homesteading for shtf

Over the past couple of months I have visited 4 different local feed stores, and called several more. All of them have the same story - "They can not get chicks." So I decided to call Murray McMurray Hatchery to get first hand information. Why Murray McMurray Hatchery? Because they are the...

I have a Brown Turkey Fig tree that is sprouting from the roots. Will it bear figs, or is it some type of root stock? A few weeks ago I dropped by a farm supply store to get some seeds. They had a pitiful looking fig tree that the top had died and it was sprouting from the base of the tree. I...

What is a prepsteader? It is someone who combines prepping and homesteading. However, the complete answer is a little more complicated. To see the whole picture we need to go back to at least the 1970s, or maybe the early 1980s. What we consider prepping today was everyday life during the...

Is genetic diversity in your seed stockpile a consideration? I know a lot of people here save their seeds, and that is great. However, wouldn't using the same cross pollinated seeds over and over create a genetic bottle neck? To prevent this, I try to buy my seeds from various sources. In...

Crisis Planning, Now that I Live at my BOL I moved to southern California in 1983, with a shiny new engineering degree and a job offer from the US Navy. I worked for over 30 yrs at a Weapons Development base called China Lake, located in the Mohave Desert. I lived in a rural area, got paid real...

Took down an old fence row here on the farm. Not very long, maybe 150 yards or so. Got a little love tap from a piece of barbed wire and no snakes. Was a good day.

Which is the better fig tree, celeste or brown turkey fig? Two and a half years ago my grandkids and I planted a couple of brown turkey fig trees and a couple of Kadota fig trees. Here in southeast Texas during the summer of 2015 we had a drought that lasted 3 months. During that time I did...

Chickens would be great farm animals for SHTF if they were not so stupid. The honest truth is they will find a way to get themselves killed. Build them a nice cage and they will find a way to get out. They will wander away from the flock and get killed. They will stay out to dusk, right when...

As my flock increased so has my need for perch space. To add room I built a new perch 12 feet long by 36 inches wide then added spacers every 18 inches. The new water system is working well.

There is this old fence row my wife and I are going to be clearing to plant some blueberry bushes and fruit trees. The fence line is about 350 feet long. That is a rough estimate but close enough for what we are doing. What kind of fruit trees would you plant and why? In addition to the...

Which is better for fence post in wet soil, cement the post in or creosote? In a previous thread we talked about using an auger to drill holes for corner post. Well, in the past week or so we have gotten about 5 inches of rain. Within minutes of drilling the holes water started soaking in...

For the sake of discussion let’s say you want to buy a piece of land for a small farm that could double as a bug out location. This would be a weekend getaway for you and your family. A place off the beaten path where you and your family can go to relax. And also a place where you and your...

Howdy all. I don't post here very often but I thought I'd put up what I am doing at my 20 acre property. A lot of this beginning part is history which you might find boring; feel free to skip it. My wife and I are both libertarians. I've been a prepper for years which is why I moved to Montana...

I see fig trees will grow in places such as Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia. Anyone have experience with them? Our grocery has a few potted ones out front, and I see several vartieties, but don't know which are best for what. Do they really -thrive- that far north? Etc.

What are the best rabbits to raise for meat and why? I am writing and article for the blog and would like some suggestions. My current list contains: New Zealand rabbit Californian rabbit Flemish giant The new zealand the californian are some of the best meat stock rabbits out there, that is...

Another weekend of cleaning up the homestead has come and gone. This weekend I focused on hauling scrap iron to the local recycler, picking up trash and cutting down some trees to make room for a pole barn. For those of you following this blog, yall know some of my family members, and their...

Now that the trees have been cut and some of the small timber has been thinned, its time to call in a stump grinder. A stump grinder is machine with carbide bits which cut the stump down to below ground level. No digging around the stump, no burning the stump, no pulling on the stump with a...

How many people here have cattle, how many head do you have per acre, what breeds are you raising,,,, and other general information. Now that the timber has been cut from the homestead, I have been thinking about rebuilding the fence rows and get some beef cows. My location is southeast Texas...

okay so i want to start a homestead. build a small shack at first raise some animals and grow food. animals for food and clothing goats rabbits chicken maybe sheep. im not sure about the crops to plant since this will be done in the ochoco mountains in oregon. I want to be as self relient as...

What would you consider to be the best overall chicken for a self-sustaining homestead? Lets not limit ourselves to a single breed of chicken. Instead, lets throw out several breeds and discuss the merits of each one. Traits I would look for: Good layers Broody Good forager Good meat bird...