SCP Survival

Best Survival Gear and Supplies

Is Stinging Nettle Really Edible?

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Is Stinging Nettle Actually Edible?

I decided that this is the year that I would try some wild edibles that I haven’t tried before. Stinging Nettle is a pain – literally – but it was brought to this country by the colonists as a medicinal herb and has gone wild and is currently considered an invasive species. Nearly any roadside, farmsite, or disturbed plot of land will have a stand of stinging nettles growing – Free Food!

I started by putting on rubber handed gloves as some of my just cloth garden gloves will still allow the nettles to sting (FYI a baking soda paste will alleviate the stinging). Then I just went out and pulled a few.

Next I stripped the leaves into a steamer. I have eaten them before stalks and all just boiled, but I wanted to give the steamed method a try this time.

You want to steam them long enough to really wilt or your tongue will feel it – 4-7 minutes. I added a dab of butter, salt, pepper, with some garlic sprinkled over it as having eaten it before I thought the garlic would add a flavorful punch and it did. I did throw some leaves into the rest of the water and let them steep a bit for a tea.

My Honest Thoughts after Eating Stinging Nettle

So how was it? Excellent! But I think I almost prefer it boiled with the stalks. Tastes akin to spinach and is one of the first plants up in the spring for a fresh vegetable.

The tea has a unique flavor, but not at all bad. Actually, it is better than a lot of the teas I have purchased. A dollop of honey would make it even more pleasing if you like sweet.

Food Storage: Here’s What Works For Us

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I try to not be afraid to admit that I need to try new things or different ways of doing things when a particular tactic is showing less than stellar results. To that end, our food storage has evolved over the years into a loose plan that, hopefully, will meet our needs and the needs of our family and close friends should it be necessary.

In the last years of the last century, Y2K was on everyone’s minds. For those with a ‘prepping’ mentality, Y2K gave us an opportunity to get our feet wet in what, for many, became a lifestyle of choice. It served to awaken within me that desire to be as pro-active, as prepared as I could be in every way.

Like some of you, before we had a really solid survival food list, we made purchases of buckets of wheat, soy, popcorn, rice, beans, you name it. Most of it suited our lifestyle. Some of it didn’t. I’ve mentioned before that soy doesn’t suit my palate, but on a homestead very little goes to waste. Chickens will eat nearly anything.

But it’s hard to eat 5 gallons of popcorn because after a few years, it just won’t pop. The wheat we did well with, since we grind our own for bread and wheat lasts almost forever. We finished up the last of the Y2K hard red wheat in 2013 and couldn’t tell that it was the worse for sitting in a five gallon bucket for 14 years without any special treatment. We had originally nitrogen packed it in the buckets ourselves, but once opened, it was exposed to ordinary air.

We had virtually no problems with bugs in wheat, barley or rice and bugs don’t seem to like pinto beans, but they get a bit hard to cook after a while.

I’m the prepper in the family and feel like I have to be prepared for this family of 19 people, 42 chickens and 3 cocker spaniels.

We actually eat from our preps. Our day to day pantry and prepping pantry are one and the same so we have overcome the issue of having stored food that is cheap and easy to keep, but not on your everyday menu. We have no freeze dried, no MREs, Mountain House meals or dehydrated strawberries.

We do have several cases of strawberry jam, purchased in 2010 at a very good sale price. I opened another jar this week and it is as good as when I bought it. Last year several local supermarkets had sales of name brand canned vegetables, products that we normally use, at 2 cans for $1.00. Too good to pass up and so we have perhaps 3 dozen cases of corn, green beans, whole and sliced potatoes and carrots.

Another time we got Wolf Brand chili without beans for $0.59 and laid in at least a 5 year supply. My daughter refuses to serve her family from a can or a box with an expired date, but properly canned foods have been found to maintain their nutrition for years longer than we’ve been led to believe, and my personal experience bears that out.

What we have stopped doing is buying our beans of various kinds, wheat, barley, corn meal, rice and several additional items either in large bags from supermarkets or in 5 gallon pails from the suppliers we all know so well. While those are economical ways to prepare, we have decided that, for the two of us, those are quantities that are likely to deteriorate to some degree before we can use the entire large bag or 5 gallon pail. We still have some beans and wheat in 5 gallon pails, unopened, so they’ll last until we need them, and if a disaster ever happens and we have to feed more than the 2 of us they’ll come in handy.

The major change in our method has been to purchase what is available in #10 cans and we are storing and using from these cans for the above mentioned items, as well as pasta, rolled oats, noodles and granola. I know that the cost to purchase in this size containers is a bit more expensive, especially compared to buying your pinto beans at Walmart, but we take comfort in knowing that the things we need are here and will last indefinitely and that comfort and security is part of what you pay for.

Our diet is supplemented extensively with the regular canned vegetables in our stockpile, as well as canned hams, salmon, chicken, tuna and some other meat products for protein. Again, all a part of our everyday diet. And, all things considered, since I purchase most of our supermarket food ONLY when it is on sale, my overall cost, even when purchasing rice in a #10 can, is lower.

We are on sort of a paleo diet, and we’re not big consumers of wheat, especially, and use almost no processed products, most of which are not packaged for long term storage. Our meals also rely heavily on our garden during our long growing season. We end up eating most of what we grow and share with friends and family so we don’t do a lot of canning or freezing.

So, the rest of the story? Finally, after 30 years of prepping, the last 20 of which have been ‘serious’ prepping, we’ve all but eliminated the waste from our food storage. The advantage I feel we enjoy is switching to #10 cans for the mainstays, and buying in bulk at the local supermarket when they have a crazy sale (and don’t worry too much about those expiration dates).

How To Make Organic Ant Killer

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Diatomaceous Earth dusted lightly inside or outside will kill ants, earwigs, cockroaches, millipedes, centipedes, crickets and silverfish usually within 24 hours. It is a deterent of fleas and any creature with an exoskeleton. DO NOT get into your eyes. Don’t apply when windy.

NOTE: Diatomaceous Earth (DE) will KILL earth worms and nearly any type of worm – in various forms it is used as an organic wormer for livestock and humans. So, don’t just dust it over your gardens. Apply locally where you aren’t worried about keeping the worms.

Remember the bomb we made from baking soda and vinegar? This works on ants too! When the ant mound is damp (morning dew or after a rain) sprinkle with baking soda. About a half hour later come back and pour some vinegar on the mound. The ants have eaten the baking soda and now will ingest the vinegar – no more ants!

From the WE2s: “I make a “cup” out of tin foil, put a couple tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax and a couple tablespoons of granulated sugar, mix it up and sit it near the back side of my sink. They come in, carry the stuff to their nests and I don’t see them any more that year.”

Companion Planting – Foes

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There are all kinds of companion planting books and charts out there you can buy or download, but for my purposes I just want to know what NOT to plant (because one, the other or both will fail as a crop) within 4′ of one another.

This reminders are helpful to keep in mind as you create your garden layout. Getting companion planting right could improve your production and minimize maintenance.

Well, here you are. This should go into your Survival Binder:

  • Beans HATE garlic, onions, peppers and sunflowers.
  • Corn Hates tomatoes.
  • Onions Hate beans, peas and sage.
  • Cucumbers Hate aromatic herbs, melons and potatoes.
  • Peppers & Radishes Hate beans and kohlrabi.
  • Cabbage Hates broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries and tomatoes.
  • Carrots Hate anis, dill and parsley.
  • Lettuce Hates broccoli.
  • Tomatoes Hate broccoli, brussell sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, kale and potatoes.

For more info, HERE is the Wiki article about this form of polyculture.

What Are the “Three Sisters?” [plus how to plant them]

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Three Sisters gardening — corn, beans, and squash planted together using Native American companion planting method

If you have a small garden plot and don’t like digging it up every year, Three Sisters gardening may be for you. It’s a Native American companion planting technique at least 1,000 years old — practiced by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest, and Mesoamerican milpa farmers across what is now Mexico and Central America. They grew these three crops together not for tradition’s sake but because it works: the combination produces genuinely higher yields than any of the three plants grown alone.

It adapts to climate conditions, requires minimal year-to-year soil disturbance, and produces calorie-dense crops you can store. For a survival garden or homestead, it’s one of the most efficient things you can plant.

So, What Are The 3 Sisters?

The Three Sisters are corn, beans, and vined squash. Each one solves a specific problem for the others:

  • Corn grows tall and straight, providing a natural trellis for the beans to climb — no stakes or cages needed. It’s a heavy feeder and susceptible to wind, both of which the beans help address.
  • Pole beans fix nitrogen from the air into the soil through bacterial activity in their root nodules, feeding the corn and squash. Their flowers attract pollinating insects. Their vines bind the corn stalks together for wind resistance.
  • Squash spreads across the ground as a living mulch — shading out weeds, retaining soil moisture, and deterring deer and raccoons from the corn with its prickly leaves and vines.
Three Sisters garden diagram showing placement of corn, beans, and squash in mounds

Check out the layout depicting the placement of corn, beans, and squash.

Mound, Flat, or Depression — Match Your Climate

In wet or cold climates, mound your planting area. Corn hills about 5 inches high and 18 inches across allow the soil to warm more quickly in spring and improve drainage. You can plant earlier this way, which matters in a short growing season. In dry climates, dig a slight depression instead — it channels water toward the roots and retains moisture that would otherwise evaporate. If you’re getting the normal 40 inches of rain most vegetables want, a flat circle works fine.

Choosing Your Varieties

Variety selection matters more than most Three Sisters guides admit. The wrong choices and the system doesn’t work — the corn gets overwhelmed by the beans, or the squash clumps rather than spreads.

Corn: Three Sisters gardening often works best with flint, dent, or flour corn varieties, as they are harvested at the end of the season. Native American varieties like Hickory Cane Dent Corn and Cherokee White Flour work well. Sweet corn can be used but requires you to carefully navigate sprawling squash vines at harvest. Avoid very tall, weak-stalked hybrid varieties that may fall over once beans start climbing.

Beans: They must be pole beans (vine-type), as modern bush beans are incapable of climbing cornstalks. Good pole bean choices include Blue Lake, Scarlet Runner, and Italian Snap. Kentucky Wonder — which we grow and review here — is one of the most reliable heirloom options for this system.

Squash: Use a winter squash variety — butternut, acorn, delicata, and the like — which grow on vines that spread across the ground. Summer squash varieties like crookneck and pattypan won’t work because they grow in single clumps rather than as a spreading groundcover. The trailing vines are what make the living-mulch system function.

Corn — Planting and Growing

Corn is wind-pollinated and needs other corn in close proximity for best results — no pollination means no kernels. This is why you never plant corn in a single row, and why the circular or clustered mound system works so well: plant corn first after the last frost, when soil temperatures reach at least 55°F. Plant 4 corn seeds in a square pattern at the center of each mound, then thin to the strongest 3 seedlings after germination. By planting in a tight cluster you get optimum cross-pollination between plants.

Pole Beans — Structure and Nitrogen

If you’ve ever planted pole beans you know they will take over any structure they can find. That’s the feature, not the bug. When corn reaches 4 to 6 inches tall, plant 4 pole bean seeds around each corn stalk — one bean at each of the 4 compass points, 6 inches from the corn. The vines will bind the corn stalks together, providing maximum wind resistance. The flowers attract pollinators that benefit the whole garden.

One thing worth doing: coat the bean seeds with an inoculant before planting for better nitrogen fixation. Inoculant is a powder containing the right bacteria for legume nitrogen fixation — inexpensive, widely available, and makes a real difference in soil enrichment, especially in new garden beds.

Squash — Moisture, Mulch, and Deterrence

When the beans reach six inches, plant squash seeds around the perimeter of the mound, spacing them 18 inches apart. The spreading leaves retain moisture in the ground, stunt weed growth by shading the area, and attract additional pollinating insects. The prickly texture of squash leaves and vines also deters deer and raccoons — they don’t like navigating through it to reach the corn.

Three Sisters garden watering pot sunk in center with corn planted around it

Here’s a setup that works well: sink a garden pot in the center of your mound for deep watering. Plant six corn around that pot. Add the beans on the outside of the corn a week later, and four squash plants a week after that. The sunken pot directs water straight to the root zone — efficient, especially in dry stretches.

Getting Going — Planting Schedule

The staggered timing is critical. Plant everything at once and the corn gets overwhelmed before it can establish:

  1. Corn first — after last frost, soil at 55°F minimum
  2. Beans about a week later — once corn is 4–6 inches tall and growing confidently
  3. Squash a week after that — when beans are reaching 6 inches

Want to extend your harvest across the season? Sow seeds any time after spring night temperatures are in the 50-degree range, up through June. Plant successive mounds a week or two apart and you’ll have Three Sisters dining for as long as your growing season holds. Depending on how you like to put up vegetables, you can spread the work across the summer or batch it all at the end into a big canning session.

One more maintenance note: do not apply nitrogen fertilizer once beans are established — the bacterial fixation in the bean roots supplies what the corn needs. Adding nitrogen at that point throws the system off balance.

Storing Your Harvest

Squash stores particularly well. A dry, cool area — root cellar, basement shelf, spare bedroom — keeps most winter squash in good eating condition for three to six months without any processing. Butternut and acorn are the most forgiving. Check them monthly and use any that start to soften first.

Dried beans from this system are among the most storage-friendly calories you can grow yourself — sealed in Mylar with oxygen absorbers, they last 20+ years. Corn can be dried and ground into meal, or pressure-canned as whole kernel. The Three Sisters aren’t just a companion planting system — they’re a complete calorie-crop strategy. For more on maximizing what your garden produces for long-term storage, see our calorie crops and gardening for survival guides.

Don’t overthink this one. Just have fun and enjoy some sweet, all-American calorie crops.

Simple Off Grid Solar Setup in Southern Virginia

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Simple Off Grid Solar in Southern Virginia

Hello all. I’m Keebler from central Southern Virginia, 30 years now in the boonies and I’m on the end of the power line. I’m in a small prepper start up group in Concord, Virginia, near me where I showed some of my portable solar projects [these are the permanent installations].

I bought this place when returning from Beirut, Lebanon in June 1984, I also bought a used 17 ft. travel trailer in bad shape too. It took almost 4 years, living in my camper, to get power. I had a small 5 watt PV panel that kept the camper battery charged. The camper van has two batteries.

In ’89 I finally could afford a bigger trailer. Wanted more solar and I found a used two panel hot water solar panel unit – finally it’s on the roof too. Retired in ’92, barely surviving, had a stroke in ’95 that set me back a few more years.

Solar does wonders to heat water – the well water is around 56 degrees. With just two pumps, one for antifreeze and one for fresh water circulating, the well water gets hotter through a heat exchanger. Heats a 30 gallon water heater, prior to the electric tank – saves me big bucks on the power bill.

keeb battery bank In November of 2008 I invested in my alternative energy setup and bought a 45 watt solar kit from Harbor Freight – I think it was $189.99.

I had a better battery by now. Once I got it up on the roof. WOW!!! 3.2 amps – really great, kit had (3) 13 watt CFL’s in it & a controller, I still have one hooked up on it in the basement where the Battery Group is,(See picture)Battery’s are (Group 4D) very heavy about 160 filled, I bought them from Tractor Supply @ $149.99 each.

I have three all controlled separately via rotary selector switches. I have since added 2 more solar panels @ 90 watts each to the battery group, the H.F. unit still charges just fine. But on Group 27 battery, or my lawnmower start batteries and basement lights.

My next project was 12-24 DC volt well pump when the power is off. Bought a pump for $680, like the one Northern Tool sells – 100 ft. 1/2″ black pipe, pump max in the water says 50 ft. – so that’s what I did. 70 ft. pipe to a spigot & another 12 volt 4D battery & switch, I have 95 PSI water. Still needs a pressure switch – coming soon – but it’s an emergency system. Soon a solar panel will maintain that battery. got the panels and the bladder tank – just too much to do right now.

Next project after this one will be 24 volt solar panels to a 28 gallon water heater, I tested it and it will work.

My farm truck has solar panel to maintain the battery, so does the camper van.

I have 14 LED lights in the house all off the battery bank. All batteries are either in a safety box or on a safety tray in case of any possible leak – baking soda near too. All output circuits are fused, I only use DC LED volt meters so I know what the load is.

I recently found a DC 12 volt ceiling fan. I took one of the original CFL lamps I modified in a House Bridge lamp, alligator clamps, and I can hook it up to my (Jump Start) battery unit if necessary.