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Could You Feed Your Family for a Year?

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There are many people today who are talking about the importance of storing enough food to feed your family for a year. TV talk show host Glenn Beck has said that he feels “it is critical for Americans to be ready for whatever life might throw their way. He and fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity are promoting a program from which you can purchase kits containing survival food for yourself or your entire family—however it will cost you thousands of dollars.

Nearly everyone we know is not prepared to pay that kind of money to stockpile food for an emergency, even one lasting as long as 12 months. But we have begun to feel the urgency of having such a plan, and are starting to take “baby steps” toward the goal of just such a stockpile of food for our family. In this post we want to share with you some of the things we have discovered that will help us to reach that goal eventually. We are much more interested in economical ways that promote the possibility of developing the ability to grow, harvest, and prepare for storage many of the foods we would need. And we are discovering great recommendations for how to economically purchase those we cannot produce ourselves.  In this blog post, we want to share five factors about stockpiling food that may be important for you to consider also.

5 Factors About Stockpiling Food That is Important for You to Consider

1. Why consider preparing a one-year supply of emergency food?

The current world situation is, at best, unstable and scary! All it would take for our grocery stores to have empty shelves is a shortage of fuel, economic collapse, wide-spread electronic power failure, civil unrest or devastating natural disasters. In addition to these big considerations, maybe you haven’t noticed how expensive a trip to the grocery store is becoming. 

It is our desire to begin growing most of our own food, and preserving and storing it in our root cellar or other storage areas. Living without our weekly or monthly trips to the grocery stores sounds wonderful, but it is important to remember that being in charge of our own pantry is time-consuming and needs to be carefully organized. For example, I love making goat cheese for my family, but it takes a whole lot more time to do that than a quick trip to pick up cheese from the grocer.

2. How much food will it take to feed my family for a year?

Our family will need to figure out exactly how much food we need to store to feed two adults and two children (and a myriad of farm animals) for a year. No two households will have the same food preferences, living arrangements, or dietary needs or restrictions. If we really are anticipating some kind of emergency that could end all grocery purchases for a year, then we need to be including the household supplies, medicine, personal care, and food preparation tools I’ll need to be using. This post will not address those additional supplies, but you should do your own research to discover what these are. Be sure that you are cataloging your favorite recipes along with your master list of foods.

A simple but effective way of figuring out your family’s food needs is to carefully compile a list of all food (including spices, sauces, or other recipe items) your family eats in one week. Then you can multiply that by 12 to make your list for three months, and again my 4 to arrive at a total for a year. 

There are some food storage calculators available online to help you figure out the exact quantities you need to be considering of some food items. Here’s one that is great, but keep in mind this is a basic one that is NOT made of real food, but instead, highly processed. 

On your master list, you will need to include food items in the following categories:

  • Meat (protein sources)
  • Vegetables and fruits from your own home-grown garden
  • Additional fresh or frozen food from the grocery store
  • Dairy (or your Paleo dairy substitutions like cans of coconut milk)
  • Condiments, sauces and jellies
  • Pantry mainstays (vinegars, oils, Almond butter, spices, etc.)
  • Probable non-Paleo items such as beans or lentils, nuts and seeds (because let’s face it, in a crisis, eating beans and lentils is OKAY)
  • Baking supplies and natural sweeteners. Honey can last up to 10 years if stored properly
  • Water and other drinks supply

CLICK HERE to go to my follow up post and see how to spend $10 to build up your emergency paleo food storage. 

3. How much will it cost, what storage space will I need, and what kind of containers do I need to store my food?

There are examples online of several people who recommend starting your food storage plan with just $10 per week. Others have written about their one-year storage food, which cost in the neighborhood of just $300. Considering the fact that many of us spend an average of $100 for just one-week’s supply of food, $300 for an entire year is mind-boggling. You can begin with the simple step of picking up a few extra items each time you head to the store.

If you are allowing yourself about $10 a week to accumulate your non-homegrown food items, you will want to decide in advance what extra items you’ll pick up. Be sure you are watching for sales (such as seasonal sales and holiday sales), and researching opportunities through co-ops, farm stands, and local farmers. Don’t forget to date each item before adding it to your storage. 

You will want to get creative with where you keep your food storage. The ideal space would be a root cellar , but we’ve heard of people who keep things stored under a bed, in an extra closet, or in an unused room in the basement. The key is to keep all foods in a space that is clean, dry, and low in humidity.

There are many food grade storage containers that can be used for long-term food storage. These include:

Each of these type containers are good for most dry foods. Remember that you must store dry foods without any moisture. Think about the BPA-free plastic bottles that you can recycle for food storage. Use only plastics that contained food. Also consider getting recycled empty plastic buckets from your local grocer or bakery store. Most bakeries have 3-gallon buckets, which will be much easier to move around than the 5-gallon buckets. Be sure that your buckets have a tightly fitting cover. There are also many glass jars that make great storage containers, including the canning jars you will be using. Don’t forget the number 10 can, which can keep foods fresh and rodent and bug proof for several years. To assure that your storage containers are airtight and pest free, you can use mylar bags, foil pouches, and oxygen absorbers.

4. How do I preserve my home-grown harvested food to keep for at least one year?

Another important step for you to take is to learn how to preserve your home-grown food supplies by canning, freezing, freeze-drying, or safely storing in your designated root cellar or food storage location.

Canning and preserving can go a long way towards filling up your master list of foods to store for one year. It will also ensure that you are using your home-grown bounty in the most economical way. As I mentioned earlier, you should have first carefully planned for what you wanted to grow in your garden, and how much food it will take to feel your family for a year. Now figure out the approximate number of pounds of food you will harvest, and calculate how many pounds of each fruit or vegetable per quart jar. (Two links that can help you with this are HERE and HERE.)

There are several different methods you can use to preserve your garden bounty for storage.  There are also many, many websites that can help you learn the methods of preserving your food. I’m listing some of these below with one link you can use to begin learning how to use each one.

Your master list should also include the type and quantity of livestock or poultry you need to have to add to your food storage. If you raise your own livestock or poultry, determine how much butchering you will need to do. (If you do not raise your own livestock and poultry, research your options for purchasing this economically from local co-ops, butchers, or local farmers.)

Much of your livestock and poultry can be frozen and stored in a freezer. But there are other ways to preserve meat that you could use also. Some of these are:

  • Canning
  • Curing
  • Smoking
  • Dehydrating
  • Biltong (marinating meat in a vinegar solution and then rubbing it with a spice mix)

5. Most importantly, how can I be sure I’m storing food that will support my grain-free, dairy-free, preservative-free natural, Paleo lifestyle?

One of the first things to consider is to begin your food storage efforts at the start of your gardening an growing season, and to end at the time of your last garden harvest. You need to be sure you are growing the foods that fit your Paleo or gluten-free lifestyle, and that are the actual foods your family will enjoy. 

In a food storage plan for a year, it may be difficult to store only foods that are 100 percent Paleo or Gaps approved. I know for our family we are already only about 80 percent Paleo, and I would consider storing some non-Paleo items like grain-free seeds, Quinoa, and other grain-free things like sprouted amaranth, buckwheat or millet. I would also be willing to store beans and lentils as a protein source. 

 Other grain-free supplies could include: 

Our family purchases most of our food in bulk and we are gradually building our one-year stockpile by purchasing items we need from Azure Standard. Check to see if Azure delivers to your area! 

Make a decision to start now

This has been a longer blog post, but one we hope has whet your appetite for researching and preparing to gather and store some food supplies that will be available to you for a protracted period of time if necessary. If Old Mother Hubbard had done her research and prepared a food storage plan for her family, she would not have had a cupboard so bare there was not even a bone for her dog. 

 Remember these two cardinal rules for successful food storage:

  1. Store what you eat and eat what you store.
  2. Rotate, rotate, ROTATE!

By developing your master plan, and being willing to make a moderate investment of time and effort, you will have a successful food storage program for eating in good times or bad.

Be sure to check out the follow-up post to this on how you can store a year’s worth of food for your family on only $10 a week! 

Resources:

  • https://billyandanuttama.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/how-to-have-a-years-worth-of-food-stored-what-to-store-and-why-you-should-do-it/
  • https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-start-a-food-storage-on-138765
  • https://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm
  • https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-331/426-331_pdf.pdf
  • https://www.oldfashionedfamilies.com/how-much-canning-do-you-need-for-a-full-year/
  • https://www.granny-miller.com/use-this-tool-to-help-plan-a-years-worth-of-food-supplies/
  • https://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-skills/old-methods-of-meat-preservation/
  • https://www.rodalenews.com/grain-free-shopping-list
  • https://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hagan59.html

Could You Feed Your Family For a Year The Paleo Mama

 

Root Cellars—5 Time-Tested Storage Ideas for Your Garden Bounty

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Food storage

Root cellars have been around for hundreds of years. They have one purpose—to enable long-term storage for your harvested fruits and vegetables. History tells us that native Australians were the first to preserved large amounts of yams and other produce deep in the cooling and insulation of earth. Underground storage facilities from the Iron Age have been discovered, and the early colonists in North America came prepared with the knowledge of how to preserve their crops. Our ancestors knew the benefit of keeping a root cellar and used these 5 time-tested storage ideas for their garden bounty. 

I have access to our family’s geneology going back to the 1400’s. Many of my ancestors were farmers, and each generation used a form of root cellar to store their bounty during the winter. Before refrigeration, the root cellar was an essential way to keep turnips, carrots, potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips and other root vegetables fresh through the winter months. My mother grew up in Michigan, and remembers vividly the root cellar in her basement, built by her father right next to the playhouse he built for my mother and her sister. It was her job to get potatoes out of the potato bin, and bring up various cans stored there by her mother who was an avid canner.

Root cellars are making a comeback, and are highly appreciated by homesteaders and natural living advocates who want to reduce expenses by growing and storing their self-grown harvests. I am so fortunate to have a root cellar waiting for me in our new “forever farm,” which we move in to at the end of this month. I’m doing my best to learn how to maximize its usage, and I want to share some of this information with you so you can consider doing the same thing.

1. What Is a Root Cellar?

Technically, a root cellar is any storage location that uses natural cooling, insulating, and humidifying properties of the earth. Today’s root cellars are often found in basements, or are dug down in the ground or horizontally into a hillside. You don’t need an elaborate root cellar to store vegetables, even for months at a time. You can easily extend the fresh life of root crops using whatever storage space you currently have. 

2. Twenty-two Foods You Can Store in a Root Cellar

Your root cellar will work for you as long as you pay close attention to the crop varieties you choose, on your timing for harvest, and learning the best storage conditions for each type of fruit or vegetable. Contact your cooperative extension office for advice on specific storage varieties for your region. Here is a list of 22 crop varieties you may choose to store.

Cold and Damp Storage

Store these at 32 to 40 degrees F, with 90-95 percent humidity. Research each of these to discover when to harvest and how to store.

  • Apples
  • Beets
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Jerusalem Artichokes
  • Leeks
  • Parsnips
  • Pears
  • Potatoes
  • Rutabagas
  • Turnips
  • Winter Radishes

Cool and Dry Storage

Store these varieties at 50-60 degrees F, with 60-70 percent humidity.

  • Beans (dried)
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Pumpkins
  • Squash
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Tomatilllos
  • Tomatoes

3. Root Cellar Basics

There are three basic conditions a root cellar should provide. The closer you come to matching these ideal conditions in your vegetable-storage area, the better your vegetables will keep.

  1. Humidity—High humidity is essential. Most root crops and leafy veggies keep best in humidity of 90-95 percent. There are three ways to assure this humidity: install a dirt floor, adding water when needed such as pans of water or damp burlap over the produce, pack the veggies in damp sawdust, sand, or moss.
  2. Ventilation—Air needs to be circulated through your root cellar. Because warm air rises and cool air falls, put an air intake down low, and the outlet up high.
  3. Temperature—This is the most important thing. You can borrow cold from the ground, or by letting cold night air into the cellar.

4. Root Cellar Design

Screen Shot 2015-05-02 at 10.07.38 AMRoot cellar designs run the gamut from rough and rugged to designer worthy. Some ideas that are inexpensive but useful include:

  • Simple shelving created from rough cut boards and cement blocks
  • Stackable trays that circulate air
  • Simple wood boxes with burlap covers to keep out the light.
  • Buckets, bins, or boxes with lightly dampened leaves.
  • Sawdust or sand

5. What Can My Root Cellar Do for Me?

What can root cellaring do for you? Simply this: make it possible for you to enjoy fresh endive in December; tender, savory Chinese cabbage in January; juicy apples in February; crisp carrots in March; and sturdy, unsprayed potatoes in April — all without boiling a jar, blanching a vegetable or filling a freezer bag. A root cellar can save you time, money and supplies. Your gas and electric bills will be lower because you are not heating 2-gallon kettles of water for canning. You won’t have to stuff so much into the freezer, and you won’t need to buy new jar lids or freezer bags.Growing your own food can be very rewarding, especially during the summer months when veggies can be washed, cooked and on the table the very same day they’re picked (nothing fresher than that!). If you plan ahead and plant more than your family and friends can consume during the growing season, you can still enjoy your bumper crop over the long, cold winter months through the wonderful benefits of root cellaring.

Food storage

Resources:

  • https://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/root-cellars-14908.aspx
  • https://www.almanac.com/root-cellar-build
  • https://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/how-to-store-food-in-root-cellars.aspx
  • https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/fundamentals-of-root-cellaring-zm0z91zsie.aspx
  • https://commonsensehome.com/root-cellars-101/
  • https://tipnut.com/cold-storage-projects/

Top 6 Companion Plants to Defend Your Precious Veggies From Harmful Insects

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Gardening

Today I welcome Sally from Garden Valley Homestead to the blog! I’m so excited to share this wonderful post she wrote on the top 6 companion plants to defend your precious veggies from harmful insects. 

Everyone needs a friend, someone to look out for us, keep us safe. We’re stronger together, right? Plants need best-buddies, too, a pal to protect them from harmful insects. Some plants make great companions, but some are mighty Super Heroes that not only protect their friends, but also make them stronger and better (more flavorful). Plants are designed to live and work together. When you know which plants live and work well together–who looks after whom–your gardening work is so much easier, and your plants will thrive–while you sit back, then reap the harvest! 

Top 6 Companion Plants to Defend Your Precious Veggies From Harmful Insects: 

There are many excellent companion plants growing on this green earth, but this post zeroes-in on a handful of great ones–Super Heros– that can live happily in just about any garden. The plants that made the Top 6 List were selected because they are:

  • Easy to find
  • Easy to grow
  • Easy to eat
  • Repel insects from a range of commonly grown vegetables, including tomatoes, cabbage, beans, potatoes
  • Worthy of being called Super Heros

Plant List: 

#6 BORAGE

borage, pinnable, garden, plant, post, sally olson, canva (1)

Borage is a friend to MANY plants, especially tomatoes and squash. But, Borage and strawberries are absolute Besties! Savvy strawberry farmers always set a few plants in their beds to enhance the fruits flavor and yield. Borage’s Super Powers are its knack for repelling tomato hornworms and cabbage worms, attracting bees and wasps, as well as adding trace minerals to the soil. Borage leaves contain vitamin C and are rich in calcium, potassium and mineral salts. It also makes a nice mulch for most plants. Borage is self-sowing, so after planting this annual once, it will reseed itself. Borage flowers are beautifully vibrant and edible. The plant itself is furry and gangly, and not edible. This is why is ranks 5th among five super defenders.

Borage grows in zones 5-10

#5 CHIVES

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Chives buddy-up well with carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kohlrabi, peppers, potatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, mustard–and apples! Chives’ super power is defending tomatoes from aphids and repelling Japanese beetles and carrot rust flies from your garden. Planting chives consistently for three years amongst apple trees prevents scab disease. That’s a big deal! Apple scab can ruin a season’s crop. Pair Chives with carrots and tomatoes to enhance their flavor. It holds fourth place because it doesn’t get along well with asparagus, beans, peas, and spinach.

Chives grow in ALL hardiness zones.

Word of warning: It’s not recommended to plant Chive with asparagus, beans, peas and spinach.

#4 RADISH

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Radishes are trustworthy companions to many plants–and they’re easy to grow. Plant radishes along side beets, bush beans, pole beans, carrots, chervil, cucumber, lettuce, melons, nasturtium, parsnip, peas, spinach to protect them from cucumber beetles and rust flies. Radishes draw strength and flavor from Chervil and nasturtium, so think about planting a little of each to give your radishes a boost.

To defend your corn crop against borers (ugh!), plant radish with your corn, but let it go to seed for its protective power to work. 

If you don’t mind planting a few sacrificial radish, plant a few with your spinach to lure leafminers from your spinach plants. The leafminers will damage the radish leaves, but not the edible root. 

Radish’s super power lies in its uncanny ability to tell you something about your soil, like if the calcium levels are off. If your radish grows to produce a stringy root, your soil needs calcium.

Word of warning: Keep radishes away from hyssop plants, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and turnips.   

Radish grow in ALL hardiness zones.

#3 ONION

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If you’re looking forward to growing any of these vegetables this season–Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower,Cabbage, Collards, Chard, dill, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustard, Radishes, Rutabaga, tomato, Turnip–send in the onions! The onion’s super power is its strong smell which confuses carrot and onion flies and repels maggots away from carrots, lettuce, chamomile, beets, cabbage, and parsnips.

Grows in all zones, depending upon the variety.

Word of warning: Keep onions away from peas and asparagus.

 

 

#2 MARIGOLD (CALENDULA)

5

Even though this number 2 Guardian Plant, marigold (Pot Marigold) isn’t a vegetable, it is edible…and beautiful…and easy to grow. Botanically known as Calendula , ( ca·len·du·la \kə-ˈlen-jə-lə, -dyu̇-lə\), it is a might adversary of any insect that dares to enter the garden. French marigolds repel whiteflies and kill bad nematodes. Mexican marigolds are said to “bug” many destructive insects. Scented varieties of marigold flowers are the best pest deterrents. One of Calendula’s super powers is its ability to be self-reliant. But, give it a little care and it will perpetually bloom in your garden.

Grows in ALL hardiness zones.

Word of warning: While calendula drives away many foes, it also attracts spider mites (there’s a plant for that!) and snails.

#1 GARLIC: 

1

Yes, garlic! It ranks Number #1 Super Hero Defender of Good (plants) on this list of Super Hero insect-fighting plants because its powerful ability to defend fruit trees! 

Garlic is the perfect, yet stealthy, partner for apple, peach and pear orchards, or wherever borers are a problem. Garlic’s super power is its ability to accumulate sulfur, which acts as a naturally occurring fungicide. Garlic’s companion plants take-up take up the sulfur through their roots (how to make a soil drench) and pores. Garlic’s status as Super Guardian Defender stem from its ability to ward-off codling moths, Japanese beetles, root maggots, snails, and carrot root fly. Go ahead and plant garlic under peach trees to help repel borers. 

Garlic is one plant you should plant throughout your garden beds. Plant garlic along side your tomatoes to prevent red spider mites (link to calendula) from moving in. Diamond back moths won’t bother your cabbage when garlic is standing guard.

Bonus: Aphids won’t give your roses a second thought once they realize garlic is on duty.

Word of warning: Garlic is fickle around peas.

Gardening is so much simpler–and rewarding, when you let the plants do the work for you. Now you know which plants which protect your crops from invaders is half the battle. It’s time to dig in and starting growing a strong, healthy crop of produce for your family.

RESOURCES: 

  1. Companion Planting https://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
  2. Gardening with Borage: https://gardening.about.com/od/herbsspecificplants1/p/Borage.htm
  3. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pest-repelling_plants
  4. Harvest to Table: https://www.harvesttotable.com/2009/04/insect-deterrent_plants/
  5. Pallen Smith: https://www.pallensmith.com/articles/pest-control-plants
  6. Do It Yourself: https://www.doityourself.com/stry/using-garlic-as-a-natural-pesticide#b
  7. The Flower Expert: https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/growingflowers/growing-marigolds

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Sally Olson is a wife, mother, writer/blogger, and redeemed fake Ficus tree owner. She blogs at Garden Valley Homestead where she helps reluctant gardeners trade in brown thumbs for fresh greens. Sally, her husband of 26 years, two sons, horses, Labrador Retrievers, and hens are blessed to call the Sierra-Nevada Foothills home. For more nourishing garden time-saver tips, follow Sally at https://www.gardenvalleyhomestead.com and on Pinterest,  pinterest.com/GVHomestead/

Gardening

5 Ways to Use Comfrey

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If you’re following me on Instagram you might have seen a few posts on our new 10-acre “forever farm” that we will be moving into shortly. I am truly blessed with all the healthy garden plants and trees already planted there. One of my greatest thrills is the Comfrey patch just waiting for me to use. Of course, I have been researching all the ways to use this extremely beneficial plant, and I’m excited to share with you here the 5 ways to use comfrey that I’ve discovered and will implement on our new homestead. 

5 Ways to Use Comfrey:

1. Comfrey for preparing the soil of my garden 

It will become my secret weapon to improve my veggie garden soil, to mulch around my plants, and to prevent disease from keeping me from a bountiful harvest of veggies later in the fall. I’ll be using fresh comfrey leaves as fertilizer in my planting holes. I’ll also learn to make comfrey “tea” to add to the water that waters my garden. (Add fresh comfrey leaves to a half barrel of water, cover, and steep for 3-6 weeks.) And by adding a few drops of liquid soap to my “tea,” I’ll be able to spray and coat the tops and bottoms of my plants to keep away the garden pests.

2. Comfrey will be a major part of our compost station.

Comfrey has a higher NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) ratio than either kelp or the average homemade compost pile. It is rich in calcium and many other valuable plant nutrients. It is known to be a compost activator to “heat things up quickly.” Comfrey makes a wonderful mulch, naturally high in nitrogen so it doesn’t pull nitrogen from the soil. It’s high potassium content makes it so beneficial for flowers, vegetables, berries and fruit trees. I’ll be adding 2-3 inches of leaves around my plants. These leaves will slowly break down and release the wonderful nutrients. Comfrey should not be used for root crops or leafy greens because they may cause these plants to go to seed prematurely.

3. Comfrey as a liquid fertilizer

This may be the best use I’ll find. I’ve been told that now that I have comfrey I can throw away the Miracle Grow and other fertilizers. Chopped leaves and stems can be crammed tight into a large container (like 5 gallon buckets) with a brick or rock pressing down on the mass of comfrey. After a few weeks I’ll have a greenish-brownish “soup” mixture ready for use. After straining it through a fine screen, I can add a spigot to the bottom of the container and just keep adding more comfrey to the top to break down also.

4. Comfrey for our livestock

Comfrey has been traditionally used as livestock food. Dry comfrey contains protein and an assortment of healthy minerals. Because it is lower in fiber, it is a good feed for pigs and chickens who have trouble digesting fiber. It has also proven to be an excellent feed for horses, cows, donkeys, sheep, and goats. However, I’ll have to cut the comfrey leaves and wilt them for a day or so to get our chickens to eat them…they would not like the prickly hairs on the leaves. Research indicates I will be able to replace up to 10 percent of the chicken feed without lowering egg production.

5. Comfrey as a healing salve

Comfrey has been in use as a medicinal herb for more than 200 years. The allantoin content of comfrey aids in healing wounds, sores, burns, swollen tissue, and broken bones. It can be applied externally to bruises, sprains, arthritic bones of any inflamed tissue, and acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. I will be able to make a poultice by boiling the leaves, or by putting the roots in a blender or food processor, covering with oil, and grinding as fine as possible. It should be stored in a large glass jar and allowed to soak for several weeks before straining. However, comfrey should never be taken internally. I will follow up with an entire blog on how to make comfrey salve in a coming blog, but in the meantime, you can check out my Healing Salve recipe and replace the calendula with comfrey. 

The comfrey in my new garden is planted with a blueberry patch. You can see from the photo to the right that my kids have already determined they will spend time eating the healthy, large blueberries that have grown up under the protection of the secret power of Comfrey.

Comfrey is a fast growing, hardy plant, and I should get 4-5 pounds of leaves from each plant a year. I’ll remove the flowers from most of the plants because they take a lot of the plant’s energy to create the seeds. However, since I plan to have 5 or more beehives, I’ll leave a few plants with flowers for the bees that love them. Besides, the flowers are beautiful!

Getting Started in Comfrey: 

  1. Find a local gardener (Craigslist is a great place to look) who is selling comfrey plants. 
  2. Plant your own seeds (I like these non-gmo ones) 
  3. Order dried comfrey (I like this one) 

Resources

  1. https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/comfrey-power
  2. https://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Feeding_comfrey_to_livestock/
  3. https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2013/08/11/comfrey-the-homesteaders-gold-mine/
  4. https://www.nantahala-farm.com/comfrey-growing-s.shtml

Recycled Coffee Table Milk Stand

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We had the fantastic pleasure of moving over 4 times in one year! Yippee! I think I would rather poke my eyes out than move another time with 2 small kids. However, out of all the broken furniture, dings, scratches, missing pieces, came a beautiful creation that my husband made for me — my very own Recycled Coffee Table Milk Stand! 

My amazing and creative husband is going to share how we made this simple, recycled creation! Welcome hunny! 

Thank you for the introduction, Jackie! I’m so excited to be sharing my first, official blog post ever!

What can we do with a bed that is missing one of the components to put it back together, a desk that is completely busted, or a coffee table that has a gash on it so big that no table cover can mask it…making you too embarrassed to use it ever again?

Well put that together with a move to the mountains of western North Carolina, and have a wife that desires raising goats for the wonderful, nutritious milk they make…what do you have?

A recycled coffee table milk stand!

This recycled coffee table milk stand has proven to be exceptional, best part is, I did not have to create it from the floor up – just designed a stanchion that attaches to the side of the existing table, and voila – a milking stand!

What is a stanchion?  Well, for non-milking folks, it is the portion of the milk stand that holds the goat’s head steady (without pinching!) and a food trough, allowing the milker to keep the goat occupied while they efficiently resource that wonderful milk!

So like any budding homesteader coming from the city, where did I go first?  Of course, Google and YouTube!  A quick search of “milk stand stanchion” brought up hundreds of ideas that others have done, allowing me to get the gist and inspiration to make one that works for me.

Starting with the coffee table mentioned above, the other supplies you will need will depend on your final design.  But, to get those creative juices flowing, here is the example of what worked for us:

Materials (yours WILL vary based on your design and coffee table/piece of furniture!):

  • 2 – 1”x4” board cut to 2 pieces measuring 42” each (figured this out by measuring the distance needed to brace my stanchion against the coffee table, comfortably stabilizing the stanchion)
  • 1 – 1”x4” board cut to 4 pieces measuring 38” each (figured this for the cross-pieces needed to stabilize and secure the stanchion to the rest of the stanchion) (see pictures)
  • 1 – 1”x6” board cut to 2 pieces measuring 38″ each (figured this by measuring from the surface top of the table to where the goat’s neck could comfortably fit through to get to the food)
  • 1 – carriage bolt with washers and nut (ours was 3 1/2 inches long. Make it long enough to fit through cross-pieces and 1×6 board to serve as a pivot for the board to latch it in place during use) (see pictures)
  • 2 – “L” brackets with screws for supporting the stanchion onto the surface of the table
  • Find a hanging bucket (at a local feed store) or online (we have this one). 
  • You will need 1-2 inch wood screws for screwing the boards together and also we used (4) 3 and 1/2 inch screws to fully secure the stanchion to the existing table wood surface, for further strength.

Step-By-Step: 

Step 1: Secure the 1″x 4″ (42 inch) boards to the table, using (4) 3 1/2 inch wood screws.

Step 2: Screw the “cross” pieces (1″x 4″ by 38″) to the pieces you just screwed into the coffee table.  Make sure that one of the pieces rests onto the coffee table top as to provide a surface to further use the “L” brackets to stabilize the stanchion later to it.

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Step 3: Using a jigsaw, cut into the 1″ x 6″ pieces, making sure to “mirror” the cuts to make a hole for the goat neck.  We cut about 2″ into the plank, then down about 8-9 inches, making this hole.  ENSURE to notch one of the planks by cutting a section off of the inside corner (where the two planks touch when the hole is made).  This will allow the plank to pivot on the carriage bolt, allowing it to open the planks, giving you more room to maneuver the goat’s head into position when the planks are pushed together to secure the goat’s head and neck!)

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Step 4: Slide the 1″ x 6″ planks down toward the surface of the coffee table.  Drill a hole big enough to slide the carriage bolt through to create your pivot for the plank.  Screw the other plank into the coffee table surface.  Only screw the plank without the bolt to the cross pieces for additional support.

Step 5: Drill and screw the “L” brackets onto the bottom cross piece and to the surface of the coffee table.

Step 6: Attach the hanging feed bucket to the stanchion with a couple of scrap pieces of wood, to create a gap to hang it from.  Further secure the bucket by screwing it into the stanchion.

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A couple of quick caveats for making your recycled coffee table milk stand: of the two boards used for holding the goat’s neck, you will need to cut out a section into each of the board (either by hand or by jig saw) to create a “hole” for holding the goat’s neck with a wide enough berth to comfortably allow the goat to move their head around!  In addition, if you look at the pictures, I point out where I additionally cut a diagonal section to allow one of the boards to pivot, opening more room for the goat to be held by the stanchion.

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Overall cost was about $30 – in addition, if you do not happen to have a table saw to cut the longer boards, most home improvement stores will cut them for you for free!  Bonus!

I hope this gives you that final inspiration needed to get started repurposing that old, tired, scratched coffee table or piece of furniture into a hard-working functioning recycled coffee table milk stand of your very own!

Recycled Coffee Table Milk Stand Pin

Homestead Goals

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It’s already March, and as the winter is slowly coming to a close and the sight of daffodils greening up and getting ready to proud fully bloom in all their luster, I am getting our small homestead ready for the season ahead. 

Since we homestead on a rental property of only 3 acres, we are, somewhat, limited in what we can do. However, we are still able to do MUCH more than before. 

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PERSONAL & FAMILY GOALS:

  1. Paleo Daddy is home full-time! Yes, he quit his job and came home to work with my blogging/essential oil business and we are so happy! So, our goals have evolved over the past 3 months, which makes it a perfect time to set some new ones. 
  2. Continue homeschool with our 6 year old. We have already decided to move onto First Grade with her! We love this time spent with her being home…and she loves it too! You should see this girl’s social calendar: Mad Scientist Lab at a local museum, Art Class, Enrichment classes with a local homeschool co-op, and private Piano lessons. 
  3. More travel as a family. Can I get an, “amen“, that the kids are finally old enough to just pick up and go more places! 
  4. Purchase or grow all organic food. Since we became financially free (hallelujah!), we have more room in our budget and have decided to make this a priority. We do a weekly Farm Box that is in the Asheville area (tell them Jackie Ritz sent you!), purchase a half grass-fed cow at a time from a friend, get raw cow milk and cream from a local farm, raise our own chickens, and have our own dairy goats. Our goats are not in milk right now, which is why we are supplementing with local raw cow milk. 
  5. Continue to save for the purchase of our future homestead! Since going through Financial Peace University and becoming debt-free, we have decided to be very patient in purchasing our home here in North Carolina. We are hoping to save enough for a 20-50% down payment and are considering purchasing land and then building our home. 

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FARM GOALS: 

RABBITS: All of our meat rabbits have made their way to our freezer, urging me to hurry up and order a rabbit cookbook. I can roast a rabbit. The Paleo Daddy can smoke a rabbit on our Big Green Egg like nobody’s business…but that’s about it. So, I have nearly 30 rabbits that need to be eaten…and the first thing on my list is to make Rabbit Sausage! 

LAYING HENS:

  • Since we have a handsome rooster who is doing a great job at flirting with the ladies, we purchased a used incubator and are going to be incubating some of our eggs. We have 23 chickens, so we don’t *need* anymore chicks, but we want to show the kids how they grow from egg to chick. 
  • Muck out the chicken coop. We use the deep-litter method in the chicken coop and barn during the winter. 

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MEAT CHICKENS: We will be purchasing 40 meat chickens to raise for meat. We will keep them in the barn until they are big enough to go out and pasture during the day.

SHEEP: Because our land is only 3 acres, there is no way we could have a steer for meat. Thankfully, we have a friend who raises them and we purchase it in bulk from him. However, sheep meat is delicious, easy raise, 100% grass-fed (so no extra money on feed), and will fit right in with our 5 goats. We are looking to purchase 2 Katahdin sheep this spring and raise them till they are large enough to butcher. 

BEES: We were hoping to purchase bees this year, but since we won’t be purchasing a home till the fall of 2015, we are probably going to have to wait on that one. We don’t want to have to relocate the bees and avoid problems with them getting lost.

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LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOG: Our Great Pyrenees is *almost* ready to be let loose with the chickens and goats full-time! We have raised her the slow and hard way, training her the proper way, so she can give us a protected flock. She is 15 months now and is, nearly, finished with the annoying puppy stage. She still antagonizes the rooster, so we cannot leave her alone with the chickens just yet. She does great with our goats, which is the reason we purchased her. However, our goats and chickens are together, so we need to wait a few more months and continue our training with her before she can be trusted with the chickens full-time. 

DAIRY GOATS: 

  • We are purchasing a Nubian doe-in-milk this month (March) or next! We have 4 other Alpine does, none of them are in milk anymore, and we are excited to add a new breed. Nubians are known for their floppy ears and their milk that is high in butterfat! 
  • Sell our castrated Alpine buck so someone can use him for pasture maintenance or meat. We do NOT like the taste of goat so we don’t plan on eating him…plus I just couldn’t. Just can’t. 
  • Purchase a registered Alpine buck for breeding in the fall and to breed our 4 Alpine does with. 
  • Breed our Nubian in the fall with a local Nubian buck. We will have to pay for stud service. 
  • Shave our goats in the spring. We buzz them at the end of the cold season to help prevent lice. 

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  • Build 2 raised beds. Since we are on a rental and our soil is predominately clay, we will be growing our veggies in raised beds. 
  • Collect any needed heirloom seeds. 
  • Make more lacto-fermented foods with our produce. 
  • Preserve or can.

CHEESE-MAKING: Continue to make goat cheese, mozzarella, yogurt, kefir, creme fraiche, and other cheeses with our local raw cow milk and goat milk. 

SOAP-MAKING: I enjoy making goat’s milk soap and am learning more about the art of soap-making. I am no expert, but making soap is cathartic to me and I plan on purchasing THIS BOOK as a resource to making different varieties of soap. 

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Well, now I’m exhausted thinking about all the work to be done! I’m praying for a beautiful harvest this year and the effort I put into our homestead is 100% worth it. My children are learning the most valuable lessons on our little farm and I wouldn’t trade that for more time. 

May you have a blessed year!

Eucharisteo!