Prepping Plan (Bugging In) - Any gaping holes or suggestions?

Ok, so I've been working on an overall prepping plan, and have it kind of broken up by timeline for implementation.
So, I'm wondering if I'm on the right track, or if any suggestions that can help.

First, here's the grounds, what I'm working with. We're in a rural area (not incorporated by the city), and about 5 miles from "town". The house in the lower left is not part of our property (but we're on great terms with our neighbor). The blue line denotes the property line (we own the driveway), and yellow lines are fences (mostly chain link, but some 8x8 grid). Red-orange indicates gates (some are small, others large enough to get a vehicle through). The drawn in pool and deck is in the back, as that is a plan within a year. Most of the fences have an electric wire along them (for keeping the horses from messing with the fencing).

I know, I know, one rule is to never tell your preps...but without doing so, hard to get input. And, if someone is able to get here in a SHTF scenario, and wants to join up, well, you need a group to survive.



WATER - We have a well, but it is currently electrically powered (we lose power, we lose well pump). Within 3 months, I'm getting a manual version we can switch to in a power outage (of a long duration). However, that will still mean no running water in the house. Within 6 months to a year, I plan on getting a diesel generator to at least work that out also. Currently, we have one 50 gallon reserve tank (in addition to the 60 gallon tank from the well and the 40 gallon water heater). Within 3-6 months, I'm adding one 50 gallon rain barrel tank, and two 50 gallon potable water tanks. In addition, I always have about 4 cases (24 bottles each) of bottled water onhand (I replace these as we go through them). We have two fresh water sources (ponds) within a mile also.

FOOD - We are currenty stocked enough for about 30 days per person. This is fine for storm season, etc., but not for SHTF prep. Within 6 months, we'll be starting a vegetable garden (in the yard area to the left of the shop) and planting some fruit trees (FL variety apples, banana, orange, etc. - mostly about where the RV in the pic is parked between the driveway and the fencing (RV was there at time of pic)). Within 3-6 months, we'll be adding a chicken coup and chickens. Once the garden is going good, we plan to do home canning of veggies and fruits. Also, I'll be increasing the stocked foodstuffs (including pet foods) and rotating through these as needed...with the end goal of having at least a 9 month supply per person onhand at any given time, as well as sustainable incoming food sources. We are seeding the pastures within 6 months, with more nutritious grasses for the horses, so they'll need less hay/feed (in a SHTF environment, they'll just need to graze).

POWER - The planned diesel generator should be sufficient for the well pump and one refrigerator. Within a year, I'll add an additional generator to handle some other basic power uses, but this will still not be sufficient for much. My truck, and the tractor run off diesel, so I plan to have some excess fuel storage for all of these as well (and gas treatment for old gas). I'll also have some stocked regular gas for the other truck. Within 3 years, I want to start making the conversion to supplementing with solar, and then going full solar within 6 years (if able). We have lots of roof space for panels, and get lots of sunshine. This is the most expensive endeavor, but eventually, can be managed through rebates, tax breaks, and just doing it over time and getting good deals on equipment. I've been in the process (about 85%) of replacing all light bulbs with much lower wattage LED bulbs (6W versus 100W), in prep for reducing power consumption, and we have all new energy efficient appliances.

TRANSPORTATION - Will likely use my diesel truck. It's a beast, but has two gas tanks, and a 150 gallon auxillary tank, so can easily go all over the place with full tanks. We also have 3 of our own horses, and often have boarded horses (so depends on if boarders come get their horses in the event). Our shop is a tack shop (horse gear), so we have plenty of that. We also have my wife's truck (regular gas).

SECURITY - It's a bit of land (5 1/2 acres) to keep safe, but the fences should help, and locked gates of course. In a SHTF scenario, we'd always have some sentries from our group (hoping to get some nightvision within a year, on my Xmas list). Most outside lights are security lights (motion sensor), will switch all to be (and will only come on at night). We'll be putting in two driveway sensors (one on road, one on inner gate) within 6 months, mostly to alert us to someone coming to the shop, but also as a security measure (we'll use extenders to send the chime to all areas of the ranch). Within a year, I'll be adding a couple of security cameras (initially for the shop, but also to catch license plates for anyone leaving), with the goal of adding more within 3 years.

WEAPONS - Currently a few handguns, shotgun, and rifle, and lots of ammo for each. I want to add a few more, and increase the ammo stockpile a bit. One of our team will be bringing his own weapons, so that will add some as well.

PEOPLE - Mostly family and close friends, but most of us guys routinely do paintball games to keep sharp. Two of the team are ex-military, one of those is currently a cop and an expert marksman and amateur MMA fighter. His wife is a former EMT. I'm a good shot myself, as are most of my friends. Myself and a couple of friends are pretty all-around handy (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, mechanical, etc.). They know who they are, and that they are welcome to come in such an event, and we've all discussed it more than is probably healthy.

Anyhow, that's pretty much the skinny of it. Add on that I have a 1hr commute, and carry a 4-day BOB in my truck in case I'm at work when things go down. My wife's truck also has two BOBs (one for her and one for our ranch hand gal).

Suggestions? Questions? Comments?
Nobody's perfect, and I'm sure I'll see some things that are just "wow, should have thought of that"....

Are you in TX?

reply to post by Gazrok


get sea moss!

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Nope, FL

reply to post by Donahue


Sea moss? Why?

Sweet Setup. My only suggestion would be to harden up your primary residence if you haven't already done it. Doors, windows, bulkheads etc are certainly the weakest points in the house. When I lived in Hurricane country I measured and labeled every window and created Storm panels to match out of 3/4 plywood. I mounted stainless hanger bolts to the window perimeters and drilled the panels to match. Easy on and off and secured them with wing nuts. To make them semi permanent you can further secure them with security screws that require a special bit to remove them.

Reinforce door jambs with steel flat bar stock and cover them with your door casing. If you have the coin swap your current entry doors with Composite fire doors. Couple those with the reinforcements and you've got a solid security lock up.

Good luck to you!

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by dc4lifeskater

 

Nope, FL

reply to post by Donahue

 

Sea moss? Why?

edit on 20-2-2013 by Gazrok because: (no reason given)

Sea moss=Renewable toilet paper?

Oh FL that is your biggest prepping problem.. Move to TX lmao that is the first step to becoming a proper prepper

When FL falls into the sea all that prepping wont do you much good. Unless you prep a noahs ark.

I have some ideas for you.

I assume you have canning supplies already. How about building yourself a small smokehouse for preserving meats.

A couple of goats for milk, or meat if necessary, and they will pretty much eat anything.

Rabbits for meat/fur. They're small and quiet and always make themselves plentiful.

A bow. And fletching kit.

Stock up on multivitamins too, in case there is a stretch of time when you can't get enough fruits and vegetables.

Lots of coffee. Everybody's gonna need it when SHTF.

ETA: forgot to suggest welding supplies.

reply to post by Gazrok


You are incredibly well prepared.

You should enhance these areas as much as you possibly can, and as soon as possible. Especially weapons and ammunition...

SECURITY - It's a bit of land (5 1/2 acres) to keep safe, but the fences should help, and locked gates of course. In a SHTF scenario, we'd always have some sentries from our group (hoping to get some nightvision within a year, on my Xmas list). Most outside lights are security lights (motion sensor), will switch all to be (and will only come on at night). We'll be putting in two driveway sensors (one on road, one on inner gate) within 6 months, mostly to alert us to someone coming to the shop, but also as a security measure (we'll use extenders to send the chime to all areas of the ranch). Within a year, I'll be adding a couple of security cameras (initially for the shop, but also to catch license plates for anyone leaving), with the goal of adding more within 3 years.

WEAPONS - Currently a few handguns, shotgun, and rifle, and lots of ammo for each. I want to add a few more, and increase the ammo stockpile a bit. One of our team will be bringing his own weapons, so that will add some as well.

Your safe-haven will not be so safe if there is a mass exodus from urban areas near you, unless you are well prepared to defend it.

Otherwise, I'm impressed.

Good luck.

For your food setup.
Berries. All kinds. They're rich in antioxidants, and easy to dry for storage.
Bramble (thorny) berry bushes make a bit of a deterrent from intruders, and the have food on them.

Herbs. Again, they're full of healthy goodness, help flavour your foods, and many are medicinal. Get some paperwork downloaded and printed about using plants and herbs for medicine, what's safe and what's not.

Soft big leafy plants for toilet necessities.

Originally posted by snowspirit
For your food setup.
Berries. All kinds. They're rich in antioxidants, and easy to dry for storage.
Bramble (thorny) berry bushes make a bit of a deterrent from intruders, and the have food on them.

Herbs. Again, they're full of healthy goodness, help flavour your foods, and many are medicinal. Get some paperwork downloaded and printed about using plants and herbs for medicine, what's safe and what's not.

Soft big leafy plants for toilet necessities.

Also you could plant wild roses. Have bushels of rose hips all the time in Florida.

what about an emergency escape pod A.K.A. a hot air balloon, just in case.
Motion sensors and lights are good but get some geese they make great early warning alarms.
plant some potatos they are easy to grow and they are very filling and nutritious.

If you have a basement, turning an area inside into a grow area for vegetables and what not may be worth looking into, if you have the power to back it up. A small spot, if done correctly, could yield quite a bit of food all year long regardless of weather (drought, hurricane, etc.)

My suggestions/tips:

Water purification/filtration system is case well is contaminated. Also handheld water filter bottles or tablets. Build a wagon for the horses in case you have to transverse the mile each way for pond water, filling large barrels and reducing trips. More rain collecting.

Green house for fruits/veggies better yields, protected from animals, and can better regulate temps. Build root cellar for food storage reduces need for refrigeration. Also need own source of food for chickens. Plant trees for wood source.

Renewable weapons, Bow/arrows, snare/traps. Consider switching all exterior doors to open out, harder for someone to break into. First aid, trauma bag, dental supplies, medications, natural remedies/herbs, get professional training to learn treatments.

Solar, solar and more solar. Before getting wind power, test sustained wind speed at ground level, 10ft, 20ft and 30 ft to see if feasible. Wood stove. hand tools for everything, long term fire starter long term waste disposal for humans and animals/fertilizer use. composting

Prep for local issues, I don't live in FL so only you would know what to plan for, weather, people, animals, ect

I hope some of this helps.

Stock up!

ASAP!

Just for an example (I use this source):

beprepared.com...

Also, while you may never need to, you should have an escape plan, to get away from it all, if you need to, and a place to go.

You may need supplies to last for up to 6 months, you may also consider stocking up on water, or have a water source and the means to treat that water for use as drinking water and for cooking.

Again, good luck.

reply to post by heyitsok


Good thinking. Both the petals and the hips are usable, the hips for vitamin C, and the petals for rose water. That can be a mild flavouring, and I think rosewater is even good for the skin.


Gazrok:
Also learn to make soap

chickens are great! We have two different types of chickens. 30 of them are breed to lay large eggs, the other 70 are breed for there meat and grow very fast. YUM

Your fruit trees are a great idea but they take up to 5 year to fruit, better to start now then never i guess.

Feeding your horses and chickens will be a problem.

At least for the chickens, I suggest purchasing red worms from a worm farm, There easy to maintain, they fertilize your soil, all you need is a compost waste site to put them in, they can eat the rotten fruit from the orchard, they multiply like crazy and there good eating for the chickens. Once the chicken feed runs out, your going to need to feed them with something you can grow and multiply.

The horse, grow lots of hey, that’s all I got to say. Lol learn how to harvest the hay and learn to save some for seed stock.

plus it never hurts to have a BOL unless this is your Alamo.

My plan is to bug out to the family ranch, we have everything we need there, once there, hold until relieved. Its our Alamo.

Some great ideas, feel free to keep them coming!

When FL falls into the sea all that prepping wont do you much good. Unless you prep a noahs ark.

Can't worry about things I can do nothing about...same as if we're nuked.

My only suggestion would be to harden up your primary residence if you haven't already done it. Doors, windows, bulkheads etc are certainly the weakest points in the house. When I lived in Hurricane country I measured and labeled every window and created Storm panels to match out of 3/4 plywood.

Excellent idea, one I had before too, but had left off my list, thanks for the reminder! The shop doors are actually metal (though look like regular doors), and that window is barred. The front door is a double door and has locks down into the floor, but could be replaced with a more reinforced door. The glass doors in the back are a problem, (for storms, they are shielded by the covered porch, but for security, they are barred, but breakable). Replacing them with really strong see through doors is probably the only option vs. covering them up in an event (but expensive).

How about building yourself a small smokehouse for preserving meats.

My current thinking was one of those food dehydrators, but I'll look into it. When I lived in Alaska, we smoked a lot of salmon.

Rabbits for meat/fur. They're small and quiet and always make themselves plentiful.

We actually have two male rabbits. If I get some warning of an event, I'll quickly add some females.

A bow. And fletching kit.

One of our group has these, but I used to hunt with a bow, so would be good to add one for me too.

For your food setup.
Berries. All kinds. They're rich in antioxidants, and easy to dry for storage.
Bramble (thorny) berry bushes make a bit of a deterrent from intruders, and the have food on them.

Strawberries are a given (area is known for them), and are going to be part of the garden. Great idea on thorny, fruiting bushes, depends on what is good for my zone.

Herbs. Again, they're full of healthy goodness, help flavour your foods, and many are medicinal. Get some paperwork downloaded and printed about using plants and herbs for medicine, what's safe and what's not.

We're putting a culinary/medicinal herb garden in around the koi pond in the entryway area (the area to the right of the shop that looks like an L. Most culinary herbs are also medicinal, and fairly pretty too. (hidden prep)

Also you could plant wild roses. Have bushels of rose hips all the time in Florida.

Yep, there are roses all along the right side of the house and the left side.

plant some potatos they are easy to grow and they are very filling and nutritious.

Yep, they are in the planned garden.

If you have a basement,

FL, so no basements...or root cellars.

Water purification/filtration system is case well is contaminated.

We do keep bleach on hand, purification tabs, etc., but I'd like to get an actual system, excellent suggestion.

Green house for fruits/veggies better yields, protected from animals, and can better regulate temps.

Good point, will take some time/work, but an excellent idea....though conditions here in FL are generally pretty good.

Consider switching all exterior doors to open out,

Already do.

Also learn to make soap

One of our group actually does this as a hobby, lol!

chickens are great! We have two different types of chickens. 30 of them are breed to lay large eggs, the other 70 are breed for there meat and grow very fast. YUM

We'll start with the egg ones, and then increase more if warning.

Your fruit trees are a great idea but they take up to 5 year to fruit, better to start now then never i guess.

Yeah, I'll be planting small trees vs. from seed, but I need to start sometime. Started out as a way to give the horses apples without buying them (eventually). Have to plant a couple different ones for cross-pollination.

Feeding your horses and chickens will be a problem.

Yeah, I'm hoping the horses can mostly graze, and increasing our grass quality is part of that.

At least for the chickens, I suggest purchasing red worms from a worm farm, There easy to maintain, they fertilize your soil, all you need is a compost waste site to put them in, they can eat the rotten fruit from the orchard, they multiple like crazy and there good eating for the chickens.

Excellent idea, with horses, we have lots of compost, hehe...

The horse, grow lots of hey, that’s all I got to say. Lol learn how to harvest the hay and learn to save some for seed stock.

Don't really have the needed acreage for hay growing, but I'm still checking into solutions for this.[

We also have a wood fireplace if needed for heat, cooking, and I usually keep a small stockpile of wood.

Interesting suggestion on welding gear...I often see this at Tractor Supply, but can't really think of a use other than making repairs, but if I learned it, I could fabricate also. Nobody in my group knows how to do this. I have a pretty decent workshop, even a compressor and air tools, but not any welding equipment.

Consider switching all exterior doors to open out,

Wouldn't the hinges be on the wrong side then?

reply to post by superman2012


No, they aren't standard hinges. You can't access the pins. Now I'm curious to examine them closer though. I let my dogs out all the time, and I know they open out and don't remember seeing the hinge pin.