Victory Garden Man

Your Victory Garden Man

What could I say about me?  Well, I could start at the beginning of my earliest memories at the age of about 1 but something tells me that you would not believe me because most people don’t believe me when I say that I have memories of that age.

I would venture to say that nobody cares about that aspect of my life anyway.  I mean, does anyone really want to know that much depth about their Victory Garden Man?  I will tell you what…If you want to know what my earliest memory is then shoot me an email and I will respond asap (free of charge).

I am going to start at the beginning of my interest in canning my own foods and the thought process that got me to this point today.

I guess it all started about 5 or 6 years ago when my interests turned to the economy and politics.  I was feeling more and more uneasy about the world around me and all of the craziness that was coming out of Washington that no one else seemed to notice.

There were two books that made a huge impact on me which changed my thought process forever in how I looked at my surroundings and America in general.

By the time I read multiple books by these two authors, I started to feel that I was not alone in feeling uneasy about America’s future.  I knew deep down that I wanted to educate people about the storm clouds coming our way.

Note:  Read Peter Schiff’s “Crash Proof” and Harry Dent’s “The Great Bubble Boom Ahead” if you only read two other books the rest of your life.

Some of you are probably thinking “what the hell does all of this economics stuff have to do with canning your own foods!!!???”.  I am sure some of you smart buggers out there know exactly what I am talking about.

America is in the process of becoming a very different place and it is my firm belief (with the help of my author friends) that this place is going to be practically unrecognizable over the next decade or two.  I can go on and on about why but let me just throw a few tidbits of info at you.

Did you know that our national debt is fast approaching $13,000,000,000,000.00 (that’s 13 trillion) and this does not even count liabilities such as a bankrupt Medicare and Social Security!!!?  If you did then the debt is somewhere between $50 and $80 trillion!!!

If you want to get a better grasp of what this means, I suggest you watch a video series call “Crash Course” by Chris Martenson.  Here, let me make is easy for you:

http://www.Chrismartenson.com

And if you want to see a neat site that calculates America’s debt obligations in real time then check this out!

http://usdebtclock.org

Did you know that there are many, well respected economists (who are not on that boob tube) that are in agreement that to pay our debts back, at this point, is practically a mathematical impossibility?  What do you think America is going to look like when we default on our debts or decide to debase our currency through the printing press?

We are going to have to become much more self sufficient in the years ahead and time is of the essence.  Canning our own foods and preserving them will be of utmost importance in the years ahead for our survival thus survival canning is my theme.  However, this site is much more than just canning and preserving your own foods for survival.  My goal is to help and educate as many people as possible of the changes coming our way and the preservation of our communities, our finances and our lifestyles in general are of equal importance as well.

However, let’s think about this for a moment.  Is there anything more crucial to our health and survival than food?  We can have all the money in the world but if food is in extreme short supply then that money will not do us much good…Huh?  The same could be said for our savings…If our money is debased to the point that it takes $50 or $100 to buy a loaf of bread then how long do you think our savings will last?

I guess you could say that I started to “get it” after a while so I began to focus more on the solutions (after crying in the fetal position for a while from the feelings of being rapped by the Government) which is how I came to the subject of long term food storage, canning, preserving, canning equipment and jarring supplies.

At first, I started with some very easy canning recipes such as cucumber pickles and then to more involved jarring recipes such as soups.  You know what?  I started to have fun in the process.

I quickly realized that a large pot of chicken soup can be canned and will fill a large shelf in the basement that will last a long time.  I also liked the idea that the foods I eat will have nothing more or less than what I put in it as opposed to all the unknown additives in store bought soup.

the more and more that I learned about the canning process, the more I wanted to share this information with everyone I met and to help the people around me learn how to be more self sufficient.   Once I started getting into food storage and canning/preserving, I started to realize that more needed to be done for one to be self sufficient…Much more!

I decided to build a site that people can come to in order to not only learn how to can their own foods but to educate themselves to the reasons why they should.  I wanted to develop a resource center for people wanting to build their own “victory garden” in which they can learn techniques and find resources to help them “get off of the grid” as much as possible.

So, this site started with the intent on helping people get into canning and preserving of foods and my thought process has morphed into focusing more on preparedness and preservation in a more general sense.  I believe we need to be balanced in order to not only survive the economic storm upon us but to thrive as well.  You see, even though I am in the firm belief that hard times are going to be with us for a long time, I also believe that we can become very wealthy…..If we prepare properly!

I guess you could say that this site was born to help people on their journey to self sufficiency.  Whether you want to can your own soups for your food storage or whether you want to store foods in bulk form such as wheat, beans or rice then you are in the right place.  If you are looking for resources to help you preserve your wealth so your savings does not get wiped out by inflation the you are in the right place.  If you are looking for ways to contribute to your local community thereby keeping your neighbors employed then you are in the right place.  If you are looking for ideas to help yourself get off of the grid and on to complete self sufficiency then you are definitely in the right place.

I know that I am not alone in the quest for self sufficiency and independence from big governmental and corporate control.  I know that there are a lot of people out there who understand that America is going to look a lot different in the years to come and that many are discouraged and overwhelmed by the tasks in front of us.  My goal is to help my fellow Americans as best I can because I know that we are going to need to lean on each other just as we used to many years ago.

I know a number of my friends who think I am being very negative when I talk about how we need to get ready for the economic storm that is fast approaching .  Some think I am crazy for getting a survival food storage plan together and that it is a huge wast of money and/or time.

Well, I may be a little crazy but I am an eternal optimist.  I love people and really do have an optimistic outlook on America’s future if we prepare.  I am sorry to say that those who don’t/won’t prepare by keeping their heads in the sand will not be thriving in the years ahead and will be happy to just survive.  The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider by the day now and which side you will be on in the future will be determined by the choices you make….Today!

I love the idea of going back in time where we don’t need health insurance because our neighbors, friends and family step in to help in any little way they can.  I love the idea that Americans will have to get their hands dirty again from digging around in their garden.  I love the idea of the family sitting around the dinner table while actually having a conversation about their day while eating foods that are healthy.  How do you look at it?

Is there going to be a lot of pain for a lot of people?  Absolutely!  I am an optimist but I am not a Polyanna which is the very reason this site exists in the first place.

My heart aches thinking of how many people are going to be effected (some are being effected right now)  in the future and in no way do I think that an economic collapse will lead to us all living on little house on the prairie overnight.  We have a long road ahead of us before economic stability returns but when the dust settles and a sense of normalcy returns, we will look a lot more like the Waltons then the Jetsons.

America is addicted to cheap oil and food as well as many other luxuries which has been going on for a very long time and the withdrawal symptoms are going to be bad…really bad.  But guess what? Once the withdrawals subside and we open the shutters after the storm has hit, we will stick our head out the window and the sun will hit our faces  again.

We will look back at all of this and wonder why we were so stressed out to begin with.  However, make no mistake…we are never going back to the cheap fuel era of the eighties and nineties in which we cruised around town in our mustangs while drinking a slurpee from 7-11.  We might be going to 7-11 to get a slurpee but it will be more of a walk around town and that doesn’t sound all that bad.  How awesome it will be to burn those calories off as we go!

So, here I am!  Doing my best to help mankind in my own little way and I don’t care who thinks I am crazy for having survival food storage or for  looking to get off of the grid as much as possible.  If helping mankind is wrong then I don’t want to be right!  OK, I have to mention that your victory garden man is a little corny but sometimes I just can’t help it.

So, I guess you could say that my #1 goal is to help everyone develop and cultivate their very own victory garden ; )

I know this site is very new but bear with me…I will be adding a lot of great links and information as time goes on as well as an awesome food calculator for those who subscribe.  Hope to hear from some of you and don’t hesitate to ask questions or to make suggestions!

Peace and Love

Your Victory Garden Man