Homesteading vs. Prepping

Believe it or not, I get asked "what's the difference between prepping and homesteading?" all the time.

Up until a year or so ago, prepping wasn't a word that most people even knew.  Now it seems entrenched in the mind of the American public, thanks largely in part to NatGeo's Doomsday Preppers television program.  So what is the difference?

Beliefs

Homesteaders:  Believe that we have gotten too farm away from our traditional roots and have lost a number of the skills of our forefathers.  We believe in reclaiming that heritage through action by practicing self-sufficiency and frugality. 
Preppers:  Believe in a number of scenarios that result in a breakdown of civilization which will result in a person or persons not being able to depend on traditional services.  This means planning ahead for all aspects of life: food, water, shelter, communications and security.  This is not about reclaiming heritage, though learning traditional skills are sometimes involved.  This is more of a survival mindset and often with the end goal of waiting it out until civilization rights itself or until a new one is created, post-scenario.

Thoughts on the Prepper's five pillars:

Food storage/production:

Homesteaders:  We try to produce enough food for ourselves and our families with enough to preserve for the future.  Homesteaders often have roughly a year's supply of food on hand.  Most items are preserved with a mindset of extending the harvest until the next reaping - as in you can tomatoes in summer to carry you through to the next year's tomato harvest.  What isn't grown on the homestead is usually purchased in bulk, although not always.  Most homesteader's shy away from anything pre-packaged, including commercially canned goods.
Preppers:  In the case of most preppers (although certainly not all), food production is secondary to food storage.  A number of preppers invest in dehydrated or freeze dried #10 cans or buckets of fruits, veggies, and staples.  Although people vary, it's not unusual for preppers to store heirloom seeds for future gardening, but don't actively garden now.  In regards to meat, it seems that the plan is always more focused towards hunting instead of raising livestock.  Some do engage in gardening and livestock tending, but purchasing seems to be more the norm.

Water:

Homesteaders:  Don't generally store water.  Although most try to have a spring or well on their properties to draw from, even those that do don't always have a way to collect water in a power outage.  Some use rain barrels to collect rain run-off  for gardens or animal useage, but generally don't have a way to purify if needed to use as drinking water (and even with purification this is a tricky area).
Preppers:  Store water.  Have ways to filter and purify water.  Some even have water catchment systems in place and/or wells with a way to manually pump water if necessary.

Shelter/Land:

Homesteaders:  Generally don't believe in extravagance.  We work the land we live on, and try to find and/or create the most energy efficient dwelling we can.  Although most homesteaders strive for a place in the country, this is certainly not a requirement and plenty of people have become modern day homesteaders on small acreage in the suburbs.
Preppers:  Often have a "Bug Out Location" located in the country and as farm from people as they can get it.  If the property has a home it is usually built in such a way as to be defensible and is more utilitarian than the home of a homesteader.  Unless a prepper lives full time at their retreat (and some certainly do), it is often lacks most home comforts and is more in line with a weekend cabin or hunting cabin.

Communications:

Homesteaders:  Don't generally worry about this.  Most have phones and/or cell phones like every body else, although some certainly don't.  We often have Internet, radio, and TV - although we might now always have much time to spend watching it! 
Preppers:  Have all the same modern conveniences, but plan ahead for a time without such things.  Many preppers invest in walkie-talkies, NOAA radios, HAM radio, etc.  Preppers feel that communication is vital in a collapse and feel the need to be on top of this at all times.

Security and Medical:

Homesteaders:  Again, not something most homesteader's think of.  A hearty percentage of homesteaders have guns for hunting and/or varmint killing, but don't keep that large of an ammunition inventory, although that has changed in recent years due to fears about losing our rights to bear arms.  Most homesteaders don't worry about things like security cameras, alarms, or multiple firearms in the event of invasion/self-defense.  On the medical front, we try to look for natural remedies and herbs when possible, but most of us accept that at some point we need the help of a qualified physician.  First aid kits are essential but not extensive, and ours includes things for our animals.
Preppers:  In almost all scenarios, preppers believe that a collapse of our systems will lead to looting and a need for self-defense.  Because of this, preppers usually have a stockpile of firearms and ammunition, but also many layers of defensive strategy and systems in place to secure their retreat location.  This includes fences, perimeter alarms, security cameras, night vision setups, guard dogs, etc.  Medical items can range from fully stocked first aid kits, to surgical sets, to full-on pandemic supplies depending on the person.  Preppers accept that in a grid down situation they or someone in there group will be acting doctor and take steps including participating in classes and purchasing physician manuals.

So can you be both of these things?

I certainly think so.  Although we mostly identify ourselves as homesteaders, we are ever incorporating prepper ideals into our lifestyle.  I think the current economic climate dictates that some preparedness is essential.  Additionally, living in the south where there is always a threat of hurricanes or tornadoes means taking care of yourself and your family is essential.  Even FEMA and the Red Cross are advocating preparedness, even if only on a limited basis.

Whatever you call yourself, no matter how you do things, stay safe out there!

A Milk Powder That Tastes Like Milk!

As homesteaders and preppers we are always on the lookout for something great tasting and shelf stable for the pantry.

During the winter months when our breakfasts are mostly oatmeal and eggs, buying milk just becomes an aggravation since I think we waste more than we actually use.  On the other hand, if we don't buy any then I don't have any to cook with!

As a compromise, and because I use it when making wheat bread, I started making up small batches of milk from powdered.  I purchased several different brands and nothing tastes like milk - all of them have had an "off" flavor.  For most cooking purposes it works out fine, but in some things (like mashed potatoes) that flavor is just too noticeable.

My mom recently bought a sample pack of Country Cream milk powder and suggested we try it.  Grandma's Country Foods online had the best pricing, but since we live where we do the shipping was nearly $15!  Seemed silly to pay so much on shipping for a $1 sample pack. 

Since my mom was convinced it was good stuff, I went ahead and bought a #10 can of it, plus cans of the powdered cream cheese, buttermilk and sourcream.  I figured these would be life savers and would save me trips to town when I find a new recipe to try.

Anyhow, our order arrived a few days ago, but this morning I felt it was time to make up a small batch of milk and check it out.  The minute I opened the can I knew this stuff was different.  It's a much finer powder than the usual, and it smelled more like milk.  Anyhow, I made up just enough for both the husband and myself to try.  I let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours and then poured us each a glass....

.... moment of truth ....

It tasted JUST LIKE MILK!  No "off" taste, no gross after taste either!  Simply the best powdered milk available! 

Today I am going back online and ordering a case of six to add to our food storage supplies.  I think I might also buy a can of the dutch chocolate milk powder as well. 

I'd encourage anyone who stores for the future or for lean times to buy some of this fantastic milk powder.  You won't be sorry.

A Nifty Gadget... Make Your Own Yogurt

I hate reading food labels.  Lists of ingredients that sound like some kind of list for making the atomic bomb rather than something edible cover the packing of everything sold in today's grocery stories.  Makes me crazy. 

A few years ago I read a book where the author said "if you can't pronounce it and/or don't know what it is, it shouldn't go in your body".  Good advice.  That was when I started trying to do as much on my own as I could.

This time of year especially, I enjoy eating yogurt for breakfast.  Always have.  The thing with yogurt now is that it is not the yogurt of my childhood.  I remember yogurt being tart, and all the fruit was on the bottom and had to be mixed in.  Yogurt today is sweet with it's flavorings suspended so that each bite is the same as the one before it.

I've been reading about making my own yogurt off and on for years, but have always been intimidated by cultures and incubating times.  Making it in an oven just looked like a disaster waiting to happen - I mean there are so many variables!  A yogurt maker sounded great but sounded expensive.

Boy was I wrong!  There are LOTS of yogurt makers available, and they start at just $20!  I ended up selecting the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker with the automatic shutoff for $36.  Makes 7, 7oz jars of yogurt at a time.  All you do is heat your milk to 180 degrees, cool it back to lukewarm, add your starter and flavorings, ladle into the jars and place the jars in the maker.  Turn it on and set the timer.  When it's done you just take the jars out, screw on the lids and put them in the refrigerator.  How easy!


So yesterday I made my first batch.  I used 2% milk, and yogurt starter culture that I bought through Walmart.com.  After 9 hours in the yogurt maker I put the jars away, and this morning we had our first homemade yogurts!

Now, I will point out that if you have grown accustomed to today's sweet yogurt, you will be surprised by the bitterness of fresh homemade.  However, we added some homemade strawberry syrup on ours to give some strawberry flavor, and it was WONDERFUL!

I give this unit a 10 out of 10.  It's easy to use and easy to clean.  You can also purchase an extension rack and/or extra jars for it if you choose. 

Just another way to create something healthier for yourself and your family.

Selecting Meat Rabbit Breeding Stock

I've been considering adding rabbits to the farm for some time now as another meat animal in addition to our poultry.  (I'll be adding a later post about the other whys of raising rabbits soon.) 

 

When first looking into rabbits, a newbie such as myself maybe get a bit bogged down with all the rabbit options.  After months (okay, years) or research, these are the rabbits I feel are the best option for the backyard meat breeder, both in terms of size, but also in terms of availability:

 

1.  New Zealands

• The number one backyard meat rabbit
• A large rabbit, reaching a market size of approximately 5lbs by 8 weeks of age.
• Matures at about 10 lbs and is ready to breed at 6 months of age.
• Typically produces litters of 8+, with 10+ not being uncommon.
• Available in white, red and black, with white being the most common. 

2.  Californians

• Another favorite of the backyard breeder.
• Nearly identical to the New Zealand in terms of other stats.
   
   

3.  Flemish/Checkered Giants

• Officially, these rabbits are not listed as having a maximum size, or even an average size.  Most strains used for backyard production are crossed out with a New Zealand or Californian stock to produce rabbits that mature in the 10-15 lb range.
• These rabbits grow a bit more slowly than some others, and feed conversion is not as good.
• Very laid back and friendly rabbits.  Bucks tend to be a bit easier to deal with than in some other breeds.
• Larger specimens may require sturdier cages due to the larger size of the rabbit.
• Checkered giants especially are not listed as a proper body type for a meat rabbit, so careful selection is crucial.

4.  Standard Rex

• A very popular rabbit for fur/pelt production.  The coat of a Rex is velveteen in feel.
• Mature rabbits weigh in at 7 1/2 - 10 1/2 lbs.
• Friendly, and often listed as one of the most intelligent of rabbit breeds.
• Available in a number of different colors.
• Also available in a miniature version.

5.  Harlequins

• These rabbits were used as meat rabbits during WWII.
• Bold, beautiful color patterns.
• The smallest of the meat rabbits on my list, matures at 6 1/2 - 9 1/2 lbs. 
• More commonly used as an exhibition animal.
 

Of course, crosses of any of the above breeds would be good for the backyard producer.  I'll cover all the things to look for in breeding stock in a later post.
 

 

The Joys of Gardening

For years I wanted to start a garden. 

So four years ago we picked out an unused corner of the yard, mowed it all down as short as we could go, measured, and started building garden boxes.  In our part of the country the soil is really heavy clay, and we decided that rather than spend a lot of time and energy tilling we would just use the square foot raised bed method.  Building the boxes took awhile.  Filling them with soil took awhile.  And planting?  Yes, that took awhile too.

Our garden has given us highs and lows.  I've never successfully grown a crop of corn, but the first year I had the mother of all potato harvests - from a 4'x8' box!  Last year we had no potatoes, but managed to grow enough onions for most of the year and share with friends (and I use a lot of onions when I cook). I (finally) figured out how to grow a crop of peas last spring and had another good crop this year.

Each year something fails and something exceeds my expectations.  Sometimes I can't seem to keep the fire ants from invading and by others a wandering deer may eat half my grape vines.  I never know. 

The one thing I do know is that the reward is always worth the work.  There is simply nothing like a salad made of veggies you grew yourself; eggplant Parmesan from the glossy purple fruits of your labor; chewy and sweet sun dried tomatoes.  And let's not forget, peas straight from the pod.

Oh the joys of gardening!

I made Granola Cereal... and it was Good!

Of all the cereal choices out there, I love granola the best.  As anyone who eats granola knows however, a good granola is really hard to find.  Some are too hard.  Others too sweet.  I've even had those that are too salty.

Tuesday night while thumbing through "Dehydrating Food: A Beginner's Guide" by Jay & Shirley Bills (I've mentioned this book before) I came across a recipe for "Prepared Cereal".  Basically a homemade granola.  Naturally, I had to try it!

So here's the recipe as written in the book:

16 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups coconut
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups raw sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup honey

I made a few tweaks based on what I had in the house, so I used:

16 cups of old-fashioned oats
2 cups coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 cup honey

Directions say to mix together the oats, coconut, wheat germ and sugar.  In a separate bowl, mix the wheat flour, oil, salt, and honey, then pour over the dry ingredients.  Mix together until crumbly.  Spread out on baking sheets and bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees, stirring every half hour.

For storage it says to keep a week's worth in the refrigerator and freeze the rest.  I'm assuming this is mostly because with the oil in it there is a potential for it to go rancid.

Now then, here's some tips:
1.  Be prepared that this makes A LOT!!!  I used two great big bowls to make this in and still had trouble not making a mess.  Next time I make mix it up in my Granny Ware Water Bath Canner, just because I think it's big enough to contain it all while mixing.
2.  I'd mix the flour in with the other dry ingredients and then dump the wet over it all to mix in.  I felt that the flour had so bonded to the oil and honey that I really had to work at it to not get super big chunks.  Also, the oats didn't really stick to the rest of it, and though they toasted fine, I personally am used to a more chunky granola.
3.  Do add fruits or nuts!  I added a cup and a half of dried cranberries and a cup of sliced almonds.  Looking back I would have doubled it.  If you use dried fruits or nuts, make sure you put in enough to make a difference.  Also, you may need to increase your wet ingredients a touch to coast and bind the extras better.  (This is why I added the extra honey, and still felt it could have used a little more.)
4.  Omit the salt altogether.  For the volume of cereal it's not much salt anyhow, and I think to make it lower in sodium you could easily omit it and not make a taste impact.
5.  Be prepared for the fact that no matter the size of the baking sheet, you'll still be at least an inch to two inches deep.  That means be very very careful when mixing it up.  And don't forget to mix as it bakes, because it will brown along the edges.

So Tuesday night I made this up, and left it in the oven overnight to cool.  Wednesday I packaged it up and this morning was our first taste test.  My husband gets up and goes into work before I usually rise, so when I sat down to try it I had no idea what he thought.  I found it to be delicious!  A quick text and I found out that he liked it even better than our favorite granola from Cascadia Farms.

We've added one more thing to the list of things that we'll no longer be buying from the grocery store.  Unless one of us gets a hankering for frosted mini-wheats or frosted flakes (hey, we aren't perfect!), this will be our new daily cereal.  To alleviate boredom I think I'll change the extra ingredients.  Already I'm thinking about cranberry apple pecan, blueberry almond, mixed berry, cinnamon raisin.... and I'm thinking some flax seed or ground flax seed may also make a great addition.  The skies the limit!

Enjoy!

A Pup Named Goliath

After the devastating loss of (most) of one of my chicken flocks, and after being harassed endlessly by raccoons we decided that and LGD, Livestock Guardian Dog, was what we wanted.

LGDs can be one of several breeds of dog, including Anatolian Shepherds, Great Pyranees, Collies, etc.  Most famously and perhaps most widely used is the Great Pyranees.  They are a large dog, pure white or white with "badger" facial markings.  These dogs can be anywhere from $100 - $5,000 depending on the area and the breeding.  What sets the Pyranees apart in terms of LGDs is it's ability to bond with it's charges and it's independent nature.  It can be stubborn and strong willed.

I knew this and still wanted one.

I looked online and in our local agricultural paper.  There were several ads for pups and I called on each one only to find they were sold.  Placing an ad on Craigslist got me in contact with a man three hours from the farm that had an 8month old he was willing to part with.  A great pup he said.  No trouble, no barking, just playing too rough with the baby goats.  We negotiated a price and set up a time to pick him up.  His name is Goliath.

On Saturday we loaded up in the truck and drove south.  I fell in love with the big, playful pup immediately, though was concerned with his complete lack of training.  He had been out with goats since the age of 12 weeks and had had no lessons in obedience AT ALL.  Still, he was reasonably well behaved for a wild heathen!  :-)

We put him in a harness and my husband managed to load him into the truck.  He did very well and mostly just laid in the back seat and looked around.  Once home we took him for a walk around his intended areas and because we wanted to make sure he stuck around we tied him on a 25' line. 

Thus began the longest night of barking I have ever endured. 

He quieted down about 2am, mostly due to the fact that he had gotten off of his line and was running loose in the poultry yard.  The alarm calling of our seven year old llama, Prince, woke me and alerted me to the trouble.  I went out and caught him, putting him back on the line.

He was quiet until I made it back to bed.  And then, the barking began again.

By Sunday morning the husband and I were both more than a little tired and cranky.  My husband went out and let him off him cable and within 10 minutes, and in true Pyranees fashion, he managed to figure out how to push up the cattle panel gate and escape.  He came straight to the house and onto the deck.  My husband put him back and we tied the gate shut.  5 minutes later he had found another hole and was loose again.  Needless to say, back on the tie out he went.

And thus began the barking.... again.

He quieted down around noon.  Of course, as we later found out, that was because he was methodically chewing off his brand new harness.  Around 1pm my husband noticed that he was just wondering around the poultry yard.  I came outside and watched him until he decided to go for a long walk, under the barb wire and onto the neighbors property!!

Now, remember when I mentioned that Pyranees are stubborn and independent?  Well, at this point Goliath really drove this point home for me.  He absolutely REFUSED to come to use.  In fact, no amount of hollering at him would even make him look our direction!  My husband went through the fence and drug him back literally by the scruff of his neck.

Hastily we built a pen for him using cattle panels and some fence posts, and that is where he has been since Sunday. 

He made us pay for it Sunday night.  He barked all night.  I wondered how it was he even still had a voice.

Monday I started working on clearing the fence line so that I could put up a new fence and got a good portion of the trees cleared out.  That night he did much better and barely barked at all.

Tuesday night my husband pulled out the chainsaw and cut the one tree that was in the way for the new fence.  I sent an email to the guy we bought him from and mentioned the trouble.  He wasn't surprised.  Apparently any time he was moved away from his goat herd he went through fences and barked constantly.  He did tell me that they really wished they hadn't sold him, and if he didn't work out that we could work out a trade for some goats or something.

Umm, that would have been nice to know.... in the beginning!

The coyotes were out howling last night and my sweet puppy barked off and on for most the night.

Today the weather is cool and I'm hoping to get some work on his fence done.  When he is not in his pen he is really pretty cool and calm, and I understand he doesn't like to be in such a small area. 

Maybe he'll be better soon.  We've wanted goats for awhile, so if nothing else I may just invest in a pair of goats and see if that doesn't make him a bit happier.

Maybe.