Growing Indoors
DWARF FRUIT TREES
You can grow dwarf fruit trees indoors, but it can be labor intensive, as each flower must be hand-pollinated (unless you have a house full of bees, butterflies, and/or flies). That means for each piece of fruit that you hope to produce, you must transfer pollen from one flower to another. Fruit will not develop unless the male pollen enters the female ovum. This can be done with the tip of a feather. If you have room for only one tree, be sure it is self-pollinating, which means that your tree will bear both male and female flowers. In nature trees are not self-pollinating, and you would need two trees of each variety you planned to grow. The crop-yield-versus-labor ratio is fairly small for most dwarf varieties. They seem susceptible to insect and fungus infestations. Also, dwarf varieties are grafted onto rootstock, not propagated from seeds, so you cannot grow new dwarf trees from the seeds. You can grow dwarf trees in a greenhouse in a big pot (such as a wine half-barrel, or possibly a bit larger). When the danger of frost has passed, you can place the pot on a low four-wheeled furniture dolly and wheel the trees outside, and then bring them back into the greenhouse in early fall. Lemons would be a treat in long-term TEOTWAWKI, when they would no longer be available at the grocery. My great-grandma said that lemonade was a much-anticipated, once-a-year, Fourth of July treat when she homesteaded in North Dakota. And an orange for Christmas was considered a special splurge. Who knows? Perhaps someday oranges and lemons will be a fantastic barter item.
SPROUTING
Sprouting is a great way to provide essential vitamins. Ounce for ounce, sprouting seeds are the most nutritious and space- and weight-efficient form of storage food. Sprouting seeds and sprouting kits (with trays) are available from a variety of Internet vendors, such as Ready Made Resources, Nitro-Pak, and Lehman’s, but anyone can produce fresh, healthy, and extremely nutritious sprouts on a kitchen counter with nothing more than a couple of plastic ice-cream containers. (Although containers with screen tops are handier for frequent rinsing.) They can provide a real respite from canned veggies while you’re waiting for the crops to mature, as well as year-round fresh greens. Some great sprouting options are: mung beans, lentils, various peas and beans, radish, alfalfa, and clover. You can also make a respectable salad in your kitchen with a tray of mesclun seeds grown to a few inches high. You can get a lot of information and supplies from Sproutpeople (sproutpeople.com) or you can just buy regular seeds and beans from the supermarket or seed-supply store.
Because they are full of vitamin B12, other B vitamins, and vitamins A, K, and C, as well as minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients essential to human health, sprouts should be an important component of your survival diet. Dried seeds, grains, and legumes are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates, but during the simple sprouting process, their vitamin and nutrient content ramps up significantly. As an added bonus, they are also much easier to digest—and tastier—than in their pre-sprouted state.
For successful sprouting you need only seeds and a mason jar with a mesh lid or, alternatively, a cheesecloth kept in place by a rubber band. Most health-food stores will carry seeds for sprouting and precut stainless steel or plastic tops. If you use a cloth, make sure that it doesn’t become entirely wet, or it will stop air and moisture from nourishing your seeds.
After removing broken or damaged seeds (they can rot during sprouting), soak the rest (about four tablespoons per quart-size container) for six to eight hours. Rinse well before placing the seeds in the jar. Lean the jar at an angle, top down, so that water can drain out. Continue rinsing the seeds delicately in the morning and the evening. The key is to keep them moist but not totally immersed in water. No light is required for the first few days, but can be introduced later. Sprouting times vary, but you should have edible sprouts in three to five days. They can be eaten, raw or cooked, after soaking and rinsing. They are a great source of energy and fuel, and with multiple jars sprouting at different stages, you can have an endless supply.
Some beans, such as kidney, can be toxic when sprouted, so make sure to do your research and check with your supplier before sprouting.
Livestock
Dual- and Triple-Purpose Livestock
In this day and age of specialization, modern livestock have been selectively bred to be superefficient for one purpose. For example, merino sheep are bred to produce wool in abundance, and Suffolk sheep are bred to grow to market weight quickly (for meat). Many breeds of chickens no longer will sit on their eggs. They have been selectively bred to produce eggs and nothing more! They have lost their instinctive broodiness. Most of our modern farm livestock fall into this specialization category, and in the process they have lost some of their other valuable traits such as mothering ability, ability to forage, and disease and parasite resistance. Thus, these modern breeds are not suitable for survival purposes. In TEOTWAWKI we will need breeds that can survive without the vet, pharmacy, and feed store.
The survivalist would be best served by “heirloom” livestock breeds that are considered to be dual purpose. Most of the dual-purpose breeds are raised on small family farms. They are fairly rare. Dual-purpose sheep are known for producing lamb with high-quality carcasses as well as high-quality fleece. (Though usually the fleece has specialty qualities that make it much more valuable to the hand-spinner niche market than to commercial producers.) Dual-purpose cattle are those that are good milkers and excellent mothers, and their calves grow rapidly. Do a Web search of “dual-purpose sheep” or “dual-purpose cattle” to see the wide variety of animals available. An excellent Web site to learn about endangered dual-purpose breeds is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (albc-usa.org).
Survivalists would be best served to select heritage breeds that match the climate and terrain of their retreat. The Rawles Ranch is well watered and most of the pastures can be downright swampy. The American mustang, although an extremely hardy and disease-resistant breed of horse, is not suitable for our soggy soil. The mustang developed in the southwest and is much more suitable for survivalists in drier areas. A better breed for us is the horse breed developed in the wet Welsh mountains, such as the Welsh cob. Likewise our sheep breed needs to be suited to wetter pastures. The Navajo churro won’t do, but the Welsh mountain sheep do fine here.
The survivalist might also consider triple-purpose breeds. These are breeds that produce meat, milk, and fiber. They may also be used for transportation. Nomadic tribes have built their culture around certain of these animals. Some of the more unusual are the reindeer, the camel, and the yak. The reindeer, though it does not produce fiber, is used for milk, meat, transportation, and hides. The camel not only provides transportation, milk, meat, and hides, but it also grows a wooly coat each winter, which it sheds. The fiber can then readily be felted. Or the itchy guard hairs can be removed to produce a luxurious yarn. Of the aforementioned animals, the Tibetan yak is the easiest to acquire and the easiest to handle and fence. They can be raised exactly as cattle are, with the added benefit of producing milk extremely high in butterfat, calves with low-fat carcasses, and incredibly soft under-down that sheds every spring.
A triple-purpose breed of horse is the “Bashkir,” or Bashkirshy, of the Volga and the Ural mountains. They have been known to produce three to six gallons of milk a day. Some of the Bashkir have a curly coat, which can grow four to six inches long. It is shed each spring and can be spun, woven, or felted. (American Bashkir Curly breed, though it took the name Bashkir, seems to be an unrelated breed, from a distinct coat mutation. American Bashkir Curly breed does have a curly coat, but not the milk production.)
Icelandic sheep are the quintessential triple-purpose breed. They are valued in Iceland for their milk production, their fiber, and their ability to raise twins lambs to market weight in four to five months on grass alone.
Because of prolonged drought in some parts of the United States causing high hay costs, livestock prices are at an all-time low in certain parts of the country. If you can afford
the hay, now might be the time to purchase livestock. Heirloom varieties are normally extremely expensive, and the best breeders will still be holding out for top dollar and butchering, rather than lowering their prices. But many small hobby farmers love their heirloom livestock like pets. They tend to keep far too many lambs/calves each year because they are all so cute. These hobby farmers would rather sell their animals to you way under value than send them to market. If you are not prepared to purchase animals now, keep in mind for next year that fall is always a good time for buyers to get lower prices.
Survivalists who love animals, like I do, and marvel at mankind’s ability to selectively breed so many varieties, will enjoy visiting the Oklahoma State University animal breeds Web page (snipurl.com/hrm3r).
Buyer Beware When Purchasing Livestock
While most of my livestock purchases over the years have been satisfactory, buying livestock can be full of pitfalls. I will share some of my mistakes in hopes you can learn from them. Livestock sellers may not outright lie to buyers but they often do not volunteer important information, so it is very important that you get a detailed book for each type of livestock you plan to purchase, and do some research, so you’ll know exactly what questions to ask. Make certain the book has a chapter about choosing healthy stock. It ought to give you signs of unhealthy or poorly conforming animals as well as questions to ask the sellers about the health of the animals. Some books that I recommend are: Small-Scale Pig Raising, by Dirk Van Loon, Raising Rabbits the Modern Way, by Bob Bennett, Raising Sheep the Modern Way, by Paula Simmons, Ducks & Geese in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide, by Rick and Gail Luttmann, The Family Cow, by Dirk Van Loon, and Raising a Calf for Beef, by Phyllis Hobson.
The first time I bought sheep, I did not know to ask if the yearling lambs I was buying had been wormed. Unfortunately the five lambs I bought had not been. Because of the parasite load they were carrying, they were not able to withstand the stress of the transport, feed change, and new environment. They quickly developed pneumonia, and despite all I did to try to keep them alive, two out of the five died, and the seller would not refund any of my money.
I paid a premium price for the first dairy cow I bought because supposedly she was due to calve in less than two months. I did not ask the seller to have a veterinarian certify she was bred. She never calved and the seller would not refund the extra that I paid for a “due-to-calve” cow. We drank store-bought milk for an extra year because of this mistake.
Then there was the pair of Angora rabbits I purchased. I assumed wrongly that buying a “breeding pair” meant they would breed. I did not think to ask the breeder to demonstrate that the male had all his necessary parts. He didn’t. Again, no refund.
Temperament is another important component of purchasing livestock. Animals with bad temperaments can be difficult to work with, or downright dangerous. Don’t take the seller’s word for the temperament of the animals; insist on seeing a demonstration. Even better, arrive early, to see the animals before the seller has a chance to get the animal “ready.”
I told the seller of my second cow that I intended to show her at the fair as well as milk her. He kept expressing on the phone to me how wonderful that would be. I neglected to ask for a demonstration of her being haltered, led, or milked. He neglected to tell me she was more feral than the March Hare. The only time I was able to milk her was when she was immobilized in a squeeze chute.
As you can see, it’s important to do your homework. Find out all the questions you should ask, what parts you should inspect, and what to look out for. Insist on seeing the animals handled, haltered, led, ridden, and milked, as applicable. If the seller is able to manage the animals only with well-trained stock dogs, then how are you going to manage them? Do not let the seller’s position as president of the breed association cause you to believe he or she would not mislead you or omit information in order to make a sale. Sadly, I have found this out the hard way; “Buyer beware” should be your watch words as you purchase livestock.
The Importance of Fat
As discussed in Chapter 5, one commonly overlooked component of a survival diet is the importance of consuming fat for nutritional and digestive balance. Raising livestock is a great way to provide not only protein but also fats for your diet. Hunting game as a source of fats isn’t much of an option unless you live in bear, beaver, wild pig, or emu country. Most other wild game lacks sufficient fat. Rabbit meat is particularly low in fat. Venison by itself has quite a low fat content. Here are some of the best livestock for fats:
PIGS
A few home-raised pigs will provide your family with both meat and a source of fat. In fact, you will probably have so much that you’ll have extra available for charity or barter.
EMUS
For those readers who avoid pork, I’d recommend raising sheep or emus. Emu oil is amazing stuff. Anyone who has ever butchered an emu can tell you that there is a tremendous amount of oil stored in an adult bird.
FISH
Fish raised in ponds are another possibility. Anyone thinking of taking up aquaculture should consider raising at least one particularly oily species, such as shad, just as a source of fish oil.
COWS
If you have the room to keep one or more cow, you will have a huge source of butterfat (again, so much that you’ll have extra available for charity or barter).
GOATS
If cattle are too large for you to handle, or if you live in an area with CC&Rs that restrict them, then you might be able to raise dairy goats. They are quite easy to handle (but sometimes a challenge to fence), and they do a great job of clearing brush. While goat meat itself doesn’t have a lot of fat, it is possible, though difficult, to make butter from most goat milk. American Nubians have some of the highest-butterfat milk of all the goat breeds. Even so, the milk must be run through a separator before you can make butter.
CHICKENS
Egg yolks are another important source of fat.
Waste Not, Want Not
Survivalists need to seriously rethink the way they process the wild game they harvest. Odds are that you currently throw away fat, kidneys, tongues, and intestines. Some hunters even discard hearts and livers. Wasting valuable sources of fat would be foolish in a survival situation.
American Indians were famous for hoarding fat. Bear grease and fat from beaver tails were both particularly sought after. They have multiple uses, including lubrication and medicinal, and are even used as a source of fuel for lighting.
One important proviso about bears for anyone living up in polar-bear country: Avoid eating more than a quarter of an ounce of polar-bear liver per month. Because of the bear’s diet out on the ocean-pack ice, like many other polar-region predators their livers contain so much concentrated vitamins A and D that it causes vitamin poisoning when eaten. A quarter of a pound of polar-bear liver contains about 2,250,000 IUs of vitamin A. That is roughly 450 times the recommended daily dose for an adult weighing 175 pounds. From what I have read, this is thankfully not an issue with bears in lower latitudes.
Versatile Pasture Fencing
Just as it’s important to keep vermin out of your garden, it’s crucial to keep livestock on your property. You’ll need good, solid fencing. My favorite type of versatile livestock fencing is forty-seven-inch-tall variable-mesh woven field fencing, tensioned on six-foot heavy-duty studded T-posts that are spaced ten to twelve feet apart. This will give you a fence that will hold sheep, most breeds of goats, most cattle, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, horses, mules, and more.
Tensioning a woven-wire fence can best be accomplished with a forty-eight-inch “toothed” bar to hold the wire. These can be bought factory made or custom-fabricated in your home welding shop. But for those without welding equipment, here is a simple expedient that can be made with wood, carriage bolts, and chain: Cut a pair of two-by-fours fifty-two inches long, and install a row of protruding screws down the length of one of the wide sides. Drill a row of shallow holes in the other
board, to accept the screw heads from the first board. (Like the teeth on a commercially made bar, these screws will evenly distribute the stress on the full height of the woven wire.) Drill through holes and position six-inch-long, three-eighths-inch carriage bolts through both boards at both ends. Sandwich the woven wire between the two boards. Attach chains to the carriage bolts, and then connect the chains to a “come-along.” If no large trees are available as an anchor for the tensioning, then the towing-hitch receiver on a parked large pickup truck will suffice. Proviso: All of the usual safety rules when working with come-alongs apply!
In my experience, used, creosote-soaked railroad ties work fine for H-braces, anchor braces, and corner braces. To tension the diagonal wires for the H-braces, I prefer to use ratchet tensioners, rather than the traditional “twisting-stick” windlass arrangement. Be sure to wear gloves to avoid skin contact with the creosote, which is toxic.
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It Page 13
