Becoming self sufficient

[cws451]

does your hair feel clean after? i never used it before

 

[MoonShadows]

It doesn't have the "squeaky clean" effect while wet like store bought shampoo, but once my hair dries, it looks and feels just as clean. And, I have fine hair; I used to have to put something in it so it wouldn't "fly away". Now, I don't have to.

It took me a week or so to get used to it since it had no lather or squeaky effect, but that was because I was "trained" that shampoo should have these things. Another buy-into commercials!

 

[appps]

That would interesting to try. I had a reaction to a shampoo years ago and while the dermatitis all over me cleared up I was left with an itchy scalp. Would be interesting to see if going back to original ph cured it.

Now to find a recipe for truly natural soap

 

[OldGuy43]

My best money saving tips for the start-up poultry keeper:

• Watch the side of the road. It's amazing what folks lose or throw away, One persons trash is my treasure.
• Pallets! Pallets are a free source of building materials, and they're easy to work with. In most cases none of this "finished lumber size" nonsense. A 2x4 is 2' by 4"

That's all I've got.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I love the idea of raising tilapia. Probably my favorite fish! Does anyone have any photos of there set up? I have turkeys and that's a great way to Start becoming self sufficient. I order my New Zealand rabbits today :-D

I will try to get some pictures of my set up and get them posted soon.

This is a really good book:

http://www.amazon.com/Aquaponic-Gar...TF8&qid=1367436900&sr=8-1&keywords=aquaponics

It seems complicated when you first start researching but once you get going it is fairly simple and after the initial set up costs it is very cheap.

Here is a set up with just rubbermaid buckets:

This guy has a really high end set up but his video is pretty good about the overall process of aquaponics:

This links will lead you to TONS of youtube how-tos. People do all sorts of fun stuff with fish/plants.

 

[MoonShadows]

Thanks for those links ChickensRDinos. Looks very interesting. I would like to give this a try.

 

[cws451]

I will try to get some pictures of my set up and get them posted soon.

This is a really good book:

http://www.amazon.com/Aquaponic-Gar...TF8&qid=1367436900&sr=8-1&keywords=aquaponics

It seems complicated when you first start researching but once you get going it is fairly simple and after the initial set up costs it is very cheap.

Here is a set up with just rubbermaid buckets:

This guy has a really high end set up but his video is pretty good about the overall process of aquaponics:

This links will lead you to TONS of youtube how-tos. People do all sorts of fun stuff with fish/plants.

yes thank you i love the idea of going outside and pulling a fish dinner out

 

[Texokie1]

I don't cut my home ground wheat for bread. It is 100% whole grain, sweetened with honey and it is very tasty. I will try to remember to post the recipe for you. My secret is adding "Dough Enhancer" from Augason Farms, not sure what is in it, but it really helps to make the bread lighter. Vital Wheat Gluten also helps, but the dough enhancer really makes a huge difference.

I like your grain mill, what brand is it? We went whole hog when we bought ours and got one with a motor. If the power goes out, we can disconnect the motor and hand crank it, but 7 cups of wheat flour is too much for me to do and still call it fun.

Sorry wyoDreamer for the delay - it is a Great Northern Popcorn Co. grinder. (Lists for ~$25 @ http://www.discounttommy.com/p-189-...er-for-wheat-grains-or-use-as-a-nut-mill.aspx ) Yeeeaaahhhh, if you need seven cups of flour, that grinder can be a pain...grind/sift, grind/sift. For a fine baking flour, it takes me about 30 minutes (because of the re-grinding and sifting needed). The fun-meter for me usually pegs out around 2 - 3 cups, but then I can sometimes tag in my son (he get a kick out of it). A buddy of my husband's at work is from Guatamala (by way of Mexico) and knows how to grind corn/make traditional tamales...gonna try to convince him to teach me...I think it would probably work great for that.

Never tried the dough enhancer. I tried making 100% whole grain wheat pasta, though (and, um, to say it was "heavy" is a bit of an understatement. I swear we didn't feel like eating for about a day and a half). Wonder if the enhancer would help with that, too...........and my bread-maker (admittedly a cheapy) really doesn't seem to like too much on the whole wheat side for some reason...

 

[blaundee]

Cheese! I love making cheese. I whip up a batch of mozzarella, use the whey to make pizza dough (that gets frozen) or feed it to the birds/dogs/ducks/rabbits/lawn. Always makes me feel like a mad scientist. All you need to start is a stainless steel pot (clearance or thrift shop), a thermometer (thrift shop), stainless steel spoon ("..."), a strainer (you probably already have one) and some cloth. Some say to use cheese cloth. I've found old, 100% cotton pillow cases, cut into 8 pieces and hung from a cabinet via twine work just as well. I have a dedicated cheese pot for those times I just can't bring myself to scrub but need to make dinner. It also doubles as a convenient storage device for all the supplies.

Cottage cheese is the easiest. Milk (skim or 2% works best) and plain white vinegar. For mozzarella or cheddar, you need different ingredients, such as rennet (hard to find, I order) and citric acid (easy to find). All told you're looking at ~$50 on the cheap to start cheese making.

Vermicomposting (aka a worm bin) is a ton of fun (unless you're queasy about worms) and a great way to use up kitchen produce scraps. Use a rubbermaid bin ($5) and order worms ($20). They self-sustain as long as they have adequate scraps.

We started keeping rabbits this year. They can be purchased relatively inexpensively if you only plan on meat production. We got 6 for $60, since pedigree didn't matter. The cages were tough. I wanted to make the system extensible in case we grew it into a side business, so we've spent ~$150 fabricating them. You can do it a lot cheaper, though, especially if you beg/borrow/steal materials. They hang on the wall in the chicken coop. My daughter is brainstorming a way to collect the droppings to sell as fertilizer on Craigslist, to bankroll her Angora rabbit dreams. Once every few days we spend about 3 hours rotating which rabbits get to roam free in the chicken run, to exercise them out of their cages.

Do the chickens and rabbits get along? How many of each, and how big is the run? The last time I had a rabbit with chickens, it ATE my chickens!!! (that was 15 years ago)

How do you keep the worm bin from freezing in the winter?

For your mozzarella and chedder, do you use the cultures that you buy, or just rennet? (Ive made a lot of soft cheese over the years, but never tried those- and I'm going to attempt them later this summer! )

 

[blaundee]