Green architecture notes. Backwoods Home Magazine Newsletter - May, 2010. BHM NewsletterVolume 12 Number #5 May, 2010 New Issue The newest issue of BHM is on the presses as I type. It was quite a challenge getting it together, as we had so many other things going on—my husband, Erik, arrived home from the Marine Corps just as we were putting the finishing touches on deadline, and we're expecting the arrival of our newest baby any time now. This issue includes a great article by Jackie Clay on how to build a little gambrel-roof shed, which she is using for her herd of goats. Richard Blunt serves up a delicious article featuring traditional meals from Ethiopia—John Silveira kept us well-fed during deadline while testing the recipes.
The BHM Stimulus Sale We know times are tough for many and we've felt the pinch, too. We believe in self-reliance and we believe in helping others achieve it, too, so from now until June 15th, you can order almost everything we publish at a whopping 30% off! ALL of our anthologies and ALL of our self-reliance handbooks are included. Food. Homesteader Organic Products | Homesteaders Supply. Gardening 101 | Keeper of the Home. Start a self-sufficiency garden even in a cramped apartment by Nancy... You are sitting there in your recliner chair in your small city apartment desperately longing for the day when you can escape to the country and become a homesteader and become more self-sufficient. Well, don't just sit there. Get a head start. Bloom where you are planted until you can actually make the big move. Don't waste valuable time in pointless dreaming. Begin making your dreams a reality, now. White bloom colonnade apple tree. Stark colonnade apple tree with a petunia.
Stark colonnade apple trees with basket of apples. Stark maypole flowering crab apple and Stark emerald spire. Stark Sensation Miniature Peach. You dream of growing your own fresh, pesticide-free, organic vegetables. Make your own compost to add to your potting soil in a dark corner (or under the sink) by putting shredded newspaper, kitchen wastes (not meat or grease), and coffee grounds in a large container and adding a few earthworms (which you can either buy or collect for free after a rain at the nearby park).
Permies: goofballs that are nuts about permaculture. 4 Best Methods for Off-the-Grid Food Production. Activist Post For most of us producing all of our own food is just a fantasy. It evokes visions of multiple acres of fertile land, long work days, and expensive machinery. However, none of these are necessary to achieve self-sufficient food production. There are many gardening techniques that can produce an abundance of food for you and your family without requiring a lot of space, money or equipment.
Rather, you will need time to study and practice these methods and other food preparation skills such as learning to mill your own wheat or corn flour to make breads, tortillas, pastas from scratch, or learning to can, pickle, or preserve food in all its forms. Your diet should also be considered when planning for the best self-sufficient food production method. With dedication and proper planning, everyone has the ability to survive the looming food crisis by producing their own food. Here are the 4 best food production methods for self-reliance: 1. 2. 3. 4. . , CFLs , or HPSs. How to build a small, cheap, simple and easy greenhouse. Solar Greenhouses. L. David Roper 28 April 2008 Slide Show for this web page YMCA of Virginia Tech Solar Greenhouse Project Contents: Introduction Global Warming and Peak Oil require that humans acquire their food from local farmers or grow it themselves. Solar greenhouses (SGH) differ from standard greenhouses in that energy is collected from the Sun and stored for use when the Sun is not shining.
From my studies of solar greenhouses, I have concluded that the best method for storing and releasing heat in solar greenhouses is the Subterranean Heating and Cooling System (SHCS) described below. If local farmers cannot afford to own solar greenhouses on their farms, a community solar greenhouse could lease out space to local farmers in the winter time. Some families may want a smaller SGH in their back yard. A SGH may be to hot to use in the peak summer time. Skip ahead to a sketch of a SHCS solar greenhouse for Blacksburg, Virginia. Books about solar greenhouses Back to top Vents. Construction Management Degree& Blog Archive & 101 Hacks for the... Growing plants at home can be a great way to spruce up your space and provide healthy and readily available foodstuffs.
While gardening has its benefits, it can be challenging– even for veteran gardeners– and problems with pests, withering leaves and poor production can leave gardeners pulling out their hair. Luckily, there's a wealth of advice online to help gardeners improve their green thumbs. Check out these tips that prove that you don't need a college degree in horticulture to grow beautiful plants, just hard work and a little creativity. Design Try out these tips for better garden planning and layouts. Try out virtual garden. You can mess around with the layout of your garden to your heart's content without having to lift more than a finger or two with this online program.Consider square foot gardening. Planting Before you put your plants in the ground, read through these hacks to get the most from your garden.
Pay attention to growing seasons and characteristics. Watering Pests Weeds. 6 Months In the Greenhouse & The Door Garden. My little greenhouse is cram packed in April. I built my 50 dollar greenhouse about 6 months ago and I thought some of you might be interested in what I’ve done with it and how it’s performed so far. I have not used any artificial heat in my greenhouse at all – so it does get cold in there – but the climate in the greenhouse is much more temperate than it is outside. I’ve found that even in the worst weather we have here in zone 6 cold hardy things like spinach and lettuce keep on growing all winter long – although at a slower rate than if it were warmer. I haven’t installed any kind of automated ventilation system so far – I just watch the weather forecast and if it’s supposed to be a warm sunny day I open one of the doors in the morning, and close it in the evening. In Middle Tennessee (zone 6b) you can’t grow tropical plants or produce fruits like tomatoes through the winter in an unheated greenhouse like this.
What I’ve Used My Greenhouse For So Far Things I haven’t done yet Weeds Pests. Drycrikjournal | Perspectives from the Ranch. Drycrikjournal | Perspectives from the Ranch. BASIC LIST OF SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL. Some people are saying we should prepare for at least 7 days, but the way things go after a hurricane, tornado, floods, loss of electricity and the fact that these disasters will continue and perhaps even get worse in coming years according to trends, one week is not enough. Some have said 7 years, but that seems too long so do what you can. Be sure to use the older stocked goods first and replace them with new. Otherwise you will end up with all old food you might not even want to eat.
Always check canned tomatoes for spoilage, as even in the can they can spoil. 1. Homeland Security recommends 7 days for survival, but in recent years, some people don't have electricity or heat for up to 3 weeks, so to be really safe - plan for at least 3 weeks. 2. Note: I have received arguments that boiling for longer than 5 minutes will just waste good water, but 15 minutes is safer to kill Cryptospiridium. 3. Wheat - 300 lbs. Rice - 100 lbs. Beans, Peas, Lentils, 50 lbs. each Honey or Sugar - 60 lbs. The Silver Bear Cafe. Dehydrated Food: What to Store and How Much to Store Peggy Layton This article is a continuation of the last two in which I discussed The Advantages Of Storing Dehydrated Foods and How To Store Bulk Foods.
The basic food items recommended for storage and the quantities to store are listed below. These are only suggestions. Every individual and family is unique in what they like and will eat. If you don’t drink milk or eat meat, wheat, sugar or any other food item listed, then you will need to adjust the amount of these items that you store. Grains: (300 lbs. per person per year or 75 lbs. for three months.) Some other grains to choose from are rice, oats, corn, six-grain and nine-grain cereals, farina, germade, barley, buckwheat, rye and super grains like: quinoa, amaranth, triticale, Kamut®, spelt and millet. White rice verses brown rice: Brown rice doesn’t store very long. White rice is the best choice for long-term food storage. Legumes: Milk and dairy products: Sweeteners: Fruits: Pet food: Wilderness Survival Articles Listing - Simple Survival. Aquaponic Aquaculture Resource in Midtown Sacramento California. Family of Four Grows Their Food in a Swimming Pool. Images: Youtube screen grabs Food Doesn't Get More Local Than That A family living in Mesa, Arizona, has decided to convert an old unused backyard swimming pool into a very productive DIY urban greenhouse, which they named Garden Pool.
Within a small, mostly enclosed space, they grow all kinds of vegetables and herbs, as well as raise chickens and tilapia fish. They started this project in 2009 and expected to be "self-sufficient" by 2012, but they've reached that goal this year, getting "8 fresh eggs a day, unlimited tilapia fish, organic fruit, veggies, and herbs 365 days a year" (though I'm not sure if by self-sufficient they mean that they could theoretically live off the amount of food the Garden Pool produces, or if they actually do it).
Check out the video tour of the Garden Pool below. An Oasis in the Desert There's a more detailed list of things they grow and facts about the Garden Pool here. Photo: GardenPool.org The Garden Pool is also off-grid thanks to solar PV! Via Gardenpool. Raising tilapia - MonsterFishKeepers.com. The Victory Garden . Grow . Plants & Vegetables . Plants for Water Gardens. Plants for Water Gardens Michael Weishan talks with water gardener Andre Golden about solid selections for creating your own healthy and attractive water garden. Water gardening doesn't have to be carried out on a grand and costly scale. It's relatively easy to plant and maintain a successful water garden in a smallish tub, which you can seat, for instance, in a decorative outer container. Nitella sp. stonewort To maintain a healthy water garden a couple of plants are more or less required.
Eichhornia crassipes water hyacinth Water hyacinth is a prolific plant that also floats at the surface, its dangling roots acting as natural filters, drawing dirt and suspended debris out of the water for its own nourishment. Pistia stratiotes water lettuce Water lettuce is another prolific plant that floats at the surface, its dangling roots acting as natural filters, drawing dirt and suspended debris out of the water for its own nourishment. Nymphaea 'Helvola' and 'Indiana' hardy water lily Colocasia rubra. Plant an Edible Forest Garden. Are you feeling adventurous? Do you want to delve deeper into gardening? Even better, are you thinking of planting an orchard? If so, consider starting a forest garden. With a little planning, you can grow a productive forest garden, full of plants that work together in imitation of a natural forest.
I’m convinced that imitating natural systems is fundamental to any successful effort to raise food. I’ve been exploring the idea of forest gardening for several years, and have recently begun to try it on my own homestead. One of the main differences between a forest garden and the typical food garden is that forest gardens rely on perennials. To understand the difference this makes, consider the role of annual plants in nature. Because of the speed and fecundity of the annuals’ lifestyle, they are able to cover patches of bare ground quickly. Most gardeners are used to a fair amount of disturbance and change in their gardens, from tillage, crop rotation, and so on.
Permaculture Activist. Growing and Storing Your Own Food, by F.E.S. Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 Growing and Storing Your Own Food, by F.E.S. Let me begin by saying I am a 64 year old male who grew up in the era of duck and cover. Every school child back then was aware of the threat of falling A bombs form the sky with the Russian hammer and sickle painted on their nose. Many people were prepared for a nuclear exchange with fall out rates and blast distance from ground zero calculated. Food reserves were stocked in the pantry or in a shelter and each family member knew exactly what to do in an emergency.
To be prepared then was your civic duty and not being organized was viewed as being, at the least ill-informed and at the worst just plain lazy. Now fast forward to the present, how the times have changed! People think you are a tinfoil hat wearing crazy nut job if you talk about being prepared, you are called a survivalist throwback to the bomb shelter days. Getting started with the basics: Every trip to the grocery store I purchased extra of the basic foods. Be Nutrition Ready and Store Super Foods. Someone asked me once why I named my website Ready Nutrition. Quite simply, I explained that it’s not enough to be ready for all hell to break loose.
You can have all the preps in the world, but without a well rounded diet, you wouldn’t have the strength to engage in any form of rigorous activity to benefit your survival. Being nutrition ready means storing the right types of foods that will benefit you in the long run. These types of foods are also known as super foods, and have health promoting or disease fighting properties beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients.
Ironincally, most super foods are some of our favorite foods, so stocking up on them for an emergency food supply should be a no brainer. Allium Family Garlic and onions are front runners for preventing a multitude of ailments. Berries Berries are rich in antioxidants and are packed with disease fighting properties. Broccoli Broccoli is a pretty remarkable vegetable. Carrots Citrus Fruits Oats Nuts Red Grapes Spinach Google+ Survival Food Series: 25 Survival Seeds You Need For Your Garden. Living off the land sounds as inviting as Christmas dinner. But many have hardly had adequate experience being “farmers.” In fact, many have had no experience at all when it comes to planting anything. That being said, the day is slowly approaching where each of us may have to trade in our company identification badges for a shovel and a pair of overalls.
Educating yourself on farming topics such as mirco farming, planting for the seasons, natural insect repellents, seed collection and seed storage could help prepare for an upcoming economic crisis. Start Practicing The only way to be fully prepared as far as growing plants is concerned is to practice, practice, practice. With each gardening experience will come more wisdom on how to handle a larger garden. Survival Seeds These seeds that were chosen were based upon their yield quantities, *ease in growing, nutritional content and for the season they are planted in.
Sources: Google+ Alpha: Homesteads & Preparing With Kids. The Homesteader's Free Library. HomesteadGarden - Home.