Category Archives: Self-Sufficiency

Producing as much of what you need for yourself.

by | March 27, 2013

Sustainability and the Earth

Sustainability and the Earth

 I recently read an article that discussed sustainability and the earth.  The article was about how to reconcile the Christian dilemna of caring for the earth, while at the same time caring for the people of the earth.  I think it came from a blog entitled Durable Faith.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So let’s take a look at the Biblical role of caring for the earth:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…..”

So right from the beginning, the Christian belief system is grounded in the fact that God created the earth.  It seems to me that this would create a desire to care for it from the outset.

1:22 “God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the bird increase on the earth.’”

1:24 “And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creature according to their kinds; the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’  And it was so.  God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good.”

Again, it would seem to flow that God created these animals in their own kinds and then called them good.  It seems that we should be reasonable to protect what our God called good and to protect what He made.

Michelangelo's painting of the sin of Adam and...

Michelangelo’s painting of the sin of Adam and Eve (the Fall of Man) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

God gives us the responsibility of “ruling over” the birds, fish, livestock and other creatures.  I would like to think that this “ruling over” does not mean dominating over nor does it mean abusing.  I think this is meant more as a role of ruling over in the sense that we are to manage and protect, yet are approved to use (eat) animals.  Other versions replace the phrase “ruling over” to “have dominion.”  This conveys a bit more of a duty to manage rather than to abuse.

2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die‘”

Once again, God commands the man (Adam) to work and take care of the garden.  At this time, the man only knew the Garden of Eden (as far as we know), so it is reasonable to substitute the word earth for the garden.  The Garden of Eden was probably the ideal state of earth.  I believe that it was designed as a self-sustaining environment, in that Adam also had a tree at his disposal that was termed the “Tree of Life.”  If he were to eat from this tree, he would live forever (Genesis 3:22).

So what I see there is a command by God Himself for us to care for the earth.  In some Christian circles, there is almost a rebellion against the green movement or the earth movement.  I believe that this is in response to the near religious tone that those movements themselves take on.  These “religions” deify Mother Earth and replace God with the earth itself as its god.  So there is a bit of a concern in that fact, but should it mean that Christians should abuse the earth?  Should Judeo-Christianity not have a component of ruling over/ having dominion over the earth, but as an original commandment from God, not as a replacement for our relationship with the Creator Himself?  So it is my belief that we should strive to make this earth as sustainable as possible, yet feel free to use (not abuse) what God has provided as we need.  We should strive for that caring attitude toward the earth.  Out of simple respect and reverence for what our God has created, I believe that we should cultivate and tend what God created.

God commands us to eat the plants that He has provided for us.  He also instructed us to eat the animals later in the Bible.  I believe that story was Peter with the gentiles.  The permission is actually granted to Noah after the end of the flood of the earth.  It is at this point, that I see the okay to be an omnivore.  There is a recent trendy book out there entitiled “The Omnivore’s dilemna.”  Perhaps I will have more on that at a later date (the book is on my “to read” list).  There are ways to have dominion over animals and consume them, without having to abuse them.  An example of abuse would be the practice of finning sharks.  I this practice, the shark is captured, the main fin (or fins) are cut off, and the remainder of the shark is dropped back into the water to die.  Seems like we could catch the shark and use most of the body for food and other products.  I have digressed.

Another area where we can have dominion over the animals in a sustainable manner is in the area of farming naturally.  This practice allows that animals to be in more of a natural environment and on more natural feed (cows are designed to eat grass, not to be fed a corn based, concentrated diet).  Animals are not meant to be raised on concrete and confined to indoor buildings at all times.

I also think it is okay to be a Christian conservationist.  There is nothing in the Bible that would encourage us to abuse the resources given to us, or available to us.  In fact, God instructed us to care for the land and the animals.  This would tend to imply that recycling is better than placing trash into a landfill.  It implies that reusing is better than discarding.   There is nothing wrong with green energy as a Christian, as God instructs us to be wise stewards (though that would bring up the issue of the practicality and cost of green energy.)

Hopefully this at least provides some food for thought.  I often want to challenge those in the Christian circles to embrace the world around us, realizing that God made all of it.  God called it good, and we should strive to maintain the good that is all around us.

As an addendum on Fevruary 23, 2013:  I was recently pointed toward a Christian Ministry at a church in Indianapolis, IN that is focused on this subject.  Hopefully you can click here to see their facebook page.

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by | February 9, 2013

Wood Burning Stove

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A wood burning stove offers a good source of heat at a relatively low-cost.  Many wood stoves can be used to cook on and to heat water.  This evening, we used our supplemental wood burning stove to not only heat the basement and first floor, but also to heat water for our evening tea.

Above is actually a picture of our wood pile for next year.  We got an early start, as it is important to allow the wood to dry and season.  Unseasoned wood can cause a lot of creosote build up in the chimney, creating a potential risk of chimney fires.

I will share some tips that we have learned along the way.

First of all, it is important to try to get an efficient wood burning stove, so as to not waste wood and heat.  We purchased a used woodburner to begin with.  After burning through a lot of wood, we decided that the used wood burning stove had a poor design.  This wood burning stove lacked the ability to regulate airflow.  In fact, it has only a screen on the front.  This created a huge updraft, which resulted in a very rapid burning of the wood.

It is also vital to have some basic equipment.  This list includes a chainsaw, a sledgehammer, an ax, several splitting wedges, and a log splitter (this helps).  As part of our planning for emergency situations, a group of us split the cost and maintenance of a log splitter 6 ways in order to keep the costs down a bit.  We also stocked up on matches and newspaper (something that is becoming harder and harder to find in these days of digital media).

We also learned that it is a good idea to create a quick “flash” or “burst” of heat when first starting the wood stove up.  This helps to establish a quick updraft.  A downdraft will push smoke into the house, making the smoke detectors go haywire.  The extra smoke is also not good for those of us that have allergies.  This may be obvious, but wood smoke contains many potential allergens and irritants.

Prior to starting each new fire, I split several smaller pieces of wood using my axe.  I chop the piece down into thin pieces, often making 6 to 10 pieces of “kindling” out of each piece of wood.  This helps to start the fire in the quickest fashion.  Once the smaller pieces start burning, I add pieces of increasing size.

I recommend a wood burning stove that has both a baffle in the chimney/ piping and a slide out air flow regulator on the bottom.  This allows me to control the fire from both above and below.  Of course, I am still learning as we go, but so far so good.

I am still working on getting a nice passive airflow system down.  At the current time, we rely on fans to move the heat around.  The chimney was in the house when we purchased it, but it is not in an ideal location.  Fortunately for us, this wood burner is not the primary source of heat.  We are still buying propane, but hoping to offset the cost a little by burning and using the wood. I feel that this has been a good purchase overall.  We also will receive the slight benefit of a 30% tax credit.  This credit did not tip the scale on the decision to purchase a woodburning stove, but every little bit helps.

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by | February 8, 2013

Candling Chicken Eggs

Candling Chicken Eggs

This is the second article in a series discussing incubating chicken eggs.

The fertility of chicken eggs can be determined prior to hatching.  This is an important step in the process because a rotten egg can spoil the whole bunch.  It can also stink up the whole house if it ruptures (think small explosion!).  The process by which egg fertility can be determined is called candling.  Candling chicken eggs is a simple process, as one egg can be compared to the others.

English: eggs

English: eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The equipment for candling chicken eggs is very basic.  The system can be set up using nothing more than a light bulb and a box.  The box can be very fancy or rather simple.  The first time that we candled chicken eggs, we put a broken lamp end inside of a shoe box.  We then cut a 1 1/2 inch hole in one end and placed duct tape around the entire box.  This concentrated the light through the hole, allowing a spot bright enough to candle the eggs.  Candling chicken eggs then involve holding the eggs up to the hole in the box and looking for signs of a developing life inside the egg.
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Above is the picture of our home made candling box

 This current batch of eggs were candled using a simple, homemade box yet again.  We took and empty butter box (the kind containing four sticks of butter) and taped up the outside with black duct tape.  We did line a lot of the inside as well.  We then cut a 1 inch x one inch hole in the bottom of the box (the square end opposite of where we opened the box to remove the butter.)  I then hold the box up over the light in our basement, which has a really bright CFL bulb and a low ceiling.  This works really well to hold the egg up against the hole and visualize the contents.

Candling is much easier with white eggs than with brown eggs.  I candled ours on day 4 and they are either all infertile, or it is too hard to tell at this point.  Early on in the process, there is a pinpoint portion that looks like a spider.  This is the series of blood vessels that are surrounding the developing peep.  As the peep continues to develop within the egg, the spot becomes larger and larger.  Eventually the chick fills the entire shell and the egg appears to be dark.

It is now day 7 since placing the eggs in the incubator.  At this point, it appears that we have 6 fertile ones, 3 infertile and 2 that I can not tell for certain.  Time will tell.  I will include pictures of our equipment below for an idea of the basics:
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This picture demonstrates the air bubble that is present within the egg.  The air bubble is to the left of the egg and appears lighter than the rest of the egg.

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A fertile egg.  The peep is the dark spot at the lower portion of the egg and slightly to the left.

 

 

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This is probably an infertile egg.  There is no dark spot and no spider-like vessels

It is also rather porous, noted by all the light spots.

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 Another view of our box.  This is an end on view

We slip this over the bright light source to candle the eggs.

There are many resources available on the internet on candling chicken eggs..

Here is a link to some pictures of developing eggs.

Here is another link to a story about candling chicken eggs.  It has some pictures to go along with the article.

 

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by | February 3, 2013

Incubating Eggs

 

Incubating Eggs

We just begun our first round of incubating eggs for the 2013 year.  It is a fun experience, that is rewarding as the peeps hatch.  We will hopefully update the ongoing saga as it continues.  Here are some basics and guidelines. along with some pictures to show you what we are doing.

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Basic Equipment:

There are many commercial incubators available for a reasonable price.  We purchased the hoverbator, incubator for $20 from a friend.  This current batch is going to our third hatch.  Most of our current laying birds are from one of our hatches.  I recently saw a brand new incubator on craigslist for $50.

We purchased a rooster in the Fall, for the purpose of naturally inseminating our females to get fertilized hatching eggs.  One of the key things to hatching eggs is to gather them before they experience an extreme temperature. Being that this is January in the Midwest region of the United States of America, the outdoor temperatures are very cold.  It is a challenge to keep the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes.  Fertilized chicken eggs can also be purchase, either locally or via the internet.  Water is necessary to achieve ideal humidity levels within the incubator.  A pencil is recommended to keep track of egg rotation.   It is necessary to rotate the eggs every 12 hours.  Finally the thermometer can be a simple one.  Most commercial incubators come with an easy to read one.  I purchased a very inexpensive one that is digital and includes humidity levels.

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Once the eggs are gathered, they can be kept at room temperature for several days.  We keep our with the narrow end pointed down in an egg carton.  This allows us to collect enough eggs to fill the incubator.  I am not certain how long the eggs can sit at room temperature, but I know that we have kept them for seven days and still experienced a successful hatch.

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The Three keys to Incubating Eggs

There are three keys to incubating eggs for a successful hatch.  The first of these is time.  It takes 21 days for the eggs to fully incubate and hatch.  Temperature is the second key to successfully incubating eggs.  The ideal temperature is 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  The third, and final factor, is humidity.  The eggs should be incubated at a 50% humidity level.  I typically keep the water compartment of the incubator full to achieve an ideal humidity.  The humidity level is determined by the surface area of the water, not the total amount.  Some resources recommend increasing the humidity level to 70% for the final 3 or 4 days.  I have never done this, yet have been successful in incubating eggs for a successful hatch.

There will be more articles to follow as the process unfolds.

 

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by | December 15, 2012

Heirloom and Open-Pollinated Crops: Profitablility

Heirloom and Open-Pollinated Crops:  Profitablility

As a small farmer, I am looking at ways to maximize profits.  When running and managing a business, there are several ways to increase the profitability of your business.  One way is to sell more.  Another way is to increase the price that you sell your product for.  Another way is to decrease your input costs.  I am certain that there are more ways to increase your return, but those are the few I can think of for the moment.

Let’s look at how to decrease input costs.  On a farm, there are ways to do this.  The first way is to maximize the space that you are given.

Another method is to maximize what is provided to you.  An example that we use is to feed leftover human food to our chickens.  This can also be down with pigs (i.e. “slop the hogs”).

So I am wondering about the practicality of using heirloom and open pollinated crops versus the F1 hybrid varieties.  The F1 hybrids tend to produce more yield per acre, but I wonder to what extent.  The cost for this seed is a recurring cost every year on a farm, as the seed companies have a patent on the seed itself.  Unfortunately, the seed from hybrid plants will not produce another hybrid plant like the parent plant.  The seed with do one of three things:

1)  Be non-productive and never germinate

2)  Revert to parent plant type 1

3)  Revert to parent plant type 2

 

These hybrid seeds are produced by large companies, who take the pollen from one variety of plant and place it onto another variant of the same type of plant.  This results in a genetic seed containing genomes from each parent variety.  When planted, this first generation (F1) hybrid will produce a hybrid plant that can be predicted.  What can not be predicted is the genetic makeup of that hybrid plant seed in the subsequent year.

 

So the advantage of F1 hybrids is an increase in some sort of desired trait (usually productivity).  The disadvantage is the reliance upon the seed company each and every year.  The advantage of using an heirloom or open pollinated plant is that you can save your own seed, cutting out the reliance upon the seed company.  It is also possible that the open-pollinated crop will actually modify from year to year to acclimate to its environment.

This year, we were able to grow a variety of field corn called Blue Hopi corn.  The kids found some old seed and placed it into some clay soil.  They maybe watered the plants 5 times and yet, we got two large ears on every stalk that grew.  I am wondering if there is now a drought tolerance built up in this particular corn, as it grew so well in such a dry year.

It is an interesting thought (at least to me) on whether or not growing your own open pollinated crops and saving the seed from year to year is a worthwhile proposition.  It seems to me that it definitely has some potential to be profitable by at least saving input costs.  I do know that utilizing crops that are open-pollinated or heirloom varieties will make you more self-sufficient at the least.

 

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by | November 19, 2012

Basic Equipment for Chickens

Basic Equipment for Chickens

So you are thinking about getting those first few chickens.  What do you need to get started?  The basic needs of all animals are food, water, and shelter.  In addition, chickens require fencing, lighting, and heat (in northern climates).  Additional indoor equipment for chickens includes nest boxes and lighting  (unless seasonality is not an issue and forced molting is not required).

Food

Chickens are good at foraging.  They will eat grass, roots, and bugs.  Most owners supplement their chickens in one of two ways: complete feed (such as all mash) and scratch grains.  We purchase GMO free, certified organic All Mash for our girls.  We also purchase various organic grains.  We currently use whole organic wheat berries.  We sprinkle them on top of the manure pack/ straw every day.  This encourages the chickens to scratch, which adds oxygen to what is basically a compost pile.

Feed is typically fed through a feeder.  These typically have open tops to allow easy refilling.  Many people will get enough feeders to allow them to fill the feeders every three or four days.  Feeders will generally be round, to allow access from all sides.  These typically hang from above.

Water
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Generally anything can be used for a chicken waterer.  We utilize a three gallon, heated waterer.  The most important thing is to keep fresh waterer.  The waterer must be set up in such a way to minimize the amount of contamination.  We use a heated waterer all year round, but do not plug it in during the warmer months.  The 3 gallon resevior allows us to fill the waterer about every 3rd day.  At that time, we clean the waterer whenever we refill the water resevior.

Shelter

Most people keep their flock contained within a chicken coop.   Designs of chicken coops are as unique as the people that own chickens.  Some prefer a chicken tractor (a mobile chicken coop), a hoophouse, or a more permanent building.  We keep our birds in an old outbuilding that we fixed up just for them.  In general the floor space should be adequate for the number of birds that you plan to have (2 to 3 sq feet per hen is the ideal minimum).  We converter an old outdoor shed into a two compartment chicken house.  We then made a smaller third compartment that allows us to raise the peeps separate from the old chickens to prevent cannibalism and pecking.

A chicken coop in a Seattle backyard.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nest Boxes

We built our own nest boxes when we first purchased our original 6 hens.  We recently purchase materials and built two more chicken nest boxes.  The previous next box was located inside the coop, but the newer ones are now mounted on the outside.  The birds can get into the nest boxes from inside the coop, but there is access for egg collection from the exterior of the building.

Lighting

Chickens need to have some supplemental lighting, especially during days with fewer hours of natural daylight.  Chickens will stop laying eggs if the daylight continues to decrease.  The hens typically lay eggs when the day length is in excess of 14 hours.  Therefore, supplemental lightening is needed.  You may also need to include a brooder, or heat lamp.  Young chicks require heat in order to stay healthy.  The are not born with feathers, so they lack the ability to maintain their own body heat.

Miscellaneous Supplies

Roosts:  You will want to add some perches/ roosts to the coop.  Locate these where the fecal dropping will land in a convenient area.  The hens will typically sleep on the roosts, the higher ones preferred most of all.

Bedding:  Chickens adapt well.  This allows for various types of bedding to be used.  These include straw, sawdust, and materials such as cedar chips.

Leg Bands:  These are used for identification purposes.  Not all homesteading setups will use these leg bands, but they do come in handy to keep track of the ages of your flock.

Chickens

Chickens (Photo credit: Allie’s.Dad)

Hopefully this helps as you continue to consider and research your chicken project.  There is a lot of equipment for chickens available from a variety of sources.

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by | November 16, 2012

Homesteading Series Part 6a Plant Selection

HOMESTEADING SERIES

PART 6a

PLANT SELECTION

We left off the last time with needing to cover fruit and berry plants.

Fruit Trees

Apple fruit

Apple fruit (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

 

I recommend having apple trees.  Apple trees may be a bit hard to take care of, but they are such a good producer of fruit.  I recommend dwarf apple trees, as the traditional varieties get very tall.  We have some trees that are 15 feet tall and very difficult to manage.  The dwarf varieties are more manageable.  Apples can be preserved easily in the from of applesauce.  This allows for year-round enjoyment.

 

Blueberries:  We love blueberries.  They are an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants.  One key with blueberries is to have two varieties.  Two varieties are necessary because one variety will produce fruit.  There are several types of plants, separated into categories in different ways.  The first category is high bush versus low bush.  The other way to categorize the plants are by when they produce their fruit.  One major problem with blueberries is that birds love them.  Many people chose to cover their blueberry bushes with nets in order to keep the birds from eating all of the fruit.  Another thing to note with blueberry bushes is that they require a low pH.  This means no lime applications.  One of the things that I know of to produce a low pH are pine needles.

Grapes:  We have concord grapes, which we use to produce a lot of homemade grape jelly.  We also use them to produce grape juice concentrate, which we then reconstitute.  The main thing with grapes is pruning them.  I suggest looking up some articles on how to prune grape vines.  Other uses for grapes are as an edible food and to make wine.

English: Leafs and grapes of the white grape v...

English: Leafs and grapes of the white grape variety Johanniter. Deutsch: Blätter und Trauben der weißen Rebsorte Johanniter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grapes come in many varieties.  White grapes and red grapes are commonly found in the produce section of many grocery stores.

Strawberries:  There are two main types of strawberries that I am aware of.  The first are Alpine strawberries.  These plants do not produce runners.  There is a second type that produces runners.  The ones that produce runners are very prolific, but can get out of hand and out of their designated area.  I suppose that there is another subcategory.  There are June bearing and Ever bearing.  The June bearing produce berries basically once a year.  They will tend to produce a robust crop over two to four weeks.  The Ever bearing types will produce off and on throughout the year.

Raspberries:  These seem to be easy to grow.  We inherited a patch and it seems to do well on its own.  We have berries that produce fruit twice a year.  In the Spring, new canes grow up.  There are cans left from the previous year as well.  The old canes in the Spring will produce a final crop that season and then die off.  The new shoots will produce fruit in the fall and then again the following Spring.  There are thornless varieties that have been produced as well.

Other: Peach trees are often found on homesteads.  We are currently trying a cherry tree and a plum tree.

In addition to these plants and the ones mentioned in the first article on plant selection, there are nut trees.  Walnut trees are popular in our area.  There are so many plants that can be incorporated into a homesteading plan or system.

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by | November 16, 2012

Homesteading Series Part 3: Animals

HOMESTEADING SERIES

PART THREE

ANIMALS

At this point in your homesteading plan, you may be ready to start planning for and thinking about animals.  (I probably start here rather than with plants, since animals are my profession and plants are my hobby).  You will ultimately assess your own needs, wants, desires and capabilities.  I will go through a few types common farm animals and give what I see as the pros and cons.  I will take this moment to push for heritage breed animals (see where the farm name is derived from?).  By using heritage breeds, you are able to preserve the past and also capitalize on some of their better traits, such as having dual purpose animals. Heritage breed animals may benefit you as well by being more likely to mother their young better than some of the more popular breeds on large farms nowadays.  For instance, a heritage chicken is much more likely to “go broody” than a factory leghorn would.

CHICKENS:  I have already written a post about why you should start with chickens, but I will lay out my thoughts again here.  First of all, Chickens are rather inexpensive to obtain.  We purchased our first six pullets (who were 17 weeks old and about to start laying) for $5 per bird.  So we were out about $30.  The second reason is that I feel chickens are very adaptable.  You can make a small chicken tractor or use an old outbuilding (like we did) and the chickens will do just fine.  Third, chickens are small.  This means that they don’t need a lot of space.  Fourth, chickens are easy to feed.  We feed our table scraps to the girls.  We are also fortunate to be able to purchase organic all mash at a local elevator fairly easily.  Fifth, Chickens provide a very nutritious product…..eggs.  Wait until you crack open your first farm fresh egg, especially if the chickens have access to grass and fields.   The yolk is almost orange, it is so dark.

A chicken. I'm not sure what breed.

Buff Orrpington (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The nutritional components of free range chicken eggs is incredible, nearly unbelievable in scope.  Sixth, chicken are fun to watch.  Seventh, you are unlikely to get hurt very badly by a chicken.  Eighth, a chicken that is no longer laying is still good for something……the pot.  You can make your own chicken stock, chicken foot broth, and many other stews and soups with the “retired” old girls.  (A side note:  we utilize Delaware Chickens as they are docile, go broody, produce eggs well, are dual purpose, and we think they are pretty)  (Other heritage breeds to consider are Buff Orrpingtons, Barred Plymouth Rock, Buckeyes, and many others)

Goats.  perhaps second on my list would be a dairy goat.  Though goats can be very frustrating because they do try to eat everything, goats are still rather small and readily available.

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, show clip, in milk

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, show clip, in milk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)e

A decent dairy goat will probably cost you between $75 and $200 depending on age, breed, and time of year.  A nice thing about dairy goats is that they can produce a decent amount of milk.  When allowed to go out on pasture, they are good at cleaning up brush and unwanted plants, since they are more of a foraging animal and less of a grazer.  A downside to this is that various weeds can change the flavor of the milk.  Another good reason to consider a dairy goat is that the milk tends to be easier for some people to digest.  I believe that this is because the fat droplets are smaller than that of a dairy cow (or is it the protein droplets, I can’t remember at the moment)  We do not currently have a goat, so I am uncertain of a specific breed recommendation.  (we like the San Clemente Island Goat, but simply because they are very rare and are very cute)

Pigs:  Again unchartered water for us at the moment.  We are considering pigs for their versatility.  We are looking into pastured pork, so out focus is on breeds that do well in a foraging and pasture based management system.  Once again, pigs are reasonably priced.  Another good argument for pigs is their varied diet.  These are yet another animal that you can feed table scraps.  My understanding is that fencing pigs is not to difficult.  They apparently train to electric fencing very easily.  I have read that pigs will train uickly to two hot wires.  One at about 9 inches off the ground and another at about 30 inches off the ground.  They will train so well in fact, that it is hard to get them to cross an area that previously had a fence across it.  Most articles I have found simply use polywire or another form of electrified temporary fencing like those used in rotational grazing systems.  (We like Tamworth and Gloucestershire Old Spots for pig breeds.  Red Wattles get an honorary mention)

Sheep:  I suppose sheep are in the fold here too.  Sheep are again easy to obtain and not too expensive.

High sheeps

High sheeps (Photo credit: Bertoz)

Uses for the sheep would be meat and wool.  We do not have sheep at the moment, as we do not see spinning our own wool.  Sheep are grazers, so now we are starting to look at more infrastructure.  They will likely need a barn, a yard and fencing.  This adds to the cost of them of course.  (We have yet to select a breed, though I am intrigued by the Romeldale breed.

Cattle:  I would recommend a good dual purpose breed, but you could have a dairy cow and beef cows.  Most true homesteads likely have a good old dairy cow on hand.  A dairy cow will likely cost about $1500 or so, depending on age, breed and quality.  Some decent cow can be purchase through sale barns for less money, but beware that the farmer is likely selling her through the sale barn for a reason.  Cattle require feed and infrastructure as well.  You will need a tie stall or other location for milking.  You will need fencing for the pasture, or else be ready to push a lot of hay and grain around.  (We think the the Red Poll cow is the perfect breed for this, as they are good foragers. grazers and they are dual purpose)  (Other breeds to consider would be Milking Devon, Shorthorn, Kerry, and Dexter)

I also recommend a good old farm dog.  They are great companions, good for security and even can help with some of the round up of the critters if trained to do so.  They can also be helpful with pests, such as the infamous “whistle pig” ( A.K.A. Groundhog.)

Hopefully I have touched on the main animals for homesteading.  If I have left any pertinent ones out, please let me know.  I am sure that some are fond of Llamas for guard animals protecting their flock of sheep.  Some may like Alpacas for the hair production.  I suppose that I left turkeys out as well.  They have their place too, just not at the top of my list.  Their place, to me, is on the thanksgiving table.

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by | November 15, 2012

Homesteading Series Part 1 Where to Begin

Homestead-July 15, 2006 064-BW

Homestead-July 15, 2006 064-BW (Photo credit: jc-pics)

HOMESTEADING SERIES:

PART ONE

WHERE TO BEGIN

A follower requested a thread on starting a homestead. First off, I direct you to a previous post about homesteading…..what is it? In that post, I give you my definition and description of what homesteading is. Here , I will begin to describe a homestead and define its essential parts. I will attempt to tackle this in my own step by step approach and according to my list of priorities. So here we go…..

 

The most essential aspect of a homestead is securing a site. This may seem simple and basic, but let me explain. To begin a homestead, you must have some land. I would guess that an acre would suffice, yet the more the better. Perhaps 20 acres would be ideal for a simple homestead, but several hundred acres would lend itself nicely to a self sufficient homestead. Perhaps 100 or more acres would be more of a hybrid between a homestead and a fully functional farm.  You may also choose to change your existing place into a homestead, be it urban or rural, large or small.

 

The remainder if this post will focus on what to include in the homestead site.

 

The detail of a hand pump Deutsch: Handpumpe(S...

A hand pump (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First, there should be the capability to secure fresh water. I would suggest a stream, creek, or pond. However, a well would work as well. I suggest considering a well that is electric for the main water supply, but a hand pump type well would be necessary for backup. (I will slide in here my bias that homesteading is also a form of self-sufficiency and preparedness. Again, I will reiterate that we consider ourselves practical preppers. By this I mean that we prepare for some worst case scenarios, but prepare in a way that does not sacrifice a lot of the present.) I like the idea of a hand pump well in case of major power failure or blackout. If you prepared an off grid approach to homesteading, the need for non- electric water pumping would take a back seat. There are also windmills that  can serve as water pumps.  If you do not have a hand pump, there are still ways to extract water from an existing electric well using a long rope and a piece of PVC piping that is modified to allow for the collection of the water.

 

The second focus of a site would be an ideal site to place the house itself. Consideration should be taken for the area’s weather patterns. Here the predominant wind comes from the west northwest. The predominate sun is to the south, especially important in the winter.  It would be a good idea to include a wind break on the side of the house that will be getting hit with the predominant wind, especially during the winter months.
I would think that a attempt to focus on pastureland and fields would be next on the list. Though a forest would be nice, we need to chose as needed. The importance of pastures and fields are for animal management. As may be noted, we are fans of intensive grazing, pasture based farming, and grass fed meats. Grazing systems can be modified without the need for tractors and a ton of equipment.

Brick Barn

Brick Barn (Photo credit: cindy47452)

A small to medium woods would be nice to have on the property.  The woods can serve as an additional place to allow the animals to forage.  It also will provide a large area of shade.  Of course, it is a great source of firewood, which can be used for heating and cooking.
Finally, a site for a barn would be important. The barn can be built to fit the particular needs of the family. For instance, one or two family dairy cows need much lass barn space for milking than a larger number would require.  You will also want to consider which types of animals that you want to include on your homestead, as it will determine the best place to put your barn, as well as how large the barn will need to be.

I placed a link to our Homesteading article and a few other suggestions that came up.

 

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by | November 8, 2012

Open Pollinated Crops- The pathway to profit?

Open Pollinated Crops- The pathway to profit?

Due to the drought that has hit the United States this year, prices of agricultural products are inclined to increase, yet the profit by the farmer is likely to be decreased.  With the prominence of high fructose corn syrup in so many foods, what is going to happen to the price of food in general?

To increase the genetic diversity of U.S. corn...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am not looking into that at the moment, it is basically food for thought.  What I want to look into is the effect that it will have on the animals and the plants that we produce in this area.  Since some vegetables are made up of 90% water, it is obvious that lack of water will lead to decreased production, but by how much?  How about the corn crops that we are anxiously awaiting and in need of?  Corn needs variable amounts of water depending upon which stage of growth that it is in.  Here is a chart that was adapted from a University of Nebraska publication:

Day 0-10         Emergence period      0.8 Inches

Day 11-29        4 Leaf stage                   1.8 Inches

Day 30-46      8 Leaf Stage                    2.9 Inches

Day 47-55      12 Leaf Stage                  1.8 Inches

Day 56-68       Early Tassel                   3.8 Inches

Day 69-81       Silking                              3.8 Inches

Day 82-88       Blister Kernel                1.9 Inches

Day 89-104     Beginning Dent            3.8 Inches

Day 105-125   Full Dent                         3.8 Inches

Day 126-140  Maturity                          1.4 Inches

So looking at the chart, the corn basically needs 3.8 inches every 12 days.  This seems like a lot and I think that the growth numbers may be off a bit.  I know that there are varieties of sweet corn that mature in 82 days, so 140 days seems very long.  As I read further into the chart, it appears that this is for 113 day corn, so that seems a bit more realistic.

Public relations of high-fructose corn syrup

Public relations of high-fructose corn syrup (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now on to the reason for the title “Open-pollinated Crops- The pathway to profit”:

There are some who think that Open pollinated crops will adapt to the environment in which they were grown.  This also means that some of the crops potentially become drought resistant.  A proven example of this is the garlic plant.  Garlic is noted for adapting to the soil in which it was grown.  This will affect its hardiness, as well as its flavor.  While some GMO crops are modified to select for drought tolerance, the seeds that are collected from the GMO plants are not typically viable.  The same hols true with hybrid varieties of plants.  They may grow  a plant, but it may or may not have the traits that they were modified for.

With Open-pollinated crops, the seeds will grow plants that are just like the parent plants that they were collected from.  By selecting the hardiest of the plants that grow, the grower is selecting for plants that did well under the particular conditions.  This means that plants that do well in drought years will produce seeds that should be increasingly drought resistant.  Likewise, plants that do well in years in which there are high winds, will typically have a strong root system.  By saving seeds from these plants, the offspring should have deeper, stronger roots.

I seems to me that there is a lot of potential for open-pollinated crops.  Perhaps the biggest money saver is simply the ability to save your own seeds for the following year.  Not only does this make the farmer truly more independent or self-sufficient, but it also save the farmer a lot of input costs.

 

English: Brown Flax Seeds. Français : Graines ...

Brown Flax Seeds.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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