If you haven’t made kale chips, or apple fruit leather, or apple chips, you’re really missing out! These dried foods are delicious, long-lasting, and very useful to have around the homestead. They are light and easy to pack if you’re going to be outdoors for a long time. Dried kale and apples are great snacks to pack in lunches, too.
Dehydrating foods like kale and apples is a great alternative to canning. Once they’re dried, they retain nearly all of their nutrients. And unlike many canning recipes, the chips and fruit leather don’t require large amounts of sugar or salt, which you may not have on hand. And it’s always good to have a variety of nutritious preserved foods on your homestead once winter weather sets in.
Both are super cheap to obtain. If you’re not growing kale in your garden already, you should be. It’s a hardy green that survives well into winter weather and frost. And apples are inexpensive no matter where you live. You can usually buy a bag of them for under $4.00 at the supermarket year round..
Dehydrating kale and apples is also one of the best ways to overcome the drawback these foods both have in common: their blandness. Let’s face it, it’s not hard to get sick of eating apples and kale all the time, right? Well, you’re in luck. It is super easy to prepare these foods in your dehydrator or oven, and make some really great snacks. So what are you waiting for? Get ready to dry some kale and apples on your homestead today!
Going With Kale Chips
Kale Chips are a great, healthy alternative to that greasy bag of potato chips. After all, kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. This leafy green vegetable is loaded with vitamins and minerals, and surprisingly high in protein, too. Also, like most other dehydrated foods, kale will retain almost all of those nutrients after you dry it out. So let’s gather everything you need to make some delicious kale chips.
Ingredients And Equipment
Here’s what you need to dry your kale into some tasty green chips:
3-4 heads of fresh kale, washed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove of diced garlic
There are many ways to make kale chips. I am particularly fond of garlic in homemade snacks like these. There also happens to be a ton of it growing in my garden too, so I always have it on hand. If garlic isn’t your thing, no worries; just substitute it with something else. In fact, once you’re comfortable making these delicious chips, you should try making them with all of your favorite herbs and spices.
You’ll need a mixing bowl to combine all of your ingredients. A sharp knife or scissors to cut the kale will also be useful as well. Finally, you’ll need to use either your dehydrator or an oven to dry your chips. If you do use an oven, you’ll need at least 3 cookie sheets, too. We’ll discuss how to prepare these chips in an oven as well as a dehydrator, since preparation differs slightly depending on the method you choose.
Kale Chips In The Dehydrator
Dehydrators are great for making kale chips! Here is how to turn your dehydrator into a kale chip-making machine in four easy steps.
Preparing The Kale Greens. The first thing you need to do when making kale chips is to remove the stems. The central stem on kale leaves is hard, and doesn’t really dry well. Using your knife or scissors, carefully cut the thin, leafy greens off of each stem. Ideally, you’ll want pieces of greens that are at least twice the size of potato chips, since they’ll shrink as they dry. Once the greens are removed, discard the stems.
Prepare Your Spice Mixture. Combine the oil, salt, and garlic in your mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Mix It Up! Place your kale greens into your mixing bowl, one small batch at a time. You will want to make sure all of the leaves get thoroughly covered in your spice mixture. After mixing each batch of the greens, carefully place them on your dehydrator trays, leaving space between the leaves.
Load And Dry. Once your trays are filled, load them into your dehydrator. Program your dehydrator to dry at 112 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-14 hours.
Every dehydrator is different, so you’ll need to check on your kale chips while they’re drying. It may take more or less time until they’re ready. The chips are ready when they are completely dry, with no moisture present inside or outside the chip. They should be crunchy when you bite into them.
Kale chips are super popular, so unsurprisingly there are many videos out there of people making them. Here is a great one, with a pretty unique spice recipe:
Kale Chips In The Oven
If you don’t have a dehydrator yet, no worries (although you really should get a dehydrator, they’re a great resource for homesteaders and preppers), you can also make them in your oven. They come out just as good, too.
You’ll need at least two large cookie sheets to make kale chips in an oven. And an oven, of course! The kale green and mixture preparation is largely the same. Just follow these easy steps to get your oven to churn out some delicious kale chips today.
Prepare Your Oven. Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
Prepare Your Spice Mixture. Combine your spices as described previously.
Mix Your Greens And Spices. Follow the same procedures as described previously. However, as one batch of greens is mixed, place them on the cookie sheets.
Bake your kale greens for ten minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven, then flip each kale chip over, and return them to the oven for an additional ten minutes. After ten minutes, remove them from the heat, and they are ready to serve.
As with the dehydrator, you’ll want to check your kale chips occasionally while in the oven. They may need to bake longer or shorter; once the chips are thoroughly dry and crispy, they are ready.
If you want to watch a great video of someone baking fresh kale chips like these in a oven, you can check out this one here:
Enjoying Your Kale Chips
Kale chips are the ultimate guilt-free snack. Use them in place of potato chips or other junk foods whenever you get the chance. Try dipping your kale chips in a balsamic vinegar and oil mixture as an appetizer. Serve them alongside your home made hard cider or dandelion wine. They are a great complement to nearly any main course you are preparing, too.
Like their potato chip counterparts, kale chips are fragile and don’t store very well. You should plan to eat them as soon as possible. They have a tendency to absorb moisture if you leave them in open air, which spoils their texture. They are also prone to break apart if left for too long.
You can these treats safe for a little while, however. Secure them in small plastic containers when you’re packing school lunches, or getting ready for a foray to the outdoors. You can also keep them a few days in a sealed mason jar or plastic container until you’re ready to eat them.
Kale chips are a delicious snack, and yet another reason to love this nutrient-rich super food. And let’s face it, besides being unhealthy, standard junk food snacks are expensive, too. If you have your own supply of kale via your garden, your kale chips can end up saving you some serious money in the long run.
Dry Those Apples!
Apples are one of the most readily available fruits out there. Go to any supermarket, farmers market, or roadside, stand, and chances are you’ll find apples. If you’re a homesteader, you should probably have a few apple trees in your aspiring orchard, too.
Apples are common and inexpensive, but they’re also sort of bland. You’ve probably thrown away your share of apples that went rotten in your home before anyone ate them, right? My kids often complain about how often I buy the cheap bag of apples every time I head to tour local Costco.
Fortunately, apples are tailor made for drying. You can dehydrate this fruit staple to make a wide variety of snacks. We’ll talk about two of the most popular dried apple snacks here: apple chips and apple fruit leather. Both are delicious treats that everyone from kids to adults will love.
Besides being delicious and economical, dried apple snacks can last for a long time, too. They will stay fresh for days or weeks in open air, and much, much longer if you refrigerate or freeze them. Dried apple snacks are also great candidates for vacuum sealing.
So are you ready to turn those boring old apples into something everyone in your home enjoys?
Apple Fruit Leather
Fruit leather is basically a dried sheet of fruit puree. It is a delicious treat, much like those fruit rollup snacks that are a staple of school lunches and soccer game snacks. You can store it for the long haul, or pack it with you when you head to the field in pursuit of fish and game. And like fruit rollups, it makes a great lunchtime snack, too.
Apple fruit leather is a great use of this versatile food. Everyone loves it, it lasts a long time, and it lets you salvage old apples that are rapidly becoming overripe. So let’s look at how to make apple fruit leather in a dehydrator, as well as in your oven.
Making Apple Fruit Leather
Dehydrators are great for making fruit leather. Whatever model you own, nearly all modern dehydrators are designed to help you easily make batches of fruit leather on demand. You can also make this dried treat in your oven as well. Here is what you’ll need to make apple fruit leather in your kitchen today:
4 cups of chopped apples
2 tablespoons of sugar, or three tablespoons of maple syrup, or a similar amount of honey (optional)
1 teaspoon of olive oil
You’ll need a blender or food processor to puree the apples, and a spatula to spread out the fruit puree. You’ll also need a basting brush or small paintbrush to spread out the oil on your dehydrator trays. If you use your oven to make fruit leather, you’ll need at least two cookie sheets, and some wax paper.
You can experiment with different ingredients in your fruit leather. While apple is good all on its own, it’s also a great base to make an even tastier snack. Adding small amounts of another fruit, such as blackberries, can give your fruit leather a great taste and prettier color. You can also try spices, such as cinnamon or vanilla, to give apple fruit leather a bit more zest, too.
Apple Fruit Leather in the Dehydrator
Apple fruit leather is relatively straightforward to make in a dehydrator. You can prepare this tasty snack in three easy steps:
Making The Puree. Place your apples and sugar or maple syrup into your blender/fruit processor. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, until it all has a smooth, creamy consistency.
Prepare The Trays. Use your basting or paint brush to carefully coat your dehydrating trays with oil. This will make it easier to separate your fruit leather once it is completely dried. Once you’ve applied the oil. Use your spatula to spread out the puree thinly across the trays. Aim for about 1/8 puree thickness on each tray you use.
Load and Dry. Once your puree is on the trays, load them up into your dehydrator. Set the temperature for 158 degrees Fahrenheit, and then let them dry for six to nine hours. Once your fruit leather is done drying, it is ready to serve.
Every dehydrator is a bit different. Much like the kale chips, the key is to make sure that your fruit leather is completely dry. If it is still a tad moist, leave it in the dehydrator until it is totally dried out.
Here’s a great video you can watch to learn more about preparing fruit leather in a dehydrator:
Fruit Leather In The Oven
You can make fruit leather in your oven, too. You’ll need at least two of those large cookie sheets mentioned earlier to prepare it, along with wax paper to line the sheets with. Follow the instructions for preparing the puree above, and then proceed as follows:
Prepare Your Oven. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare The Puree. Place the wax paper out on your cookie sheets. Spread out the puree evenly, with about 1/8 inch thickness.
Bake The Fruit Leather. Place the trays in the oven, and bake them for four hours, checking on them regularly. Once the fruit leather is completely dry, it is ready to serve.
Do you want to learn more about making fruit leather in your oven before you give it a try? Check out this video here:
Enjoy That Fruit Leather
Once you’ve made your fruit leather, it’s time to enjoy it! You can cut it up to strips, and then roll it into wax paper, so it’s easy to save and serve. Fruit leather is the ultimate easy snack food. Throw it into the kids’ lunches, or pack it with you on those long trips out to the field.
It’s a long-lasting snack, too. Once you’ve wrapped your fruit leather up, it will last one to two weeks at room temperature. It is best to put it in airtight containers or Ziploc bags. Your fruit leather will last much, much longer if you refrigerate or freeze it.
Apple Chips
Fruit leather isn’t the only thing apples are good for. You can also use them to make tasty apple chips. You’ve probably bought apple chips in the store; they’re often mixed in with nuts and other dried fruits to make trail mixes. Well, lucky for you, you can make apple chips right at home, too!
Apple Chips In The Dehydrator
Apple chips are about as simple as it gets when it comes to dried fruit. They have only one ingredient: apples! Since apple chips can be stored for a long time, it is best to make as many as possible. My dehydrator can dry about one pound of apple chips in a single batch. Are you ready to make some apple chips now? Here is how you do it.
Prepare Your Apples. Slice your apples as thin as possible. Although you don’t have to core them, you can do so easily if you have a standard apple corer and peeler. You end up drying your apples into nice little rings, which may people find appealing. Once your apples are sliced, place them on your dehydrator trays.
Load and Dry. Once you’ve filled your dehydrator trays, load the machine, and set it for 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Let them dry for five to six hours, or until completely dehydrated.
Here’s a great video showcasing apple chip preparation in a standard dehydrator:
Apple Chips In the Oven
Making apple chips in the oven is relatively easy, too. You’ll need cookie sheets to place your apples on, and either wax paper or a little bit of oil to place on the pan.
Prepare Your Oven. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees
Prepare Your Cookie Sheets. Place the wax paper or oil on your cookie sheets, then load up your apples on them.
Bake Those Chips. Place the cookie sheets in the oven, and bake them for two hours. At the two-hour mark, remove them, flip all of the chips, and then return them to the oven for another two hours. Once the chips are completely dry and hardened, they are done.
The apple chips may be done sooner or later than the allotted time. It is important to check on them regularly, especially after they’ve baked for some time. The key to great apple chips is to ensure they are as dry and hard as possible.
Like fruit leather, you can spice up your apple chips as well. Some people like to coat the sliced apples with spices, such as cinnamon, prior to placing them in the dehydrator or oven. Other people soak them for a few minutes in lemon juice prior to cooking for additional flavor as well. You should try making them different ways, and find an apple chip recipe you like. Keep in mind that adding liquids to mix may lengthen the time it takes them to dry, though.
You can watch this video to get a better handle on drying apple chips in your oven:
Eat Those Apple Chips Up!
Apple chips are a long-lasting dried food. They are great school snacks, or to take with you on a hike into the woods. Mix them with nuts and other dried fruit to make a terrific rail mix of your own. You can also use them as a garnish in salads or soups, or add them to your cereal in the morning as well.
Enjoy Dried Kale And Apples All Year Long!
Kale and apples are the perfect foods to dry. They are readily available, cheap, nutritious, and easy to dry in many different ways. And while they may be a bit boring as everyday foods, they are superstars when you dry them in your dehydrator or oven. So give your mason jars and pressure cooker a break, and make these tasty dried foods today!
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Cut Down On Trash, Be More Sustainable
We are seeing more and more natural disasters each year. The cause of this escalation is global warming and if we do all not act soon, the planet will be underwater before the century is over. Our need for consumption has poisoned the planet and we are now paying the consequences for our actions. Things are only going to get worse which is why we all need to act immediately to try to avoid this catastrophe from happening. One of the best things you can do is by cutting down on your trash and becoming more sustainable. In this article, I will go through the different things you can do in order to help protect the world from becoming unsustainable.
#1: Understand The Problem
Most people know that global warming is taking place but they do not understand the consequences of their own actions. It is important that you learn about the causes so that you can take action knowing what affects your purchase will have on the environment. If we were all able to make mindful decisions it would dramatically reduce the damage caused by humans to the planet.
#2: Recycling
Most people now carry out some form of recycling at home but much more can be done. In most cases home’s limit their recycling efforts to glass and aluminum but much more can be recycled. Most recycling centers have locations for paper, plastic, electronics, and cardboard. By taking, a small amount of time out of your day to recycle more will help you become more sustainable.
#3: Only Buy Recycled Materials
To become more sustainable you need to carefully consider every purchase that you are making to make sure what you are buying is not going to have a negative effect on the planet. One of the best things you can do is to only buy products that are of recycled material. By doing this you are not adding to the problem.
#4: Spread The Word
The more people that fully understand the problem the faster we can try to solve it before it is too late. You can do your part by encouraging others that you know to do more recycling. Show people that you are making an effort with your actions. This can be done by making environmentally conscious choices in business and at home.
#5: Reuse Items If Possible
One of the best things you can do to become more sustainable is by reusing items. Plastic is one of the world’s major environmental disasters. There are so many daily items we used such as water bottles and plastic bags that cause havoc on the planet. By reusing these items and not throwing away each time you can become much more sustainable.
Conclusion
There are countless ways in which you can reduce your carbon footprint. To have a big impact you should follow the above along with purchasing in bulk so you have less packaging, grow your own food, buy used items instead of new and always try to purchase digital if possible. We all need to contribute to help solve the problem before it is too late to make sure you spread the word to help encourage others to join in.
There are really only three ways to estimate a tool’s quality. First, inspect it for finish. Most good tools have been cleanly cast, with any remaining rough edges ground and polished. Next, if the tool has action—pliers pivot, a drill spins—operate it to see if it moves smoothly. Finally, look at the price tag. If it costs more than a tool with equivalent features, the difference probably indicates superior quality instead of (or in addition to) added markup.
1. Safety glasses Just about everyone agrees that it’s a good idea to wear safety glasses when working with tools; far fewer actually do it. Please make it a habit. Uses: protecting two irreplaceable tools.
2. Screwdrivers You need a minimum of two sizes each of flatheaded and Phillips. One good approach is to buy a driver with switchable heads; the kind that stores bits in the handle works well because you always have the right bit with you. Bits or blades with flat, rather than round, shanks can be twisted with a wrench. Quality is very important in this tool. Cheap screwdrivers quickly become useless. Uses: Though screwdrivers can be used to do work other than installing and removing screws, given the best don’t last long under such duty.
3. Hammer For all-around use, choose a 16- to 20-ounce, rip-claw (flat-tanged) hammer with a smooth face. Only a steel or fiberglass handle will stand up to serious nail pulling.> Uses: To hammer materials other than hardened steel; to drive and pull nails; as a crowbar; as a crude chisel on wood; as a lever; to remove bottle caps.
4. Locking Pliers Often referred to by a brand name, Vise-Grip Locking Pliers. Look for a 10 inch pair with curved jaws. Uses: Superior as pliers, because they don’t slip; removing bolts, nuts or even screws; pulling nails with heads partly revealed; locking shafts to remove nuts; as a pipe wrench; as a clamp to secure materials to each other or to a bench; bending, crimping, or squeezing metal or other flexible material; removing bottle caps; serving as an emergency replacement for broken control levers.
5. Tape measure If you’re going to own only one, make it a 25 footer with a 1inch-wide tape. Look for a case that’s an even number of inches front to back, so there’s a convenient number to add for inside measurements. The 1inch-wide tape is rigid enough to extend straight out without an assistant to hold it. Thus you can measure horizontal distance by yourself and check vertical distance by bending the tape at the corner and reading the inside. Uses: Mostly self-evident, but a 1inch-wide tape also makes a tolerable straightedge, can be used to hook, and drag a tool lying just out of reach, and will serve as a crude plumb bob.
6. Shovel Now here’s a tool that’s hard to get a consensus on. For one thing, what do you call all those different shapes of shovels? There’s the standard digging shovel-rounded blade at an angle to the long straight handle. And the digging spade squared blade nearly in line with the shorter D-handle. And the coal shovel—no good for digging, with its broad blade with angled sides and short D-handle, but great for heaving quantities of loose material. Uses: Use a standard digging shovel for general digging and shoveling loose material. Use a spade for digging where a clean, straight edge is necessary. If you don’t plan on digging much, but will be moving gravel and shoveling snow, consider a coal shovel.
7. Utility knife The type with the stout, triangular blade. Blades that retract into the handle are much safer to carry and store but aren’t as secure in use as fixed blades. If you use a retractable knife, be sure the handle screw is tight at all times. Should the razorsharp blade slip through the joint in the case, you could be badly cut. Uses: Cut drywall; cut asphalt shingles (from the back); cut paneling; cut fiberglass insulation; cut roofing felt, polyethylene, wallpaper and veneer; scribe along a line before cutting with a saw to get a smooth edge; trim molding; sharpen your pencil; clean your fingernails (carefully!); open packages.
8. Six-foot stepladder That which is just out of reach on your tiptoes can often be done with ease from a ladder. A six-footer works well inside the house, and it enables a person of average height to reach gutters and low tree limbs that need trimming. Uses: Besides the obvious, try spanning from a stairway tread to a rung on your ladder with a board to form a scaffold; use the top rung to support apiece of dry wall you’re trying to get to the ceiling.
9. Four-in-hand file Often called a horse rasp, after one version of the tool. Look for an 8 inch- to 10 inch long item about 1-1/8 inches wide. One side should be half-round and the other flat. Most designs include round and flat rasps and medium flat file surfaces. Uses: Reshaping, reducing or removing sharp edges from any common material other than glass.
10. Needle-nose pliers For yeoman duty, pick out an 8 inch pair that has a wire cutter and maybe even a stripper. Insulated handles are nice for cold days and for electrical work. Uses: Remove and install small nuts and bolts; cut, strip, form and twist small- to medium-gauge wires; insert small parts in hardto-reach spots; remove cotter pins, locking tabs and inside snap rings; pull splinters.
11. Three-eighths-inch variable speed, reversible drill Look for a drill with at least a 4.5-amp motor, a long cord and, if possible, roller or ball bearings. Pick up a set of high-speed bits spanning from 1/32 inches to 4 inches in 1/32 inch increments, 1/4 inch to 1 inch spade bits in 1/8 inch increments, a couple of Phillips-head screwdriver bits, and maybe even a magnetic hex-head driver for sheet metal screws. Uses: Drill holes; use a Phillips bit to insert and remove screws; install a rotary rasp for grinding, a sanding drum for sanding, a buffer for polishing even a paint stirrer for mixing.
12. Hacksaw There’s no comparably inexpensive substitute when it comes to cutting metal. Check to see that the handle adjusts blade tension easily and prevents the blade from twisting. Blades with 18 teeth per inch work fine for most work, though a carbide rod comes in handy for very hard materials. Uses: Cutting metal, glass or ceramic.
13. Adjustable wrench A good 10 inch adjustable wrench will do a reasonable imitation of a set of open-end wrenches. The jaws should open to about 1-1/8 inch and should be tight even at full extension. Uses: Remove nuts and bolts (increase leverage with a length of pipe over the handle); bend steel by cinching the jaws down on the material; turn a screwdriver by tightening the wrench’s jaws on its shaft.
14. Chisels Unless you plan to get into detailed woodworking, you don’t need a full set of chisels. One-half-inch and 1inch butt chisels with beveled blades will handle most jobs. Since you’ll often be using them to “hog out” wood in a comparatively crude fashion, stout handles that can tolerate pounding with your hammer are important. Uses: Since a chisel looks so much like a screwdriver, you may be tempted to use it for such abusive tasks as prying things apart. Don’t. It won’t do the job it’s supposed to when the edge is dull, and it’s too hard to sharpen to justify a moment’s expediency. Watch out for nails, too.
15. Circular saw The standard size carries a 7-1/4 inch-diameter blade and should have at least a 10-amp motor. Ball or roller bearings are preferable to sleeve bearings. If it doesn’t come with a carbide-tooth combination blade, buy one immediately. The carbide costs twice as much and lasts four times as long as a high-speed steel blade—especially if you occasionally use it on nails. Uses: With the proper blade, it will cut wood, plastic, plywood, aluminum, iron, steel, masonry, ceramic and just about anything else you’ll encounter; for spots you can’t quite reach, carry a keyhole saw.
16. Wrecking bar Really a variant on the time-honored crowbar, this curved piece of flat steel bar is better suited than its ancestor to removing materials without damaging them, and it also does a fine job of pulling nails without marring a surface. Uses: Pry; lever; pull nails; lift edges of molding, trim and sheet materials; chisel; lift bottom of heavy object to get supports or hands underneath.
17. Linesman’s pliers Originally intended for heavy electrical and phone wire work, these square-jawed pliers are homestead workhorses. Buy the highest-quality 8 inch set you can find. Uses: Crimping, cutting, twisting or stripping medium- to heavy-gauge wire; removing bolts or nuts; flattening or bending metal; pulling nails; pulling and flattening cotter pins.
18. Combination square The 12 inch sliding square—offering 45 degree and 90 degree angles, an accurate steel rule and a built-in bubble level—is a standard for basic carpentry. Uses: Squaring corners; marking miter and square saw cuts; measuring accurately; leveling everything from pictures to fence rails; scribing a saw cut parallel to an edge (slide the square along with the pencil at its tip); setting circular-saw cut depth or other uses as a depth gauge.
19. Pump pliers Often called arced, slipjoint or groove-joint pliers, or referred to by the brand name Channel Lock, this tool is most useful when it’s big. Spring for the 16 inch size. Uses: Anything big that requires major leverage and can stand to be marred by the jaws; great for basin nuts; works as a pipe wrench; the only tool for removing wheelbearing rut covers; removing bottle caps; even working on a pump.
20. Extension ladder A must for do-it-yourselfers who have two-story houses. The 24 foot size reaches all but the steepest gable ends. Aluminum is lighter than wood and very durable. Fiberglass is best, because it’s non-conductive, but is very expensive. Uses: Besides reaching where you otherwise couldn’t, suspend it between two sawhorses, add some planks, and you’ve got a scaffold.
21. C-clamps For general duty, pick out a pair of 8 inch clamps. You may find them so helpful that you’ll eventually want to get other sizes as well. Uses: Clamping materials together for gluing, sawing, drilling, etc.; clamping material to a bench to act as a vise; clamping straightedges to material for straight cuts with the circular saw; clamping boards in place temporarily for nailing or screwing; holding together a broken part for temporary duty.
22. Maul With one side configured as a splitting ax and the other as a sledge hammer, you get double duty. The 8-pound size works well for most people on most jobs. Uses: Wood splitting; cutting tree roots; tearing out walls; pounding in fence posts, stakes or even splitting wedges; the last word in the “bigger hammer” theory.
23. Bow saw A tubular steel or aluminum bow that holds a replaceable crosscut saw blade. For most situations, a 36 inch model works well. Uses: Pruning; limited firewood cutting; sawing timbers or even boards.
24. Nut drivers These look like screwdriver handles but have hexhead sockets on the end. There are manv sizes, but 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch and 7/16 inch are the most common. Steer clear of the removable socket version unless you never lose things. Colorcoded handles are convenient. Uses: Reach deep into appliances to remove nuts you couldn’t touch with a wrench or pliers; much more convenient than a socket and ratchet for small repairs.
25. Posthole digger You may not need it often, but when the time comes, it sure beats a shovel. Uses: Digging small, deep holes for fence posts, post footings, etc.
After years of living in awe of the mysterious fungi known as mushrooms-chefs, health enthusiasts, and home cooks alike can’t get enough of these rich, delicate morsels. With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook…;
After years of living in awe of the mysterious fungi known as mushrooms-chefs, health enthusiasts, and home cooks alike can’t get enough of these rich, delicate morsels. With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook will make your mycological landscapes the envy of the neighborhood.1 Book Serving Size:
It is that time of year again when all the planning starts happening. I get my planner, my long list of tasks and goals I want to accomplish next year, paper and pen, and clear a spot on the desk, to start planning my 2018 homestead plans.
I like to have everything thought out and planned way before the new year starts. That way I can tie my business and my homestead tasks together. I usually start around the end of November and finish all my planning by the week before Christmas. (See how I planned for 2017 here)
2018 Homestead Plans: Sorting Priorities
To get started on the planning process I first look at my brainstorming list I made over the last year that includes all the thoughts and ideas I want to accomplish. I break all those ideas into priorities. You can also start by making a vision board for a visual map of what you may want to accomplish.
One of the ideas I have written down is an outdoor shower. It is not pertinent to maintaining my homestead so it is at the bottom of the priority list. However, I have a tool shed as one of my needs and it is definitely something I need so it will be moved to the top of the priority list.
I continue moving all of my ideas into a prioritized list separated by three columns. The first column is a high priority list. These are the ideas that simply have to happen for my homestead to thrive and grow.
The second column is a medium priority list which includes important tasks, things that need to be done but are not as important as the first list. The third column is the low priority list. These are the “I wish for” things that I don’t have to have but would like or enjoy.
Once my 3 columns of priorities are sorted out, I break each column into 3 sections according to cost. The first section is ideas that are 100 dollars and less. The second section is from 101 to 500 dollars and the third is over 500 dollars.
The end result before I plug in my ideas looks like this…
> $100
$101 – $500
< $500
Critical/Must Do
Important/Should Do
Desired/Want to Do
2018 Homestead Plans: Filling in the Chart
With my chart ready and my list prioritized it is time to start placing the appropriate tasks in the right boxes. I go down each task in the list and fill in the chart until I have added all of my 2018 homestead plans.
These tasks may be moved due to budgeting or other issues later when I start putting dates to these tasks. This chart can also change due to receiving something that makes a task more doable at that time or if a new need comes up that can take priority over what has been planned already.
Just remember that this chart is a guideline to organize what needs to be done when. It is not set in stone. It is an overview of what needs to be done when it needs to be done and what needs to be budgeted for. Read How to Avoid Homestead Overwhelm to learn to prioritize your homestead tasks.
My chart from last year looked like this when I started my 2017 planning. I will follow the same basic setup when writing out my 2018 homestead plans.
> $100
$101 – $500
< $500
Critical/Must Do
Replace strand wire
Sprinkler system
New floor in trailer
Compost Bins
Herb garden
Veggie Garden
Reseal shed roof
Tool Shed
Seal coop roof
Replace barbed wire
Pigpen
Upright freezer
Rototiller
Turkey Pen
New tires on mower
Bush Hog Lake Area
Truck
Trailer
Zero turn
Important/Should Do
Turkeys
Rabbits
Clear camphor trees
Rain barrels
Firewood supply
Berry Patch
Kitchen Garden
Start Canning
Making Candles
Farmstand
Outdoor kitchen
Aquaponics system
Goat Pen
Citrus trees
Potting shed
Water filter on well
Greenhouse
Desired/Want to Do
Outdoor shower
Horseshoe Pit
Gate on driveway
Start Fodder
Beehives
Paint house
Dehydrator
2018 Homestead Plans: Setting Dates for Major Tasks
Now with a chart in hand and a pretty detailed overall plan for the year I can start putting dates to tasks. To do this I print out 12 monthly calendars, one for each month of the year. Last year I used one of those free calendars that come in the mail with the free address labels and stickers.
This year I may just use 12 sheets of paper to list ballpark dates, then transfer them to my homestead planner that I use regularly. Regardless of how you do it, you need a way to keep track of what you want to do and when. You can print free monthly calendars here.
At this point you need to decide the best way to start scheduling your goals for the year according to a few things, the amount of time it will take to complete the task, the size of the project and the cost of the project.
Let’s use the filter on the well. It is something that is a rather big expense for me so I am obviously not going to plan to do that in January right after Christmas. If I know it will cost me $2500 then I will figure how much I will have to save each week in order to reach the amount I need. In this case, say $100 per week is what I will save. It will take me at least 6 months to save enough so I may plan for the well’s filter being installed in August to allow enough time to save the money, plus extra just in case.
On my August sheet or calendar, I will write “Filter on well.” I will also make a note in June or July to set an appointment with the well man in advance to have the project completed. I will then add an entry of $100 weekly to my budget under savings. Repeat this process for any and all major tasks that are in the last column of the table.
June
July
August
Call Well Company for appt. In August to have filter installed
Verify Well Appt
Verify budget in line with purchase
Have filter installed on well
(budget $100 per week)
2018 Homestead Plans: Setting Dates for Minor Tasks
With all of your major tasks and expenses out of the way, it will be time to fill in the smaller tasks. I start in the first column and work my way down the blocks as I go.
The veggie garden is one of my must-do tasks, however, I need to prepare the ground for it and have warm weather in order to start the project. Since I live in Florida I know I can start planting about mid-March, so in February I will do all the preparing for my veggie garden plot.
I will add tasks like, till the ground, prep the compost pile, add manure, and rototill and cover with plastic over the last two weeks in February. On my March calendar, I will plan out what to plant and when according to what grows at that time in my climate.
If I have tasks like sealing the shed and coop roofs and I know I already have the materials to do it I will add those types of tasks in when there is some free time in my calendar. I try to have at least one task per week scheduled throughout the year. I add those types of tasks last.
If you schedule out the biggest time consuming and biggest budgeted tasks first, the smaller tasks will be used to fill in your gaps. Here is a sample of what the first 3 months may look like.
January
February
March
Week 1
Prep new compost pile
Mix compost pile
Fertilize citrus trees
Sprinkler system install
Hard prune Azalea
Week 2
Set up Rain barrels
Check aquaponic system
Till veggie garden plot
Add manure veggie plot
Transplant veggie seeds
Replace mulch as needed
Week 3
Replace barbed wire
Replace turn buckles
Till veggie plot again
Transplant herb seeds
Start new seeds
Week 4
Fix strand wire
Tighten gate hinges
Cover veggie plot
Start veggie seeds- shed
Replace tires/Mower
Replace trailer floor
As you plan out your tasks or as you complete them you can cross off or highlight each task on the master chart to help you keep track of what you have and have not done.
2018 Homestead Planning: Weekly/Daily Planning
Now as 2018 approaches you will have an annual plan for your homestead. All that is left is to get a little more detailed in the weekly and daily spread of your planner, assuming you use one.
I keep a separate paper planner that breaks my year down into individual days, but you can use any sort of planning system that works for you. Every Sunday is my planning day. I look at the week and write out the tasks for each day for the upcoming week.
Not everyone gets this detailed but since I use my planner to plan laundry day, meals, canning and baking days, and homestead tasks I like knowing what I need to do each day of the week. It also keeps me from rushing on Friday to try and finish what items I didn’t get done throughout the earlier part of the week.
For example, in week 1 of January, I know I have to prep a new compost pile for my veggie garden I am starting. But by looking at my week I can see I have appointments on Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday I need to clean out the coop so I will plan all day Thursday and Friday to start on those compost piles.
This way I get everything I need to get done that week without waiting until the last minute and I am assured that all of my 2018 homestead plans get accomplished.
Here is what the week may look like…
Sunday, January 1,2017
Planning Day
Monday, January 2,2017
Dr. Appt 2 pm
Physical therapy 3:30 pm
Tuesday, January 3,2017
Dentist Appt 11 am
Grocery shop
Wednesday, January 4,2017
Clean out Chicken Coop
Replace Straw bedding, clean feeders, nests
Thursday, January 5,2017
Start compost pile
Friday, January 6,2017
Finish Compost Pile
Saturday, January 7,2017
Canning, freezer cooking, meal planning
Now you should have a pretty good idea on how to plan your 2018 homestead plans. Take your time, brainstorm all the ideas you can and write them down.
Remember that brainstorming is only to get all your ideas out of your head and on paper. It doesn’t mean you have to use them all. After that, the real planning begins.
If you need more ideas on planning for your homestead you can read Design Your Ideal Homestead. Would you enjoy a free 5-day email course on how to Design and Plan Your Ideal Homestead? Check it out here and see if you could benefit from this free course.
How do you plan your homestead goals? Share your comments in the comment box below and share this post so others may benefit from it also.
REARING RABBITS, CHICKENS, DUCKS & GEESEA Comprehensive Introduction to rearing 4 of the most popular animals to be found around the Homestead or farmyard, with this bundle of 4 books in one.Offered here at a Huge Discount on the individual book price.BOOK 1 – REARING RABBITS1 – Choosing Your Rabbits: With so many rabbits to…;
REARING RABBITS, CHICKENS, DUCKS & GEESE A Comprehensive Introduction to rearing 4 of the most popular animals to be found around the Homestead or farmyard, with this bundle of 4 books in one. Offered here at a Huge Discount on the individual book price.
BOOK 1 – REARING RABBITS 1 – Choosing Your Rabbits: With so many rabbits to choose from how do you know what is best for you and your particular plans? Here you will find a selection of the most popular rabbit breeds., whether choosing your rabbits for the best meat production, pelts or indeed as pets! 2 – Caring For Rabbits: If you want to get the best out of any livestock, then you must know how to care for them properly. Invaluable information on how to feed and care for your rabbits for best results. 3 – Costs & Considerations: How much does it cost to set up at rabbitry, and what could be the profitability of such an exercise? Case study to look at the possible costs and profitability of breeding rabbits, looked at from a commercial and domestic viewpoint. Subjects covered include the numbers to be expected over a 1 year period, as well as start-up costs for 1 Buck and 3 Does using the New Zealand White rabbit a an example. 4 – Killing & Butchering: If you are raising your animals for meat, then information on how to dispatch your rabbit cleanly and efficiently is absolutely essential. Here are details on just how to achieve this with minimal stress to the animal, as well as how to dress or prepare the carcase. 5 – Glossary of Terms: A selection of over 60 popular terms used amongst rabbit breeders. Do you know what Binky means? Or perhaps what to do if your rabbit is Kindling? Check out these and other important terms here. 6 – Rabbit & Game Recipes! A selection of tasty rabbit and game recipes courtesy of F. A Paris from her excellent slow Cooking book “Slow Cooking Heaven.’
BOOK 2 – DELIGHTFUL DUCKS: 1 – Duck Care: How to care for your ducks to ensure healthy birds, including shelter, feeding and caring for goslings. 2 – Duck Breeds: A selection of the most popular breeds to keep whether for meat or for eggs. Including popular bantam duck breeds. 3 – Duck Preparation: How to prepare you duck for the table or for sale. 4 – Duck Recipes! Last but not least, A selection of tasty duck recipes courtesy of F. A. Paris from the ‘Slow Cooking Heaven’ recipe book.
BOOK 3 – GOURMET GEESE 1 – Caring For Your Geese: How to make sure your animals prosper from gosling stage to full adult, with instructions on proper shelter, feeding routines and health issues. 2 – Keeping Your Animals Healthy: How to be sure that you stay ahead of any potential health problems, and what to do if your animal becomes sick for any reason. 3 – Preparing For The Table: If you are rearing geese for the table then this is an essential piece of information to have. Includes instructions on how to dispatch your animals as humanely as possible, and how to prepare the bird for the table. Includes instructions on the best methods for plucking, cleaning and cooking your goose.
BOOK 4 – CHUNKY CHICKENS: 1. A glossary of 30 terms relating to the keeping of poultry, that will ensure you of a basic understanding as to what it is all about. 2. Keeping chickens for eggs or meat? This is a list of ten of the most popular chicken breeds along with a brief description of the birds and whether they are most suitable for egg production or for the meat. 3. Should you have a static chicken coop, or a chicken tractor – and what is the difference anyway? This is a simple look at what your chicken shed requirements may be, and how to choose the best hut for your hens. 4. Chicken feed – This section will show you what to feed your poultry during the different stages of growth, from baby chick ,to point-of-lay pullet, to full production egg-laying chicken. 5. Dressing Your Chicken. This is all about how to dispatch your chicken humanely and how to prepare the bird for the table – complete with picture
Failure is easy. So easy, in fact, that most people who achieve it do so without ever meaning to. But in case you need any ideas to help ensure your homesteading efforts crash and burn, here are a few tips to help keep you on the path toward epic homestead fail.
1. Be focused on life in the city. Seek frequent fulfillment at malls and gourmet restaurants and sidewalk concerts and art festivals. Prefer urban amenities to the beauty of striking sunsets and dancing kid goats. Crave the company of crowds instead of the richness of feasting upon vegetables you planted as seeds. Love the night life, and care little about the satisfaction of jobs well-done in mended fences and weeded gardens.
2. Be picky about the weather. Dislike being outdoors in anything but the perfect temperature and conditions. Expect to stay in the house unless it’s exactly the way you like it outdoors.
If it’s too hot or too cold or too muggy, stay on the couch. Don’t even consider going out to check on the animals during a blizzard—just stay in by the fire with your hot chocolate and let livestock fend for themselves.
3. Maintain an enduring attitude of negativity. Complain about homesteading all the time. Anticipate that everything will go wrong. Don’t even bother creating workarounds or attempting to learn from your mistakes. In fact, altogether avoid taking responsibility for what goes wrong—just blame it on bad luck or other people instead.
4. Be impatient. Hate the idea of having to wait for fruit trees to bear, vegetables to grow, sap to boil, bread to rise, a snowstorm to end, or the mud to dry up in front of the barn doors. Forget that homesteading doesn’t always supply guaranteed two-day delivery, and refuse to accept the idea of natural processes taking place on their own timetable. Demand what you want, and demand it now.
5. Expect to have things done for you. Require lots of services, like the ones readily available in urban areas. Insist upon regular trash pickup, taxi service, convenient public transportation, ample shopping opportunities, a wide variety of ready-to-eat food deliveries, paid housecleaning options—and by all means, expect to be first on the list for rescue and power restoration after a natural disaster.
6. Hate animals of all kinds, both domestic and wild. Don’t ever consider living in harmony with livestock or wildlife. Instead, consider them all adversaries—remember it’s always you against them. When the cows are agitated and challenging at milking time, don’t look around to see what’s bothering them—just bully them into submission instead. And when raccoons threaten your corn patch, spread poison for acres in an attempt to annihilate every animal that comes near your homestead.
7. Need to get away a lot. Declare that life is hardly worth living if you can’t spend the winter holidays at a nice ski resort on the other end of the continent and spring break in the Caribbean. Require a lot of time on weekend and week-long getaways with friends and relatives. Insist on at least one cruise every year.
8. Amass a lot of debt. Buy the biggest and best of everything right away and just put it all on payment plans. Buy a piece of property that is right on the edge of your ability to make the mortgage, and don’t pay any attention to the potential cost of upkeep. Maintain a budget so tight that you rarely have two nickels to rub together by the end of the month—and that’s even before the bill for the unexpected veterinarian visit comes in! Wind yourself into a tight financial ball without a bit of wiggle room.
On the other hand, it’s possible that failure may not be your homesteading goal. I know that I personally have made some errors so egregious that looking back afterwards it was hard to tell whether or not my actual intent was success or failure.
Maybe you have done that, too. But in moving forward, you may want to do your best to avoid doing the things on this list—and in fact strive to do just the opposite—if, in fact, homesteading success is in fact your goal.
What would you add to our list? Share your tips in the section below:
Here is an easy way to stop paying rent or own a home that doesnt waste space or have a big impact on the environment. MORTGAGE FREE AND DEBT FREE. Getting off the grid with TINY HOMES! Live closer to nature by spending your time outside rather than inside. The tiny home movement is becoming a smarter way to live and start to become self sufficient. Look for our new tiny home in future videos. Thanks for watching
Roots, Coops & More, based in Augusta, displays its Maine-built chicken coops at the 2017 Common Ground Fair in Unity.
Back in the days before the Great Recession, Steve and Lori Gingras of Augusta seemed to have their lives figured out pretty well.
Steve, a self-employed carpenter, built all kinds of houses for his customers. Lori, a high school English teacher, taught her students. After work, the couple would take care of their two sons and their small in-town farm, which featured a large kitchen garden, goats, honey bees and — perhaps most importantly — chickens.
But when the recession began in 2008, eroding Maine’s building trades economy, Steve’s construction jobs seemed to quickly disappear. The Gingrases had to figure something else out, and when they looked at the backyard coop that Steve had built as a Mother’s Day gift to Lori, inspiration struck.
“I remember thinking wow, there might be something to this,” Steve Gingras said this week, adding that he built one and advertised it on Craigslist just to see what would happen. “It really took off. It was one of those aha moments.”
That instant interest helped lead the couple to create Roots, Coops & More, which sells Maine-built chicken coops, coop accoutrements, cold frames for gardens, raised garden bed frames, root cellar consultation and much more. Lately, they’re venturing into the world of tiny houses, too.
“We mostly sell tiny homes for chickens and tiny homes for people,” Lori Gingras said.
The tiny houses and the chickens coops, though built for different audiences, have some things in common. Both are built to last and to look good, too, with an aesthetic appeal that makes Common Ground Fair attendees stop in their tracks as they pass the Roots, Coops & More display. Some of their coops look like classic farmhouses and barns on a miniature scale, with thoughtful touches such as windows to allow natural light, side doors for easy clean-out and raised, roomy nest boxes and roosting bars. Many have attachable coop pens to allow chickens to peck at the lawn without fear of being nabbed by a fox or hawk.
The Gingrases knew what they liked in a chicken coop, and figured that other people would like the same kinds of things. They were right.
“With us, our model was just to have products that we found useful, that we were using and we knew were working,” Lori Gingras said. “And that we could sell for a reasonable price.”
According to the company’s 2017 price list, coops range from $479 for an unassembled, unpainted kit to $1,250 for an assembled, painted “Coop Deluxe,” with room for ten chickens.
The business climate for homesteading supplies such as they provide has changed over the nearly ten years since they started Roots, Coops & More. At the beginning, there weren’t a lot of other people selling chicken coops or doing root cellar consultation. In fact, it sort of seemed that people interested in homesteading were in a definite minority. Back then, many Mainers weren’t talking about gardens and chickens, preserving their own food or knowing their farmer. With the recession, that seemed to change, the Gingrases said, and their business was one of the only local places to go for cute coops and other homesteading supplies.
“I think there’s a resurgence happening,” Lori Gingras said. “I think we were just a little bit ahead of the bubble.”
They found that a lot of their customers were new to the world of backyard chickens and they had both a lot of questions and, at times, a lot of concerns. For instance, Lori said, people called looking for a coop in a hurry, because they were keeping their chicks in the bathroom and the growing birds needed a new place to live as soon as possible.
“People can be stressed by that,” she said. “Once they spend time with chickens, they see it really isn’t that difficult. You just need to keep them fed and keep them hydrated.”
Lori and Steve Gingras enjoyed sharing advice about raising chickens and other parts of homesteading with the people they met. For about five years, the business was very busy, with the family selling from 75 to 100 coops a year. Then other competitors started to get into the coop game, both other family-owned small businesses and large companies such as Home Depot and Tractor Supply. Roots, Coops & More found that sales slowed down quite a bit.
“Now, we’re lucky if we do 40 a year,” Steve Gingras said.
It’s OK, he said, because his home construction business has come back. But the Gingrases like Roots, Coops & More and want to keep growing it sustainably, which is one reason why they are getting into the tiny house market. Steve is now finishing a 180-square foot tiny house on wheels that a customer commissioned, which he said is ultimately going to cost between $25,000 and $30,000. The tiny house features lots of natural light, fine craftmanship and high ceilings that make it seem larger than it is.
“It’s snug, but for one person or perhaps a couple, I think it would be quite comfortable,” Steve Gingras said.
Between the coops, the tiny houses and their other creations, the Gingrases feel good about their small business that, like their structures, is built to last. Steve Gingras said that he enjoys having a type of work that is different than his day job.
“Because I work alone and spend a lot of time alone, it’s nice to interact with people who appreciate what you do. I enjoy that,” he said.
Lori Gingras also said she enjoys meeting customers who have similar interests to hers and who sometimes become friends.
“I love sharing our knowledge and educating people about homesteading,” she said. “And meeting all the really cool people we’ve met over the years.”
Raising Ducks for BeginnersA Guide to Raising Ducks.Are you looking for a source of meat and eggs?Do you want to try homesteading? Are you trying to figure out how to raise ducks?Then this book is for you! Ducks are a great source of meat and eggs. You’ll find that ducks are easier to take care…;
Raising Ducks for Beginners A Guide to Raising Ducks.
Are you looking for a source of meat and eggs?
Do you want to try homesteading?
Are you trying to figure out how to raise ducks?
Then this book is for you! Ducks are a great source of meat and eggs. You’ll find that ducks are easier to take care of than chickens, and they’re perfect for backyard homesteading. Duck eggs are even considered to be better than chicken eggs due to their size and nutritional value. Ducks are also less aggressive and noisy than chickens, making them perfect for your backyard. You can even use the down feathers that you ducks have for down, so there’s no reason to be wasteful. This book will teach you everything you need to know in order to get started on raising your own ducks for whatever purpose you choose.
Few problems vex Baltimore residents more than the fact that a growing shortage of affordable housing continues to coexist with an also growing stock of vacant homes. It would seem to be so obvious to connect those two problems, and voila, no more vacants and no more homeless and no housing waiting lists. Sounds easy, so why isn’t it done? Didn’t Baltimore do that once with great success? Whatever happened to that Dollar House Program?
Dollar Houses at 600 Stirling Street (Baltimore SUN sketch)
Few Schaefer years stories live on with the same mythical power as the one of the Dollar Houses and the pioneering “urban homesteaders”. Lore has it that it turned whole communities from “vacants to value” long before that program title existed and created stable, desirable and attractive communities such as Otterbein.
If Schaefer could figure it out, why not any of the subsequent mayors from Schmoke and O’Malley to Rawlings Blake? Even the current Mayor, Catherine Pugh, used to gush about the Dollar House program as a candidate and vowed that she would bring it back. Now she toes the line of her Housing Department staff who have said for years that therefore the program can’t be replicated.because the federal programs to fund it are missing today. They also say that the seven year Dollar House program did only rehab 158 houses, as many as they convert now in a good year. So who is right? Can and should the program be revived and what would it take?
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke has been around long enough to remember first hand experience with the famed program of the 1970’s that began on Stirling Street and transformed Otterbein and Barre Circle. She isn’t buying it that one couldn’t revive the program and forced a council hearing on the matter.
City residents and community activists crammed into City Hall Wednesday in hopes of bringing back the “Dollar House” program that revitalized underprivileged neighborhoods in the 1980s under former Mayor William D. Schaefer. Some of Baltimore’s top leaders and community advocates pleaded with members of the City Council to reinstate the program with the intent of rehabilitating vacant homes that number from 16,000 to more than 46,000 throughout the city. (Baltimore Watchdog, Oct 26, 2017)
It is and has been easy to obtain a Baltimore for a dollar. The problem is what it costs to fix it up. A full gut rehab costs upwards of $120 a square foot, for a 2,000 sf three story home this amounts to $240,000 and for a small two story 1,200 home it would still be $144,000. That’s a good chunk of money,especially if the house sits in a neighborhood that has no homes that are valued over $100,000, often far below that.
Stirling Street in 2015 (Photo Philipsen)
Even though in 1973 houses were fixed up for $20,000, the renovation cost problem always existed.
To solve it the Housing Department under Bob Embry as Commissioner and Jay Brodie as his deputy invented the Dollar House program and State Senator Lapides as a preservationist supported it.
It provided low interest loans to the “homesteaders” that bought a home and committed to rehabilitation within a set time-frame. (Low interest meant 7% in those days when market rates were as high as15%). The money for the loans came from City bonds with support from the federal programs including Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The Dollar House program started in Baltimore but was quickly picked up by HUD which created in 1974 a national Urban Homesteading Demonstration Program which allowed 22 other cities to take part in similar revitalization strategies. Even today, HUD still advertises their own Dollar Homes program.
Some are convinced that the famed Dollar House program of the 1970’s that transformed Otterbein and Barre Circle can be brought back, if Housing would just again fund the high cost of rehabilitation through special bonds, so that homesteaders wouldn’t have to rely on private banks who are unlikely to give risky loans. But proponents must ask themselves what asset the recipients of such special those loans would own in the end, provided owners would be as able as those original homesteaders to successfully pay off the mortgage. They are said to have had a perfect record and no default.
If the house would turn out to be a piece of real estate which would assess lower than the cost to rehab and pay back the loan, then the program wouldn’t work. Original homesteaders couldn’t sell for five years, but they sure didn’t want to be “under water” and not be able to sell at all. How did the old Dollar House program avoid this conundrum?
Homesteaders checking out homes in 1975
One of the reasons for the repayment success was careful vetting of the applicants in person by a five person panel of non-city people (Otterbein). Designated staff from several city departments were at hand to guide homesteaders through the process. Successful and valuable renovation was achieved through design guidelines which usually were developed together with the homesteaders. This type of multi-agency multi-level support is mostly missing today (except for the annual V2V resource day).Small-time developers, builders and wannabe homeowners often get buildings from the City only to fail midways, being left to their own devices, then walking away from half improved properties.
The other reason for success was context. Just as any developer knows that a building isn’t any good if it sits in a lousy area (location, location, location!), Baltimore City did everything to make sure that the new homesteaders wouldn’t just own a nicely fixed up house but that the house would sit in a viable and attractive neighborhood. The recipe for creating attractive neighborhoods had several ingredients:
First, the Dollar House fathers decided to only deal with clusters of homes instead of scattered sites, so no fixed-up house would sit at the end in a sea of boarded up houses dragging down its value.
Second: The clusters of vacants for which the program was leveraged had not only been carefully scouted out, they all sat in pretty attractive areas next to downtown. The houses were vacant not because of residents had fled a terrible neighborhood conditions but because residents had been forced out to make space for ill-fated interstates or urban renewal plans. Once the silly freeway construction projects were defeated, a reversal of fortune was quite possible, once one put some effort and creativity to it.
Otterbein infill. From Design Guidelines
Third: The cluster areas and new communities were masterplanned. The Otterbein area, today typically used as the most successful example of the Dollar House program, was carefully masterplanned by Cy Paumier, Principal of LDR, a then well-known land planning firm. The charming community we see today, with its new infill townhomes, carefully restored historic houses, the rear alleys with screened parking, the cobble stone, and the preserved street grid, even the inserted matching material highrise did not just happen on its own. All this is the result of good planning and public investment in public infrastructure, streets, alleys, water, sewer, parks and playgrounds and detailed design guidelines worked out between the homesteaders, city agencies and consultants.
No such public effort accompanies the current Vacants To Value program. Today, if there is a masterplan for an area at all, it is because a larger master-developer stepped in and prepared their own plan as in the case of Barcley. An exception is still the somewhat mysterious Green Network Plan which Baltimore Planning currently advances and which may result in a more connected green infrastructure of parks and trails throughout disinvested neighborhoods.
In short, today’s many more vacant properties are the result of urban flight, extending over vastly larger areas of the city than the vacants of the 1973 when Baltimore still had 890,500 residents.
Even back then, not all Dollar House communities were as successful as Otterbein and Barre Circle. Stirling Street in Oldtown, the first homesteading area with 42 Dollar houses, still looks lovely, but the City plans in the surrounding area including the Old Town pedestrian mall failed spectacularly and today Stirling Street homes sit in total isolation. Homes there assess just a bit over the low City median price of $125,000.
Stirling Street homesteaders on the cover of Leisure & Travel, 8/78
Another big part of the Dollar House success was the funding. Bob Embry wanted a self-supporting loan approach for the program and established the Baltimore Rehabilitation Environmental Assistance Loans, (REAL) funded by repeatedly vote-approved local bonds, a way of funding sites outside of the designated urban renewal areas with their federal funding. In 1972, a two million dollar bond issue passed, with the first 29 loans released to those who qualified in 1973. Not all funding was local, some came from federal Section 312 money, a revolving rehabilitation loan fund with a focus on assisting low income households. At the time the Fair Housing Act was already in effect and loans were given fairly to all who either had the skills to do “sweat equity” (do work on their own houses) or enough resources to demonstrate that they could pay back their loans, clearly a more middle class focus, even though successful homesteaders were a diverse group.
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke speaking on TV about the Dollar House program
In spite of the glorious image which the Dollar Program has attained over time, it certainly didn’t run without glitches in its day. Otterbein’s progress was once again threatened by plans of placing I-395 in such a manner that the renovated houses were greatly impacted. Once alignment was finally changed some homesteaders disliked that the Federal Reserve was placed as a buffer at the edge of the community. In Barre Circle two designated houses were accidentally demolished by city crews. Homestead applications experienced such delays that at one point only 27 houses were processed in three years.
Otterbein facades. From Design Guidelines
Of course, the question of gentrification also played a role in the discussion about the Dollar House program then, when ACORN housing advocates placed sit-ins against the program’s lack of focus on low income participants. Federal law was subsequently changed. Today local tax exempt REAL bonds in their old form are no longer legal. Under President Nixon and his HUD Secretary Romney the long road of defunding HUD began, which continues to this day.
In spite of those changes, Mary Pat Clarke thinks that communities want a hand in repairing their communities. “Baltimore wants to fix itself,” she says, and judging by the unbroken enthusiasm for the Dollar house and her revival idea, she is right. While Housing’s current program “Vacants to Value” does not preclude local engagement, it lacks the distinct touch of the community-based “bottom up” approach that the Dollar House program emanated especially in contrast to the then popular top down urban renewal and its large scale displacement. In V2V communities see outside investors swoop in like vultures too often with flipping in mind instead of homesteading.
Vacant houses in Sandtown (Photo: Schamp)
The vast number of vacants in so many communities all around the city seems disheartening. For a new bottom-up program to succeed, promising clusters need to be identified, masterplans created, amenities financed but most importantly, one must stop lumping all vacant buildings into one pot. Instead, one needs to create at least three or four categories, not only a listing according to markets (as the City does) but also by metrics such as preservation value and structural/architectural condition. Not all houses need a costly “full-gut rehabilitation”, even though the threshold for falling into this category is pretty low. A Dollar House Program would be most successful for houses that need only upgrades and not an entire rebuild. Those, once they go into foreclosure, are fetched up by flipping sharks that do nothing to build back a community.
In the end the nostalgia about the Dollar House Program is not just semantics but a lot about psychology. The sense that people can turn communities around with “sweat equity, risk taking and commitment if they can get a helping hand from an equally committed and hands-on City government is still there and could be a potentially powerful force in the gigantic task of re-filling thousands of vacant houses. The task his too big for a single program to succeed. But the Mayor and the new Housing Commissioner would be well advised spending less energy on explaining why the Dollar House can’t be done anymore and instead figuring out how they can tweak their current efforts so this community energy can be harnessed again.
A tour of an amazing tiny house in the woods near the town of Baie St Paul in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. This is part of a resort called Repere Boreal. All of the electricity uses comes from clean hydroelectric power plants in northern Quebec and all constructed using ecologically friendly methods. Visit repereboreal.com to learn more.
Which Homesteading Chickens That Lay Colored Eggs is a question often asked by new homesteaders who are about to buy their first chickens.
Chickens can lay different colors of eggs. You can see those with white, brown, pink, blue and other colors. The egg color depends on the breeds of the hen. Other factors such as availability of cold water and exposure to sunlight can also affect the coloration. Except for the blue eggs which have the same shade inside, other eggs have only colored shells. The albumen of these eggs has white colors.
The coloring of eggs takes place internally during their formation. It takes 20 hours for the inner part of an egg to develop. The egg shell takes extra 5 hours to form around the egg. The dyeing process occurs during this period. Each hen possesses a pigment that colors the egg shells. A hen that has brown pigment will always lay brown eggs. Besides, some breeds possess both brown and blue pigments.
Hens will only lay the same color of eggs throughout their lifetime. However, environmental factors can interfere with the colors. Prolonged exposure to the sunshine without cold water or appropriate shade can bleach a hen’s eggs. If the eggs have lighter color when the external conditions are favorable, then check the birds for mites. Parasite infestation can also bleach eggs.
If you fancy colored eggs, keep chicken breeds with various pigments. Then, the hens will produce eggs with different colors.
Jersey Giants, Buffs, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Dominique, Cochin, Golden Comet, Brahma, Delaware, Buckeye, Jersey Giant, Chantecler, New Hampshire Red, Java – “Brown Eggs”
A cute and durable chicken and duck egg collecting basket alternative. Keep two hands free while in your backyard and chicken coop!TWO HANDS FREE! No more needing a chicken egg basket that breaks chicken and duck eggs in your coop.STURDY STITCHING MADE FOR REAL WORK! This apron isn’t just to look good, it’s made tough…;
A cute and durable chicken and duck egg collecting basket alternative. Keep two hands free while in your backyard and chicken coop!TWO HANDS FREE! No more needing a chicken egg basket that breaks chicken and duck eggs in your coop. STURDY STITCHING MADE FOR REAL WORK! This apron isn’t just to look good, it’s made tough for the tough work. HOLDS 10 JUMBO EGGS! 10 Specially stitched pockets hold the eggs securely. Hands free so you can also work on the waterer, chick brooder, incubator, heat lamp, feeder, nesting pad, and candler and accessories. LIFETIME MANUFACTURER WARRANTY! Only provided by our approved seller: American1985 Waist Band: 74 inches.
It seems that the benefits and uses for apple cider vinegar are virtually limitless. Not only is it beneficial for around the home, it used in many of our home remedies. Here’s a plus… It’s also beneficial to our canine and feline companions as well!
Apple Cider Vinegar | Letting Your Pets Benefit From It
Let’s take a quick look at the ACV benefits for our furry companions.
ACV Benefits For Dogs:
Reduces Itchy Skin
Deters Ticks
Treats Flea Bites
Helps To Relieve Arthritis Pain
Helps To Fight UTI’s
Helps To Control Mange
ACV Benefits For Cats:
Helps To Treat Various Skin Conditions
Use ACV To Clean Their Ears
Helps To Fight UTI’s
Let’s get started!
ACV Benefits For Dogs
Reduces Itchy Skin
A common issue with dogs is itchy skin, which can stem from a number of reasons. The acidic properties of ACV help restore their skin’s pH levels which, in turn, can reduce the itchiness of their skin.
How to use ACV to treat itchy skin on dogs:
Combine 1 quart of water and 2-3 tablespoons of ACV.
Give your dog a bath (bathing them as usual).
Add the ACV mixture all over their body avoiding their face.
Gently pat dry them with a towel, making sure to leave their fur damp.
Allow their fur to dry naturally.
This process can be repeated up to 3 times a week.
Deters Ticks
ACV is great for deterring ticks! Here’s how to make a spray to help keep ticks at bay.
Combine equal parts of ACV and water and add to a spray bottle.
Shake well and spray on their fur.
As you spray, run thru their fur with a comb to pick up any loose ticks.
This process can be done up to 5 days a week.
If your dog has been bitten by a tick, you can apply ACV directly to the bite to relieve itchiness, swelling, and possible pain caused by the bite. If your dog experiences swelling in the joints, loss of appetite, or fever please consult your veterinarian immediately!
Treats Flea Bites
Another common experience for your canine companion is dealing with fleas. The bite of a single flea bite can cause itchiness, swelling, and pain. The acidic nature of ACV can help soothe the discomforts that fleas cause.
Using ACV to treat flea bites:
Combine equal parts water and raw, unfiltered ACV and add to spray bottle.
Spray this mixture directly on the flea bite.
This can be done up to 3-5 times a day.
Helps To Relieve Arthritis Pain
Just like us, dogs can become arthritic in their old age. ACV can be used to give them some relief. The acidic nature of ACV helps to break down the calcium deposits, which is one the causes of arthritis.
Instructions:
Combine equal parts of water and ACV.
Soak a soft cloth in the mixture.
Place saturated cloth directly onto their arthritic areas and leave for 10 minutes.
This can be done 2-3 times a day.
Helps To Fight UTI’s
If your dog is suffering from a UTI (urinary tract infection), ACV can help. The detoxifying and purifying properties of ACV helps the bladder to become healthy again and helps to inhibit the microbes that cause the infection.
To use ACV for their UTI, simply add ACV to their food or water. Here are the recommended measurements based on their weight:
Up to 14 pounds: 1 teaspoon
15 to 34 pounds: 1 tablespoon
35 to 85 pounds: 2 tablespoons
If your dog is suffering from severe pain and you see blood in their urine, consult your veterinarian immediately!
Helps To Control Mange
The antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of ACV makes ACV an effective remedy to help control mange on dogs. Here’s how!
Combine 1 cup of ACV and 1 cup of water and add to spray bottle.
Spray on your dogs and comb thru their fur as you go.
Do not rinse and allow to air dry.
Repeat this process 2-3 times a week for best results.
ACV Benefits For Cats
Helps To Treat Various Skin Conditions
ACV can be used to help treat various skin conditions on cats such as skin allergies, irritations due to flea bites, and ringworm. Most cats have sensitive skin so make sure to always dilute the ACV. Here’s how:
Combine 1 part water and 1 part ACV.
Wet a paper towel with this mixture.
Rub the damp paper towel across their fur and let dry naturally. (If the cat tries to lick it off, no worries. It’s safe!)
Use ACV To Clean Their Ears
ACV can clean your cat’s ears! Here’s how:
Combine equal parts warm water and ACV.
Immerse a paper towel into the mixture.
Squeeze a small amount off the paper towel into your cat’s ear.
After about 2 minutes, clean excess with a slightly damp paper towel. (dampened by water)
Repeat these steps until their ears are clean.
Helps To Fight UTI’s
As with dogs, ACV can help with the discomforts of an UTI in your feline companion. Here’s how:
Combine 1 teaspoon of chicken broth and ¼ teaspoon of ACV.
Add this mixture to their wet food.
Repeat this process for every feeding until their UTI symptoms subside which usually takes a few days. If your cat is in severe pain, refusing to eat, and you do not notice any “pee spots” in their litter box, please consult their veterinarian immediately!
Nathalie Smith shows the benefits of using apple cider vinegar on dogs:
Do you use apple cider vinegar with your canine or feline companion? Tell us in the comment section below.
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