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How interesting you hear a couple of people on the net that love to build on people's fear of the unknown and of course the fear of being poor or having to make do with less.
Some (o.k. one) advocates staying in the city during an emergency because their is no jobs or opportunities to make money if you live in the country or have a retreat in the woods.
Of course common sense says this is utter Bravo Sierra. If their wasn't jobs in the country no one would LIVE in the country.
I saw this article this morning and I thought to myself- now here is a guy that WANTED IT bad enough.
Now he has the best of BOTH worlds- he has the safety, security and health benefits the country brings as well as the high income- $500K in sales for compost!!! Wow!
The article IS an opsec failure though :(
Survivalist retreat near Strafford yields big profits
Retiree's doomsday garden becomes thriving business.
Wes Johnson • News-Leader • October 3, 2010
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Leonard Pense never planned to grow his garden into a business.
Ten years ago, the former engineer and military consultant bought 21 secluded acres on top of a hill south of Strafford --"high ground with only one way in and out," he says.
It was a place his extended family could retreat to if the country's economy collapsed, big trucks stopped delivering food to cities or the power grid went dark.
"This was built solely as a survival garden for my family," said Pense, surveying rows of raised-bed growing areas filled with raspberries, potatoes, beans, okra, cauliflower, tomatoes and other edibles.
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"Having worked as a consultant for the government, I came to the conclusion this country is not in the best of shape. When I started this, I did not intend for anyone to know where I was or what I was doing out here."
His survivalist retreat, however, didn't remain a secret.
Today, Pense's hilltop doomsday garden has become a thriving business known as Pensaroda Farm.
He sells a special compost blend he created himself that almost eliminates weeds, and a fertilizer additive he designed that goes far beyond the basic nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium mix most gardeners are familiar with.
Pense also teaches people how to grow bountiful gardens weedlessly and preserve what they grow so they have the knowledge to survive a societal calamity.
Sales of his compost product and fertilizer blend topped $500,000 last year, he said, with shipments both locally and to gardeners across the country.
He now has one employee to help manage the operation.
His engineering background gave him the insight he needed to develop the growing medium -- a blend of cotton boll compost, peat moss and rice hulls.
"It's so loose that you can go to your raised-bed potato patch and literally reach down and feel the potato and pull it out," Pense said, hand-harvesting a ripe spud as proof.
"We don't have weeds because we don't plant the seeds -- we use no dirt or manure that bring weed seeds with it."
Building raised vegetable beds proved to be a necessity he discovered after buying the hilltop hideaway.
(2 of 3)
"Just because you buy land here doesn't mean you get dirt with it," Pense said, wryly. "My first garden was an 8-by-8 sandbox. I raised a garden in it."
Figuring there had to be a better way, Pense observed that raised beds about 4 feet wide would be just right for a gardener to reach across from either side to tend crops or harvest them.
No more back-breaking labor when the crop is easily at arms reach.
"You don't even need a hoe to garden this way," he said.
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He designed wooden planting boards with dowels spaced appropriately for the type of crop being planted. Pressing the board into the compost mix leaves holes at a perfect depth for seeds to thrive.
Pense said a lot of what he does in his garden is designed to take unnecessary work out of gardening.
The concept worked well for him, but Pense had no plans to become a gardening guru.
That changed after local horticulturalist Bill Eskes invited him to talk about his concepts during a local gardening radio talk show.
"People started calling in and asking questions about what I was doing. It was like a ball-bat hit in the head for me. The Man upstairs gave me this knowledge, and I'm going to share it. It's a job I was given -- to teach people to feed themselves."
Eskes remembered that radio show.
"The radio station was only eight or 10 miles from his place," Eskes said. "But by the time he got home he had 60 messages on his house phone from people wanting to take his class."
Eskes, sales representative for Ozark-based Grimes Horticulture, said he helped Pense work through some of the pest-control and soil nutrient problems he encountered.
"The uniqueness of what he's doing now is showing people how to do it, and the components he has in his beds," Eskes said.
"His process takes away most of the weeding that comes along with your typical garden. That's the most discouraging part of it for a lot of people."
Pense charges $50 per person -- $25 for spouses or family members who come along to attend a class.
Classes take most of the day and cover the basics of his gardening philosophy, how to construct a 4-foot by 16-foot raised bed garden, how to mix the special compost soil and tips for growing food with less effort.
(3 of 3)
He said it takes about $495 in compost and fertilizer to fill a 16-foot bed, and about $50 a year afterward to replenish the materials the plants use up.
But he said a properly maintained raised-bed garden can produce between $1,000 and $1,500 worth of crops in a year.
His classes have been so successful that Pense recently built a workshop cabin, complete with small classroom and full kitchen for teaching folks how to can their crops.
Above the wood-burning fireplace hangs a plaque that expresses his philosophy: A Country Boy Can Survive.
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Ron and Lou Thelen Kemp of Bolivar are sold on Pense's gardening concept.
She attended one of Pense's classes and now has six raised beds of her own.
"The major difference is the ease of it," Ron Kemp said. "She can get to the garden and doesn't have to wade through weeds at all."
Her gardens have been so successful that she wanted to share them with her three grown sons.
"She gave three 4-by-16 gardens to each of our boys as Christmas presents," Ron Kemp said.
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two more pages after that, follow the link to read them.
Never say never. Never believe a stereotype or someone's fear mongering. If YOU want something bad enough, do what our ancestors did- leave the cave, kill something and drag it home!
You CAN have the best of both worlds. You just have to want it bad enough.
Some (o.k. one) advocates staying in the city during an emergency because their is no jobs or opportunities to make money if you live in the country or have a retreat in the woods.
Of course common sense says this is utter Bravo Sierra. If their wasn't jobs in the country no one would LIVE in the country.
I saw this article this morning and I thought to myself- now here is a guy that WANTED IT bad enough.
Now he has the best of BOTH worlds- he has the safety, security and health benefits the country brings as well as the high income- $500K in sales for compost!!! Wow!
The article IS an opsec failure though :(
Survivalist retreat near Strafford yields big profits
Retiree's doomsday garden becomes thriving business.
Wes Johnson • News-Leader • October 3, 2010
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Leonard Pense never planned to grow his garden into a business.
Ten years ago, the former engineer and military consultant bought 21 secluded acres on top of a hill south of Strafford --"high ground with only one way in and out," he says.
It was a place his extended family could retreat to if the country's economy collapsed, big trucks stopped delivering food to cities or the power grid went dark.
"This was built solely as a survival garden for my family," said Pense, surveying rows of raised-bed growing areas filled with raspberries, potatoes, beans, okra, cauliflower, tomatoes and other edibles.
Related
"Having worked as a consultant for the government, I came to the conclusion this country is not in the best of shape. When I started this, I did not intend for anyone to know where I was or what I was doing out here."
His survivalist retreat, however, didn't remain a secret.
Today, Pense's hilltop doomsday garden has become a thriving business known as Pensaroda Farm.
He sells a special compost blend he created himself that almost eliminates weeds, and a fertilizer additive he designed that goes far beyond the basic nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium mix most gardeners are familiar with.
Pense also teaches people how to grow bountiful gardens weedlessly and preserve what they grow so they have the knowledge to survive a societal calamity.
Sales of his compost product and fertilizer blend topped $500,000 last year, he said, with shipments both locally and to gardeners across the country.
He now has one employee to help manage the operation.
His engineering background gave him the insight he needed to develop the growing medium -- a blend of cotton boll compost, peat moss and rice hulls.
"It's so loose that you can go to your raised-bed potato patch and literally reach down and feel the potato and pull it out," Pense said, hand-harvesting a ripe spud as proof.
"We don't have weeds because we don't plant the seeds -- we use no dirt or manure that bring weed seeds with it."
Building raised vegetable beds proved to be a necessity he discovered after buying the hilltop hideaway.
(2 of 3)
"Just because you buy land here doesn't mean you get dirt with it," Pense said, wryly. "My first garden was an 8-by-8 sandbox. I raised a garden in it."
Figuring there had to be a better way, Pense observed that raised beds about 4 feet wide would be just right for a gardener to reach across from either side to tend crops or harvest them.
No more back-breaking labor when the crop is easily at arms reach.
"You don't even need a hoe to garden this way," he said.
Related
He designed wooden planting boards with dowels spaced appropriately for the type of crop being planted. Pressing the board into the compost mix leaves holes at a perfect depth for seeds to thrive.
Pense said a lot of what he does in his garden is designed to take unnecessary work out of gardening.
The concept worked well for him, but Pense had no plans to become a gardening guru.
That changed after local horticulturalist Bill Eskes invited him to talk about his concepts during a local gardening radio talk show.
"People started calling in and asking questions about what I was doing. It was like a ball-bat hit in the head for me. The Man upstairs gave me this knowledge, and I'm going to share it. It's a job I was given -- to teach people to feed themselves."
Eskes remembered that radio show.
"The radio station was only eight or 10 miles from his place," Eskes said. "But by the time he got home he had 60 messages on his house phone from people wanting to take his class."
Eskes, sales representative for Ozark-based Grimes Horticulture, said he helped Pense work through some of the pest-control and soil nutrient problems he encountered.
"The uniqueness of what he's doing now is showing people how to do it, and the components he has in his beds," Eskes said.
"His process takes away most of the weeding that comes along with your typical garden. That's the most discouraging part of it for a lot of people."
Pense charges $50 per person -- $25 for spouses or family members who come along to attend a class.
Classes take most of the day and cover the basics of his gardening philosophy, how to construct a 4-foot by 16-foot raised bed garden, how to mix the special compost soil and tips for growing food with less effort.
(3 of 3)
He said it takes about $495 in compost and fertilizer to fill a 16-foot bed, and about $50 a year afterward to replenish the materials the plants use up.
But he said a properly maintained raised-bed garden can produce between $1,000 and $1,500 worth of crops in a year.
His classes have been so successful that Pense recently built a workshop cabin, complete with small classroom and full kitchen for teaching folks how to can their crops.
Above the wood-burning fireplace hangs a plaque that expresses his philosophy: A Country Boy Can Survive.
Related
Ron and Lou Thelen Kemp of Bolivar are sold on Pense's gardening concept.
She attended one of Pense's classes and now has six raised beds of her own.
"The major difference is the ease of it," Ron Kemp said. "She can get to the garden and doesn't have to wade through weeds at all."
Her gardens have been so successful that she wanted to share them with her three grown sons.
"She gave three 4-by-16 gardens to each of our boys as Christmas presents," Ron Kemp said.
Next Page
- 1
- | 2
- | 3
Previous Page
two more pages after that, follow the link to read them.
Never say never. Never believe a stereotype or someone's fear mongering. If YOU want something bad enough, do what our ancestors did- leave the cave, kill something and drag it home!
You CAN have the best of both worlds. You just have to want it bad enough.
Comment