Homestead Basics

Hay is obviously used for several things, but to clean up our oil spill? I never thought of it as a way to accomplish this, but several farmers have. You can not get much greener of a clean-up than this. It works by distributing the hay across the oil spill. The oil then sticks to the hay. The great part is hay floats. So once the oil sticks to it all you need to do is pick it up.

We finally got our Square Foot Garden setup for this year. Our boxes are 4 foot wide by 6 foot long. I wanted to go 8ft, but the 6ft long 1×6 boards were a lot cheaper. We built 6 of these boxes. Plus we still have a regular garden area tilled and ready. This area will contain the vine type foods such as watermelons, squashes, etc.

This egg shell starter is a very cool idea. My wife saw this in some magazine. You start them indoors. All you have to do is collect egg shells for a while, with six kids it didn’t take too long.

Its dead winter, but it is always a good time for ice cream! I find that we carry less ice cream in the freezer during winter months, but there are those cravings that come along.

makeanelectrolytedrinkforchildren-main_fullThis recent disaster in Haiti has got me thinking. One of the big problems in natural disasters is lack of simple medical care. Electrolyte drinks are needed to replace fluids after diarrhea, vomiting and certain injuries.

One of the things I would like to do is build my own solar panel. With the high price of panels, it makes it hard to get your hands on them sometimes. I found this article explaining how to make your own:

Since we have moved into our new place we are looking at planting our own orchard. I wanted to get some apple trees, among other fruit. I have seen cases where too many apples results in attracting unwanted wildlife or other obvious issues. I ran across a great article that explains the art of juicing to help save those half bad apples.

Most people don’t realize that their peelers get dull over time. Most people also dont know that you can sharpen them with a simple paring knife. With a simple metal to metal action shown in the video you can sharpen you peelers so they are much more user friendly. Once I saw the video, I tried it and noticed an obvious difference.

This is a very impressive video. Not many garden systems are done so neatly. He did a great job with this video! I really like his rain barrel system and may duplicate it!

Easy way to cut firewood using a bungee cord.

Sorry it has been a while, we have been on our big move back to Colorado. We were very sad to leave our Missouri Homestead, but very excited about being back with old friends in CO. I will some pics soon, we have been at our new homestead for 5 days and we are loving it. I will get you a tour soon, but to keep you occupied, I came across a cool little video. These guys are a little extreme with their outdoor shower, but I like their thinking. Enjoy!

Dan Phillips from Huntsville, Texas is on a mission. He is building homes using about 85% recycled products. I must admit that some of the features of his homes are a bit odd, his work is inspiring.

I have come to love sprouts in sandwiches and such. My daughter makes me a killer wrap that has sprouts in them. After seeing how easy it is to make my own, I dont think Ill be buying much from the store anymore.

Building from Papercrete

How to Survive a Flu Outbreak

The Granddaddy Of All Underground Storage Areas
There are root cellars and then there are root cellars. This web page covers an underground storage container made from culvert. This concept is extremely bold in every way. When it comes to underground storage, this may very well be the granddaddy of them all. I am [...]

Your Favorite Books on Self Sufficiency, Prepardness, and Basic Homestead Skills!

Being here in tornado we have lost power more than once. Depending on the power company is not the smartest thing in the world. You should prepare your homestead to have adequete lighting in case you loose power at night, or worse-Days! Here is how you can make your own Mason Jar emergency oil lamp for dirt cheap.

There may be a time when your food storage is all you have to live on. That does not mean you should just live on beans and rice. While everything is still normal in your world why not prepare your food storage with some food you might enjoy.

Here on the homestead we have had several power outages. More than I am used to, and more than I think should happen. So I went on a search for a backup system for our home. That is when I came across this article on how to build your own uninterruptible power supply and thought it might be helpful to others out there looking for the same thing.

When my wife gives me a chore to do, I’m all about efficiency. Sometimes I take my time and overdo a job. Sometimes I am flat out lazy and want to hurry it along so I can get back to my hammock. Today I was feeling the latter. So here is how YOU TOO can build a $10 compost bin in 10 minutes!!

Deep Rock hydra drill for do-it yourself type wells.

Using a satellite dish to make a bird cage

DIY projecters have many styles of building, from using detailed plans to building by-the-seat-of-your-pants. What is your favorite style?

There is no technical mystery to sharpening a lawnmower blade. It just takes common sense and a bit of know-how. If you have a good bench grinder or a professional blade grinder, you can do a professional job.