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.
Amaranthus, King of “Grains” « The Arid Land Homesteaders League Amaranth, pigweed Amaranthus spp. Among the many horrible things Europeans did to natives of the “new world” to suppress them, and ultimately attempt to render their culture extinct was to separate them from their food. Though a few new world crops were allowed into the cornucopia of everyone living in the new world, many crops were forbidden. Amaranth was one of those contraband crops. Diabetes, a huge epidemic among native people, was unknown before Europeans imposed their ways of eating and living on the indigenous people. Folk taxonomy puts Amaranth with the grains. Amaranth seeds looks similar to quinoa, a distant relative, but much smaller. There are many species of amaranth, and all are probably edible, though some lend themselves better to seed production, while others are better suited for greens. Golden Giant Amaranth Plant in spring after threat of frost is over or have a plan to protect if frost is to occur. Amaranth Greens (Red Amaranth) Harvest new, tender foliage for greens.
Guide to planting by the moon - The Gardeners Calendar Moon planting calendar for fruit, vegetables and flowers In ancient times when man had not quite got round to inventing the wristwatch, the most reliable source of telling the time was the sun, moon, and stars. There seems to be several opinions of who came up with the moon planting calendar first. Was it the Egyptians or the Babylonians? It is more than likely that each and every farmer had a planting calendar based on the moon phases, and there would be different variations depending on the geographical location. As their calendars where passed on through the generations they evolved to cover the different crops they tried to grow, and the more productive farming techniques used. It was noticed that different plants grow better when they are planted during different phases of the moon. To provide more accurate records it was noted that certain crops faired better when planted whilst the moon was in a specific constellation. Moon planting rediscovered Three Moon planting methods
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.
Tiny House Homesteading Most of the tiny houses represented on this blog so far have quite a high price tag to get started. Through my research, I have discovered several people who have found cheaper ways to make a tiny house, simply by doing the work themselves and finding a plan that will fit there needs. I want to feature Lamar today from Utah. Visit his Simple Solar Homesteading site and read how he has built his own tiny cabin which is 14 x 14 for less than $2,000, and later added porch. He used new materials only and bought everything locally. I built this cabin by myself from new materials for under $2000 (not including windows, doors, and porch). Lamar has also written an ebook with plans and directions to build your own cabin and live simply like he is. To view more pictures and read more about Lamar’s tiny cabin and buy his ebook click here. Kitchen Living Room
My Green Directory - The Online Eco Resource 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 Homesteading Forum - The Homesteading Boards In 1995 my wife had surgery on her shoulder, while she was in surgery I went down to the bookstore to pick up a book to read. There was a book on building log houses and my wife and I always loved log homes so I picked it up. I read the whole thing while she was in surgery and recovery. The last chapter of the book was a chapter on alternative log styles, and there was a couple of paragraphs on something called cordwood. I loved it. Those two books are currently out of print and Rob Roy has updated them to a newer version Cordwood Building: The State of the Art (Natural Building Series) Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build an Affordable... With the birth of our daughter and life in general, the dream was put on the shelf, but it was always there in my mind, always there looking at me. In 2008 we purchased a 9 acre lot adjoining our business to expand it and was left over witth a 7 acre field.
Ecological Footprint Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy