How Much Land You Need To Go Off The Grid? The original homesteaders, the pioneers who went West, were following the American dream as it was understood in the 19th century — they wanted a house, and land, and a farm, of their own. Those who become homesteaders today aren’t necessarily aspirational in the same way; instead, they’re looking to escape mainstream America. They want to do so for many reasons: privacy, radicalism, a philosophical belief in self-sufficiency. But “going off the grid” is a daunting proposal, especially for those with families. According to the company’s research, a family of four that eats meat, dairy and eggs would need around two acres of land to feed themselves for a year. Here’s the chart. [Via HuffingtonPost.com]
Retreat (survivalism) A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. A retreat is also sometimes called a bug-out location (BOL). Survivalist retreats are intended to be self-sufficient and easily defended, and are generally located in sparsely populated rural areas. With the increasing inflation of the 1960s, the impending US monetary devaluation, the continuing concern with possible nuclear exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union, and the increasing vulnerability of urban centers to supply shortages and other systems failures, a number of primarily conservative and libertarian thinkers began suggesting that individual preparations would be wise. Harry Browne began offering seminars in 1967 on how to survive a monetary collapse. Articles on the subject appeared in such small-distribution libertarian publications as The Innovator and Atlantis Quarterly. For a time in the 1970s, the terms "survivalist" and "retreater" were used interchangeably. Bruce D. Robert A.
Survival Garden, Be Prepared For Disaster or Food Shortage Emergency Growing A Survival Garden May Soon Become A Necessity! Have you considered that... survival gardening may soon be a true matter of survival and not just a choice? With the rapid decline of our financial system and food supply, grocery store produce and other products, may soon be at a crisis level shortage like we have never seen. At that point, gardening would no longer be a "choice" for a more self sufficient lifestyle, it would be a matter of survival for everyone! With the costs of living rising all the time, you can see the practical benefits of growing your own garden... you can save money, increase your family's health, and become more self sufficient all at the same time by growing vegetables in your backyard. Take advantage of whatever garden space you have, even if your garden may not provide all the food that you need, it will have a dramatic effect in reducing your food bill. Consider some of the benefits of growing your own garden... 1. Small Garden Space Larger Garden Space
A Basic Vegetable Garden In a global catastrophe, the vegetable garden zooms to prominence to ensure survival food. A basic primer to plant vegetables for simple survival. Tip on locations of global seed banks, including the doomsday seed bank or Norwegian Seed Bank and the Millennium Seed Bank in the USA. Your urban survival gear includes: garden hoe, almanac, bagged potatoes and vegetable seeds. Plant a vegetable garden in any plot or container garden in sunny locations, or plant garden plants on the sunny side of your home. Find planting instructions on vegetable seed packets; planting times are in your almanac. Be sure to plant medicinal survival food: garlic (penicillin-like properties), onions, chives, sage, all peppers and herbs. Broadcast fertilizer (or horse, chicken, or cow manure) into your soil and mix. Let bagged potatoes sit until "eyes" form. Start plants indoors or in cold frames to get a head start. To conserve water, put one cupful per garden plant daily (never in the heat of the day).
Nine Things to Consider When Looking For Your Survival House image from Seattle Municipal Archives You don’t need a bunker in a remote location in Idaho or Montana to have a home that is able to withstand an emergency situation. However, there are a few things you’ll want to consider when choosing where to live as your home is an often overlooked but important part of your preparedness efforts. 1. 2. 3. Weather hazards can encompass large areas, so are sometimes difficult to avoid. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Bonus #10. My home is my castle (albeit a very small castle). Retreat Security Physical Retreat Security Providing adequate defensive measures must be given priority in the planning and development of any survival retreat. The threat of incursions by refugees and/or armed gangs is real and prudence requires that efforts are applied to minimize their potential for harm. In this paper an ‘event’ is any disaster, natural or man-made, in which there has been a complete national (and international) breakdown in society, law and order. The use of ‘booby traps’ in any other situation is undoubtedly illegal. The approach I have chose is based on the ‘onion theory’ in that there are several ‘layers’ of defence which must each be overcome for an invader to reach the ‘core’ of your retreat. The suggestions are based on three central ideas: camouflage, misdirection and practicality. Dirt: The outermost layer is termed the dirt, the reason should be clear after reading the description. Layer 1: This is the first layer of defence and begins at your gate.
9 Steps To Starting A Survival Garden In a time of economic uncertainty and rising food prices, it it always a good idea to have a garden to provide extra food for you and your family. Besides providing a source of food in an emergency, a garden is also a great source of wonderful vegetables which are MUCH healthier to eat than most of the food you can get at the supermarket. So how do you begin? The following are 9 steps that you can take to get your garden started..... #1) Decide What Your Goals Are - Do you want to grow enough just to add a few vegetables to your dinner once in a while? Do you want it to be able to provide enough food for your family if there is a major emergency? Some people who want to live "off the grid" end up building a garden large enough that it will provide almost all of the food that their family needs. #2) Evaluate Your Land - Once you know what your goals are, you need to evaluate the land that you are currently living on. So what is the solution? Comments comments
Thoughts on Survival Gardening Survival Gardening Gardening to live, or at least to not go hungry, or "Survival gardening", is something few people in the modern western world would ever contemplate. After all, why should we? The shops have always been there for us. So, is the concept of survival gardening worthy of our attention, or it is just a waste of our time contemplating and learning such skills that we may never need? A world in turmoil? The recent devastation in Japan has given us a clear reminder of the power of Mother Nature and how natural disasters can and do occur at any time. If you are living in the US, COSTCO have now started advertising survivalist and preparedness supplies in the form of #10 cans of freeze dried foods, food storage and rotation systems, among many other items. Of course it's not just man made events that could bring about a need for survival gardening skills. It’s ironic that I happen to be writing an article on survival gardening whilst snowed-in at my house. Share it!
Adaptable House caters for growing family, home office, retired living, or divorce It uses sliding partitions and storage walls, extension modules and a puzzle of garden components. Danish architects Henning Larsen's new Adaptable House is designed to accommodate the most common lifestyle changes, from having children to settling into retirement. The energy-efficient home can even be fairly separated in case of divorce. View all Realized with developers Realdania Byg and contractors GXN, the Adaptable House not only offers flexible room arrangements, but has a built-in strategy for extending and separating volumes. Pre-figuring life changes The Adaptable House was conceived to help meet a range of lifestyle changes. Perhaps the most innovative and coolly pragmatic gesture is in adapting for divorce. Sliding partitions make flexible interiors (Photo: Jesper Ray/Realdania Byg) Not just a room under the stairs The architects were determined that any new configurations meet their criteria for natural light, ventilation, plus noise and temperature control. Adding on
Bullock's Permaculture Homestead, Orcas Island 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+
Survival Gardening - Tough Times Ahead And a Way to Relax and De-Stress Survival gardening can be fun, relaxing and actually quite simple… Many people seem to think they don’t have enough space for a garden but the areas where you can learn how to grow a basic vegetable garden are endless. Yep, I am talking about those spaces we try to fill in with all kinds of flowers, shrubs, and even in some cases, gravel, so that it looks nice…. :) Plant your veggies there. Along Side Your House The area alongside the house is perfect for plants as it is protected from many things, such as: Frost, will stay frost-free longer in the fallcritters, we have to protect everything we grow here in Montana from hungry deerhail, heavy rains, strong wind… plus the plants seem to grow faster and I think it may be because heat is magnified. You may want to use non-hybrid seeds to do gardening as you will be able to harvest your own seeds for the following year this way. Visit our Survival Garden Ebooks page for simple green thumb helpsbooks..
What Kind Of Small Farm Is Right For You? So, you're planning a small farm, but you're not sure if you want to have a hobby farm, a homestead, or a small farm business. What do you do? How do you decide on the best fit? Consider Your Goals The first thing to think about is, what do you want out of your small farm? For example, are you an entrepreneurial type who gets warm and glowy when you envision creating value-added farm products and selling them at farmers markets, or growing vegetables on acres of farmland and selling them in bulk to restaurants? Set Goals for Your Small Farm Hobby Farming Hobby farming is for people who have another primary source of income and want to have a farm that doesn't have to produce income or support them by providing for most or all of their needs. Hobby farmers can put a lot of money into their hobby farms, or they can run them more like a homestead in that they want to minimize how much money they use as an input. How to Start a Hobby Farm A Small Farm Business How to Start a Small Farm Business
Straw-bale construction Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw (commonly wheat, rice, rye and oats straw) as structural elements, building insulation, or both. This construction method is commonly used in natural building or "brown" construction projects. Research has shown that straw-bale construction is a sustainable method for building, from the standpoint of both materials and energy needed for heating and cooling.[2] Advantages of straw-bale construction over conventional building systems include the renewable nature of straw, cost, easy availability, naturally fire-retardant and high insulation value.[3][4][5] Disadvantages include susceptibility to rot, difficulty of obtaining insurance coverage, and high space requirements for the straw itself.[6] Research has been done using moisture probes placed within the straw wall in which 7 of 8 locations had moisture contents of less than 20%. History[edit] Pilgrim Holiness Church in Arthur, Nebraska Method[edit] See also[edit]