The Way to Self Sufficiency

By George L.

www.SelfSufficiently.com

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.

 Introduction

In today’s world there is a paradox: the more we’re depending on

technology, the more we feel trapped in it. Nobody saw this coming fifty
years ago when we were all dreaming of flying saucers and teleportation.

We thought that technology is here to help but, more often than not, it
makes us feel dependant and, thus, miserable.

Add to this the fact that corporations are using it at maximum to

maximize their profits and what do you get? An increasing gap between
the rich and the poor.

Before the industrial age, a household was pretty much self sustainable.
One would cultivate his own vegetables, have animals such as cows or
horses and plenty of land which to cultivate.

When the industrial age came, more and more people started working in
factories and thus, depended on their paychecks. They couldn’t stay at
home to make their own food so they had to use money to buy it.

This organizational structure evolved up until today when we have an

intricate structure of corporations, medium sized companies and self
employed people. All of them are in the rat race for cash flow. We need a
solution. We need to feel less dependent on other and more on ourselves.
But how?

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 Self sufficiency

Self sufficiency is all about going back to the basics. It’s about growing
your own fruits, vegetables and animals, making home cooked meals with
organic food, generating your own energy and even disconnecting your
house from the sewage system.

It can be all of that or only a part. You don’t have to go extreme on this.
There are many factors to consider and jumping right into something
new without knowing much on the topic can have dramatic
consequences.

But you CAN take baby steps in this direction. Move slowly but surely
towards independence. Eat healthier, do physical work which in turn it
will help you mentally or put up a solar panel to reduce energy costs.

Whatever you choose to do is up to you. I’m only giving you the

information. Just… take the first step.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Confucius

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.

 The first
first step to self sufficiency: Food

Of course, the prerequisite is to have a house with a garden. You need

space to cultivate at least some vegetables.

There are a few foods that are very easy to grow at home so they would
make a great start for you as a beginner. Among them, we have

• Carrots. Plant them in rows 1

foot apart (30 centimeters).
They don’t do very well in acid.
You can begin harvesting them
60-90 days after you planted
them, when they are about the
size of a finger, usually in late
spring (when the ground is
dry). Along with carrots you
can plant radishes, which we
discuss below.
• Radishes. The word “radish”
is Saxon in origin (rudo) where
it meant blood (given the red
color of this plan). Radishes
have the advantage that they
can grow almost anywhere, on
most soils and that they reach
maturity very quickly. Only
sow the larger seeds, 6 inches
deep (15 centimeters). Pick
them up after 6 weeks. If you
have containers, they can be grown there as well among other crops.

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• Garlic. Garlic is very healthy
and is even used as treatment
against high cholesterol levels
or colds. In order to use it, you
need a place with plenty of sun
and enough moisture. Garlic is
best planted during the fall or
early winter. If you’re not
growing it outside and prefer to do it in a container or a pot, you can
do it anywhere from fall through mid spring. Plant each clove 4
inches (10 cm) deep, 4 inches apart from each other. Make sure the
clove points upward. If you have any, cover the area with some hay.
Garlic should be harvested when the leaves start to brown. This
happens usually in August. It’s VERY important to harvest your
garlic at exactly the right time. Don’t do it sooner because the cloves
will be too small. Don’t do it later either – the bulb will be most likely
split. After you harvest the garlic, you should let it hang in a dry
place. Dryness is important in order to not let it grow again.
• Potatoes. Potatoes come in a
variety of sizes, shapes and
colors. They grow well in well
drained soil with a pH of 5.5 –
6.5. Don’t plant potatoes
bought from the local
supermarket as they will not
grow. Instead, get seed
potatoes from a garden center
or from gardener friends. Plant them 3 inches deep (8 centimeters).
When the plant has grown enough (around 8 inches tall) you should
hill them up by bringing soil dug with a hoe from the trench under
the leaves. Repeat this after a
few weeks.
• Cabbage. This is one of the
easiest crops to grow and it can
be sown all year through. It
needs soil with a pH of 6.5 –
7.0. Choose a sunny spot
(preferably one where you had
peas or beans grown a year

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 before). Make sure you give your cabbage plenty of water in dry
periods.
• Spinach. Spinach (lat. Spinacia oleracea) is jam-packed with
vitamins A, C, potassium and
iron so make sure you grow it
and eat it! There are summer
varieties (sow them around
mid March until may) as well
as winter varieties (sow them
in August or September). Sow
the spinach seeds 1 inch deep
(2.5 centimeters) and 12 inches apart (30 cm).
• Tomatoes. You like them too? Great! To grow them make sure
your soil has a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 and that you have plenty of sunlight.
Plant them 12-18 inches apart.

Depending on where you live, you may or may not afford to have some
animals around the house.

If you want to start small, try some

chickens. They don’t take up a lot
of pace (like cows or horses) and
are easy to feed. Plus, they can be a
constant source of amusement for
your children.

Chickens can be housed in coops

that you can move around to allow
for better fertilization of the land. This is up to you.

The most important thing you can do for your birds is, obviously, to feed
them. Water should be good, clean water. Hens need more water than
roosters but all should be provided with enough. Make sure you feed
them well with whole grains, such as pure corn and grass. Corn should be
the basis of their meals but feed them green veggies from time to time
and do it REGULARLY.

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If you’re tired of chicks, how about some ducks? Ducks are more
pretentions because they require water, lots of water. They love water and
keeping them away from it (except for the first few weeks when they’re
little ducklings) is not such a good
idea. Also, keep in mind that
flowing water is better than
swimming water.

If you really have the space, the

time and the energy, you can move
to bigger things: cows. Here you
have several things to consider,
which are important.

First of all, cows need grass, so make sure you have a pasture nearby.
Depending on how much land you have, you should decide how many
cows you want to raise

The second problem is what you

will feed them during winter.
Typically you need hay. You can
either buy it or you can have your
own (but for this you need even
more land plus extra time for it).

I can’t make the decision on what

to grow for you, these were just a
few examples. It’s up to you to manage yourself as good as possible.

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.

 The Second Step to Self Sufficiency:
Energy

The way vegetables or animals are grown and transformed into organic
food has been described in the previous chapter. As you could see, the
processes involved have been the same for thousands of years. However,
when it comes to energy production, things are getting… futuristic!

In short, we’re talking about solar panels and wind turbines.

Solar energy is EXTREMELY

abundant so it makes perfect sense
to capture it and then to use it. One
of the best and newest ways to do it
is to buy or make your own solar
panel. With the right tools you can
make a solar panel for a few
hundreds of dollars that can power
up a few light bulbs and a TV. If
you’re willing to invest more, you
can run your entire house on solar energy.

However, there are other ways to trap solar energy, such as solar stills
(using direct sunlight for distilling water), solar driers (for fruits,
vegetables and grains) and even solar heated walls (which accumulate
heat during the day and release it during the night).

If you don’t have enough sunlight in your region, maybe you have enough
wind?

Wind turbines are good only if you live in an area where the wind speeds
are high. They’re generally not noisy so you don’t have to worry about
that.

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.

Just like in the case of solar panels,
you can make your own wind
turbine: you need a few things, such
as a generator, blades, a mounting,
a tower, batteries where the electric
energy will be stored and an electric
control system.

There is of course the way more

convenient alternative of buying
your own wind turbine. In this case keep in mind that you will have to
spend thousands of dollars on it so plan carefully.

If you want a smaller one, that produces 500-1000 kW/year, expect to

spend at least $1000 and if you want over 2000 kW/year you will pay at
least $5000.

These wind turbines don’t require a lot of space. If you have enough room
for a tree in your back yard, you will have enough for a wind turbine that
generates green energy.

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.

 In Conclusion

So there you have it: the starting point to self sufficiency. You may not
want to do all at once (start cultivating all the plants, get all the animals
and build solar panels at the same time) but definitely have some starting
points.

Now I know there’s a lot to discuss about each topic and I wanted to
make this e-book short, to the point, so you get a perspective about what
this whole thing is all about.

If you want to know more, A LOT MORE, about self sufficiency please
visit my website at:

www.SelfSufficiently.com

With respect,

George

Copyright 2010 www.SelfSufficiently.com – All rights reserved.