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  • Tips for Surviving a Tornado

    Tips for Surviving a Tornado

    Tornadoes cause devastation across Midwestern states each year. Unfortunately, people die in these storms, so it makes sense for you and your family to be as prepared as possible if you live in or are visiting states that are in the path of tornadoes.

    Although you might not have too much warning before the storm hits, the experts are getting better at predicting tornadoes. Always listen for tornado alerts and messages and follow the instructions provided. Keep aware of the way the weather changes and stay inside. You can often tell that a storm is on the way by the color of the sky. It becomes dark, and in some cases, dark green. There may be large hail and strong wind. Of course, there’s also the typical tornado funnel.

    Your goal should be to head for a storm shelter or a basement. Those who live in mobile homes or who are in vehicles should make it their priority to get to a secure building and then to take shelter inside. If you are stuck outside, you need to get as low as possible. look for a ditch and lay down inside of it. However, do not go under bridges or overpasses, as this could put you in even more danger.

    Once the storm subsides, it doesn’t mean you are safe quite yet. There could be injuries you need to attend to, and there could be downed power lines. Remember that the structures around you could be damaged, which could make them dangerous.

    Consider having an emergency bag as well, which contains extra water, food, and some first aid gear, just in case you are trapped in place for a while. A tornado is always frightening, but with the right knowledge, you can increase your chance of coming out of the situation unscathed.

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  • Be Aware of Bears on Your Property

    Be Aware of Bears on Your Property

    When you are homesteading, and living out in a rural area, you need to contend with all the wild animals that also happen to live in that location. You could have coyotes, foxes, and plenty of other critters that might want to get up to no good on your property. However, some that can be particularly dangerous and ornery given the right circumstances, are bears. All bears have the potential to be dangerous, and you need to do some things that will help dissuade them from coming onto your property. Here are some tips.

    First, you need to make sure you have a secure place to keep your garbage until you are ready to take it to the landfill. It should be kept in a locked shed located away from the house. Do not trust the bear-proof garbage cans, as they are not always as “bear-proof” as they claim. Garbage attracts bears, and it is one of the most common causes of conflict between bears and humans.

    If you have livestock on your property, you will also want to do a good job of managing the animal feed that you have. The feed needs to be stored away from the animals and in a secure, locked shed. Do not overfeed the livestock either, as this extra food could end up attracting the bears. If you have pets, feed them indoors.

    Never store food outside. It can be tempting to get an outside freezer or chest to store extra meat from your hunts. However, as soon as the bears get a whiff of this, they will be heading to your property.

    Finally, consider electric fences to stop the bears from getting onto your property in the first place. Bears are no laughing matter, and they always have the potential to be dangerous. Use caution.

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  • Survival Skills You Need Now

    Survival Skills You Need Now

    Do you have all the survival skills you need? Would you be able to survive if the world as we know it were to implode tomorrow? While you might have some skills that others are lacking, you might not have everything you need to survive. Just because you know how to read a compass and fire a rifle doesn’t mean you are going to live. You need to start acquiring more skills, and you need to start sooner rather than later.

    Medical training is very important. You don’t have to become a doctor or a nurse, but you should learn first aid and get some emergency medical training. You never know what you might have to face in a survival scenario.

    Learn to use firearms, learn to trap and hunt, and learn to skin and butcher animals. Learn basic gardening skills, and learn how to can and prepare food. Sewing classes can come in quite handy as well, as you will learn how to mend your clothing.

    Learn how to drive a stick shift. If you don’t already know how to drive stick, it’s time to learn. It will take an afternoon or two to get the basics down, but it is a good skill to know. Also, learn basic mechanical skills that go a bit beyond just changing a tire. Having some basic knowledge of how engines work can come in handy.

    These are some of the skills we feel are very important, but they aren’t the only ones you should learn by a long shot. Start with these and then start considering other skills that you can start learning. No matter how much you know, you should never stop learning. In addition, share your knowledge with others so they have a better chance of surviving as well.

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  • Wheatgrass  

    Wheatgrass  

    This time of year, even those that are living in a warmer zone are experiencing declining harvests in the garden.  Adding a layer of protection can help, but if you haven’t already done this it’s a little too late.  The good news is that even if you haven’t protected your crops from the cold, or even if you haven’t started a garden at all yet, you can still enjoy the health benefits of dark leafy greens this time of year thanks to wheatgrass.  Here are some of the nutritional facts, and basic growing and harvesting instructions for wheatgrass.

     

    • If you purchase wheatgrass seeds from your health food store in bulk the price is not quite as high as if you are purchasing small amounts.
    • Measure out the desired amount and place it in a canning jar, cover it with water and put a breathable lid on. Change the water out every 12 hours for a day or so until you see the sprouts.
    • Once the wheat has spouted, it can be placed in a shallow tray or pie tin with potting soil, keep the soil moist and place it in a location where it can get the most sun possible. You can speed its growth with a CFL, though this should be used a supplement and not it’s primary light.
    • When the blades spilt into two is when they are ready for harvesting.
    • To harvest your wheatgrass simply cut a clump with a pair of scissors and juice it. You should be able to get three harvests from one crop, though the last harvest will probably not taste as good since the sugar levels might be lower.
    • Wheatgrass juice offers the most health benefits and nutrition if it is consumed fresh, this is why it is best to grow it yourself rather than waste money on buying dried products or bottled juices.
    • Wheatgrass juice contains Vitamins A, B (in trace amounts that are formed from organism that live on the plant and not by the plant so the FDA says that there is no vitamin B in wheatgrass juice), C, E, I, and K. It is also a source of chlorophyll, pantothenic acid, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and even contains protein.

     

    While the specific claimed health benefits are mostly unsubstantiated by scientific research there is no shortage of people who personally claim to have benefited from this superfood for a myriad of different diseases and disorders including cancer, obesity, anemia, constipation, and detoxing from heavy metals.  During this season of elevated threats of bacterial and viral infection, stay at your healthiest with fresh greens courtesy of wheatgrass.

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  • Better Beans for Your Garden

    Better Beans for Your Garden

    Gardening is a part of homesteading, and one of the best types of vegetables to grow is beans. They are a healthy choice and you have plenty of options. Green beans, for example, taste great fresh and raw, as well as cooked. It is possible to can them and save them, and you will find that they are a great, healthy side for just about anything you are cooking. Of course, you can’t forget the deliciousness of a green bean casserole, too. However, if you want to have a great yield of healthy beans, you need to know how to grow them the right way. The following are some simple tips you can use.

    No Seedlings or Transplants

    You might be tempted to start the seeds out of the garden, or even to buy beans that have already started. However, you will find that using transplants and seedlings in the garden will not often have the best results. Instead, you will find more luck when you sow the seeds directly into the ground. Before you sow the seeds, though, make sure the soil temperature is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Soak the Beans

    On the night before you plant the seeds, soak them in water at room temperature. You should soak them overnight. Doing this can help to make the germination occur faster. However, it is a good idea to check the weather beforehand. If you find that you have some rain in the forecast in the next week, do not soak the seeds. Having too much water could kill them.

    Rotate the Crops

    You know that rotating your crops each year is a good choice. You will find that planting beans is a good option because it can help to put nitrogen in the soil. In addition, when you rotate them, you should plant them in the area where you planted items such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli the year before.

    Prepare Poles for the Beans

    There are two types of beans – pole and bush variety. When you buy the seeds, the packaging will tell you whether you have the pole or bush style. If you have beans that grow on a bush, you will not have to do anything to support the weight of the plant. It supports itself naturally. However, if you have pole beans, you will need to place poles in the soil, so the vine runners can grab onto it and climb. You could use wires or strings connected between poles, a trellis, or doweling rods. You can experiment to find the option that works best for you.

    Beware the Birds

    When your beans first start to sprout, they will be very tempting for birds. They will sometimes pull out the sprouts as soon as they poke through the soil. To combat this problem. You can run a string down the row, placed about two inches over the area where the beans will sprout. Once the bean plants are a couple of inches high, you can remove the string.

    Each year that you grow beans, you will learn new tricks and tips to employ that will work for your land and your beans.

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  • 4 Tips for Starting a Garden When Living in an Apartment  

     

    Living in an apartment and gardening don’t really go together, but you can make it work, as we talked about in How to Homestead in an Apartment, and I know from experience.  You won’t be able to have to same crop selection or the same yield that suburban backyard, or rural homesteaders get, but you can get started and gain valuable experience while increasing your health and saving money.  Here are 4 tips I used to make gardening possible while living in an apartment.

     

    Grow Bags

    Space will be one of your major concerns, not just for growing, but also for storing.  One way to reduce the amount of space needed to store some of the bulkiest garden supplies, pots, is to use grow bags instead.  Grow bags can be cheap black plastic bags with drainage holes, or expensive fabric bags that help promote root health depending on your budget.

    Perineal Crops

    Another way to save space, growing space, is to grow crops that will only need to be planted once so that you are not wasting space with crops that you need to wait on for them to mature.  Perineal greens, or even long lasting greens are a great way to reduce your grocery bill and increase your health in a small area.  In most zones chard, kale, tree kale, and Okinawan spinach are great choices.

    Grow Inside

    To save space outside, grow what you can inside.  Herbs like mint and oregano can easily be grown inside without any ill effect on your plants.  With a little effort they can even add some aesthetic appeal to the inside.

    Trellis

    Growing vertical is one of the best ways to save space.  Growing pole beans on a trellis can quadruple the yield for the same amount of ground.  Malabar spinach can be grown on a trellis and provides plenty of greens for a small area.  Tomatoes grown on a trellis will not only save space but keep the plant from being damaged when the fruit become large.

     

    Small space is no reason not to start a garden.  Even a small garden can provide large benefits to your health and save you money if you do it right.

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  • 5 Things you Should NOT Compost  

    5 Things you Should NOT Compost  

     

    Since compost is the primary soil amendment (other than mulch since every garden should be mulched) in back yard gardens, it can be tempting to compost everything you can so that you can give the most back to your garden.  While this is true for the most part, there are things that you should not be composting and could have an adverse effect upon your garden or your health.  Here are 5 such items.

     

    Meat

    It’s a shame to waste food, especially meat which costs much more than other foods, but it’s better to feed meat that has past it’s prime to the dog than to put it in your compost pile.  It will attract flies and scavengers to your pile and could introduce harmful bacteria that can persist in your soil for long periods making it dangerous to consume your vegetables raw.

    Weeds

    Seeds can remain in the soil for decades, usually not the seeds of any plants that you want, but the seeds of weeds most certainly can.  Even a hot compost pile will not kill the seeds of most weeds, which means that you will effectively be spreading weed seeds in amended soil when you apply compost to your garden if you add weeds to your pile.

    Pet Waste

    Manure for the garden should come from animals like chickens, horses, and cows, not dogs and cats.  It would take much longer for these manures to be safe.

    Diseased Plants

    If you remove plants, or portions of plants due to pests or disease, throw them away and do not compost them.  Placing them in your compost could result in spreading the issue throughout your garden.

    Persistent Plants

    Similar to composting weeds, attempting to compost extremely hardy and easily rooting plants such as sweet potato or mint will never end well.  Ultimately you will need to remove every little piece from your pile because they will not die and decompose, they will continue to root and take nutrients from your compost time rather than provide them.

     

    Composting is about quality, not quantity.  There are plenty of resources that can be had for free, or nearly free for most people that will provide more than enough for any backyard compost pile.

     

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  • Growing Calories for Survival

    Growing Calories for Survival

    One of the biggest reasons people want to homestead in this day and age is to be prepared for some kind of disaster. But what should you grow that would actually help you survive?

    Obviously, you will need food, and not just edibles, but calories. And rows and rows of herbs and kale are probably healthy, but they’re not going to keep you alive for very long. You need dense calories, high yields, and hearty crops that can grow through winter.

    Potatoes are an ideal long-term survival plant. You can grow them discreetly, they are high in carbohydrates and calories, and keep well through the winter with minimal processing.

    Breadfruit is not commonly known in the Western world, but again, if you live somewhere that you can grow it, do. It is highly caloric and delicious, with a soft, mildly sweet, savory flesh that can be slow cooked in a fire, boiled, or fried.

    Cassava, also known as yucca and tapioca, produces the most calories per square foot of any other crop in the world. It is much like a potato, and its thick husk will preserve the root for a very long time. The best thing about cassava? You can simply hack up the large bush that grows above ground, and stick in the ground to grow a whole new crop for next year.

    Beans have protein, which is difficult to grow, and have high yields and produce very quickly. They also fix your soil with nitrogen, and can be easily dried and kept through the winter.

    Crucifers like broccoli and cabbage are highly nutritious, more filling than other greens, are cold-hearty crops and can keep relatively well through the winter, when stored properly.

    If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that you can grow avocado, do. It is high in essential fatty acids, and virtually one of the only ways to grow fat. They are caloric as well, and can keep you alive and thriving for a long time.

    Apples are relatively high-calorie for a fruit, and can have a very high yield. They will also keep very easily through the winter.

     

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