Good seeds
I do not have a question, just wanted to tell everyone how wonderful your seeds are! I bought many kinds from you last year. The “Dragon’s Tongue” bush beans were fantastic — so tender, beautiful on the bush and boy do they ever out the beans! Your “Provider” beans were the same — I canned over 63 jars of just the Providers, ate many fresh, gave some away and still had many left over for seed.
Carol Seldomridge
Rigby, Idaho
Thank you so much Carol! It’s always great to hear from folks who have liked our seeds. We try to only offer ones we grow and love ourselves. — Jackie
City sewers
I live in Mesa, Arizona, about 65 miles east of Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant. We don’t have earthquakes or other natural disasters, other than 115 degree (or more) summers. I figure the power plant would be the most likely emergency if attacked by terrorists. Without that plant, the drain on the electric grid would cause blackouts.
I’ve been stocking up on all the usual emergency supplies but there are some things I can’t figure out how to prepare for. If the electricity is out throughout the area for weeks (or more) are the city sewers going to back up? That was mentioned in something I read. I know they won’t work, but am I going to have to deal with backed up toilets? Also, how do I keep cool without electricity or running water? People here die from the heat. Even at night, it can be in the high 90s. My immediate area once lost electricity for over 8 hours in August. I wore my swim suit and hosed down periodically. But that wouldn’t be possible with total loss of electricity in a much larger area for weeks or longer, as the water won’t be running. A wading pool would be too warm within a couple of hours. A generator isn’t the answer, as the houses are close and everyone would be on my doorstep. I can’t provide for thousands of people. I’m 73, retired, and on a fixed income.
Marion
Most sewage systems rely chiefly on gravity which will allow them to function during a relatively short power outage. However if it is long-lasting, many have grinders and lift stations where the sewer pipes must go uphill for a short distance. These are run by power. Most plants have emergency backup generators which will help for awhile … until there isn’t any more gasoline or diesel available. It won’t cause your toilet to back up but it won’t flush down the stuff you put in it. THAT would cause it to back up, provided you have enough water to flush it in the first place. You can use a five-gallon bucket with a toilet seat and lid. Place a plastic bag in the bucket and add three inches of wood shavings. Use that bucket for “solids” and another one for urine only. (You can simply pour out the urine around your trees during the evening — discretely, of course.) After each use put a couple of handfuls of shavings on top. When the bag is full, tie it shut and stack it out of sight. This gives you a non-water, cheap solution to the potty problem. I’ve used it and it works great. Tip: Use a paper bag inside a wastebasket for toilet paper. It slows down the fill on the bucket and you can place the full bags inside a plastic bag, tying it shut.
Think about how you’ll store sufficient water to get you by for quite awhile. If you have a garage, you could install one or two 300-gallon vertical poly water storage tanks and keep them full. (Nobody knows when an emergency will happen!) A simple wash basin in the house and a washcloth will do wonders to help keep you cool in the summer and yet not use much water. The same with a few gallons in the bathtub (not warmed by the sun). Don’t change the water every time you cool off; you’ll use too much water.
If possible, install more insulation in your home. When we lived in New Mexico, our old house had zero insulation and was hotter than blazes in the summer (we had no air conditioning either). We also froze in the winter. But just adding plenty of insulation in the attic made a huge difference. But, of course, summer was still hot. We spent afternoons taking it easy — siesta time. Work was done early in the morning and later in the afternoon/evening. Don’t discount the wading pool but have a deeper one. I used to sit in our retired stock tank in the afternoons that were real hot. It sure helped me feel cooler. (That tank was two feet deep and about 10 feet in diameter, on the north side of the barn where it got some shade in the afternoon.) Just use common sense and don’t over-do when it’s hot. — Jackie
Diana Belles, thank you for the great suggestion of putting a plastic bag in the toilet to collect waste when flushing is not an option. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Bless you, Marion, for wanting to prepare. So many just go on with life as though nothing will ever happen or in complete denial.
I store water all over my house. Empty milk jugs can be washed, purified with bleach water for a few hours, rinsed out and water stored in. I also save all grocery bags (no holes!) for use in toileting. You can cram an amazing amount in a larger size bag – fold and inspect for holes as you fold. A bag can be used in your toilet (get as much water out of the bowl as you can first) and the seat will hold it in place. Store as much easy to prepare food as you can afford. There again, it can be stashed all over your house. Don’t advertise that you’ve made any preparations. Take care.
Regarding the bucket of shavings etc decades ago it was used to mulch a large patch of wild blackberries far from any houses. The bears ___ in the woods and they love blackberries. Problem solved… Someone else told me they diluted their urine from the night bucket to help grow big pumpkins, but I never asked for a pumpkin. I am referring to a time when few country folk had indoor plumbing and didn’t want to walk to the privy in the dark. There are still bears out here 40 years later!!!
Regarding an open window on a hot night. We often open second floor windows or the attic windows for most of the summer. We open basement windows or first floor windows at evening, because cool air sinks and will enter near the ground; warm air rises. One can get a current of warm air rising to exit higher in the house and cool the place down considerably. We like to close 1st floor windows and pull the blinds before the day gets hot.
I’m sorry, but this topic got me to wondering and I found this website. I can’t say I agree with everything, but I did like the idea of the shades and the hammock.
http://sleepjunkies.com/tips/summer-tips-sleeping-hot-nights/
Another thought? If living in a two story home, after dark perhaps opening the top half of the windows an inch or two, would this allow heat to exit while causing a draw to bring in the cooler night are from the lower floors open windows?
Sometimes the questions here put me on a junket looking for answers, good luck to Marion if anything might happen.
I think it’s the evaporation process that causes the drop in temp. But access to some water will still be needed. Sry, should have added this in other note.
I know this is a truly OLD way of cooling a room or two, which ever you stay in the most during the day or the evening, but have a basin of water under the window(s) and have a light weight cheap muslin cloth – tail end in the water to wick it up. Have an open window, doesn’t have to be all the way open, and attach the top of the cloth so that the window opening will be totally covered by it. The air moving in through the damp cloth will cool a small space. This is how my grandparents would cool their sitting room, or at night, their bedroom. It may not be a big drop in temperature, but it is a noticeable one. I hope this may help someone if it ever becomes necessary.
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