Jeff Cassman

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Why I will continue to homestead

It’s really fun to watch videos of the perfect “permaculture” setup.  It’s quite another to implement it.  Sitting down and thinking it all through is a great idea, even drawing up plans – which will require you to know the lay of your land, the slopes, the direction the wind comes from, where the morning sun comes up, what shadows are thrown during the day, the climate and growing zone, etc.  But, what if you have no idea what you’re doing?

When I started out, I only wanted chickens.  Then I decided that goats were the way to go to keep the land cleared.  Then I tried meat rabbits.  Well, the goats were given away sooner rather than later because they don’t graze the land, they browse the bushes and trees.  Sheep are much better grazers, but I wasn’t ready for sheep and I knew nothing about them.  I got some breeding rabbits for all the right reasons – low cost, small footprint, easy reproduction, great source of protein on a small scale…  Absolutely beautiful rabbits, but it’s way too hot and humid where I live for the rabbits to be happy.  I had no way to keep them cool so  I gave them away.  Then I got a bee in my bonnet for a milk cow, then that morphed into 3, and there were calves involved.  Of all the animals, I love the cows the most.  Then I decided I could get a couple of feeder pigs, then purchased a breeding group.  Lord have mercy!  I do like the pigs, but I’ve learned that I need a lot more electric fencing than I have.

Of all the animals I’ve “tried out”, I can say, hands down, the milk cow is my favorite.  I have trained two “first time fresheners”, meaning a heifer who calves for the first time, to milk.  No small thing to help the cow understand that her milk is not just for her calf, but for me.  And I had no idea what I was doing at first.  I read some books and talked to a lot of people more experienced than myself, and I learned just by doing it.  Cows have magnificent body language that will tell you exactly how they feel, if you pay attention.  And they will learn to trust you if you treat them well, and give them a reason to.  My dairy girls line up at the gate, right on time, every morning, and wait for me to let them in, one by one, to be milked.  I rarely have to call them in.  I always thank them for their milk.  Oh, occasionally there will be a little kick, but most likely if one of them is displeased they will swat me right across the face with their tail.  They have really good aim with their tails too.  I am thankful when the tail does not have…

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Living The Dream

First off, why do I homestead?  My passion is to provide a safe haven for my large family away from the world’s chaos.  A place where food can be grown, the air is clean and fresh, no noise or people pollution, no homeless encampments, and precious little crime.  A safe, productive, hideaway.  Realizing that nowhere is completely safe, we know that some places are better than others.  Just look around.  If you live in the country, you might have a million-dollar view from the porch of a humble home.  I do.  I can scarcely take it in.  It’s restful to the eyes and soul.  I take no credit whatsoever for this place.  I stumbled upon it for a variety of reasons and feel that it was a gift from the Lord.  After possibly decades of reading Survivalblog, I had a mental checklist for a retreat property and this one fit the bill.  I had no intentions of “homesteading” other than a deep desire to become as “self-sufficient” as possible.  I didn’t even know what I was going to do with this property other than raise some chickens.  That’s how it started.

A lot of people are trying to “homestead” now, and for various admirable reasons.  Some are looking to get out of the rat race and live a simpler life.  Some see that bad things are happening and feel a need to grow their own food and be self-sufficient.  Others started out with chickens on a small plot, and as is said, “Chickens are the gateway drug to homesteading.”  They end up getting more animals – some have tried goats, turkeys, quail, cows, pigs, rabbits, sheep, etc.  In many cases, they think they can quit their job, grow their own food, and have little if any expenses.  I’m here to tell you that unless you have a good source of income, it’s not possible.  Sorry to mess with your Cheerios this morning, but homesteading costs money.  I’ve spent more money “homesteading” than I ever spent as a professional working woman living in the suburbs.  I’m here to share my experiences, be they good or bad.

Buying raw land and putting a camper on it while you learn to grow your own food is nothing more than a fantasy.  Oh, I know of people who are trying to do just that.  The other day, as I drove 45 minutes through the meandering hills to get to a Feed Store that has the best prices, I saw some raw land with a big camper on it, some kid toys, a couple of camp chairs, and a fire pit.  I noticed that the land was in process of being cleared.  I groaned just looking at it in passing.  No electricity, no septic, no water…. And it’s November!  They would have to tow that huge trailer out to dump their tanks, fill up with water, pick up propane, and I have no idea if there was solar on top of the…

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Installing trunk guards is an important pre-winter step to protect young trees from hungry critters like voles and rabbits. Whether you’re using cloth wraps or sturdier guards made from plastic or metal mesh, wrapping a protective layer around delicate young tree trunks will help ensure your trees don’t get girdled during winter.

If you have only one or two young trees that need protecting, installing trunk guards won’t take long. But if you’ve planted an orchard with a dozen or two young fruit trees, it’s a job that requires planning and a meaningful time commitment. (And if you have four dozen young fruit trees, like I do, you had better commit a couple of long afternoons to the job.)

After six years of installing trunk guards around my trees, I’ve learned a thing or three about pitfalls to avoid. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when installing trunk guards ahead of winter.

Don’t Wrap Your Trees Too Early

You might be tempted to get a head start on winter and install trunk guards in late summer or early fall. This can be a fine approach with some types of trunk guards (if they leave room for the trunk to grow). But if you’re wrapping anything tightly around trunks, resist the temptation to start early.

You want to wrap the trees when they’re dormant. If the tree is still growing and the trunk tries to expand while wrapped in cloth, you’ll damage the bark.

For the same reason, you’ll want to remove any tight guards in late winter or early spring, before the trees wake up.

Wrap Before It’s Unpleasantly Cold

The above advice notwithstanding, for your own comfort you’ll want to start getting your trees protected before warm weather has completely deserted your region. I remember a year when I waited too long to tackle the project and wound up installing tree trunk guards on a dreary winter day when the high temperature was in the low 30s.  I was struggling to use waterproof electrical tape while wearing bulky winter gloves … definitely not so easy.

Wait until the trees are heading into dormancy, but pick a day that’s warm enough so you can work without bulky gloves and enjoy the process.

Make Sure You Have Enough Supplies

This is an important step, because you don’t want to start installing trunk guards on the perfect day and realize too late that you’re short of supplies. One year, I ran out of my preferred electrical tape and had to switch and use regular packaging tape instead. It turned out to be insufficiently waterproof, and by the time spring rolled around my trees were shedding their trunk guards.

Consider also that your trees will grow each year. So even if you had a sufficient quantity of suitably-sized guards/wraps last year, that might not be the case this year. I use corrugated plastic guards that measure 2 feet tall…

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Survival situations can be complex, but your toolkit doesn’t have to be. While there are hundreds of different survival tools, most are not essential. You only need a handful of tools to meet your core survival needs. 

Here, we will go over what these essential survival tools are and why you need them.

Difference between Survival Tools and Survival Gear

The terms tool and gear are often used interchangeably. However, they are not the same. A tool is a device that helps do manual work. Gear is the equipment used to do a particular activity.  

All tools can be considered gear, but not all gear is a tool. A bow and arrow is considered gear for hunting or self-defense but not a tool. By contrast, a shovel is a tool that helps with digging and is also considered essential gear for activities like camping and gardening.  

*Also, don’t confuse tools or gear with supplies. Supplies are consumable items like food, medicine, and water purification tablets. You will eventually use up supplies, whereas tools and gear are reusable.

Tools Can Be Used to Make Survival Gear

Many tools can be used to make gear. For example, you can use a knife to carve tent stakes, cut plants to make rope, or make a fearsome DIY weapon.  

With some know-how, one tool can replace a lot of gear.

This is important because it means you can reduce the weight of your survival kit. Or, if any gear from your survival kit goes missing or breaks, you’ll have a way to make more. You can even use tools to make other tools – such as using your knife to carve a shovel.

Essential Survival Tools List

1. Knife

A knife is considered the ultimate survival tool because of its versatility. This one survival tool can cover cutting, dressing game, batoning wood, carving, shaving, and self-defense (to name just a few).

There are many types of knives, and some are better suited for certain survival situations than others. 

For more info, read:

2. Axe or Hatchet

For heavy-duty chopping tasks, you’ll want to use an axe or a hatchet instead of a knife. Not only does it save your knife from overuse, it also makes the job a lot easier. You’ll be grateful to have one in situations like removing downed trees from roads, chopping firewood, or cutting trees for a shelter.

As with knives, there are many types of axes, and you’ll want to choose the right one for survival. 

Also Read:

3. Saw

Saws are a lot safer to use than axes and tend to be lighter weight. They also have more survival uses. Not only…

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Does eating cacti sound like a fun adventure?

If not, it’s time to broaden your horizons. The prickly pear cactus is a distinguished palate pleaser that happens to be surprisingly common, and every survivalist should know how to harvest, process, and cook it.

Eating something with that many spikes may be a daunting prospect, but you don’t have to dive in alone. Read on to learn how to cook cactus pads correctly so you can take advantage of this nutritious wild ediblewhen you need it most.

Materials for Harvesting and Processing Cactus Pads

It’s important to gear up properly when harvesting and processing cacti to stay safe and well fed in any situation.

You don’t have to worry about materials when you hunt for more benign wild edibles like chanterelles, but cacti are a different story. Their spikes can do real damage, so gear that will protect you is essential. 

You won’t do yourself any good in a survival scenario with injuries to your hands or mouth. Luckily, you don’t need much to harvest prickly pear — you likely already have most of this stuff in a bug-out bag or survival kit. 

• Gloves: You need to protect your hands from spines, but you don’t want to bring along your best survival gloves when you harvest. Cactus needles stick in fabric and can be difficult to remove. They could easily ruin a nice pair of gloves, so take a pair that’s ready to be trashed instead. 
• Knife: You need a solid survival knife to scrape the spines from the pad. Choose something with a longer blade if you have a choice, but in most cases, any knife will do. I’m fancy and use two knives: one for harvesting and one for removing the glochids.
• Fork: The fork lets you handle and stabilize the cactus pad as you remove its spines. A long barbecue fork works perfectly, but you can also use a dinner fork, screwdriver, pliers, or even a stick. 
• Cactus container: Bring a bucket or your favorite foraging bag with a durable liner to transport the harvest. Skip flimsy containers — cactus spines will rip a plastic bag apart and get stuck in a fabric one.

How to Harvest, Process, and Cook Cactus Pads

1. Find Your Cactus

Edible cacti are members of the Opuntia family, more commonly known as prickly pear or nopal in Spanish. There are over 150 members in the family, and they’re all easy to recognize with broad, flat pads. Here in the US, there are Opuntia species in nearly every state. 

They spread quickly, adapting to and even modifying new habitats to thrive in various regions. In desert climates, they grow prolifically in sandy fields, roadsides, and gardens. If you’re in a temperate zone, search in forest glades…

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Towards a Sustainable Agriculture

The Living Soil

by Lady Eve Balfour

The following is the text of the paper exactly as given by Lady Eve Balfour at the IFOAM Conference of 1977.

In order to set the scene for this historic conference, and for the benefit of the younger participants, I think it might be helpful to start by sketching, briefly, the origins and development of the, now worldwide, organic movement.

After that, I propose to explain how my own involvement in the movement led to the so-called “Haughley Experiment”, and outline the contribution that experiment made towards today’s recognition of the importance of ecological awareness in Agriculture.

Finally, I want to share with you some of my thoughts on what I believe should be our approach, both philosophical and pragmatic, in working for Sustainable Agriculture.

I do not know where or when the ideas that have brought us together here were first called a movement, but I have little doubt that the main inspiration derived from the work of the early research pioneers in the first quarter of this century, though this is not to discount the influence of one of the most important, who was even earlier, namely Rudolf Steiner.

Those I particularly have in mind were: in the medical field, Sir Robert McCarrison, Drs.  Francis Pottinger Jnr. and Weston Price, and in the agricultural field, Sir Albert Howard, Dr. William Albrecht, and Dr. E. Pfeiffer.

Following these, and overlapping with them to a certain extent, came another wave of giants–men like Dr. George Scott-Williamson, Dr. Lionel Picton, Dr. Dendy, Prof. Barry Commoner, and the courageous Rachel Carson, and among the list of departed great ones, I must, sadly, now add Dr. Schumacher.

These pioneers had one thing in common–they were what we should now call Ecologists. They all succeeded in breaking away from the narrow confines of the preconceived ideas that dominated the scientific thinking of their day. They looked at the living world from a new perspective–they also asked new questions. Instead of the contemporary obsession with disease and its causes, they set out to discover the causes of Health. This led inevitably to an awareness of wholeness (the two words, after all, have the same origin) and to a gradual understanding that all life is one.

Although I started farming in Suffolk in 1919 my own interest in the ecological approach only began in the early 1930’s. By that time local societies had been formed in more than one country to promote organic husbandry and whole food, though I was not aware of this until 1945 when plans were underway for forming the Soil Association, the first society in the movement aiming at a world membership, and with research high on its list of priorities, which brings me to the Haughley Experiment.

This was started in 1939 on my farm and taken over by the Soil Association in 1947 which for the next 25 years directed and sponsored it. This pioneering experiment was the first…

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