Non-GMO Seeds Purchase, Long Term Seed Storage

With most of my post and projects, I want understand and learn. I don't mind failing, I like to learn from my mistakes. I don't mean that I want to fail, but when I do I want to try to understand where it all went south, and learn for the future. However I wouldn't trust my seeds in a freezer for 25 years no matter what others tell me.

So I went ahead and purchased those 34,500 seeds I wrote about last month. I want to investigate the packaging method, the seed quality as well as germination rates. I was so suprised to find corn as a Non-GMO seed in this package. I thought the last corn that was not GM was lost in the fifties, but there it is.

The silver envelope (Mylar) arrived well packaged, semi air tight, filled with seeds. I took it upon myself to open it gently and to my surprise were some little baggies, hand labeled, filled with seeds. These bags are the size of bags I would purchase MJ in back in my high school days.

As an emergency stash of seeds, safety saved for future use, was this purchase worth it? I weighted the seeds, and headed to the box store with a pen in hand. I would say for the quality, method, and shear variety, it was a good purchase to be able to put the seeds away for future use. I have removed 50% of the seeds, resealed the original bag, placed it in my root cellar.

With the seeds I kept out, I will sow half those this year, and I have resealed a smaller bag of the rest to sow in five years. I am doing this to double check the storage approach to long term seed keeping. I want to know for myself if this approach is correct. I have often read of yearly seed rotation done by the governments of the world as well as other self sufficient farmers.

It is a great idea to rotate your seeds year to year, but it is ok to also store seeds for long term for future use. Saving your seeds year to year, and rotating them ensures that the new seeds you have do have the energy to grow.

Purchasing a seed vault/packet if you live in the city is also a great idea because in a time of food crisis it becomes a tool that can help keep you alive. You can't just put seeds into the ground and hope they grow, you have to understand the plants needs such as ph of soil, light and what conditions to grow them under and how long will it take to grow them. Armed with a simple seed sprouting chart and a good guide like.
This will teach you how to not only grow plants but also companion planting, grow two different plants together to benefit each other and protect your food from animals in some cases.

Middle East And Self Sufficiency, What Is Happening? Are You Ready!!!

As many of you know, I am not at all one to start a post about the ends times of conspiracy theories or from the biblical perspective. So what is going on in the times? Has the biblical predictions from the Bible come true?  Has the Incas calendar also given us the date 21 Dec 2012 as the last days?

What ever is going to happen, is going to do just that, happen. With the world as it is today, I am not shocked by everything that is happening. However, I have always suspected that I may need my live off the land and fend for myself/family might come in handy. I always thought we would some how live a remote plane crash, living for years till discovered by a drone or something. I also thought perhaps a Mad Max type thing might happen while we were over seas or caught off guard in a distance land. So I really never thought that my skills may be needed seriously in this life time. 

So here we are today, years of learning to live, grow, harvest, fish, hunt and the skills needed to live a Swiss Family Robinson type of life style. In truth, I am not sure where all this stuff is going in the world. I really have no clue at all. I do know that I am happy with my ability to survive in many more conditions than the rest of the general world, where kids don't even know what a potato looks like or their parents don't know how to grow!!!

What are you doing to get ready for your future?

The Latest Wacky Cold Frame Idea, I Thought About This While Reading a Seed Catalog

You know what is so cool about learning to be more self sufficient? When you dream up an idea, and you try it, if it doesn't work, you can shrug your shoulders and say oh well. Basically leave it at that....

Okay, so there I was sitting on the thrown reading a seed catalog, when I saw those heated mats for seedlings. SO I think that planted the seed for the base of this idea. Monday of this week, I spent the day removing ice that had damned itself 8 inches thick over the edge of the roof causing water to leak down through the new picture window. SO I decided to go purchase some roof heat cables to make sure it didn't happen again.

Well than I discovered the gutters had clogged, which caused the damning in the first place. I cleaned out the gutters, and thought well that solved that problem.

I have been thinking about my cold frame, and how to make it better and work for me earlier in the year.

Then that evening, I sat back on the thrown, reading the same catalog once again, I am planning my garden soon, and hoping spring will come sooner. Than like a divine intervention, it hit me like a ton of bricks!!!

Getting the idea yet?

SO there it was, a plan to do it... What????

Okay, if you understand how a cold frame works, great, if you don't check out a previous blogg on my cold frame. My cold frame

SO, I decided I would take the cables from the roof, and weave them into the soil of my cold frame so they will provide root growth and added warmth to help the plants grow. How simple is that?????

The cables are 100% water proof, and soft enough to be bent close together. With the added insulation inside my cold frame, this should help the plants to not freeze during winter. The added heat will also melt the snow on the windows so that I won't have to go out there every time it snows.

Self Sufficient In The Strangest Of Times, Growing Your Future Non-GMO Garden

I am not one that believes in the conspiracy theory, but as general rule I tend to think that a natural disaster is more likely to kill off a large number of the human race. Whether this be a biological or a weather, a time will come when you will need more than just food stores and fresh water.

There are a few things that you can do now to take care of your future, and the future of your family. In times like these, people will want to take advantage of you and perhaps kill you, or even just plunder your goods because that is all they know how to do, unlike us. There are many things we can discuss on this matter, from how to disguise your house and food storage areas, to gathering water and other items we need to live.

Today I want to talk about your future Non-GMO garden. You can first start out by purchasing a kit that has over 34,500 seeds ready to plant. Second you can store these seeds in a freezer for 25 years before you need to use them. So for 12 cents a month, $1.44 a year, you can feel safe in knowing that you have at your hands the life keeping seeds of plants that you can grow, harvest, and put up to keep you self sufficient for many years.

There are some cheaper kits are around, but I like the larger one I mentioned earlier.

Discussion 1 Billion Without Food 2011, Now With A Population of 7 Billion Coming, What Can You Do?

As we consider our diets, and the food we eat, lets consider production of the food. If your reading this than you already know that the Earth is at a point where the global population is 7 billion mouths to feed.
Companies are already making smaller packages of food, though the price has remained the same, the amount of product in a package has been reduced. Some companies have reduced the amount of product by as much as 28% in the last couple years.
People are becoming more aware of the crisis, even books are starting to tell the now untold story of the great Famine that is coming.
One of the smartest things you can do is learn how to grow, gather, hunt, and take care of yourself. I often think when I hear folks discuss where food comes from. I was shocked when I watch Food INC on hw some of the store bought food is grown, some how a cow with its side completely open, eating and processing food while looking at its insides, just isn't right. That is a animal that was being raised for its meat.

The wife and went to a restaurant because we had been out away from home, we don't go out often, so it was a treat having a meal presented to us already cooked. Now, if I hadn't seen the movie prior to eating that steak, I would have not questioned the food we were eating. So here is the fact, the steak that I got tasted like manure smells, I am not saying it taste like chit, I am saying it tasted the same as the manure smells, there is a difference. Now, I did mention it, and it was replaced, with the same tasting meat I had the first time. At the meal I ate all my breads and veggies just to get some substance in me.

I wonder how the world can support our population now as it is, and projected is 11 billion by 2045. I wonder if the GM food wil be so bad that we won't get any thing from it that will help us build our bodies. Rather just sustain it to allow it to live. Think about that for a second, I know there is nothing as good as a fresh right off the vine tomato, the taste it has compared to one bought at a store is night and day.

There are many aspects to think about the human race, and we know from the sexless blind blobs of fish  in the Oceans around China, that birth control also has its own effect on the environment. I would agree that we, humans are taking, taking and taking from the earth without solutions being made.

You and I can make a difference, and I know many people on line, as well in real life that are taking charge and doing something to be more self sufficient. Being self sufficient is the key word here, if you want the best food, learn to grow your own  make a step to learn, teach yourself, re-use everything you can, teach your children, teach your grand children.

There isn't to many reason not to grow something, even if its a 2 foot square plot, or a couple mater plants on the patio.... You can do something to help feed your own, and the rewards are wonderful. Some of my fond memories are those days of riding on the fender of Grandpa's tractor, and picking and clean veggies with my Mom and family on the farm.

When the boy and I made some sausage together year before last, I remember his face as we ate it. He mentioned how good it was, and how it was the best sausage he ever ate. It was good sausage made from pork and pheasant meat with seasonings. It might not have been the "best sausage" in the world, but it was good. I am sure that is a memory that kid will hold well into his adult life, and for his sake, I agreed it was the best sausage in the world.

One out of every seven people will be starving, I doubt we will be able to keep this pace up for hundreds of years to come.....

Reclamation & Salvage Yards, We Need More Here In The USA, Find Treasure!!

Whether you’re after lighting, tiles, bricks, ironwork or other elements of a home and garden, salvage/reclamation yards is the perfect places to track down what you need – plus plenty you’ve never even dreamed of. Adding to your own style by adding decor that speaks "you" from another time era.

Rummaging around salvage/reclamation yards is a greate way to shop for your home. Instead of being thrown away, the building materials and contents from old houses and other buildings have been saved so they can become part of the fabric or interior of a different building – a green solution to improving your home.

Using pieces that don’t have the shine of newness will also give your house character, and you can bet you won’t go round to friends and find they’ve got exactly the same piece when you shop this way rather than on the high street.

Make sure you’re dressed for the occasion: for salvage/reclamation yards this means putting on boots and gloves so you can have a good look around.You may get a bargain, or the opportunity to ask for a better price if you’re buying lots at one go. However, be aware that in this case secondhand doesn’t necessarily equal cheap. Age and character can come at a cost.

At salvage/reclamation yards you can buy everything from the smallest finishing details for your home, such as door furniture, to building materials like roof tiles and timber flooring.

Consider looking for buys like: Fireplaces, Tile, Stained glass, Bricks, Garden statues, Lighting, Furniture, Radiators, Doors, Door knobs, Kick plates, Fireplace inserts, and the list goes on and on...

Keep an eye out too for interesting re-uses of original pieces – for example, mirrors made from sash windows. Or, if you want to give a dining area character, why not think about using church chairs or pews, both of which are plentiful. And if you want a custom feel in your home or garden, old signs and even classic wooden benches can be tracked down.

In Europe, there are these yards everywhere, and here in the US are some place like Habitat For Humanity and few odd and ends small stores. I think it would be great to have a store like this for every city that has a population over 1,000... Even a store hub in major locations would be great. It would be nice to take in some stuff we want to recycle, get a little cash, and bring home some great stuff..

Maybe I should start a small chain store like this, got junk is everywhere now and it started with just a handful of people and an idea of recycling goods to make money....

In Hobby Farms Spring issue, Chickens, Another Freebie, Being Self Sufficient

You know, I supposed it could be self sufficient advertising because it was a freebie. Although it is a hen, I guess it could be a small roo, couldn't it?

As for the big winter storm that has hit many of you, I hope you put your self sufficient skills to work. Sure its cold, but also a good time to make some extra cash by removing snow for folks, and remember use common sense when asking to be paid. Its good for you, and that karma your building now will visit you later in life just when you needed it. Its times like these that put most folks on the spot, there is no doubt, if your reading my blog, you are doing as snug as a bug in a rug!!!

If your just ready this for the first time, join and follow my self sufficient lifestyle and how you can get back to living on the basics. By all means please share your ideas with me as well, I am always interested in learn new or how to do better......

I am kinda shocked to see how popular chickens are becoming, I know they bring a new joy to our lives as well as help us make our breakfast...

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!!!!