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chicken eating pumpkin seeds
Food

Low maintenance Chickens

It’s great to rear chickens – eggs, scratchy kind of companionship, and eventually a roast bird.

But should every off-grid home have a few? They need work and they can get ill. If they would just stay healthy chickens, they could be a great source of both food and income. If you decide to own some chickens, here are some tips and tricks to keep them healthy and happy.

FACT OF THE DAY: Raw pumpkin seeds are natural de-wormer for chickens!

And at this time of the year there are a lot of free pumpkins to be had.

It seems a lot of people put their faith in this tasty treatment. According to Sunny Simple Life , pumpkin seeds are coated in a naturally occurring chemical that paralyzes the worms so the chicken can expel them.

But where do you get your pumpkin seeds?

What To Not Give Your Flock.

Just like any other animal, giving treats to your chicken is a classic way to earn their trust and get them to bond with you! Most of your left-over food will be safe for your flock but try to avoid salty. You should also keep them away from moldy food for it is toxic. Citrus is another food that should not be given to chickens due to the acidity. You don’t want to make your chickens upset!

If you’re having trouble finding pumpkin seeds for your flock, here’s another article that shows you an alternative for chicken feeding – Karl Hammer, the king of compost, explains how he feeds his extremely large flock with tall mounds of fertilizer. Compost can do the job just as equally as raw pumpkin seeds. Yes that’s right, compost.

Never buy grain for your chickens again!

Happy Feeding!…

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November 1, 2017 No Comments
Community

Home & Away star goes off the grid

lisa-gormley-anti-fracking-300x242Home and Away’s Lisa Gormley is in the middle of building an off-the-grid eco cabin in the Tasmanian rainforest. She is looking forward to spending more time with her family, including her parents who live on a 20ha farm.

The 30-year-old moved to Tasmania with her parents when she was 12, and recently said she wanted to spend time with her family and travel. Not one to shy away from new challenges, Gormley was one of hundreds of people who gathered in Tasmania’s Upper Florentine Valley in April to rally against the Federal Government’s attempt to reopen some World Heritage-listed forests to logging.

One of Australia’s most popular stars she revealed she would be open to returning to her soapie roots, years after shocking fans with her decision to leave.

Dan Ewing and Lisa Gormley, who played on-screen couple Heath and Bianca, recently reunited on the Home And Away set to film An Eye For An Eye – a spin-off. And the walk down memory lane left both pining for the good old days. “I’d definitely be open to a discussion about coming back, I have to say,” Ewing admits.

“If the (right) storyline was there, I would. I wouldn’t want to play the same old Heath for another three years, though – I’d want it to be fresh and him to have evolved.” At least part of his willingness to return to the role of resident heavily inked bad boy Heath comes down to Archie, his one-year-old son.

Ewing and his wife Marni have been mostly raising their bundle of joy in Los Angeles. It’s a great city, especially for an ambitious actor, but he says nowhere compares to home.

“Having a kid really changes your perspective,” he admits. “The quality of life here in Australia is unique – you can’t find it elsewhere in the world. There are so many opportunities – we’re so lucky.

“But, most of all, I think it’s a dad thing … I’m looking at life for my child. And Marni really misses her family. Skype and FaceTime are great but it can’t beat the joy of seeing your little boy run up to grandma for a big hug.” LA will always be there, too – and technology means an actor doesn’t have to physically live Stateside these days to chase the big time, he says.

Since leaving the show, Gormley has spent a few years travelling, teaching overseas and starring in various stage productions. And the nature-loving performer is in the middle of building an off-the-grid eco cabin in the Tasmanian rainforest.

Gormley is also open to returning to the show that launched her career – just not yet. “I would, but maybe not for another little while because I’ve still got things I want to try,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of things that were on my list – I’m slowly …

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December 8, 2015 No Comments
Micro-hydro has the Duracell effect - it just keeps on and on
Energy

125 watts of Hydro is plenty for a family

Murray Peden, runs an off-grid auto repair workshop in his home in the hills high above the isolated rural community of Little River, Banks Peninsula.

He has lived here off-grid for 17 years, with his wife, Tori, and their two young children.

The steep southeast-facing section is 700 metres from the nearest power supply. “I thought that could either be a disadvantage or an opportunity. I looked at it as an opportunity.”

Peden realised the potential of the site when he saw the small spring-fed creek running through it. This provides their drinking water and has also been harnessed to drive a mini hydro plant.

Although the unit produces only 125 watts, which is less than that required to operate a large household light bulb, it is sufficient. The electricity is stored in a bank of batteries, and because it is charged 24/7 the battery pack doesn’t need to be large to cope with the fluctuations that would come from only using solar-powered photovoltaic panels, as most systems use.

His system has since been reinforced with 450 watts of photovoltaic panels, but as they receive only three hours of sunlight during a winter’s day, the hydro is essential.

“The idea of not having power, not being able to turn lights on, doesn’t appeal. I did research and worked out we could set up here and live, not just survive. I want to have the TV and a microwave, but the idea of not paying power bills is always appealing.”

A coal and wood-burning range heats the water, warms the house via under-floor heating pipes, and cooks the meals.

Operating an automotive workshop on alternative power has required some clever thinking. Most commercial machinery requires three-phase power, and this isn’t available from Peden’s system.

His vehicle hoist, essential in a workshop, operates on hydraulics, which require an electrical pump. A part from a forklift has been modified to do the job, and the A-grade mechanic is proud of his handywork. “I sometimes work in town, and their hoists are a bit slow. Mine’s better,” he grins. Tyre machines and compressors have also been bought with their power requirements in mind.…

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July 6, 2015 No Comments
Community

Freezer to fridge conversion

Living off-grid, I get questions from time to time, mainly about how we live, some even think we must live in a cave and eat dirt and wear skins…  I said I live off-grid, but we don’t live that primitively! :) I do enjoy some of the modern conveniences of life, including having a place to keep perishable foods, aka a refrigerator.

When we first moved off-grid, in Dec ’07, we brought with us a small, dorm sized fridge, but honestly we didn’t use it much, only plugging it up on the occasions when I brought home a gallon of milk or a pound of ground beef, once the perishable food was gone, we unplugged the fridge. What I quickly found out was the standard type of fridge used up a LOT of power and they tend to be very inefficient.…

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October 3, 2012 30 Comments

Tough Times Survival Guide vol 1 – book review

1192_1459_largeReading, learning, it’s what I enjoy doing. Before the internet, I would go to the three local libraries in my hometown, I would check out as many books as each on would allow, take them all home, read-read-read until I had gotten through all of them, then I return the books to their respective homes and start all over again. I tended to read non-fiction, I preferred them over fiction most of the time. With the exception of a few notable authors such as Stephen King, Jean M. Auel, and such…

With the advent of the internet and ebooks, I mostly read what I can get in digital format, including audiobooks. So these last couple of books I’ve read, I have held in my hand, turned pages, it was quite old-school for me. J I love it. Now, on to the book review.…

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October 8, 2009 4 Comments

Makeshift Workshop Skills for Survival and Self-Reliance book review

61naptestel-_sl160_-9729446 I typically do reviews on eBooks, but a while back I was contacted by James Ballou to do a review of a hard copy, Makeshift Workshop Skills for Survival and Self-Reliance, published by Paladin Press. Of course I was thrilled to review his book; honestly I had seen it previously and had been interested in reading it, so I jumped at the chance. It turns out that my instincts were correct, this is a great and useful book!…

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October 3, 2009 5 Comments
Community

More “as seen on TV”

pumpThe other day I was talking to a friend and we touched on the subject of the Pump-n-Seal gadget , I have had mine for a while, but I must admit that I haven’t been using it as much as I should. So I pulled it out and waited for an opportunity to use it.  I didn’t have to wait long.

Yesterday, I was cutting up an apple and only ate half of it, I needed a way to store the other half. You know what happens to apples, without chemical intervention (an acid, lemon juice, vitamin C…), apples quickly begin to turn brown, they oxidize.…

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June 9, 2009 8 Comments
Community

DIY laundry soap – video

DIY Laundry SoapToday I made another batch of laundry soap. I had ran out about a month ago, I was using the leftover powdered store bought soap, wow is there a difference! When I use the commercial soap, I often need to run a second rinse cycle, especially if I look at the rinse water, it’s nearly as soapy as the wash cycle, I know that is just being dried into my clothes, that can’t be good for my skin. When I use my homemade laundry soap, I use so much less, and it gets my clothes just as clean if not cleaner, and I don’t see that residue of suds in the rinse water. …

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May 28, 2009 6 Comments
Community

Rocket Stove Video

Vavrek rocket stoveRocket stoves, have you heard about them? If you have then I’m preaching to the choir, if you haven’t, then it’s high time you learned about how great these little (and sometimes big) stoves can be.

Basically a rocket stove is a very efficient heater that can be used to cook/heat food, heat water, heat spaces… It typically uses much less fuel (wood) to create heat, and it’s often made from recycled materials.…

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May 4, 2009 13 Comments
Community

Off-Grid – On The Cheap

It seems that the “green” (or brown) movement is growing faster and faster. It used to be the realm of unwashed hippies, tree huggers and other so called “degenerates” who lived off the grid, in the wild, on the fringes of society.

Lately, I keep reading about how more mainstream people are jumping in, purchasing solar panels, adding passive solar rooms, collecting rain water. I read about people who build $300,000+ green homes, that price doesn’t include the price of the land it sits upon! It’s all fine and dandy for those who have lots of readily available cash sitting around, or worse, they get loans to bankroll their ubergreen homes.…

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December 15, 2008 10 Comments

REGREEN when you ReModel

Starting in March 2008 those of us who wish to remodel, rehab, or gut either part or our entire existing homes now have a program and guidelines to help us make them as green as possible. New construction has the LEED program to help guide and find products needed to make them green. Now the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation have developed the REGREEN program and guidelines.

REGREEN is a collection of resources and tools that are designed to help make your home remodeling project turn your home green. These guidelines are for residential home renovation that can be as simple as replacing an appliance, like a dishwasher, to redoing the bathroom, to remodeling your entire interior living space. The major elements of any project in remodeling are addressed. These include such things as the actual home site, water efficiency, material/resources, energy, atmosphere, and the quality of your indoor environment. These guidelines seek to integrate building systems and proven technologies into green strategies and case studies for homeowners, builders and design professionals. These guidelines are for even u do-it-yourself types. Though knowing them is also great if you are seeking professional help in either the design or building part of your project. Since this then enables you to have a reference to how what you want and to make sure it;s what is planned or done.

REGREEN has organized it’s guidelines by the 10 most common remodeling project types and are divided into three distinct areas. These areas are:

  1. remodeling projects described by scope, integrated pre-design issues, and environmental strategies for each of the home’s systems, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical workings;
  2. a library of strategies by environmental topic;
  3. case studies of successful green home renovations.

To get the guidelines or lean more you can visit REGREEN at www.regreenprogram.org…

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April 11, 2008 No Comments

Make a Difference in NOLA

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We are happy to announce that Make It Right9 in NOLA (New Orleans, LA) has given us our own home to promote. Once you follow the link go down the list till you see our home, we we’re second to last at the time of this post. We also welcome anyone who wishes to use the banner above to let other’s know about this wonderful opportunity.

The home is sponsored in the name all those who are dedicated to having a healthier and/or self-sufficient home of their own. Let all of us who truly believe in this way of life make a statement by helping to get some people back on their feet in a way that we believe in. Showing that not only is it important personally to us, but to everyone because of the reduce strain on our environment, reduce strain on ourselves and our families, better health, less stress, and even lower costs for running a home.

You can donate as little or as much as you are able. $5 can buy a CFL (Compact Fluorescent Bulb), $25 low VOC paint, $40 a low flow shower head, $100 for a programmable thermostat, $200 for a ceiling fan, $500 for energy efficient lighting, $1500 for a tankless water heater, $3000 for the heating and cooling system , $5000 for a rainwater harvester, or even $25,000 for rooftop solar panels. As you can see there is a wide range of donations needed. This list is just a partial what can be sponsored. When you click to donate to the home at Make it Right 9 get an interactive home that shows you where your funds will be put to use and why that product was chosen. So not only can you do a good deed but you can learn while you’re doing it.

We also encourage you to talk with friends and family about getting this project finished. They are over half way to meeting their goal of 150 homes. The count is 81 homes and almost a quarter of the next one sponsored. Showing that this a way of life not only for rural areas can have a big impact on showing the public at large that this is an attainable goal for the average Joe.

Of course they approved The Eco Friendly Home today because yesterday we did our updates. Sorry that you got two updates in a row but we thought this was important enough to post as soon as we found out about it.…

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March 28, 2008 No Comments