For a “survival garden,” it’s hard to beat the Three Sisters — corn, beans, and squash. Their produce stores well and provide balanced nutrition. This year’s experiment with the Sisters turned out rather well. Each sister her own “room” instead…
A battery bank is a hedge against power outages. Build your own for less than half the cost.
One way to develop a self-sustainable food supply is perennials. Like fruit trees – they produce food every year. An experiment here that is “showing fruit” is our patch of perennial onions. Maybe they’re right for your garden too. The…
A key component of the homestead’s preparedness is a water supply that is not dependent on the grid. A “dug” well is usually a detriment in the real estate market: not so, for me. That feature was a plus for…
The maple syrup season ended, but other Spring chores quickly fill the void that had been tapping and boiling. While that task is done, self-sufficiency always has something else to tend to. It’s far too early to plant, but there…
Could you burn coal in your wood stove as an alternate fuel? The answer is a qualified yes. As an experiment, I bought a bag of coal and gave it a try. Here is what I learned. First, a little…
It’s maple syrup time again. The days are getting longer. For sap to flow, the days need to be above freezing (and ideally, sunny) and the nights below freezing. This has been a mild winter, overall, so President’s Day weekend…
Even if you’re good at growing your own food, bad weather or thieves could steal your harvest: everything you planned for winter provisions. Fruit thieves struck the homestead this summer. This year, our most productive apple tree had set a…
Producing your own food is an important goal. Gardens grow veggies and grains. Hunting (or husbandry) provide meat. Sweetener is another matter. Making your own maple syrup is useful and rewarding. Winter: everything is frozen and buried under snow. It’s…
New Hampshire has gotten a long spell of subzero temperatures lately. We’ve had -10 at the house overnight. Daytime “highs” were in single digits. While we put on a thicker sweater and sit closer to the wood stove, what about…