Today I made / bought / learnt (for a post oil world) 4

[PrestonSturges]

I had a bunch of leaf compost from last year that I put in trash bags and tossed under the porch. I hadn't looked at it in 6 months - the leaf mold is nearly black and smells very rich and clean. This will be a great soil amendment.

[PrestonSturges]

On the subject of butchering deer - there are some good videos that explain a lot about white tail butchering.

Cows are more sedentary, but deer have some muscles that are very tough. If you slice a deer haunch with a band saw like a steer round eye steak, each deer steak will have excellent meat, so-so meat, and a chunk of pure gristle in each slice, because you are getting 3 different muscles. For the deer, it's better to cut out the good muscle whole for roasting, cut out the tough bit for grinding, and maybe use the gristly strip for dog food or soup stock. So for butchering deer, approach it as dissection rather than an assembly line slaughter house. Like I said, get a video.

[vtsnowedin]

On the subject of butchering deer - there are some good videos that explain a lot about white tail butchering.

Cows are more sedentary, but deer have some muscles that are very tough. If you slice a deer haunch with a band saw like a steer round eye steak, each deer steak will have excellent meat, so-so meat, and a chunk of pure gristle in each slice, because you are getting 3 different muscles. For the deer, it's better to cut out the good muscle whole for roasting, cut out the tough bit for grinding, and maybe use the gristly strip for dog food or soup stock. So for butchering deer, approach it as dissection rather than an assembly line slaughter house. Like I said, get a video.

Like I said there are several ways to do it. Some like to cut the eye steak like they would a ham steak but you are right about that third muscle which is not only tougher but because it runs in a different direction from the other two you end up cutting it along the grain instead of across it as you should do when cutting steak keeping the muscle fibers as short as possible.
Another choice is using a band saw on the loins to make small T-bone steaks or chops. You have to split the deer down the backbone with your butchers saw to do this which takes a bit of practice to do well and it leaves all those chop bones with their sharp ends to punch holes in freezer bags and cause freezer burn. I prefer to just cut the entire loin from shoulder blade to point of ham off in a long piece then cut them into medallions I label with LS for loin steak.
And like you said "Get the video"

[rangerone314]

I planted 2 more figs this past weekend and I planted yet ANOTHER blueberry bush in the blueberry bed. I also planted 2 hazelnuts to replace two that died (I have 4 domestic in an area and various wild ones)

I'm having a wood burning stove installed in 2 1/2 weeks. (This after refinancing the house to nearly 2 percentage points below what I had before).

I also got a good book called "When Technology Fails". Even tells you how to do metal working.

Thursday I am going on a pink & blue duct taping expedition to mark with tape any wild trumpet vines I want to transplant in the winter dormancy, as well as the small cherry tree growing in the shade on our property that I discovered this summer when it had sweet cherries on it, as well as a few small mulberry trees.

[argyle]

Completed our chainlink fencining of our one acre meadown..
Had all the clay-clinkers delivered, which we will start laying next year spring.. (around 450 square meters)

Haven't decided yet if I should bring our chickens to our property this year, or let them stay for the winter at my parents place..
Parents decided to let me inherit an two acre lot nearby (within 1 min walking distance). I will prob. rent it out for now, but the plan is to keep a bull (buy a calf and slaughter it in autumn) on it every year (Keep 1/4th of the meat for ourselves, and sell the rest to family and friends who are interested in some quality/cheap beef).
Other option (when shtf), is to keep a cow (milk) on it. I expect beef to be way too expensive to keep/feed, and not sure if there will be enough electricity (or erratic supply) around to run the (high efficient AA+) chest freezer.
Would rather by a pig(s) and raise that for meat (and it's also easier on food requirements (scraps, nuts,..) then to 'finish' a good quality bull/cow.

Skills/Equipement I want to acquire.
Butter/Cheese-making
Alcohol Still
Barn/Stable
Carport (if not for the car, then for the extra storage space).

[patience]

Bought (gently used) a small ag sprayer to deal with our fencerows and to spray the orchard. Now I need to find out how to assure I get the herbicide out of the thing before I spray fruit trees with it.

Great deal on it--I paid $60 + $15 for the cart, compared to almost $300 new. So, I was glad to spend some time fixing a flat tire, mounting on the cart and making the 12 volt cable to power it. All set to go now, and have a gallon of "Round Up" herbicide. I bought the generic stuff, Glycophosphate 41%, at $22/gallon. That will keep the weeds out of my fencerow for a very long time. (You use 3 ounces of chemical in a gallon of water, so this gallon of chemcal will make 128 oz./3 ounces = over 42 gallons of spray.) Also bought a gallon of RV antifreeze, so I can freeze-proof it for winter storage.

I set out 8 grape starts this week, that we raised from cuttings off a local heirloom variety. It is somewhat later than Concord, but larger and sweeter. A friend offered me many more starts of Concords, which I'll transplant when we get more rain. I have some very strong galvanized steel posts I got as salvage to build a grape arbor, and galvanized pipe to make the tops with. I hope to have about 16 to 20 vines going by next year. I had a huge brushpile shredded into chips for mulch this summer, and plan to use that around the grapes while they get started, to control grass and weeds.

[argyle]

Hi Patience,

Not sure what weather you have there, but instead of doing grapes (which don't do very well here, unless planted on a south wall), I plan to plant a lot more kiwi vines (regular kiwi or mini-kiwi) on a Trelis system.. Maybe that is a good idea for you aswell?

[careinke]

The rains have brought out the Chantrel (sp) mushrooms in the woods. Picked about twenty pounds in an hour. Now I need to start picking huckleberries. Lots of wild stuff to eat in the fall.

[rangerone314]

As my chickens have started egglaying in serious fashion, found half of the hens missing or dead this morning and a lot of feathers. Probably a damn fox.

[vtsnowedin]

As my chickens have started egglaying in serious fashion, found half of the hens missing or dead this morning and a lot of feathers. Probably a damn fox.

I've lost more then a few to a fox this year including a brood hen and all her chicks. I tended to lose one each night. Now I close the coop up each night at sundown to let the remaining ones sleep in peace.

[Ludi]

Raccoons are the worst. They can get into almost any coop, and will randomly kill and injure many more birds than they can eat. They even work in teams.

[patience]

argyle,

I don't know anything about Kiwi's. I guess I should learn! Grapes do well here, it is just getting them started from cuttings that requires lots of care. We have 8 cuttings started from a very old local vine I'm trying to preserve. Excellent big grapes, but long season. Very hardy, too. Seem to be resistant to about everything for the past 120 years on a couple of farms here. Our problem is we live on a North facing hillside lot, so the grapes have to go near the top of the hill to get enough sun.

A couple weeks ago we had our older pickup truck repaired with many new parts, so it is in fine shape now. Today I sent our younger old truck to the mechanic, and it looks like about $1K worth of parts to get it in good shape. He's on it now, and should have it finished in 2-3 days. I dont want to see the US dollar go down badly and parts go up to where I can't afford them. Our general plan is to get to a point where we can go for a year or more with bare minimum expenses, and have long term reductions in our food and energy costs. So, money spent now on long term items makes sense for us.

I planted Walking onions yesterday (Egyptian, or Multiplying onions) and have some left for DD.

[DomusAlbion]

It's fall and we are canning, canning, canning ... And freezing. This is the first year our 4 year old orchard has produced prodigious amounts of fruit and the garden yielded a bumper crop of tomatoes & peppers; spaghetti sauce, pear chutney, spicy pear sauce, straight preserved pears, plum sauce, plum jam. Next week we will can the apples and in about two weeks the quince.

[Ludi]

Congratulations DomusAlbion!

[DomusAlbion]

Yes, I'm very happy. Five years ago when we bought this place the orchard area was overrun with Hemlock and other noxious weeds. Now there is a fenced (against deer) area with 40+ trees and a garden with raised beds with grass and clover growing in between. Most of the trees from ther original planting have survived, are mature and bearing fruit. This is a major goal on our way to a more self-sustaining lifestyle.

Next Dexter cattle!

[Ludi]

A friend had Dexters and she liked them a lot but they were too much for a single, middle-aged disabled lady to manage so she had to sell them.

Today I worked on more hugel beds in the kitchen garden, and cleaning out the feed shed. It's wonderful to be able to work now it's cool out.

Also worked a bit for $, which is going very well lately.

[argyle]

A friend had Dexters and she liked them a lot but they were too much for a single, middle-aged disabled lady to manage so she had to sell them.

Today I worked on more hugel beds in the kitchen garden, and cleaning out the feed shed. It's wonderful to be able to work now it's cool out.

Also worked a bit for $, which is going very well lately.

As much as I like the idea of dexters and other "special" or miniature cattle, the problem I have with special/rare breeds is that.. if SHTF, it will be a lot harder to get to new blood (like bull) for breeding..

[Ludi]

As much as I like the idea of dexters and other "special" or miniature cattle, the problem I have with special/rare breeds is that.. if SHTF, it will be a lot harder to get to new blood (like bull) for breeding..

Only if you're intent on maintaining pure breeds. After TSHTF you can breed your special cattle to any other similar-sized cattle. For instance breeding Dexters with Jerseys. Dexters are becoming so popular around here it's probably possible to find another breeder within 20 miles. Of course this doesn't mean those breeders will keep their stock after TSHTF but that's a problem you would face with any kind of livestock in some regions.

[Ludi]

Filled in another hugel bed and planted fava beans and winter greens.

[Ludi]

Filled in another small hugel bed and planted fava beans, winter greens, turnips, and some herbs and flowers.