Search results

Duct tape.

See, that's where you're wrong. I'm not defending big food -- I'm just saying that self-sufficiency doesn't necessarily mean sustainability. Since the obvious comparison to producing our own food is buying it from big food, well...that's the comparison I'm making. What I take from all that is...

The more interesting question is...what exactly do you think the impact on employment would be if EVERYONE suddenly started doing EVERYTHING for themselves? Well, given that employment kinda means doing stuff for other people, the answer would be: 100% unemployment. Which actually would be...

That goes to a whole 'nuther part of what is -- and I'm sorry, but it is -- the illusion of self sufficiency.. I mean, many of us who strive for self-sufficiency do so out of some kind of nervousness about a SHTF type scenario, yet something so few people ever bring up is -- if and when TS...

What you said was that I hadn't considered the things you could be doing while your beans were canning.. What I said was that you hadn't considered what you could be doing while someone else was canning beans for you. It's the same stuff, btw.. The stuff you could be doing, I mean. Which...

I get the gist of your post, I really do...but... Did you build your own stove? I didn't.. Mine came from a factory which had to be built, equipped, maintained, etc... :P :D Point being, all of these things have to be taken into consideration.

That's not the question.. The question is whether or not it's more sustainable to have fewer numbers of more efficient, highly specialized producers producing food for millions of people than for millions of people of various skill and efficiency levels individually producing food for...

Not only did I not say that, I specifically addressed that and said quite the opposite. Look...golf is a waste of time. Fishing for sport is a waste of time. Protected sex is a waste of time. Lots of enjoyable things are wastes of time -- but we enjoy them, so we do them, because enjoyment...

I would. I have. I do. Fact is, if our goals are to become self-sufficient, then letting someone else do something cheaper, faster, and easier than we can do it and saving ourselves the money, time, and frustration can help us get to our goals -- if we do it right! For many -- scratch...

You're missing the point... If all the industrial ag and petroleum and shipping went into producing food just for you, then yeah, your way is much more efficient.. That's not how it works, though; all that stuff produces food for MILLIONS. What I'm saying is that if all those MILLIONS for...

Yeah, but now you're talking better instead of more sustainable.. I agree -- they're better -- but that's not at question here.. Those are all things you could be doing while a gigantic big machine in a factory somewhere makes cans of green beans for you, though.. No real savings.

I see your point, but the question is...if everyone canned at home, would the savings of tin cans equal the cost of a vast, vast number of consumer-grade stoves running? I dunno...can't say with any certainty, of course, but I kinda doubt it. Plus, you'd have to factor in what it would take to...

Ok, but look at the other side of the coin... What more are you consuming by canning your own tomatoes at home in small batches? More to the point...what would it cost if EVERYONE canned their own tomatoes at home in small batches.. To illustrate the point, think about it this way...imagine...

Ok, I'll be the fly in the ointment and say....not necessarily. To be self-sufficient carries with it the inherent necessity to do many things for oneself. Doing many things for oneself is pretty much the exact opposite of specialization. While specialization carries its own set of problems...

I know a lady who used to transport them with a '96 Ford Escort wagon. Loaded them right over the top.. Those of you who are familiar with cattle panels will know that they're droopy anyway.. So, they just sorta bowed over the car, with about a foot hanging off each end. I always thought she...

That's sorta how I move them, but not exactly. They're bent into a "U" shape, but instead of being bowed upward, they're laid down and the top of the bend is at the front of the bed by the cab. Then I run a few straps through them and tighten it all down. I don't think it makes much...

Things I have learned how, and often how NOT to do: Run a tractor Fix a tractor Plow new ground Run a bushhog Grow a garden Raise goats Build a hayfeeder Run a chainsaw Sharpen saw chains Fell a tree Put up fences Tear down fences Build a coop Raise chickens Minor electrical work Minor plumbing...

We could never quite get to zero waste.. You'd go down there and a bird would have pooped in it...or there would be goatberries in it...or certain LGDs who shall remain nameless may or may not have pulled the container off the rail, dumped out all the mineral, and proceeded to knaw on the...

No, but I notice from the ingredients that it just lists "copper" without specifying what kind of copper.. Plus, it looks to be HELLATIOUS expensive at $20/8lbs.. A 50lb sack is over $80! :th The mineral I use is formulated by the goat specialists at two local universities, and it's custom...

I gotcha...I mean, I knew it was a quote from an email or something, so perhaps I should have asked 'why would one not feed'.. Or something like that.. I've kinda had it in my head that if/when I start up with commercial market goats, I may just add beet pulp to the diet for wethers.. I know...