I have been rethinking the case for planting spiny Opuntia at the new place. The spiny Prickly Pear still makes a delicious fruit, and it has the added benefit of keeping out people, deer, and anything else soft and fleshy.
There is a very nice overview here.
I must have at least 20 starts in the front yard ready for transplant. Exciting!
Showing posts with label Survivalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Survivalism. Show all posts
Self-Reliance Expo 2016
I have never been to a self - reliance expo. The last expo I was at was probably DragonCon. So I am expecting awesome guest lectures and business development. Toying with the idea of creating some business cards for Eat Your Sand and giving them out while there. Maybe even a custom t-shirt. What do you think?
Eat Your Sand, beautiful edibles for the front yard
Announcing the official opening of project Eat Your Sand
After two grueling years of college, I have finally emerged. Hopefully the headaches will be over, and I will have more time to do the things that I love to do, like teach the little ones about nature and growing plants. I have also been cultivating a minimalist lifestyle, and this spring I have been potting and propagating, in hopes to find other permits to trade with, or just interested gardeners. Its not about selling plants and rabbits, its about sharing, getting, and producing bounty. Care of people and all.
So this spring I have more growies than I know what to do with. It has inspired me to create a trading page with a listing of everything that I have a lot of success with, including rabbits and premium plants.
Come check it out
EatYourSand
Don't hesitate to shoot me an email or use the form to contact me. I love to trade! Eat Your Sand will be updated frequently with what is currently being offered, and I am willing to travel to trade.
After two grueling years of college, I have finally emerged. Hopefully the headaches will be over, and I will have more time to do the things that I love to do, like teach the little ones about nature and growing plants. I have also been cultivating a minimalist lifestyle, and this spring I have been potting and propagating, in hopes to find other permits to trade with, or just interested gardeners. Its not about selling plants and rabbits, its about sharing, getting, and producing bounty. Care of people and all.
So this spring I have more growies than I know what to do with. It has inspired me to create a trading page with a listing of everything that I have a lot of success with, including rabbits and premium plants.
Come check it outEatYourSand
Don't hesitate to shoot me an email or use the form to contact me. I love to trade! Eat Your Sand will be updated frequently with what is currently being offered, and I am willing to travel to trade.
Manure Brewer
How to ghetto-tastically make a manure brewer. (Say that 5 times fast!)
The first step: Get your hands on a blue barrel. This is probably the hardest part, but they are out there if you really want them. There are many sources, I ghetto-tastically just asked someone who wasn't using theirs.
Then, using a saw, slice in half in the middle. This is the best time to clean the inside out really good.
If it had a cap or plug on the top, take it off. Get a large piece of old screen to more than cover the cap area.
In the base, drill a hole and install a spigot. This will need to be glued and caulked very well so there are no leakage problems.
Then invert the top onto the bottom, so the top acts as a cup for the raw manure. It should be open to the air so rain can come in.
Then fill the whole top with all the rabbit manure, waste hay, other manure, and small bits of kitchen waste, like eggshells. If you find any worms in your garden, add them as well.
How to use the manure brewer:
Dump water in the open top
Open the spigot and drain manure water into your watering can or bucket.
Take the watering can or bucket to your hungry plants, water slowly so more nutrition is absorbed.
The first step: Get your hands on a blue barrel. This is probably the hardest part, but they are out there if you really want them. There are many sources, I ghetto-tastically just asked someone who wasn't using theirs.
Then, using a saw, slice in half in the middle. This is the best time to clean the inside out really good.
If it had a cap or plug on the top, take it off. Get a large piece of old screen to more than cover the cap area.
In the base, drill a hole and install a spigot. This will need to be glued and caulked very well so there are no leakage problems.
Then invert the top onto the bottom, so the top acts as a cup for the raw manure. It should be open to the air so rain can come in.
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| This one isn't so attractive. Yours can be better. |
How to use the manure brewer:
Dump water in the open top
Open the spigot and drain manure water into your watering can or bucket.
Take the watering can or bucket to your hungry plants, water slowly so more nutrition is absorbed.
Laundry Detergent Update
Having made more laundry detergent from this recipe, using home made soap as the main ingredient is beyond compare. Just because people online say it's a good use of leftover bar soap, doesn't mean much until you actually try it, and I have. Home made soap is much better for laundry detergent, I would even put it up over fels-naptha. though fels has a better smell. Also, this last batch,I used more soap and borax than the recipe calls for (about 10% more) and feel it is well worth the additional cost. This batch was made with castille soap.
Harvesting the Cranberry Hibiscus
Earlier this spring my mother found these young plants at a garage sale, and they must have been priced well because she picked up one for me. It turned out the bargain annual happened to be the interesting and beautiful Hibiscus sabdariffa mentioned on the Florida Survival Gardening blog by David. No doubt the original seeds were from ECHO, as my mother lives not too far from there.I had no idea this plant could be so beautiful, unusual, useful, pest free, maintenance free...
Today I am going to harvest the fruit. According to David, the round green bits are not the delicious part, but are where the seeds are stored. It's the red wrappers (or calyx) around the round green fruit that is used for cooking and eating. This year recouping seeds is a high priority, since this is the only plant that I can source, and likely the only cranberry hibiscus growing in my county. It would be amazing to grow about 10 of these next year, as they like full sun. They do visibly wilt if you neglect to ensure hydration, but bounce back very easily and quickly. (I must have wilted it at least 5 times during the hot part of the summer.) Never would a tomato be this resilient.
The leaves are edible, and I can tell you that the rabbits eat these leaves even before they eat their normal favorite weeds, Spanish Needle (Bidens alba). Although Hibiscus sabdariffa is tasty, none of the plants in the mallow family, or rose family, are particularly high in nitrogen (protein about 2 1/2%) - a consideration for overall rabbit dietary needs. I did eat a few of the leaves, which were very mild but did have a pretty tasty flavor, much better than Bidens, which is tart. These leaves would be good in a salad or on a sandwich (which is probably what I will be doing since the cold weather is here.)
The seeds are higher in protein and very high in omega 6 fatty acids, and in quantity are valued as animal feed, particularly for chickens.
This is the first and largest of probably two harvests from my one plant.
Vitamin C Tisane/Infusion Recipes
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| Dried Hibiscus Flowers |
Be aware that boiling the plants for 20 minutes reduces available ascorbic acid by at least 20%. Perhaps making sun tea/solar tea or steeping overnight might be a better method.
High-C Tisane (Homemade Red Zinger Tea)
Dried hibiscus, lemongrass, orange peel, peppermint, and rose hipsBoiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.
Pine Needle tisane
Dried pine needlesBoiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.
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| Celestial Seasoning's Red Zinger |
Mint tisane
Your choice of mint or balmBoiling water
1 . Steep herbs for ten minutes
2. Drink as a vitamin C boost.
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| Fresh Flowers, Water. Let chill overnight. Enjoy! |
The Skinny on Irish Soda Bread
I may have said before that I am a big fan of soda breads. They are cheap, quick, and easy to make, and don't require the addition of finicky yeast. Traditional Irish Soda Bread, a recipe that became popular during the Victorian Era, is the master recipe for many other quick breads.
Irish soda bread is made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda, sugar, and salt. The traditional flour used for the recipe is a soft flour, the opposite of durum semolina. Soft flours are uncommon here in the US, but cake flour is a good mixture between soft and all-purpose that will work nicely if you are trying to closely approximate the historical recipe. I just use all-purpose, since that is what we buy in bulk and have for our longer term food storage/preps.
Buttermilk is the only hard-to-get ingredient. It can be found in most grocery stores and tolerates freezing well, but if you don't have a chance to run out and pick some up, it can be approximated by adding some vinegar or lemon juice to plain milk. Yet another (traditional?) technique for approximating buttermilk when none is available is to use the effluent from a somewhat rancid sourdough starter as the buttermilk portion of the recipe. I see no reason why the effluent, or whey, from homemade yogurt couldn't be used in this way. All four additives could change the base recipe to suit your tastes. Which is your favorite?
Irish soda bread is made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda, sugar, and salt. The traditional flour used for the recipe is a soft flour, the opposite of durum semolina. Soft flours are uncommon here in the US, but cake flour is a good mixture between soft and all-purpose that will work nicely if you are trying to closely approximate the historical recipe. I just use all-purpose, since that is what we buy in bulk and have for our longer term food storage/preps.
Buttermilk is the only hard-to-get ingredient. It can be found in most grocery stores and tolerates freezing well, but if you don't have a chance to run out and pick some up, it can be approximated by adding some vinegar or lemon juice to plain milk. Yet another (traditional?) technique for approximating buttermilk when none is available is to use the effluent from a somewhat rancid sourdough starter as the buttermilk portion of the recipe. I see no reason why the effluent, or whey, from homemade yogurt couldn't be used in this way. All four additives could change the base recipe to suit your tastes. Which is your favorite?
Vitamin C for the Survivalist
Have you ever thought about what your diet would be like if you had to fend for yourself? Have you found a solution to the problems of vitamin insufficiency in restricted diets? Most of our modern, processed foods have been vitamin-enriched to prevent scurvy, rickets, and folate deficiency. If you were trying to supply your whole diet from what you can grow or forage, would you be safe?
Interestingly, capybaras and guinea pigs (cuys) also lack the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid just like humans, bats, and some other apes. If cuys are one of your survival protein sources or urban farming animal, this is a problem you will have to address.
Lack of vitamin C results in scurvy, with significant symptoms appearing in as little as three months. Foods naturally high in ascorbic acid are cruciferous vegetables, all kinds of peppers, kiwi, seabuckthorn, acerola, goji berry, persimmon, and citrus. Also found in oysters and animal liver. Heat (cooking or canning) significantly reduces available vitamin C in foods. One trick for canning is to add lemon juice to foods which are lacking, increasing the vitamins, preventing oxidation, and lowering the pH.
Although I have no real proof, I suspect that the leaves of many of our edible plants that produce high-vitamin crops probably have a higher than average concentration of those vitamins, particularly before flowering and fruiting. I suspect strawberry, rose, and hibiscus leaves to be higher in vitamin C, banana leaves to be higher in potassium, citrus leaves high in both. With our soils naturally being magnesium-deficient, I suspect that to be lacking in a person living on a native Floridian diet (in the absence of shellfish and other seafoods). The more research I have done to prove or disprove this hypothesis, the more I notice there is a lack of study in this area, though I did find here that purslane and plantain are very high in vitamin A precursor. This study finds that ascorbic acid is higher in lemon leaves than in the bark, roots, and juice, partially confirming my hypothesis.
Interestingly, capybaras and guinea pigs (cuys) also lack the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid just like humans, bats, and some other apes. If cuys are one of your survival protein sources or urban farming animal, this is a problem you will have to address.
Although I have no real proof, I suspect that the leaves of many of our edible plants that produce high-vitamin crops probably have a higher than average concentration of those vitamins, particularly before flowering and fruiting. I suspect strawberry, rose, and hibiscus leaves to be higher in vitamin C, banana leaves to be higher in potassium, citrus leaves high in both. With our soils naturally being magnesium-deficient, I suspect that to be lacking in a person living on a native Floridian diet (in the absence of shellfish and other seafoods). The more research I have done to prove or disprove this hypothesis, the more I notice there is a lack of study in this area, though I did find here that purslane and plantain are very high in vitamin A precursor. This study finds that ascorbic acid is higher in lemon leaves than in the bark, roots, and juice, partially confirming my hypothesis.
Another Great Reason to Grow Lemon Trees
Vitamins found in the leaves can be higher than the vitamins found in the fruit. This includes vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin A precursor. Potassium and vitamin C are not stored well by the body, so have to be replenished periodically by the diet. There is some evidence that dehydrating the leaves concentrates the vitamins, as long as the dehydrating is performed without excessive heat. Can we say valuable post-apocalyptic trading commodity? Also a great reason to enjoy herbal tisanes and justify the cost of an inexpensive solar dehydrator for the backyard.
Citrus greening could become a problem, but not if you are growing the plants specifically for the leaves. Greening is the newest, baddest threat to Florida's citrus industry, basically an uncontrollable bacteria that causes fruit to improperly ripen. However, leaves are unaffected, and the bacteria is not a human pathogen. The best time to harvest leaves is right before the lemon trees flower and fruit, as that is when they will have the maximum nutrition. Meyer lemons flower in December, usually, and fruit a few months later. The flowers are fragrant and nutritious too! Citrus trees are perennials, so care must be taken to sustainably harvest them.
As much as IFAS and the news sensationalize the plights of the citrus industry, most citrus trees are largely resistant to pests. Perhaps it is because those statistics come from the monocultured orchard citrus industry. Perhaps it's because most are already grafted before you have the opportunity to purchase the trees. Perhaps it is because most people's backyard citrus are not planted so densely so as to encourage the growth of pests and the lack of beneficial insects and bacteria. Remember this previous article about how the state destroyed thousands of homeowner's citrus trees, then lost a lawsuit because it was scientifically unfounded? It just shows that they don't really know the answers either.
The fruit has many culinary uses. It is used in canning to lower pH and prevent oxidation. It can be used to cook raw fish without heat, but dehydrates the proteins - changing the texture. Lemonade. Household cleaner. Fragrance. Color. Limitless possibilities.
It may have some medicinal properties. Although not thoroughly researched here in the US, lemon is used in Ayurveda in India. According to this study, lemon is used to treat disorders of the throat and persistent catarrh (inflammation of the mucous membranes usually in the airway, causing an overproduction of phlegm and mucus). The low pH of lemon juice inhibits bacterial growth. Certainly vitamin C is absolutely necessary in our diet. Remember this post where I wrote about vitamin C and guinea pigs (as a survival protein source)? We all need good nutrition.
The recommendations for lemon culture from IFAS state that lemons are more vigorous than most citrus species and that dense plantings encourage pests. They are recommended for the warmest, sunniest part of the landscape that does not flood. IFAS doesn't recommend propagation by seed, but rather grafting onto a rootstock specifically chosen to avoid certain soil pathogens.
Making Bread After the Apocalypse
The biggest problem with making bread after the apocalypse has to be the availability of ingredients. This is the part where gluten-free bakers get to jump up and shout hooray, because they have probably already been making potato bread and cassava bread for some time. Of the grains that do grow here in Central Florida, perhaps amaranth and sorghum might be our best choices. Research should be done into kenaf and durum semolina also. Assuming you'll be able to acquire some kind of flour or substitute...
Many preppers foresee themselves culturing sourdough starter to make homemade breads at some point in the future. After maintaining a starter for several years, I now no longer do so because I don't have a large enough family to properly produce and use almost any quantity of starter. It also takes a lot of cleaning and attention to bacterial growth prevention. Here in Florida, the warmer temperatures in your average air-conditioned kitchen will make your starter 'grow' about three times as fast as the yankees' starter. A sourdough starter gone flat can still be used in your bread recipes with the addition of either commercial yeast or a pinch of baking soda.
What can be used to leaven bread when you can't get baking soda? Hardwood ashes, once leeched and turned into lye (potassium hydroxide), can further be dehydrated and kiln-fired into potash/pearlash. Potash is potassium carbonate, known commonly for its fertilizer properties. It was an American tradition with some Native Americans and the colonists to leaven bread with potassium carbonate, but over time this fell out of favor when commercial baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) became available, as it has less of a bitter aftertaste. It is conceivable that the underground kiln your buddy used for making biochar was also making some pretty high-quality pearlash, or could be used to produce some.
For the easiest Solar Cooker ever, used to bake bread in along with an oven bag, check out this design that I have used successfully.
For other ideas on cooking with your preps, with local ingredients, and without expensive ingredients, please check out the labels marked Pantry Raid or Cook With Your Preps in the sidebar.
Many preppers foresee themselves culturing sourdough starter to make homemade breads at some point in the future. After maintaining a starter for several years, I now no longer do so because I don't have a large enough family to properly produce and use almost any quantity of starter. It also takes a lot of cleaning and attention to bacterial growth prevention. Here in Florida, the warmer temperatures in your average air-conditioned kitchen will make your starter 'grow' about three times as fast as the yankees' starter. A sourdough starter gone flat can still be used in your bread recipes with the addition of either commercial yeast or a pinch of baking soda.
What can be used to leaven bread when you can't get baking soda? Hardwood ashes, once leeched and turned into lye (potassium hydroxide), can further be dehydrated and kiln-fired into potash/pearlash. Potash is potassium carbonate, known commonly for its fertilizer properties. It was an American tradition with some Native Americans and the colonists to leaven bread with potassium carbonate, but over time this fell out of favor when commercial baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) became available, as it has less of a bitter aftertaste. It is conceivable that the underground kiln your buddy used for making biochar was also making some pretty high-quality pearlash, or could be used to produce some.
For the easiest Solar Cooker ever, used to bake bread in along with an oven bag, check out this design that I have used successfully.
For other ideas on cooking with your preps, with local ingredients, and without expensive ingredients, please check out the labels marked Pantry Raid or Cook With Your Preps in the sidebar.
What is Alum, really?
Alum is the common name for a salt that is most easily found in the spice sections of some grocery stores. Individuals that are well-versed in home canning principles will recognize the name, since it is a common ingredient in some pickling recipes. It is made by mining bauxite, then refining it into alum.
Years ago bakers in England used to add it to their breads, not as a leavening agent, but to make the dough seem whiter. A practice we would abhor now, it has been made illegal there. However, it is not illegal here. It kind of makes you wonder how they 'bleach' flour and make white bread so white.
It can be used in wastewater treatment to 'grab' larger particles, making them sink, which makes them easier to filter from the wasted water.
Given its wide variety of uses, this little chemical makes a very interesting addition to your preps and pantry.
Baking
Potassium aluminum sulfate, or potash alum, is also half the base of baking powder, another useful cooking ingredient. Baking powder leavens, or raises, quick breads, muffins, and pancakes, without dramatically changing the pH, and therefore taste, that baking soda would. The alum in baking powder is activated as the dough reaches higher temperatures. The other half of baking powder is baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).Years ago bakers in England used to add it to their breads, not as a leavening agent, but to make the dough seem whiter. A practice we would abhor now, it has been made illegal there. However, it is not illegal here. It kind of makes you wonder how they 'bleach' flour and make white bread so white.
Personal Care
Along with aluminum chlorohydrate, it is added to some deodorants as a safe astringent, as it kills odor-causing bacteria. Many people are against the use of alum in this way, since it is possible that it gets absorbed into the skin and contaminates the body. Aluminum compounds supposedly neither hurt nor harm cells, but the science is still out on that opinion. It is known that aluminum can be absorbed from deodorants and can cross the blood-brain barrier.Leather tanning
Tanning animal skins is a fairly complex skill. The alum comes in at near the end of the process, where it can be mixed with washing soda, the cleaned, dry skin can either be immersed in the mixture or have it painted on as a paste. Alum is used in tanning to remove moisture, prevent rotting, and produce leather.Dyes
Alum is known to be one of the least toxic of the metallic fabric mordants. A mordant is a chemical used to help to adhere dye to fabric. It is also considered to be the all-purpose mordant, as hand-dyeing is a largely artistic and experimental endeavor with no two results being alike. Iron impurities in alum can change color outcomes, making for a dull piece. Alum is recommended for all protein fibers, like wool, and most cellulose fibers, like hemp. There doesn't seem to be a recommended mordant for cotton.Pickling
Alum is used in pickling recipes to keep the vegetables more crisp. Washington State University says, "Calcium and aluminum salts improve pickle firmness by combining the pectin to make the cucumber more resistant to softening. Alum (aluminum potassium sulfate) has been shown to cause a slight increase in pH and a significant increase in firmness when used at levels up to ¼ teaspoon per pint."It can be used in wastewater treatment to 'grab' larger particles, making them sink, which makes them easier to filter from the wasted water.
Given its wide variety of uses, this little chemical makes a very interesting addition to your preps and pantry.
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