Hello again all my fellow environmentalist.
I wanted to share the news about a recent huge step for me in my life. While many of you out there are doing this right now and have done it for years this was my first foray into the world of food preservation beyond the refrigerator/freezer.
Yesterday I completed my first solo canning session. I made of six pint jars of Bread and Butter pickles as they are called and I can't wait to see the results. The recipe I used calls for 6 weeks of sitting before the pickles are ready to consume so that puts of my first taste test to the end of October but I cannot wait.
This may seem like a trivial thing to be excited about to you seasoned canning veterans but for me it is but a first step on my journey to live a sustainable life. The technique of canning along with other forms of preservation like drying, salting and root cellering are critical in my desire to build a more sustainable down to "Earth" life. This coming spring I plan on growing food on a massive scale in order to feed a hungry group of four people on mostly what we produce. This goal might be to much for me this first year as i have much to learn about growing food in this new area but i know my past experiences will serve me well.
This early step of pickling and canning cucumbers is simply the beginning of what I know will be a lifelong journey. No one person can learn or do everything that they might need in order to support themselves and their loved ones comfortably but i am making it a life's journey to have a go at it.
If you are like me at the beginning of a journey toward self sufficiency and sustainability i wish you the best of luck. If you are seasoned veteran i welcome and advice or comments you might have.
I will let you know how my first experiment in canning turns out in six weeks time.
Until next time my fellow environmentalists.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Window Farming
Update 9/27/12
Just a little update on my attempts at using hydroponics.
I have come to the conclusion that right now hydroponics is not something for me. This is due to several factors including the cost of the setup and when I really started to think about it it really doesn't fit into my plans. I want to develop a self-sufficient sustainable lifestyle and I don't feel I can do this with hydroponics. I will not deny that they can produce wonderful healthy food but they are more energy needy than I care to deal with. Nearly all the systems I was looking at required to use of electricity to keep sufficient water and nutrients flowing over the plant roots. I do not want to be reliant on electricity for my food production. It defeats the purpose of what I am trying to accomplished by getting away from electricity and fossil fuels that support my basic needs. So the hydroponics are out but I am curious about using those hanging pots for the production of tomatoes and strawberries. I believe that will be my next step in the attempt to grow some food products indoors during the winter.
Has anyone else been following he growing movement out there of using hydroponics to grow plants in windows?
I personally found out about 6 months ago but have not been able to try it out for myself until now. Since I moved out of my old small apartment and am now in a nice big house with a spacious unfinished basement and some west facing windows now the time has come I think to give this a try.
I will start my attempt by following the plans for the most basic setup at Windowfarms.Org. The 3 plant system will give me a good place to start and will let me practice and improve my technique before I get bigger. In compliance with my green and sustainable life view I will be doing this with as many recycled materials as I can and will be growing the plants using organic nutrients and the least amount of power I can get away with.
I like this idea because one I like to grow plants and this will provide a great medium for that. Two it will get help me eat fresh home grow produce all winter long without having to resort to the grocery store. Finally it will help clean and purify the air in the house since it could use some cleaning with two cats a puppy and a few people living there.
I will post updates as they occur and hopefully in the not to distant future I will be eating fresh produce from my personal hydroponics garden.
Until next time my fellow environmentalists.
Josh
Just a little update on my attempts at using hydroponics.
I have come to the conclusion that right now hydroponics is not something for me. This is due to several factors including the cost of the setup and when I really started to think about it it really doesn't fit into my plans. I want to develop a self-sufficient sustainable lifestyle and I don't feel I can do this with hydroponics. I will not deny that they can produce wonderful healthy food but they are more energy needy than I care to deal with. Nearly all the systems I was looking at required to use of electricity to keep sufficient water and nutrients flowing over the plant roots. I do not want to be reliant on electricity for my food production. It defeats the purpose of what I am trying to accomplished by getting away from electricity and fossil fuels that support my basic needs. So the hydroponics are out but I am curious about using those hanging pots for the production of tomatoes and strawberries. I believe that will be my next step in the attempt to grow some food products indoors during the winter.
Has anyone else been following he growing movement out there of using hydroponics to grow plants in windows?
I personally found out about 6 months ago but have not been able to try it out for myself until now. Since I moved out of my old small apartment and am now in a nice big house with a spacious unfinished basement and some west facing windows now the time has come I think to give this a try.
I will start my attempt by following the plans for the most basic setup at Windowfarms.Org. The 3 plant system will give me a good place to start and will let me practice and improve my technique before I get bigger. In compliance with my green and sustainable life view I will be doing this with as many recycled materials as I can and will be growing the plants using organic nutrients and the least amount of power I can get away with.
I like this idea because one I like to grow plants and this will provide a great medium for that. Two it will get help me eat fresh home grow produce all winter long without having to resort to the grocery store. Finally it will help clean and purify the air in the house since it could use some cleaning with two cats a puppy and a few people living there.
I will post updates as they occur and hopefully in the not to distant future I will be eating fresh produce from my personal hydroponics garden.
Until next time my fellow environmentalists.
Josh
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