Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: A guest submission to The Prepper Journal from Raymond Poole. Raymond Poole is an organic cooking and gardening fanatic. He spends his free time trialing and testing different growing techniques to make his beloved fruit and vegetable garden flourish to full flavor.

Admit it, we want things to happen fast. We’re a society of fast food, fast internet, and instant gratification. But when it comes to growing nutritious food, we have to be patient. Mother Nature usually needs time to work.

But there are exceptions in the vegetable world where gratification, if not instant, isn’t far off. We only need a few weeks to produce some nutritious vegetables and enjoy them for a great lunch or dinner. Imagine having fresh spinach harvested four to six weeks after planting. Even better, a vegetable garden in your backyard will complement that verdant, green lawn and add some color and texture to your landscape.

There are many wholesome veggies you can grow, relatively quickly, a few steps away from your kitchen. Here are five vegetables to get you started.

Spinach

Spinach is an excellent source of minerals, vitamins, potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and calcium. And you can harvest it as soon as a month after planting. Sow the seeds into good quality soil and then water.

This is a must-have vegetable if you’re living off the grid. Spinach improves eyesight and cognitive function, combats Alzheimer’s disease and gastric ulcers, and increases blood flow to the brain. Its high content of potassium and its lack of sodium helps maintain good blood pressure and its antioxidants strengthen muscles. It also reduces the chance of heart attacks and strokes.

Carrots

Carrots are excellent as part of a salad, as a snack, and taste great when cooked. They thrive in the USDA’s Hardiness zones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. They do need lots of sun, and do well when planted about three to five weeks before the last frost. Select a thin fingerling variety and plant the seeds about 2 inches apart at a depth of ¼ to ½ inch. Water at least 1 inch per week and fertilize four weeks after planting if the soil is lacking organic matter. Don’t use compost. In about six weeks, you’ll have your harvest — and some can be picked even sooner as part of the thinning process.

Carrots offer carbs and fiber, lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of cancer. It includes vitamin A, which promotes good vision and improves immune functions. Its Biotin enhances metabolism and vitamin K1 promotes bone health and blood clotting. It has potassium that improves blood pressure and vitamin B6 to convert food into energy.

Radishes

Another ideal food for salads, radishes are ready for your table in as little as 21 days after planting. This is a cool weather crop, planted in spring and autumn and two weeks before the last frost. It thrives in sunlight and well-drained soil with a pH level of 6 to 7, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. The soil should be free of rocks. Include organic matter like compost, manure, or leaf mold in the soil before planting.

Rich in fiber, radishes also aid the digestive system and help combat several forms of cancer. They improve cardiovascular health, relieve respiratory disorders, lower blood pressure, help manage diabetes, and protect the kidneys.

Lettuce

Lettuce grows in colder temperatures and is ready to begin harvesting 30 days after planting. Plant in the early spring when temperatures are between 45°F and 65°F. It thrives in moist, cool conditions and can tolerate a light frost. It will flower or bolt to seed if the weather gets too hot.

The soil should be loose, moist, well-drained, and fertilized. It favors acidic conditions. So include some compost into the soil. Plant seeds in rows of 12 to 15-inches long. Leave a space of 18-inches between rows. Thin the growing seedlings to 4-inches apart to prevent overcrowding. You can harvest over time, by cutting outer leaves as they mature, or take the full plant when leaves are full size, but still tender. If you wait until the lettuce is too mature, it ends up tasting bitter.

There are several types of lettuce. They include Romaine, which is sweet and crunchy. Crisphead or Iceberg, which has a crisp texture and mild taste. Butterhead (also known as Boston or Bibb) has large, soft, green leaves that are sweet tasting. Romaine has the greatest benefits.

Lettuce, in general, has only 12 calories for one shredded cup. It prevents the build-up of plaque. It includes relaxing and sleep-inducing properties. Its minerals improve energy. It’s an ideal food for anyone monitoring their blood sugar or wishes to maintain their weight.

Arugula

The green leaves of the arugula plant have a peppery taste and are ideal for salads. Once mature, cut the leaves off the plant and enjoy. Leaves will continue to grow back each year.

The plant thrives in well-drained, moist soil with a pH level of 6 to 6.5. Add compost to the soil before sowing. Do the composting in the fall. and plant the arugula in the spring. The plant tolerates cool weather and an occasional frost, so plant as early as April in daytime temperatures above 40 degrees. Select a sunny location for planting, although it tolerates some shade. The plant grows 1 to 2 feet tall and is ready for harvest about four weeks after planting.

You can either plant the seeds in rows or scatter them over an area. The seeds should be about one-quarter inch deep and 1-inch apart. Once the leaves develop, you can harvest.

Arugula includes vitamin K, which assures healthy bones and a better immune system. It also has cancer-fighting properties, increases metabolism, improves eyesight, and enhances mineral absorption.

Growing your own nutritious foods provides many benefits. You’ll save time and money with fewer visits to the grocery store. You’ll also be prepared if the store shelves are empty!

Be Safe out there and be sure to check out The Prepper Journal Store and follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post Nutritious Food Plants You Can Harvest Quickly appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Want to know how to naturally deter wasps? It may surprise you how easy and effective this shortlist has in store!

RELATED: Natural Ways to Repel Grasshoppers

Deter Wasps | Effective Ways of Driving Wasps Away

How to Get Rid of Wasps

If you’re reading this, chances are you have been stung at least once by a wasp. Speaking from personal experience, the sting from a wasp is very painful.

If you remain calm while in their presence, they will leave you alone, as wasps are not out to harm you. Usually, when a human gets stung, it’s because the wasp feels threatened in some way.

Most of the time, the number one reason for humans being stung is due to waving of your arms to shoo it away, which wasps take as an annoyance or a threat. You do it enough times, you will get stung.

With that being said, most people (myself included) are afraid of wasps. Most will turn to pest control methods that are meant to kill the wasps, but, the truth is wasps are beneficial to our ecosystem and we should learn to deter them, not kill them.

Once again, I turned to the internet for my research. Here are four deterrent methods that seem to be the most popular and most effective.

1. Fake Wasp Nest

|

Want to know a brilliant way of how to keep wasps from building nests. Wasps are known to be very territorial.

By hanging up a fake wasp nest outside of your home, you reduce the chances of wasps constructing nests of their own. They will think another colony is already established and they will move on to another location.

The fake wasp nest, shown in the photo above, can be purchased here on Amazon.

Here’s how to make your own fake wasp nest:

• Fill a small to a medium brown paper bag with three or four plastic bags (crumple the plastic bags.)
• Tie the top of the paper bag with string or twine, leaving enough string for hanging. Hang the filled bag wherever wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets hang out.

2. Plants to Place Throughout Your Garden That Will Deter Wasps

|

Place the following plants throughout your garden to deter wasps. Not only will these plants chase away the wasps, but they will also add beauty to your garden. It’s a win-win!

• Wormwood
• Eucalyptus
• Mint
• Citronella

Check out my article Plants That Repel Insects And Pests You Can Grow to learn what pests you can deter this summer with these beautiful and beneficial plants.

RELATED: 9 Ways To Repel Rats For A Rodent-Free Home

3. Deter Wasps with Cucumber

|

Slice a fresh cucumber into thin slices and arrange them in a single layer on an aluminum pie plate, dish, or cake pan. The point is, the cucumber must be fresh when you slice it and the pan must be aluminum.

The cucumber reacts with the aluminum and gives off a chemical reaction/scent that is undetectable to humans but drives wasps and yellow-jackets away and makes them flee the area.

Place the sliced cucumber around the patio, deck, or picnic table.

4. Soap and Peppermint Oil Spray

|

• Mix 1 cup of unscented baby shampoo and 10 drops of peppermint essential oil.
• Fill a spray bottle with the mixture and spray on areas and surfaces where you wish to deter bees and wasps.

Note: This method is intended to be used as a deterrent only.

Check out this homemade wasp repellent by ehowhome:

So there are your all-natural ways of deterring wasps. Apart from these methods, always remember wasps don’t usually react unless they are annoyed or threatened.

Simply keep your distance and make use of the information given above.

Do you have an all-natural deterrent for wasps that you would like to share? Tell us about them in the comments section below!

UP NEXT:

• 10 Natural Ways To Repel Spiders
• How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes | 9 Best Ways To Keep Insects Away
• 9 Good Reasons To Carry A “Survival Stick”

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 22, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

This article was originally published by at Brandon Smith at Alt-Market.

This past week was an interesting exercise in false expectations and assumptions. Once again, trade war theatrics were used to stall a stock market plunge as insinuations of a possible “deal” were made by Donald Trump, followed by China’s claim that maybe, just maybe, they would not immediately issue a new round of tariffs right now, but possibly tomorrow, or in a month…

Then, all hell broke loose again when only a few days later both sides jumped into a new round of tariffs leaving markets confused and algo trading computers bewildered, so much so that sometimes they even buy on bad news thinking it’s good news. This is the problem with the Pavlovian response mechanism – You train a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell because he thinks he’s going to get a treat, but then what if you change the bell, or the treat, or the entire dynamic of the process? The dog’s whole world is turned upside down and he curls up in a ball in the corner of the room to make the mental anguish stop.

This is exactly the kind of reaction the globalists are looking for, hence the stop/start insanity of trade discussions, not to mention the dove/hawk behavior of the Federal Reserve. Everything people once thought predictable is being deliberately discombobulated.

Ultimately the circus and the confusion are only products of peoples biases. They want to believe they will get a treat if they act a certain way when certain indicators signal. They want to believe the trade war can be won, or at least that Trump is trying to win. They want to believe that the Fed will save them with a surge of QE. They want to believe that the instability will be smoothed away by the hands of the political and banking elites. But what if the elites have no intention of doing this? What if they WANT an economic crisis?

In terms of the trade war, there are some facts that do not support some of the assumptions out there on either side of the debate. These facts run contrary to the mainstream narrative, as well as some narratives within the alternative media. On the conservative side, I’m seeing a kind of artificial patriotic fervor; an organized attempt using memes and propaganda to convince conservatives that the trade war requires mindless fealty to the anti-China message.

First, to be clear, I think China is a despicable communist regime with a record of human rights abuses, but that’s what makes it a rather perfect distraction for Americans on the political right.  I’m reminded of the war fever against Iraq after 9/11, and how so many conservatives bought into the very thin claim of Iraqi involvement and the lies about WMDs. We don’t like dictators, and we don’t like China, but conservatives are being duped into thinking the trade war against China is an ideological crusade that will lead to a better America or a better world. This is not what the trade war is intended to do.

Let’s start with the assumptions (as well as lies and disinformation) surrounding the trade war and then look at the evidence that debunks them…

Fallacy #1: China Is Dependent On The US Consumer

I’m not sure where this idea comes from specifically, but it’s not based on anything tangible. I sometimes wonder if the notion that the world depends on the American consumer for its bread and butter is perhaps a kind of appeal to people’s narcissism? Making the average American feel superior, or feel special, simply by telling them that their steady debt-based consumption keeps the engine of the global economy running.

In the case of China, here are the facts:

The US only comprises around 18% of Chinese exports. While this is a nice piece of the pie, it’s hardly enough leverage to bring down China’s economy. China would suffer profit losses in certain sectors as well as a recession, but not the kind of crisis that some in the alternative media are predicting.

Around 40% of China’s GDP is generated domestically, and 80% of its GDP growth comes from private consumption. For quite some time I have warned that China was shifting its economic model from an export-based system to a more self-reliant domestic-based system and that this might be an indication of a coming economic war with the US. As it turns out, this is exactly what has happened. Since 2010, China’s domestic market has grown dramatically, indicating that China has no intention of relying on the US consumer as an economic pillar.

The US consumer is almost tapped out. While retail sales in certain areas remain steady and this has been used by the mainstream media and the Fed to promote the idea that the economy is still “going strong”, this is not the big picture. The reality is that US consumption is driven by historic levels of debt. Household debt is now FAR above levels last seen after the last financial crisis, with total debt at $1.2 trillion higher today than its last peak in 2008.

The downturn in retail is more obvious in the steady closings of thousands of outlets in 2019 alone. This year has seen a 29% increase in store closings compared to 2018, even though 2018 saw a considerable spike in store shutdowns. Around 12,000 stores are slated to close this year.

So the question is, with the US consumer stretched thin by debt and US retail on the verge of a recessionary plunge, why would China feel threatened by the loss of the American consumer market?  They are losing it already by attrition. The truth is they aren’t threatened, which is why, as I predicted last year, the trade war continues unabated despite the fact that so many people argued that China would “quickly fold” to Trump’s demands.

I realize this is not what many people want to hear, but it is foolish to get caught up in a farcical mob mentality and ignore the fundamentals in the trade war. If you think that the US is going to “win” based on leverage, you are sorely mistaken.  The US is in no better shape economically than China; in many ways, we are much worse off.

Fallacy #2: Manufacturing Will Come Back To The US

This is perhaps the most persistent and fraudulent “carrot” that has been held out to the American people over the years to get them to go along with certain destructive fiscal policies. Whether it be dollar devaluation or a trade war that goes nowhere, the American people are always being told that manufacturing jobs are “right around the corner”.  People buy into it because they desire a return to the golden years of American economic expansion, and there are a number of reasons why this is an absurd fantasy.

First, as it stands now manufacturing in the US makes up only 11% of total economic output. I don’t think that many people understand the consequences of this. We have a 70% retail and service-based economy, meaning the majority of US citizens in the job market have no experience whatsoever in the manufacturing sector, and the average US company has no guidelines for how to establish a manufacturing base using the American labor pool.

Second, American labor expects a certain level of wage compensation as well as union organization that makes manufacturing far more expensive here than in China or in other parts of the world. The average factory worker in China makes around $3.60 per hour – how exactly would the American market ever compete with this? Tariff’s alone are not enough to force corporations to spend the billions necessary to rebuild factories in the US and hire American workers at $15+ an hour. It’s just not going to happen.

Third, there are many places besides China to build a manufacturing base. No company is going to bring its factories to the US when they can build in Vietnam, or Taiwan, etc. In many cases, it is cheaper to ship raw materials and products to these countries, have them finished by workers in Asia, and then have the items shipped back, than it is to build the product from start to finish in the US.

Fourth, we can talk all day about patriotism, but in the end, the average American is not going to buy “Made in the USA” for most goods out of a sense of patriotic duty if the price is twice as much or more. Walmart and Amazon dominate the retail market for a reason – they sell things cheaply.

Fifth, raising tariffs on foreign exporters would only work to encourage consumption of domestically manufactured goods if the US already had a large manufacturing base and produced all the items other nations produce. Entering into a trade war without a resilient manufacturing sector is backward. You don’t fight a trade war to get manufacturing to come back, you fight a trade war to promote the goods you already manufacture.

If Trump had really intended to bring factories back to the US, he should have given corporations tax break incentives in exchange for creating manufacturing jobs on US soil. Instead, he gave corporations tax break incentives for nothing.

Fallacy #3: China Will Starve Without American Agricultural Products

Uh, no. This is a very weird argument. It’s as if some people assume that the US is China’s only potential source for food. China buys agricultural products from all over the world and has alternative sources for foods like soybeans and pork, including Brazil, Mexico, and Russia.

Prices will rise in China, sure, but nowhere near the point of collapse. Again, the Chinese are not reliant on the US for anything, so, the idea that the US has overt leverage in the trade war is simply not true.

Fallacy #4: The World Will Side With The US Over China

This is a prime question – would the world choose the US consumer base or China’s cheap export market if they had to pick only one? As noted earlier, the US consumer is nearly tapped out. China has the largest import/export market in the world. The US has little manufacturing to speak of. I also question the validity of the idea that Europe or most other nations have loyalty to American markets.

Think about it; do they really? Do they see us as indispensable? Or is the rest of the world being sent on a path towards globalism while the US is being made to look like a barbaric and archaic throwback, a Neanderthal man that is desperately clinging to power and is willing to drag everyone else down with him if he doesn’t get his way?

Many in the liberty movement understand that this is not the case. We know that the globalists have sabotaged this country from within, and we know that they are using Trump as controlled opposition and a useful puppet in this task. But the majority of the rest of the world does NOT understand this. If there is an economic crash which sends shockwaves through multiple economies, the trade war will most likely be blamed along with Trump and his “populist” supporters. The rest of the world will see us as the villains, because they do not understand the nature of 4^th Generation Warfare, nor do they understand the globalists’ strategy of “order out of chaos”.

The narrative that has been pushed in the mainstream is that China is the victim of US aggression and that the trade war and the economic crisis are purely a product of Trump’s madness. Who do you honestly think the world will eventually side with?

Fallacy #5:  The Trade War Will Be Over Soon

We’ve been hearing this for well over a year and a half now.  Trade wars are “easy to win”, right?  Every couple of months the trade war deal hype is recycled and every couple of months the markets are hit with renewed disappointment.  The latest trade talks are set for October and if they happen at all, it is unlikely they will result in anything of significance.  At most, they will be heralded as the “start of a great deal” and both sides will claim “progress was made”, and then, once again, nothing will happen and the conflict will accelerate.  You would think people would have figured it out by now, but the investment world learns very slowly and functions solely on blind hope.  At the very least, economic analysts are starting to realize that no deal is coming and that the situation is only going to get tenser.  In fact, it is designed to get more tense.

Fallacy #6: The US Dollar Is Untouchable

This claim revolves mainly around the idea that because the US dollar is the world reserve currency, the US has the upper hand in trade negotiations and the rest of the world will follow the currency leader because there “is no other option”. I disagree.

As Bank of England governor Mark Carney has openly admitted, the plan is to replace the dollar as the world reserve currency anyway. How? Well with a global cryptocurrency, of course, just as I warned about in my article ‘The Globalist One World Currency Will Look A Lot Like Bitcoin’.

Carney’s mention of Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra as models for this currency system seems to have confused some people. Carney did NOT say that Libra should be the next world reserve currency. He said that the next world reserve currency will look LIKE Libra. But how do the elites plan to institute such a monetary system and force people to go along with a cashless society?

They need a massive crash event, and they need the US dollar to go the way of the dodo. It seems rather convenient to me that China has been preparing for just such an event. While many analysts point out that China has generated intense amounts of debt over the past decade, they seem to forget that this was a requirement in order for China to attach the Yuan to the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights basket, which is the foundation for a global currency mechanism.  Chinese economic officials and the globalist both argue that the current monetary system, based on a single national currency (the dollar) as the world reserve is inherently unstable.

Their solution?  A basket of currencies monitored by the IMF, followed by a single digital currency mechanism.  I would note that China and the globalists have consistently hinted that a major economic crisis event will act as a catalyst for this “reset” in the world monetary order and that the dollar must be replaced in the process.

China has also been stockpiling large amounts of gold for the past decade. This would indicate they are expecting a monetary devaluation event, most specifically in the dollar.  It’s as if they know something the rest of us only suspect.

The trade war is the perfect cover for the collapse of the US dollar that the globalists desire. While some people suggest that China’s dumping of US treasuries is the “nuclear option” in the trade war, this is not exactly true. The REAL nuclear option is for China to dump the US dollar as the reserve trade mechanism and go to a basket of currencies, which the IMF will happily aid them with. As the largest exporter/importer in the world, China can drop the dollar and most of their trading partners will follow their lead. The US economy would crumble in response, as the dollar is the only thread holding our system together.

This is the ugly truth behind the trade war. It is nothing more than a farce, a smoke and mirrors distraction leading up the dismantling of the US dollar and paving the way for the globalist one-world digital currency system. Whether or not the plan succeeds relies on ample resistance from people who see the danger ahead, but make no mistake, the globalists are not afraid of an economic crash or the decline of the dollar; they WANT these things to happen so they can establish even more centralized control.

 

Having a stockpile of food will keep you thriving during an emergency or disaster. In most cases, canned and dry foods will last a couple years at most. Although this might suffice for some preppers, freeze dried meals are the ultimate best case scenario. Why? Freeze dried food completely locks out moisture, is fully prepared and has a shelf life of up to 25 years. Yes, 25 years!

This means no more rotating out cans and boxes every couple, checking expiration dates and replenishing food that is no longer good. Let’s be honest, life gets busy and rotating your stockpile can easily get lost in the to-do list. The last thing you want is to attempt replenishing when you hear the warning alert of a possible disaster. Having a weeks worth of freeze dried meals is a wise investment.

Best Ways To Store Your Supply

Freeze dried foods should be kept in a climate control location to maintain freshness. Most cans are sustainable for 25 years and pouches up to 7-30 years (depending on the brand). Because the packaging is vacuum sealed and moisture has no way in, they are safe from bacteria and mold. The weight of freeze dried foods is minimal, making this a very good option when on the move, camping or only able to pack what you can carry.

The most convenient part of these meals is that all you need is a pot and water and voila, a full meal awaits you! Be mindful that many freeze dried meals are pretty high in sodium so drink plenty of water and try to balance the nutrition with low or no sodium foods.

Some of our favorite freeze dried meals include:

• • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Stews
  • Meats
  • Rice and grains
  • Spaghetti with sauce
  • Eggs
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Potatoes
  • Nori (seaweed)
  • Ration food bars
  • Soups

Top 3 Stockpile Brands

We recommend checking out various brands. Do some taste testing before investing too much. Purchase a pouch or two of different brands to test. This may be more expensive than purchasing in bulk, but you’ll learn what you like. We have a few well known brands that we recommend:

1. Mountain House is a very well known and reputable brand with a large variety of meals. When you purchase in bulk, the cost is much more affordable than individually packaged meals. Many enjoy the not overly seasoned taste while others complain of an odd texture. Each meal contains about 10-15 grams of protein which is solid. Mountain House also prides themselves in their 30-year shelf life.The best part in our opinion, they offer desserts. Who doesn’t want dessert in stressful survival situation?
2. Good-to-Go is a unique brand that is highly focused on healthy options. They offer meal options for both vegetarian and vegan diets and all of their meals are preservatives and gluten free. This does however come with a cost, as the shelf life is not quite as extensive as Mountain House. Due to the lack of preservatives, these meals have a 4 year shelf life. The meal choices are certainly more limited but since they focus on quality, it is often not complained about by health nuts.
3. Backpackers Pantry is another great option for your freeze dried meals. The brand offers healthy options and some desserts. They are known for their tasty variety of meal selection while focusing on quality ingredients. Backpackers Pantry promises MSG free foods and is decently affordable against competitors.

All of these brands are available on Amazon. We encourage you to check out some of the user reviews and if you have experience with any freeze dried meals, share them with our community of preppers!

Bank of America strategist is warning that we should enjoy 2019 right now, while we still can.  A note led by top strategist Michael Hartnett, says investors will have to grapple with the long-running bull market as it limps into 2020 because the “big top is coming down.”

“We are bullish on risk assets in 2019 as bearish investor sentiment and the irrationality of central banks and bond markets allow an ‘overshoot’ in credit and equity prices,” he wrote. “We are bearish on risk assets in 2020 as recession/policy impotence/bond bubble risks induce Big Top in credit and equities.”

“The 2020s are likely to witness a more forceful attempt to create inflation,” he said. “Even the slightest sign of success will lead to dramatic rotation… away from the deflationary winners of the 2010s to the inflationary losers.” But Hartnett says stocks could still rise too.

Bank of America issued a similar ominous warning back in July.  Back then, Hartnett and chief economist, Ethan Harris wrote a piece on the law of large numbers, arguing that an ever-expanding list of uncertainties would likely undercut the markets going into year-end. At the time, the main concerns were the trade war, a hawkish Fed, Brexit, Quitaly, and Iran oil sanctions.  Bank of America once again warns a similar set of concerns could come to a head and halt the current rally in global equity markets.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-21/bank-america-enjoy-it-while-it-lasts

BofA economists are becoming concerned that the tariffs are permanent, and that there will be no de-escalation of the trade war.  That means higher prices for a majority of goods and services are here to stay at a time when many Americans struggle to make ends meet. According to ZeroHedge, the deadline for avoiding auto tariffs is mid-November. Additionally, there is a steady drift toward some kind of currency war: in the form of either countervailing duties or outright intervention. Countries that benefit from production shifting out of China, including Vietnam and other ASEAN countries, could face at least a serious threat of US tariffs.

Economic expert Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse Blog and Barbara Fix, author of Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes, address the whys and the hows of getting prepared for the coming crisis in their new book.  Topics include looming economic collapse, Ebola, drought and increasing weather-related disasters, our extremely vulnerable power grid, civil unrest, and practical steps for storing food and supplies that you will need.  Get Prepared Now! walks readers through survival in a short-term or protracted crisis whether in the city or the country with budget-friendly advice

Welcome the spring with newly germinated seedlings using only egg cartons and shells!

RELATED: How To Raise Quail For Eggs And Meat

In this article:

1. Using Eggshells to Start Your Seeds
2. Using Egg Cartons to Start Your Seeds

Learn How to Use Egg Carton and Shells to Grow Seeds

Using Eggshells to Start Your Seeds

If you have an empty egg carton material lying around, you can use it to begin growing your garden. Now is the right time to do so as spring is just around the corner.

In this blog post, you will learn two methods on how to do it.

Let’s begin with eggshells. The great thing about this project is nothing ever goes to waste.

The eggshells will hold the healthy plant while the empty egg carton box can keep the shells in place and safe.

Once the seed starts to germinate and grow, you can plant the entire shell into the soil. The shell may also help provide additional nutrients to the plant.

Directions:

1. Save your eggshells. Rinse them, so they won’t become sticky or smelly.
2. Add soil to the eggshells. You want to be sure to use seed-starting soil. This is a lighter soil that allows the root system to grow freely through the plant so it becomes strong and healthy.
3. Add the seeds to the soil and slightly push down just until it covers fully the seeds. Make sure you don’t push them too deep. Otherwise, it will take longer for your seedlings to germinate.
4. Water your seeds preferably with a spritzer bottle, especially for very small ones, so it doesn’t push the seeds too deep into the soil. Keep the soil moist but not soaked. Carefully poke a tiny hole perhaps with a nail at the bottom of the eggshell for water drainage.
5. If you really want to give your seeds a jump start, place the eggshells in plastic egg cartons, which act as mini-greenhouses, and put the lid on. Once your seeds sprout, remove the lid so mold does not develop.
6. Put them in a sunny window and enjoy watching them grow.

What Is a Greenhouse? It is a structure that can help protect the plants from environmental elements and regulate warm temperature.

If your weather is ready for planting, then put the plant into the soil, eggshell and all!

RELATED: 10 Gardening Tips And Tricks You Can Use Right Now!

Using Egg Cartons to Start Your Seeds

If you find using eggshells a hassle or you don’t have them, go straight with egg cartons. They will still help you germinate seeds inside your home.

Materials:

• Paper egg carton
• Potting soil
• Seeds
• Toothpicks
• Plastic wrap

Note: You can use the dimples within the egg cartons as individual seed-starter pots.

Directions:

1. Take an empty cardboard egg carton and poke a small hole in the bottom of each dimple to allow for water drainage.
2. Fill each individual dimple with seed-starting soil.
3. Plant seeds according to the planting-depth instructions (found on the back of the packet) in each individual dimple.
4. Mist with water regularly keeping the soil moist (but not soaked). You may want to keep the carton on a plate so the water doesn’t go everywhere.
5. To give extra warmth and humidity (if needed), cover the top of the egg carton with plastic wrap, which can work as a little tent. To prop it up, position toothpicks in the middle of the clear egg carton.
6. Place the carton in a sunny spot and watch the plants grow!
7. Once the seeds start to sprout, cut apart the individual dimples and plant the seedlings straight into your prepared garden or pot. There is no need to remove the sprouting seed from the carton—just plant the whole thing!

Check out this video from eHow Garden to learn more about how to plant seeds in egg cartons:

There you have it — two easy, earth-friendly, and cheap egg cartons crafts you can do today. All you need to do is save some of the eggshells from cooking.

Once the weather is right, start planting and let the shells supply the nutrients.

Have you tried growing seeds from egg cartons? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

UP NEXT: 

• 20 Survival Gardening Plants For Spring
• 12 Budget Friendly Must-Haves For Every Beginner Gardener
• Container Gardening Tips For Preppers And Survivalists

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 20, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

Since the end of the last recession, the outlook for the U.S. economy has never been as dire as it is right now.  Everywhere you look, economic red flags are popping up, and the mainstream media is suddenly full of stories about “the coming recession”.  After several years of relative economic stability, things appear to be changing dramatically for the U.S. economy and the global economy as a whole.  Over and over again, we are seeing things happen that we have not witnessed since the last recession, and many analysts expect our troubles to accelerate as we head into the final months of 2019.

We should certainly hope that things will soon turn around, but at this point that does not appear likely.  The following are 28 signs of economic doom as the pivotal month of September begins…

#1 The U.S. and China just slapped painful new tariffs on one another, thus escalating the trade war to an entirely new level.

#2 JPMorgan Chase is projecting that the trade war will cost “the average U.S. household” $1,000 per year.

#3 Yield curve inversions have preceded every single U.S. recession since the 1950s, and the fact that it has happened again is one of the big reasons why Wall Street is freaking out so much lately.

#4 We just witnessed the largest decline in U.S. consumer sentiment in 7 years.

#5 Mortgage defaults are rising at the fastest pace that we have seen since the last financial crisis.

#6 Sales of luxury homes valued at $1.5 million or higher were down five percent during the second quarter of 2019.

#7 The U.S. manufacturing sector has contracted for the very first time since September 2009.

#8 The Cass Freight Index has been falling for a number of months.  According to CNBC, it fell “5.9% in July, following a 5.3% decline in June and a 6% drop in May.”

#9 Gross private domestic investment in the United States was down 5.5 percent during the second quarter of 2019.

#10 Crude oil processing at U.S. refiners has fallen by the most that we have seen since the last recession.

#11 The price of copper often gives us a clear indication of where the economy is heading, and it is now down 13 percent over the last six months.

#12 When it looks like an economic crisis is coming, investors often flock to precious metals.  So it is very interesting to note that the price of gold is up more than 20 percent since May.

#13 Women’s clothing retailer Forever 21 “is reportedly close to filing for bankruptcy protection”.

#14 We just learned that Sears and Kmart will close “nearly 100 additional stores” by the end of this year.

#15 Domestic shipments of RVs have fallen an astounding 20 percent so far in 2019.

#16 The Labor Department has admitted that the U.S. economy actually has 501,000 less jobs than they previously thought.

#17 S&P 500 earnings per share estimates have been steadily falling all year long.

#18 Morgan Stanley says that the possibility that we will see a global recession “is high and rising”.

#19 Global trade fell 1.4 percent in June from a year earlier, and that was the biggest drop that we have seen since the last recession.

#20 The German economy contracted during the second quarter, and the German central bank “is predicting the third quarter will also post a decline”.

#21 According to CNBC, the S&P 500 “just sent a screaming sell signal” to U.S. investors.

#22 Masanari Takada is warning that we could soon see a “Lehman-like” plunge in the stock market.

#23 Corporate insiders are dumping stocks at a pace that we haven’t seen in more than a decade.

#24 Apple CEO Tim Cook has been dumping millions of dollars worth of Apple stock.

#25 Instead of pumping his company’s funds into the stock market, Warren Buffett has decided to hoard 122 billion dollars in cash.  This appears to be a clear indication that he believes that a crisis is coming.

#26 Investors are selling their shares in emerging markets funds at a pace that we have never seen before.

#27 The Economic Policy Uncertainty Index hit the highest level that we have ever seen in the month of June.

#28 Americans are searching Google for the term “recession” more frequently than we have seen at any time since 2009.

The signs are very clear, but unfortunately we live at a time when “normalcy bias” is rampant in our society.

If you are not familiar with “normalcy bias”, the following is how Wikipedia defines it…

The normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a belief people hold when considering the possibility of a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects, because people believe that things will always function the way things normally have functioned. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately prepare themselves for disasters, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias in disasters.^[1]

For most Americans, the crisis of 2008 and 2009 is now a distant memory, and the vast majority of the population seems confident that brighter days are ahead even if we must weather a short-term economic recession first.  As a result, most people are not preparing for a major economic crisis, and that makes us extremely vulnerable.

In 2008 and 2009, the horrible financial crisis and the bitter recession that followed took most Americans completely by surprise.

It will be the same this time around, even though the warning signs are there for all to see.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post 28 Signs Of Economic Doom As The Pivotal Month Of September Begins appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.

A new study has discovered that we are far more dependent on America’s great debt creation machine than most of us would have ever dared to imagine.  Today, debt is involved in most of our major transactions.

In order to purchase a home, most of us go into debt.  The same thing is true when most of us buy a vehicle.  Total credit card debt is well over a trillion dollars, and total student loan debt is now over a trillion and a half dollars.  Corporate debt has more than doubled since the last financial crisis, state and local governments are absolutely drowning in debt and unfunded pension liabilities, and the federal government is more than 22 trillion dollars in debt.  The Federal Reserve and the “too big to fail” banks are at the core of this insidious debt-based system, and it has been systematically destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have.  But if we suddenly turned off America’s great debt creation machine at this point, our entire economic system would totally collapse because we have become so dependent on it.  In fact, a study that was just conducted by Bloomberg discovered that “gross domestic product per capita would plunge into negative territory” if the ability to borrow was suddenly removed…

The nation’s health as measured by gross domestic product per capita would plunge into negative territory without its dependence on borrowed money, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In fact, the U.S. would fall almost to the bottom of a ranking of 114 economies by GDP per capita. Only Italy, Greece and Japan would fare worse. That’s a seismic shift from America’s comfortable No. 5 spot on a list based on conventional measures.

Our massively inflated debt-fueled standard of living is completely and utterly dependent on the continual creation of more debt.

In essence, this study found that without debt we wouldn’t have much of an economy at all.  In fact, Bloomberg says that U.S. per capita income would collapse from $66,900 a year to “negative $4,857”…

To get this somewhat dystopian measure, Bloomberg took each economy’s 2020 GDP as projected by the International Monetary Fund as a starting point. We then adjusted the number by removing the ability to borrow, while adding reserves to create an alternative wealth measure.

U.S. per capita income of $66,900 would be slashed to a negative $4,857 using this measure. That’s a total loss of almost $72,000 for every man, woman and child.

So the only thing keeping us from complete and total economic collapse is the fact that debt is flowing like wine.

But what would happen if some sort of major national crisis erupted someday and all of a sudden everyone was afraid to lend money?

That is something to think about, because such a scenario may be a whole lot closer than many people might think.

As it stands, we appear to be on the precipice of the worst economic downturn since the last financial crisis, and our trade war with China just went to an entirely new level as the month of September began…

The biggest reason for last week’s torrid stock market rally was rekindled “optimism” that the escalating trade war between the US and China may be on the verge of another ceasefire following phone conversations, fake as they may have been, between the US and Chinese side. This translated into speculation that a new round of tariffs increases slated for this weekend may not take place or be delayed.

However, that did not happen, and with no trade deal in sight, at 12:00am on Sunday, the Trump administration slapped tariffs on $112 billion in Chinese imports, the latest escalation in a trade war that’s ground the global economy to a halt, sent Germany into a recession, and given the market an alibi to keep rising because, wait for it, “a trade deal is imminent.”

Only, it isn’t, and 1 minute later, at 12:01am EDT, China retaliated with higher tariffs being rolled out in stages on a total of about $75 billion of U.S. goods. The target list strikes at the heart of Trump’s political support – factories and farms across the Midwest and South at a time when the U.S. economy is showing signs of slowing down.

The Chinese knew that these tariffs were about to go into effect, and so they were ready and waiting to retaliate just one minute later.

Of course, many U.S. companies will be hit extremely hard by these tariffs that the Trump administration just implemented.  The following comes from CNBC…

That means that when an electronics company imports a TV, or a smart speaker, or a drone from China starting September 1, it will have to pay a 15% tax to the U.S. government.

Eventually, this will end up raising prices on gadgets and other products for people in the United States, said Bronwyn Flores, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Tech Association (CTA), a trade group that represents 2,000 different companies in the electronics industry, including brands like Apple and LG and retailers like Walmart and Best Buy.

Basically, people are not going to be able to buy as much stuff during the holiday shopping season, and overall economic activity will be slower than it otherwise would have been.

Meanwhile, President Trump continues to sound hopeful that trade talks with China will bear fruit…

President Donald Trump said trade talks with Beijing are still planned for September after a new round of tariffs went into effect on Sunday.

“We are talking to China, the meetings in September, that hasn’t changed,” Trump told reporters Sunday on the White House South Lawn after returning from Camp David.

These sorts of comments helped stabilize the financial markets last week, but if there was any hope that a trade agreement was imminent we would not have seen both sides impose new tariffs on Sunday.

And now we are moving into the month that is traditionally the worst for Wall Street.  The following comes from Fox Business…

Investors may breathe a sigh of relief that August, typically a volatile month for stocks, is over, but history shows that September could be even worse for Wall Street.

Since 1950, September has been the worst month for the S&P 500 Index, which has dropped, on average, 0.5% during the month, a phenomenon referred to as the September effect. According to Dow Jones market data, the average decline of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in September is 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite generally sees an average fall of 0.5%.

We shall see what this September brings.  Certainly things are really shaky on Wall Street right now, and any piece of really bad news is likely to set off another wave of panic.

Without a doubt, the market is more primed for a crash than it has been at any point since 2008, and it definitely will not take much to make this a “September to remember”…

There is more benefits to creating homemade bug spray than just removing harmful chemicals from your life. Sure, DIY cleaning and pesticides are way better than those mixed up in large vats but what if that bug spray finds its way into our survival kits?

RELATED STORY

Killer Bugs: Keep Disease Carrying Insects and Parasites Out

What Your Kit is Missing

There are two common sense items that many people overlook when preparing a kit. This kit could be a bugout bag or even a simple survival kit.

While you might have the high speed water filter, multiple methods for starting fire, a simple and effective shelter and maybe you even have something like a frog gig for procuring food, what are you missing?

Many people don’t think about bug spray. In fact, sunscreen and homemade bug spray are often overlooked because they don’t sell them in “tacticool” containers that attach to MOLLE or slip onto a gun rail. We get a little full of ourselves in the survival and prepping world.

That high powered AR15 cannot protect you from the effects of sleep deprivation, if you are up swatting mosquitoes all night.

Dealing with bugs is not a joke and it can go way beyond discomfort and sleep loss. Still, many people build bugout bags that are void of a means to keep the bugs away.

Disease and Discomfort of Dealing with Bugs

While ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes might seem like a nuisance and nothing more, they can carry disease. These diseases can range in severity but some of the worst can really wreak havoc on the human body.

Ever heard of malaria? While not a problem in the US, this mosquito borne disease infected 220 million people last year and killed 435,000. We have our own problems in the US with things like Lyme’s Disease and a growing list of mosquito borne illnesses.

The scariest thing about Lyme’s Disease is that its misdiagnosed regularly. People can go decades without understanding their affliction.

Keep these little monsters at bay, and the diseases they carry, with this homemade bug spray recipe.

Homemade Bug Spray Recipe

When it comes to homemade bug spray, it doesn’t get much easier than this. Honestly, this is a mix up and spray recipe. The base is vodka and that goes a long way with deterring bugs. The addition of the essential oils also helps with that.

Whether you decide to use the coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable glycerin is up to you. Just understand that you need something to smooth this out. You will have problems if you spend all day spraying alcohol on your skin or your kids’ skin.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ Cup of vodka
• ¼ Cup of water
• 1 TBSP of fractionated coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable glycerin
• 50 Drops of lavender essential oil
• 1 TSP of pure vanilla extract

PROCESS

This mix all goes into a spray bottle or a mason jar and can be shook to combine. That is literally the entire process!

Interesting fact about vanilla: Gnats, flies and mosquitoes among many other bugs, hate the smell of vanilla.

How to Store or Pack your DIY Homemade Bug Spray

When we are talking about long term storage for this spray you could keep it in that mason jar. The alcohol base will hold this mix for a long time. However, you should keep it out of direct sunlight. The oils will not last forever and direct sun will only shorten shelf life.

Now, you do not want to carry around a big spray bottle in your backpack. There are a couple ways to put this mix to use.

1. You could find a small vile with a spray top. Something like a little cologne bottle would work well. Some hand sanitizers work this way as well. The smaller and more compact the better. Just be sure you have some sort of safety or lid to avoid spraying it all into your bag.
2. You could take small squares of cloth (old shirt or shemagh cut up) and place them into a Ziploc. Pour some of your homemade bug spray into the Ziploc bag to coat the cloth. Don’t add a bunch of extra liquid to the bag but use enough to get them wet. Now these can be used as wipes to apply.

Pack up your homemade bug spray and take it on your next adventure. Or add it to your bugout bags, get home bags and anywhere else you might need it. You’ll be prepared to keep those buzzing and biting creatures at bay.

For the most recent copy of Survivor’s Edge or American Frontiersman or to subscribe, go to OutdoorGroupStore.com.

There’s nothing like the sweetness of honey, and when SHTF you can sustain yourself with a supply of it. Beekeeping gives us many useful products and food, including honey and beeswax. Beeswax is used for both candles and soap, and honey has dozens of uses.

Bees are the Livestock for Serious Preppers

While bees are much smaller than the animal livestock that come to mind, they produce many products that are useful and can be kept in storage for years.

1. Hives do not take up much space. This makes it sustainable as far as land use. Bees pollinate all flowering plants. If you have a hive and a garden, the garden has nearby pollinators to keep vegetables growing throughout the growing season.
2. Honey is the perfect food and can last for centuries. A good, healthy hive can produce 50 pounds of honey. When supermarkets close, and sugar and sweeteners are hard to come by, a reliable source of honey will be valuable. Honey is a great source of calories if you are ever in a situation where food is scarce. It boosts the immune system and can be used in canning and baking.
   There are primarily two different kinds of honey that beekeepers harvest from their hives. The most common type of honey is liquid honey extracted from the comb. This is easily extracted with centrifuge equipment called an extractor. Most beekeepers use ready-made extractors, but some make their own.
   The second form of honey produced is known as comb honey. This is when the honey is left within the original wax combs. Comb honey is a lot less common than liquid honey, but many people prefer the more natural flavor.
3. Beeswax provides light and soap. This can be used to make slow burning candles perfect for grid down situations. Beeswax can also be used in soaps and this soap lasts longer. Beeswax helps to waterproof leather and other textures that have to be out in weather.

Bees For Healing

There are medicinal properties to honey that go far beyond allergy prevention. Propolis is the glue that bees make to repair and weatherproof their hives. This has antibiotic properties that can be used to fight infection. And some research indicates that propolis also has anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and wound healing properties. Propolis can be collected from hives and needed when pharmacy shelves are bare.

Bee pollen is one of the most complete and compact foods in nature. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes. It’s been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to boost energy, fight acne, fight depression, improve blood pressure and aid in digestion. Install pollen traps on your hives to collect the left-over pollen.

How to Start a Beehive

1. Bees can usually be kept anywhere, but be sure to check with local county regulations. Rural preppers will have less trouble finding a convenient spot for a hive. Suburban preppers can keep a hive in the backyard. A small fence is recommended as a precaution to keep kids and pets away. You want bees to fly higher past an obstacle such as a fence, so a stream of bees won’t go into your neighbor’s face.
2. Check with surrounding neighbors before getting started. If anyone has a big problem with your plan, this is the time to resolve issues. Some people are deathly allergic to bees, so you may have to reconsider. Set up in another location with a friend or family member, and offer to share the benefits.
3. Buy or build the beehive. Beehives are available on Amazon or your local beekeepers organization can help you. Beehives can be made from a variety of materials.
4. Buy necessary equipment. This includes a queen catcher, bee smoker, bee feeders, and other accessories that you will learn more about as you get into beekeeping.
5. Purchase safety gear such as a beekeeper suit. This will include a hat, veil, safety footwear and gloves.
6. Purchase bees for the new colony. Make sure you buy these bees are from a reputable source. Your orders should be placed by February at the latest. Apiaries will begin shipping orders in March and April, depending on your location. Most will ship with the United States Postal Service. The queen bee will come in a separate container. The rest of the bees will be feeding on a sugar solution while they are being shipped.

Installing Bees into the New Hive

Step 1 – Meet your bees
Before opening the package, spray some sugar syrup outside of the box to prevent the bees from flying around. Make sure your smoker is lit and smoking nicely. You may not need it as the bees will be docile from transportation, but you want to be safe just in case. Pry open the box with your hive tool and dislodge the bees by vigorously shaking the package.

Step 2 – Remove the queen
If your bee package has the queen in a separate cage, leave the queen until after all bees have been installed in the hive.

Step 3 – Remove hive frames
Remove some frames from the top of the hive. The number of frames to remove and the placement for the false bottom will depend on the size of your new colony.

Usually, it is recommended to place the false bar about 10 bars from the front of the hive. This way you can establish a brood nest right in front of the hive.

Step 4 – Put the bees in the hive
Empty the package into the hive through the opening. This is where your bee brush or feather will come in handy. Scatter any clusters around the bee cage and ensure that all bees are transferred from the package into the hive.

Additional Notes after Installing Bees

• Don’t touch the hive for at least a week. The bees need time to accept the queen. If the queen has been released from her cage, then she has been fully accepted by the colony. If not, you may need to give the hive a helping hand.
• Keep the feeder full during this time.
• Bees will be very confused and fly haphazardly. In no time they will adjust and become more coordinated.
• When you notice undertaker bees taking out the dead bees, then you’ll know that the colony is doing well. Also, look out for bees gathering pollen, this is another sign that the colony is thriving.

After a successful installation, you’ll need to give the bees time to adapt to their surroundings. Inspect the hive and ensure that they have started gathering pollen and nectar. They should begin to build the comb.

Starting a Hive without Buying Bees

If you are going to catch bees in the wild to start your own hive, the easiest swarms to collect are bees on tree branches. All you really need to do is cut the branch and gently place or shake the branch inside a container.

Bees on a fence post or flat surface are not that easy to collect. You will need to guide the bees into the box by brushing them gently with a bee brush or cardboard. They can also be guided to the container by using a smoker to direct and encourage them to move in the opposite direction.

Using a smoker will entail spraying the box with a sugar and water solution to attract the bees and keep them in the container. Then placing the smoker in the direction that you DON’T want the bees to go. Sometimes using more than one smoker may be necessary to get the swarm where you want them.

To transfer the bees from the container to your hive, gently shake the container and give them a nudge. Make sure the hive is ready to receive the new bees.

Don’t forget to wear safety clothing. Also, it’s a good idea to take a smoker on your bee collection adventure so that you can calm any ill-tempered bees down. Basically, follow the rest of the steps the same way to get the bees and the queen used to your hive.

Bees are not as aggressive as their reputation often lends them to be. Bees tend to focus on their roles in their colony. Beekeeping does require a bit of work and a new skill set. But, if it fits your lifestyle, this could one day prove to be one of your most valuable preps.