lost ways | Being prepared today

December 27, 2021December 27, 2021

Your home made composter

Not a lot of people make their own soil anymore. It seems to be a lost art becoming more scarce in these the days of technology and convenience. Your home made composter will help you to bring that lost art to your backyard.

To make a composter at home you must figure out a few things so to incorporate them into the design. First, figure out in what quantities you will need or want to make compost in and factor the size into your design. Second, whether you want to have a spinner, standing composter or open pile based on what would be easier for you or what you think will work best. Third is location: where you will station your composter for the process.

Needed materials for Your home made composter

The material you will be using will depend on how strong you want to make it and what capacity is desired. Take into consideration where it will be located because of oxidation of metals or deterioration and breakdown of wood and other materials.

For a spinning chamber, something like a round bar or wood/ metal pole would be ideal. Most people would use blue plastic drums for their spinning chamber but it’s totally up to you. A metal drum with a thick plastic liner would be sufficient for the purpose. Some people use cinder blocks and do an open pit. Do thorough consideration of all parts you will need and make a list if needed.

Objective of Your home made composter

The objective of your home composter is to be able create good, healthy soil on your own, seasonally. Add it to your garden on a yearly or seasonal basis to support the health of your garden. By using household scraps you are not only cutting back on waste but now you are on your way to true sustainability and self-sufficiency! Be aware though, that there are certain things that do not belong in a compost mixture.

Your composter can help you cut back on waste and produce good soil for lawn, garden, potting and more! It is also a good skill to have should you ever need it.

My how-to composting guide will help you to understand the composting process and get the best results from your home made composter.

My Guide

This, being a general guide to building a home composter, will give guidelines to use while building with your own design. Your chosen location or specific need of space will help determine your design.

Accessibility for turning is a major consideration because you will need to mix(turn) the compost mixture often. I personally have built a spinning composter with two compartments that are blue barrels. I put them on their side, cut hatch doors into them and made a handle on one end for easy spinning. It mixes itself as I spin them.

Back in ‘the old days’ compost was mixed with a pitchfork and everyone was doing it. Back in those days everyone grew their own food and stored it for consumption later in the winter. It was quite important to have good soil and have a plentiful harvest so they could survive the winter.

Build it with consideration for aeration or air flow. Air flow is necessary for the bacterial breakdown of the material into soil, Also ,build it in a way that it will withstand the elements and not oxidize and breakdown. If you’re making it of metal you can get a gloss paint or gloss spray to coat and protect your equipment. You can try to keep it covered but its not always a guarantee.

Open pit compost piles should be pretty self-explanitory as it is quite literally

open to the atmosphere. Using cinder blocks should be sufficient but you can also use rock, wood or just about anything similar to contain it. Be sure to turn or mix it once or twice a week!

Have fun with composting

Nowadays it is not such a necessity to compost your own soil to support a garden or healthy harvest, so its easier to have fun with it. Experiment a little because various climates make the composting process vary.

Most of all I think we should be proud of composting because of the reduction of waste and self-sufficiency we are creating for ourselves. It truly is a great craft and skill to have.

Thank you for reading! I hope you found this article helpful, interesting or informative and please share it! If you have any questions, comments or input please feel free to do so in the box below.

November 2, 2021

How to prepare for the looming supply chain crisis

Empty store shelves, Worker shortages, lack of truck drivers and mountainous unemployment rates are all symptoms and causes of a supply chain crisis.

We’ve all seen some things become scarce in the past few weeks. Being prepared for a supply chain crisis doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

I know that a food storage will be a good start and help many people come out on the other side of the situation in decent shape. However, there are other things to take into consideration for you and your family as well .

We will be covering areas of concern so to best prepare for a supply chain crisis.

Causes of a supply chain crisis

At the present time the covid-19 pandemic caused disruptive shut downs of businesses and stores as well as the trucking and transport industries but coupled with a boom in demand and overregulation as we reopen, it is causing a huge bottleneck in the supply chain. Low labor participation and clogged ports are also to blame.

An article from Nationalreview.com gives, in depth, some facts about the crunch we may all be experiencing soon.

An extremely high unemployment rate mean less workers, in other words a worker shortage. If you don’t have enough workers to stock shelves or fill orders then you will wind up with bare shelves at the grocery store.

Factories will have a hard time producing their product. Even the medical field will be shorthanded which means they will end up over-capacity or lacking proper PPE.

It is said that if the trucking industry were to come to a complete stop for just 24 hours, It would take two months to get back on track. Essentials like bottled water and canned as well as fresh goods disappear fast. ATM’s run out of cash. Banks unable to process transactions.

Service stations will completely run out of fuel and garbage will pile up in urban and suburban areas.

Ports of entry on the coast are being over regulated due to quarantine requirements and so it is causing a major slow down of distribution.

Thinking ahead of a supply chain crisis

Be up to date on current events and economics. You should be able to make your own educated assumptions. By doing so you are being well prepared for a crunch on the economy. Government policies and banking policies will play a part in economic performance.

Figure out what essentials might disappear from the shelves first. Buy a few extra items when you shop and store them away with your food storage.

If you have the skills and are already fairly self sufficient it will be a huge determining factor on how bad a financial or supply crisis will hurt you.

Adapting to an ever changing world may mean that we need to return in part to old world skills like gardening and canning. These skills will not only save you money but generate the peace of mind and comfort of knowing you have a backup plan.

Our dependency on the system and how to minimize it

The world as a whole is evolving into a society that depends almost wholly on technology. It seems that a major part of the world doesn’t know how to do or make a lot of things for themselves and so a majority of us are vastly dependent on just in time delivery and social media.

Old world skills like making clothing as well as other skills that provide independence are being forgotten. They are known as The Lost Ways because we are forgetting these skills and also not teaching them to our children.

Simple solutions call for us to Learn some of these skills. Produce some of your own goods or skills and learn to trade with our neighbors for example. Do it yourselfers not only have but also teach some of these skills and also are learning new skills everyday. YouTube has some really good channels that have do it yourself videos.’

Resulting economic damage

The result has created shortages of key manufacturing components, order backlogs, delivery delays and a spike in transportation costs and consumer prices. Unless the situation is resolved soon, the consequences for the global

economy may be dire.

Inflation of a different sorts is taking place where too many dollars are chasing too few goods. The US GDP is down to scary levels of 2.0 in the second and third quarter of 2021 and is also dropping rapidly.

This supply chain crisis is effecting not just the US but also the rest of the world. Many will either adapt to the changes or find alternatives in their lifestyles, for example, changing the way they budget or conserving energy at a higher rate. Many will possibly just go without certain items or learn to ration as we fight against our country descending into the third world.

Our government needs to relax restrictions and regulations. It’s killing the trucking and transport industries which is ultimately leading to this dire situation. Our government is treating American businesses and the American worker like an enemy of the state. It is suppressing the ability of small businesses and independent contractors.

Hope for any relief only comes from the people and the drive to keep going! Here in America is the pride of hard work and the joy of success so we should not settle for anything less.

I hope this article is helpful and informative. If you have any questions, comments or input please feel free to do so in the box below.

Thanks

October 18, 2021

The art of water glassing for storage

So you ask what is water glassing??

Well, water glassing is a way to preserve and store your fresh eggs for a year or longer! Some people say that you can keep them up to 2 years under the correct conditions.

These eggs need to be fresh from the chicken within the day. You cannot preserve store bought eggs as the bloom (the membrane coating that protects the eggs) is rinsed off.

Just prior to laying an egg, a hen’s body will deposit a protein-like mucous coating on the outside of an egg. This protective coating is called the bloom or cuticle. This protective coating seals the pores of the eggshell, thereby prohibiting the transfer of bacteria from the exterior to the interior of the egg.

Why should I water glass?

Water glassing would be done if you desire to keep eggs fresh for as long as possible. Usually around 18 months.

It will keep them as if they were laid that same day.

The only reason for water glassing eggs is if you intend to sell them or keep them for a food storage or a root cellar.

Hens will lay eggs all year long if allowed to molt roughly every 2 weeks and fed properly. They are born with the capacity for thousands of eggs so they really only stop laying eggs from old age.

Ingredients used are quite simple

Water and two other types of material can be used to water glass eggs: sodium silicate or lime (calcium hydroxide). The type of lime to use is known as pickling lime, , and slaked lime.

Calcium hydroxide is a white chemical powder used in older pickling recipes to add a crispness to the finished product. It works by adding calcium into the pectin of the food that is to be pickled.

Here is a link to get a 5 lb. bag of pickling lime.

Lime is also harvested from limestone by a specific heating process shown here.

The glassing process

Use a container with a lid. If you don’t have a lid, use olive oil to coat the top of the exposed water in the container. Be sure and cover with a cloth to keep pests out and prevent evaporation.

You will need approximately 1oz hydrated lime per 1 quart of water. In a 5 gallon bucket you should only need 8 quarts of water as the eggs will take up most of the rest of the space you will be using. The size of your container will depend on the amount of eggs you want to preserve.

Mix the specified amounts of lime to water with a whisk or spoon. It should be almost a milky white. Now you can add your eggs.

When you add your eggs be sure that the point is down. The reason we point eggs down is that there’s an air pocket in each egg, so if you have it going toward the largest size, it’s not touching as much of the egg white and you’ll end up with a better quality egg.

Enjoying your eggs months later

Because you worked hard to preserve your eggs for the winter when hens begin to slow down their egg production, you will be able to enjoy fresh eggs as if you collected them that morning! Be sure to let your hens lay as they please and don’t force them in the winter months. It’s just how their biological clock works and you will get better quality eggs as a result.

I hope this article was helpful and informative.
If you have any questions, comments or input please feel free to do so in the box below.