The Self-Sufficient Skills thread (new name, old thread!)

[Quail_Antwerp]

Good job Quail! It has been a productive summer for you!

and I'm still learning!!

 

[big brown horse]

Achievements:

1. Made cat food!
2. I built a great big garden!
3. Growing for the first time: carrots, raddishes, lettuce, peas, fingerling potatoes, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, kiwi, rhubarb and figs. I inherited a nice big orchard full of apples (10 varieties!) plums, crab apples, cherries, and pears (two types). I believe there are 15 fruit trees in all.
4. Growing tomatos and tons of herbs, something I already experienced...always kept a tomato (and okra) and herb garden back in TX.
5. Set up 2 rain barrels.
6. Recycle everything and reuse as much as possible.
7. Jelly/jam and sun dried tomato canning is now under my belt.
8. I can pickle anything, I'm from the South y'all!
9. I have a mason bee condo filled to capasity.
10. I have 3 beautiful chickens a Rhode Island red named Ruby, an Ameraucauna named Olive, and a black Astralorp named Felicia, three eggs a day.
11. We don't turn on the light or heat during the day and we don't own any AC devices to turn on in the summer. (Right now we work in our coats and scarves!)
12. We have a wood burning stove that is sufficient to warm the whole house up.
13. I fenced and cross fenced 5 acres by myself and a manuel post hole digger.

Goals:
1. Make a contraption to make horse manure "bricks" to burn in out door pit. Then I will add the ashes to my garden.
2. Own some milking goats so I can do all that stuff freemotion does.
3. Buy a Buff Orpington and then a Barred Rock.
4. Install a windmill to generate electricity.
5. Dig and build a root celler.

Well, no windmill yet, or root cellar, but I got my Buff Orpington!

I'm still planning on making horse manure "bricks". It will have to wait till this summer.

I built another garden to be used next spring. The piggy is in it now getting it ready.

I have milking animals, sheep not goats.

I make kefir and kombucha tea.

New plans:
Bees...next year!
Buy a sheep ram so I can get Dolly knocked up...then milk.
Build a barn!!!!!!

ETA: I have 8 more chickens now too.

 

[Ldychef2k]

My eyes perked up when I read about the manure briquettes. I have been wanting to make a Peterson Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lCvd4UkNuQ and have even saved junk mail, sawdust, leaves, etc. Have you made headway on your project? I am VVVEERRYYY interested.

 

[big brown horse]

My eyes perked up when I read about the manure briquettes. I have been wanting to make a Peterson Press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lCvd4UkNuQ and have even saved junk mail, sawdust, leaves, etc. Have you made headway on your project? I am VVVEERRYYY interested.

Hi Ldy!

Here is where I got my idea: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=973

Hope this helps. I wanted to burn horse poo so I could put the ashes on my garden. It is supposed to make the best fertilizer!

 

[Ldychef2k]

Oh, I get it now ! I only read the first page, so my question may have been answered later on down. But I don't see why you can't just dry the poop in its original shape. Why do you need to make a contraption to do it?

 

[big brown horse]

Good point! Would seem easier, eh?

I havn't read that article in a long time, but I think it had to do with trying to light it. It would be easier to light logs rather than little horse apples.

 

[valmom]

I tried to shape horse manure and dry it last year. Unfortunately, last summer here rained every single day for months. It was a moldy/mildew disaster. I may try again this year.

I may try to build something like that contraption with the bottle jack to compress the manure with- great idea!

 

[tortoise]

I learned how to use a drop spindle to make yarn out of my rabbits' wool. I already know how to knit.

 

[freemotion]

I am stinkin' impressed!!!!!

 

[TanksHill]

Tortoise that is just amazing.