I see people post about being self sufficient...

[Naughty]

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Sounds like you need to be friends w/someone who can get them cheap and maybe ship em to you... lol

 

[jbowyer01]

We started trying to be more self sufficent out of pure necessity. Long story short DH couldnt work anymore due to disability and I was laid off so while joining BYC I was lucky enough to find another forum that was directed to the self sufficient lifestyle. It took a while to learn a few things but my DH and I are getting there. We now compost, have a large garden and I am back to raising chickens (though I am a total wimp and have yet to butcher, I admire those that can do it!)I am learning to sew and recycle everything I can (just working on the organizing everything I save issue

. I've learned to barter a little too. I think living a more simple lifestyle has made me a much happier person. Dont get me wrong I know I have a long way to go but I look at it as an adventure!

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Being self-sufficient is the main reason we bought our little 2-acre property out in the middle of nowhere. Here since only last March, we have a LOT of work to do because the soil is so bad (mostly sand). We have to fence the perimeter so our goats and chickens can be free-range, but started out planting fruit and nut trees and bushes, all of which died. Going to try again this year. Meanwhile, we have a regular supply of eggs, and for a while, delicious creamy goat milk (until she dried up 2 weeks ago). I had plenty of tomato plants in pots that did well, even once brought inside before the first frost. I don't particularly like to "can" (for some reason, the process terrifies me!) but I love to dehydrate, freeze, and pack things in oil (dried tomatoes with basil). I'm going through my stuff to eliminate (read: garage-sale) as much as possible, and to organize.

I want to grow most of what we eat but also what to feed our livestock. Last year, one of my pullets discovered a batch of millet I planted, and from then on, well, I barely harvested any of them! This year, that patch gets fenced! Along the same lines, found out that not only should goats get corn only sparingly, but unless it's high in protein, it could reduce the amount of eggs a chicken lays. So ... we'll grow amaranth, millet, and sunflowers for them (and us) in addition to free-ranging whenever possible.

We are having lots of problems in our family, and if I have to take my son and leave to go back to a yucky apartment, I will. But even then, I hope to take my smallest chickens (if anybody asks, they are exotic apartment-birds!) and of course, my container garden.

Haven't butchered any of our animals yet. Can't see doing that to someone I know. So my son and I are basically vegetarians, except for eggs, and occasionally beef and bacon from local sources. Otherwise, it's legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy and eggs!

Oh, and learning how to make soap from soapwort (the plants). Also trying to figure out if silkie feathers can be made into candle-wicks ... anybody? Teaching myself about herbalism, and cooking plain and downhome (even for a very picky autistic teen).

I added some pix to my page so I hope you'll check me out!

 

[heather112588]

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I don't know if it helps, but i had bad sandy soil as well. Grapes do amazing in it!

 

[UrbanGrower]

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Have you had a soil sample tested by your local extension? It'll be a lot cheaper than new trees. All you can really do to improve it is add organic matter (chickens and other animals should work great). You might not want to plant anything until they do their doody for a year or two. Maybe just some cover crops first? Fruit trees can be a real pain to get them established.

 

[maizey]

we just started down this road and are a loooong way from being 100% self sufficient. Just started hunting this year, got the chickens and started playing around with some basic skills like bread making, canning and I just ordered some cheese making supplies. ( I have nailed the bread and now make our own for the week every weekend.

) We are buying things now (like a freezer and generator) that we anticipate needing..oh and the biggie.. LAND. We have about an acre now but its in a neighborhood with "covenants" so we are looking to expand the program. looking at taking a master gardners class in the near future too. We may never be 100% off the grid but we want to be where we can sustain ourselves for a while if we had to and we want to have more control over our food supply...plus its a hobby, we enjoy all these things. I even pulled out my old yellowed copies of the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder for inspiration...now THEY were self sufficient.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Like many here have said it's next to impossible to be SS in the USA today but you can definitely cut way back on some things. We're are lucky in that we own 33 acres of land with plenty of game on it. I can usually take 5 deer off here most every years. We have a large raised bed garden that I put in about 15 years ago. It's 20x60 and can put out a huge amount of produce it if I do it right. I do have room for a larger garden if we want. Some years are good and others not so much. We now have turkeys, chickens and peafowl. The peafowl are a luxury, but they are fun to have around. They all kick out a huge amount of compost for the garden. Most of our land it not fit for farming since we live in what is called the Sawtooth Mountains so very little flat land to farm and the soil is most rocks and clay hence the raised bed garden. Mainly this place grows plenty of rocks and trees. We have to be careful with the veggies we grow because of our very short growing season here. Lot of root crops, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and such. We also have a lots of berries and apples. We have a wood stove and most of our land is wooded with maple, ash and oak so firewood is never an issue. We bank the stove at night and again in the morning to keep our fuel oil costs way down. We also put up a few gallons of maple syrup each year and a little maple sugar just for kicks. I plan to harvest a bunch of wild rice this next year. A friend and I found a great place on public land that no one else hits since it is hard to get to so the ricing should be good. Wild rice is great and the permit is only about 25 bucks each year. We can easily put up 100 pounds next year. Split two ways with my friend 50 pounds of wild rice can go a long way and it's very good for you. We do have enough sugar maples (thousands) to go commercial if we want. I just need to convince the DW that we can pull this off if we put our minds to it. Lots of work, but it's only for a very short time each year and would cut back on the amount of work we need to do outside the home. If done right we could both go to part time at work. Insurance on the other hand is a HUGE issue and as we get older we are more dependent on it.

 

[maizey]

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if your price is right and the shipping doesn't kill it, i might be interested in being your first maple syrup customer!

 

[dragonlair]

You can usually find used wood stove that are still in really good condition on Craigslist and places like that for a really reasonable price. Trading/bartering your surplus produce and such for what you don't have but need is another option that works well. Trade/barter eggs for fresh milk or fruit or something. Even if you start small and add something each year or so, you will be reaping the benefits and eventually reach your goal!

I don't buy eggs, milk, or soap. I am learning to make my own lotions and such from the goat milk I have and bee wax that is given to my friends for letting the bee keeper use their land. I have a small garden and am planning to plant a couple of fruit trees. I am making the area now by piling the goat and horse manure in the area where my mini orchard is going to be. I only own an acre, so I don't have a lot of options. I do pick apples form old orchards that have gone wild. There are always grapes and berries growing wild that are free for the taking. Pick up a book on wild plants that are edible or medicinal. I have some herbs growing around my place that I use for seasoning or medicine.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

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I don't know if it helps, but i had bad sandy soil as well. Grapes do amazing in it!

We LOVE grapes ... gonna have to get some this Spring. Thanks!

UrbanGrower: Yes, and it ain't good. Sandy loam, officially. Used to be part of a several-thousand acre ranch for cattle but they must never have pooped on our little 2 acres!

Maybe if we dug much bigger holes for the trees, and filled with potting soil? I desparately want at least apple, pear and nut trees ... can't imagine not having those to eat!

I do wish we could do more, but Hubby doesn't help much, and my 14 yr old autistic boy is going through some major situations. I'm disabled so what I can squeeze in my day is what I can do, and there are some days when I can barely get out of bed and tend to the critters.

Then there are also those days when I get addicted to BYC and don't get ANYTHING done! Okay... baking bread tomorrow, writing an e-book, and maybe I'll try to fix the goat pen (yet another thing Hubby couldn't get to last weekend).

Sigh. I'm signing off now.

What a day!