You must stay clean! Dirty feet can lead to all kinds of health issues. You need to wash regularly or you could face skin problems by the score. Fungus can take hold in feet even when you do wash. You need to have some supplies that will keep you clean or learn how to make the equivalent for yourself. Not just for your feet. You would be surprised what can happen to all parts of your body if you are not clean.
Everyone would love to own a still I will bet, but even if you do not drink, you should learn how to make fairly pure alcohol for use as a disinfectant. You can use all kinds of fruits and vegetables and grains to make alcohol and vinegar. Both essential for life on you own.(Of course the alcohol is a real BITCH on an open cut, but there may be times when it is essential.) Vinegar for preserves and lots of health issues(I think that some of the claims for vinegar are a bit exaggerated, but who knows).
Make it from apples easily...just make wine and eventually you will get vinegar.
Alcohol is a good thing to have as a disinfectant in the case of cuts etc., and also for skin issues. Building a still is no great accomplishment. Fruits can be preserved nicely with alcohol and sugar...maybe some spices would help as well. Vinegar and wine can be boiled down to almost a syrup and is a pleasant sweet and sour, which can be used in fruits, cakes and many other sweetening situations.
Soap is just a matter of saving your fats from cooking and butchering. Lye can be made in an old stump full of wood ashes...You will do well to have a source of salt as well, for preserving and for soap making.
You will need large metal containers for doing laundry and many other applications. Stoneware crocks of various sizes will be helpful for all these activities.
Another cleanliness issue is your clothing. Doing laundry is a no brainer, but storing your laundry especially till laundry day is important. Do not keep laundry still damp from your body inside your living area if there is not a lot of air circulation. We are always thinking of sealing ourselves in a Tupperware container to stay warm or away from people, but mold and mildew will become rampant if you do not keep it dry or in an airy place. Health problems will soon follow.
These are all topics for research before you commit to a lifestyle away from people and civilization.
You need to find sources of all the supplies you will need other than ordering on the Internet...there may come a time when you will not have access to many of the things you take for granted.
I always recommend the Foxfire books as essential reading for anyone planning an independent life. Good luck finding them.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Lets face it, You need fruit. Two servings a day they say.
Fruit is darned hard to find on the land. It would be a full time job finding fruit for a family if you had to forage.
For centuries people have been planting orchards for their own needs or for business uses. We all know the stories about Johnny Appleseed. What is not generally known is that he was a bit of a religious nut(but then religious nuts were well loved in the 19th century) and despite trying to make good investments in land as he tramped the wilds of the mid west, he died as a hired hand and virtually penniless. Throwing no stones...it may have been just what he wanted from life.
In any event his was a good idea, as apples are a fine staple for many ways of eating and of drinking in the form of hard and fresh cider.
All orchard fruits need care. Careful pruning, natural or chemical fertilizers, working the soil around them and keeping encumbering weeds and seedlings from coming up around them. They look idyllic, but they take work.
There are so many fruit crops available, and there are a million seed and plant companies sending out catalogues this time of year.
There are all the standard fruits: Pears, peaches, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, currents and gooseberries(where legal) and rhubarb(Kind of a half fruit).
There are also some unusual fruits that should be considered. Dwarf Nanking cherries, Gogi berries, Lingon Berries, persimmons, apricots, etc., etc., etc.. Many of these unusual fruits could thrive in your area. Be very careful and ask a multitude of questions about what will survive in your area. In the north, you may find that stone fruits that say they will do well in your area may be fine for several years then need to be replaced...frost at odd times, split trunks etc.. Do your homework, and ask people in the area what they have tried and what successes and failures they have had.
Remember that if there comes an emergency situation there may be no source of pesticides that make fruits practical to grow. You may be able to spray with cigarette teas till the tobacco runs out. But the bottom line is that you need to be aware that your chances of growing pest free fruit can be pretty slim. My mother always said... "Just cut around them", when a worm was found in the jelly apples.
Study organic methods before you begin the work of putting in an orchard. You may be better off to form a community of people that will specialize in one form of agriculture so that you can trade amongst yourselves rather than trying to do everything on your own. Though everyone should have at least one apple and some rhubarb.
If you are up for preserving fruits, you may be able to get by with the easy fruits, like high bush blueberries for instance. My grandmother's pear tree stood and bore fruit for decades and decades with little care and few pests.
Beach plums and rose hips are a good answer to fruit shortages. Plant plenty of Rugosa roses and get into the habit of picking off the bugs by hand and washing them away with soap and water.
You can get fruit trees and nut trees(another source of free food) from any number of catalogues, but I want to mention just one that stands out in my mind for fruit, and especially apples. That is Fedco, based in Maine, they have a fascinating catalogue if you can get one, and the on line site is great too.
they are at:
https://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees.htm?listname=apples
and they have a separate catalogue for other trees and fruits. They are in black and white, but they are wonderful to read, not just to order from.
Keep in mind that most fruit trees may not breed true from seed, so you may wish to learn to graft trees. This is a fascinating art and will produce fine results for even the beginner.
Also remember that fruit trees may take several years to bear, and may take a decade to produce well. Start today! and start or graft new trees every couple of years so that as the old trees begin to fail, new trees will take their place.
Fruit is darned hard to find on the land. It would be a full time job finding fruit for a family if you had to forage.
For centuries people have been planting orchards for their own needs or for business uses. We all know the stories about Johnny Appleseed. What is not generally known is that he was a bit of a religious nut(but then religious nuts were well loved in the 19th century) and despite trying to make good investments in land as he tramped the wilds of the mid west, he died as a hired hand and virtually penniless. Throwing no stones...it may have been just what he wanted from life.
In any event his was a good idea, as apples are a fine staple for many ways of eating and of drinking in the form of hard and fresh cider.
All orchard fruits need care. Careful pruning, natural or chemical fertilizers, working the soil around them and keeping encumbering weeds and seedlings from coming up around them. They look idyllic, but they take work.
There are so many fruit crops available, and there are a million seed and plant companies sending out catalogues this time of year.
There are all the standard fruits: Pears, peaches, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, currents and gooseberries(where legal) and rhubarb(Kind of a half fruit).
There are also some unusual fruits that should be considered. Dwarf Nanking cherries, Gogi berries, Lingon Berries, persimmons, apricots, etc., etc., etc.. Many of these unusual fruits could thrive in your area. Be very careful and ask a multitude of questions about what will survive in your area. In the north, you may find that stone fruits that say they will do well in your area may be fine for several years then need to be replaced...frost at odd times, split trunks etc.. Do your homework, and ask people in the area what they have tried and what successes and failures they have had.
Remember that if there comes an emergency situation there may be no source of pesticides that make fruits practical to grow. You may be able to spray with cigarette teas till the tobacco runs out. But the bottom line is that you need to be aware that your chances of growing pest free fruit can be pretty slim. My mother always said... "Just cut around them", when a worm was found in the jelly apples.
Study organic methods before you begin the work of putting in an orchard. You may be better off to form a community of people that will specialize in one form of agriculture so that you can trade amongst yourselves rather than trying to do everything on your own. Though everyone should have at least one apple and some rhubarb.
If you are up for preserving fruits, you may be able to get by with the easy fruits, like high bush blueberries for instance. My grandmother's pear tree stood and bore fruit for decades and decades with little care and few pests.
Beach plums and rose hips are a good answer to fruit shortages. Plant plenty of Rugosa roses and get into the habit of picking off the bugs by hand and washing them away with soap and water.
You can get fruit trees and nut trees(another source of free food) from any number of catalogues, but I want to mention just one that stands out in my mind for fruit, and especially apples. That is Fedco, based in Maine, they have a fascinating catalogue if you can get one, and the on line site is great too.
they are at:
https://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees.htm?listname=apples
and they have a separate catalogue for other trees and fruits. They are in black and white, but they are wonderful to read, not just to order from.
Keep in mind that most fruit trees may not breed true from seed, so you may wish to learn to graft trees. This is a fascinating art and will produce fine results for even the beginner.
Also remember that fruit trees may take several years to bear, and may take a decade to produce well. Start today! and start or graft new trees every couple of years so that as the old trees begin to fail, new trees will take their place.
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