Monday, April 16, 2012

How to Catch Wild Pigs


"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"
"You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.
"When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.
 
"The pigs, which are used to the free corn, begin to come through the gate to eat the free corn.
"You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught.
"Soon they go back to eating the free corn . They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity."

Think about it... 

Love,
Ben

Monday, April 9, 2012

Farming


Summary:
Keep as many Buff Orpington chickens, including at least one rooster, as is prudent given local laws and circumstances. Store a years supply of food for them in the form of human food.

Post:
In normal times, most of us city dwellers probably don't even think about farming. I would like to suggest that, in times of need, we may wish we had. After looking into it, I have discovered that, per ordinance 22-6-10 (c), Orem allows me to keep rabbits, pigeons, ducks, and household pets. If push came to shove, I would probably be happy to eat any of these animals. In addition, per sub article 7 of the same ordinance:


The keeping of hen chickens (no roosters) shall be permitted in a residential zone on a single  

family lot less than one (1) acre provided the following are met:  
a.  
Lot Size:    Maximum number of chickens: 
5000 square feet   2 
7000 square feet   3 
8000 square feet   4 
9000 square feet   5 
10,000 square feet   6 
20,000 square feet   10 
30,000 square feet   12 

b. Chickens must be kept in a predator resistant coop or chicken tractor at night which shall be set  
back at least 10 feet from all property lines. The enclosure shall provide sufficient light, air, and  
space for the chickens. The enclosure shall not be located in a front yard.  
c. The enclosure shall be cleaned regularly to prevent offensive odors from becoming a nuisance.  
d. Chickens shall not be permitted to roam free unless in an enclosed rear yard.  
e. Chickens shall not be considered household pets.  
f. Slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.

Now, just why my friendly city legislators see the need to provide such detail as to what I can and can't do on my own property, I do not fully understand, but this much I do understand, I can keep 6 laying hens in my back yard! 

I believe chickens to be the best form of farming for those of us with limited land and excessive legislature. I like chickens because:
  1. They lay eggs. I don't even have to 'slaughter' them to get food from them. In addition, many of the recipes I am used to eating utilize eggs. 
  2. They eat kitchen scraps, both vegetative and meaty.
  3. They can forage for their own food (to an extent) during much of the year. 
  4. They can eat the same food I have stored to feed my family. In other words, I can store a years supply of human food for my chickens and either feed it to them, or eat it myself and also eat the chickens since they will starve if I don't. 
  5. They  can reproduce themselves en mass, if you get the right breed. I like Buff Orpingtons since they reportedly don't have all of the natural mothering bred out of them (they still get broody), they are good egg layers, they are a friendly pet, and they are mid sized so the extra roosters you grow actually give you some meat. 
Love,
Ben

Gardening


Ok, so gardening is obviously going to be of utmost importance when the crash comes. So how do we do it? I am only on my second year (2012) of any sort of serious gardening and certainly do not consider myself an expert. However, I have learned something from my efforts thus far.

  1. I believe square foot gardening to be the best approach for general gardening. Mel Bartholomew is the founder of it. I suspect he is LDS. The gist of it is:
    1. Lay down a weed blocking landscape fabric.
    2. Build a 4'x4' box at least 8" tall. Use wood or whatever you want.
    3. Fill it at least 6" high with Mel's Mix (by volume: 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, 1/3 compost [preferably from 5 different materials]) Cook's greenhouse on 16th North just West of I-15 in Orem had the best price on Vermiculite, it is a bit pricey. Consider it an investment, that few hundred bucks spent now just may provide you with life-sustaining food later at an extremely high personal value. I also got the peat moss there, although Home Depot has it at the same price. For compost I used the bio waste 'black gold' from the old dump in Provo. It has at least two sources, bio waste and green waste.
    4. Plant it! You can get fancy here and put in 1'x1' grids-they are used for planning and aesthetics, but the seeds will grow without them. for self-reliance use only non-hybrid seeds. That way you can produce your own seeds in the future. Many plants require two growing seasons to produce seeds. An easy way to get a variety of non-hybrid seeds is to buy an emergency seed kit that includes only non-hybrid seeds. I opened one of my kits this year (2012) that was packaged in 2002. The germination test showed very good results, 100% in many cases. I have stored it mostly in a cool and dry location. USU also has some recommendations.
    5. Water it regularly. Almost no weeding is necessary. 
    6. Harvest it and/or start figuring out how to store/preserve it. 
  2. Plant as many fruit trees and perennial edible plants as you can. My favorite fruit trees are peaches and nectarines. We have had excellent results with no insecticides, although they do have to be pruned and thinned-they grow like a weed. As I recall, our six dwarf and one semi-dwarf trees started producing fruit within only a couple of years, and after three or four years were producing enough fruit to bottle. Other perennials we have had success with include: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb, horseradish, chives, oregano, tarragon, parsley, elderberries (although we have yet to actually use the fruit), and mint (haven't actually tried in our yard yet, but have experience as a kid). Other fruit trees we have enjoyed include apricots, plums, and apples. We also have pears, but they have yet to produce. Get planting!
  3. Knowing how I operate, automatic sprinklers are a must. I like the 1/2" drip lines for the berries, trees etc. with emitters every 12" (as opposed to 18"), closer would be even better. I have my trees on a different valve than the berries as they need less frequent watering. For the square food gardens, I am trying the 1/4" drip line soaker hose. So far so good, although there are a few spots that squirt out a bit much. The 1/4" drip line with holes every so often may also work. 
Love,
Ben