Categories: gardening, homesteading Tags:
Categories: gardening, horticulture Tags:
Categories: gardening Tags:
Ep 167_Listener Email: Starting Out W/ an Orchard
Today I tackle a listener’s email about starting out.
Here’s his email:
(from Ed)
Hey it greats to listen to you every week now. I found your show on the preppers podcast network (yes it was the show doomsday that got me interested but I have grown past that) and it is the one I enjoy the most. I find that most of the thoughts you express are similar to my own thoughts and feelings. So I want to say thank you! I myself am looking to get out of town and move into the country and slowly start a farming lifestyle. By day I am an entomologist so I hope to start by growing an orchard and raising bees. Would you have any suggestions/pitfalls to be aware of while looking and purchasing property? It seems daunting at the moment but at least my lady is fully on board and not only supportive but enthusiastic. Thank you again for your show and information.
Think about:
- Size–don’t raise bees on less than an acre
- Southern Exposure is best (usually)
- Are you thinking in phases or are you jumping-in and want the whole hog (giant piece of land upfront)
- Consider a practice property of a few acres before you buy 200 acres.
- What are you going to do with all that fruit/honey?
- Are you going into business?
- Are you going to be retired or are you going to continue to work?
- What varieties will work in your area?
- Is the land good for an orchard?
- Is the land good in ALL 4 seasons–check and see
- Water?
- Are you okay with learning on the job and accepting failures?
- Are you patient enough to wait YEARS for really seeing ANY results?
- In-between your trees you can fill-in with berry bushes (in case you think you’re out of room to add to your property’s permafood
Ep 167_Listener Email_ Starting Out
Categories: gardening, homesteading, horticulture Tags:
Fill-in With Permafood
I’m running out of space at our house for planting fruit trees.
With the wife out of town, I planted a Valentine’s gift for her: a pomegranate tree for her…and as she loves berries, I planted six berry plants.
So with the new tree addition, I decided to fill-in with fruit bushes BETWEEN the trees and fill-in. Since trees grow up and out, there is space down low. Hence, berry bushes. I planted two blueberry, two blackberry and two raspberry bushes, all in-between fruit trees. The result is now I can focus on the next level of permafood, the fill-in level. Maybe you have space in your yard where you didn’t realize it. Look for gaps between trees and fill in with bushes and berries. I think you’ll like the creative use of space and the way it looks.
Let me know how it’s going for you, and tell us here at hd. Keep planting and keep improving and keep prepping.
Dan
Categories: gardening, horticulture, Prepping, self-reliance Tags:
Ep 165_The Man Who Planted Trees
Today’s show is the story of the Man Who Planted Trees, by Jean Giono, on audio, read by myself. Make a copy to listen to on a drive…
But when you have a moment, watch the film version and enjoy.
Today’s show is about a brighter tomorrow.
I wish you peace.
Ep 165_The Man Who Planted Trees
http://www.nrri.umn.edu/boulder/education/K12/People%20and%20forests/The%20Man%20Who%20Planted%20Trees.pdf
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Ep 164_Gardening, Gun Preps and Ideas
In Today’s show, I’ll cover some pressing issues I see for homeowners, preppers and sovereign individualists.
First, It’s SEED CATALOG TIME. Take a look at those seed and fruit tree catalogs and get some beauties started on your property.
http://www.treesofantiquity.com/
Why you should get a hunting license RIGHT NOW even if you don’t intend to hunt.
With pending legislation on gun control, should I buy and what should I buy?
Buy any gun you may WISH to purchase in next 4 years now. Buy a MINIMUM of 200 rounds for your gun. More, if possible.
What should I prioritize in LIGHT of the pending problem? What things do you need to survive for 30 days and what will go up exponentially in price in the near future.
What things should I hold off on, given a fixed income?
Hold off on preps that you really don’t need and aren’t going to go up in price in the near future. In other words, buying a baseball bat for self-defense can wait considering its price will stay stable relative to guns and ammo prices.
Ep 164_Gardening, Gun Preps and Ideas
one liberals’ opposition to gun control
Categories: gardening, self-reliance, survival Tags:
Overwintering Geraniums (from Martha Stewart & Home Depot)
OVERWINTERING GERANIUMS HOW-TO
Martha Stewart has a great how-to on her Home Depot blog on how to save geraniums over the winter.
Click on the link below for details.
ALSO…sign-up for the Home Depot Garden Club and great gardening tips (and a few deals) will come your way.
Categories: gardening Tags:
Ep 135: From the Desk of Engineer Ray (My Dad)
It’s been about a hundred days since I last talked to you…
- Since then, the government spent an additional 300 billion dollars (conservatively) with no end in sight.
- They broke all the laws in passing the Obamacare plan into law, and the Supreme Court let them get away with it.
- Unemployment is much worse than the 8.2 % they say it is in Washington (It’s more like 12 percent and even that is probably low)
- Every month, the government is taking more freedoms away from me.
- Sixty years ago, the government worked for us; today, we work for the government (IRS)
- I hope you realize that 16 TRILLION dollars is impossible to pay back.
- Worse, with spending full steam ahead, the government has NO intention of paying it back.
- By the way, there are more than 100 cities in the US that are deeply in debt and in danger of default/bankruptcy.
- What are you going to do about it?
- I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it: I’m getting prepared for the collapse.
- Since the last time I talked with you, I’ve bought silver, stocked up (more) on my food supply, kept my big garden up, put in a giant propane gas tank for heating (I don’t need electricity to run it), and added more fruit trees and berry bushes. We had a warm spell in March that brought out the blossoms too early. A subsequent frost hurt this year’s crop. I will still be able to get apples and pears in the fall. Even with planting, you MUST DIVERSIFY.
- I tell my children all the time: “Who can you trust?”
- The answer : no one.
- I live about 23 miles south of Pittsburgh. They (the city) cut 272 teachers and are shutting down schools. Why? People with money and brains are moving out of the cities. That’s NOT a new trend. Are you moving in the right direction?
- So, my advice to you is to prepare for the fall.
- Get out of the cities. Move out. WAY OUT.
- Stockpile food–at least a six-month supply of food. Go to Costco, Sam’s Club, Aldi’s or any place that sells food on the cheap. They sell in bulk, and you should buy products there that will last for years.
- Have cash on-hand–Emergencies happen. Save coins. They will be worth more than paper and some are still mixed with silver or are are copper. If you owed me ten dollars, do you think I’d want it in paper or coins? You’d better believe I’d want coins.
- Coins are also a good medium of exchange for bartering. Silver purifies water. Copper has many uses, as does nickel. Did you know it costs the government more money to make a penny than it’s worth? The same is true for a nickel. Guess what? I save pennies and nickels.
- I get a lot of mail from people who sell silver, gold, and bulk food. One representative told me they’re SIX WEEKS BEHIND in production. They simply can’t keep up.
- That tells me that people are seeing the light…that we aren’t crazy…and there’s a silent majority of us out there that see the handwriting on the wall, no matter how much the news media wants to ignore the truth.
- Last but not least, the ultimate survival tool is God. You know him?
Categories: Finance, gardening, homesteading, horticulture, investment, self-reliance, survival Tags:
Ep 122: Apples
There are some amazing categories of apples out there. Today’s episode discusses some of the most prominent ones.
Additionally, I discuss vanishing heirloom apple varieties and the seed exchange which is dedicated to the preservation of these vanishing heirloom varieties.
http://www.traxfarms.com/apple_variety_chart.html
http://www.bestapples.com/varieties/index.aspx
Categories: gardening, homesteading, horticulture Tags:
Categories: gardening Tags:
Categories: gardening Tags:
Ep 121: Book Review: The Foxfire Book
This book review pays homage to old-school prepping, homesteading and survival. All three of those components can be found within the pages of this book.
You see, Eliot was a northeastern yankee who moved to Georgia to teach English. Thinking he knew it all, he soon realized there was a lot to learn about the south and the people around him. He became interested in tho old ways and traditions of Appalachia and began to write down what he saw and learned. The Foxfire book is the culmination of his years of research and study. It’s a prepper’s guide and how-to book all-in-one.
Some of the wonderful skills recorded and discussed in his book are:
- wood: types and identification of
- tools and skills:
- building a log cabin
- chimney building
- White Oak splits
- making chairs
- rope, straw and feathers (sleeping)
- quilt making
- soapmaking
- mountain recipes
- preserving vegetables
- preserving fruit
- churning your own butter
- slaughtering hogs
- curing and smoking a hog
- weather signs: how to read the weather
- planting by the signs
- home remedies
- dressing and cooking wild game
- hunting lore
- snake stories
- moonshine as an art form
- faith healing
- and many others revolving around personalities more than specific skills
.Ep 121_Book Review Foxfire Book
Categories: do-it-yourself, gardening, homesteading, horticulture, self-reliance Tags:
Container Gardening Ideas
Guys, it isn’t even Memorial Day!!! There’s plenty of time to make beautiful container gardens for your home. While I tend towards the edibles, there’s plenty of room for in the yard for flowers and fruits.
Better Homes & Gardens has some great ideas worth checking-out.
Categories: gardening Tags:
Ep 108: Fear of Homegrown Food
Don’t Fear Eating Your Own Food. We are so programmed buying food from other sources that we become fearful of eating food NOT bought in a store. It’s crazy but nonetheless true for many of us who’ve been brainwashed by modern society to think homemade is inferior or even dangerous.
Remember:
Your food is SAFER than what’s in the grocery store. Did YOU put chemicals and pesticides in your food? Of course not.
Did the grocery store? Yes they did!
Further, you know who picked your food. Have you heard the horror stories about people passing on hepatitis through green onions, lettuces and tomatoes?
Guys, don’t you REALIZE how much safer your food is you grow for yourself? Get over the hang-ups and eat your delicious food!
Ep 108_ Fear of Homegrown Food
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Home Depot Gardening Club E-mail Includes $10 Coupon For Rain Harvesting System
Now, you have to be a member to get the coupon, but membership in the gardening club is free.
Categories: gardening Tags:
Desert View of Spring on the Homestead
Today is a video podcast. I walk around the house and point out the major upgrade in the front little “secret garden” area. I added irrigation, flowers, bushes, structure, and heaven knows what else.
Sorry, folks, there’s a problem with the YouTube Embedding today. Please click on the links, instead.
“http://www.youtube.com/embed/KKJRBjRiroc”
“http://www.youtube.com/embed/Fx0ggqZHCrg”
“http://www.youtube.com/embed/DBkEGcd8FLY”
Categories: do-it-yourself, gardening, home renovation, homesteading, horticulture Tags:
Ep 100: The Thank You Episode
We celebrate 100 episodes of Homestead Dividends. I put everything into perspective: it’s about you.
Thank you so much for listening, reading and following me. You guys make it all worthwhile. I wouldn’t do it if it isn’t for you.
ALSO…please get involved. Comment in a blog, join the forum, get active. You won’t get as much out of this site unless you get connected and reach out. Don’t feel isolated, don’t feel alone…become a part of a family…and we ARE a family. Send me an email. I will read it and will respond. We aren’t tooooo big over here: we listen, we respond, we care.
The Core Beliefs of HD: Homestead Dividends
The basic principles of Homestead Dividends…This is an organic, living document that may change a bit over the years, but is a good basic statement of what I believe and why I believe it.
These Principles Include:
The Homestead Dividends model is for all people for all walks of life.
A person’s home is their castle.
Live as self-sufficiently/reliably as possible.
Assume food grown elsewhere is inferior.
Family always comes first.
Be a good neighbor.
Always live within the law.
Assume a disaster will happen and prepare accordingly.
Act in terms of what grandmother/father would do.
Improve the utility of your house. (Always be improving your house/homestead)
Make your house beautiful
Avoid “paying into the system” as much as possible–DIY, Barter, etc.
Keep a low profile.
There is no one right way to live
Homestead Dividends is about taking homesteading and home/life improvement into the 21st century.
Here’s to the next 100 episodes. Keep listening and keep spreading the word.
Dan
Categories: gardening, home renovation, homesteading Tags:
Ep 098: Seven Healing Herbs for Your Garden
Ep 098_7 Healing Herbs For Your Garden
I can think of dozens of healing herbs you’d want in your garden, but I’ll start with six or seven for starters. You need to plant herbs that heal if you believe in herbals healing properties. I do. I believe nature hold the key if we take the time to listen, but taking a pill is so much easier than making better choices and letting nature do its thing.
DISCLAIMER–this is general information for entertainment purposes only. See your doctor for all ailments, etc. Only a nutjob would take medical advice from a total stranger over the internet!!!
The seven I have chosen are:
1. Aloe–for burns. Works on sunburn, too. Apply to wound. Topical treatment only.
2. St John’s Wort- people with depression swear by it. I am blessed not to be affected by depression, but I add a little to an iced tea on a summer’s day to relax.
3. Valerian- for relaxation and sleep. I usually pair with a little melatonin and sleep is easier to attain. I also pop a few when I’m around very stressful people. People who talk nonstop and talk “at” you rather than having a discussion “with” you really make me anxious. When I know I’ll be around these types, I take a few valerian to dull the anxiety pain.
4. Peppermint–the ultimate digestive soother. A great add-in for iced teas, and as a garnish for deserts. Good in mixed drinks, but I don’t really go there, so…
5. Echinacea–good for colds and sore throats. Start taking at the first sign of trouble and maybe, just maybe, the cold will quit on you. More likely, your cold may be a little less severe.
6. Eucalyptus–penetrates mucous. Great for allergy/sinus issues. Can be used in a tea or I occasionally put a drop of essential oil under each nostril when my nose is clogged, allergically aroused, or simply sore.
7. Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory. Consider using it for aches, pains and soreness as well as minor swelling…AFTER you’ve seen a doctor!
Categories: gardening, horticulture, self-reliance Tags:
Ep 096: YOUR Blueprint for the Coming Financial Crisis
Ep 096_YOUR Blueprint for the Coming
From the Desk of Engineer Ray
Be Prepared: We are facing unprecedented times in our country (and world). I repeat: Be Prepared!
Who can you trust nowadays? No one. Are you tired of being lied to? I am.
I just want to repeat: I am a veteran who served as a sailor in the Navy in the Korean War and also served as a merchant marine in times of peace. I saw a good part of this world and I love my country. I homesteaded for decades before it was fashionable. It’s the people running it I don’t trust. I hate being lied to.
We are in the midst of a train wreck and very few people are aware of it. Are you? We have a government debt of 16 trillion and counting with no intentions of paying it back. The wreck can happen at any time and without prior warning. The US government sells bonds all the time to cover its debts. What happens when governments like China stop buying? That’s when it will hit the fan. At the going rate, in less than twenty years, we will spend all of our income just paying the interest on the debt. By then, of course, it will be too late.
What do we homesteaders do? We become self-sufficient and independent…or as independent as we can.
We start with food You should have at least a year’s supply of food in your house. I do. Places like Sam’s Club, Costco, Aldi’s, and Walmart have discounted food. Buy it. In Bulk! Buy and stock up now, before it’s too late. When it’s obvious a crisis is at hand, you won’t be able to afford the food in bulk quantities. I am still stocking up. You can NEVER have enough.
If you are looking to buy a home: look in the country. Cities are no place to be when the train wrecks. I live in the country. I am surrounded by farms on three sides.
It’s spring time. Plant fruit trees. Yes I have beautiful oaks and maples several hundred years old on my property, but I also have several DOZEN fruit trees and hundreds of berry bushes…and yes, you guessed it–I’m planting more fruit trees and I’M IN MY EIGHTIES! There’s nothing like picking a fresh apple or pear off of your own tree and eating it…not even bothering to wash it because you know no pesticides or chemicals ever came near it. I use no pesticides or chemicals because I know they are wrong for me, the plant, and the environment. Sure I get some spoilage and diseases, but that’s why I plant so much. I’d rather the bugs get some of my fruit than my chemically-laden fruit get me.
Gardens are real important for us to be self-reliant. If you have one, make it bigger. If you don’t have one, MAKE ONE! Get help from an experienced gardener.
Cut back on your spending. Be frugal, very frugal. When the train wrecks, everyone will HAVE to be frugal. Start practicing now.
Gold and silver are all the rage now. With the dollar losing its value, where are you? If you offered me a choice between $32 dollars in cash and an ounce of silver, guess which one I’d take? Silver.
Silver also has purifying and medicinal properties. Where do you think I’m at? Silver.
Make sure your car is in good shape. You may need it when you least expect it. You also need to store spare fuel. If you don’t have fuel, a well-maintained car is useless. You can’t go anywhere. There are resources that will tell you how to store fuel safely in your area. I live in the country and I have lots of options. Over thirty years ago, we had a gasoline shortage. Where do you think neighbors came to get gas? Yeah, me. I had a 500 gallon tank in the back yard. Do you get the picture?
So, in closing, I’d like to leave you with these thoughts:
- Get one year’s supply of food
- Plant fruit trees
- Plant the biggest garden you can
- Get those cars tuned up and running properly
- Store fuel
- Silver: get some. It will always have value
- If you have a chance, buy land. Do it!
Sincerely,
Engineer Ray
(Danny’s Father)
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