Area Specific Preps

[TMT Tactical]

The member here are spread across the globe, I live an a beautiful desert valley. My preps are going to be totally different than others. Caribou who may want snow shoes in his preps. So I thought it might be appropriate to post area specific Prep items. Here is a starter>

Humidity level below 30% - Desert Valley

1) Lip balm,
2) Skin moisturizer
3) Head cover -- wide brim -- well ventilated
4) Sun glasses -- multiple pairs.
5) Gloves, many items will burn you if touched.
6) Long sleeved shirts and long pants
7) Tall boots - leg coverings -- anti snake
8) Med kit with snake bite / anti venom supplies
9) Bandanna / scarf / dust filter
10) Antihistamine - spray/ tablets / ointments. ( We do actually have a lot of pollen and a few bugs)

 

[Sentry18]

Here in the great white Northern USA, I would start with:


1. Heat source. Back up heat source. Tertiary heat source.

2. Wool socks. Wool blankets. Wool hats. Wool gloves.

3. Propane. Wood. Kerosene. Charcoal. Gasoline.

4. Clear plastic. Furring strips or two sided tape. Duct tape.

5. Insulated: Coats. Coveralls. Boots. Gloves. Long underwear.

 

[Amish Heart]

Mine is similar to yours, TMT.

 

[TMT Tactical]

I was also wondering if a few of more learned members could create a thread on "Area Specific Plants and their specific medicinal and / or food values". I don't get too many fruit trees growing in my beautiful desert. Hint, hint, hint Ladies and Gentlemen. We could also have "Area Specific Wild life and predators" -- food to hunt or be hunted by. Come on. We have the talent, lets get the info flowing. Guests, you can read the wonderful info, but members get to ask questions. Price to be a guest =Zero. Price to be a member= Zero, which is the best value?

 

[hiwall]

The fruit of every native cactus in Arizona is edible. Prickly Pear fruits are very edible When it comes to Barrel cactus, let the fruit dry completely on the plant and you end up with a hard husk filled with very edible seeds. Prickly Pear pads can be eaten either raw or cooked/fried. Cactus pulp is very slimy so many people prefer cooking it.
The tiny Pin Cushion Cactus grows bright red fruits that are shaped like a carrot. They are small but worth finding and eating. I always use a small tweezers to pick these fruits.
Soon Banana Yucca will be blossoming and the large white flowers are very good to eat in or as a salad. The thick petals are full of moisture and make an excellent salad.
Many of the native wildflowers have edible blossoms. Later in the summer the commonly called "Century Plants" will start to grow the massive stalk that can reach over 15 feet tall! The growing stalk can be easily cut into slices and fried and were commonly eaten by natives. The stalk contains a lot of moisture. I added a little garlic when I fried them. Harvest these early in the growth cycle as later they turn woody.
Bear Grass is common and the inner soft part of the tall flower stalks is edible but again must be harvested early before it turns woody (tastes good raw when you catch it at the right time).
In the desert you are surrounded by edible plants in the summer!

 

[TMT Tactical]

The fruit of every native cactus in Arizona is edible. Prickly Pear fruits are very edible When it comes to Barrel cactus, let the fruit dry completely on the plant and you end up with a hard husk filled with very edible seeds. Prickly Pear pads can be eaten either raw or cooked/fried. Cactus pulp is very slimy so many people prefer cooking it.
The tiny Pin Cushion Cactus grows bright red fruits that are shaped like a carrot. They are small but worth finding and eating. I always use a small tweezers to pick these fruits.
Soon Banana Yucca will be blossoming and the large white flowers are very good to eat in or as a salad. The thick petals are full of moisture and make an excellent salad.
Many of the native wildflowers have edible blossoms. Later in the summer the commonly called "Century Plants" will start to grow the massive stalk that can reach over 15 feet tall! The growing stalk can be easily cut into slices and fried and were commonly eaten by natives. The stalk contains a lot of moisture. I added a little garlic when I fried them. Harvest these early in the growth cycle as later they turn woody.
Bear Grass is common and the inner soft part of the tall flower stalks is edible but again must be harvested early before it turns woody (tastes good raw when you catch it at the right time).
In the desert you are surrounded by edible plants in the summer!

Hiwall, Thanks for the information. I have just added these plans to my photo look up project. While I love my desert, I am still trying to learn what is edible and what to avoid. I had read somewhere that only one cactus was safe to eat. So now I plan to learn about the ones you listed. I hoped there were more wild plants to harvest but now I know there is and will learn to find them and maybe even plant a few in the THH project landscape. I just love this forum and all the knowledgeable folks that make it so viable. Thanks again Hiwall.

 

[hiwall]

Happy to help. My last house was at about 4000 feet so I had some different plants than you have near your place. The bananas from the banana yucca are supposed to be good to eat but in 11 years I never found any ripe ones. I tried a green one and it took me an hour to get the bad taste out of my mouth!
If you have desert holly the red berries taste great. I tried countless different plants. Most tasted either blah or bitter.

 

[TMT Tactical]

Thanks Hiwall. I will keep my eyes (and taste buds) open for Desert Holly berries and I will add the photos to my album. I think I will pass on the banana yucca, don't need that taste experience.

 

[Terri9630]

You can eat the flower and root of the yucca. Mesquite beans can be dried and ground for flour. Don't forget water and shade. You need to store lots of water and have something to make shade that can be secured against the wind. A bandana or face mask for dust storms helps too.

 

[TMT Tactical]

You can eat the flower and root of the yucca. Mesquite beans can be dried and ground for flour. Don't forget water and shade. You need to store lots of water and have something to make shade that can be secured against the wind. A bandana or face mask for dust storms helps too.

Food, water and shelter are a given for all areas. I am trying to hold to things that are specific to my area but somebody in another area might not know about or require. Hence the reference to snow shoes for Caribou. These items would not be high on my list (I hope). Thanks for the tip on the Mesquite bean and yucca plant roots and flower. Now if I was to head for Alaska (ain't never going to happen) but it sure would be good to know what is needed or Over to our AUSSI friends (could happen) I would really like to know what to bring or avoid bringing. There is so much untapped knowledge, we just need to share.

 

[ssonb]

Now leeme see here. In the SE...In every go bag I have Bug spray, a couple of mags of rednek repellant, really the Ticks and Chiggers literally are murder, Folding saw, almost everything down here is to green and springy you will beat your points to death with a hatchet. A calimine lotion there a few flavors of topical irritant plants. Oops gotta go I will add more later... OK later...I do need to update my Snake bite kits and the antihistamines, Down here we have a lot of the Copperheadedwaterrattlers and they love to hide in the weeds, plus we have an abundance of what I call Confederate Claymores (Yellow jacket nests ) them buggers just love to have a nest under a rock or root at trailside. for the heat a good full brimmed hat,Three different forms of fire starters, ferro, matches,lighters. Coffee!! and the powdered honey. Water purification tablets and filters one for quick use and the other when you have time. 550 cord and a mylar survival blanket.

 

[tiffanysgallery]

SE also.
Ssonb's list is great for my area. Mosquitoes can be a real problem too.
OP's list is also really good. Anti-aging skin care and SPF+ sunscreen year round.
Wool socks have been a lifesaver this winter.
We have plenty of mud right now, so I'll add waterproof boots to the list, the one's already broke-in.
Blackberries grow wild here, and when in season, are easy to find in the woods.
Gorilla (super) glue has been my go-to lately.

 

[Peanut]

There are lots of species of yucca and they grow in all of the lower 48. The roots of all yucca’s contain the chemical compound “saponin”, Soap! Good for washing you socks or your backside.

Their roots also contain a primitive steroid, if you have a bruise or a sprained ankle just make a poultice and apply.

My favorite yucca is “Adams Needle”. It’s native to the southeast and Midwest. Natures ready made needle and thread, stitch up your pants or a wound.

There are several native pesticides in the southeast, the three most common... Black walnut leaves, Beauty berry leaves, dog fennel - whole plant. Most bug spay's contain the synthesized version of the chemical found in dog fennel.

https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=256885

 

[hiwall]

Mesquite beans can be dried and ground for flour. .

I found Mesquite flour VERY hard to bake with. Taste was fine but I could never make it rise and the center of any baked goods almost never would get done and stayed mushy. I wanted to use straight mesquite flour due to it being gluten-free. I found out everyone mixes that flour with wheat flour to make it work well.
Mesquite is about 30% sugar. Could be an excellent source to make alcohol (but I never tried it).
I have picked the dried pods and chewed on them while out hiking. They taste sweet.
The beans inside the pods get so hard that they normally require a hammer mill to turn them into flour. When I made mesquite flour I ran the freshly picked dry pods through a hand meat grinder. While the pods felt dry they were not and the meat grinder ground up the pods and beans. The grindings I put through my dehydrator and then ran them through my hand mill to make the flour. The process was kind of slow but worked well enough. I am a fan of using mesquite but baking with it is a pain. Even in drought years the mesquite produce a huge amount of pods.

 

[Terri9630]

I found Mesquite flour VERY hard to bake with. Taste was fine but I could never make it rise and the center of any baked goods almost never would get done and stayed mushy. I wanted to use straight mesquite flour due to it being gluten-free. I found out everyone mixes that flour with wheat flour to make it work well.
Mesquite is about 30% sugar. Could be an excellent source to make alcohol (but I never tried it).
I have picked the dried pods and chewed on them while out hiking. They taste sweet.
The beans inside the pods get so hard that they normally require a hammer mill to turn them into flour. When I made mesquite flour I ran the freshly picked dry pods through a hand meat grinder. While the pods felt dry they were not and the meat grinder ground up the pods and beans. The grindings I put through my dehydrator and then ran them through my hand mill to make the flour. The process was kind of slow but worked well enough. I am a fan of using mesquite but baking with it is a pain. Even in drought years the mesquite produce a huge amount of pods.

I was told to use them for flat breads. Like tortillas.

 

[hiwall]

Now up here in the mountains I have to learn all different plants. We do have lots of pinion pines so I could harvest the nuts if I wanted but that is a chore.

 

[Caribou]

All the winter preps you might imagine. This summer I'll install the wood stove I picked up last Christmas.

I have permanent air filters for the vehicles. That is for the volcano. When it goes off you can't buy an air filter for your vehicle, and having one I can rinse out will be extremely valuable.

My neighborhood is known for hosting a 9.2 earthquake. I just picked up 16 6V. batteries for a solar system. Along with the wood stove when the power and natural gas are cut off for months I should be okay.

 

[backlash]

In survival school they told us we could eat Prickly Pear.
They advised us to roast it or eat it raw but they said do not boil it.
It was in January in Warner Springs Ca. No fruit just the cactus plant.
So after nothing to eat for several days we all collected prickly pear and very carefully pealed it.
The officer in charge said we were going to boil it because it would be faster.
It turned into a big pot of slimy green snot.
Needless to say we all went hungry again that night.

 

[hiwall]

In survival school they told us we could eat Prickly Pear.
They advised us to roast it or eat it raw but they said do not boil it.
It was in January in Warner Springs Ca. No fruit just the cactus plant.
So after nothing to eat for several days we all collected prickly pear and very carefully pealed it.
The officer in charge said we were going to boil it because it would be faster.
It turned into a big pot of slimy green snot.
Needless to say we all went hungry again that night.

I fried it. It was okay but the taste, while not bad, was, let's say different. I could eat a bunch of it if it was all I had available.

 

[The Innkeeper]

Now leeme see here. In the SE...In every go bag I have Bug spray, a couple of mags of rednek repellant, really the Ticks and Chiggers literally are murder, Folding saw, almost everything down here is to green and springy you will beat your points to death with a hatchet. A calimine lotion there a few flavors of topical irritant plants. Oops gotta go I will add more later... OK later...I do need to update my Snake bite kits and the antihistamines, Down here we have a lot of the Copperheadedwaterrattlers and they love to hide in the weeds, plus we have an abundance of what I call Confederate Claymores (Yellow jacket nests ) them buggers just love to have a nest under a rock or root at trailside. for the heat a good full brimmed hat,Three different forms of fire starters, ferro, matches,lighters. Coffee!! and the powdered honey. Water purification tablets and filters one for quick use and the other when you have time. 550 cord and a mylar survival blanket.

never encountered powdered honey, had to look it up.

 

[TMT Tactical]

Prickly Pear: Since it is so abundant in my area, it is real nice to know I can eat it and not die. Backlash, thanks for the tip about not boiling, you probably save me from a very bad experience. I wonder how it would do in the microwave? LOL

 

[Peanut]

Prickly Pear: Since it is so abundant in my area, it is real nice to know I can eat it and not die

Prickly Pear

Quotes from the book of a friend… he was a special forces medic in the 80’s and was trained to use ditch medicine (plant medicine) in case his supplies were destroyed on a mission… later he became an herbalist. Other things prickly pear are good for…

Denga fever & Ebola – Kidney, Blood and liver support - Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Gastroenteritis – Mucosal Immune support – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Respiratory Infections (upper and lower) – Mucosal vulneraries – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Urinary Tract inflammation (non-infectious) – Urinary tract and Prostrate inflammation – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

“Other toxin-drawing plants we know and use as herbalists are Plantain (Plantago sp), Prickly Pear cactus (Prickly Pear spp, Opuntia), Mullein Leaf (Verbascum thapsus) These herbs are drawing herbs and can be used with success the first hour or so…

He is speaking of the ability of these herbs to draw out venom or other poisons from our flesh. I was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider a decade ago. I used a species of Plantago… instead of rotted flesh from hemotoxic venom… In 72 hours I could no longer see where the spider bit me… These plants work…

There is another dozen or so references to Prickly Pear in his first book. It’s a nice plant to have around… I rely on it as medicine an protection, not so much as food.

 

[TMT Tactical]

Praise you Peanut and praise that wonderful and plentiful Prickly Pear. I had no idea it has so much potential.

 

[ssonb]

Could you not use the PP as an Apache hand grenade, Use gloves and toss to an adversary with the comment "here catch" It will be hard to fire a weapon accurately with spines in their hands.

 

[Terri9630]

Prickly Pear

Quotes from the book of a friend… he was a special forces medic in the 80’s and was trained to use ditch medicine (plant medicine) in case his supplies were destroyed on a mission… later he became an herbalist. Other things prickly pear are good for…

Denga fever & Ebola – Kidney, Blood and liver support - Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Gastroenteritis – Mucosal Immune support – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Respiratory Infections (upper and lower) – Mucosal vulneraries – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

Urinary Tract inflammation (non-infectious) – Urinary tract and Prostrate inflammation – Prickly Pear Flower (Opuntia)

“Other toxin-drawing plants we know and use as herbalists are Plantain (Plantago sp), Prickly Pear cactus (Prickly Pear spp, Opuntia), Mullein Leaf (Verbascum thapsus) These herbs are drawing herbs and can be used with success the first hour or so…

He is speaking of the ability of these herbs to draw out venom or other poisons from our flesh. I was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider a decade ago. I used a species of Plantago… instead of rotted flesh from hemotoxic venom… In 72 hours I could no longer see where the spider bit me… These plants work…

There is another dozen or so references to Prickly Pear in his first book. It’s a nice plant to have around… I rely on it as medicine an protection, not so much as food.

Does his book read like the above or does it explain how to prepare and use the plants? I have a book around here somewhere and it tells you all about what a plant is supposed to be able to do but not how to prepare or actually use it. Very frustrating as I'd like to learn more.

 

[Peanut]

Does his book read like the above or does it explain how to prepare and use the plants? I'd like to learn more.

Sam Coffman, I know him personally. His first book “The Herbal Medic, Volume 1” is sold out. I actually have 2 copies of it.

He told me about 9 months ago he was working on a revised edition… but… He also runs a non-profit emergency relief organization. They have been working in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria destroyed the place.

But in answer to you question… his book and several other I own give specific details on how to harvest and process (various ways) to produce different types of medicine from any plant they describe in their books.

Sam’s website… https://thehumanpath.net/

His school is just outside San Antonio TX, he also runs a free herbal clinic in San Antonio for poor folks.

 

[Terri9630]

Sam Coffman, I know him personally. His first book “The Herbal Medic, Volume 1” is sold out. I actually have 2 copies of it.

He told me about 9 months ago he was working on a revised edition… but… He also runs a non-profit emergency relief organization. They have been working in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria destroyed the place.

But in answer to you question… his book and several other I own give specific details on how to harvest and process (various ways) to produce different types of medicine from any plant they describe in their books.

Sam’s website… https://thehumanpath.net/

Thanks. I can't think of the title of the one I have but its about useless. Pretty pictures though.

 

[Peanut]

Thanks. I can't think of the title of the one I have but its about useless. Pretty pictures though.

I own more than a dozen books by the best herbalists of our age. Almost all of them go into precise detail of various ways to process plants depending on what you want to use it for.

These books tell you everything you would want to know about a plant except where to find them. That’s where I come in… The classes I teach are on wild crafting… when to look and where to find the 1200 or so medicinal species that grow where I live.

I’m not an herbalist. Do I know a lot about herbal medicine, yes. But I love hunting plants… there are always surprises… I find it enjoyable.

 

[TMT Tactical]

Peanut, thanks for the link, it has been bookmarked for future purchase. One step closer to being better prepared.

 

[hiwall]

How about a free E-book?

Dandelion Recipes: A Cookbook Using Foraged Wild Dandelions

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LR2GM...tive=375279&creativeASIN=B071LR2GMD&tag=false

Foraging: A Beginner's Guide for Foragers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5D0YP...tive=375279&creativeASIN=B01M5D0YP4&tag=false