This week for the Preparedness Challenge, I purchased two replacement filters for my Big Berkey water purifying system. This product is great for every day, but if the water is ever cut off for some reason, I can filter rain water off the roof (if we were to get any!), lake water, or even water from a mud puddle and make it safe to drink! Often in a crisis, such as a hurricane, water supplies become contaminated and outbreaks of disease occur as a second wave after the initial crisis. This is exactly what they're facing in Haiti right now. You can only store so much water, so a purifier that really works should be a high priority for anyone seeking to be prepared.
The potatoes are going in the ground today (at least some of them) and a friend helped us do a little more investigating into the natural springs on our property. Finally, I did a bit more sleuthing around on my property for more native plants. I can't say I found anything great, but there is tons of that nettle everywhere! Silly me, I had capri pants on when I went up the mountain and my leg is telling me about the nettle as I write since there was a small gap between my boot and the pants. Just enough space for the nettle to get me! Where is the plantain? I really would like to have a good crop of this on my property, but I'm not finding it anywhere! Perhaps it's to arid and dry here. Apparently you can buy the seeds and plant it, so I'll probably have to do that soon. Seems like I need it often!
Please share how you Prepared this week by leaving a comment below or write a blog post, add the Preparedness Challenge Picture with a link to Homestead Revival™, and then come back here and add your post to the Linky. Be sure to click your title and copy the URL that will link directly to the appropriate post on your blog so friends can find it easily.
Don't feel like you have to do a bunch of things; just one is great! The goal here isn't to out do each other, but rather to DO SOMETHING!
There are so many different homesteading and preparation skills I would like to learn, and I definitely have a tendency to run in more directions at one time than is wise. I have committed myself to focusing on learning about medicinal plants and herbal remedies this year. For the preparedness challenge this week, I finished reading the Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants and started reading Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians by Patricia Howell. The point of the book is to provide medicinal uses, medicinal preparation instructions and ethical harvesting guidelines for 45 plants that you can find in the Southern Appalachian mountains. The book was written in 2006, and I am struck by the fact that a few of the plants mentioned are now seriously over-harvested. My husband is a horticulturist, and, with his knowledge, our goal is to encourage the growth of as many of these 45 plants as possible on our property. As a step toward making creams, salves and ointments, I purchased a pound of beeswax from a local beekeeper. I also added to our pantry stock.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend, we will plant most of the rest of the vegetable garden and start planting the herb garden. We will be planting white half runners, eggplant, crookneck squash, crowder peas, two types of heirloom pickling cucumbers, cowhorn okra, sweet potato slips, jalapeno peppers, mint, orange mint (first time trying orange mint!), sweet basil, sage and thyme. Hopefully the heirloom tomato and green pepper transplants will be ready to plant by next weekend.
I added 25 lbs of wheat, 10 lbs of various sugars and baking chocolate to my pantry. I also found a good deal on little girl's clothes and a closeout on men's toiletries so my husband should smell good for another 2-3 years :)
ReplyDeleteTried my hand at foraging again...found lots of mushrooms and talked very briefly to a farmer about buying 1/2 a cow.
Thank you for inviting me to participate. These past few days have definitely shown us where we need to improve.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's day!!
Hello Amy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the information about the Big Berkey water purifying system. Living in Florida along the Gulf coast each time that there is hurricane near our home we are asked to boil our water. The Big Berey water purifying system maybe the answer to our water issues during those crazy times down here in Florida. Thanks for sharing!
Smiles, Paula
Continuing to stock up on canning supplies as well as dry goods, cleaning supplies and pet supplies. Started putting together a 72 hour emergency kit. We need to be prepared in case of tonadoes. Will be working up the herb garden today and begin breaking ground for the vegetable garden.
ReplyDeleteI didn't buy anything new or make anything special. This week was finally dry enough to do maintenance. We cleaned out pens and added the manure to our pile and put in fresh bedding. Hubby put up new clothes line for me so I can stop using the dryer. Today, when I'm finished here, the kiddos and I are going out to plow the garden(if it's dry enough) I really want to get the onions and potatoes in now. We are going to do several plantings of potatoes because we discovered how good canned potatoes are!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Amy. Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through your post, I decided to update and link up my post on root cellars. We're lucky enough to have been able to build our current home, and having a root cellar was one of the things I wanted from the start. Along with the attached greenhouse and cannign pantry, it makes food storage and season extension a lot easier.
This week I continued nursing my seedlings along in the greenhouse, and spoke with a neighbor about breaking new ground to expand the garden a bit more. I stocked up on some more bulk food stuffs through our buying club, too.
Great post. I have been talking up the Water purifier to my husband. I think that is a great investment.
ReplyDeleteWe started our 72 Hour Kits this week.....waiting for our weather radio to come in and I need to get some of those water purification tablets. I would say I'm about 75% done.
ReplyDeleteAlso began saving for our Big Berkey water filter after our Nutramill arrived this week. :-)
With the tornados in the last couple of weeks, we ordered a weather radio and it came in the week. I also bought a large number of AA batteries for it to run on. I need to order the filters for our TWO British Berkfields. They have been relegated to the attic since we got a new fridge with a filter a couple of years ago. We got the pre Y2K and used one for years. My MIL had the other one and never used it. I need to give it to my daughter....after I order new filters!
ReplyDeleteThis week I watched Jerry Baker's Garden of Herbal Delights that I got through Netflix. He has some wonderful recipes for natural fertilizers, pesticides, soil mixes and ideas for uses of herbs. The gold potatoes are blooming and the russets and finally sprouting. And, we are going to have blackberries! We went to Ft. Chadbourne's living history days. We were next to the wool spinners who are close to their 70's. They, too, were talking about preparing for whatever God was going to send their way! I'm still waiting for someone on the Barn Hop to share on solar food drying unless I have missed it.
ReplyDeleteWe're in a financial no spend for the next couple of weeks, so I've been working on things around the place. This is our first year on a homestead, with a garden, with any livestock, etc. so it's ALL NEW. As spring moves forward we're discovering more of the landscaping the previous owners left behind and moving out what won't work for our overall plan of going to an edible landscape. We're also working hard on getting the garden in now that we're past our last frost date!!!
ReplyDeleteSara, solar drying would be an awesome topic. I've seen some well thought out units that can be built at home (all wood and screening material) constructed in such a way as to maximize air flow and solar heat so that the food dries before it spoils. I'll have to see if I can find a link on it again and maybe do a post.
ReplyDeleteOooh! The Root Cellar and the gardening books look great! Thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteMAY I ALSO ADD: COFFEE FILTERS
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed to have several springs and a spring pond on our acreage. The water runs clear and the Crown Berkey makes it taste like water fron the very Garden of Eden... BUT>>>>>
IN THE EVENT YOU MUST FILTER TURBID WATER>>>
Buy a HUGE stash of coffee filters at the COSTCO and PRE FILTER all the solids first using a coffee basket (from a thrift store pot purchased solely for this purpose) and filter set up. This sounds so obvious but I know a woman who nearly ruined her black Berkey filters by over taxing them. It was a terible job cleaning those filters, not to mention it took HOURS to filter the smallest amount of cruddy water. **DUH**
And the GARDENING WHEN IT COUNTS BOOK has EXCELLENT ADVICE on why row crops are superior to "square foot gardening" in raised beds>>>primarily water usage. If you DO NOT have a natural spring or water source on your land for irrigation, he makes a compelling case for the row crop as the most adventageous set up for frugal water use. Check it out>>>great book, if you can get through the politics of his quirky "lifestyle". ;)
Lets see, I have placed cages over our strawberries to keep the birds from eating them, Bought 50 pounds of sugar, placed half into a gamma lid bucket, ( still need to do the other 1/2 in the bucket), got the coolers up and running so we are kept cooler in the summer, cut our daughters loft bed down 8 inches so she could sit up in bed and read, instead of hunched over. I also took a test that I am hoping I passed so I can hopefully pass so I may be able to get a job with having two kinds of credentials, this way i can pay off debt, and continue with food storage and homesteading in my little house in the city!
ReplyDelete