Before you decide what and where to plant, figure out what growing zone you live in. The continent is divided by climate into growing zones 1 through 11, based on average minimum temperatures. This information is available from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map,

• map

Jack A. Spigarelli’s excellent book, Surviving Terrorism. Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny is another good book, but it is very hard to find.

• survival
• war
• terrorism

I found Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness, a free publication put out by FEMA in 2004, to be an excellent resource, and I would urge everyone to order a copy. See the Ready web site of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for more information.

• reference point
• survival
• resource

Frank and Stephen Philbrick’s book, The Backyard Lumberjack (Storey, 2006).

Solar Cooking Archives (www.solarcooking.org)

Sanitary napkins (these are great as pressure bandages)

Stored water can begin to taste stale. One option for preserving its freshness is ascorbic acid powder. One teaspoon per gallon of water when you fill the container will keep water fresh tasting, with a slight citrus flavor that most people don’t mind. Check with your pharmacist about a source for this powder. I found small bottles in the canning section of a hardware store.

• will

Do not use plastic garbage bags, as these are often treated with fragrances or pesticides.

Bugs can get into any small opening, so I always tuck a couple of bay leaves into my stored grains, beans, and seeds. Bugs don’t seem to like the smell of bay. I also take extra care in sealing the lids of my storage containers. With plastic containers I often wrap the lids in duct tape. With glass containers, I often dip the jar tops into a bowl of melted paraffin. (If a jar is too large to dip, I may paint its lid with two thin coats of paraffin.)

• food preservation
• food storage
• care

Charcoal is easy to make. You must set good, dry wood to burn and then cover it so it will smolder in the absence of oxygen. The easiest way to do this would be to dig a long trench and burn the wood in it. As soon as the wood is burning well, cover the trench with metal sheeting, such as corrugated roofing material, and cover that with a layer of soil. It will take a couple of strong people with shovels to accomplish this. It’s certainly a lot less work to buy and store the charcoal, but it never hurts to know how things are made.

• charcoal
• how to
• survival
• wood
• work
• will