I was just wondering what anyones plans were for keeping their lawn cut in a long term SHTF situation? Sounds nuts to worry about cutting the lawn in a survival situation? Think for a minute about the reasons for it. The fires in Cali are largely due to small brush that was allowed to grow and not be trimmed then it died, dried and now burns easily. The best way to stop fire (and in an enviroment with no running water to fight fire brush fires are likey to be more common) is to starve it of fuel and a close cut lawn wont burn well at all even if its dry. Tall grass is easy to hide in regardles if its vermin like rats and mice, small preditors that would kill any chickens and such you had or try to steal you food stores like opposums and racoons or a person trying to sneak up and attack you. So I would figure that keeping vegitation down around your house/retreat/farm yard would actualy be MORE important in a post SHTF senario than in normal present situations. I was just wondering if anyone else had considered this and anything other than the regular gas powered mowers or if that is still the plan?
Manual push mower and goats. It is a valid concern, I believe. but I just can't help but add: Tactical push mower to go with the wheelbarrow.
I figure we will run the goats and critters and if they dont keep it taken care of then turn the soil around the buildings or plow it to make a small fire break then use controled burning to keep it down. I know when we dont keep the stuff cut down reasonable the coons, foxes and opposums get a lot worse.
I had actually given that some thought. Where I live you need to keep the grass cut close around the house for fire and for insect and snake control. I have what we call a "Whim-Wham" a two way short handled weed cutter. It would work to keep back the brush and is good exercise but I am looking for a push mower. They are getting hard to come by.
In a post SHTF world are you really shure you want to advertise your presence by having a cut lawn. I think I would rather have a 8-9 foot band of 6 foo tall weeds all around the perimeter of my property.
Depends on what the shtf situation is.... if you need to be completely covert about your existence..... then yes, I agree. More likely though, a shtf scenario will not necessitate your living completely covertly. People will still be around, just times will be really tough, in which case, you don't want to give snakes (no legs or 2) a good hiding place.
We stake the goats out now to reduce how much I have to mow. I just can't see spending money on mowing the grass when the goats need to eat anyway. OGM
I figure hideing your presence would be a double edged sword. Its unlikely you could hide the fact there was a house there in most cases, so people seeing the house might be more inclined to see whats left that they could use if it looks abandoned though thieves may realize people being there means its more likely to be useful stuff present, if they can get it. I figure for the most part it would be a matter of just hideing how much you have. Where Im at and given our plans it would be impossible to hide our pressence anyway. We live on a farm and have some livestock that we would need to be sure folks knew was protected, in the summer would be growing a garden to keep food supply up and in the winter would be heating with wood (same as now) so could see and smell smoke from the stove. So at least with our plan hideing our presence (beyond possibly for a short term thing like an evacuation we planned to ride out) wouldnt be possible and fire controle/protection and avoiding hideing places for bugs, snakes, predators and ambushers would be higher concerns. That said, it might not be a bad thing at all to keep the brush high around the perimiter of the property as a kind of blind as long as it has some distance from the buildings.
For the suburbs to stand half a chance( of being useful/survivable) Everything growing should/could be edible,especially in a post petroleum food shortage: yards,"culdesacs",eventually city streets will have to make way for walnuts, fruit trees,corn beans and squash (and the odd "well-protected chicken")."Walnut avenue" and "apple lane" will have a new meaning...Or is that just liberal enviro- utopianism?
Sounds like a buffet line at shakeys'. Dinner coming over for dinner doesn't seem like such a bad thing...
One thing to think about is that in a wildfire most homes catch on fire due to flying embers landing on the roof. My plan is to replace our shingled roof with a metal roof. Then I can build a cistern for extra water as well. OGM
Not sure I would eat the fox by choice but as far as the coons and opposums, its not so much of a problem UNLESS you have critters you keep around to feed you, like chickens and rabbits and such. Coons will kill an entire flock of chickens and just nibble at them same as foxes and opposums will get the eggs and if hungry and have the chance will kill chickens or rabbits. Theres also other more problematic critters that are more common around the house though with lots of cover like snakes, skunks, rats/mice and coyotes. If the critters are around they can alays be trapped out in the woods a little ways back from the house but its generaly preferable if they arent hanging out on the pourch.
Most of our so-called-lawn is used for FREE CRITTER FOOD. Everyday instead of buying processed rabbit feed we cut all of the surrounding grasses by hand, or with a scythe to feed our rabbits. There ya go, no "ISSUE" here... We like to be efficient, practical, and non-wasteful making use of EVERYTHING around us instead of being a good little consumer. ~W~ P.S.- We also will use it to MULCH the garden, or stake out goats on it to eat it down instead of wasting gasoline to cut it. One can also use it for free chicken food... as they do better on grasses/dirt instead of grains, pumping out heaps of eggs. For those who can't have free range poultry... a homemade portable chicken tractor could do very nicely, moving them around one's yard to eat it down.
