between five to ten years.

Milk Powder

Milk is also rich in protein. The powdered variant usually has a fifteen-year shelf life.

Canned Meat

Canned meat tins provide great nutritional value at a low price. These also have variety because you can get tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef. In addition, they last five-to-ten years, depending on how you store them

Prepping Info

Emergency Preparedness Tips

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
05
May

Public perception of preppers has significantly changed recently. Once, preppers were regarded as extremist people. However, the stigma attached to preppers has since wavered. People have realized that most preppers are resilient citizens who want to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.

FEMA itself has guidelines regarding citizens as well-prepared or self-reliant in emergency scenarios. Any household that can survive for at least 31 days without external assistance is considered self-reliant. You can view FEMA’s preparedness baseline here.

What’s more interesting is FEMA’s statistics. FEMA carries out an annual survey to assess household preparedness. In 2017, it counted 3.8 percent of US households as self-reliant. The number grew to 4.5 percent in 2018, further rising to 5.2 percent in 2019.

Contextually, these statistics mean that at least 7 million households in the United States are prepared for any emergency scenarios. This number has likely grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Considering recent circumstances, you might be considering preparing yourself for such scenarios. If that’s indeed the case, you’re not alone. However, you’ll probably need some assistance to get started. In that case, this blog will prove beneficial.

Emergency Preparedness Tips

Here are some emergency preparedness tips that will prove beneficial. They include:

Test Your Mettle

Most people think they’ll manage to do well even in the most difficult circumstances. That’s because they anticipate things will work out exactly as they planned. However, the primary reason behind most people falling apart under pressure is that things don’t work out as anticipated.

Unfortunately, that’s something most people don’t train themselves for, and as a result, they suffer the consequences. Consider training yourself by pushing yourself outside your comfort zone.

Many preppers will often take survival training classes. These classes will simulate possible emergency scenarios, helping you strengthen your mental fortitude.

Get Your Finances Right

Most people often overlook the importance of getting their finances right. Budgeting isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. Pause momentarily and think about how you’ll finance your survival equipment and gear.

In addition, you’ll also need food, first-aid supplies, and other items to be prepared for any emergency scenario. You can’t hope to be self-reliant if you’re swamped with bills and debt repayments.

Learn Crucial Skills

It’s no secret that you’ll need some essential survival skills if an emergency occurs. For instance, you’ll want to learn to create a fire using a fire-starting kit. Likewise, you’ll also want to know how to tie knots with your cordage. Consider acquiring these crucial skills to develop self-confidence.

Most preppers often enroll in survival training classes to enhance their emergency preparedness. These classes are fantastic because they often simulate potential scenarios that might arise. In addition, they also equip you with the necessary survival skills to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.

Knowing you’re prepared for the worst-case scenario will boost your mental resolve and keep you calm under pressure.

Don’t Go Solo

Self-reliance is a key part of survival. However, you can’t survive by yourself if an emergency occurs. Most people adopt a lone wolf attitude when it comes to prepping. That’s a huge mistake.

You have to remember that humans are social animals, and as a result, we have strength in numbers. Having numbers on your side is beneficial because every member of your group will bring something to the table, contributing to your survival cause. 

Practice Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. You’ll want to do a regular assessment of your prepping supplies. Most preppers will do this quarterly or semi-annually. For instance, food tins often have a shelf life. Some can last for a few weeks, while others can last for a year or two.

You’ll want to replace expired food with newer ones as a prepper. In addition, you’ll want to take inventory of your emergency bags. It’ll also serve you well to do emergency drills if you have young children.

Build a Foundation

Prepping starts with having a solid foundation. You’ll want to ensure you set aside some of your savings to prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario. Most preppers will set aside a percentage of their income. This number can range from ten to sixty percent. In addition, you’ll also want to ensure you develop a health and physical fitness foundation to get you ready for these scenarios.

Create a Checklist

Once you’ve started budgeting for prepping, you’ll need to create a checklist. Your checklist should include information about the survival equipment and gear required for unforeseen circumstances. Items like cordage, first-aid kits, and fire-starting kits are crucial components for most preppers.

In addition, you’ll also want to test your emergency preparedness by having a plan to leave your home if the situation requires it. Create exit plans to evacuate, particularly if you live in a sprawling metropolis or urban area. Most preppers will also have a checklist for their food requirements. You’ll want to do food shopping in advance to prepare yourself for any possible scenario that might arise.

Survival and Bushcraft Tips

Bushcraft Shelter Tips

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
28
Apr

Bushcraft shelters are crucial for wilderness survival.

Humans are simultaneously resilient and fragile. Pause momentarily and think about why we build homes and shelters. We do so to protect ourselves from the elemental forces around us. When people get lost in the wilderness, they often perish for several reasons. However, the primary factor behind it is due to lack of shelter. Our bodies need warmth to survive.

The weather can significantly change when we don’t have a modern built house or building around us for protection. Many survival experts often recommend following the rules of threes. You can survive approximately three minutes without air. Likewise, you can last three hours without shelter and three days without water.  

Shelter is one of the four essential survival priorities. Hence, you’ll need to learn how to create an effective bushcraft shelter for yourself in any environment to survive. 

What are Bushcraft Shelters?

Bushcraft shelters are shelters you engineer using the natural materials and elements around you. A common misconception often exists that survival and bushcraft are the same things. However, that’s not true. Survival refers to the process of keeping yourself safe and secure during unanticipated emergencies. On the flip side, bushcraft refers to the art of sustaining yourself for prolonged periods in the wilderness with minimal resources at your disposal.

Basics of Bushcraft Shelters

There are some basics you’ll want to follow when building a bushcraft shelter. For instance, you’ll want to build a bushcraft shelter close to a water source. However, you don’t want to be too close to water because insects will pester you. In addition, the noise of running water can also provide a disguise for a dangerous animal.  

Likewise, you’ll want to avoid building a bushcraft shelter on a hilly surface. Higher altitudes are more exposed to wind and lightning. It’ll be challenging for you to maintain warmth on a hilltop. However, you also want to avoid building your shelter in a place prone to flash flooding. So, you’ll want to stay away from low areas and dry stream beds.  

Survival experts also unanimously agree that you should establish a good shelter before nightfall. You don’t want to get caught in the darkness without shelter, particularly in cold weather. 

Wind chill also causes your body to lose heat quickly. Hence, you’ll want to build a bushcraft shelter that blocks wind in cold environments. Some environments are also unsuitable for sleeping on the ground, like forests. Hence, you’ll need an elevated sleeping area for protection.  

Lastly, another crucial thing to consider is ventilation. Your shelter will need ventilation. Otherwise, you’ll breathe the same air repeatedly, causing carbon dioxide poisoning.

Types of Bushcraft Shelters

Here are elements you can use for bushcraft shelters. They include:

Trees

Many trees often have a dense, low canopy of leaves you can use to build a bushcraft shelter. These shelters will suffice in mild environments.

Caves

Caves also make great shelters. Humans have historically used caves for shelters for centuries. However, you’ll want to approach caves cautiously because animals often reside in them. It’s also not uncommon for some caves to have a freshwater source inside. 

Snow Shelters

Snow can also help you prepare a bushcraft shelter. Snow provides excellent insulation and windbreak. You can use heavy snow to create walls by compacting them

Get Started Prepping with FR-1 Defense

Here on our website we also have our Shelter Building Digital Ebook to help newcomers become resilient and get a head start on a survival skill like shelter building. For more info digital resources click on this text right here. Alternatively, you can browse our other digital resources as well.

Gardening and Growing Food

7 Store Bought Vegetables and Herbs you can regrow.

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
21
Apr

Organic gardening has been growing in popularity in recent years due to the overwhelming response to the environmental effects of growing your own vegetables. Growing vegetables and herbs have several advantages, including cost savings, healthier produce, and the promotion of a better environment. But can you regrow store-bought vegetables?

Definitely! Regrowing store-bought vegetables is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and one of the best ways to live a more frugal, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Keep reading to learn how to regrow vegetables and which grocery vegetables you are able to regrow.

How to Regrow Store-Bought Vegetables

Regrowing store-bought vegetables is super simple and totally doable. Follow these easy steps to begin growing your vegetables at home.

Regrowing Leafy Vegetables

Leafy vegetables are one of the easiest vegetables to regrow. First, cut off the plant base so that there is at least a one-inch piece. Then, place it cut side up in a small bowl with ½ inch of water.

Once the vegetable begins growing new roots, transfer it to a pot with good soil. Before long, you will have fresh vegetables ready to harvest.

Growing Vegetables From Bulbs

Growing vegetables from bulbs is a similar process to regrowing leafy vegetables. First, take the ½ inch vegetable base, then place it in shallow water. Be sure to only cover the roots on the bulb, not the entire base.

Harvest right from the jar or transfer to the soil when the plants mature.

Tips for Growing Root Vegetables

Most root vegetables like turnips get eaten while the leafy parts are thrown away. Not anymore!

Simply leave ½ inch of the turnip root attached to the leaves when cutting. Place cut side down in a shallow cup of water, and in a few weeks, new leaves will appear.

Best Vegetables to Regrow

Vegetables are a good source of essential vitamins and nutrients like calcium, potassium, and fiber. So when you want to live a more self-sustainable lifestyle, one of the first things to learn is how to regrow vegetables at home.

These are the seven best survival vegetables to regrow.

Celery

Celery is one of the most challenging vegetables to regrow at home; however, you can grow enough celery to last all winter with a bit of patience and know-how.

Carrots

Carrots cannot grow from the green leaf part alone, so be sure to leave about ½ of the actual carrot attached to the green carrot top. Place in a shallow water dish, and you will begin to see fresh roots within a few days.

Garlic

Garlic is one of the easiest vegetables to regrow. Simply toss the leftovers in a tall glass of water, and watch them grow. Be sure not to submerge the entire plant; only put enough water to cover the root.

Green Onions

Green onions are one of those vegetables every urban garden needs. You can cook them in just about everything from soups to stews, and the best part is you can regrow green onions directly from the bulb.

Ginger

Growing ginger at home is not only easy, but it’s just dang fun! First, wrap a small piece of the root in a wet paper towel and place it in a warm area. Once new roots form, place ginger in a small pot with good soil and watch it grow.

Potatoes

Potatoes have tons of health benefits and can be easily grown at home. However, while it may only take a few weeks to harvest small potatoes, mature potatoes require up to 100 days to produce

Lettuce

Growing lettuce is another super simple home project. However, lettuce does take quite a while to mature, so it’s best to regrow lettuce in the winter.

Top Herbs to Regrow at Home

While you can regrow several vegetables at home, regrowing herbs is also fun. Herbs can be regrown anywhere, whether on a patio, balcony, or windowsill.

Here are a few herbs you can regrow at home

  • Basil.
  • Parsley.
  • Oregano.
  • Rosemary.
  • Lemon Grass.

Final Thoughts

Regrowing vegetables is easy to accomplish with a little practice. Start small by practicing with some of your favorite store-bought vegetables, then progress to the more challenging ones.

Before you know it, you will be living a more frugal, self-sustainable lifestyle.

Gardening and Growing Food

8 Survival Gardening Crops to Grow in a Depression or Economic Collapse

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
13
Apr

Growing your own vegetables has several health benefits, from controlling what fertilizers are used to determining when to harvest your crops. Whether you live on a homestead or in an urban area, anyone can learn how to grow survival gardening crops, gardening techniques, and which crops are best grown for survival food.

These are the top eight survival gardening crops to grow in a depression or economic collapse.

What is Self-Sustainable Living?

According to UNICEF, more than one billion people live in poverty today, and it’s only getting worse. A self-sufficient lifestyle reduces poverty, helps the environment, and protects the climate.

But self-sustainable living is more than just growing your own food, raising your own livestock, and possibly living off-grid. It’s working hard to preserve the land you farm and developing resources to survive when others cannot.

The first step in living a self-sustainable lifestyle is learning how to grow your food and which survival crops you should grow.

Best Gardening Crops to Grow

Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the most well-known survival crops. Potatoes are super easy to grow, whether on a farm or in an urban garden. They provide much-needed nutrients and vitamins needed for survival during a depression or economic collapse, such as carbohydrates, potassium, and Vitamins B and C.

Kale

Kale is one of those survival gardening crops that should be grown in the winter months. If harvested during the warm summer months, kale may taste bitter when eaten. On the other hand, if kale is planted and harvested in the winter, it provides an almost sweet taste. It is also very tolerant to the cold weather, making this survival vegetable a total superfood.

Corn

When growing corn, one of the first tasks is to learn how to shuck the corn. There are several techniques, but all are quite simple to accomplish. After the husk and silk are removed from the corn, the vegetable is beautiful, golden, and sweet to the taste. Corn is versatile and nutritious: it can be eaten directly from the cob, made into creamy-style corn, or ground into cornmeal to make other farm staples.

Beans

Beans should always be a constant staple when growing survival food. They are nutritionally dense, easy to grow, and can be prepared in several different ways. Not to mention, beans are also easy to dry and preserve. There are many varieties of beans that you can grow, from pinto beans and red beans to protein-packed lima beans. While some beans grow as a bush, others need a pole or trellis to grow on.

Cabbage

While cabbage may smell unpleasant when cooking, it sure does taste spectacular to eat. Cabbage can be eaten raw on salads, steamed using it in a soup or stew, and it’s an all-around nutritious vegetable consisting of vitamin B6, vitamin C, and tons of fiber.

Lentils

Lentils are one of the best survival crops to grow. They provide tons of vitamins and nutrients, but the best of all is that they are packed with protein. In addition, lentils are one of the oldest survival crops grown for self-sustainability for many years.

Sweet Potatoes

Another favorite survival food is the sweet potato, a different crop than the regular potato. Sweet potatoes are calorie-dense, providing more nutrients than the common potato. It is a versatile vegetable that has good sugar content.

Sweet potatoes grow below the ground while the leafy green parts are left exposed. One difference between the sweet potato and the regular potato is that the green leafy parts of the sweet potato are edible.

Herbs

Your survival crops aren’t complete unless you add garden herbs like rosemary, oregano, parsley, and basil to your garden. Herbs are easy to grow, smell great, and help add flavor to your food.

Final Thoughts

If you’re wondering how to survive during a depression or economic collapse, try your hand at vegetable gardening. Whether you have room to grow your crops in the ground or are limited in space, growing survival crops is a great way to save money, help the environment, and become self-sufficient.

Fire Starting and Fire Craft

What is Fatwood, where you can find it and how to use it correctly.

Posted on by FR-1 Defense
08
Apr

What Is Fatwood – Everything You Need to Know

Fatwood has become one of the go-to fire starters today. It’s not too surprising given it can essentially ignite by merely glancing at it.

Sourced from the taproot of an aged stump, fatwood is packed full of fire-starting resin that can virtually begin a fire in any environmental conditions. Once processed, fatwood stays waterproof and will last longer than you.

If you have never heard of fatwood or are looking for more information, you’ve come to the right place. We will go over everything you need to know about the all natural fire starter that is fatwood.

Benefits of Using Fatwood

There are a number of benefits to using fatwood over other fire starters. These includes:

  • Being a completely all natural fire starter without toxic chemicals.
  • Incredibly easy to light using a minimal amount of sparks or a small flame.
  • Waterproof and stays lit whether it’s windy or raining.
  • Strong shelf life. You don’t have to worry about the resin evaporating.
  • Shavings of fatwood are an incredible waterproof fire starter.

Where to Find Fatwood?

To get yourself the finest fatwood, you will have to locate some pine trees. However, any conifer will have resinous fatwood in it.

You will find conifer groves at higher elevations in most places, such as the East Coast, as well as virtually anywhere in the Rocky Mountains and westward.

Conifers are also prevalent throughout Europe, the Western coast of South America, China, the Himalayas, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Find a dead coniferous tree or stump to get the highest quality fatwood. If you can’t get all the way down to the taproot, you can alternatively hack off one of the lowest-lying branches.

The core of these branches should contain enough resin for it to be considered fatwood.

How to Get Fatwood Out of Trees

Processing fatwood out of trees will take a bit of effort if you want premium fatwood firestarter. This means wrangling with a tree stump and getting into it with a hatchet or ax. Luckily, the most resinous parts of the roots are the sections nearest to the stump. You could even use a large knife at least eight inches in length to baton the stump.

Cut planks that are half an inch in thickness. You can then easily partition them into smaller sticks, also half an inch in width.

How to Start a Fire With Fatwood

To start a fire with fatwood fire starter, you’ll need to do the following. Take two or three sticks of fatwood and place them into a fire or grill you want to get a fire going in. Make sure the ends of the sticks are jutting out one or two inches. Light these ends of the fatwood fire starter and allow them to burn uninterrupted for 10 or 15 minutes.

Conclusion

Fatwood is a remarkably effective all natural fire starter that will light a fire for you, every time. Now that you know how to source and process fatwood, you can start enjoying frustration-free fire whenever you want. We also sell fatwood as an essential in some of our fire kits. Be sure to check them out here in the button below.

Click Here to Check our Fire Starting Kits