Table of Contents Chapter 1 - 40 Years Homesteading ............................................................................................................... 7 Where it all Began ...................................................................................................................................... 7 The Beginning - The First Homestead ...................................................................................................... 9 Time for a Change - A Move to the Wilderness ..................................................................................... 10 The Final Frontier - The Last Homestead .............................................................................................. 12 Chapter 2 - The Homestead Plan ................................................................................................................. 13 More Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 13 The Sketch ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Sketch Details ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3 - Site Selection .............................................................................................................................. 22 One Step at a Time .................................................................................................................................. 22 Homestead Layout ................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 - Road Building ............................................................................................................................ 31 Chapter 5 - Homestead Water ..................................................................................................................... 35 Drilled Wells and Hand Pumps .............................................................................................................. 35 Hand Dug Wells and Piston Pumps ....................................................................................................... 39 Machine Dug Wells ................................................................................................................................. 43 Well Disinfection ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Homestead Water Filtration .................................................................................................................... 47 Homestead Hot Water ............................................................................................................................ 48 Rain Water Catchment (WS)................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 6 - House Floor Planning ................................................................................................................ 57 Dirty and Clean Areas .............................................................................................................................. 57 Homestead Kitchen .................................................................................................................................. 60 Chapter 7 - Off Grid Power .......................................................................................................................... 62 Basic Electricity ......................................................................................................................................... 65 Batteries .................................................................................................................................................... 66 Solar Panels............................................................................................................................................... 69 Charge Controllers ................................................................................................................................... 70 The Inverter .............................................................................................................................................. 71 An Example Design.................................................................................................................................. 71 Wind Turbines ......................................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 8 - The Orchard (OR)..................................................................................................................... 77 Growing Zones ......................................................................................................................................... 78 Berry Planting (BP1, BP2, SB, T3, T4, T6, T7) .................................................................................... 80 Grapes (T4, T7)........................................................................................................................................ 85 Rhubarb, a Vegetable or a Fruit? (T3)..................................................................................................... 86 Fruit Tree Planting (OR) .......................................................................................................................... 87 Controlling Pest and Disease ................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 9 - Homestead Gardening............................................................................................................... 93 Your First Garden .................................................................................................................................... 96 Container Gardening (RC1) ................................................................................................................... 100 Let There Be Light ................................................................................................................................. 102 Edible Landscapes .................................................................................................................................. 104 3
The Self-Sufficient Backyard Choose Garden System .......................................................................................................................... 104 The Shape Our Garden Takes .............................................................................................................. 107 Plan the Layout ....................................................................................................................................... 108 Crop Rotation (TT) ................................................................................................................................ 109 Soil Building and Preparation ................................................................................................................ 110 Organic Fertilizers .................................................................................................................................. 115 Vegetable Seed Selection ....................................................................................................................... 116 Let’s Get the Garden Started! ................................................................................................................ 118 Ready to Plant ......................................................................................................................................... 122 Succession Planting and Intercropping .................................................................................................. 125 Mulch and Fertilize................................................................................................................................. 128 Insects and Diseases ............................................................................................................................... 130 Varmint Control ..................................................................................................................................... 132 Season Extenders.................................................................................................................................... 134 Plant Protection ...................................................................................................................................... 137 The Solar Greenhouse (GH) ................................................................................................................. 140 Seven Cash Cow Crops .......................................................................................................................... 145 Guide to Common Garden Vegetables ................................................................................................. 145 Winter Gardening .................................................................................................................................. 159 Culinary Herbs (CH) .............................................................................................................................. 164 Medicinal Garden (MG) ........................................................................................................................ 169 Chapter 10 - Easy on the Back Gardening ................................................................................................. 175 Hay or Straw Bale Gardens.................................................................................................................... 176 A Keyhole Garden (KH) ........................................................................................................................ 181 Chapter 11 - Seed saving ............................................................................................................................. 184 Chapter 12 - Food Preservation .................................................................................................................. 188 Freezing Fruits and Vegetables .............................................................................................................. 191 Freezing Meats ........................................................................................................................................ 197 Canning ................................................................................................................................................... 201 Canning Equipment................................................................................................................................ 202 Canning Foods – General Principles ..................................................................................................... 204 Canning Vegetables ................................................................................................................................ 206 Canning Fruits......................................................................................................................................... 207 Canning Fruit Juices ............................................................................................................................... 209 Canning Jams, Jellies and Preserves ...................................................................................................... 210 Canning Meats ........................................................................................................................................ 214 Drying or Dehydrating ........................................................................................................................... 217 Root Cellaring (BRC) ............................................................................................................................. 219 Curing, Smoking and Other Off-Grid Means of Food Storage ............................................................ 227 Storage of Staples .................................................................................................................................... 230 Making Apple Cider Vinegar ................................................................................................................. 231 Chapter 13 - Busy as Bees (BH) ................................................................................................................. 233 Building the Hive .................................................................................................................................... 234 Equipment .............................................................................................................................................. 236 Potential Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 238 How to Start a New Bee Colony ............................................................................................................ 239 Harvesting Honey ................................................................................................................................... 240 4
Chapter 14 - Introduction to Chickens ....................................................................................................... 242 Chicken Breeds ...................................................................................................................................... 242 The Chicken Coop and Run (CR and CC) ........................................................................................... 243 Starting the Flock .................................................................................................................................... 245 Feed and Bedding .................................................................................................................................. 249 Chicken Processing................................................................................................................................. 250 Chapter 15 – Composting (CB) .................................................................................................................. 254 Recycling Human Waste (HMC) .......................................................................................................... 256 Chapter - 16 You Can Do the Impossible.................................................................................................. 259 Tools of the Trade ................................................................................................................................. 259 Real World Examples ............................................................................................................................ 259 Safety First! .............................................................................................................................................. 262 Homestead Fuel Storage ........................................................................................................................ 263 Chapter 17 – Parting Thoughts ................................................................................................................... 266
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Chapter 1 - 40 Years Homesteading Where it all Began Forty Years! That’s how long I’ve been an off-grid homesteader. Sure, sounds like a long time but it’s gone by in the blink of an eye. I’ve learned a lot over that span of years while at the same time racking up a pile of mistakes along the way. I overcame those errors and when I tally my homesteading successes and failures, the win column far exceeds the losses. I’d like to share my long journey towards self-sufficiency with you so if you embark on your own path to freedom, you too will wonder “Where in the world did the time go?” Maine Homestead
My journey began with me spending 20 years in the forest of northern Maine. The first 5 of those years I was alone before I met my wife Johanna. Fortunately, she has been with me for much of this time and she shares the fervor for self-reliant living. Johanna has a great deal of experience and knowledge in many of the subjects and she will collaborate with me to add information from a woman’s perspective. Our collective homesteading experience stems from living in cold climates so we write this book as 2 people who have dealt with harsh winters. Lots of snow and bitter cold. But just about everything we write will be of value regardless of which climate zone you live in. There are many good books written on the subjects of homesteading, off-grid, prepping and the like. My intent with this book is not to reinvent the wheel. Rather I will pass on techniques and knowledge that have worked for us. But just as important to me, by the end of this book, I’d like to see my dear reader not only savvy but brimming with confidence that they too can accomplish whatever they set out to do. Back during the last ice age, the 1970’s, the back to the land movement was in full swing. In 1974, I graduated high school with a diploma in Industrial Electronics. I was mentally focused on becoming part of the 9 to 5 7
I did a much better job constructing our home Insulated Studs Break Thermal Bridges in the bush. I came up with a design I’ve never seen before. My design eliminated most of the thermal bridges from studs and with a fully taped vapor barrier, created a 10 inch thick wall that was super insulated. That house had no problem dealing with -57° F which was the coldest temperature we ever had to deal with. Not only that, but we had hot and cold running water with a shower, real kitchen with wall and base cabinets and countertop, color TV with satellite, Internet, 2 chest freezers, an electric refrigerator/freezer, lights like a normal house, and a moderate sized solar array with a wind turbine. We had come a long way from the spartan living of the Maine days! Living 100 miles from civilization sure gives new Dining Area at Hockley Lake meaning to relying on one’s self. I respectfully suggest that the overall goal and encompassing prize for all of us is to simply become as self-reliant as possible. In my mind, we then automatically cover all the possible scenarios without having the need for a separate plan for every conceivable situation. A large part of being self-reliant is having the confidence, knowledge and skills to assess and adapt to situations as they develop. If you have the knowledge and confidence to rely on yourself regardless of what the world throws your way, you have upped your chances of coming out of it in reasonable shape. Another word we might throw into the mix is self-sufficiency. As homesteaders, off gridders and preppers, it’s important to understand, total self-sufficiency is unattainable. Mission impossible. There is no such thing. Knowing that complete self-sufficiency is impossible, we strive to be as self-sufficient as practical. Big difference. I wanted to be right up front with you. I want every reader who is dreaming of living a simpler life to be successful. And part of the success plan is to set realistic goals. Part of being realistic is knowing you can’t raise 100 head of cattle on a ¼ acre homestead for example. The amount of land you have available will dictate how much you can do towards the goal of selfsufficiency. But don’t despair. Whether Garden, House and Outbuildings you have a ¼ acre or 100 acres, we will throw many ideas your way and you can decide what makes sense for your own scenario. 11
The Self-Sufficient Backyard
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Chapter 8 - The Orchard (OR) Below is a table giving information on various fruits. We’ve included info on yields, spacing and where we recommend planting per the sketch. More details can be found in individual sub-sections. Johanna and I have teamed up on the orchard, garden and food preservation chapters so much of the following information is written by her from her wealth of knowledge and perspective.
Fruit Table Fruit
Where grown
Spacing
Yield/ Plant or Square Ft.
Strawberries (100 plants)
SB (30 plants in 2 rows) BP1 (70 plants in 4 rows 35’ long)
2’ apart in rows 3’apart
Junebearing 1 quart per plant Everbearing ½# to 1# per plant
Blueberries (2 to 3 bushes per person)
BP1 (9 plants spaced 3’apart)
3’ to 6’ apart
Initially 7 oz. per bush. 3 to 4 quarts when mature
Raspberries (4 to 5 plants per person)
BP2 (16 plants 2’ apart in 2 beds that will eventually fill in)
2’ apart-canes from roots will fill bed or row
1 quart per plant
Blackberries (3 to 4 canes per person)
T6 (2 plants will eventually fill row)
4’ apart-canes from roots will fill in row
1 quart per plant
Grapes (2 vines per person)
T4 and T7 (6 vines spaced 6’ apart)
6’ to 8’ apart
10# to 15# per vine
BP2 (6 plants in any combo-2 black currant, 2 red currants, 2 gooseberries)
5’ apart
Currants-at least 5# per bush Gooseberries-4 quarts per bush
Saskatoons (also called Juneberry and Service berry)
T3 partial shade (3 bushes 6’ apart)
6’ apart
4# to 5# per bush
Rhubarb
T3 partial shade (2 plants 3’ apart)
3’ apart
4 to 12 stalks per plant
Currants and Gooseberries
To us, establishing a successful orchard is more difficult by far than establishing a vegetable or herb garden. We are establishing our third orchard and hope to have better success than we’ve had in the past. We’ve always had good luck with the “small fruits” to the point where we’ve had enough to freeze for winter, make some jam, as well as eat our fill when they are fresh, but have had great difficulty with fruit trees. Not necessarily our fault. Hare and moose grazing along with mice girdling pretty much decimated our Saskatchewan fruit trees.
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