SCP Survival

Best Survival Gear and Supplies

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.

Can You Overwinter Parsnips?

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On April 17th just north of the Twin Cities there was 15 inches of snow. To refuse to get down about continuing snow I decided to bring in the first harvest of the year. Parsnips!

Parsnips Very early last spring I got that heavenly nudge to learn to grow parsnips. I had never even eaten parsnips much less grow them, but I know the nudge so I began to research.

At one of the early farmers markets in late April when there was hardly lettuce, yet there there was a farmer and his wife with parsnips.

I asked him if he was from around here, because I thought parsnips were harvested in the fall best after a frost. He said that they were good then but if you leave them in the ground and they go through the long hard winter they are even sweeter harvested in early spring. I felt the nudge again that many of us are like that too having gone through long hard winters of life and come out better the other side.

I grew parsnips and they are wonderful. I left some in the ground to test the word on overwintering. If they could make it through this winter we have had they could make it through any winter. I did not cover or mulch them at all.

Roasted Parsnip fries I decided today as it was snowing a little here to harvest some and it is true. They were great roasted for lunch.

If you can grow them in your climate just think, early spring and the fresh potatoes and squash stores are eaten and no crops ready, yet but you can go dig fresh parsnips.

What an amazing provision!

Tea Light Stove [Easy DIY]

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Off Grid Cooking Stove with Tea Lights I recently got a link to a lady who has been experimenting with a gutted toaster oven and tea lights. And I just had to try it in my toaster oven that I converted for rocket stove baking. Wow, it works! I did a little research and found there is a tea light oven out there called the Herc (puppy sells for right around $400, yikes!). I did not bother to gut my toaster oven, and I cut my hole in the bottom to sit on top of the rocket stove. The lady who was playing with her version had holes drilled in the back which did not allow it to heat up like mine does. So, here goes… The Herc has these fancy terra cotta bricks on the top. Well, we know you can bake on unglazed terra cotta and that it holds and radiates heat – I went down and bought a $1 unglazed terra cotta plant saucer and used some leftover heat resistant caulk to attach it to the inside top of my oven. I only have one place to slide in my grate, so I went to my “obtainium” pile and selected a piece of hardware cloth (Small mesh wire, I have no idea why they call it “cloth”.) cut it with a good scissors to the size of the bottom of my oven and then bent 4 to raise the grate. Then I placed the tea lights (Walmart brand is the best I have found at less than 5 cents apiece and go for about 4 hours) on the base of hardware cloth around the 4 sides so that I didn’t burn what I was baking. I also slid out the bottom tray that on mine I had drilled holes into – it worked with it, but some of the candles went out as they needed more air. It takes from 15 to 20 tea lights for my oven to bake a Rhubarb Crisp. I’m on a Rhubarb Crisp kick – rhubarb season – and have baked 3 now in this oven – I’M PLEASED! I did put in my oven thermometer. I had no problem getting from 300 to 400 degrees and even had to blow out lights to bring the temperature down! Reality is you don’t need more than 275 degrees to bake successfully – remember that heat rises so it is probably hotter than the thermometer is registering. Fewer candles used (Saving money.) and just a bit longer to cook. In other words, don’t sweat the numbers.  :-) Generally, you can use your tea lights 2 to 3 times for baking which means you have your cost down to 15-25 cents per use – Dare you to heat up your big oven for that! Your kitchen stays much cooler than if you do start your big oven too. This actually worked better than the Camp Heat, so I am adding to my stock of Walmart tea lights. And I am keeping this oven in the house as for summer it makes much more sense to use it than to start up my big oven for most of what I am baking for 2 people. Looking for other ideas on off-grid cooking? Check this post on 6 ways to cook when the power is out.

18 Lessons Learned from Being Unemployed

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I prep because I’m a former farm girl who grew up with a year’s worth of food sitting in the cellar at any given time and because I’ve had to start over several times with little more than the clothes on my back.  Once you’ve spent some time shivering without enough blankets or skipping meals because there’s no food, you do everything you can to prevent that in the future.

My kids, like many of this latest generation, have never experienced lengthy power outages, financial collapse, war, or being stranded at home for days on end because of the weather.  They’d roll their eyes and say “Mom’s getting ready for Armageddon again” every time I’d toss a pound of beans in the grocery cart or check something else off my survival food list.  “Don’t eat the Chunky soup.  Mom’s saving it for the end of the world.”

Well, our TEOTWAKI situation came when I lost my job.  As the only wage earner, we had no income whatsoever until I found work. Taking inventory that first day, we discovered that we had enough supplies on hand to get us through several months, so our savings could be reserved for paying the bills.  That doesn’t mean it was easy.  We still had to ration everything, and we weren’t as prepared as I’d thought.

  1. Buy more dish soap.  Yes, I could’ve grated the bars of Ivory that I have in storage or mixed up a batch of Borax and washing soda, but I like using dish soap on my dishes.  When you’re home all day, you use a lot more dishes, so the dish soap is going to go fast.
  2. There is no such thing as too much toilet paper.  Again, when you’re home an additional 45-60 hours a week, you’re going to use more than you’d expected.  Double the amount you thought you’d need, and then buy as much more as you can.
  3. If you plan to bake bread, you’re going to use 4-6 cups of flour for each batch.  That 50 pounds that you carefully packaged in mouse and bug-proof containers isn’t going to go very far.
  4. You’ll also need a lot of powdered eggs. 
  5. Make sure you’ve rotated your yeast.  Don’t wait until you’re in dire straits to try making bread and tortillas.  You’ll have a lot of fun laughing at the end result, but you’ll waste your supplies. If you’re getting your recipes off the Internet, carefully read the reviews that follow.
  6. The cold-weather sleeping bags and fleece and wool blankets come in handy when you turn the heat down to lower your utility costs.  Socks, slippers, and baggy sweatshirts become the norm 24 hours a day (Remember, layering your clothes really does keep you warmer).  Those frilly sheers look lovely on the windows, but I really should’ve bought the thermal curtains when they were on sale.
  7. If you’re a regular coffee drinker, buy more.  You’re stressing out about finding a job, so you’re going to drink more.  And if you’re drinking more coffee, you’re also using more of what goes in it, whether it’s creamer, sugar, or flavorings.  I thought we had plenty of powdered creamer set aside, but it went quickly, and I didn’t want to use the powdered milk, because it was needed for cooking.
  8. Buy more powdered milk.  I thought we had a decent amount, because the kids won’t drink it.  I didn’t stop to consider just how much of that powder is needed to mix enough milk for baking and cooking.
  9. Buy more canned vegetables and meats.  Once the real meat is gone, you’ll be more dependent on vegetables to add flavor to your meals, and you don’t realize just how many you use until they’re no longer available.  TVP is a great substitute…once in a while.  While not big meat-eaters, we’re also not vegan, and canned meats can add flavor to a wide variety of dishes.
  10. Stock up on canned and dehydrated potatoes.  They’ve always been a comfort food for us, and we didn’t have enough.  Canned potatoes taste “tinny” and dehydrated ones never rehydrate fully.  Instant mashed potatoes don’t taste real.  Deal with it.  The only other option is to live without potatoes.
  11. Stock up on a variety of sweets.  Hard candies and freeze-dried fruits won’t cut it.  You need Jell-O and canned fruit, instant pudding, chocolate chips, and M & M’s. A couple containers of Cool Whip in the freezer is a help. Molasses and cocoa powder store well.  We could live without fresh meat, eggs, milk, and pre-sliced bread, but when the chips are down, we want dessert.
  12. Salt.  We haven’t used added salt in decades.  The ex had high blood pressure and the daughter has potential kidney problems.  We always got enough from the processed foods we ate regularly. When you start cooking all your meals from scratch, the only salt you’re going to get is from the occasional bouillon or packaged gravy mix.  We were eating well-balanced meals, but I started feeling shaky and sick. Out of liquid Gatorade and unwilling to open the canister of powder, I licked a spoonful of salt.  Nasty, but it did the trick.  Don’t underestimate your body’s need for salt.
  13. Stock up on garbage bags and bags for cleaning up after the dog.  We live in a community that has mandatory immediate dog poop duty.  When you’re home all day long, the dog wants out more often, just because he can.  You’ll also be doing more housework and clearing out all that “Why did I keep this” junk.  Your garbage men might learn to hate you, but you’ll only hate yourself if you run out of garbage bags.
  14. Don’t forget dog food.  We generally have at least 50 pounds of dry food, but I wish I’d bought a couple cases of canned food.  It has a good shelf-life, and it would’ve lowered my stress levels. He’s big, he’s old, and he’d never understand if I tried to tell him to go on a diet.
  15. Fill your gas tank.  We’re all advised to keep the tank full for any emergency, and the inability to buy more is about as urgent as it gets.  You don’t want to head to an interview or, God forbid, the ER, and realize the gas gauge is on “E.”
  16. Follow Grandma’s advice and always have a little black dress on hand (for you guys, that would translate into a button-down shirt and tie, preferably with dress slacks).  Don’t forget nylons and heels.  You really don’t want to show up for a job interview dressed in blue jeans, work boots, and a t-shirt, and you don’t want to call the electric company and tell them you can’t pay your bill because you spent that money on a new wardrobe.
  17. Buy several cookbooks.  Not the fancy ones using bay scallops, escargot, and spun sugar, but the ones published by your local church, a good old Betty Crocker, or better yet – one from the Depression or war years.  You may not need to know how to make a squirrel casserole for 12 people, but knowing how to bake cakes with nothing but flour, water, and a magic wand is a good skill to learn.  Be willing to experiment with new dishes and adapt the recipes to the foods you have on hand.  My daughter’s a food major, so we made good use of the African and Indian cookbooks she’d collected.  They use a lot of lentils, rice, split peas, and root vegetables, all of which we had.  Now is not the time to follow a traditional American meal plan.
  18. After all that:  Take time to relax. Keep to your old schedule.  If you’re used to going to bed early and getting up in the wee hours, keep doing it.  Renew your acquaintance with old hobbies. Finish reading that book that’s gathering dust on your nightstand.  Call an old friend.  Bake cookies with the kids like you did when they were little.  Make sure you argue over who gets to lick the spoon.  Dance in the rain.  Volunteer at the local soup kitchen to remind yourself that you still have a good life.  And always remember – “This too shall pass.”