>>1336483

I have something to share with people who feel totally daunted by the life changing experience and the equipment necessary for larger than an acre homesteads. I am 62 years old, widowed, l and thyroidless and I have 2 immune disorders that make it hard for me to eat out or even at the neighbors, allergies to most medications, arthritis, carpal tunnel and I still do almost everything that needs done and what I can't do, I have neighbors who can. I also have blackberries right now and they make happily accepted payment for sharing a bit of their skills. I came here after becoming a widow, ended up on the most wonderful 3.6 acres of Alabama clay in a little wild holler of my own where even traffic noise does not venture! I love it!

First I had to have cut down 1.5 acres of 100 foot pine trees but I left the 1/2 acre of hardwoods across my stream. The ground up stump pile of one of those pine trees grew 20 pounds of sweet potato's the next summer. 4 years later, it is all covered in fruit trees and bushes and and fruiting vines and I am now finally figuring out the next phase of permanence for plants there and what will grow in my damper lower acre in front of the stream.

I suggest that many people who really want to do this might be more receptive and less afraid to try if they were to check out the newest battery powered equipment. I have an 80 volt 21 inch cut push mower that is equal in power to that brush doctor thing. Weighs 35 pounds, battery weighs 5 pounds. 4 cutting heights. Beautiful cut. I can work it and lift it easily. I also have 80 volt chain saw - even I can use it well! Also 12 volt weed eater that is so easy to use. 12 volt tiller for beds - no use trying to till this land - it's full of crystals and iron (pretty sure that at some point in lost history there was an iron forge here). I also have a TroyBlt Mustang 52 inch grass hog - used it all over DC Maryland and Virginia before I left there in 2013, still working like a horse (when it's not raining. pssst.. the little battery push mower cuts places even my little red mustang won't.

All of my blackberries were free gifts from nature and so far this year June of 2018 I have picked over 4 gallons while others are just now starting picking - all because I watched how they grew by themselves and learned to make them just as a comfortable in way that I can stand and pick a quart in two steps. Then move 2 steps and do again.

You have to learn stuff like that and you have to not play against nature. Nature is quite agreeable with vertical farming with a great many plants. And she loves to play but she has a way of winning if your plans aren't what she is capable of giving in the moment. Patience and common sense should become very much a way of life before you lay down your books (which you will pick up again anyway!) and dig that shovel in for the first bite! And in case of emergency - open YouTube!

Never weed your lawn. Where you foot steps fall, nature will give you what you need. See what nature is offering you. Seriously. It's the truth. We are loved immensely by the universe and that's been hidden too. If you can't see the picture of what your land should look like, nature will show you if you open your eyes and see it. If you do, you can see which plants grow well together and which don't for the plants in your 'zone' and your neck of the woods.

In 2015 I sold persimmons for $10 a quart to local restaurants who use local and wild picked foods. Lots of restaurants especially those in larger towns will buy homegrown or wild crafted goods. This 'farm' has gone from a two bedroom trailer in the woods in 2013 to a home, a barn, greenhouse, a tiny house and orchard and herbals. All my outside lighting is solar, even the chandelier on my deck. I'm loving it. I'm not planning on farming large scale. I just have a large scale to fill with something good! I'm getting one of those movable chicken coops with fence soon for the back acre - probably will sow amaranth there too. Can hook it up to the green house in the winter if I change some fencing.

Learn to trade with your neighbors, sell your crafts and herbs if you don't have left over produce. Sustain yourself on good foods and wild foods even if you live in a suburban type place. Out of your own yard. Some do it on 1/2 acre. I think I have that book too.

I checked the USDA Agg 2017 zone map and Alabama where I live is now zone 8a - same as Seattle and I know that avocado grow there so now I can plant my seed grown trees out of the green house. Still be 8 more years before possible fruiting so I will probably get a couple of grafted proven fruiters since I eat one every day. Sustainability and flexibility go hand in hand. It's hard work doing it alone but it's well worth it to me. And fun too. And pretty. And tasty. And it's mine. Yep, it's worth it. The whole point is not stress over being sustainable but be always prepared for anything.

>>1315722

Also when looking for your property - try to find a place with the least restrictions. My property has no restrictions other than no chicken or hog warehouse and no junk yards. Meaning no permits required, all sustainability allowed.

>>1314270

Please don't forget that we are going sustainable which includes solar power that can charge batteries and run your home and business. The 'new' battery powered hand tools and lawn and garden tools are great. My push mower which works as well as a brush doctor plus mulches and bags runs off 80 volt battery as does my chain saw. Weed eater and tiller are 12 volt. Having and knowing how to use all those manual tools (including good ratchets and wrenches, sledge hammers and screw drivers and manual drills and manual kitchen gadgets) is great and necessary at times, I know, but I'm a 62 year old woman with 3.6 acres who really appreciates her newest toys and looking forward to the whole place including home, barn, studio/herb house and the greenhouse being completely self-sustained. And yes to all your questions - and I do have a very fine old Singer foot pedal sewing machine along with a regular sewing machine and an embroidery machine with over 200 built in stitch patterns. Awesome creatures each one. Also - everyone needs to learn about SharkBite plumbing joints and cutoffs - where have they been all my life!!??? Dream big everyone, we don't have to live like the Amish to be self-sustaining. Unless you have a big family who will do what you tell them. Good luck in this day and age - even the younger generation of the Amish are going for a easily sustainable life. We have the know-how and the tools to make it available. Don't go into a dream trying to adhere to the old way - know their ways and learn how to accomplish what you seek with today's tools.

>>1940678

Best of luck to you guys with your off grid dream! I had no idea I would become an herbalist 5 years ago - but my land gave me so many herbs like plantain, passionflower, dandelions, wild garlic and onions, wild lettuce, maple syrup, cedar oils and a bunch of others, so I fell right into it! I no longer need any pharma medications besides the thyroid hormone replacement. My doctor even likes my creations and one of them is better than CDB oil and totally legal - though could have me floating in a river if pharma finds out what it does. I will just say that my oldest dog who has had seizures at least once a month his whole life now has been free for over a year plus his teeth are sparkling white and at 11 years of age he's no longer afraid of thunder! Dogs won't go to bed without it. Took a year to develop but happened immediately after I quit screaming and started listening! I even learned by accident that ironweed here in Alabama planted (actually just let it grow!) by your water barrels will keep them free of mosquito.

It's no joke, your place will know you immediately and you will know it. Live it all to the fullest! Bloom where you are planted! :)

>>1876049

Hi Anons! Why don't all you just get a Berkey Water filter? Not electric or battery powered - two fitting canisters with filters and a spout. They will filter all water types - might want to strain some first if it's out of your open rain barrel or a muddy stream or slimy pond - and it filters out everything if the you buy the right filter (they suggest changing at every 1000 gallons) that even filter out radiation along with the heavy metals, Most water filters can't even remove some of the really nasty medications in public water and our and our rivers and lakes now..Under $200 and is a forever fix. 2.5 gallons per hour if you want to fill it that much. That's self-sufficient. Then you can use your rock and sand filter system idea to grow plants on top and fish under plants that fertilize the plants in exchange for oxygenated water. That's truly self sufficiency. It's good to know the basic's in case you are lost somewhere and need them, but at home you should do it more convenient for your life. That is your castle, after all. Learn all the options before you go make your life too complicated to function in, much less play and create and enjoy in! I love my Berkey - and don't blame me for the awesome detox - total - even the animals. Two weeks of normal usage of the clean water is better than a whole box of detox tools! Sustain your health while you are relaxed and prepared for any eventuality.

>>1310713

Anons, I'm thinking about learning to start a thread after 9 months of posting on other peoples threads because I want to share the tips and tricks and simplicity of herbals because it should be a paramount thing for each family to have readily available what they themselves will need in place of medicine prescribed and for their general sustainable health, In doing so it would let other people share their experience and testing of herbs for health. I know for a fact that the info in books and online is totally incomplete when it comes to what to use for what and how to create a good mix for whatever ails you. I never realized how simple it is accomplish and I would like to share what I've learned. Like the fact that when you peel a whole big pile of fresh mimosa limb bark at one time and set it to dry in strips, you not only get harder to dry bark because you didn't cut it up, but you also get a really good dose of what mimosa bark and leaves do for you! No one told me that in bunches and bunches of research and people should be aware of things like that. Do you think it would work? Do I make each topic/herb a new post? I seem to get in on things at the 750 level but I've been afraid to start a new thread so I never tried. It's time to get this stuff out there. So tomorrow I learn to post! Only 9 months old and learning to post! Guess I may have just found my voice! Cool Beans! Great Awakening! Thanks evyanon for taking this journey with me because WWG1WGA <3 :)'s

>>1310841

I've been wanting a 3d printer but I have Q_westjuns. Is the design part of using a 3d printer like cad or is it something hard to use? Is there a place where people offer their already designed plans? Can it make rubber gaskets and metal washers? Where do you get the 'ink' for the printer? I've been wanting to try one for a couple of years and it seems so StarTrek that I want it more but I don't want it yet if it is hard to use or if the newer model comes out next year and the one I just bought is already obsolete. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but my incomes is under most peoples weekly take home so I tend to be choicey on big purchases even if they make life easier for me.

>>1981011

I just looked up Four Thieves and it's almost the same exact recipe as the bug off oil I created two weeks ago. I bet those thieves even put it on a scarf wrapped around their faces. I use my own oil and tincture creations so I measure by teaspoon but it does make a fine and dandy alternative to Off! or any of the other marketed bug sprays.

All my 'essential oils' are actually brewed in Sunflower oil. Most nutritious oil there is and it soaks right into your skin. Mixes well with Argan Oil and soaps and creams.I don't suggest coconut oil - I tried that first and it's bad on the face and if you get scratches with it on you can't get it off easily to stop the stinging (it also stings if you get in your eyes) and doctor the scratch. That's some potent stuff.

>>1937612

Here are a few other tips about some things you might not be thinking about needing while you are planning out your sustainable lifestyle. These are things that you should be stocking up on anyway.

You should have big plastic tubs to store your food stuffs in. Stock up on rice, dried beans, packaged mixes that you like, flour, sugar, anything without an expiration date. If you store canned good, be sure to keep the ones that expire first on the top and don't store in a hot area I don't suggest them for canned goods. .

Once you get settled, you can use the bins as planters and compost bins. One tote can grow bunches of sweet potatoes or white potatoes and cool long carrots!

There is one thing that no one talks about for a bug out bag that really should be in it. Plastic bags wadded inside another bag, zipper top freezer bags, a couple of pair of surgical gloves and some Twenty Mule Team Borax on a small container.

Plastic bags - things cold get wet.

Zipper top freezer bags - will hold water if necessary and found food stuffs

Surgical gloved - no need to ruin you good gloves when working with nasty stuff.

Borax - all that wet stuff is gonna get messy if your are bugging with it wet. And full of spider mites and possibly flies. Borax will kill the mites and flies and deter (buy not totally stop from growth) mold until you stop bugging and can dry them out.

Last but not least - Baby wipes. No explanation necessary,

>>1956198

When you find some, be sure to collect the seeds off before you pick or chop down. They are blooming and making seeds right now. If you collect them, you can start your own 'patch' where ever you want it. The stalks are strong enough to support climbing veggie vines while they give you good medicine.

>>1953579

For all of you who grow comfrey only for the chop and drop method as plant fertilizer, please study up on the medicinal usage if the entire plant. They call it KnitBone for a reason.You can still chop and drop, just chop two and drop one. And be thankful. More on this later,

>>1953579

When you are out wildcrafting, wear glove that protect your hands. Most times the kind with the plasticy plam and back knited side that are tight fitting are best. When working with your collected bounty, always wear surgical gloves because the saps and moisture of the plant you are working with will be absorbed by your skin. I recently peeled 10 branches of Mimosa trimmings bare handed and later drank a cup of Mimosa flower tea that I had been wanting all spring. I had not known about the bark part, just the flowers.

Mimosa Bark contains the constituents that make it SURGICAL ANESTHESIA. It's not just pain revealing. Strong medicine that is truly a little goes a long way. It may not be addictive but it is very potent. I also stripped the leaves from the branches, possibly compounding the dosage. I'm going to try just a tea of leaves to see what they do alone.

Needless to say, by the time I finished the bark peeling session, I was already so dopey that I didn't have sense enough about me to realize that I should not drink the tea. I slept for 11 hours, only waking once to let the dogs out. The flower tea alone does not do that. I only used two tablespoons in a big glass of sweet tea. The leave may be more potent than the flowers, I have that to find out.

Use caution in all things, even when playing!

>>1953579

This is something that lot of people don't know about wild onions and wild garlic. The flower tops are good for cooking, but when the flowers mature they make something called 'scapes' which are a much sweeter seed version of the cloves in the ground. They can also be planted but to use them in sautes and pickles or pickled by themselves is awesome.

If you are on your own property collecting them, they are a signal of what you need to grow there. They love to be deeply mulched and grow great among berries of all kinds and around fruiting trees. Also roses love them near and they love to be near them,

Scapes need to be sifted to remove the husk if you don't like the thoughts of them, but they cook up almost melted into the medium in which they are placed. Saute some spinach in bacon grease with scapes and and oranges and some juice of the orange and a sprig of flowering Thyme and see what I mean. Topped with homegrown chopped tomato's and crumbled bacon and a side avocado and a bowl of Cheddar Broccoli soup eaten while reading Q - who needs a restaurant!

So don't go spreading lime if you see them in your yard. The seed stalks aren't good for cooking or eating but if you pull it and it comes out of the ground, you will have more growth there next year from the plants cloves. If the whole thing comes up roots and all, you can either replant the cloves or cook them too. I

>>1312854

There is a brand of GF flour called 'Pamela's' that is wonderful - there are many types of it but the one developed to be cup for cup bread flour makes wonderful bread. Health food stores and Whole Foods carry it or you can order it online. You don't have to mix different flour types to get the correct texture when using it, you just use it like your regular bread recipe calls for it. You can even start your own GF sourdough starter mix with it. I've been using their different flours for a long time.

Also, Aldi's carries a brand name line called 'LiveGFree' that is really really good. Line includes patsa's, cake mixes, crackers and the best stuffing mixes that taste better than Stove Top. That even makes a great meat loaf and burger patties that tastes great even without meat!