Is this forum dying?

You're right frost. It's been very quiet lately. I haven't posted a lot purely because there's not much to say because I haven't been up to much which doesn't really help the situation. It could be that it's partly because prepping tends to wind in a bit during winter when we're all hiding from the cold. You definitely should keep up the retreat updates though, I really enjoy seeing what you've achieved and getting ideas for what I can do with my own property... When we finally get one!

I suspect there are a few lurkers. It can be intimidating to dip your toes in sometimes, especially when it seems like you're broaching a group of people who seem to know each other quite well. But I think forums also go through cycles of quiet and active. It's happened a few times over the last few years here too. And I suspect that with all of those members there's probably only 20-50 that could be called 'active'. I guess we all just have to make a bit more effort to keep the conversation going.

The Feds can Get Fugged, they don't scare me, even the State and Federal Wallopers past and present that inhabit this place I don't give a toss about!   I have been posting snippets here and there but there's just very little discussion, the next phase of WW3 when it kicks off will liven it up a bit I'm sure! 

I'm trying to do that by posting what I consider interesting 'stuff', perhaps it isn't 'interesting' any more ?





Who controls the money controls the world.

I think sometimes people forget that prepping isn't just "I bought this thing to put away for later". It's also "I dug holes today to sink posts for better fencing so that when the rabbits are breeding they have less chance of getting at our garden-based food preps". Perhaps saying WHY you did what you did specifically from a prepping perspective will help folks who don't realise that fact to connect the dots a bit better. That way they can see how your actions are based in prepping rather than seeing what they think is just a list of chores.

For example, when I talk about working in my garden I try to bring it back to "I'm planting this specific species because it's a cut and come again plant, so it will provide us with a long-term food source in case of food scarcity". Or as mentioned in the diary post, I'm trying to find shading and bug solutions that work in the extreme heat. As we've already realised there's plenty in the media about how it's going to be a brutal summer. Someone who's new to prepping might not realise that there's also a lot of talk in the prepping community about crop failures and food insecurity being far more likely because of the increase in temps. When I post in my freezedryer thread, I generally try to discuss what I've saved and why. For example I mention that it can be difficult to store fat and as a result we're looking for long term fat options that don't require freezedrying. Actually that reminds me, I'm going to have to update that thread because there's been a bit of a snafu with the machine! Point is, trying to educate others on prepping and what it can do for you doesn't really achieve anything if you don't write out in black and white why you're doing what you're doing. Old hands might know instinctively and not need any explanation but new folks appreciate the 'why' of it all to make it usable info for their own experience.

Seeing regular people talking about it and how they plan to prepare for that makes for more relatable reading than "I'm planning to put up shade cloth for my plants this week". That doesn't really generate any interaction because no one has reason to discuss the topic beyond basic gardening chat. Throwing "Because of the expected brutal summer we're going to have" will prompt people to ask 'Why is it going to be brutal? Who expects it?" and they might be inclined to either ask more questions or research more. And that's what we really want at the end of the day. Education and information.

This is me too, at the moment. I've slacked off in the colder months and it's hard to get motivated with plans that require at least somewhat decent weather to make a move on. It's especially tricky when most of the prepping youtubers are currently reaping crops that they've started many many months ago, or they live in subtropical areas so their gardens are booming and crops are constant! But seeing a few more posts today and catching up on a few videos that I thought were pointless (due to the weather) has motivated me today so hopefully I'll get a bit more done than I have in the last few months 😅.

I was a member of Aussurvivalist. I just ignored the shit and responded to what was worthwhile.

OoooOOooOooOh! 😁😍 Well now, that's a decent reason to be distracted😉. What sort of fruit is he bringing? I recently did a final batch of lilipili jam and it was my best to date. Given I've only done one season of them I've definitely learnt a lot. No rhubarb. Ok I KNEW that wasn't going to work well but I really wanted to try rhubarb with lilipili! For reference, it's delicious. But definitely a bit liquidy because of course rhubarb messes with the pectins.
The last lot I added a lot more cinnamon to the recipe as well as a bit more ginger and it's fantastic.

I'm on a fact finder in Brisbane...I was in a book shop in the city that was having a sale and saw a heap of Bear Grylls books and thought of you mob!

He's brought me large apples, oranges and lemons.  Also Ice Plant which many people consider a weed, but it is good in salad or in soups and stews. I got grapefruit and more oranges from my brother and lemons from my sister. I've got a huge lilly pilly tree in the front yard, so made jelly with those. Only got the last of the lilly pilly because I was distracted and forgot about it. I've made 4 kinds of marmalade, persimmon jam, fig, almond and ginger jam and fig, apple and ginger chutney. I've got more fruit to make up, but i've taken a break so that I can get more gardening and other things 😜 done. I'm going to dry orange, lime and citrus for drinks, flavouring and to dip in chocolate.