When you are setting up your preps don't forget your children! You may be able to choke down an MRE or a vacuum packed envelope of tuna but unless your kids are great eaters and have been exposed to these foods they will not eat them in an emergency situation! This could lead to weight loss and sickness. I suggest you have a supply of foods they are familiar with so it is less stressful for them and you. I have put away canned spaghetti and meatballs, raviolis, applesauce, fruit juice, cereal, vacuum packed milk, canned chicken breast, crackers, peanut butter, fruit cups, cookies, gatorade, chips, lollipops, popcorn, rice, jars of gravy and about 2 tons of macaroni and cheese! Although we could bug out in a pinch, our location really prevents us from doing that-we are in Connecticut about 1 hour north of NY. The roads here are congested on a good day. Our preps are geared towards SIP so we naturally have more supplies that need cooking and the means to do so-propane, sterno etc.

I remeber from grade 10 science my teacher telling us plants contain more energy because they are primary producers. there for I think a mostly vegetarian diet supplemented with multivitamines would be the best diet.

Originally posted by stanstheman
Packaged Ramen (although I do have some in stores as a comfort food) has no nutritional value and is chock full of salt which is a diuretic and will make you go through your water faster than you need to.

Okay, attention everyone, moron alert! And I'm the moron! Salt is not a diuretic, it makes you retain water. This is something I should know, since I cannot wear my wedding ring after a good baked ham or Chinese food.

I apologize for spouting incorrect information.

IMHO dehydrated food including vegetables, meats, eggs, milk, etc. seem to be the best in terms of shelf life, variety and taste. Just add water. They last for an incredibly long time and are reasonable cost-wise. I would also have an ample supply of seeds for future planting.

During "situation X" I would try to hook up with a girl and head up to Appalachia. From there I would establish a remote camp where we could live in relative peace and tranqulity. I would bring ample firepower for hunting game and seeds to start up a small garden. I would live off the land. Of course I might just do that anyway. Lets just hope "situation X" doesnt involve a large number of nuclear weapons or a plague that turns people into zombies.

British Army Rat-packs, yummy...

This is an area of great concern, being that, for one, the land may or may not be able to produce if contaminated.

Actually, if you turn / remove 1 foot of soil, as well as protect the garden from natural rain you will still be able to grow your vegetables.
One thing that you may want to consider is that in many urban areas, they sell plants that can produce your vegetables and fruits but have been specially bred to require much less space than their normal "full grown" cousins.
Since my group plans to spend a good deal of time underground in a Situation X scenario, we have invested in hydroponic (spelling) which is another great option that you can look int for the long haul

Actually, if you turn / remove 1 foot of soil, as well as protect the garden from natural rain you will still be able to grow your vegetables.

If the worst case scenario should occur:

1) how long would one have to wait before clearing the soil?

2) how do you protect yourself while clearing all that soil

3) what do you do with the soil you have cleared?

3) to remove 1 foot of soil requires heavy equipment or a strong back, that is not as easy as it sounds and depending upon the size of the plot it can be a tremendous undertaking.

That is the reason I opted for some indoor items and perhaps storing a small simply built (plastic and frame) greenhouse for future use. Like I said I am still working on solutions and trying to keep it simple.

I have dwarf varities (6' to 8').

If the worst case scenario should occur: 1) how long would one have to wait before clearing the soil? 2) how do you protect yourself while clearing all that soil 3) what do you do with the soil you have cleared? 3) to remove 1 foot of soil requires heavy equipment or a strong back, that is not as easy as it sounds and depending upon the size of the plot it can be a tremendous undertaking. That is the reason I opted for some indoor items and perhaps storing a small simply built (plastic and frame) greenhouse for future use. Like I said I am still working on solutions and trying to keep it simple.

Here are the answers to your questions as well as my groups plan on how to do this.
1) the length of time will vary according to many factors such as distance from ground zero as well as the weather patterns. Good rule of thumb would be to wait until the air is clear and no longer is cloudy with the soot etc. You can also wait until after a good downpour of rain to wash out the air.

2) Minimum protection we have in stock is as follows:
a) work goggles such as you would find in machine or carpentry shops.
b) full set of work coveralls, these can be tied closed at the sleeves and at the bottom of the legs.
c) good old fashion military or hiking boots which you tie the coveralls over
d) nomac gloves (can be found at you army navy stores, again you tie the sleeves of the coveralls on top of the gloves.
e) hooded jackets with ties at the throat.
f) dust masks to cover your mouth and nose.
The above list is what one would need to wear and should have in your BoB in the worst case scenario since what you need to protect yourself is actually the pust dirt particles which is what carries the radiation. All these above items will need to either be destroyed after wach use or completely cleaned and the wash water hauled away.

3) my group have been planning this for a couple of years so we have in protected bunkers / garages plows scoopers as well as other heavy equipment to clear the ground. If you are only planning on supporting yourself / family, I would suggest the purchase of small dirt movers that you can purchase at most home improvement stores.

4) We plan to create abutments around our encampment with the dirt that we remove. This serves a couple of needs one is of course getting the contaminated soil away from our gardens but it also will be to help protect ourselves from encroachment if the need arises.

The use of dwarf plants is great and one that we alreay have in place. I would though suggest that you look into the use of Hydroponics. this method uses much less space and has a higher growth / production rate than what dwarf plants can provide.

My group have been planning our Sit X for over a decade. There are around 50 of us which is why we have supplies and equipment that would not be the norm for most. At present, we have enough supplies of food, water (and water treatment), medical as well as mechanical and arms to fully support our group for at least 3 - 4 years without having to come up topside and starting our gardens. I would encourage others to do as we have this way the survival rate will be much higher than what we presently project