Custom Chicken Coop Plans

Construct a beautiful and efficient backyard coop to suit any style—from fancy to rustic—with these step-by-step instructions. - See more at: http://www.hgtvgardens.com/chickens/custom-chicken-coop-plans?soc=pinterest&crlt.pid=camp.ekMtMJc9jypc#sthash.4nJsAMuL.dpuf



DIY Chicken Coops: The Complete Guide To Building Your Own Chicken Coop

Backyard Chicken Coop Plans with Kennel / Run, Salbox / Lean-to 4 ft x 10 ft Two-in-One Plans , Design 60410SL

DIY Rainwater Collection System

The Prepper's Water Survival Guide: Harvest, Treat, and Store Your Most Vital Resource

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DIY Cinder Block Rocket Stove for under $8

The DIY Cinder Block Rocket Stove is an incredibly simple and efficient way to cook using natural fuel such as leaves or sticks. The beauty of this design is it focuses all of the heat from the fire into one 4″ by 4″ square which is perfect for cooking. Compare this to a traditional camp fire which radiates the heat in all directions. Rocket stoves can also burn much hotter than traditional camp fires because of the constant air flow. As the hot air rises, fresh air is sucked in to replace it which allows the fuel to burn more rapidly.
 

Stovetec Two-Door Deluxe Lite Wood/charcoal Stove

 

For this build you will need:

• 3 Cinder Blocks
• 1 H block
• or a brick and two paivers
• Metal Grill

 

 

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Preserve Dried Goods and Store for Up to 20 Years!!

A couple of months ago I was reading one of my favorite magazines, Countryside, and came across an awesome article about oven canning. I had personally never heard of it before, but was intrigued. So I followed the directions step by step and am now addicted (just one of my natural addictions) to preserving dried goods.

Even though store bought dried goods will last for a couple of years, chances are within a certain length of time weavels and other bugs will get into them and they will begin to taste stale. Oven canning these goodies will preserve them for long periods of time, which is awesome for the emergency prepper, like myself.

Here is a rundown for the process of oven canning.

What you need:

Dried goods (rice, pasta, cereal, dried fruit, dried vegetables, dried herbs, etc)
Canning jars of any shape or size
Canning lids to fit the canning jars
Cookie sheet
Paper towel
Water

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation

 

   Preserving Everything: Can,    Culture, Pickle, Freeze,  Ferment, Dehydrate, Salt,  Smoke, and Store Fruits,  Vegetables, Meat, Milk, and  More (Countryman Know How)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Step 2: Place cookie sheet into preheating oven.

Step 3: Fill jars with dried goods, leaving the lids off

Step 4: Place jars on cookie sheet in the oven for 1 hour.

Step 5: Remove carefully from oven. Take a damp paper towel and wipe the mouth of the jar with it. Place lid firmly on the jar.

Step 6: Listen for popping to indicate that the jar has sealed. As in regular canning, not all jars will seal. If the jar does not seal it could be an indication of a bad lid or a bad jar or just plain dumb luck. You can try it again for that jar or be satisfied in knowing that at least your dried goods are kept safe from bugs.

Another little nifty trick for those that do not want to preserve their dried goods for long periods of time, but would like to keep the little critters out is to put bay leaves in their jars and bags of dried goods.

 

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Buck Travelmate

Overview

The perfect portable tool for preparing food while camping, picnicking, road tripping, RVing, tailgating, hunting or relaxing anywhere in the outdoors. It slices, dices, spreads and serves. The spreader's flexible blade allows you to easily spread peanut butter, cream cheese, jelly or any other condiment, but is also sturdy enough for slicing bread, cheese, veggies or snack meats. The TravelMate Kit comes with an antimicrobial injection molded sheath that safely and securely stores the Spreader between uses. The Spreader and sheath are dishwasher safe and the sheath's antimicrobial additive helps prevent bacteria growth. The sheath also features a multi-functional stainless steel fork with an integrated bottle opener, can opener, screwdriver and grill scraper for all your food prep needs. It's a kitchen on the go! Made in the USA





Get Yours Today!
TravelMate Kit, Paperstone Handle, Serrated, Plastic Sheath Camping,Hiking,Travel

Conquer the Frontier Like An American Pioneer

                     

There is something remarkable about the American Pioneer.
These are the folks that settled and developed new territories, without previous knowledge of an area.
They not only re-learned essential survival skills, but also how to savor their time and resources using these skills.
We want to take you back to basics, and learn up on these pioneer survival skills you should have up your sleeve.
Here are ten skills that came second nature to the pioneers, and got us where we are today.

1. Gardening

Growing your own fruits and veggies, is not always a piece of cake. You must know the harvest season of each plant, how to read soil conditions, understand how to properly your plants and how to keep away unwanted pests. Check out The Ins and Outs of Up and Down Gardening for essential gardening tips.

2. Seed Saving

Seed saving is a bit of a lost art, but such a beautiful concept. Practicing seed savers are able to see the evolution of a plant over the years, and find out what factors affect the longevity of the seeds.
More importantly, after a harvest, seed saving will help you plant again the following year. Should there be a drought or devastating disaster, this skill could hold the key to continuing your food supply.
See our full article about The Art of Seed Saving.

3. Fire Building

Do you know how to kindle? Which materials to collect? How to maintain a fire in the rain? Basic fire skills are essential to your overall survival strategy. Check out A Foolproof Fire Starting Technique for the basics of how to build a fire.

4. Fire Techniques

A fire is not only good for generating heat, but is a great way to cook food, boil water, and purify water.

5. Home Remedies

Understanding not only what plants are safe, but knowing their medicinal elements can be the difference between life and death. Plants have amazing healing powers and can treat common ailments such as cough, fever, headache, lack of sleep, bites and sores…the list goes on! Check out our article on Mother Nature’s Best Home Remedies.

6. Metal Working

Believe it or not, there are blacksmiths still practicing this ancient skill in many parts of the world. This skill is useful in making tools, weapons, horseshoes or just simple eating utensils. If SHTF, everyone will be knocking on your door bartering for these handcrafted items.
It work does require a good deal of practice and some special equipment, but it’s a skill worth learning and the learning curve is cut a bit if you already know how to weld or do other metal works.

7. How to Build A Shelter

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Building a permanent homestead will take quite a bit of time and work, but is crucial to making everything on this list a plausible lifestyle, especially for families. Although building a cabin is ideal, we understand sometimes one is stuck in the wilderness in an emergency survival situation. Check out Emergency Shelter DIY for temporary shelter needs.

8. Sewing

That’s right, sewing. Can you image making everything you own – clothes, hats, bedding, blankets – from scratch? The pioneers did! Knowing how to patch, mend tears, alter hems, or create something from scratch could help you stay warm in the winter and beat the summer sun.

9. Hunting

It sounds silly, but hunting requires becoming one with the wilderness. Learning how to hit something accurately is just as important as knowing how to stay quiet and listen to what’s around you, as well as tracking wildlife. How else are you going to eat?

10. Foraging

Foraging is a great skill to have in addition to hunting. We need those essential vitamins and minerals! However, like most things, it requires attention to detail. Have you heard the saying, “White and yellow, kill a fellow. Purple and blue, good for you. Red… could be good, could be dead?” Do not mistake all plants to be edible.
All of these skill sets are essential for any survival situation, especially if there is a disruption in society. These skills can also be used to trade with others to retrieve resources you may not otherwise have access to.
Source

 

Frontier Living: An Illustrated Guide to Pioneer Life in America

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition

Learning the Art of Foraging

I enjoy incorporating locally foraged plants into our daily diets. It supplements, and occasionally replaces, a meal at my house. It also gives me another “tool” in my tool belt of survival skills.

What piqued my interest in this subject and how did it all begin?

After the bank crisis of 2007-2008, I began to think there could be a possibility that our currency wouldn’t be worth anything someday. I wanted an alternative way of providing for my family. If hyperinflation occurred, I may not be able to afford groceries at the store. What could I do?
If I could learn how to find wild edibles, we could be more self-sustaining until things got back to normal. I’ve heard many people say they would just hunt for their food, but what if over 200 million other people are doing the same thing? We would quickly run out of animals.
In addition, a meat-only diet isn’t very appealing, nor is it nutritionally optimal. At the very least, most meals need some herbs and spices! I wanted to learn what plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers could be resources for me.

Learning how to forage

Of course I went online and learned about plants for food and medicine. I talked to my local county extension office and spoke to “experts” in many areas. I found that nobody would teach me about mushroom hunting due to the liabilities. (It’s too easy for newbies, especially, to mis-identify and think a poisonous mushroom is safe to eat.)
I looked for places to go that offered “Hands-on” learning that were free or had a minimal cost. I also wanted to meet local people that had useful skills that were willing to share their knowledge. I especially wanted to meet “my own kind”. I hoped maybe we could form a group and share what we learned.
Around 2010, things started happening. I found an awesome place called Willow Haven Outdoors in Anderson, Indiana that offered a FREE “Skills Day” once per year to showcase survival skills and techniques. I learned how to operate a bow drill, make a grote (fish hook carved from bamboo), observe flint knapping, and making three prong spear to impale fish. I would go down once or twice per year to learn things and buy survival gear. It is operated & owned by Creek Stewart. He now has a show on the Weather Channel called “Fat Guys in the Woods”.

TIP: Read more about the basics of foraging in “August Skill of the Month: Foraging“.

Then in 2012, my friend, Madelynn and I began our own preppers group, North West Indiana Preppers. We wanted to prepare for man-made and natural disasters. We wanted to get a group of people with a variety of skills that could help teach self-reliance. It was awesome to have like-minded people to talk to and learn from. One of our members, John, taught me how to build a solar cooker from a Fresnel Lens from my old TV. Another member, Bill, taught me how to tap Maple Trees, Creek Stewart came and took us into the woods to hunt for Wild Edibles, and many, many more events.
Surround yourself with people smarter and more knowledgeable than you!

Mushrooms

It is very easy to mis-identify mushrooms and eat something poisonous unless you really, truly know what you are doing, which is why it can be so hard to find anyone willing to teach this skill. PLEASE exercise extreme caution if you choose to do this yourself.
I still wanted to mushroom hunt, so I joined the Indiana Mycological Society. (There are regional and state clubs from Mexico to Canada.) I get great information, photos, and advice from them. They also take people into the woods to hunt mushrooms that are in season. Another wonderful resource is Taltree Arboretum in Valparaiso, IN. They have edible plant tours, mushroom walks, and cool gardens. There is a small fee for the guided hands on learning, but it is well worth it.
Probably the most valuable investments are a great field guide and spending time in different types of terrain to locate plants in your book. I always have the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America by Steven Foster and James Duke in my car. (There is also one for western North America.) It has glossy colored photos accompanied by great descriptions of the plants and their many uses.
Last summer and fall, I spent a great deal of time in the woods around my subdivision, armed with a smart phone and my Field Guide. I would pick a mushroom or two, then find a place to sit, study, and photograph my finds. If I felt I could positively identify a mushroom, I would be the first one to eat it. I can’t figure them all out, but I can harvest Sheepshead, Chicken of the Woods, Puffballs, Oysters, Boletes, and an unusual one called Purple-gilled Laccaria.
I learned how to perform a “spore test” when the color of the spore is a critical factor in identification. I would get two of each kind of mushroom, placing one on a piece of black paper and one on white paper. Then I set a drinking glass over each one. In a few hours, remove the glass, and you will see a beautiful spore pattern appear. You need to see the spore color for identification of some mushrooms.
I also deliberately spread the edible mushroom spores in as many locations as I can to increase their numbers. Simply cut a mushroom into a few pieces, and insert the pieces gill side down onto a type of wood that they are partial to, and new mushrooms will grow there.
Be your own “Johnny Appleseed” and plant a few secret gardens in off the beaten path locations using heirloom perennial seeds. If someone takes all your stuff or takes over your property, you still have these little “hidden gardens”.

Insects

For more foraging options, consider insects. There is a reason people in dire circumstances are often seen eating them: We will never run out of insects.
Last summer I served guests dandelion and bacon soup for dinner, and dessert was a delicious protein bar made with CRICKET flour. Cricket flour is 60% protein, and when it’s mixed in with chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, or lime, it’s really good. The company that made these bars is called “Chapul”. You can order them online, but I just wanted to introduce this idea to you, in case you ever need another source of protein. It’s gluten free and doesn’t taste any different than “regular” flour.

Resources All Around

I know my area pretty well. Get to know yours, too. I located walnut and hickory trees, so I have a source for nuts. (These aren’t the easiest nuts to crack, so be prepared with a good nutcracker or two.) I can also use the hickory bark to smoke meat. I’ve found numerous mulberry trees and made syrup, jam, and jelly with some friends. I have apple trees with small sour apples that are great for making apple cider vinegar.

TIP: Take an inventory of the plants in your area. Learn more here.

I know where there are a few creeks not far from me. So, I have a water source, but also found crayfish, and don’t forget, animals need water, too. You can hunt close to the water, eventually, they will all come there.
I located raspberry bushes, cattails, wild asparagus, stinging nettles for medicinal tea, dandelion leaves (blanch them and they taste like a delicate spinach), elderberries, I have honeybees, Queen Anne’s lace for making jelly, my maple trees for making syrup, white willow for making salicylic acid (aspirin) in my own yard, and those “Helicopter” type seeds that come from maples are edible (toast them first). There are just too many to list here!

Final Thoughts

When I reflect back on all the weeds I’ve pulled, I can’t believe how many were actually edible plants! My garden was loaded with purslane, lambs quarter and plantain.  I eat the first two while they are still young and tender, and use plantain as a poultice for skin irritation or injuries.
All these amazing resources are probably all around you, and you may not realize it. Start looking and learning now, before anything bad happens.
My main points for anyone wanting to learn about foraging are:

. It’s never too late to start. Learn at least a few new things.
. Look for resources to help you. It can be people, books, groups, or the internet.
. But be prepared to learn by yourself if no one else is interested.
. Learn to identify local wild edibles (plants, trees, nuts, herbs, mushrooms).
. Learn to prepare these items and eat them.
. Become the Resource Person.

 

Source

 

 

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

Foraging: For Beginners - The Ultimate Guide To Foraging Wild Edible Plants And Medicinal Herbs For Optimum Health and Longevity! (Homesteader Book, Foraging, Wildcrafting)

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

9 Unusual Uses for Aspirin

 
 
It's 6:30 AM and you feel a tightness in your chest. Antacids don't help. Your jaw is tightly set and your arm feels numb. Heart attack? Or is it an unreasonable response to a new zit? Either way, aspirin can help.

From heart attacks to zits, in the garden and the laundry room, aspirin has a ton of uses beyond relieving pain. Some of these I've tried, others I should try but haven't, and a few I hope to never try. You, the reader, are left to judge which is which. Read More From The Source












Bayer Aspirin Regimen Low Dose 81mg, Enteric Coated Tablets, 300-Count