Would a can of seeds save your life?

You may be familiar with the cans of seeds you can buy through emergency supply catalogs.  Anyone that’s planning for a SHTF scenario probably has one or two of these cans sitting on a shelf somewhere.  It seems like a great idea, but what if the day comes when you actually need to open up one of these cans and plant what’s inside?  Could the contents of this small can really save your life?  Will these seeds produce enough produce to feed your family, and for how long? 

I purchased some canned garden seeds from Augason Farms in May of 2011 (the label gives a shelf life of up to 5 years if sealed.)  The can contains 13 varieties of non-hybrid, non-GMO garden seeds including: beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melon, onion peas, peppers, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, tomatoes and zucchini.  Also included is a planting guide and the following information about the seeds.

“The 13 vegetables in the “Forever Garden” are specially chosen from the highest quality non-hybrid or Open Pollinated garden seeds available.  This means you can harvest the vegetables you grow this year and then replant the seeds year after year….”Forever”.

“These seeds have been chosen for great flavor, and high yields, and have proven to adapt to almost any region, they are quality “short season” vegetables, and if cared for correctly the seeds may be stored in these containers for many years.”

One day, as I was checking expiration dates I realized that I’m putting my blind faith in this can, and I have no idea if these seeds will even sprout!At that moment I decided to give them a test run, so this summer I’ll be planting the seeds in my garden.  I’ve already come across one problem with my plan…I don’t have enough space to plant the estimated 8000 seeds that are in the can.  In a “real world” situation, I wouldn’t have the means to create more raised beds, or have time to amend my soil, so I’ll be using what I already have in place, and plant the remaining seeds in the clay-like soil around the backyard.  I’ll be lucky if any of those seeds sprout!

The first step was to create a timeline of when to plant each seed variety.  Below is the calendar I created using the suggested dates on the guide included. (These dates are based on the average last frost date for Flagstaff, which is June 13th.)

May 18th

Onion, Red Creole (Indoors)

Bell Pepper, California Wonder (Indoors)

Tomatoes, Floradade (Indoors)

May 23rd

Carrot, Scarlet Nantes

Peas, Lincoln

Romaine Lettuce, Paris Island Coos

Spinach, Bloomsdale Long Standing

June 13th

Green Beans, Top Crop

Corn, Golden Bantam 8

Squash, Waltham Butternut

Zucchini, Black Beauty

July 4th

Cucumber, Boston Pickler

Cantaloupe, Imperial

 

I’ll update this blog as often as possible with the progress of the seeds. 

I hope you will all continue to follow along on this experiment with me!

 

Cindy Dorfsmith

 

The Most Dangerous Citizens

Local college student, Michael Guintard created this video for a school project. It covers some of the projects I have been working on with the Flagstaff Liberty Alliance.

Peanut Brittle

This time of year, peanut brittle is my favorite (and easiest) candy to make. The recipe I use has been in the family for three generations.  I have entered the recipe into a local contest and would appreciate your votes. While you’re there you can get the recipe and give it a try for yourself.

You can register here: http://azdailysun.upickem.net/engine/Registration.aspx?contestid=43841

and vote for the peanut brittle here: http://azdailysun.upickem.net/engine/SubmissionWidget.aspx?PageType=VOTING&ContestID=43841&SubmissionID=13748911

Urban Chickens and the City of Flagstaff

Note: The term “chicken” includes hens and roosters, but I use the term chicken in place of hen in this blog.

I’ve got good news and bad news for urban chicken enthusiasts in Flagstaff.  The good news is the Zoning Code will no longer restrict keeping chickens if the new Zoning Code passes next Tuesday.  The bad news, the restrictions in the City Code are still pretty stiff and need to be brought up to date.

How outdated is Flagstaff’s City Code?  Let’s just say that it’s illegal to “maintain guinea pigs”.  Yep…According to City Code 6-03-001-0001 they are “declared to be a nuisance, injurious to health, a source of filth and cause of sickness” along with swine, cattle, mules, burrow, sheep, goats, poultry, fowl, rabbits and horses. So much for the kids’ pet guinea pig for Christmas.

Luckily there are some exceptions to the City Code, including one  for female poultry.  You may have up to 25 female poultry as long as they are 50 feet or further from any residence building.  Still not flexible enough for those of us with average sized lots wanting to raise chickens for fresh eggs.

So, I guess that means we’ll have to move out to Doney Park on a couple acres so we can raise chickens, or we can take a stand and get City Council to change the City Code!  I have started gathering various city ordinances that are much more chicken friendly.  Some allow a certain number of chickens on any size lot, others give a more reasonable 5 or 10 feet from any residence, all prohibit roosters, which is completely understandable.  You don’t need a rooster to get eggs and female chickens (hens) are no more noisy than the birds that fly around your back yard naturally.  I can place a bird feeder in my yard and attract dozens of birds at a time, but can’t own a single chicken.

Another common misconception is that chickens smell bad.  Unless you leave the coop uncleaned for a long period of time, they won’t smell badly.  And to make sure that chicken owners are not violating their neighbors rights the Council could add a paragraph in the code similar to this one found in code 6-02-001-0011 “…keeping dog pens or dog runs clean and sanitary, generally free of fecal and other matter than may attract flies, rodents, or cause an offensive odor that may disturb the comfort of any person.”  If someone won’t clean their coop, they would likely have to face fines and/or get rid of their chickens.

Not only are eggs a great source of food for the urban chicken farmer, but think of the greater impact.  If I have 3 hens that lay enough eggs for my family all year, I no longer have to purchase unhealthy eggs full of pesticides and hormones that come from over populated “egg factories”.   I can re-use egg cartons so less Styrofoam is going into the landfill.   My chickens would provide a natural fertilizer for my garden, saving me money and allowing my family to be more self-sufficient.  Chickens would also eat insects that are pests in my garden (no more grasshoppers!).  In addition to all these benefits, chickens make great pets.

In the coming months I’ll be working hard to convince Flagstaff City Council to change the City Code to be more chicken friendly (and maybe I’ll address the illegal guinea pigs while I’m at it).  If you’d like to help or give your input it would be greatly appreciated!

Cindy Dorfsmith

Preparedness and Food Storage

Today I attended a preparedness and food storage workshop.  I always love being in a group of like-minded people, it makes you realize that you are not alone in your thoughts and concerns in life.  In class we discussed everything from storing water, to nuclear fallout.  In the near future, I would like to take additional preparedness classes.  However, the internet and books can be great sources of information.

The woman teaching today’s workshop had some great book recommendations, including Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens.

This book covers basic in-home storage, cooking with food storage, sprouting & kitchen gardening, dehydrating, and so much more.

Another book that I found useful is The Complete Idiots Guide to Self-Sufficient Living by Jerome D. Belanger.

This book also covers a wide variety of topics but is not as detailed.  I suggest reading this one to find out what part of Self-Sufficiency you would like to focus on.  Once you know where you want to go or what you want to learn it is much easier to focus your energy.

I have personally found the following websites to be helpful in my preparedness journey:

Back to the Basics – Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Root Simple

Preparing Wisely

Homestead.org

The sites below are great if you’re looking to buy emergency supplies of food.  I have found Sams Club to be the cheapest supplier:

Honeyville

Emergency Essentials

Sams Club (they sell Augason Farms)

Preparing and becoming more self-sufficient can be overwhelming at first.  Often, I’ve felt there could never be enough time to complete all the projects, collect all the supplies, or lean all the trades that I thought were important.  My advice is to take a moment to put all of your ideas and thoughts onto paper.  Then take a deep breath and tackle one task at a time.  Every little thing you do is one step closer to being prepared.

Thanks for reading,

Cindy Dorfsmith

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Simple Laundry Detergent

Making your own laundry detergent is simple, inexpensive, and more natural than commercial soaps.

All you need is:

a box of borax (approx $4)

a box washing soda (approx $4)

a bar of ivory soap (approx $1)

and a cheese grater

Shred 1 cup (about a half a bar) of ivory soap.

Mix with 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda.

Use 1 tablespoon in each wash.

1 batch will last for 64 loads of laundry and the boxes of borax and soda will make 4 batches of soap for a total of 256 loads of laundry for only $9.

Hope you enjoy saving some money and living a little more simply!

Thanks for reading,

Cindy Dorfsmith

A new year, a new blog

A few years ago, I discovered the square foot gardening method.  With the hard clay soil in my yard, I was appreciative of the raised bed idea.  My first garden contained some loose leaf lettuce, beans, peas, squash and peppers in a 4 foot square.   The lettuce, beans and peas grew very well, while the peppers died quickly and the squash never produced any fruit.  Last year, I planted too early and lost my entire garden to a late frost.  This year I plan to expand to several larger beds and many new crops.  I am also exited to try  preserving, canning, drying and storing my harvest.  I have taken a strong interest in anything that will help my family become more independent.  I  love the idea of getting my food from a location I can visit any time, such as a backyard  garden, a local ranch, or eggs from a neighbor.

Over the past few years; I have noticed many people and businesses in flagstaff striving to live a simpler, more locally based life.  With this observation in mind, the thought seed for this blog was planted.  The focus of this blog will be promoting a back-to-basics way of life that includes backyard and neighborhood gardens, cooking from scratch, a spotlight on businesses that promote a local economy, and reviews on products that help us become more self-sufficient as individuals, and as a community.

If you have any suggestions for businesses, products, recipes, or tips please let me know!  Thanks for reading!

Here’s to a new, more self-sufficient year!!

Cindy Dorfsmith