LaBellaVita

I'm sorry they are struggling, I know so many homeschoolers who are themselves struggling, they don't need more expenses either.

our county extension office analyzes soil for like $8, and they will tell you what amendments you need. Might be worth checking into and seeing if they offer, and for how much, in your area.

this is so you can keep up with what you own? I use Library Thing ( www.librarything.com ). You can use a scanner, but I don't own one so I did enter my books in manually. I love Library Thing, its so convenient for me, you can tag books with whatever tag you want for easy sorting, "history," 8th grade, etc. You can also print it out.

agreed!

I wanted to get a delivery of mulch to try out this technique this year but haven't ordered the mulch yet... have no idea how long it would take for a delivery, shame on me. Could be days, or weeks, and weeks...

here is a link with a little more detail on the "how to"

http://backtoedenfilm.com/how_to/index.html

thanks for asking this question! We too do not eat pork, so its nice to know if it matters or not.

I would love to discuss gardening methods with you all. Namely which ones would truly be best in a TSHTF scenario.

Option A: How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons

I've heard great things about this double-dig method, its mentioned in several gardening books I have like The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it by John Seymour and The Self-Sufficient Suburban Garden by Jeff Ball (learned about that book here!).

Plants here are planted very close together to get you more harvest for your space.

I loved this idea because its focus is on building up the soil, also due to the dense plantings you have high yields per foot and it seems there would be much less of a weed problem, but when I read about watering daily and I became concerned. Watering daily doesn't seem like an easy thing to do in potential TSHTF situation, even with water barrels. How much water can you store?

Option B: Gardening When it Counts by Steve Solomon

This book recommends you give your plants plenty of space so they don't have to compete for resources like water. He actually directly conflicts w/ what Jeavons said about being able to save like 70%-80% water by dense plantings! Help!

Option C: then there is the Back to Eden film which showcases this gentleman's extensive use of wood chips composted. LOTS of compost. And then more compost on top of compost. Sounds like that is all he uses. I know it takes time to make this kind of mulch, but I'm really looking at this...

Back to Eden

He discusses how well the mulch retains moisture and cuts down on weeds. And when I look at his garden, he has plants spread pretty far apart.

OK everybody, I would LOVE to discuss these gardening ideas! Do any of you have practical experience in any of these three areas? I'm all for the building up the soil aspect of the extensive composting/mulching in Back to Eden, sounds like its really low maintenance which I'm totally for finding the best way to utilize my time and still get really good results. And the tree companies around here will give free mulch. I like the dense plantings and building up the soil in Jeavon's method because I don't have a lot of land, denser plantings really are what I'd need, and well, Solomon's method on the surface makes sense but I really haven't read the whole book, so I can't say too much yet.

What gardening method do you REALLY think makes more sense in preparing for a TSHTF scenario? No store-bought amendments, no this, no that... only what is handy and can be composted. And that water question, how do you think water figures in... the more I think about this the more I think about Back to Eden.

Thanks!

 

I have cut out coffee filters to fit my reg mouth and wide mouth Food saver attachments. I read that that also helps prevent powder from getting into the motor.

I buy my Extra-Virgin Organic coconut oil from a farmer's market here for $21.98/gallon. Its the best price I've found. They also sell it in buckets but I haven't ran the math on that to see if its cheaper.

I use it for gut healing since I've read that hypothyroidism can be caused by candida/food sensitivities. I'm trying to eat an anti-candida diet (not been doing so good lately), and am working my way up to 6 T of co a day. 6 T is supposed to be a therapeutic level, but please, take it slow! Last yr I was up to like 4-5 T, quit for 3-4 weeks as I was waiting to buy more, bought some and went straight back to my previous dose. Uuuugh! Coconut oil is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, I had severe die-off, it was debilitating.

I have not lost any weight yet, I've actually heard its common for some to gain weight at first because their body is starving for high quality fats. Once you've been on it for awhile, you will then lose that weight.

I use it to fry everything, I'll even add dollops of it to soups, oatmeal, hot tea, etc. I've used it in recipes too, makes a yummy oil in brownies.

I put it on my skin sometimes, and it makes my skin feel very soft, its just that it has no "staying" power like lotions have. But other than that, I LOVE it!

here in GA when there is mention of snow or an ice storm empty shelves happen every time. I always try to keep my pantry stocked, and if I need things I certainly don't wait until the last minute to purchase them if there is a possibility of snow. Did that once not long after moving here and I was shocked.

I just now need to get more creative using what I do have in the pantry.

for sharing these pictures and bumping up this post, its a great reminder because this WILL happen IRL