The Survival Homestead

Imagine walking onto a cobble stone path out in your back yard. As you are wandering through the path you begin looking at your garden growing in the distance. The plants have grown and are beginning to bear their fruits. This is you and your family's second garden after the Crunch happened. You are giving in to your fantasies of fresh tomato salsa, pickles, watermelon, husks of fresh grilled corn. These are the fruits of your tireless labor. The satisfaction of knowing your family is going to eat is overwhelming. You quietly laugh to your self thinking, "Wow, you give 'em half-decent conditions and they just do what they know how to do. "

Medicinal Garden

As you are nearing your garden off to the right is a smaller garden full of small bushy medicinal herbs. They too are growing into attractive looking adult plants. The way you placed them looks almost as they were there for aesthetic reasons. Seeing that the echinacea is blooming and the sage and thyme flanking it is a sigh of relief knowing that you can create natural medicines for your family as well as dry it for seasonings. Peppermint is spreading its way through the garden. You make a mental note to cut some of that back. You took a basil leaf in your hand and instantly bring it up to your nose. The fragrance is intoxicating. The soft spikes of chives, dill and lavender are swaying in the mild breeze.

Companion Planting and Crop Rotation

You are glad that you took your neighbors advice to create a companion garden to naturally repel insects and nourish the plants. The 12 tomato plants are growing in nicely and the fruit is ready to be picked. The marigolds that you grew as a companion plants are protecting the tomatoes from pests and enriching your soil. You reach the garden and smell the sweet air that the corn is giving off. The small melon vines that are slowing growing and twisting on the corn stalk looks as if they are making their way up to touch the sun.

Your wise neighbor came by to bring a basket of okra he had grown and noticed your mistake of placing the tomatoes and potatoes next to each other and advised that they be moved away from one another because of their heavy feeding. He went on to add that there are certain plants that work well with each other and are companions, so to speak. Some plants have little personalities: some like their space, some are invasive, some take a lot of nutrients and some give off nutrients in the soil.

Crop Rotation

You think back on your life two years ago and realize how much you took for granted driving down to the store to pick up a few vegetables and some meat for dinner. On the south side of your land is where your crop rotation is. After reading different farming books and talking with wise neighbors, you decided that crop rotation was the best way to grow food and condition the earth. Your neighbor describes that crop rotation is that each year a person rotates a set of crops that nourish the soil with nitrogen, and then in the next line of crops you add a plant that is a high feeder on the soil's nutrients. This swapping will create balance in your soil. Looks like it paid off. You have beans, carrots, onions, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, peas and potatoes.

Irrigation Area

Walking around the "country swimming pool" filled with fish and ducks swimming around each other, you only feel blessed seeing the mini ecosystem that you assisted in creating. You smile back and realize that the earth is giving its blessing back to you. The fish pond is not only another source to find food, but it can also be used to irrigate the vegetables and crops growing. After reading more from the many farming resources you have, you discovered that the Native Americans used fish to fertilize the soil. And after using this method, the vegetables were even healthier and robust.

Livestock and Compost

Not far from your crops and the pond are where the small goats are feeding. They are feeding on the left over wheat hulls that had fallen when the crop was threshed the other day, and they seem quite attentive to their task at cleaning up. Their manure has been a God send to the composting area. Once again, you see that you are creating a ecosystem where each aspect of the system is supporting one another. To think this Eden that you have created only started out with a dream put on paper. Your well planned micro farm is utilizing every resource available.

Find some answers to your homesteading and survival questions at http://www.readynutrition.com

Tess Pennington is the lead content contributor for Ready Nutition. Ready Nutrition is an educational resource for those wanting to learn more about home safety preparedness, learning how to cope in disaster situations, and for those wanting to learn how to be more self sustaining. Her career at the American Red Cross left her with years of experience in safety and disaster preparedness. Tess is establishing herself as one of the foremost authorities on safety development and disaster preparedness on the internet. She describes herself as a mixture of Martha Stewart and Les Stroud.

Tess Pennington's work today encompasses:
Teaching disaster preparedness
Informing readers about the importance of preparing for any given situation.
Writing
Speaking
Media consultation





Simple: Just Add Water - Outdoor Gourmet Meals - WiseFoodStorage.com

Merry Christmas

Simple: Just Add Water - Outdoor Gourmet Meals - WiseFoodStorage.com

Complete Survivalist

I got my free copy of the Complete Survivalist today and I have to say it is pretty good. I have already looked through it and have some articles marked to read later when little one goes to bed. I liked what I seen so far. The timing was perfect for getting it. Just in time to count as a Christmas gift to myself! Check out the website when you get the time and look through all of the information on it. Tons of it.












Simple: Just Add Water - Outdoor Gourmet Meals - WiseFoodStorage.com

Sixty Great Uses For Salt

Sixty Great Uses For Salt


Although you may not realize it, simple table salt has a
great number of uses other than simply seasoning your
food.

The following list will give you sixty uses of salt, many of
which you probably didn't realize:


Soak stained hankies in salt water before washing.


Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.


Soak fish in salt water before descaling; the scales will come off
easier.


Put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker for easier pouring.


Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.


Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water; fresh eggs sink;
bad ones float.


Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs; a
cracked egg will stay in its shell this way.


A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them beat up fluffier.


Soak wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water solution to perk
them up.


Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your flapjacks won't stick.


Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first use them; they
will last longer.


Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot.

Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub and toilet bowl.



Soak your nuts in salt brine overnight and they will crack out of

their shells whole. Just tap the end of the shell with a hammer to

break it open easily.


Boil clothespins in salt water before using them and they will last
longer.


Clean brass, copper and pewter with paste made of salt and
vinegar, thickened with flour


Add a little salt to the water your cut flowers will stand in for a
longer life.


Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet; let the salt
soak up the stain.


Clean you iron by rubbing some salt on the damp cloth on the
ironing surface.


Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods in a double
boiler will make the food cook faster.


Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to clean piano keys.


To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal parts of salt and
starch, with just enough water to make a stiff putty.


Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.


Mildly salted water makes an effective mouthwash. Use it hot
for a sore throat gargle.


Dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good tooth
polisher.


Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.


Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.

A dash of salt in warm milk makes a more relaxing beverage.



Before using new glasses, soak them in warm salty water for
awhile.


A dash of salt enhances the taste of tea.


Salt improves the taste of cooking apples.


Soak your clothes line in salt water to prevent your clothes from
freezing to the line; likewise, use salt in your final rinse to
prevent the clothes from freezing.


Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt water to prevent
yellowing.


Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.


Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are too salty.


Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and boil salt water in
them next day to remove burned-on stains.


Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.


Gelatin sets more quickly when a dash of salt is added.


Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will not discolor.


Fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash.


Milk stays fresh longer when a little salt is added.


Use equal parts of salt and soda for brushing your teeth.


Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.


Soaked discolored glass in a salt and vinegar solution to remove
stains.


Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.


Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.



Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it whip more
quickly.


Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odour.


A dash of salt improves the taste of coffee.


Boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will come out
matched.


Salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator.


Cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cool water later.


Remove offensive odors from stove with salt and cinnamon.


A pinch of salt improves the flavor of cocoa.


To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part salt to four
parts alcohol.


Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.


Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you don't want grass
growing.


Polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a brighter look.


Remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot solution of
salt water.


If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of
the spilled juice. The mess won't smell and will bake into a dry,
light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled.





Simple: Just Add Water - Outdoor Gourmet Meals - WiseFoodStorage.com

Build Your Own DIY Wind Generator

Build Your Own DIY Wind Generator - (Plans)(Instructions) - For more amazing video clips, click here