Off Grid and Lovin’ It

Barbara H. Peterson

Farm Wars

Most of us have wondered what it would be like to pack bag and baggage, move to a remote area of the country, be able to cut all ties to the outside world if necessary and live off-grid. Quite a daunting task, and a bit scary. But it can be done, as evidenced by Bud and Judy who did just that around 9 years ago, and are thriving today because of it.

I asked Bud what their motivation was, and he said: “We just wanted to do things on our own.” Well, they are doing just that. Isolated from the artificial existence of city life, cocooned in the warm glow of self-sufficiency and ready to cut the ties to civilization at any moment, Bud and Judy are living a life that most of us only dream about, and I was about to get a peak at their hideaway…  READ MORE

 

Guerrilla Warfare Gardening 2: Toil’s no Trouble

Barbara H. Peterson

Farm Wars

Farm Wars Outdoor Garden 2011

With the last cabbage processed, this season’s outdoor gardening and food processing project is officially over. That is, all except for soil prep for next season, when we let the geese and goat in the garden to eat the leftovers, then spread the horse manure. Then, it’s all about enjoying the fruits of our labors, and telling the corporate veggie distributors to take their pesticide-laden produce and… well, you know the rest.

This is our fourth year gardening in the high desert, and I’ve got to admit, we messed around and got it right this time. We have enough in the freezer for the year, and the garden fed us and the critters with fresh produce all during the harvest.

Brian planted and hand watered the garden morning and evening. We both weeded and harvested, and I processed. Processing consisted of cleaning, trimming, blanching, chopping and freezing, as well as some drying. We both collect seeds.

Here are pics of some of the bounty (cabbage, onions, beets, radishes, spinach and zucchini). We had carrots also, but I forgot to take pics of them. The garden area was 60 X 80: 

 

Swimming Pool Aquaponics System

We created GardenPool.org to document our journey of converting an old backyard swimming pool in to a way to feed our family and live more self-sufficiently. When we purchased our first home in Mesa, AZ on October of 2009, it came with a large, empty, and run-down pool. Rather than spending thousands of dollars in fixing the pool or having it filled with fill dirt we decided to design an inexpensive & self-sufficient urban greenhouse. Initially, we had anticipated self-sufficiency by 2012 but we achieved our goal by mid-2010. Our family gets about 8 fresh eggs a day, unlimited tilapia fish, organic fruit, veggies, and herbs 365 days a year. To our knowledge, the GP (short for Garden Pool) is a one of a kind creation.

Gardenpool.org

 

Make your own electricity out of thin air for $2.00!

 

Catherine Austin Fitts: We Must be Self-Sufficient Ahead of The Coming Global Disasters

 

CODEX and the Depopulation Agenda on the Common Sense Show

Dave Hodges, Annie Deriso and I talk about HR 2749, Monsanto, and CODEX’s parts in the depopulation agenda and what we can do.

Listen HERE.

Barb

 

Farewell My Subaru, Hello Funky Butte Ranch

This is my kinda guy!

 

Amazing Device Pumps Well Water Using Compressed Air (video)

If you have been reading this blog then you know that I have been searching for a solution to pump water from a deep well that doesn’t require 220 power. Well, here it is. I can hook the air compressor that runs this system into a small solar generator and have all the water I need or want sans the power company. Thank you Mike Adams, the Health Ranger at naturalnews.com

 

Baking in a Wood Oven

By Podchef

The Podchef shows how to bake bread, cookies, and other goodies in an outside, wood oven.

The oven? Here is how he built it.

Instructions on constructing the same wood oven that the Podchef has from a company with the following philosophy:

These ovens constitute a radical departure in building technique and use that has made it possible for the first time for small rural based home and village bakeries to be viable and competitive with the industry at any level.

With the ongoing loss of middle class occupations throughout western societies, many with even moderate skills and capital can create an invaluable small business in their communities that will find ready support from them in return.

Many are finding for the first time the joy of meanigful work in the bosum of their communities and free from the distant hidden grip of the corporate world at last. http://www.ovencrafters.net/

Here is a link to a ton of information and plans for making all sorts of wood-fired ovens:

http://heatkit.com/html/bakeoven.htm

 

From City to Farm – Becoming Self Sufficient

By Barbara H. Peterson

Total Health Breakthroughs

 

Becoming self-sufficient is not only the prudent thing to do, but it is also a rewarding journey full of adventure and hope, that lasts a lifetime and provides a sense of accomplishment that nothing else quite compares to. Being able to go out your back door and pick fresh tomatoes that you have grown yourself instead of going to the nearest grocery store for veggies that have traveled for miles across country is a source of pride for us country folk.

So, let’s talk about this exciting adventure, but before we do, I would like you to think about this: