Fungus Amoung Us, Get The Good Stuff Here!

In the near future, I will be presenting to you a how to video on doing your own mushroom logs. I have a source that can be trusted and has only the good stuff to sell.

Here are last years logs that Mark inoculated with Shiitake Mushrooms, and mine are not too far behind his now. Each climate is different here in the mountains. Simply put, a flower can be budding right down the road, but here it might just be growing and not even reading to bud yet. I look forward to sharing some photos with you.

Now I have bought some spores from sellers that just didn't produce anything. I mean, I bought them thinking mushrooms will come, followed instructions, and nothing. Once I got my hands on some good product, I feel I need to share it with you so that you won't waste your money and get nothing. I followed the same instructions and have a good products. So I want to share the seller with you.

I have purchased several packages from this seller, and the products are spot on. If you decide to dive into doing mushrooms yourself, which I say it is great, be sure to buy it from this awesome seller.

You can see the results in my photos above.

FREE BOOK, FREE GARDENING BOOK, YOURS FREE!!!! How to Get It?

Here is a link to a free gardening book to add to your electronic library, but finish reading my post before you run off to get it, here is how to get it, at home or on the go. RX from the Garden.

FREE BOOK

When you click on the link, look for the button that says buy with on click, its free so it will lead you to another page, look for your device, click the device that you own, and down load the book for free.

 

How is that for a good deal? Enjoy my friends!!!!

With respect to our mother earth, I cleaned up some of mans mess that we put in a stream near by. Although it rained, it only took me 3 hours to remove the tires, debris, and trash. I took it to the dump, and they took it for free. All I did is mentioned I was cleaning up for earthday, and they took the trash in for free.

Earth Day, 2011, Love Your Mother!

I have decided to devote my time in loving my mother earth tomorrow by cleaning up a swirling dump site. The area is located near a water way that is used for fishing and drinking water.

Check out my FB page for a contest and free give away of a pint of maple syrup....

What are you/what did you do to love your mother today?

Planting Some Good Eats On Your Property, Make A Statement.

Let say first, that I am not a total Non-GMO organic farmer. When it comes to some items, like blackberries, I find the GMO types to be just fine. They taste fine, and serve the needs that I use them for. Now I won't change my veggie seeds that are heirloom and non-gmo seeds that I have bought, traded or gathered. I don't remove folks post on my blog, because you have your opinion and I respect that, so be sure to honor me with the same respect.

Darker the berry, the sweeter the juice..... So I am going to start out by telling you about my personal A+ choice for a neat property line, or hedge row of your own. The most, best producing blackberries I have ever grown have been the Darrow Blackberries. yes they do cost a little more, but trust me when I say that the rewards are plenty and you will enjoy picking berries without the thorns. I like my Chicksaw blackberries as well, and they have some mean thorns....

The blossoms are nice to see, and the fruits are HUGE and living in zone 5 the Darrow proves to be a steady prducer of high quality fruit.

I also suggest this berry for my city dwellers and senior folks who just don't went to give blood every time the go berry picking. Even if you plant these in different areas of your property, 5 plants will produce enough berries for a family of four.

I like to saute them in a little stevia  and pour them over my buckwheat pan cakes, I will also add a little butter as well. I like maple syrup, but I also like fruit.

Potato Basket, The Hows And The Dos, Grow-Up Not Down

If you have been a visitor of my youtube videos, than you will know that I did a potato basket video year before last. The original one had over 41k hits, featured on several gardening shows as well. Although my video presents and how to is corning, I am getting better.

The idea was taught to me by my Mother back in the 1970s, I still use the process today. Its a great space saver, interesting, and a neat conversation piece. I rememer Mom used 2 types of potatos back in the day. With the internet and seed trading programs, I plant several types. The video explains how to do it, but I accidentally left out some information that I will cover in a new video to be done very soon.

I use only indeterminate types of potatoes because they keep blooming all summer long and keep producing in the basket. Determinate blooms once and like tomatoes produce the fruit after that. Planting indeterminate in any containers is the way to go for this method. You can, like I do, use any potato seed in the baskets you want, but I wanted to be sure you understood the types that work the best.

On Your Mark, Get Ready, And Wait.....

I have been doing a little extra workouts to get in shape to get ready and shed off my winter layers working on the homestead. I plan on getting much more done this year than last, which was a bad year for me. The sudden deaths of my parents, well I just couldn't seem to shake it until a wrong was righted.

This time of year, not only are the days warming, and the rain keeps coming, the nights are cold, but I itch like crazy wanting to get out and get stuff done. I am ready, I have made the plans, and its just about time.

I might get my taters in as well as get my greenhouse up this weekend!!! Yippy!!!

Completed the mushroom log project, just waiting to get it in place.

Morel Mushroom Book Review, 5 Stars!

From time to time, I will support a product and suggest it to my blogger friends. There are three reasons why I do this.
1. I like to expand my own knowledge and put what I learned into practice or keep it upstairs for future use.
2. When I finish a book, I can come here and let you know what I think of the book and suggest it so you can expand your own self sufficient lifestyle if you so desire.
3. I get a 6% commission from anything people buy from Amazon when they follow my links. It doesn't matter what you buy there after you follow my link. The added income allows me to purchase new books to read. So please support me if you can.

I found this book to be a awesome add to for my own self sufficient gather skills. It is filled with tips and tricks and can make you hunt for more Morel in public areas or on your own land. It was an easy read, 105 pages long, straight forward, and filled with color photos to teach you many different aspects of Morel Mushroom hunting. I learned a lot from the book, and it was easy on my wallet! I hate to use the word CHEAP because it under minds the product, but this book is a steal/value. There are even some recipes and cooking tips inside.

When I finished the book, I thought how nice it was to read something where the writer is directing you "how to" and then teaching you how to cook them in different ways. I enjoyed reading it, and I am sure you will be pleased with it to...

On the subject of fungi, I completed my mushroom logs day before yesterday. If not for the rain, I would have some photos, but I will do that on another post.

Have a great day my friends and be sure to get that book, and get out in the great outdoors and start hunting. Also, while we are Geo Caching, we also hunt for fungi...

Seeds Are Selling Out Early This Year, Better Get Yours Today!

Did you ever think that seed sources would be running out of seeds?

I have always thought. What if this was the year that the chit hit the fan? So like always, I bought my seeds early this year. However, there are a couple GMO seeds I was interested in and tried to order them to find out they are sold out for the year already?

Sold Out Seeds


Since my last order of 34,500k seeds this year, that price has risen by $10.00 in less than a month. If you think the cost is going to go down, don't hold your breath.

The world population will rise to over 7 billion this year, and food prices will triple in the next ten years. If you shop at the store, I do shop for sale items that I can't grow myself, you have seen prices this year alone rise by 6% and the quantity is being reduced by manufacturers without raising the prices to high.

Am I suggesting a panic here? No, I am suggesting that you invest in understanding how to keep your own seeds. This simple book will help you understand how to manage your seed keeping. I do keep many of my own seeds from year to year, and allow some plants to die out to collect seeds. If your not sure how to process and store your own seeds, this is the book for you. After you read the book, understand the knowledge, you can sell the book for a few dollars less than you bought it for. That is being self sufficient!

Getting Over Wrapped In Some Projects, Still Reading For You..

I have been seriously wrapped up in a few projects, and yesterday was great. I spent Sunday morning like every other in church at the Crossfire campus. It rocks!!! No, I mean it, we rock to old hymns as well as new ones.

As I am happy to help when I can, I took on a advertisement project for Sean to launch the next step in church. I always think I know what I am taking on until I get into it and look outside to what I created around me. But again I am always happy to help when my heart says to.

Later yesterday, I joined my christian bros and sisters at a turkey hunting event. That was nice, and a self sufficient skill, and I learned how to work a couple new calls... Late yesterday afternoon I hit the garden for a deep till, trying to get the very bottom turned back up and ready to till in some leaf mulch I am making, and some other organic stuff.

My last year to add in the gypsum, to make the clay brake down into loamy soil. I also will be adding 1 ton of sand this year. Basket taters going in soon as well. Be sure to make a note for the newest video, there is going to be some new useful info about " how to " and I promise you HUGE YIELDS this year...

Still reviewing/reading a couple fungi books for you to consider purchasing.

This week, be on the look out for the up coming " Fungi Pyramid " project I hope to finish very soon.

Embracing What Is Near You Or On Your Property, Organic Food In Zero Space

As I begin to teach/show you a few ideas in the next coming weeks, I want to remind you to seek out your own property and how to use it to your advantage.

Sean and I were talking, he is mention about he and his wifes desire to have organic food, but not sure how to or what veggies are shade tolerate. Sure, as you know I invited them to join us here or on FB to look and learn from all of us. We all share and help each other, and sometimes I find solutions to problems through reading what worked for you.

Growing in gutters was my first pitch, as he said he had a rabbit that lived near by and visited with them often. I also mention container growing as Danielle mentioned growing in plastic bags.

Get to know your property, and what you have on it, Erin and her husband planted blackberry bushes in downtown Baltimore last year. So they will harvest fruit from it this year. So along a ugly wall you can plant food to have at your finger tips.

Never think it is silly or stupid to plant just a couple small simple bushes, your doing something to feed yourself.

Alfalfa Tilled The Pellets In, Why? Pioneering Tools, Fungi Trees Located

Alfalfa pellet is a great organic additive even if you do a green crop over winter. At $8 for 50 pound bags, I always dump in 400 pounds, and spread it out. the processing kills all seeds in the processing.  Later in the year I will add more organic materials along with some poop from a local farmer. I will also share my chicken poo tea recipe with you later this year.

As my adventure as a modern pioneer continues, I want to keep it real. So I am purchasing hand tools used during the 1800's whenever possible. I wanna feel what it felt like back in the day to prepare/and live a life as a homesteader.

I have located the two white oak trees that will serve as my fungi food bank this year. I also have a couple Mushroom books to review for you soon. I have three books that I decided two will be great. I decided to do a video for you on that as well.

Tiller Is On!! Rain Rain Go Away SO I Can Go Out And Play!

I had adjusted my pto shaft, cut the ends off with a cut off wheel so that it fit my tractor properly. I checked all the gear oil levels, greased all the areas that needed to be done..... Facing the door, it was open, and I just watched it rain and snow. I did connect with my inner child, and pretended I was driving and tilling my garden.

Currently, I have a cold and soar throat, taking my tea, but not as often as I should. Because of the weather I am in a holding pattern right now on what I need to do. I do have projects I need to get done, but no energy to do them. I only have enough energy to do what I want to do. I know its selfish to behave this way, but when I am sick I am like that.

Judy bought herself a calf in the last few weeks, something I think isn't wise because of the lifestyle she lives since Lilly died. Its not her alternative lifestyle I am speaking of, each their own on that, but how much she isn't home these days. I will be sure to keep an eye open and watch for health issues.

Arm Yourself With A Good Book, Get The Secrets And The Tips With More Useful Stuff

Thinking about this adventure of mine, and quite frankly it started in me in 1984. It started when the sun lite that part of the world so I could see what was in it. I had been forced to move and live in the city when I was 14 y/o. We had lost the farm, and just a few days before watched as the bank man stapled a sign to the front door. I wish I could explain how much sorrow I felt the day I look outside that third story window.

Don't get me wrong here, understand that I like you even if you live in the city. My point here is reference to the only way of life I had known prior to the city. As I peered through the window, I saw apartments around me, big shipyard cranes, and noise everywhere.

Once I moved here to my homestead, the first time I could see the stars again, it was beautiful. As walked my new property in the first few weeks, I started to plan. I spent the first year cleaning up what the previous owners had left. I guess the free rough sawed oak planks was payment for all the clean up that needed to get this place in some order.

That winter, I talked to my family about my new adventure and this book was suggested to me. I bought several books, but one would become my homesteading bible.

Country Wisdom and Know How

It is filled with useful information, its cost effective (cheap) and so many tips and tricks I could post 800 different post on the ins and outs of ideas. It also sets the platform for you to grow your own ideas. For years I have seen this book for less than $15, it is well worth that price in crafting ideas alone. It has plans for cold storage, root cellars, smoking meats, hunting, fishing, building plans and much more than I am listing here.

Well lets look at my copy, and see how much you think it is used?

Its not this worn out from lack of knowledge, I still brought with me many skills taught to me as a child. Not only did it teach me new things, but it also set straight methods I knew how to do, but needed to fill in the gaps.

I have bought copies for friends, my parents, and even other seasoned homesteaders.

Perhaps I am preaching to the choir on this one, but I know if your reading this, following my blog, than you take great pride on developing new ideas to live a more organic, healthy, self sufficient life. I am pointing at you now saying to you, follow my link and buy the book.

Opening a conversation post on facebook on this book as well...

A Weedless Garden, Cheap Organic Approach, See Pics, Till It In

Is gardening an issue because of time? Or do you want to have a more weedless garden without spending hundreds of dollars? I tested this after the "bio paper" stuff came out. To be honest, I tested this already and put down several store bought rolls that were even cheaper at a box store. But they failed within weeks, some within days. Weeds/grass started to poke through within a few weeks.

I found one product that does work is reasonably priced, and provides a season of weed free gardening, and then can be tilled in before your winter cover crop is seeded. I can row plant, it is 48 inches wide, and its thickness isn't beaten down by rain or poked through by weeds.

I always look for reasonable ways to lesson my time in the garden, its more time I can set to other projects and my family. I also use newspapers and grass clippings in short rows.

Cold Crop Planting, Onion Talk, Storage Ideas You Never Knew About

Standing in line at the local thrift store isn't something that ever bothered me. I have often found useful perfectly functional items and clothes. Now standing in line with a few pairs of panty hose in my hand, well you know people are going to look. I don't wanna ask them what they think, and I don't want to know... I imagine they think all sorts, nothing close to what I am going to use them for.

As we are currently planting onion sets, I will be putting in more Monday, I wanted to share with you a few ideas on how to store these wonderful vegetables. In my Country Wisdom Know How book, the weaving  techniques that are shown in the book, were done by me and I wanted to show you how easy and nice it looks.

Now, getting to the next idea, either of these ideas are great for taking one at a time. I do admit that the weaving technique is more practical as its easier to remove onions that do go south during long term storage. With the next idea I am going to show you, its easy to send one of the kids down and get the one that I need for the meal.

I have defined this technique a little more by bagging them by sizes. This allows me to use the whole onion for the size meal I am preparing. After all, onion sizes is important in not only stretching out your supplies, but limits the waste amount as well. One more reason, if there such a thing, to much onion in a meal... I also re-purpose baskets found at local thrift stores for my shallots.

Do you have a method that you would like to share with us?

Why Be A Modern Pioneer? 33 years later.. Pioneering Table Is Home Now

I am going to start this by saying, and its no big secret, that I am not a writer. My grammar is bad, my use of the English language is real bad, and my spelling or use in certain words isn't correct. I am blogging, writing articles about what I do here on my homestead and how my life being Self Sufficient is going. I hope to land my own show on network TV in the future. It isn't my base goal, its for my fans, the reason I get out there and get new ideas and put them to the test. I also like the rewards, and the failures just as much.

In the event your just joining me in my wacky adventures, let me introduce myself. My name is Jason, I live on a mountain side, own 5 acres of crazy homestead. I was raised on a hog farm a few hours from here. When factory farming went full swing, we lost our farm to the bank. SO I had to move to the big city when I was 14 y/o and leave country living at its finest.

My SS (self sufficient) started as a hobby, and then as I got into it, it pulled me in. I am not trying to live off grid, but my goal is to live a self supportive lifestyle and work the soil, hunt for food, gather food, and harvest food from its roots with little impact and as healthy as possible.

I am no stranger to pioneering, why we had a wood cook stove in the kitchen to cook on, and used to help heat the house. We made/canned/hunted/gathered/provided our own food whenever possible. Yes we were poor, and it was a way of life for me as a child.

I agree that my wife supports me in my adventures, but isn't fully on board and might not ever be. But thats okay....

It was in the days of my youth, I believe in 1977 or 1978, sure it was 78 though. Mom brought this old farm house table home which was covered in white/black zebra striped tack paper. It was a winter project that we did together, as a family... After leaving the farm, splitting up with my step dad and mom, they would also split later on, I never knew what happened to that table. I asked my step dad one time, he said he had it stored in a barn and I could have it if I wanted it. I smiled from ear to ear with joy to see it so many years later. Mom has been long gone now, but its a wonderful reminder of togetherness, and love... It was a re-purpose project, so she taught me a lot about loving people and the earth.. You wanna see some pics?

Compact Tracter, The Tiller Is In, $400 Off, Its KARMA again

Albert called this evening, he had left to get some supplies earlier this week. I gotta talk to you about Albert Miller and what he has going on.

Albert and his son Rick, both wrench turners, have had some of the oldest tractor I have seen outside of shows. Tucked away in the middle of the woods outside of town, Albert has spent years building his business. If you need tractor parts, for any tractor, they are the people to call.
http://1tractorparts.com/aboutus.html

I had learned that he was going to head out and pick up some farming equipment a few weeks ago. I know that he only makes this run once a year. So I had him price out a new tiller for my compact tractor. Well, $1200 is hard to come by, and it would swallow up my whole SS fund.

I went to sears a week and a half ago to find a new try pod for making my videos, my old one is beyond repair, so I will re-use that later. I happened to walk past a rack of winter coats, it said " all sales final, all coats $15.00 marked down from $100-$149.00 each. Than karma pinched my butt and whispered to buy than and donate them this coming fall to help some one who needs a hand up. I decided to buy 6 of them, as I was standing there a woman said you must have a lot of girls? I said no, and told them what I was going to do.

I know the tag says 29.99 but I only paid 15.00 for each one, so perhaps what is coming up next, you can learn from me. You know generally I am a pretty level headed, kind person, oh I know I can be an asshole when I want to be or when I am showing my ass, I can be a real jerk. I am not perfect, and I am sure the mold was reused after I was made.But I make an effort to be a kind person and polite towards others. I try not to be a busy body, thou I have been known to rubber neck, pause and watch, step over and listen, and watch what is going on through binoculars... I do have better things to do, but habit prevails.. LOL

So I was contacted by a client some weeks ago, they needed a part made, well lots of them. I figured a way to make them and to turn a profit as well. When I completed the dies and ran some sample parts, they turned out perfect. So they ordered 3200 hundred of them... Holy cow.... I was doing a happy dance, and I can apply my idea to other products as well. So YIPPY FOR ME!!!! Then another job came through that I quoted back in January on the same day.

Like a well thought-out proposal, I knew the moment wouldn't last long, so I moved in for the kill like a Cheetah on the hunt. I batted my long eye lashes, what? I have long sexy eye lashes (thanks Mom), and reminded the wife that I had done a good job getting those sales in and needed to pay for the tiller.. It was wife approved on the spot!!! CHA CHING!!!!!  However, I will have to pay the money back when my International Harvester Super C sells..... :( Do you need a tractor with a front end loader and 3 point hitch? I have one for sale for $2400.

That is a stock photo...

I am so itching to get tilling, get in the garden, start prepping the soil, I am going nuts...

Do you have spring fever? If so how about checking the USEFUL block below this post... Thanks..