If the SHTF today......

[okiegirl1]

wow, how did you find this? I posted this a gazillion years ago.

 

[Britesea]

I'm glad they did find it. I don't have time to go through ALL the posts, so I am always happy when someone dredges up and old one and dusts it off- lots of new info.

I am a prepper AND SSer so this was interesting to read. Being SS and reading things in this forum have shaped what and how I prep too. For instance, I'm less interested in having stockpiles of toilet paper since there are alternatives available. I have a small house so I have to pick and choose what I'm going to stockpile, and how much. Electricity is an issue for us because without it we would have a hard time getting water out of our well, and our septic/leach system would not work because the only place it would fit went uphill, so we have to have an electric pump to send it up the lines. A generator is only good as long as you have fuel available, and solar panels are too expensive- so we've been looking into alternatives that are fairly inexpensive and easy to do: composting toilet, micro-hydropower, drying and canning instead of freezing, evaporative coolers for keeping food cool, stuff like that.

 

[okiegirl1]

we've actually been trying to get rid of stuff and not stockpiling because we are planning on moving to Oregon in about 2 years. We want to live in a climate that has a better growing season just in case all hell breaks loose. here (Oklahoma) is gets so hot there is no saving a garden. and the winters are ice storm after ice storm.

 

[Britesea]

well, depending on WHERE in Oregon you move... We are east of the Cascades; we have a fair amount of sunny days even in winter, but that goes hand in hand with an arid climate so we HAVE to irrigate, and it is possible to have frost any day of the year. We've had snow on the 4th of July more than once! Tomatoes are an art, and you can pretty well forget about things like watermelons. But we don't really have ice storms much.

On the west side of the Cascades, they get more rain, but the land is more expensive, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't have the wild beauty of the high desert. So come to Klamath County and I'll hook you up with our community greenhouse, and you and I can trade veggies and fruits!

 

[lee&lyric]

composting toilet, micro-hydropower, drying and canning instead of freezing, evaporative coolers for keeping food cool, stuff like that.

Hi Britesea,

The CT is exactly what I was going to suggest. Glad to see you're up on it. We're not up on (micro-hydropower or evaporative coolers though). Will you please expound? We want to go totally off grid. As a matter of fact, we were sitting here discussing this a.m. how we could set up our homestead/farm to not need air conditioning. We're in Central Florida. We know of an older couple in our congregation that goes without AC, but, er ahhh, don't know that I want to go that route. There's got to be a way to stay cool without it. Lee knows stuff though. Meanwhile I want to find out about the things you listed above. There is so much to learn about being SS and for some reason (think SHTF) I am feeling time is running out.

Lyric

eta: We just looked up what I was asking about above. We have no river to take advantage of micro hydropower. The evaporative coolers would need electricity to run them. We're going to pursue wind power. One of the neighbors near our farm is using it successfully.

 

[moolie]

This book is an excellent resource for all things sustainably self-sufficient, and includes some really good info on water wheels for micro-hydro and also ram-pumps to move water from surface sources like springs etc. It also has good info about composting toilet systems.

Other sustainable living topics covered include: energy and waste, productivity int he garden, and a huge section on traditional knowledge (food preservation, traditional kitchen methods, natural remedies, and craft skills).

The craft skills section is really cool, they show how to build a foot-powered lathe and work green wood, make baskets from reeds and willow, do some basic metal work, and how to mend clothing.

I found it at my local bookstore when it came out last summer and it sits next to my James Seymour books and Back to Basics book on the lower shelf of my coffee table, with books I read and refer to regularly.

 

[i_am2bz]

Thanks for posting the link, moolie...just added it to my Christmas wish-list.

Britesea - I would be interested in hearing anything you find out about a/c without electricity...I am in the "death zone" for heat in central NC, & shudder to think about what life would be like without it. I have some battery-operated fans, but that only takes you so far...

 

[lee&lyric]

This book is an excellent resource for all things sustainably self-sufficient, . . . I found it at my local bookstore when it came out last summer and it sits next to my James Seymour books and Back to Basics book on the lower shelf of my coffee table, with books I read and refer to regularly.

Good looking out, Moolie. I'm on it and will share with Lee when he gets in. As much as I love technology (a la my 'puter) I love, love reading; especially non-fiction books. I'm looking forward to this one.

 

[SillySoap]

Is there a thread that lists a few good SS books for those of us that are just getting started?

 

[moolie]

Is there a thread that lists a few good SS books for those of us that are just getting started?

Not sure about an existing thread as I couldn't find anything with the Search feature, but a few books that have been super helpful in our family's journey toward more sustainable living have been:

Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century by British father and son duo Dick and James Strawbridge (the one I linked to above)

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It which is a compilation of several books by the late John Seymour (also from the UK)

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills which is a new printing of a 1970s Reader's Digest book (I have the old yellow cover version)

Any one of the books I've linked to above are a GREAT starting point, then you can move on to specific topics that you need more info on:

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving or the Canadian version: Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today

Putting Food By by Ruth Hertzberg

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation (excellent resource)

Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike & Nancy Bubel (excellent resource)

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzette Ashworth (excellent resource)

For gardening and food preservation information, google your local state university extension department and you can usually download tons of great info sheets of various topics and individual veg crops. Some that I've found very helpful include: Utah State and Oregon State. Locally I rely on a provincial publication called Alberta Yards & Gardens as well as gardening books by the late garden nursery owner and former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Hole. "Sunset" and "Ortho" books on gardening are also great, often available from used book shops.

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew (borrow from the library or buy this one used, it's full of good info but he gets a little tiresome)

http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/ is great for lots of free info on Square Foot gardening, and she offers "e-books" that you can print and put into a binder--I actually bought these last year when they were bundled together for something like $14 and the Planting by Colour title is very useful. It takes you through the gardening season week by week from starting seeds to harvest for your growing zone. The Gardening for Beginners title is great if you have never gardened before and want to start up quickly.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening or and old copy of Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte (two of my fave garden books of all time!)

Organic Kitchen Garden by Julie Roberts (a lovely read about an old Victorian country house garden brought back to life with a combo of traditional and modern methods--beautiful photographs if you are into eye candy, and good gardening resource)

Homegrown Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs: A Bountiful, Healthful Garden for Lean Times by Jim Wilson (formerly of PBS series The Victory Garden) (an excellent resource full of solid vegetable gardening information with pages on individual veggies, herbs, and bush/tree fruits--super for beginners and experienced gardeners alike)

Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation by Lynn Coulter (lots of info)

Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza (I don't own this but have borrowed it from the library a few times)

Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long by Elliot Coleman and Barb Damrosch (I don't own this but have borrowed it from the library a few times)

Just in Case: How to be Self-Sufficient when the Unexpected Happens by Kathy Harrison (I don't have this one, but have borrowed it often from the library and am on the lookout for a copy for myself--excellent resource that helped us organize our emergency preparation)

When there is no Doctor (free pdf file, super resource)