Envr Preparing to Survive and Thrive in a Solar Minimum climate

[Publius]

Food to look into is "Pemmican" and you can look it up with a search engine and even YouTube and you will find instructions on how to make it.
Pemmican may not come off as an ideal food, but you can get by on it and properly stored it will last for years. You can get inventive by warming it up in a pot add some water and then add other things to it.

 

[Martinhouse]

The thread on the main page about the trouble with wild horses out west made me think of this thread.

All those horses would turn into a useful commodity if a little ice age knocks out transportation.

Wonder how many people today have even a tiny bit of experience about breaking wild horses?

Horses would surely become an important commodity in a preindustrial environment, maybe second only to salt.

 

[Sacajawea]

When I still lived on the OBX, I considered their wild horse herd a potential resource. I could tame one; train it... but it would take an awful lot of time using my methods. There's that extra step of teaching them to not spook around humans - altho many in that herd are used to seeing lots of humans.

 

[Freeholder]

I've worked a couple of horses using the round-pen method -- it's pretty fast and easy to 'break' a wild horse that way, though they still need training. I've had several mustangs and they make pretty good horses when they are finished, though often not 'pretty.' But I don't think most people would be able to utilize them simply because most people don't have any place to keep one, or any way to feed one. And that's even if (big if) they knew what to do with one if they had it. There's a reason that most people in the pre-automobile past walked or used oxen for transportation. I suspect even the domestic horse population will go down significantly in any serious disruption, at least initially.

Kathleen

 

[Freeholder]

Amazingly, I had completely forgotten about this thread! (That's what the stress of moving, and then dealing with a sick daughter, will do for you -- kills brain cells, LOL!)

Time to resurrect it, I think.

Does anyone have anything to add here that hasn't been thoroughly discussed in the Grand Solar Minimum thread?

Kathleen

 

[Martinhouse]

There's lots to discuss, I'm sure, but I'd need to find time to go back and read this thread from the beginning.

Edit: I just took a quick look at the beginning of page 1 here, and I am definitely going to go back and reread the entire thread. I really do wish, though that it was somehow on the same page as the GSM thread. Guess I'll just have to check both forums equally from now on if this thread is revived.

 

[summerthyme]

Just click on the "new posts" button (upper far left, right below the "home" button) and it should bring up any new post you haven't read since you last visited. It's not perfect, but it does work.

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

Thanks, Summerthyme, I've never used that but maybe I'll have to try it now.

 

[Freeholder]

There are only a few sections of the forum that I check on regularly -- I don't have time to keep track of everything. It only takes a few seconds to click on the homesteading section and look to see if anything new has been posted here. I don't want to keep anyone from posting stuff on the Grand Solar Minimum thread, but thought it might be useful to bring this one back up again.

I've been working on figuring out what trees and other plants to get to be planted next spring. Not ready to place an order yet, but want to have my order(s) figured out ahead of time.

Kathleen

 

[Martinhouse]

I've been wondering if I should order my cane berries from a catalog instead of waiting until the garden centers open in the spring. By spring, there may not even be anything I need available. I think I'm remembering that they ship those only at certain times, and if I have to wait until spring, those seed catalog companies might not be able to get what I need either.

 

[mecoastie]

I've been wondering if I should order my cane berries from a catalog instead of waiting until the garden centers open in the spring. By spring, there may not even be anything I need available. I think I'm remembering that they ship those only at certain times, and if I have to wait until spring, those seed catalog companies might not be able to get what I need either.

Typically they will only ship when the canes should be planted in your area or when they can ship from their area. i.e. if you order from a Maine company you would probably get them later than ordering from a Florida company.

 

[summerthyme]

Typically they will only ship when the canes should be planted in your area or when they can ship from their area. i.e. if you order from a Maine company you would probably get them later than ordering from a Florida company.

True... but if you want plants that will survive in a GSM climate, you'll want to order from Northern companies. And if at all possible, ones which grow their own stock, or at least source it locally.

When Millers Nurseries in Canandaigua, NY sold out to Starks in Missouri, we lost our best source for fruit tree stock. Starks quality and survivability isn't nearly as good as Millers was.

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

IIRC, I used to order plant stock from a catalog called Northern Grower (I think they said they were zone 4). I had good results with them. Almost twenty years ago, maybe they are still around?

 

[spinner]

St Lawrence Nurseries have excellent, hardy fruit trees and berries. We have ordered a lot of our fruit trees from them and they do exceptionally well.

Summerthyme, I miss Miller's, too. Stark's can't hold a candle to Miller's.

https://stlawrencenurseries.com/

 

[packyderms_wife]

Well in the past week I've read, and heard, a couple of scientists call it, we're officially in a grand solar minimum, sorry no links. The thoughts coming out of Iowa State University from their spurts, and this dude has been around a good 60+ years and is correct a good 90% of the time is quite conservative in his predictions and doesn't buy into MAN MADE climate change, is that this minimum won't break until sometime around 2030. I don't remember his name but he was discussing this on the local Farm Show 1040am Des Moines. There's a good chance it'll be discussed on Market to Market either tonight (PBS) or next Friday.

Nows the time to move south if you're going to do so.

 

[packyderms_wife]

IIRC, I used to order plant stock from a catalog called Northern Grower (I think they said they were zone 4). I had good results with them. Almost twenty years ago, maybe they are still around?

The question is is if I move to Arkansas what will the growing zone change to as compared to now?

 

[Faroe]

St Lawrence Nurseries have excellent, hardy fruit trees and berries. We have ordered a lot of our fruit trees from them and they do exceptionally well.

Summerthyme, I miss Miller's, too. Stark's can't hold a candle to Miller's.

https://stlawrencenurseries.com/

THAT was the one. Glad to hear they are still in business.

 

[Faroe]

The question is is if I move to Arkansas what will the growing zone change to as compared to now?

No clue. I would go down at LEAST one. Heat tolerance is probably the issue on the other side. If it doesn't get too hot where you end up, a plant rated for a much colder zone would likely be ok. I actually ordered from St. Laruence after I moved from IA to Sacramento; I liked their plants, and for the few years I had them (I moved) they did well.

 

[mecoastie]

The question is is if I move to Arkansas what will the growing zone change to as compared to now?

From everything I have been able to read I don't believe you will see at most a 2 zone change. I would, at worst, go from a 5b to a 3b. But I think a 1 zone change is more realistic. In the last few years most of my seed and tree/shrub purchases have been Zone 3 hardy plants. Also my fruit trees have been standards. They take longer to produce but their deeper root systems better protect them against both cold and drought.

My favorite supplier for most all my fruit trees and perennials is Fedco out of Maine. For northern seed it is Fedco, Johnnys and High Mowing.

 

[Faroe]

Given the historical account of wet winters, the most important thing might be planting in areas that can be drained, or choosing plants that won't mind having their roots wet if the spot is a boggy mess for half the spring.

I would focus on nut trees over fruits. More fat calories, and they store much better. It is harder to raid a walnut tree than it is a peach tree. Also, in my experience, the nut trees give more reliable harvests. Our pecans deliver very well every year except the years where they were trimmed that summer. The fruit trees seem to have more issues with pests, disease, and frosts.