Since the "I see an economic disaster coming" thread seems to be taking self sufficiency very seriously, I thought I would put together a series of questions that might help myself and other OU members gauge their level of readiness to provide for basic needs should commercial sources become too expensive or unavailable.

There will probably be many questions I haven't thought of that will be supplied by other members.
Perhaps the site owner or moderator of these threads could leave this thread starter open for additions/corrections?

EDIT: I've PM'd Cap about this and he says that he has no issue with me sending a revised post and he will post it.

They are (in order of importance IMHO):

1.) Water (thanks d3! I'd kind of taken that one for granted.)
2.) Food
3.) Health
4.) Shelter
5.) Energy
6.) Communication
7.) Transportation


1.) Water       (these questions address internal consumption only)

A.) Are you dependent on municipal water or a self owned pump?

   I.) Municipal

a.) If water delivery is unavailable to your home, where is clean water already stored in your home that you can use?
b.) Do you know various methods to purify water?
c.) Do you have the materials to do that water purification?
d.) How much of those materials?
e.) What will be the alternate source of the water you may need to purify?
f.) Do you know how to siphon and have the hose for it?

   II.) Self Owned Pump

a.) Where does the power come from to pump the water?
b.) Do you have the means to power the pump yourself or an alternate way to power it?
c.) Do you have spare parts to fix your pump?
d.) Are you familiar with the water table and aquifers in your area?
e.) Can you fabricate a water tower of sorts to provide on demand water and reduce the power consumption necessary to pump it?
f.) [Insert questions b - f of the municipal table above here]

   III:) Other

a.) Which questions above can also apply if you get your water from a stream/pond/lake?
b.) If you live in an area where it happens, how will you deal with freezing?

2. Food

A.) Do you know what will be necessary to meet diet requirements of you and your family?

   I.) Food Cache

a.) Do you have a store of food available right now that will satisfy your needs for at least 2 weeks?
b.) Do the methods of that store require energy (refrigeration/freezing) to store it?
c.) If they do, how can you provide that energy yourself right now?
d.) Are you familiar with the daily nutritional requirements for a healthy diet?
e.) Do you know how to ration that store and still provide a balanced diet to maximize its duration?
f.) Do you have a store of supplements (vitamins/minerals) to support rationing and/or the inadequate diet balance of your cache if rationed?
g.) Do you know how to harvest and store foods to last you until the next harvest when you are providing for your own food needs?

   II.) Gardening/Agriculture

a.) Do you have an idea how much area will be necessary to grow AT LEAST one years worth of food for yourselves and your livestock?
b.) Do you have the machinery necessary to plow/plant/harvest the land?
c.) Will you use engine driven machines or livestock to do it?
d.) Do you have _2_ years worth of seed stock to start your crops?
e.) How is it (seed stock) stored?
f.) Do you know how to prepare and plant that area to minimize erosion?
g.) Do you have enough area to allow the same amount of area necessary above to lie fallow for a year so you don't overwork the soil/overgraze?
h.) Are you familiar with the types of ground cover crops for fallow areas you can plant to best supply the nutrients it needs to recoup a prior growing seasons nutrient drain?
i.) Can that fallow crop area be grazed during its growing season?
j.) Can those ground cover crops be used for winter livestock feed?
k.) What crops will be necessary to winter feed your livestock?
l.) Do you know how to fertilize/compost to provide for fertilizer AND other needs?
m.) Can your own waste be composted for fertilizer?
n.) Do you know what crops grow during what seasons in your area and when to plant/harvest them?
o.) What crops can you plant/harvest more than one time during your growing season?
p.) Which kinds of crops can you keep for more than 1 year whose nutritional content will not degrade too much during that storage time?
q.) Do know of methods to extend a natural growing season?
r.) Do you have an indoor area where you can "winter garden" or start seeds for the upcoming year?
s.) If so, how will you provide/supplement the heat/light?
t.) Did you include spices/herbs/specialty plants in your thoughts about any of the questions above for cooking/medicinal/barter needs?
u.) Is there a "wild" area available to you where you can hunt/forage for wild plants, or "seed" with plants/mushrooms/trees for seasonal harvest while still providing sustenance and living area for wildlife?
v.) When thinking of harvesting, did you also include seed harvesting for the next years crop?
w.) What methods of insect and wildlife pest control will you use to protect your garden and feed crops?
x.) Have you thought about what crops you can raise to make clothing and paper?

   III.) Livestock/wildlife

a.) Which types of livestock can you raise in your area?
b.) How will you house your livestock to protect them during winter/harsh weather times and from predatory wildlife?
c.) How will you water them?
d.) Do you have the skills necessary for dairy production (milk/butter/cheese), fur/wool/feather harvesting, and egg collection?
e.) Do you know how to skin and butcher them to realize the maximum they can provide when you do that?
f.) What other materials do they provide you can use outside of fertilizer/skin/meat?
g.) Do you have enough animal husbandry and veterinary knowledge to spot/identify/treat livestock/animal disease?
h.) Do you know good animal breeding practices?
i.) Do you know how/when to geld livestock?
j.) Do you have adequate wildlife in your area to supplement your meat/fur/skin needs?
k.) Do you know how to attract wildlife and manage it so that it is a good self sustaining balance of herbivores and carnivores, does not threaten your livestock, or get over-hunted (poaching)?


Whew! Sections 1 & 2 took much longer than I anticipated. It seems for every question I'd already thought of, 2 more came to mind that I had not mentioned yet.
I'll try to address the next 2 sections tonight.

Please add any other questions you think I might have forgotten to mention and if the site owner and/or moderators allow it, I will add them to this post.