As hurricane Matthew was about to hit Florida, I was making plans to secure my yard, which included chopping down the lemongrass before the winds blew my whole grow-rig into orbit. See my blog post regarding Hurricane Matthew ops here. Here is
a brief report on how I brew the home-grown tea. The lemon grass was cut the day before the storm was due to hit, 2016.10.08, or 30 days ago so its pretty dry by this point. Chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces, it fits nicely into 
re-purposed glass jars.
Instructions for a strong brew.
1) 1 Cup of dried tea leaves (1/2 cup for mild brew)
2) Fill the tea pot to the top with boiling water
3) Let steep for 20 min (10 min for mild brew)
4) Pour through a filter, into a cup
5) Optional, Pour into a cup filled with ice
6) Melt honey into the cup of tea prior to adding ice
End of report.
–heinz
close to 1 1/2 
inches. I was amazed. Prior to assembling this little grow rig, I learned about the soil requirements for lemongrass, of which one component is magnesium. From Home Depot I picked up the following: (50/50 compost/manure mix), potting soil, slow release all purpose fertilizer which contains magnesium, perlite so the soil would stay loose and I added about 2 cups of Epsom salt to each bucket to boost the magnesium levels which lemongrass (citrus family) really like. Each bucket started out with only 3 stalks of lemongrass that I picked up at a local Asian market, rooted them in Mason jars and water in the direct sun at the end of my driveway, which took about 2 weeks.
putting them there. Cat, if you happen to stumble upon this post, they are still at the end of my driveway, come and get em, you still have time, last chance before the storm haha. Update, I’ve secured Rachael and Dexter inside the house, and moved two of the best cat beds into the closet in the bathroom for just-in-case emergency ops. Will check in later if the power is still on…..OUT.
eth. :-). Back in 2004 and 2005, a few storms had blown through Boynton Beach, FL; 2004 Sept 4th Hurricane Frances, 2004 Sept 26th Hurricane Jeanne, and 2005,Oct 24th Hurricane Wilma. I was lucky enough to find a Coleman Sportster II 533 dual fuel single burner stove at the local Walmart for around 45 dollars, if my memory is functioning. So today, 2016.10.06, Matthew is flying over for a visit. I dug out the Coleman stove that I bought over 12 years ago (with the same unleaded gas still in the tank from when I last used it), pumped it up and it poof, it lit on the first go! From what I remember, the sole reason I bought it, was to not be without coffee, and it worked perfectly. I must add here that I only remember buying one gallon of gas in one of those red plastic gas cans, and after 3 hurricanes, I don’t remember ever buying more gas for the little stove. In other words you can see that its supp
er efficient, having filled it only once and there is still gas left in it. Looking on Amazon I see its not much more, about $60.00. Just in case you’re wondering, yes I would buy it again. So here it is Thursday around 1040am and I can actually see the plants and trees starting to move around out there. I still have lots of stuff to secure so I’m trying to make this fast—will correct errors later, if I’m still alive…HA! So last night I had a buddy order the “Coleman 2 Burner Dual Fuel Compact Liquid Fuel Stove”, yes they gave it a long name, lemme find the model; (Item model number: 3000000396) or Colemen 2 Burner Dule Fuel 424. Sorry for being rambley, just trying to be thorough so you get the right info—or thoroughly confused. :-). So 
based on the storm, I should have it Monday, although he bought it yesterday with 2 day shipping, the storm may delay it. I had him get it because he has free shipping—anything to save a few pennies, so I can buy more candles. I have info on candles, but not now, have to secure my yard, winds picking up! I’m in West Palm Beach. Just do a search on youtube regarding “making candles with crisco”. The real trick is, you need to use a small candle in the center or else the wick will fall over… Wind is picking up, will report back when able… OUT.
Are you read
y for a situation in which you wake up, and while trying to make coffee you find the water has been shut off due to the hurricane that blew over during the night that you just so happen to sleep through. Do you have a friend that likes to “drink”? Do you go on four-hour road trips, and like to have some ice cold, fresh water with you? The pictures should just about tell you what you should have been doing even before any hurricane was on the radar. 
altogether….yike
s, I can’t believe some people still trust what comes out of their tap… Also, you should be storing some frozen water to use as ice-packs to toss in a small cooler which would hold your filtered water for a nice road trip. The glass bottles and home filtering system should be standard ops for anyone these days, at least those who live in South Florida. I use a CrystalQuest 10 stage filter system that includes an arsenic filter. I will update this blog post when I have time. Chime in if you have any other “water” ideas.