The self sufficient life and how to live it by John Seymour

I have to admit there are many books that I just absolutely love.  This one is definately one of my favorites.  It is the most comprehensive book I have found for the homestead.

It has everything from how to design a self sufficient farm to how to make bricks and everything in between.

Chapter 1  The Meaning of Self Sufficiency
This chapter describes the seasons and the cycles your homestead will go thru.  It tells how to design your homestead beginnign with the urban garden and ending with a 5 acre farm so that you utilize what you have available in the most efficient way possible.

Chapter 2   Food from the garden
This chapter tells you everything you could ever want to know about growing a garden.  What types of beds to use, what types of plants to plant in certain beds, diseases, pests andf how to deal with them.  It has an illustrated area with pictures of different plants.  It talks about seeds, harvesting, cultivation throughout the year and even an area on greenhouses.

Chapter 3 Food from Animals
This chapter has information about pretty much any barnyard beastie you could want.  Tricks to raising them, breeding them, butchering them.  It talks about the different breeds and what things they are best suited for.  It has illustrated how to's on butchering, cleaning and cutting up the carcass.  Basically if it is edible and from an animal this book explains it in this chapter.

Chapter 4  Food from the fields
This is the chapter all about fields... Clearing, cultivating, sowing and harvesting grains, root crops and hay.

Chapter 5  Food from the wild
This chapter is all about wild game, wild plants, wild fruit, wild nuts and mushrooms.  Basically if you did not plant it or raise it then this chapter will tell you about it.  Don't know how to butcher a rabbit?  It's there complete with illustrated step by steps...

Chapter 6  In the dairy
Everything you need to know about the dairy side of your farm.  From how to plan and lay out a cow shed to how to milk and continuing on to how to make butter and cheese.

Chapter 7  In the kitchen
This chapter deals with all aspects of food storage and preservation.  Along with some really nice recipes.  It has plans for a storage room, how to can, how to freeze, making pickles, making jelly or jam, making bread, and so on...

Chapter 8 Brewing and winemaking
That title is pretty self explanatory.  It is about making beer and wine.

Chapter 9  Energy and Waste
How to build an outdoor toilet (yep a neccessity of survival).  Alternative energy sources are explained in detail.

Chapter 10  Crafts and Skills
This one is all about the other things like building, plumbing, how to make a brick, how to thatch a roof, how to tie different knots, making tools or how to make a basket.  Want to spin your own yarn and then weave your own fabric?  It's there along with directions on how to build the loom.  Want to tan a hide (and I do not mean the kind of hide on your childrens back sides) it is there.  Want to get sugar from beets?  The instructions are there....

The last few pages have further resources that would be of help in your endeavors to be self sufficient.  There are a ton of web sites you can visit...

It is my suggestion that you either buy or borrow this book.  You can get it easily  (click here  to go directly to it) on amazon.com. 

I hope you would find this book as enjoyable to read as I have.  It has even captivated my 11 year old daughter.  She got the idea  to build a teepee last summer out of hay..  Hers was obviously much messier than the book described, but it was fun... They camped in it and played in it for about 2 weeks until the wind destroyed it.  These pictures were taken after the wind had beat it up for a couple of days.  She used PVC as a frame that was tied together at the top with twine.

Mineral Oil... Is it safe for food???

There has been debate over whether we should use mineral oil to preserve eggs.  Some people feel that because it is a petroleum product, it is not safe... Period... I propose to all of my readers to think about this...

Petroleum products are widespread.  We use them daily and many we do not even realize. The diversity of petroleum products is what has made our society "disposable".  It has also made it so that you can go to the store and buy that cut of meat wrapped in plastic on the cute foam tray, the tin can of vegetables and have ointments to put on wounds.  It depends on the type and the way it is purified that makes it food safe or not.  You should ALWAYS use products that are labeled as being safe for consumption, food grade, food safe or pharmaceutical grade before using it in or near your food.

Mineral oil is a petroleum product.  You must use the one that is labeled USP.  Look at the label.  It will be sold in the pharmacy section and it is labeled for use as a laxative.  It works as a laxative by making your intestines slippery in order to help pass your Bowel movement.  It is odorless, tasteless and totally safe.  Obviously you would not want to drink the entire bottle but used in accordance with the directions it is safe.  Do not use mineral oil products like baby oil.  It has scents and has not been properly purified to make it safe for consumption.

Now lets think about others:
 Anything with a vaseline base is a petroleum product like Chapstick, triple antibiotic ointment (which I hope no first aid kit is without), vaseline (this can be used to saturate guaze and then used to close a sucking chest wound, in case of no medical help).

Anything with a parrifin base is a petroleum product like parrifin wax used to seal jelly jars, suppositories both prescription and over the counter, chewing wax, candles, etc.

 

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)
One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like:

Solvents	Diesel fuel	Motor Oil	Bearing Grease
Ink	Floor Wax	Ballpoint Pens	Football Cleats
Upholstery	Sweaters	Boats	Insecticides
Bicycle Tires	Sports Car Bodies	Nail Polish	Fishing lures
Dresses	Tires	Golf Bags	Perfumes
Cassettes	Dishwasher parts	Tool Boxes	Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet	Caulking	Petroleum Jelly	Transparent Tape
CD Player	Faucet Washers	Antiseptics	Clothesline
Curtains	Food Preservatives	Basketballs	Soap
Vitamin Capsules	Antihistamines	Purses	Shoes
Dashboards	Cortisone	Deodorant	Footballs
Putty	Dyes	Panty Hose	Refrigerant
Percolators	Life Jackets	Rubbing Alcohol	Linings
Skis	TV Cabinets	Shag Rugs	Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks	Car Battery Cases	Epoxy	Paint
Mops	Slacks	Insect Repellent	Oil Filters
Umbrellas	Yarn	Fertilizers	Hair Coloring
Roofing	Toilet Seats	Fishing Rods	Lipstick
Denture Adhesive	Linoleum	Ice Cube Trays	Synthetic Rubber
Speakers	Plastic Wood	Electric Blankets	Glycerin
Tennis Rackets	Rubber Cement	Fishing Boots	Dice
Nylon Rope	Candles	Trash Bags	House Paint
Water Pipes	Hand Lotion	Roller Skates	Surf Boards
Shampoo	Wheels	Paint Rollers	Shower Curtains
Guitar Strings	Luggage	Aspirin	Safety Glasses
Antifreeze	Football Helmets	Awnings	Eyeglasses
Clothes	Toothbrushes	Ice Chests	Footballs
Combs	CD's & DVD's	Paint Brushes	Detergents
Vaporizers	Balloons	Sun Glasses	Tents
Heart Valves	Crayons	Parachutes	Telephones
Enamel	Pillows	Dishes	Cameras
Anesthetics	Artificial Turf	Artificial limbs	Bandages
Dentures	Model Cars	Folding Doors	Hair Curlers
Cold cream	Movie film	Soft Contact lenses	Drinking Cups
Fan Belts	Car Enamel	Shaving Cream	Ammonia
Refrigerators	Golf Balls	Toothpaste	Gasoline

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than
250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each! But, as shown here petroleum is not just used for fuel.
Quoted from http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm

 You can also add to the list: Teflon in cookware, freezer bags, wax paper, plastic wrap, egg cartons and the list goes on and on.  On the list above I made red anything that we would ingest, would be around our food or be in close contact with open wounds or mucous membranes on our bodies.  That list is a very short one,  it is less than 5% of items that are made from petroleum products.

Once again it depends upon the purifying process as to whether it is food safe or not.  Always use plastics and other petroleum products that are deemed food safe or Pharmaceutical grade. 

If we were to totally get away from petroleum based products.  We would have to grow our own food and never buy anything from the store that is not in glass.  Even our tin cans are coated on the inside with a plastic film.  Our beans would be bought in bulk out of a wooden barrel and fast food would be a thing of the past.  We would be hurtled back to an agrarian society rather than an industrialized society.

Like it or not Petroleum products are here to stay as long as the oil holds out.  We live with them every single day. To be without them would be a TEOTWAKI situation in our present world.  Educate yourself so that you use them properly and be as safe as possible.