The Way to Self Sufficiency

8/3/2019 The Way to Self Sufficiency

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The Way to Self Sufficiency

By Michael G. Nash

www.SelfSufficiencyClub.com
http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/


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Introduction

In todays world there is a paradox: the more were depending on

technology, the more we feel trapped in it. Nobody saw this coming fifty

years ago when we were all dreaming of flying saucers and teleportation.

We thought that technology is here to help but, more often than not, it

makes us feel dependant and, thus, miserable.

Add to this the fact that corporations are using it at maximum to

maximize their profits and what do you get? An increasing gap between

the rich and the poor.

Before the industrial age, a household was pretty much self sustainable.

One would cultivate his own vegetables, have animals such as cows or

horses and plenty of land which to cultivate.

When the industrial age came, more and more people started working in

factories and thus, depended on their paychecks. They couldnt stay athome to make their own food so they had to use money to buy it.

This organizational structure evolved up until today when we have an

intricate structure of corporations, medium sized companies and self

employed people. All of them are in the rat race for cash flow. We need a

solution. We need to feel less dependent on other and more on ourselves.

But how?


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Self sufficiencySelf sufficiency is all about going back to the basics. Its about growing

your own fruits, vegetables and animals, making home cooked meals with

organic food, generating your own energy and even disconnecting your

house from the sewage system.

It can be all of that or only a part. You dont have to go extreme on this.

There are many factors to consider and jumping right into something

new without knowing much on the topic can have dramatic

consequences.

But you CAN take baby steps in this direction. Move slowly but surely

towards independence. Eat healthier, do physical work which in turn it

will help you mentally or put up a solar panel to reduce energy costs.

Whatever you choose to do is up toyou. Im only giving you the

information. Just take the first step.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Confucius


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The first step to self sufficiency: Food

Of course, the prerequisite is to have a house with a garden. You need

space to cultivate at least some vegetables.

There are a few foods that are very easy to grow at home so they would

make a great start for you as a beginner. Among them, we have

Carrots. Plant them in rows 1foot apart (30 centimeters).

They dont do very well in acid.You can begin harvesting them

60-90 days after you planted

them, when they are about the

size of a finger, usually in late

spring (when the ground is

dry). Along with carrots you

can plant radishes, which we

discuss below.

Radishes. The word radishis Saxon in origin (rudo) where

it meant blood (given the red

color of this plan). Radishes

have the advantage that they

can grow almost anywhere, on

most soils and that they reach

maturity very quickly. Only

sow the larger seeds, 6 inches

deep (15 centimeters). Pick

them up after 6 weeks. If you

have containers, they can be grown there as well among other crops.


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Garlic. Garlic is very healthyand is even used as treatment

against high cholesterol levels

or colds. In order to use it, youneed a place with plenty of sun

and enough moisture. Garlic is

best planted during the fall or

early winter. If youre not

growing it outside and prefer to do it in a container or a pot, you can

do it anywhere from fall through mid spring. Plant each clove 4

inches (10 cm) deep, 4 inches apart from each other. Make sure the

clove points upward. If you have any, cover the area with some hay.

Garlic should be harvested when the leaves start to brown. Thishappens usually in August. Its VERY important to harvest your

garlic at exactly the right time. Dont do it sooner because the cloves

will be too small. Dont do it later either the bulb will be most likely

split. After you harvest the garlic, you should let it hang in a dry

place. Dryness is important in order to not let it grow again.

Potatoes. Potatoes come in avariety of sizes, shapes and

colors. They grow well in well

drained soil with a pH of 5.5

6.5. Dont plant potatoes

bought from the local

supermarket as they will not

grow. Instead, get seed

potatoes from a garden center

or from gardener friends. Plant them 3 inches deep (8 centimeters).

When the plant has grown enough (around 8 inches tall) you should

hill them up by bringing soil dug with a hoe from the trench underthe leaves. Repeat this after a

few weeks.

Cabbage. This is one of theeasiest crops to grow and it can

be sown all year through. It

needs soil with a pH of 6.5

7.0. Choose a sunny spot

(preferably one where you had

peas or beans grown a year


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before). Make sure you give your cabbage plenty of water in dry

periods.

Spinach. Spinach (lat. Spinacia oleracea) is jam-packed withvitamins A, C, potassium andiron so make sure you grow it

and eat it! There are summer

varieties (sow them around

mid March until may) as well

as winter varieties (sow them

in August or September). Sow

the spinach seeds 1 inch deep

(2.5 centimeters) and 12 inches apart (30 cm).

Tomatoes. You like them too? Great! To grow them make sureyour soil has a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 and that you have plenty of sunlight.

Plant them 12-18 inches apart.

Depending on where you live, you may or may not afford to have some

animals around the house.

If you want to start small, try some

chickens. They dont take up a lot

of pace (like cows or horses) and

are easy to feed. Plus, they can be a

constant source of amusement for

your children.

Chickens can be housed in coops

that you can move around to allow

for better fertilization of the land. This is up to you.

The most important thing you can do for your birds is, obviously, to feed

them. Water should be good, clean water. Hens need more water than

roosters but all should be provided with enough. Make sure you feed

them well with whole grains, such as pure corn and grass. Corn should be

the basis of their meals but feed them green veggies from time to time

and do it REGULARLY.


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If youre tired of chicks, how about some ducks? Ducks are more

pretentions because they require water, lots of water. They love water and

keeping them away from it (except for the first few weeks when theyre

little ducklings) is not such a goodidea. Also, keep in mind that

flowing water is better than

swimming water.

If you really have the space, the

time and the energy, you can move

to bigger things: cows. Here you

have several things to consider,

which are important.

First of all, cows need grass, so make sure you have a pasture nearby.

Depending on how much land you have, you should decide how many

cows you want to raise

The second problem is what you

will feed them during winter.

Typically you need hay. You can

either buy it or you can have your

own (but for this you need even

more land plus extra time for it).

I cant make the decision on what

to grow for you, these were just a

few examples. Its up to you to manage yourself as good as possible.


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The Second Step to Self Sufficiency:

Energy

The way vegetables or animals are grown and transformed into organic

food has been described in the previous chapter. As you could see, the

processes involved have been the same for thousands of years. However,

when it comes to energy production, things are gettingfuturistic!

In short, were talking about solar panels andwind turbines.

Solar energy is EXTREMELY

abundant so it makes perfect sense

to capture it and then to use it. One

of the best and newest ways to do it

is to buy or make your own solar

panel. With the right tools you can

make a solar panel for a few

hundreds of dollars that can powerup a few light bulbs and a TV. If

youre willing to invest more, you

can run your entire house on solar energy.

However, there are other ways to trap solar energy, such as solar stills

(using direct sunlight for distilling water), solar driers (for fruits,

vegetables and grains) and even solar heated walls (which accumulate

heat during the day and release it during the night).

If you dont have enough sunlight in your region, maybe you have enough

wind?

Wind turbines are good only if you live in an area where the wind speeds

are high. Theyre generally not noisy so you dont have to worry about

that.


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Just like in the case of solar panels,

you can make your own wind

turbine: you need a few things, such

as a generator, blades, a mounting,a tower, batteries where the electric

energy will be stored and an electric

control system.

There is of course the way more

convenient alternative of buying

your own wind turbine. In this case keep in mind that you will have to

spend thousands of dollars on it so plan carefully.

If you want a smaller one, that produces 500-1000 kW/year, expect to

spend at least $1000 and if you want over 2000 kW/year you will pay at

least $5000.

These wind turbines dont require a lot of space. If you have enough room

for a tree in your back yard, you will have enough for a wind turbine that

generates green energy.


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In Conclusion

So there you have it: the starting point to self sufficiency. You may not

want to do all at once (start cultivating all the plants, get all the animals

and build solar panels at the same time) but definitely have some starting

points.

Now I know theres a lot to discuss about each topic and I wanted to

make this e-book short, to the point, so you get a perspective about what

this whole thing is all about.

If you want to know more, A LOT MORE, about self sufficiency please

visit my website at:

www. SelfSufficiencyClub.com

Stay green,

Michael G. Nash
http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/http://www.selfsufficiencyclub.com/

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The Way to Self Sufficiency