50% success rate with bees this year
Posted: February 6, 2012 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
I took advantage of several sunny days in a row (rare winter scenario around here) to check on the hive I’ve been concerned with.
Bad news: the suspected colony was dead. My next step will be to figure out why.
Good news: we harvested several quart jars of delicious honey and then set out the rest for the healthy colony to harvest. They stripped the frames clean in two days!
Which side are you on?
Posted: January 31, 2012 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
Monopolies aren’t good.
Monopolies on the primary mechanism to grow food (e.g. seeds) are really not good.
Despite the short-sighted hype about how Monsanto is saving the world, the truth is actually much much worse. Act now.
Day-ranging chickens in the snow
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
Chickens do just fine in the snow – even in a day-ranging scenario – when they are accustomed to the weather.
Since our 12 Golden Comets do not have a heated/lighted coop (and still producing 8 eggs/day in this weather!), their feather growth is appropriate for a normal outdoor bird. With their two shelters, they can get out of the rain/snow/wind to stay dry, but they do just fine maintaining their own body temperature. Our four Araucanas stopped laying regularly months ago but are still big, strong healthy birds.
Just in time for snow
Posted: January 18, 2012 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
Our first serious snowstorm of the year is here.
Greenhouse completed just in time!
Greenhouse benefits
Posted: January 13, 2012 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
Seedlings transplanted from our grow lights are adjusting well to their new setting in the greenhouse.
Still need to find more salvaged shelves, but looks like we’ll be eating salad out of the greenhouse within a week or two.
Back to the (micro) farm
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: 2. Water Security, 3. Food Security Comments OffAfter taking off December from posting to sell one business, launch another, and take a much need vacation to see the sun again, we’re back and ready to dive into our winter projects as we seek ways to opt out en masse fro the typical North American culture.
First up was finishing up a lean-to style greenhouse so we can continue growing our own food throughout our dark winter.We started with digging in to lay a foundation and finished with adding water barrels to store emergency water and absorb heat during the day (to then release at night).
Side note on the water barrels: they also serve as a more long term economical (and environmental) solution for storing emergency drinking water. Several years ago we bought (lots) of 1 gallon plastic containers to keep on hand in case of emergencies. It’s a lot of plastic and cardboard that now, when it is time for me to cycle back in, I have to find other uses for. Oops. Since I don’t want to repeat this every few years for the rest of my life, the food-grade plastic rain barrels and a siphon are a much better long term solution.
Staying on top of sowing
Posted: November 12, 2011 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
My favorite new free online tool to help with our food production schedule is SproutRobot, a dog-simple website from a startup down in Texas.
It’s not only straightforward and easy to use, the diagrams and instructions are hip and enjoyable to read over with my kids. It’s not flexible enough (yet) to encompass special cases like cold frames, greenhouses, and grow lights into the sowing recommendation schedule, but it’s an excellent start.
When slugs mate
Posted: October 18, 2011 Filed under: 3. Food Security Comments Off
From the files of “I-wish-I-had-not-seen-that” I bring you…When Slugs Mate!
This is decidedly *not* what you want to see near your food production beds. Or actually in any other location.
Ugh.
Map Your Neighborhood Step 10
Posted: October 12, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 2. Water Security, 3. Food Security, 4. Energy Security, 5. Alt Transportation, 6. Personal Training, 7. Physical Security Comments Off
There is a brilliant woman named Dr. LuAn Johnson in Olympia, Washington who created the Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) program. It has the nine steps to complete immediately after a wide scale emergency such as a tornado or earthquake.
For our small town, we are adding a “Step 10″ series to various citizens’ nine step guidebook to bridge the gap between an individual set of neighbors and the larger community surrounding them. Steps 1-9 of Dr. Johnson’s MYN program ensure you, your loved ones, and your direct neighbors are cared for and secured. As we roll out our town-wide plans to connect our neighborhoods for both emergency preparedness and sustainability projects, the Step 10 series will shift the focus of specific individuals to securing entire neighborhoods and then the whole town (which happens to be an easily defined area – it’s an island).
Perhaps this list will be useful for your town as well. Here are a few examples of our Step 10 additions for citizens to pursue after they have finished their Steps 1-9. They will seek to travel (safely, short distances) to their neighborhood’s designated shelter:
- Ham radio operators to begin communication coordination
- Doctors, nurses, EMTs and CPR experts to to provide medical attention
- Mechanics and engineers to ensure all generators are safely up and running
- Members of the horse and bicycle communities to begin transportation duties (medical supplies, communication devices, etc) where roads are likely blocked by landslides and fallen trees
As we do further work on these Step 10 actions, we’ll document them on our main website, as well as excerpts here on this blog.
New bio-fuel source from zucchini!
Posted: October 10, 2011 Filed under: 3. Food Security, 5. Alt Transportation Comments Off
My grandchildren will look back at all my fretting about Peak Oil as pure silliness.
“Thank goodness we discovered a bio-fuel source made from zucchini in 2013!” they will say as they poke fun of me riding around on my electric bicycle. Happy motoring, indeed.
(Good gosh did I overplant zucchini, cucumbers, and gourds this year.)
