I got started tanning fur purely by accident. My longtime friend and hunting partner, Robert, started a taxidermy business and decided to offer his customers in-house tanning. I happened to be in his shop one day as he was combing out some wolf pelts he had just finished tanning. I was amazed at how soft and supple they had turned out.
self-sufficiency
The Basic Livestock Vetting Requirements For The New Homesteader
Most experienced livestock owners administer medicines, routine vaccinations, and other shots when needed. They also perform common procedures like de-worming, treating wounds, de-horning, castration, etc., and keep a reserve of commonly used medical supplies and medications on hand.
Read more…The Basic Livestock Vetting Requirements For The New Homesteader
How To Make Your Own Dyes Using Plants
Dyes have been used since ancient times to add color to fabric or other items and to oneself. Before the 19th century, commercial dyes were not available, and dyes were primarily made from natural materials, generally whatever was available in a given region.
Planing For Blackouts And Keeping The Basics Running
The nation’s electrical grid is in peril. This is nothing new, and we’ve been warned about it for years. But now, the issue is beginning to manifest itself, and many states are affected. The reasons are complex, and there’s a lot of finger-pointing going on from every side of the issue, but the raw facts are easy to comprehend.
Read more…Planing For Blackouts And Keeping The Basics Running
Raising Livestock For Self-sufficiency
In their quest for self-sufficiency, a lot of families start out quite logically by moving to their own piece of land in the country and cultivating a large garden. Once they feel they have mastered this step, they begin thinking about livestock.
Recommendations For Planting Fruit, Nut and Shade trees
Most of us think of fall as a time of winding down on gardening activities. True, there are fewer chores to do than when the spring garden was begun followed by mulching, harvesting, canning, and so on, but fall is also the preferred time for planting most fruit and nut trees.
Read more…Recommendations For Planting Fruit, Nut and Shade trees
Growing The Best Crops For Coping With The Next Crisis
If the next crisis hits hard, one of the best friends you can have is a practical garden. A key consideration in such a garden is which types of produce can be harvested and simply dumped into a root cellar or dark closet, without processing, and left there until needed.
Read more…Growing The Best Crops For Coping With The Next Crisis
How To Live Off the Grid
Most disaster preparedness typically includes creating sufficient food and potable water stores and enough ammunition and firearms for protection. However, those wanting complete self-sufficiency and life sustainability will often choose to live off the grid.
More Than A Dozen Reasons To Practice Self-sufficiency Gardening
It often amazes me that when many people think of self-sufficiency, home food production is usually the last item on their list—that is, if it makes the list at all. We all tend to take certain things for granted, such as foods that are plentiful.
Read more…More Than A Dozen Reasons To Practice Self-sufficiency Gardening
How To Enrich Your Soil With Cover Crops
Use it or lose it. That expression did not originally refer to soil, but it could have. Nature improves soil by growing plants on it continuously. In the wild, good soil is never without a cover of vegetation. Something will grow there, so it may as well be something you choose.
Plant propagation Techniques For Multiplying Your Plants Easily
Nearly all gardeners are familiar with saving seeds and the benefits and reasons for doing so, but there are numerous reasons and benefits in learning other techniques for plant propagation. These techniques involve division, layering, stem cutting, and grafting.
Read more…Plant propagation Techniques For Multiplying Your Plants Easily
Harvesting and Processing Big Game: Deer, Elk and Moose
A lot of us self-reliant folks, especially those of us now living in the woods somewhere, hunt and forage for a part of our food. Although we raise a steer for beef and have poultry to butcher, we also hunt wild meat to “fill in” for those years that we don’t butcher a beef.
Read more…Harvesting and Processing Big Game: Deer, Elk and Moose
Tips For Preparing Gardening Soil In Winter
We have to prepare for everything, whether it’s for a career, a city council meeting, a country fair, a junior’s first day at school, a well-stocked pantry, or anything else. It’s the same with gardening. You can’t expect to reap much of a crop if you throw your seeds out on the ground with nature’s wildflowers, weeds, and debris.