Take a Tree - Plant a Tree

I've made it a commitment that when I harvest or remove a tree, I plant a replacement someplace. Actually I usually plant several trees as a replacement. I'm making no exception with the 7 eucalyptus trees I had taken down. In their place I will be planting 6 citrus trees, since citrus will grow in the semi shade. In addition, I'll be planting eleven other trees around the property........trees that I've grown myself. Two grafted avocado, two jackfruit, a rooted cutting from a yellow ohia, 3 Norfolk pine, 2 palms, and a mango. The mango won't produce fruit at my location, but 30-50 years from now somebody can harvest the beautiful wood. 

I've been chatting via the Internet with a struggling small farmer in Kenya. She bemoans the fact that all the trees in her area are rapidly disappearing......being cut down for firewood. No one in her region has thought to plant replacement trees. Her region is becoming drier and drier. I also chat occasionally with a woman in Haiti who also has a similar situation......desertification due to massive tree removal. And the local residents there also do not embark upon reforestation. Nobody thinks about it. There is real danger in removing trees and not replanting. Being aware of that, I replant plenty of trees myself. 

Terracycle.com

I just became aware that there is a service that will recycle your trash for you. You pay a fee, mail your trash, and you can feel good that your trash isn't filling a dump. What? Really? Are people willingly doing this, pay cash, just to feel "all fuzzy" about this? Is this the ultimate "living green" scenario? 

To tell you the truth, I was really blown away when I discovered this. Now people can continue their consumerism lifestyle, without guilt, without remorse, just by giving their money to some company somewhere. Wow. 

I address the excess trash situation by....

....generating less trash in the first place! By not buying all the consumer crap, by not buying disposable items, by not buying stuff that can't be repaired, by buying less trash in the first place, I believe I do a lot better for the earth than trying to recycle my consumer trash. By using Terracycle.com, I could completely disregard that my lifestyle is producing mountains of trash. 

....repairing items. I see scads and scads of repairable items being tossed into the trash. Much of it is cheap junk designed to be tossed, but some is more expensive and easily fixable. But I live in a throwaway society now, so lots of good stuff (not even broken) gets tossed into the trash. 

....repurposing. I've become a repurposer. I'm not the best, for sure. But I get better year by year. 

....buying used. I've become a regular shopper at the various thrift stores, church bazaars, recycling centers, etc. 

I'm not against something like Terracycle.com, but I am amazed. People are already joining and using this service. 

Redundancy of the Farm

Without giving it much thought or purposeful preparation, I've build a fair system of redundancy into this homestead. Redundancy is good when one wishes to be fairly self reliant, especially when most of the shopping and services are almost a 2 hour drive away. If one system dies, there are back ups that can be pressed into service, giving you time to fix the problem. 

Water..... We started out with one rain catchment tank up by the house, and a second down by the main gardens. Over time we added a back up tank for the house, and a series of small water storage units for the gardens and livestock. These small units consist of ponds, troughs, water totes, multiple heavy duty trashcans. Plus we keep around a dozen glass jugs with emergency drinking water in the house. 

Electricity.... Initially we had one solar electric system. Over time we added a generator, then later, a portable one for doing jobs around the farm. Then expanded to a second small solar system to run the frig and freezer. 

Small power tools.... The ones I use a lot, I have back ups for. So on this farm you'll find two lawnmowers, two chainsaws, two tillers, two light duty weedwackers, even two ATVs. These are items used almost every day, and if one breaks it would be a real bummer. So as time allowed and I could justify the expense, I added back ups. One of the pair resides up by the house while the other is in the barn....except for the ATVs. Both reside at the house and I just alternate each day which one I use, thus keeping them both in running shape. I tend to have the same habit for hand tools, keeping one in the barn and it's mate in the truck or tool area by the house. I have to let you in on a little secret. Hubby keeps his favorite tools in a case on his side of the bedroom closet. He claims possession of the back up tools so that I don't migrate them down to the barn or inside my truck. Smart man! 

Breeding rams.... Two adult breeding sires, Ramrod and Ramsalot. And a ram lamb waiting in the wings -- Rambutan. 

Vehicles..... Two. A decent truck and a used passenger car. We've been known to have 3 at times. 

Food sources.....lots of redundancy here. Stores are available of course, but we also grow food, have developed a trading system, and can forage. 

Firewood .... I don't think we will run out of firewood on our property, but we have established ties where we can harvest wood from others properties via a work trade system. 

I know that there is much talk nowadays about cutting back, minimalizing one's material goods, decluttering, but I am more comfortable having back up items. In the case of work clothes, I have dozens of socks, shorts, and tops. One never knows when a long stretch of rain will happen and laundry won't dry, it's so nice knowing that I'm not going to run out of farm clothes. And the extra blankets I stored on the closet shelf really were a blessing this winter when the days got chilly and damp. By the way, I'm a cheap bugger and buy those things at our dump thrift store for very, very little. 

Needless to say, I'm comfortable with redundancy. I've never been one for all-in-one set ups. For instance, when the latest & greatest computer printer came out that was also a copier, fax machine, and who knows what else, hubby wanted to go out and buy it to replace all our multiple office machines. My response was, if it dies then we can't fax, print, copy, etc. We're up the creek without a paddle. Yes, he bought it, but I never ditched my old fax machine, copier, or printer. They just moved over to my side of the office. Hubby and I had different ways of thinking. 

Store Bought vs Homegrown

Most of my friends buy their food from stores and farmers markets. Much of my food comes from my farm, or my locality via trading and foraging. So.....

                    .....which is better? 

Whoa, I'm not the original author of that question. I'm not judging for the world, nor telling other people what they should do. It's just that I was confronted this morning at the farmers market by someone who thought that I'm pushing this idea of growing food a bit too hard. She was defending buying store bought foods, and asked me specifically which is better, homegrown vs store bought. As I said, I'm not here to judge for other people. But let's explore .........

Which is better? When it comes to hubby and I, of course I believe homegrown and local is better. It's what I'm doing. Let's list some reasons......

... Freshness. 

... Flavor. 

... Being able to harvest at gourmet timing, such as baby squash, baby carrots, edible flowers, etc. 

... Producing foods that I can't buy in a store. (When's the last time that Aunt Molly's ground cherries were in the supermarket?) 

... Supporting local growers. 

... Less chemicals and contamination (but I have to know my suppliers. Not every grower is trustworthy.) 

Store bought has its benefits...,,

... Out of season availability. 

... Selection of foods not available locally. 

... Commercially made "instant food". 

... Getting food to the masses, especially in urban situations. 

... Generally cheaper in the long run for the majority of people. 

Store bought has a lot of downsides that I prefer to avoid --- sugars, salt, chemicals, contaminants. 

Homegrown brings other benefits --- a connection to nature, a feeling of self reliance, the knowledge that I wouldn't miss a meal even if times got rough. 

So you decide. Which is better? 

Farm Kids, the Human Kind

There's a local farm family near me that is doing a grand job at home style farming. The children actually want to help and take an active role in farming. I look at them and see myself, but I wasn't fortunate enough to grow up on a farm. I was born in the city, dang.

Above, pressing their oranges for selling fresh juice at the farmers market. Every week I buy at least one glass of fresh juice from this young man. 

Above, another young fella opening coconuts for the tourists. He sells quite a few and is a popular subject for a video. He actually runs is own market tent separate from the family farm tent. 

Getting young people interested in farming should be a priority in my opinion. But society seems to not agree. In my own area, school kids are being either channeled toward college (thus a non-farming life) or towards nothing. Yes, kids graduate high school here with zero skills, zero training in how to support themselves, and zero job openings to apply to. I really wish there was vocational training here to train the kids a skill, or how to grow things. The kids pictured here may or may not grow up to be farmers, but they are learning valuable skills & knowledge they won't be getting in any modern school around here. They are going to do just fine as adults. 

On Training a Dog

"M" asked me who's method I used to train Noodles. "D" gave me advice on how to train him. "H" wrote in to warn me how not to train him. 

Thank you everyone, your thoughts were gracefully listened to. But you see, I subscribe to a common sense approach to dog training. Basically, I try very hard to see the world and situation from the dog's point of view, then think like a dog. Quite long ago, in 1969 in fact, I got my first puppy and asked my mentor how to train her. He replied, learn to speak their language. Get into her head. Learn what it means to be a dog. See the world through her eyes. Watch how her brain works. Then try to learn how to communicate with her. Jeez, that wasn't the answer I was looking for. I wanted a cookbook set of infallible instructions. Take one puppy, stir in one cup of dog food daily, season with treats, bake for 6 months. Out of the oven comes one prefect dog. Ha! It didn't work that way. 

(Above: Carmen, my mother's dog. This dog was ultra smart and observant. Mom never had to do much to train her. Carmen believed in being a cooperative pack member. )

I knew nothing about dog training in 1969. Luckily I got involved with dog showing right away and was willing to listen to the experienced dog people of the day. I attended various dog training classes, read all the books, tried show obedience, tried sled dog working, and showed my puppy. But all my mentors repeated, think like my particular breed of dog. Learn how to talk fluent "dog". Luckily my first pup was a dominant but good natured Siberain Husky who wasn't above considering me to be the stupid one in the family, the difficult one to train. Boy, I learned a lot from that dog! She was quite the trainer. 

Years later I learned lots more from the various dogs I owned, or should I more correctly say, shared my life with. Each and every one of them was a different individual. To have used the exact same approach on each dog would have been a mistake. (Initially I tried that, and I was frustrated because it wasn't working or going smoothly. I was unhappy. The dog was unhappy.) To use just one person's trading regimen would have been like pounding the square pegs into the round holes. Not my idea of cooperative, successful training. 

So "M", I'm not a believer is following just one training method. I don't do the inflexible militaristic approach, nor the positive reinforcement only approach. I don't yell, don't use the "no" command (there's a better way to get the negative across), don't get mad, don't demand instant mindless obedience. I don't have long training sessions (those 1 hour training classes were really for training the owners not the dogs). I listen to the dog and work to communicate. It's not a case of demanding submission and obedience. It's a case of getting the dog to be a cooperative pack member, so that they know what to do, when & how, and what not to do. It's the dog learning the pack's rules and habits. 

I have some notions I still retain from my original mentors. I initially rejected their opinions, but gradually came to accept their wisdom. 

...learn the dog's talents and abilities and train to enhance them. In plainer words, don't expect my Siberian Husky to be a sheep herding dog. Best to train it to be a good sled dog. Ever wonder why most of the top agility dogs are Border Collies? That sport fits their talents.

...not all dogs are trainable, at least not in the way many owners hope. I could never train my Siberian not to runaway, not to kill livestock, or train her to bark an alert. A Curly Coated Reyriever we had never could comprehend being a watchdog. He simply wasn't trainable in that fashion. But he made a fine show dog and hunting companion. One of my current dogs, Crusty, isn't trainable for obedience "tricks", but he's a fine farm dog even if he refuses to submit to those smart obedience sits, downs, and recalls. 

Above, baby Noodles playing with his new big brother, Crusty. 

...never tolerate a biting dog. This is one that most people refuse to accept. Initially I refused too, making excuses for the dog. But I've known and worked with hundreds of dogs in my life and I've come to totally believe in this. The only acceptable biting dogs are those who are trained for a job that demands it -- military, police, protection, man killers (example, anti-poaching dogs), take-down style hunting dogs. Family dogs should never bite, or at least never get away with it. It's against pack rules to bite a higher ranking member. 

I could talk about dog trading for days. In fact, at the dogs shows we did indeed talk about training over and over, show after show after show....for years. So this blog really isn't a suitable platform to describing dog training methods. I couldn't do the topic justice. 

Response to the Anti-vaxers

"T", and others, sent short scathing remarks about my practice to vaccinate my animals. First of all "T" et al, I've heard all those parroted remarks before. Secondly, they don't even begin the challenge my opinions based upon my own experiences, observations, and education. For me, science trumps heresay and woo-woo every time. Your anti-vax remarks don't even come close to the real facts. 

Vaccines are used to avoid serious health problems caused by viruses and bacteria. In many cases, those problems are serious enough to result in death. Vaccines help protect against the "preventable", although no vaccine is 100% effective for every individual. 

As a livestock owner/steward, I feel it is my responsibility to care for my animals in a sensible way. That includes protecting them from easily avoidable death. Thus in addition to other good husbandry practices, I take further steps. I confine them in such a way to prevent them from being taken by hunters or hit by cars. I use pasture and pen fencing that deters stray dogs from entering and killing. I remove toxic flora and fauna from the farm, such as fireweed and cane toads. I maintain a deworming program to prevent death due to internal parasites. I take measures to prevent death due to flystrike. And........ I vaccinate against diseases that occur in my area.

I'm not going to get into an argument here with the anti-vaxers. That's just like arguing that the world is round with the flat-earthers. So no matter what I say, the anti-vaxers won't consider it. 

I use vaccine because I can afford to, because I have my animals best interest in mind. I don't vaccine against things that are not a problem in my region.....thus I'm not "vaccine-crazy". If you don't want to vaccinate your own animal, then learn to accept the consequences. Keep in mind, it will totally be 100% your own fault that they got sick. In my career I've literally seen several hundreds of unvaccinated dogs and cats die from preventable diseases including  parvovirus, distemper, leukemia, rabies, Lyme disease, leptospirosis.  Preventable by correct vaccination. 

10+ Things My Own Animals Have Taught Me

(This is a ramble of thoughts. It has nothing to do with homesteading......well, not directly, that is. So this is just a warning that some of you may not be interested in this meandering set of thoughts. Feel free to delete.)

The first thing I want to say is that I see animals for what they are. They are simply individuals trying to get by with life. They aren't cuddly biological toys. They aren't nature's regal icons. They aren't empowered by attributes, assigned to them by animal right activists, animal huggers, or agencies working the raise money, "humane societies" attempting to attract supporters. They are just individuals that got born, try to live as comfortably as they can, live within the rules that govern them, and do what comes naturally. 

I've always been animal oriented. It's part of me that comes naturally. As a result I've learned from them, just as they've learned from me. 

I see a lot of people who list the top 10 things to learn from animals. It's the current "thing" - making lists of the top ten of something. Some items on the list I agree with, others I believe are misinterpreted. Either those people never lived with enough animals, or they mistakenly assign behavior to their animals that are inaccurate. But you know, perhaps you will view my own list with the same attitude. Perhaps you'll say that I'm wrong. But in truth, I'll only be wrong in your own opinion, your own interpretation. As I've stated, I'm a realist, not a spiritual animal hugger. 

... Life's basics are important. Food. Shelter. Health. Stable environment. Sex. Every animal focuses on this. The fluff is superfluous. They don't care what color or style their housing is. Nor if the latch on the gate is the latest techie "in thing". Nor if their food arrives in the latest model, jazzed up ATV. They don't need their collar to be the latest fashion nor cost $500. They don't consider what the neighbor's think.

... They live by rules. The rules vary from species to species. Most rules come from their environment and their instincts, but they may also have individual imposed rules if they are herd/pack type animals. 

... Friendship matters. There are different levels of friendship. They can have both casual friends and lifelong true friends. True friendship lasts a lifetime. 

... Community matters, depending upon the situation. Being part of a community can help one get through life easier. Some species are designed around the community aspect (herds, flocks, packs), while others are not. 

... Race (that is, different breeds of their species) matters little, oft times not at all. Color matters even less. 

... Life is about your interaction with your environment plus a whole lot of luck. Life happens. Some individuals have the genes to take advantage of a situation, or the status and community support to do that....others don't. That's life. 

... Life isn't fair. Actually I should say, life happens, both the good and the ugly. But the bad stuff happens even if you're good and live by the rules. Shit just happens sometimes.

... You are what you are born. A carnivore is simply that, a carnivore. Same for an omnivore, a vegetarian. They accept who and what they are. They don't try to be something that they are not. 

... Love is unconditional. They seldom demand that their mates change to please them. They don't set conditions for their "marriages". They are always happy to see their mates (or owners) if they reciprocate.

... Take a nap. No apologies. 

... Live in the present. While recalling the past or planning the future is important to most animals, living for the moment has incredible value. 

... Be curious but cautious about new things. Investigate. Observe. Watch body language and nature signs. 

... Touch. My animals body-touch all the time. They rub and touch each other, they want to touch me in one fashion or another every time we greet. Touch is powerful. 

... Enjoy the outdoors. Feel the sun, the shade, the wind. Smell the air, soil, rocks, water, plants, animal life. Be connected. 

... Keep yourself groomed. They groom themselves several times a day. 

... Develop a routine. A routine helps promote contentment, general wellbeing, overall happiness. 

... Be silly if you feel like it. Don't worry about what others will think. 

... Live in reality. Religion, spirits, superstition, "woo-woo" isn't part of the real world. 

... Not everyone is born with a sunny disposition. From what I've observed with my animals, it's a combination of nature and nurture. 

... Don't waste time hanging with the negative individuals. Make your bonds with the positive ones. 

... You are what you eat. What you eat has a huge bearing on your health, both physical and mental. Eat what your body needs to be fit and healthy. 

... Stay active. 

... Look to the future. I've hear people say that animals don't understand future. I totally disagree. They look forward to mealtime, look forward to enjoyable routines. I've had animals that knew Saturday and Sunday were different from weekdays, and acted accordingly. They anticipated various activities, such as car trips, bath day, etc. They look to their future with hope. 

... When there is no hope of a future, it's time to die. I've seen it in their eyes. When hope is gone, they are ready. I don't mean when they are depressed then they should be killed. Or when they are in a bad situation that they need to get out of. But when they know, when they have lost all hope of having a future and that situation can't be changed, then it's time. Dragging things on and on, as humans are apt to do, make no sense to them. 

Things I've learned NOT to do......

... Don't bite my neighbor in the face. Just because you're in a bad mood or didn't get a cookie, biting the next guy in the face isn't a good idea, and really just ruins your day. "Bite in the face" = yell, threaten, attack, or otherwise display negative behavior. 

... Don't be bossy, moody, and aggressive. My animals avoid or shun those types, so unless I want to lose all my friends and acquaintances, acting like that is a majorly bad idea. 

... Don't tease. It's not appreciated, can cause severe emotional damage, plus ruins a good relationship. 

Animals have taught me to look at myself. What am I? I am a primate. Thus I have a innate need for touch, for love, for friends. I am instinctually tribal. I am an omnivore. I have certain environmental needs. I can see the past, present, and future. I harbor certain innate fears that I needed to learn to overcome or control, such as suspicion of the dark, of strangers, of strange places, of change, of the unknown and unexplained. I am who I was born and taught, but I have moved beyond that. Unlike some of my animals, I can change myself. Change isn't easy for a primate, but with incentive and desire, it can be accomplished. 

Failed Gardeners of the World, Take Heart

Hold onto your hats!.........here's a confession --- Let it be known that I'm not a well organized person. I've been that way my whole life. I'm well meaning enough, but being neat, clean, and on schedule seems as difficult to me as climbing Mt Everest. In my professional life I hired employees to keep things in line and on time. Now that I'm running a homestead farm, I'm left to myself. I admit that I'm not good at some of this job. 

I say this because I've heard from folks who have the same problem and see themselves as total failures, or worse yet, they don't even bother to try to live their dream in the first place. They've failed before they've even started. I get readers who say things like, I wish I could live your life but I'd just fail at it. How sad. 

"R" wrote me that a third of his garden failed because he didn't get to it. Everything got choked out by weeds. "T" said she was discouraged because she let her zucchini get as big as baseball bats and most of her bok choy and spinach bolted before she got around to harvesting it. "L" asked about quicker maturing tomatoes because for the past two years her (I'm guessing it's a her, sorry if I got it wrong) tomato plants didn't get into the ground in time  to be able to produce tomatoes before frost. These people want to successfully garden and are looking for solutions. I suspect that there are plenty more like them out there that simply see themselves as failures and don't even try to seek out a solution. Let it be known that I, too, never quite get the weeds under control in all the pineapple beds, I have bok choy that I don't get harvested and bolt to flower, some veggies that don't get harvested in their prime, and some seedlings that don't get out into the garden on schedule. If 90% of the garden makes it, I'm still in the "A" range. Hurrah! I'm on the dean's list! (Old college analogy.)

I'm not a therapist, so I can't offer a "right answer". But I can say that I've done the same things myself but I persevere. I slog on. I look for solutions. I concluded that there are plenty of different solutions out there, I just have to tailor one to fit me. Being a rather independent cuss wanting to be fairly self reliant. I turn to myself rather than go out and hire employees to do it for me. Here's a list of things I do that help to one degree or another. But keep in mind, I often slip back to my old behavior. But I don't label myself a failure........I just say to myself that I need an adjustment. Adjustment - what a nice sounding word. That's far more positive than beating myself up. And it gives me the incentive to try again and improve. I don't ever expect in my lifetime to successfully become a neat freak, but I have waves of doing better interspersed with "falling off the wagon". That's as good as it's going to get and I'll accept that. Life is not about earning all A's and gold stars. 

Tricks I play on myself .....

...make a list, keep it short. When I used to list every little job I wanted to get done that day, I soon realized that I was setting myself up for failure. I couldn't get all that done, so some part in my brain simply gave up. I failed before I started. But I discovered that I do much better listing the top dozen jobs. When I'm done those, I feel great and eagerly dive into others not in my list. Ah-ha, simple trickery at work! How simple it is to trick my little mind. 

...break a big job down into small daily segments. I do this for a planting schedule. For example this Monday I need to sow a small flat of a dozen different varieties. I can do that in a short time. Then the next day's job list will have the next dozen listed for sowing.  For some reason, breaking it up and designating a specific day to do that task seems to work for better me. 

...having a very visual designated spot for something. I leave crap all over the place, with good intentions of putting it away properly later on. That never happens. Yes, I feel guilty. Same thing when I organized my kitchen but I did something different. I actually labeled the shelves as to what got stored I that space. It may look silly to an outsider, but hey, this is my kitchen and it works for me. Without the labels, the place is a wreck. I've seen other people draw the outline of their tools on the walls and shelves of their tool sheds. It's a great trick to help keep organized because it prods you to put the tool back into place. It's a trick that works for some people. 

...I have a routine morning job list that I do before I go onto anything else. It's called my farm S.O.P. - standard operating procedure. Things like feed sheep, check their water trough. Feed chickens, check water, add grit, collect eggs, rake bedding. I have 10 "first thing" items on my SOP and I don't even have to think about it. They have already been thought out and I just go down the list. Bingo...done. Just another successful trick in tricking myself. 

...I have a time budget. This is just so that I can get things done, otherwise I fixate on some particular task, get distracted, putz around, and feel like I didn't get anything accomplished at the end of the day. So I designate set times from whence to whence for working on personal stuff, farm work, house building, etc. I do allow myself to deviate from the program without calling myself a failure, but the schedule surely helps me feel good at the end of the day.  

...I try not to call myself a failure. And I never, never say it outloud. For some reason, if I say it outloud my brain tends to believe it. I'll just say things like....I was a bit distracted today, I was slow, I bit off too big a chunk for today. That sort of thing. 

For all of you who have written to me seeking help when you feel that you have failed, take heart. I have those shortcomings too! And I've been called a failure at times, but after the initial depression I just get pissed. I'm just too obstinate to accept that I'm a total failure. (But if pushed about it, I've been known to purposely fail, then walk away.) I look for solutions to my not-so-perfect effort. I tell myself that I'm learning, I'm practicing, I'm acquiring experience. My solutions aren't perfect, but then I don't expect them to be. Expecting perfection, expecting constant success just sets one up for a big fall. So I try to adjust my goals and visions to fit reality, the real me, not the false me that somebody else thinks I should be. And ya know, if they don't like it, they can go do it themselves....or go eat worms! 

So if you ever get lucky and see my farm, you won't find the picture perfect farm one sees in the magazines. You'll see a functioning, albeit not well organized, homestead that is on the verge of successfully supporting this family with extra income to boot. It's got it's problems, but as Stitch says...... It is small, it is broken, but it is good. (yeah, I paraphrased that from Lilo and Stitch movie)

Keep in mind, you're not a failure, you're just in the learning stage. Things will get better as you acquire more experience. 

Only Two Hours a Day ... Really?

Today I read someone else's blog where they were touting that they produce all their own food, working only two hours a day at it. They live in an area with snowy winters, though I don't know which actual state they are in. I had to think about this. Is it really possible? Perhaps it depends upon what is included in those two hours. 

I look at my own experience. If my gardens were already set up and growing, and I only need to tend it and harvest, yes I could do that within the two hours allotted. (But not included would be my livestock, trading network, and foraging, thus it wouldn't be ALL our food.) But if I had to include prepping the garden and planting it, creating compost and mulch material plus spreading them, growing seedlings for transplanting. building trellises and container gardens, fencing the garden in from predators, preparing the harvest for storage....I don't think the two hours per day is enough time. Having only two hours a day allotted to growing a year's worth of food, I think I'd need to buy chemical fertilizers, seedlings for transplanting into the garden, compost/mulch materials, and possibly herbicides and pesticides. There wouldn't be time enough to produce my own. So if I didn't mind spending quite a bit of money, perhaps I could do it if I only counted the veggies and fruits growing on my own land. 

What about storing my harvest? Did the author include that in the two hours? Could one not just harvest, but actually get stored a year's worth of food in those two hours a day? Perhaps the author had very large freezers. They didn't say. But canning and drying takes time for that much food.  

Another thought? All their food for the year? Just how varied or monotonous is their diet? In my experience, the more variety I have growing in the gardens, the more time it takes. A 20' by 20' plot of potatoes is far quicker to deal with than the same sized plot planted in 30-50 different vegetables and herbs. And what about the protein aspects? Perhaps they are vegans, I don't know. But most people have eggs, milk, cheese, meat, and fish in their diet, too. Were these purchased....or included in the two hours of labor? Uuummm, things are getting complicated. Maybe the author was talking only about the vegetable part of their annual food supply. Just what is included in the definition of "our year's worth of food"? Is the author buying herbs and spices? Fruits? I'm curious what veggies are included, but the author didn't say. 

The article was promoting the idea that if a person simply worked at it two hours a day, they could have all their food for the year. Personally I think there's a little more to it. The person would have to be willing to eat a limited diet restricted to what would grow in their region. Plus they would have to have the experience and knowledge to pull it off. Plus luck that some disease, pest, or quirk of nature didn't wipe out their garden. 

My objection to these sort of articles is that they target the novice gardener who is already at a disadvantage with lack of experience, knowledge, a fully functioning garden. They can easily be set up for failure. Setting a two hour per day target is an awfully high goal to achieve, and in my opinion is an unrealistic goal. I'd be hard pressed to do it myself. I could easily see a novice gardener becoming thoroughly discouraged when they couldn't produce all their own food on that time schedule. Personally I don't like to see articles that set people up for failure. I'd rather see ones that encourage people to try without setting such lofty goals. 

ps- Still mulling this over, the author lives in an area with snowy winters. This means that they can not grow food for several months during the winter. Thus they have less days available than me to get in their 2 hours of food production. I can grow food year around. Even so, I don't think I'd be able to produce all our own food in just two hours a day. My livestock takes at least a hour a day, leaving only an hour a day to the fruits and veggies (not including trading and foraging). 

Different Growing Philosophies

"A" wrote to ask what my gardening philosophy is. 

Huh? I guess it's any method that successfully grows safe food for hubby and me. Nowadays it seems that people get into a particular philosophy or method and stick within its boundaries.....regardless. They get into organics and refuse to use one drop of forbidden pesticide to nip a problem in the bud. The adopt biodynamics and refuse to budge from its mandates. The grow just heirlooms and bemoan the fact that their garden isn't giving them what they want. They use an "all natural" approach and complain about the chaos and lack of production. I'm hearing about all sorts of gardening philosophies and some emailers appear to be pressuring me to adopt theirs. No, I'm too old to fall victim to peer pressure. It's not that I'm an old dog that can't learn new tricks, it's that I've observed the foibles in blindly adhering to any one philosophy.  My own farming approach is diversification. I grow a bit of everything that I can. It keeps farming interesting and gives lots of opportunities to experiment. Thus this farm hosts a wide assortment of annual crops, perennials, food trees, and livestock. 

I hear from lots of other growers and discovered that there is no one farming philosophy that should be, or is being followed. There's quite a variety of principles that guide one's own food production approach. Some people are strict followers of one philosophy while others have hybrid approaches. 

When there is limited space, resources, or time, people seem to focus on one method rather than diversifing like I do. Here's some of the approaches I've learned about......

1- high calorie per effort or square foot approach. The focus is to produce things that are calorie dense -- Egg/meat production. Core crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes. These gardeners don't bother with things like lettuce and herbs. 

2-  everything edible approach. Focusing one low wastage crops so that you get to eat as much of what you produce as possible. These growers plant crops like lettuce, beets, cabbage, onions, etc.  Chickens and rabbits compliment this approach. But crops like pumpkins and corn have too much wastage for these growers. 

3- hard to buy approach. Depending upon one's area, the focus might be upon select herbs, yacon, colorful non-commercial veggies varieties (potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beets, etc). Amaranth and edible flowers would fall into this category. If it's hard to buy in the local store, then this gardener grows those things and plans on buying basic veggies, eggs, and meats commonly available. 

4- costly to buy in the stores. Select herbs, leeks, daikon, brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc. they will grow the things that they find difficult to locate in stores. 

5- delicate or unique crops. Edible flowers. In my area, this group would include white pineapples. Raspberries and blackberries are too delicate to show up in some stores. 

6- easy to grow, no hassle crops. I find that for me this group would include beans, potatoes, peas, assorted greens. Also bananas, pineapples, and most other tropical fruits. Each region would have a different list of foods that are simple to produce. These gardeners like having easy success. 

7- space misers. Patio containers and hanging baskets types. Lots of veggies are suited for small spaces, including certain varieties of tomatoes, peas, beans, beets, etc. Some gardeners strictly grow container happy veggies. 

8- like to eat. Lots of variablities in this group, all depending upon the preference of the grower. It makes sense to grow what you actually like to eat. But I like eating prime rib and carrot cake. I haven't been successfully finding seed for those. Dang.

9- storage foods. Some folks who I've chatted with place a lot of emphasis upon choosing foods that they will store through the winter. So they focus on growing  beans & peas for drying, cabbages for kraut and drying. Corn and tomatoes for drying and canning. Potatoes. Pumpkins. Plus easy to preserve meats and eggs. 

10- perennials. I've met folks who prefer to set up their land with just perennials. They buy the rest of their food conventionally. This limits the amount of time and effort needed to produce foods at home. Good approach for working families. 

11- growing for the pollinators. Some gardeners aren't focusing upon food production. They are passionate about growing to support the area's wildlife. A totally different approach than what I'm used to, although back in NJ I used to plant flowers specifically for the hummingbirds. I do now grow various flowers for the bees, but it's not my main focus. 

12- self sustaining approach. Several small gardeners that I've met grow primarily what they can propagate or save seed from. That way they garden without needing to buy seed, seedlings, or cuttings. They save their own seeds, maintain stock plants for cuttings, save potatoes to replant, etc. 

13- grow things that will work around the gardener's absense. Some gardeners I know are not around their gardens for a month during the summer (or don't want to out there working during the summer heat). So what they grow revolves around that month of neglect. Spring crops fit this method well. And certain fall crops work, too. Fruiting trees and long season crops do ok with this method. 

Why Grow Food?

I can't tell you just how many times I've been asked, "Why go you grow your own food?" I hear the question over and over again. People point out that there is an abundance of found in the stores, the prices are cheap or at least affordable, it takes lots of work to grow a food garden, it takes money to grow your own food....and on and on and on. Lots of reasons. I've already talked about this topic before, but I'm getting so many questions about it recently that I thought I'd explore it again from a different angle. 

I have my own personal reasons for growing food, but other growers have their own, sometimes much different reasons. I'd like to list a few of mine in order to give people thinking about this topic something to mull over. 

... Independence. There's something very satisfying to me to be food independent. I find comfort and satisfaction in self reliancy. 

... Cleaner food. I can control what, if any, chemicals my food is exposed to. Commercial foods, even those listed as organic, can be exposed to a wide assortment of chemicals. Not only chemicals concern me. Bacteria, parasites, feces, and urine at times contaminate commercial foods and I'd rather not be part of that on a regular basis. 

... Fresher food. I like picking my food right off the plants, often moments before I consume them. I like eggs and meat that are extremely fresh. 

... Better flavor. Until I moved to Hawaii I wasn't aware of just how superior fresh picked fruits could be. The taste of bananas and citrus that are tree ripened is amazing. Some of the heirloom bean varieties have incredible flavor. There are plenty more examples. Freshly harvested food simply tastes so much better. 

... Variety. Though not an issue for most urbanites, rural areas often don't have a good section available. I can grow a broad selection, including edible flowers. How cool is that! I can grow herbs that are difficult to near impossible to find in the stores. 

... Confidence. Personally growing my own food, I know what went into producing it. Commercial foods, you have to guess and have a lot of faith. Is that cheese really safe? Is that meat contaminated? Is that organic milk truly organic? Are those veggies really safe? I have personally heard tales of overt cheating, right from the mouths of the farmer involved. Sprays applied the day before harvesting -- a real no-no. Chemical dewormers used just prior to slaughter. Antibiotics used just prior to slaughtered. Commercial forbidden herbicides used on organic fields.  It's happening. Plus I've read news accounts of cheating -- fish and meats misrepresented, GMO evidence in labeled organics, that sort of thing. 

... Satisfaction. I like being a small farmer. It's a passion that had smoldered in my soul for decades. Plus I like being a member of a dying race, the small farmer. Sadly, the small farmer is disappearing. Perhaps I'm enough of a rebel to like bucking the trends. 

Learning to grow or otherwise obtain our food has been an experience! It is physical work, but also a major learning challenge and emotional rollercoaster ride. I'm happy to be doing it. 

Do I save money growing my own? That's a question I'm often asked, I think because everybody expects me to say yes. In my own situation, I'd say that I now do, over the long haul. But initially there were up front expenses and losses that negated any gains. Even now, there are crop losses that I have to deal with. The trick for me is to be mindful not to put too much of a financial investment into a crop, no more than I'm willing to risk and lose. For example, it makes no financial sense for me to invest in a modern hydroponic system. The cost of the pumps, piping, racks, tanks, greenhouses, etc would be an investment I could never get back in food savings, ever. 

Yes, I grow my own good for many different reasons. I works for me. 

Acclimating to Hawaii

"J" asked a few more questions. 

#1-

"Why do people have such a hard time acclimating to Hawaii, do you think? I've heard of "island fever" and the high cost of living."

Island fever doesn't really apply to Big Island. It's called "big" for a reason. In fact, all the other Hawaiian island combined are less total square miles than the Big Island alone. So yes, it's big. It's big enough that it's not uncommon for people on one side of the island to say that they've never been to the other side. And very few people regularly travel out of their quadrant, unless it's to go to a distant job. 

Island fever might be an issue on the other islands. I can't say, but they are a lot smaller. But travel between the islands is easy, so it wouldn't be a big deal to live on one and take day or weekend trips to the others in order to break any monotany. But I say this as one who has already done their world traveling and is content to be at home. The concept of island fever hasn't affected me.

The high cost of living is another thing. Some things in Hawaii are indeed much higher in cost. But others are much lower or non-existent. We researched the cost of living before moving to Big Island and discovered that our lifestyle would cost just about the same as it did in NJ. Of course, the cost of living in NJ is high, so people living in the middle of the US would see Hawaii cost of living to be much higher by comparison to their own.

Another issue when trying to relocate here is that people didn't fully analyze their move. They fall in love with the laid back island lifestyle, but then bring their high stress mainland habits with them. To be successful, you need to ditch those mainland ideas before you leave the airport. You need to stop competing for a parking space, start letting other people into line in traffic, stop rushing here and there, stop trying to out do the other guy, etc. Hawaii isn't the mainland. 

New people all too often didn't seem to notice before they moved to their new location that all the stores and services they wanted were a long drive away. I've overheard people complaining that they only have an Ace Hardware to buy from, not a Home Depot, Sears, Lowes, WalMart, whatever. They are unhappy that our little town doesn't have multiple gas stations, hairdressers, dentists, whatever. What? No Starbucks? Somehow they missed the fact that it's a small, small town. I hear others complain about too much rain, too dry, too hot, too cold, too windy. They failed to determine in advance what their chosen location was really like. 

Another regret that they can't adjust to is that they've left all their family and friends behind. I'm not sure how they missed this point before moving out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

Next question................

"Have you been able to avoid/mitigate the high cost of living there by growing your own food and doing things yourself? "

The best thing we did to mitigate the high cost of living was to sit down and analyze where we spent money. From there we could make a budget and determine where we could cut out spending our precious dollars. Health insurance was our greatest expense, but at our age we choose not to eliminate it from the budget. So we targeted other expenses to eliminate. 

Providing for our own food helped, but there were costs upfront the prevented instant savings. Tools, seeds, and supplies had to be purchased. We had to invest in water catching and storage systems. I bought a farm pick up truck, which made things possible like hauling in manure and green waste, going out for foraging, taking excess produce to market, hauling in resources. In the long run, providing for our own food via growing it, foraging, and trade saves us money because of the high cost of store bought food here. But the savings aren't as significant as people assume. 

Learning to do things ourselves surely helped big time. We built much of our house. We cleared our own land. Built fencing. Built small farm buildings. We learned to do solar electric. We installed our wood stove and gather our own firewood for it. All these sorts of things translate into cash not being spent. 

A major step to mitigate the high cost of living was to change our lifestyle. This made a far greater impact than anything else. We stopped buying new clothes, stopped going out to dinner all the time, stopped going to movies and entertainment events, stopped hairdresser trips, had cellphones that were prepaid minutes and not monthly plans-- then didn't use the phone unless necessary. We shopped at local thrift stores or rummage sales. We stopped making weekly trips to Kona and stretched out those trips to every 3-4 months, or greater when possible. We ditched the TV and movie rentals. We looked at each item and service that we were spending money on and tried to figure out if we could live without it or reduce the expense. Because of this step we ended up reducing our propane use to 1/4 of what we had been buying. A great reduction. We store rain water rather than buying truckloads for irrigation. We make our own fertilizer rather than buy pallets of commercial fertilizer. We have literally saved hundreds each year by producing much of our own garden seed. These are just some of the things we did, and do, to reduce our cost of living. 

Now this may sound really "hillbilly" but I've willingly become known as a local scrounger. Thus I have become the recipient of many a useable castoff. Fencing. Lumber. Trash cans. Various containers. Rope. Tools. Hardware. Clothing. Linens. Animal feed. Paint. Furniture. Kitchen utensils. Gardening supplies. You name it, I've most likely received some. This is just another small means of making living here affordable. As I've said, it's a big lifestyle change for us, but we're doing it. 

In the midst of our change over, hubby decided that retirement wasn't rewarding for him. So he picked up some temporary contracts in his field (he can work from home via the Internet). So life suddenly became easier for us for a stretch there. But he's about to fully retire again, so all those things that we've learned and practiced along the way will become our permanent lifestyle. I think we will be prepared and ready, at least as best we can. 

Challenges

"J" is considering moving to a tropical region, so asked, "What have been some of the challenges of living and farming there?"

My, where do I begin? My blog covers most of the challenges we've had. But some I haven't covered so far, such as compromised medical care availability, lack of availability of certain goods and services, lack of selection of stores and services, lack of a variety of restaurants and good dining, lack of museums and "culture". Generally, it's a lack of selection that's the issue. Of course, that sense of lack is based upon my experience of growing up around Philadelphia, where everything is incredibly abundant. Gee, back there, within a 20 minute drive from home there were 4 giant shopping malls! But here on Big Island, the closest mall is 1 1/2 hours away (in a good traffic day) and is quite a bit smaller than any of the malls I had back in NJ. But lack of selection of goods can be solved via the modern Internet. Amazon.com has been a major relief for remote places like Hawaii and Alaska. Of course, larger goods have to be freighted in. Not much one can do about the poor selection of restaurants, other than learning to cook one's own. And we're worse off when it comes to lack of cultural venues. You just suck it up and live with it. Lack of services is a headache. Sometimes one has to wait for weeks or months for specialized services....especially in medical specialties. I hear that getting medical service is getting difficult in many parts of the US mainland too, so perhaps Hawaii isn't all that different, except we are made up of islands. Sometimes one has to fly to another island for a specialist. 

Our first challenge, while getting through the shock of moving, was adjusting to a new culture. Yes, Hawaii is part of the United States, but things work differently here. Adapting to a new way of thinking wasn't something I had anticipated. I should have, but I hadn't. 

Creating our house and farm was a major hurdle, but we knew that challenge was part of our new life. But what I hadn't really given enough thought to was the fact that our lifestyle would need to change so radically. It was difficult shedding our lifetime of habits and creating a new lifestyle. 

Learning to live as part of a community was something new for us. I love my community, but the whole concept was strange in the beginning. I learned that having friends is totally different from being part of a community. 

As for farming, there were lots of challenges, some of which are ongoing. Taking raw land and creating a farm and building a house involves passion, labor, and time. Learning to grow food and raise livestock in the tropics has been a challenge. It's quite different than on the mainland. Staying interested, willing to learn, and flexible are important. I've been at this for ever a decade and I'm still learning new stuff, seeing new pests & diseases I haven't had before, dealing with new problems. 

Changing our diet was another big adjustment. We went from being primarily commercial food eaters and daily customers at restaurant/prepared food stores....to primarily homegrown and local foods. 

There are challenges with every relocation one makes, but Hawaii added the factors of physical isolation, tropical climate, and cultural differences into the equation. We met those challenges and made the move. No regrets! 

A Comment About Humanure

I recently posted this comment on a local Hawaiian discussion group. I thought it might be of some interest to others, or at least get some folks thinking. The discussion was brought up because of the new mandatory septic system rules. People were looking at their options of composting humanure manure or installing composting toilets. Some people were already using 5 gallon buckets, others were using or seriously looking into various composting toilets. Others were 100% against handling or using humane manure in any form. Some people feared contaminants from their own bodies. Others feared disease and parasites. The following was my comment. 

.....

Fresh and improperly composted manures can indeed be a problem, resulting in illness. It doesn't matter much what kind of manure it is, although human manure is more likely to contain pathogens that cause human illnesses. But various parasites and illnesses quite often result from livestock manures, and even manures from wild animals have to be considered a danger. I know of many families that had to deal with intestinal parasites due to fresh animal manures. So if you have a fear of using your own humanure, perhaps you should have the similar fear of using animal manures...with due cause. 

As for humanure (as with all manures), if properly composted and aged, it is perfectly safe to use. The big problem arises when the manure is not correctly handled. Problems can arise if the compost is too moist or too dry. If the composting temperature is not high enough or not maintained long enough. If the hot pile is not turned (just because the center is hot enough doesn't mean that the outer edges are!) Human manure, by itself, will not properly compost. Thus additional material needs to be stirred in, such as peat moss, sawdust, brush clippings, etc. Even after hot composting, the recommendation is to consider the time period just to make sure all pathogens are inactivated. For humanure, I think the current recommendation for properly composted material is a one year waiting period. I'm not sure about this though. 

As for parasites.....parasite "eggs" will not survive proper hot composting. And anyway, if you think you have parasites and are contaminating your humanure, I'd suggest you go see a doctor rather than simply refrain from using manure. Parasites don't spontaneously develop in composted manure. The eggs came via the manure to added to the pile. So if you fear getting parasites from your humanure, go get yourself dewormed, then you won't be contaminating your pile. 

What goes in comes out, so the saying goes. So if you are sick and passing disease pathogens, then you need to compost in a fashion to kill those pathogens. If you have intestinal worms, the eggs are coming out. Again, deal with it-- get dewormed and properly hot compost. If you are taking medications that your body eliminates via feces, then they will be going into your compost. You may wish to combine your finished humanure compost pile with a regular compost /soil pile so that the soil microbes can help breakdown those medications. But don't assume that nature can deal with all of them. Many may still remain. If you are eating commercial foods, those chemicals may end up in your humanure too. Again, active soil microbes may be able to deal with some of them. By the way, if you haven't noticed, we live in a contaminated environment. So our compost can never be totally "clean" of unnatural chemicals. We wear commercial made clothing, eat commercial made foods, use commercial products (soap, shampoo, skin products, first aid products, etc). New clothing, houses, cars, even pajamas exude chemicals. Just about everything edible has added chemicals even if not listed on the ingredients list. The inside of cans and bottles are chemical lined. Plastic leaches chemicals into our food and drinks. Storing water in plastic for long term also leaches chemicals. Perhaps not enough for the government to get excited, but these chemicals have been detected in people's urine, so they are indeed there! Personally I just take steps to avoid as much chemical contamination as feasible and live with the rest. I'm not interested in living super remotely, so I have to accept some contaminates in my life. 

Next.....Saying that you'll only use your humanure on trees doesn't totally makes things safe. Yes, there's no rain splash to worry about. But you'll be walking on that soil where you applied the humanure, so your feet will be tracking it about. USDA testing has found that apple pickers contaminate apples with deer & mouse feces by the simple act of climbing a ladder using their hands on the ladder rungs. The worker walks through the orchard, unknowingly walking in mouse droppings. Now the soles of his shoes are contaminated, and proceeds to contaminate the ladder rungs as he climbs to pick apples. If he uses his hands on the ladder rungs (instead of using the ladder side rails) then his hands are contaminated, which contaminate apples as he picks them. That very same thing can happen in your own orchards. And how many people sanitize their shoes after visiting their orchard every time? So you really do need to make sure your humanure compost is safe from pathogens, in fact any manure compost. 

I use manure compost all the time. But I hot compost it and have a waiting period before using. I would not fear humanure if it were properly composted and aged. But quite honestly, I would not trust other people's humanure compost. I have seen far too many people cheat or take shortcuts with their animal manure composts. So I'd have to assume they are doing the same thing with the humanure. 

............

In Hawaii, cesspools must all be eliminated by 2050. While sewage systems in town areas may be the solution, at great expense to install due to the lava nature of this island, rural and outlining residents will need to look for other options. Septic systems will work for most, but be extremely expensive for the individual. Others, due to their land and the cost factor, will not be able to go that route. Thus composting toilets may their only legal option. But I predict that the poverty section of our population will use illegal methods, such as buckets and outhouses unless the government comes up with a financial assistance plan. People are struggling to live on $10,000 a year or less, so it is impossible for them to budget a legal option for handling human waste. 

Future Farms ??

"W" asked me my opinion as to the future of farming. Will the small farm continue to exist? Will homestead farms still exist? 

Wow, I'm no expert. And frankly, I really don't care. You see... I'm old, have no children, thus I have no grandchildren to be worrying about their future. And a shift in farming really won't effect my lifestyle. So I suppose "W", you're asking the wrong person. I'm not an economist, agronomist, nor politician. 

"W" wanted to know the answers to these questions because he hopes to follow in my footsteps some day. Well, let's reaffirm that I do indeed know there are can be significant benefits to this homesteading lifestyle. Regardless of how the future develops, I believe there will always be those who will embrace a homesteading. So even if food in the United a states is produced by mega and corporate farms, I believe that homesteading is here to stay. Small farms may become scarce as hens' teeth, but there will always be independent souls out there living off the land. 

I read that ag economists predict a future that holds a shift to mega corporate farms. According to what I've read in a variety of publications, government agencies are predicting a shift of the main population to urban settings....rural population goes down, urban population goes up. The vast majority of small farmers and homesteaders will disappear. It's just a continuation of the trend of the past several decades. For the past 100 years, small farms have been gradually morphing into larger farms. Initially, as farmers retired or went bankrupt, neighboring farmers bought them out. Lately the shift has been to corporations buying and consolidating. The government does not support small farms in the way that large farms are, thus in general, small farms are financially being starved out. 

Other countries have demonstrated that effective ag and increased food production can be achieved via intensive methods, including greenhouse/hydroponic production. Small farms are common. Will the world be able to produce enough food? I think, yes, at least for the next 50 years. But at a price. In the USA, the number of small farms will gradually keep going down. Mega corporations will more and more control our food. I don't know what the predictions are for the rest of the world, but the US will be up to the challenge. But after 50 years, I have no confidence. With the world's population growth totally uncontrolled, who knows what things will be like. In addition, useable water will become a crisis, both for ag and residual use. 

Personally I'm not ready to disappear, or move to an urban area. I might be a dinosaur and due for extinction, but I ain't dead yet! Personally I want to feel connected to the land and nature. I want to eat naturally grown food that is chemical free. I want the satisfaction of being semi-independent, or as independent as feasible. So living in an urban condo, eating factory farmed and processed food, in a world of unnatural chemicals isn't my idea of wholesome, happy living. Been there, done that, ran away from it!  Egads, they're talking about future food being grown in laboratory-like settings. Artificial lab grown meat. Tissue culture edible plant material. Not my idea of fine dining. 

I predict that there will always be the "hippies", "back to earthers", and independence lovers. Their numbers will stay small, just as they are today and have been all along. I don't see the countryside returning to pre-industrial revolution farming. I do believe that mega farms and intensive ag is the path of the future, at least for the US. 

"W", if you want to have a homestead farm and be reasonably independent, go for it! If you want to be a small acreage farmer, go for it. As long as you develop your skills, cultivate your market, choose the right location, opt for a simple lifestyle, I believe that you can make a living. And I believe that there will be others doing the same thing. Some will use low tech methods, others will go with intensive farming. But the small farm will continue to exist, even though it may be only a very small percentage of US agriculture. 

Am I Prepared?

Missile alert ! 

Things sometimes get interesting, that's for sure! I've been looking at our situation and trying to evaluate just how prepared we were if it had been the real thing. 

Water - we have 2 large covered catchment tanks of water which we can easily disconnect the intake pipes (rain gutters) to help protect the water. We have 35 gallons of emergency ready-to-drink water stored under the house. Plus we keep 5-15 gallons in the house for regular use. We also have 1 large uncovered catchment tank that we use for agriculture, plus numerous ponds with water that can be used for livestock. So on the water situation, we're covered. 

People Food - we have a decent supply of back up food stored in the pantry and freezer (assuming that we have electricity- otherwise we eat out of the freezer first), although the menu will be boring after a week. Safely eating out of the gardens will depend upon the wind and rain patterns. 

Heating fuel - plenty of firewood stockpiled.

Animal food - enough to last a few weeks before the cats and dogs have to start eating something other than kibble, assuming of course that available pet food in the stores might be an issue. 

Medical supplies - well stocked, including hubby's prescription meds. 

Gasoline - this will be an issue. But we will be in the same boat with everyone else. We keep 20-25 gallons on the farm, plus the cars are kept tupped up, but that won't last long. We will have to be attentive to conserving gasoline until things return to normal....if ever. 

EMP protection - I don't know if there is anything we could do that would be practical. Practical is the magic word here. Protect the vehicles? Protect the solar electric system? Protect the generator? Making a true Faraday box building would be incredibly expensive and difficult. A steel or aluminum building simply wouldn't work. They would help somewhat but they wouldn't work. 

Communication - Unknown. Will there be functioning electricity? Cellphone?