Pumping Oil For Cash Money, Get Paid The Big Money, Being Self Sufficient..

The picture I am about to share is a photo of my friends oil well here in eastern PA. As we talked about it, he explained how he put it in, found the oil, and getting paid cash for the end product.
When we began to talk about how much he was making, I thought he was telling me a little white lie... I was floored when he told me he was pumping 30 barrels a week!!! He is getting paid 65.00 a barrel!! That totals $1950.00 cash a week!!! A week!!!
Although his set up is in a remote area, without great tires on my Hummer, I would have gotten stuck. Now just to mention about his primitive set up, it was quite practical and ran well. Using a old lawn mower, a few gears attached and welded to the axle, he was pumping a very green/yellow oil from the ground. The color was almost a chartreuse  fishing lure color, and the odor was awful but nothing less, something to be desired.
He uses a old tanker truck wagon thing he made and his big John Deere tractor to transport the liquid back to his shop to be sold to a wholesaler... It does seem dangerous though, because he fills his bull dozer with the stuff for fuel!!
Now this project is one I wish I could have done/do!! This is in many ways a self sufficient way to gain for your land.
I asked what his original start up cost was, he estimated it was around 4k..... Then he dropped the bomb on me..... He has sold as of that day over 12,000 barrels over the years!!!! I was like... I could be self sufficient on that income for sure!!! That is over a three quarters of a million dollars.... He does pay taxes, and uncle sam knows all about it... Honest fellow...
I am thankful for the many blessings in my life, for sure. But as a person wanting to be self sufficient, this would have been a blessing of a different kind.

Seed Catalogs, 2 a day arriving, uses....... Junk mail??

I have excluded myself from as many junk mail list as I could. Its not just green but self sufficient as well. So with the other stuff I get in the mail I place them on a pile that I will use later on in the garden this year to keep the weeds down. I also make my own homemade paper pots Year after year you will enjoy using these easy to make and use pots.

Junk mail ideas are wanted???

Alternative seed starting ideas, talked thorugh some new ideas with a Pro today. Hydroponics?

I met with the Pat who owns 422 Grow today and we went over some great new ideas for seed starting today. I really held onto everything he was walking me through today, I asked a ton of questions, and found solutions. It was great picking his brain...

One new growing medium I discovered was Coconut Husk material that can be added to your garden pretty cheap. He showed me how this stuff expands, what start out as a 10 pound block, was as large as the huge bags of dog food, and twice as thick. I once received a package of red worms with this stuff as the starting medium for them. Later I learned how adding this material is not only organic, but also allows air to moved through your soil as well as keeps it from compacting together. To bust the clay in my garden I have been using gypsum for several years, this year its time to add bio material...
Now using this stuff or the rock spun material, you need liquid nutrients to mix with the water. The rock spun material just twisted my mind... The whole time he was explaining it to me I was thinking huh....why....huh.... But I learned more about air flow than I ever knew, I also learned more about micro organism than I expected. He might have a PHD in Micro Biology, giving the amount of info he was covering today.
With a small investment, under $24, I might try this approach just as something different and to see which way is better. Last he showed me a book he said would have me producing fruits in veggies in 50-120 days from now. Hydroponic Gardening.
Me? I still think nothing better than organic soil, and lots of love with a green thumb...... I have never been closed minded to try new things, and with just a small investment, if it works better  than traditional methods, why not?

Get back to it and blogging..... Lets talk, Failing... Coldframes

It has been a while since my last post, and things are getting better, and I miss my way of living.

I have not taken on any self sufficient projects in a long time, other than rebuilding my fire place, which I need to finish. My energy is coming back, and the drive to do things I like to do is coming back.

Over on the forum, I mentioned about how I miss doing neat, cheap ways of learning how to be SS. Sometimes that meant failing. I never minded failing, remember the picture of the loaf of bread? I wrote failed on it.. Failing means your at least doing something. So I am working towards getting back to the life I missed and crave to live. Gardening, fishing, hunting and outdoor/indoor work to improve my life...

In my turmoil of the deaths of my parents, I have missed who I was becoming before all this happened. I miss researching and figuring stuff out. I put myself on the back burner for a long time, its time to get back on track get going.

I picked up some veggie plant seeds the other day at the big box store: Swiss Chard, Spinach, and some red cabbage to plant in my cold frame in the near future.

When I first tried Swiss Chard I was confused about which type to choose. I got the rainbow mix because it looked pretty. I picked up some Giant Swiss Chard to plant in the back of my cold frame Last year when I built my own cold frame which is bigger than this cold frame but it cost more for me to build.

We love fresh spinach around here, and my cabbage did okay in the cold frame last year... I didn't plant a complete garden. I did plant some  potato, oh yeah if you don't want to build tater baskets like mine, try this awesome idea  cheap too!!!



I plan on buying my garden seeds on line this year, its so much cheaper than buying at the box stores. Now this is really cheap and a awesome tool to help you plan your garden out this year and many years in the future. The software can be used on any computer.

My newest addition to my library, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Sufficient Living can be bought for your Kindle as well as paper back and I will be getting my head into it before to long.

Getting back up on my feet, Thanks Friends!! Flowering peace sign!!

As I find a better way to deal with the death of my parents, I found strength in other places in my life I never dreamed of. How I, as the rock of of family, that they were my rock in the toughest of times for me. My parents would not want me to feel sorry for myself and stop living my life. They would want me to pull up my boots straps and drive on and be a good leader/husband/brother/father. Easier said than done, but I have been able to fight off any sort of mental depression and work through these senseless murders.
I would credit my way of life a positive ledge to lean on during these times as things still need to be done around here as the seasons change. I also am planning to replant my cold frame to grow veggies in the winter. I also wanna show and teach you a great cheap remote solar lighting idea this winter.
Thanks for your continued support, I plan to get back after the holidays. Thanks to all my Kindle subscribers and hang in there. Thanks to all  my on line friends and followers of my blog... To all of you, you have helped me get through these dark days, thank you so much.....
Please be at peace with each other and mother earth.... And so I planted with my parents in mind a snow crocus peace sign in my yard.

I hope the flowers bloom late winter and they pop up when snow is still on the ground!!! It is the sign of the times!!!!

I have some great things to share, please hang in there with me.

As I have let time slip between postings, my life has been nothing less than up side down. But things are getting back to what I would call as normal as it could be.


I have several great new ideas to share for remote solar lighting on a budget, and I do mean remote. I think you might wanna hang tight for this one, the weight of this project makes it great for camping or doing a trail on your homestead so folks can walk it at night.

I also have done some bartering and some other neat things I want to share.

 Here is a picture of some work I have commissioned a local artist to do for me. The idea was to make me a custom Totem for each of the four seasons. This is Old Man Winter, I was surprised he had gotten him finished so quickly I would have him made Autumn first. 






 Hang in there with me folks, I will be back on a regular bases very soon!!!

Continue to pray for us, and love your Mother Earth!!! Peace Jay!!

Where Do I Live? An Odd Town With 218 Other People, Funny Read

That's right!!! where the woods are full of Kung-Foo fighting bears!!


A place where mullets are out dated (sort of)


A place where the animals love everyone (thou you might be on the menu)


A place where if you wanna stop and dance, nobody's looking


A place where if your not careful you could get

on the cheek

And I think I now Hate snow!!!

Springtime Warning, Early Spring Late Frost

If you happen to be in a area of the country that has a early springtime like I do remember to watch the weather patterns and prepare yourself to cover your garden/plants to protect from a late frost.

Cold Frame Growing Your Own Food In Winter To Be Self Sufficient.

So as you have read I have been using a cold frame to grow some veggies. I think I built it correct but note that it sure does need watered quite often about every other day. I have tried to get my head around why but sometimes you just gotta get on with it.
I think I am doing pretty good with the garden soil as the test came out between 6.3-6.8 so I am pleased. I didn't test the more clay areas, that is a waste of time and I will plant and put fertilizer down when I grow there.

The bottom picture shows my Swiss Chard, something I have never grown before and perhaps will need to post a question on the forum. I don't want to crowd the buggers.

First Pic Of My Garden 2010 In Zone 5a, Being Self Sufficient Thoughts

Well this year the soil looks very nice and all my hard work over the past three years is paying off. Like anyone else I expected more from the soil in the past years as I did so much work to get it to be so much better. I was pleased this year with most of the garden looking better than ever, except the upper right portion where I ran out of organic stuff last year and the year before. I had forgotten two years in a row, but the area is pretty small and still able to put some plants in.
I got my shallots, onions and next years garlic in already and hoping the weather will continue to head to warmer spring/summer days.

 

When we started our farm and decided to become more self sufficient, we didn't know what we faced or how life was going to be. The amount of pride that I have about the quality of my living is enormous as well as the wonderful food that we eat.

Finding local meat was a small challenge, but once I started reaching out to locals, they were ready to help. Now that I have established those relationships and fitting in with the community, I find myself realizing just how many people around me are living their life as self sufficient as they decide to do. There is a notable difference in attitudes among the people here compared with folks living in the city. Not as people, but as a general group. Folks here know the winter challenges we all face as well as a short growing season. I find that folks here are more willing to listen, help and offer direction if you ask.

 

Update Bramble Hedge Rows, Year Two, Fruit Tree And Nut Tree Warning!

Well I wanted to post an update for you folks who are wondering how my hedge rows were doing. Drew/Erin purchased their first blackberry plant and so I wanted to tell them yay and show them what they can expect next year.
First off, a warning of mixing fruit trees with nut trees. In my country wisdom book I read last year a chemical that is given off by nut tree roots system which spreads to the surrounding soil and doesn't allow fruit trees to produce buds/blossoms. I had said I would look that up, however time has limited me today to follow up on that research. However it is a survival defense for the tree so that it can allow its own seeds to fall and reproduce with any fruit tree taking up the space.
Second when pruning your brambles be sure to either trash the cuttings or burn them. If you don't your inviting all sorts of problems including fungi/rust issues.

The close ups are of my Darrow plants, on the lower end I do have some Chicksaw as well. Chicksaw has thorns, sharp, narrow ouchy ones that poke and draw blood. It produces a fine tasting berry though, my fav to eat fresh.
Country Wisdom book has some very good  instructions on how to raise berries. I credit them for me getting a nice harvest the first year and this years harvest is going to be wonderful. I do side dress my plants 3 times a year with 100% organic fertilizer and start to trim the main new stalks when they get 4-5 feet long. This alows for as many branches to grow for the next years harvest.

Hedge Rows Grapes/Brambles How To Video