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Original Message
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Where to get food ATSHTF.
We must guard against the tendency to think that we, as survivalists, have exclusive knowledge to where food is to be had ATSHTF. This knowledge is fairly widespread in Australia. It was brought here by European migrants after WWII. Knowledge of which weeds can be eaten and where they can be found are things that most European migrants who lived through WWII know, just as they know many other ways that food can be scavenged. I have seen such people, even though they are well off today, pull weeds along footpaths to be taken home in their briefcases so they can have greens with their dinner.
ATSHTF all known sources of food will be exploited to the full. The weeds around footpaths in the suburbs will probably only last a matter of days and then these sources will no longer exist. Most easy to obtain bush foods will likely suffer the same fate. Many books have been published that outline these sources and knowledge will soon spread to most of the population. Even fish along the coastline will probably not last more than one or two months before stocks are seriously depleted.
Our first move must be to get out of the cities and indeed, away from all population centres. The cities will be death traps. Even if soil is left uncontaminated, people in the mass will be incapable of feeding themselves. They will find that growing food is hard, thieves will likely steal plants even in the seedling stage, and generally the whole situation will be impossible. It will in fact be a very similar story to the first few years of settlement in NSW when many people starved.
Even if one was lucky enough to find a food source, or have sufficient provisions stored away, one will almost certainly be singled out if you look a little fitter or weightier than the thousands around you. Staying in population centres is therefore a no-win situation.
The average person eats a lot of food every day and in places like Australia it is of very high quality. When food shortages arrive, not only will we have to eat less, but the food that we do eat won’t be as good. Our secret ways of finding food will become common knowledge. Scavenging from food bins at food processing plants won’t work for very long as these sources will quickly dry up, or be turned into rackets for employees only, or its distribution will become a black-market business.
Our aim also is not to do the general population out of any food, or compete with those that are weaker than ourselves. As survivalists we can do better, and if we do our homework properly, we won’t have to eat cats and dogs either.
Are there any easily scavenged or collectable food items that are inexhaustible?
Yes, there are. Saltbush would be one of these items. Australia is covered in millions of acres of these plants. Certain seaweeds are another, garden worms are another, kangaroos, wombats and small school fish might be added to the list
But what are the things to look for when establishing any of these as a food source?
Availability is the first criterion. Is it available where we live? Then, how hard is it to harvest? Remember, we might not be at our peak physical fitness ATSHTF. We might be sick or injured, or just simply run down by fatigue and weak from lack of food to be putting in much effort to finding our next meal.
Do we have the equipment to catch, collect or hunt for our food? To kill a kangaroo we’ll need a rifle, to catch small fish we’ll need some sort of net, to collect saltbush plants we’ll need transport if they don’t grow in our area.
Another question is, is it possible to have a balanced diet by hunting and gathering in Australia? A very interesting question but the answer doesn’t appear to be straight forward. For the average survivalist my own answer to this would be ‘no.’ We would have to grow plants also, or be able to pick fruit at an orchard, and find a cow now and then which could add milk to our diets.
But getting back to our task, there are no magical supplies of food. If you were to rely on any technique, or set of techniques, they will probably let you down - especially as each method became common knowledge to thousands of others. Where the answer lies is to have a very broad knowledge and a physical and material capacity to exploit every and any food source as the opportunity arises. This IMHO is the magic bullet that will ensure survival. To do this we need to be equipped for and have the knowledge to exploit any source of food.
Food storage has already been covered well on this forum. I would only like to add the special emphasis of storing high energy foods and high protein foods. The gods of these foods are powdered milk, tinned meat and fish, sugar, chocolate etc. These foods are very good at keeping people alive and they are easily transported. A backpack of high energy/high protein foods can keep you alive for a long time.
Now having said that, the only way you are going to survive is to be one or two jumps ahead of the sheeple. So what this post is about is obtaining food ATSHTF in very, very tough environments. I am not going to tell you how or where to collect food, as this will only ensure these resources are among those that will be stripped bare. What we will cover here instead are ways to produce food in some unusual ways, and I’ll add to these methods in subsequent posts.
1. Indoor growing.
This is done under electric light bulbs. A one room setup will cost you about $1500. One room with say 4x400 watt lights will produce about 3 kilos of food per week, after you get good at it. To produce this amount of food will cost about $30 per week in electricity, and about another $15 per week in nutrient, chemicals, replacements bulbs and air extractors etc.
Very expensive food. The people who use this growing system usually don’t worry about the cost because the commercial systems were developed for marijuana growers who will often grow a $10,000 crop every ten weeks or so. Many of them steal power, not to save on cost, but so that electricity authorities won’t become suspicious at their sizable electricity bills.
However, growing like this is very easy. It’s the same as growing outdoors except that you have an artificial sun, no pests to worry about, no poor soil to worry about, and you can grow all year round. - every plant will grow at its optimum.
Drawbacks? Only cost. If you could figure a way of getting free electricity this should be your preferred method of growing. Three growing rooms will keep one person in food, a whole house wired out will keep a small family in food.
Crops to Grow? Any fast growing plant, obviously the faster the better. Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber etc etc. If there’s any interest in this method of growing I’ll write up a lengthy post with all the details. This is real farming! Especially when you are like me and don’t like the country, its animals, or its smells!
2. Growing mushrooms. You can grow these under your house without light and even dry the surplus and put it in storage. This was a method used by many during the depression to help feed their families and make extra money. I haven’t done this but know some who have. It is quite easy.
3. The drip irrigation bag.
This method was developed in California to grow marijuana and not have the plants detected by the authorities. A pot is hung in the branches of a tree and nutrient is fed from a bag attached somewhere near the pot via a drip valve, similar to the valve on an IV bag used in hospitals. Strong solutions of nutrient are diluted by rain. This method needs no maintenance. You come back three months later and collect your food.
An alternative to this method is to grow on the ground, usually in rocky and isolated country and have the pants fed by the same drip system but with much bigger bags. The system is also reliant on rainfall.
When I first used this method I was told that animals would quickly eat any plants, but this hasn’t been my experience. Mostly the plants are left alone by animals. The plastic garbage bags of nutrient are also left alone.
Dozens of plants can be fed from the one drip line, though you will need a supply of water nearby to do this. I have also heard of small pumps that will run off a single 12 volt car battery over the growing period without having to be recharged, though I have never used a battery.
4. A very good method of growing food in secret is to choose a spot in the wilderness and find a small trickle among the rocks. Using sandstone pieces make a dam using cement. From this dam run a plastic drip line to the growing area and drip feed each plant. The nutrient formula is 5 parts gypsum, 1 part Epsom salts and 6 parts of any powdered soluble plant food such as Thrive or Aquasol. Sprinkle a bit of trace element powder in as well. You will have to go and inspect your nutrient supply every few days, especially when there has been rain.
This method will grow a great quantity of food. The only thing you need to carry in is a bag of cement though I have heard of one grower who simply lined his dam with plastic sheet and didn’t use cement. Plants will even grow among the rocks from various spillages of nutrient from the dam.
5. On a small scale the drip method can be used anywhere. Just use your imagination. The soil or rocks or gravel that you are growing in should not have any nutrients of its own otherwise the plants will get too much nutrient. The roots must be able to get air and if it rains the water must be able to drain away so that your plants don’t become waterlogged. That’s all there is to know.
Note: What sort of seeds should be used? Use hybrid seed. You want performance above everything else. Save non-hybrid seed for the long term, but actually grow from hybrid seed when it is available. This is the type of seed bought in supermarkets.
Hydroponic nutrient like the formula above is very potent stuff. Provided this can be delivered to a growing area plants will grow anywhere, even in cracks and crevices of boulders, in piles of bark, in gravel or sand. There are just three requirements, nutrient delivered constantly, sunlight, and air for the roots. Once you know this you can engineer a system just about anywhere.
What about sunlight? In the bush sunlight can be a problem. In open areas your crops can be spotted from the air, but if you grow under a canopy your plants won’t get enough sunlight. The answer is just to do your best. Seed is cheap and very often plants will grow where there technically isn’t enough sunlight.
6. Supplies.
Always keep an eye out for supplies. Here are some things that are worth their weight in gold because if you have them you can grow anywhere.
Plastic tubing
IV bags and valves
Powdered fertiliser like Thrive and Aquasol. Ready made hydroponic nutrient is even better.
Gypsum
Epsom salts
Plastic buckets
Heavy duty plastic sheet for lining dams.
Garden or water containers made out of plastic eg., watering cans, bottles, containers etc.
Horticultural chemicals, especially fungicide, cloning gel etc.
And above all, once you have grown a few successful crops, never be afraid to experiment.
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