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Category Archives: Outdoor and Survival

Respect for the Yummy Milkweed

03 Jun

This showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) can be confused with common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). But never fear, as they are both edible.

There are close to 150 species of milkweed plants worldwide. About 25 of these are the only food source for monarch butterflies, and milkweed is an important nectar source for bees. And while a few species of milkweeds are edible to humans some are poisonous, and all should be treated with respect. If you don’t know what you’re doing, do yourself a favor and don’t do it.

There are about 20 edible milkweed species floating around, which is good! That being said, basically all of the different milkweed species contain alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, and toxic resinoids. As the scary names imply, these can all be bad. The secret lies in knowing what you’re doing when it comes to eating these plants, and don’t eat them at all if you can’t remember what the rules are. (Note: Make sure you refer to a reputable botanic key to identify plants, or have an expert show you.)

EDIBLE MILKWEEDS

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is the most widely known and distributed edible milkweed, though it is definitely not the only one. Common milkweed looks very much like showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa, see above), though the flowers of common milkweed are, of course, not as showy as the flowers above. Both are edible and can be treated the same way.

Here are some other edible milkweeds that are not as commonly known, including their reported edible parts. For these plants it’s important to consult a reputable edible plant resource that speaks to these plants specifically before consuming them (note: my source for the following is Plants for a Future, which provides wonderful information on edible and medicinal plants):

  • Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, see photo below): flowers, leaves, oil, seedpod
  • Purple silkweed (A. lanceolata): flowers, leaves, and seedpod
  • Green milkweed (A. viridiflora): flowers, leaves, oil, root, seed, seedpod
  • Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa, note all references say to either avoid this plant or consume in low quantities): flowers, leaves, oil, root, seedpod
  • Purple silkweed (A. hallii): flowers, leaves, oil, seed, seedpod

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), is edible too, though many references recommend staying away from narrow-leaved milkweeds because of higher toxicity levels.

EATING MILKWEED

The edible parts of some milkweed plants include the new shoots, which taste like asparagus and can be harvested in spring when they are less then 8 inches tall. The flowers and flower heads taste like peas, and can also be harvested. As the plant matures the seed pods can be picked when they are about 1 inch long or less; as the pods increase in size, they also increase in bitterness and alkalinity.

The root of milkweed may nor may not be edible, depending upon the source you’re consulting. My policy is that when it comes to conflicting information regarding whether a plant or plant part is edible, I err on the side of caution and don’t eat it.

Some sources say that young seed pods and shoots of milkweeds can be eaten raw, but I don’t recommend this. These sources also recommend only eating the raw plant parts in  low quantities, and in my mind it’s always better to process plants that contain any alkaloids and toxins properly just to be safe. Processing the plant parts also removes bitterness, and just makes them taste better.

To process your shoots, flowers, and seed pods, place them in a pot, and cover them with boiling water (do not use cold water…make sure you boil it on its own first), then bring everything back to a boil. The water must then be discarded, and the process repeated two to three times. A tea kettle kept at a boil on the stove comes in handy for this.

To eat the plant parts after processing, boil them normally for about 15 minutes, until tender. You can serve them with butter, a sauce, or any other way you’d eat asparagus, peas and the like. Also feel free to include them in soups, casseroles, eggs, and more. They are very tasty. The flower heads can be boiled down to make a sugary syrup because of the sweet nectar, and feel free to pickle the seedpods in the same fashion as you make cucumber pickles.


 
12 Comments

Posted by on June 3, 2012 in Edible Plants, Outdoor and Survival

 

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Tips and Tricks to go Shampoo-free

22 Apr

My hair is thicker, shinnier, and healthier than it ever has been now that I've gone shampoo free!

I stopped using shampoo, conditioner, and any other test tube-made product on my hair a month ago. Now I only use baking soda and vinegar, and my hair is thicker, shinier, has stopped falling out, and stays cleaner longer than it ever has in my entire life. And this dramatic effect costs literally pennies compared to expensive store-bought products. Not only that, but going shampoo-free eliminates the need to buy gels, mouse, anti-frizz stuff or any of that. Think of the savings!

And for those who like to stockpile supplies for a rainy day or buy in bulk, it’s much less expensive to buy gallons of vinegar and pounds of baking soda than worry from where the next deal on shampoo is going to appear. It’s always nice when your bulk goods do double-duty, too. Vinegar and baking soda should be staples, for cleaning you, your home, and for cooking. Shampoo only does one thing (and sometimes it doesn’t even do that very well). And in a pinch, you can make your own vinegar.

Before you decide to give shampoo-free a whirl, check out this overview. Much of this information is all over the internet, but I experimented with everything I read, got feedback from a ton of people who have gone shampoo free (or who tried it), and compiled everything I learned here:

A NOTE ON WATER

The type of water you have will have an effect on how baking soda (or shampoo for that matter) works on cleaning your hair. Soft water causes hair to be naturally sleek and is essentially free of the calcium and magnesium hard water contains, which can get “stuck” to your hair. Soft water makes it easier for the baking soda to be rinsed out of your hair easily.

Hard water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium and causes hair to become rough and tangly by elevating the microscopic scales that are on each strand of hair. The minerals get caught in the scales and make it more difficult to rinse anything (including commercial shampoos) out of the hair. Companies add chemicals to shampoos to combat this problem, but they have a drying effect on the hair that necessitates the need to buy hair conditioners and other products.

When you go shampoo-free in a hard-water environment, the minerals do react with the baking soda, and can cause a build-up. Beyond installing a water softener (your laundry would thank you, too), there are a few things you can do to combat hard water such as using distilled water or filtered rain water (see below for more info).

THINGS TO KNOW

The only ingredients you need are baking soda and vinegar. Some people add an oil to the mix to counteract drying some people experience. You can use coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, or any oil you want. One woman I spoke to has very oily hair and adds a few drops of liquid castille soap to her baking soda solution to give it a little boost. Many, if not most, men and women won’t need to do this.

There is about a three week adjustment period for your hair to go through its detox withdraw from shampoo: Shampoo strips your hair of just about everything and it takes awhile for your hair to readjust back to its natural, healthy state. How your hair will react to this transition period will vary from the next person. Some people experience a temporary “greasy period” lasting only a few days. This greasy period can occur anywhere in the three-week adjustment period. I had mine at about the half way mark, but it was barely noticeable to me. Others have more of a problem. But stick with it, your hair will quickly improve in a matter of days and continue to get better after that.

It works great on curly hair: A lot of the ammonium this and ammonium that in shampoos can play havoc with curly hair, necessitating the use of anti-frizzers and whatnot to reclaim what you naturally had before shampoo removed it. Going shampoo-free eliminates the need for all of the “product” previously used to keep curls in check and frizz under control. You may want to add a few drops of oil to your locks if you like sleek curls.

Your hair won’t need conditioners to combat tangles, because they will be limited: A baking soda wash and vinegar rinse won’t strip your hair of anything but the dirt, so your hair’s ability to detangle itself won’t be inhibited.

It works with dyed hair: Vinegar is known to actually set dyes, and it has the same effect on hair dye. Some people also report that they experience less fading of their dyed color once they make the move to baking soda and vinegar.

It’s wonderful on grey hair: In fact, vinegar and baking soda will whiten grey hair, while shampoos can cause grey hair to yellow.

Baking soda, white vinegar (you can also use apple cider vinegar) and essential oils keep my hair looking better than it ever did using store-bought shampoo and conditioner.

HOW-TO

There are several ways you can go shampoo free, and you really need to experiment on your own hair to see what works for you, keeping in mind what kind of water you have. This experimentation can be frustrating for some who are used to the squirt-and-suds of shampoo, but considering the ultimate pay-off both in your budget and potential hair awesomeness, you owe it to yourself to pay attention and see what method works best for you.

No matter what you do, rinsing the baking soda out thoroughly is a must: It’s also a must with shampoo, but many people don’t rinse as thoroughly as they should and walk around with shampoo still in their hair. Rinsing the baking soda out well is very important; leaving it in can dry your hair and I’ve even heard of some people rinsing so poorly that they complained of white stuff on their locks (unrinsed baking soda). Rinse it!

The most common way to wash your hair with baking soda is to make a solution with one tablespoon of baking soda per one cup of water, pour it over your head, then scrub away: Some people use less baking soda and deciding how much is part of that experimentation process; thinner hair requires less baking soda than thicker hair. You can make as much of this solution as you want and keep it in a bottle in the shower (an empty shampoo bottle would work great). Adding a small bit of liquid castille soap to the solution is an option if you have very oily hair. And if you have hard water, use distilled water or rain water in this solution. Rinse thoroughly after you’ve scrubbed your scalp and head.

If you’re lazy like me, you can just put the baking soda in a shaker and leave it in the shower, sprinkling it over your head and then scrubbing: When you wash your hair, just shake about 1/4 cup (depending upon hair length) on your head, making sure to part your hair in areas to get it to your scalp. Work the baking soda in, occasionally putting your head briefly under the shower head to allow the baking soda to dissolve and be distributed all over your head and hair. Work it in with your fingers as you would shampoo, and rinse thoroughly.

Next, pour vinegar over your head and briefly work it into your hair: I use about 1/2 cup of vinegar on my hair, which is to the middle of my back. Make sure you don’t get it in your eyes (been there, done that, ouch).

You can use either white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar: I found that apple cider vinegar was too heavy on my hair and made it feel a tad limp and heavy, but white vinegar worked great. Experiment to see which one works for you!

You can leave the vinegar in, or rinse it out: Official mantra is to leave it in, but again, this didn’t work great for my hair. Leaving it in weighed it down too much, but I imagine for curly hair leaving it in would be wonderful. Try both methods and see which one works best for your hair. And, no, I’ve never had my hair smell like a salad, even when I left the vinegar in. Apple cider vinegar, however, does have a stronger natural scent than white vinegar.

If your hair is becoming too dry, you can just wash with the vinegar and forgo the baking soda: Some people I talked to said the baking soda was a tad too drying for their baby fine hair. Instead, they just washed with the vinegar and were very pleased with the results. Others used the baking soda once a week and only vinegar for the rest of the week. If you find your hair becoming too dry for words try adjusting how often you use baking soda versus vinegar alone, or…..

Conditioning your hair with natural oils daily or weekly is wonderful with this method: Some people who complained that their hair was too dry now add a few drops of an oil (olive oil, apricot oil, jojoba oil, a mixture of oils, the choice is yours) to their baking soda and include it as they wash their hair. Myself and others condition weekly. I take about a teaspoon or two of coconut oil, melt it, and work it into my hair and leave it in for about an hour or so, then wash as usual with baking soda. Your hair will sing with glee!

Washing your hair like this allows you to add personalized scents to meet your own needs and wants: I love to add essential oils to my vinegar, customizing it depending upon what I feel like at the time. Lavender and rosemary are personal favorites. I’ve never had a problem with the smell of vinegar on my hair, but this is a nice way to make your hair smell wonderful without artificial ingredients.

You can add herbal hair enhancers as natural remedies to hair and scalp issues: Sometimes just getting off shampoo will cure issues like dandruff and allergic reactions on the scalp. But if the move to baking soda and vinegar alone doesn’t solve the problem, you can add herbs to your baking soda or vinegar to help you out. If you have dandruff, you can add some tea tree oil to your baking soda or vinegar. Tea tree oil is wonderful for scalp health, and if the switch from shampoo to baking soda/vinegar alone doesn’t solve your dandruff or scalp problem, adding medicinal herbs will.

In a future ‘spin I’ll cover hair enhancers and natural remedies to include in this process. Until then, start giving it a try, and do make sure you give it a full three weeks before abandoning the process if you can manage it!


 
214 Comments

Posted by on April 22, 2012 in Home Remedies & Apothecary, Homesteading, Outdoor and Survival, Saving Money

 

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The Humble Crab Apple: An Underutilized Free Food

09 Apr

A crab apple in full bloom is a beautiful thing! But the fruits deserve more credit than they get, too.

Most people know that the crab apple is edible, but it is so small (and some are bred not to bear fruit) that it is discounted as a food source and sometimes decried as a pain when the fruit begins to fall and birds start to flock. That’s a shame! Crab apples are a delicious food and, if processed the right way, not as much work as you think to utilize as a free source of tasty treats in both rural and urban locales. And the plant also has medicinal properties that make it an underused plant in the average yard or field.

Most people can identify crab apples when they’re in fruit (and when they’re in bloom). But for anyone interested in collecting plants for food or medicine, being able to identify plants properly will make your life easier, if not save it.

Crab apples are deciduous (they lose their leaves in winter) small trees in the Rosaceae family, and the Malus genus. They reach about 15′ to 25′ at maturity. The buds and leaves have an alternate arrangement, meaning the leaves hop scotch as they move up the stem, as opposed to an opposite leaf arrangement, where the leaves are directly across from each other on the stem. The leaf buds are egg-shaped with several overlapping scales. There are about 700 varieties of crab apples (yep!) so the leaves are variable in color and size. But take a look at crab apples this spring and look at the leaves to learn their general character.

Crab apples have an alternate leaf arrangement and their leaves have the look of other trees in the apple family, but there is much variability.

FOR EATING

The fruit is the main edible part of the plant, eaten raw or cooked, though raw it is highly astringent. Because of this, it is most frequently cooked with sugar and made into jams, jellies, fruit fillings, chutneys, and more. In fact, crab apples contain an excellent pectin, which can be used to thicken other kinds of jams.

One secret to using crab apples for food is to remove their wee seeds, though this is not always necessary (see the recipe below). Yes, to do this with individual fruits is time consuming as each small crab apple needs to be sliced and the seeds removed. I once made a crab apple pie this way and it took hours to remove the seeds from all of the crab apples; I’ll never make crab apple pie that way again! OK…maybe I will because the pie was so tasty, but I’ll have to be in the mood for a lengthy, repetitive task.

In my opinion the best way to use crab apples is to process them with heat and liquid, run them through a sieve or food mill, and use them in recipes. Processing like this will eliminate the seeds with much less fuss.

The seeds should not be eaten in large quantities as the seeds of all members of the genus contain hydrogen cyanide, which can be dangerous in large quantities. If you prepare a crab apple dish that contains seeds (see below), make sure to spit the seeds out as you would an olive or watermelon. The fruit pulp is perfectly safe.

FOR HEALING

There is some conflicting information about whether crab apples have medicinal properties; I’ve not used them as such myself so I can’t say for sure. I have read in different sources from India and China that a crab apple fruit poultice can be used to sooth inflammations and help heal small wounds. (To learn more about what a poultice is, read our ‘Spin, “Roots, Twigs, Barks and Parts: The Home Apothecary.”) The bark, especially the root bark, is reported to help expel parasites from the gut (ick), cool the body, and help induce sleep. The leaves are reported to be an antibacterial.

RECIPE

Here’s a recipe from our 1946 edition of “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book,” by Fannie Merritt Farmer:

Sweet Crab Apple Pickle:

Crab apples can be made into pickles, jams, pies, and this beautiful jelly.

  • 3 pounds crab apples
  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

“Wipe crab apples, remove stems, and steam until soft. Tie spices in muslin bag, put in preserving kettle, add vinegar, sugar, and crab apples, bring gradually to boiling point, and simmer 20 minutes. Makes 3 pints.”

The pickle can be processed using the water bath method for your elevation (the same time is used for pints or quarts):

  • 0 – 1,000 ft: 20 minutes
  • 1,001 – 3,000 ft: 25 minutes
  • 3,001 – 6,000 ft: 30 minutes
  • Above 6,000 ft: 35 minutes
 
6 Comments

Posted by on April 9, 2012 in Edible Plants, Home Remedies & Apothecary, Homesteading, Outdoor and Survival, Saving Money

 

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The Best Canned Bacon: Plain, Maple, Tabasco

27 Feb

Tabasco bacon, right out of the can and ready to eat: truly one of the seven wonders of the world.

Let me just start out by saying that I spent hours pouring over other peoples’ videos and recipes to learn how to can bacon. I tried them all out and found them sorely lacking. I then proceeded to can about 20 pounds of bacon on my own to come up with the perfect canned bacon, which in my opinion just didn’t exist…until now.

And canning bacon is worth the effort. It’s a great way to make your own customized flavored bacon with ease, and it’s just handy to have pre-cooked bacon on-hand for recipes and snacks. It’s great while traveling or car-camping, and it’s nice to have canned bacon when the electricity goes out, or the weather makes it impossible to make it to the store.

All the recipes and methods I found for canning bacon involved taking strips of raw bacon, slapping them down on parchment paper, rolling them up tight, jamming the role into a quart-sized jar, and canning for 90 minutes. I tried this method and it missed the mark for several reasons:

  • While the bacon was cooked through it didn’t look cooked and it didn’t act cooked. It looked close to being raw, with the color of the meat and fat resembling what it did before it was put into the jar. It also remained limp. So while it was technically edible, it wasn’t appetizing.
  • To get it remotely close to being appetizing, after prying the canned bacon from the jar you had to fry it in a pan to crisp it up. But I found that taking the bacon straight from the jar to the frying pan caused a lot of popping and general grease rebellion. The moisture build up in the jar caused by the canning process just didn’t mix well with frying bacon, and the bacon didn’t fry up the same as raw bacon, either.
  • The jar was full of bacon grease but it also had moisture mixed in with the grease,which just made the grease more of an annoyance than a useful ingredient with which to cook other dishes. You really had to scrape the grease off the bacon, or wait to fry all the bacon up at once to gain access to the grease. It just didn’t work well. Trust me on this.
  • After the canned bacon was removed from the jar, I found that it fell apart readily in the frying pan while trying to crisp it. So I was left with parts of bacon strips instead of strips.
  • In short, it was a pain in the ass.

I wanted my canned bacon to meet certain criteria so I could eat it with the most enjoyment and least amount of hassle, and use it in recipes to the best possible advantage:

  • I wanted it to look and taste awesome straight from the jar.
  • I wanted it to retain the crisp and caramelized goodness that comes from fresh-fried bacon.
  • I wanted to be able to use it immediately in recipes and as snacks without having to cook it again.
The secret to meeting these criteria is to fry the bacon before canning. This solves all of the above issues, plus it allows room to include enhancements with the canned bacon, including making bacon bits ready for recipes and making flavored bacon. Here’s what I did for each:
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(Note: Make sure you follow the pressure canning guidelines found at the National Center for Home Food Preservation called  ”Selecting, Preparing and Canning Meat: Strips, Cubes or Chunks of Meat” found here. You cannot safely can meat without a pressure canner and canning bacon, though it is done often, is not recommended so you need to decide for yourself if you want to do this. Many can bacon strips without problems.)
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CANNED BACON STRIPS
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Here are step-by-step instructions for the process:
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One pound of thick-cut bacon fits perfectly into a pint-sized, wide-mouthed jar (this will likely hold true for regular bacon, too). Weigh the bacon raw. Before cooking you will need to cut the bacon strips in half so they fit in the jar, but I find this to be a benefit after opening the bacon instead of dealing with full strips. The half-strips are easier to manage for recipes and they are easy to throw in a frying pan for a quick heat-up. Also, opening a pound of bacon at one time is sufficient; if you used a quart-sized jar you’d likely have to deal with two pounds of cooked bacon at once, which seems like a lot to handle at one time.
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Weigh about 1 pound of bacon for a pint-sized, wide-mouthed jar.

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Fry the bacon in a skillet on medium heat until almost cooked through. It will continue to cook after you remove it from the pan and you don’t want it to be over-done. Remember that you’ll be pressure canning this bacon for well over an hour and while that cooking won’t contribute to the browning of the bacon, it will cook it a bit more.
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Fry the bacon until almost cooked through.

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After your bacon is cooked, lay it on a plate with some paper towels to soak up the extra grease. While it is draining, cut a 24″ piece of brown parchment paper and lay it on your counter. Lay your bacon strips out on the paper as shown below. Notice that there are several inches of paper left at the end — this will ensure that your bacon is nicely tucked in while you roll your bacon package. If you use thin-cut bacon you will have more slices of bacon to put on the parchment paper. It’s ok to overlap them on the paper. You just want to make sure that you still leave about 3″ of paper at the end.
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Lay your bacon on 24″ of brown parchment paper.

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Now it’s time to add any desired flavoring to the bacon. Two of my favorites are Tabasco sauce and 100% pure maple syrup. For the Tabasco sauce, just take a bottle of Tabasco and sprinkle it liberally over the bacon. Have a really heavy hand with this — if you want Tabasco bacon why go half way? For the maple syrup, it’s important to only use 100% pure maple syrup; synthetic syrups just don’t stand up under the rigors of pressure canning. I use Grade B syrup and it works great and is easier on the budget. Make sure you brush plenty on to the bacon here, too.
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You can consider other flavorings for your bacon besides just maple syrup and Tabasco sauce, including brown sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried basil, cinnamon, or a mixture. For dried herbs and spices, just sprinkle them liberally over your bacon before rolling.
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Now you can add flavors to your bacon. Here I’m giving the bacon a 100% pure maple syrup wash.

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Now it’s time to start packaging your bacon for the jar! You’ll notice that the width of the parchment paper allows you to fold it in thirds around the bacon. Just take both sides of the paper and fold them around your bacon. Use your hands to press the paper lightly around the bacon to ensure that the sides are creased in preparation for rolling the bacon.
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Fold the parchment paper in thirds over your bacon.

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When you roll up your bacon, start at the end that has the bacon closest to the edge of your parchment paper. When you start rolling, make sure your first few turns are nice and tight. The bacon almost rolls itself, but you do need to guide the parchment paper, ensuring that the folds remain in tact. You want your roll to be firm, but don’t smash the bacon. There’s no need for that and why do you want to punish perfectly good bacon in that way? You’ll notice that when you get to the end of your roll that the extra paper left when you laid your bacon strips on the parchment paper secures your bundle.
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Roll your bacon up nice and tight, without smashing your strips to smithereens. You should love your food, not torture it.

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Your roll of bacon will look adorable, and it will fit neatly into a wide-mouthed, pint-sized canning jar, which you have already sterilized and prepared for canning (follow standard protocol for pressure canning meats, which can be found at the National Center for Home Food Preservation). You might need to nudge the roll in the jar a bit, but you should not have to jam it into the jar; if you do your parchment paper will tear and your bacon will be crying out in agony. This is the reason it’s so important to use a wide-mouthed jar; a narrow-mouthed jar will obviously cause problems when you try to insert your roll. If you find it is too hard to push the bacon into the jar, unroll it and remove a few pieces of your bacon, re-roll your bundle and try again until it fits snugly but is still easy to insert into the jar.
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A completed roll of bacon, ready for the jar.

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Place a lid on your jar and it’s ready for pressure canning (see below.)
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The roll fits neatly into a pint-sized, wide-mouthed jar.

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CANNED BACON BITS
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To make a jar of bacon bits, take your raw bacon and cut it (kitchen scissors are easiest) into large pieces about 1″ square. Cook through and place into your jars; it’s not necessary to use parchment paper when canning bacon bits. Before placing them into the jar you can add flavorings like pure maple syrup, Tabasco sauce, brown sugar, pepper, or herbs like thyme or basil. Screw the lid on and pressure can (see below).
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PRESSURE CANNING
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Now it’s time to pressure can your bacon. You’ll need to process your meat following the times and pressure guidelines presented in “Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Meat” found here.
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Make sure you label your cans of bacon with a sharpie before putting them in the pressure canner.

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Follow standard protocol for pressure canning meat.

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Maple syrup bacon, pressure canned and pulled from the jar the next day.

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USING YOUR BACON
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Now is the fun part. After you open the jars of pressure-canned bacon there are different things you can do:
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  • Eat it right out of the jar. It will actually be difficult to prevent yourself from doing this. Bacon will disappear before your eyes, I guarantee it. Be ready to take on a strict running regimen to keep up.
  • Use the bacon bits in all manner of dishes, straight from the jar. From salads to casseroles to soups, and even as an ingredient in breads and corn muffins, the bacon bits can’t be beat when it comes to cooking versatility.
  • The bacon strips can be used in a similar way, but are great for sandwiches and to enhance other dishes, such as laying strips between pieces of fish, or as a tasty ingredient in tacos. The possibilities are endless!
  • Reheat it for breakfast. This is a no-brainer…it’s bacon.
  • Take your canned bacon camping with you. The jar might weigh too much for backpacking, but for car camping it’s a dream!
  • Stockpile canned bacon in case of emergencies such as electrical outages or heavy storms when you can’t make it to the store.
  • Accept the inevitable accolades from friends and family.
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Yoders Canned Bacon from Camping Survival if you can’t can your own.

NO PRESSURE CANNER?

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If you want the benefits of canned bacon but don’t have a pressure canner, there are pre-canned bacon products available. Our favorite is from Camping Survival, which sells Yoders Canned Bacon. This bacon doesn’t have the amazing caramelization our version does, but for camping trips or to have on hand for recipes or if the electricity goes out, it’s good stuff if you can’t, or don’t want to, can your own.
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55 Comments

Posted by on February 27, 2012 in Kitchen Tips, Outdoor and Survival, Recipes

 

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Creating a Personal Seedbank

12 Feb

Heirloom, open-pollinated plant varieties are your only bet for a successful personal seedbank.

You have probably heard of seed saving, where you save a plant’s seeds or tubers at the end of a growing season to serve as the seed source for the following year. This is great because choosing the proper plants and practicing proper seed-saving methods gives you to a free, self-perpetuating garden year after year. Saving seed also means you can share seeds with friends and neighbors, so everyone can start growing their own.

Many people, however, are not as familiar with the concept of a personal seedbank. A personal seedbank is like seed saving on steroids. You save seed for the coming season’s planting, but you also bank seed for longer storage, just in case.

What that “just in case” might be varies. Some people have created a personal seedbank as insurance against crop failures. Others believe a personal seedbank is necessary in the event of a partial (or total) societal collapse. Many people just like the idea of being sustainable and self sufficient. And, of course, seed saving can be a fun hobby.

PLANNING YOUR SEEDBANK

The most important thing to remember when planning your personal seedbank is that you can only save and store open-pollinated, non-hybridized, non-GMO seeds. Why? Because genetically modified and hybridized seeds have been dinked with by large corporations such as Monsanto, which doesn’t want you to be able to save your own seeds. Why? Because they want you to have to buy seeds from them year after year. Hybridized or GMO seeds frequently have sterile first generation offspring (F1 is a designation you might have seen). This means that while you’ll get viable plants from the seeds you buy, the seeds you save from those plants will likely be sterile. If they’re not sterile, they’ll produce offspring that are so unlike the parents with such a wide variety of characteristics that they will be a disappointment and not useful. Only buy heirloom, open-pollinated seeds from trusted sources.

The second thing to decide when planning a seedbank is what kinds of seed you want to save. The best seeds to save are from fruits and vegetables you enjoy eating the most, but experience comes into play, too. If you’re a beginning seed saver, to start it’s best to bank seeds that require the lowest skill set. This way you can focus your first growing season on learning seed saving techniques and still have viable, usable seed banked in preparation for the following growing season, at which time you’ll expand your skill. The easiest seeds to save and bank are self-pollinated seeds (see below for more info on this).

The third thing to decide when planning a seedbank is what seeds would be best to save. This can vary greatly depending upon the reason why you are choosing to create a personal seedbank. If you’re banking seed as insurance against a crop failure in your garden or to be more self sufficient, then banking what you like is the best option. If you’re banking seed as insurance against a societal collapse, then you’ll need to bank a wider variety of seeds and include many types that you may not have ever grown before, including grains like wheat or barley. Be advised, though, that in these cases it is a good idea to get some experience growing these seeds before a collapse occurs; your seedbank will be useless if you don’t know how to grow the seeds you have.

Ready-to-order seedbanks are great options until you have a chance to store your own varieties.

SEED SOURCES

If you’ve never saved seed before, you’ll have to buy your first seeds from a commercial grower or be lucky enough to have seed-saving friends who are willing to help you with your first crop. Excellent commercial sources for heirloom, open-pollinated seeds include Seed Savers Exchange, Native Seed Search, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Sustainable Seed Company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and Abundant Life Seeds, among others.

Another alternative is to buy a pre-made seedbank that is already packaged and set for storage. This is a great idea for those who want a head start on their seedbank and have some insurance on-hand until a self-made seedbank has been created (which can take several years). A good source for a seedbank such as this is sold by Camping Survival. They sell a 6-can set that is organized by use type. For instance, the “Culinary Herb” can includes a variety of common herbs from basil to thyme, and the “Ancient Grains” can includes barley, flax, amaranth, and others. The ‘Medicinal Herbs” can is especially beneficial to have and is often overlooked in seedbanks.

SELF-POLLINATED SEEDS

The best and easiest seeds to save (and therefore bank) are self-pollinated seeds, which include tomatoes, beans, lettuce, peas, chicory, and endive. These plants have reliable seed set the same year they are planted, and they are self-pollinating. Self-pollinated seeds fertilize themselves, meaning the pollen from a plant’s flower fertilizes the stigma on that same flower. No muss, no fuss. There are few worries about cross-pollination or accidental hybridization. You get the same variety of tomato or bean year after year, though it is recommended to separate varieties by a row, just in case.

Self pollination is one way seeds of concern to home growers reproduce; the other two modes of reproduction are insects and wind pollination. This is where things can get tricky, because in these cases pollen from a plant up to a mile away can fertilize a plant in your garden. This increases the chance of hybridized plants, whose seeds will not breed true when planted. Because of this, insect- and wind-pollinated plants such as corn or onions have to be manipulated by the grower to ensure that pollination is limited to same varieties.

WIND- AND INSECT-POLLINATED SEEDS

More experienced seed savers can take on plants that require more intervention to insure that saved seed breeds true.  Crops such as corn, cucumber, radish, spinach, and squashes (among others) produce seed the same year they are planted, but require the grower to intervene to prevent unwanted hybridization. This intervention can come in the form of hand-pollinating the plants to prevent cross-pollination, or making sure there is considerable distance between the variety you are growing and other varieties (this distance can vary between 100 feet and a mile, depending upon the plant).

Biennial vegetable seeds set seed the year after they are planted, and as a result expert seed savers can take on the two-year commitment needed to save these seeds. Biennial vegetables include onions, carrots, cabbages, beets, swiss chard, turnips, celery, leeks, and others. Instead of harvesting at the end of the first growing season, the plants need to be successfully overwintered the same year they are planted (this can vary depending upon if you live in the north or south). The second growing season is when the plants will flower and set seed. These plants also need to be separated from other varieties to avoid cross-pollination.

Seeds like beans, peas, and cucumber can be dried and frozen and remain viable for storage.

ORTHODOX SEEDS

No, this has nothing to do with religion. What it does have to do with is how well a seed withstands the freezing and drying conditions that are necessary to maintain a seedbank. Orthodox seeds can be dried and frozen for storage and remain viable for a period of time, but some seeds take to this better than others. Some seeds can be stored up to 10 years or more, others begin to lose viability after one year. For most common vegetable plants, three to five years is about as long as they can be stored, though some plants (like parsnips) really need to be used within a year or two.

Ideally, seeds need to be dried to less than 7% moisture and, for maximum storage length, frozen to no warmer than zero degrees Farenheit (a home freezer may reach this temperature). The lower the temperature, however, the longer seeds will remain viable. Most vegetables known to the home gardener are orthodox seeds, such as peas, corn, and tomatoes. In fact, about 80% of plant species are orthodox seeds.

Recalcitrant seeds can’t be dried for storage and must be planted immediately. Tropical plants such as mangoes, coconuts, and tea are recalcitrant. Intermediate seeds can take some drying for short-term storage, but they are not viable options for a personal seed bank. Examples of intermediate seeds include coffee, papaya, and others.

SEED SAVING SPECIFICS

The best free online resource for learning how to save specific vegetable seeds can be found at the International Seed Saving Institute. They have a complete seed-saving guide that you can find here, which includes how to address the pollination needs of individual plants and harvest the seeds to best advantage. I’ll be writing plant-specific seed-saving Spins this growing season, but for now ISSI is a great resource.

If you have a personal seedbank story that you’d like to share, please do so in the comments!

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2012 in Fun Experiments, Gardening, Outdoor and Survival, Saving Money

 

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15 Ways to Paracord Power

06 Feb

Paracord's construction gives it strength and durability, and opens the door for multiple uses.

For those of you who have no idea what paracord is (and I didn’t up until a year or two ago), it’s like the duct tape of the fiber world. Paracord is nylon rope that was originally used in parachutes in World War II, which is where the name came from (originally it was parachute cord). Now it is a versatile utility cording that is still used extensively in the military, but is also gaining in popularity for personal use. Military-grade paracord is so useful that it deserves a Spin so those without military connections can learn about and make use of this great material.

Military-grade paracrod comes in six different types. We’re going to focus on the best quality one that is most readily available to civilians: a variation of the military Type III paracord frequently called Mil-spec 550 paracord. Construction of 550 paracord is done by taking seven two-ply threads of nylon and wrapping them in a shell braided from 32 nylon strands. This composite construction gives paracord a tensile strength of 550 pounds (when the seven internal threads are removed the outer sheath has a tensile strength of 200 pounds). Not only that, but paracord is mildew and rot resistant, and it’s only 1/8″ thick, making it great for a variety of uses. Here are some examples of the uses of paracord, many of which focus on ways to help you survive if you get lost hiking, or otherwise find yourself in a survival situation:

A paracord bracelet is like having safety around your wrist.

1) Crafts and parawear: Braiding bracelets, belts, lanyards, or any object you can think of with paracord is easy, and since it comes in so many great colors it looks cool, too (not to mention the durability). And you’ll have paracord on you all the time, which is a great way to keep a little safety around your waist, wrist, key chain, or more. If needed, say to tie down a load on the roof of your car, all you need to do is unweave the bracelet or belt and voila! You are ready for the task at hand! This is especially useful for camping and hiking, where you can wear some safety so it doesn’t take up room in your pack.

2) Dog collars and leashes: You can braid great custom dog leashes and collars out of paracord; paracord’s strength and rot-resistance make it ideal for this purpose.

3) A saw: That’s right! By pulling on a length of paracord fast enough to create actionable friction, you can saw some things in half, such as two-inch wide tubular webbing! Check out this brief video from Estela Wilderness Education, LLC for a demonstration.

4) Catching food: Paracord is so versatile it can be used to catch animal food, big or small. You can cut a length of paracord and remove one of the internal two-ply threads for use as fishing line, or use the in-tact cord for animal snares and traps.

5) Useful thread: The internal threads are also thin enough to sew on loose buttons or torn seams in clothing or tents, and even as dental floss.

6) Camp construction and utility: In any sort of camping situation (intended or not) paracord has too many uses to mention. Because of its strength and rot resistance, it can be used for things like pole lashing, pulling logs, hoisting food into trees for protection, and for guy strings and shelter ridge lines for tents or temporary shelters. The only limit is your ability to adapt and improvise!

7) Making fire: Since paracord itself is nylon it won’t burn for you but it does catch heat so it can be used as tinder to light larger pieces of kindling. And, you can use paracord as the necessary string in a bow-drill, a primitive way to make fire if needed. Here’s information on making and using a bow drill from Nature Skills.

8) Medical emergencies: In the unfortunate circumstance that you get hurt while camping or hiking, paracord can literally save your life or the life of a friend. It can be used as a tourniquet, a sling, or to lash splints together on a broken limb. You can even string the paracord between two sapling trunks to make a stretcher of sorts.

9) Automobile fix: No, really! You can take 550 paracord and use it as a temporary replacement for something like a fan belt. Just be sure to knot the cord every few inches, otherwise the slippery nature of the cord will cause it to slip off.

10) Rappelling: No, paracord is not great as a regular climbing rope, but in an emergency situation you can rappel or otherwise haul your body weight with 550 paracord (provided you don’t weight more than 550 pounds).

11) Woven items: With enough skill you can weave things from paracord such as water bottle holders, fishing nets, bird nets, or other traps.

12) Pulley systems: Around the house or in the woods, having a good block and tackle pulley system can allow you to haul and lift weights much heavier than you could without pulley assistance; paracord is great in pulleys.

13) Weaving rope: If paracord isn’t strong enough for you, you can use it to braid even stronger rope for hauling or pulley purposes, such as to remove a stuck vehicle. This is an option if you are in a situation where you don’t have proper rope available.

14) Wrapping stuff: Paracord is a great material to use for all manner of handle-making, from knives to luggage to hatchets, tools, and more. Anything you want wrapped can be quickly covered with paracord!

15) Making weapons: Having to make primitive weaponry on-the-fly for killing food or protecting yourself is never something we want to have to do, but it’s nice to know that with paracord on hand you are covered.

Paracord shoelaces eliminate the need for melting the ends.

Not all paracord is created equal. Much of the paracord that is available is substandard quality that is not up to military specs and as a result will not provide the benefits outlined in this article, so don’t go buying it from some place like Walmart and expect it to perform for you in any useful capacity. I recommend buying your paracord from Camping Survival. This site provides mil-spec 550 paracord at a great price not to mention proper paracord shoelaces (with aglets so you don’t have to melt the ends), bracelets, belts, and kits to make your own braided paracord items.

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2012 in Fun Experiments, Hobbies and Arts, Outdoor and Survival

 

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