Mini Homestead

RustBeltCowgirl

Was browsing the articles available at American Survival Guides website and found this:

https://www.asgmag.com/news/setting-mini-homestead/

Actually I had been looking for their articles from the Prepper guides. But, hey, you never know what might catch your eye.

karenjanicki

Cool! I'm interested in farming on a small scale.

Michelle D

This really hits home with me. Having a sustainable homestead is a dream that I'm trying to work towards. I have a lot to learn still! I fall into that category of people that aren't prepared with water systems that the article talks about. I know how important it is, but having it so readily available does give a false sense of security. I find myself falling into that trap far too often.

Monek Marie

I have water everywhere on the property (except in the house ;) ) Broken piping that all needs replaced. An artesan well, 4 streams, 2 springs and that huge creek. Oh, and a meadow and swamp like area.

But several years ago a very nice community had to leave their homes and pretty much lost everything they had because all the water in that area got contaminated. Since the water was contaminated the soil ended up that way too. Miles and miles of land now sits empty with rotting homes falling in. It stuck in my mind that your water source may disappear and hopefully just the water and not the land too

All my buildings collect water and most of that is used for irrigation. I'd like to find a better way to clean water if I need to. I have watched videos on how desert areas collect and save water. Thta is also important to know if you get lost in the wilderness - how to find safe drinking water or how to collect it.

I used to travel a lot and often would get a 6 month lease. The first thing I did when I looked at a place to live was water quality.

VermontCathy

@Denise Grant "That is also important to know if you get lost in the wilderness - how to find safe drinking water or how to collect it."

For your personal consumption, it's a good idea to have a filter. The biggest threats to your digestive system (in the US, at least) are giardia and cryptosporidium, which are easily filtered out if you've prepared in advance.

I wouldn't drink water in the backcountry without a filter. Too much risk of giardia and cryptosporidium even in remote regions.

The goods news is that backcountry personal water filters are cheap. For example, the Sawyer Squeeze is only $30, and will last a long time if you backflush it regularly. It would be good to have one available. You should use it occasionally, not just hold it in reserve, because when it dries out it may refuse to pass water until soaked thoroughly.

Fortunately, your garden doesn't care about these common microorganisms. As long as you don't have a problem with heavy metal contamination or other hard-to-filter pollution, you can use undrinkable water directly in the garden.

Michelle D

@VermontCathy your statement about backflushing your Sawyer Squeeze is 100% accurate. My husband learned that the hard way. He uses it often so that he doesn't have to carry water when he is out in the woods. He neglected to backflush it after several uses. The last time he went to use it nothing would go through. He was pretty thirsty when he got home that day.

VermontCathy

@Michelle D You can restore a Sawyer Squeeze by soaking in water with vinegar added (recommended by the manufacturer). Obviously this needs to be done at home before heading into the woods!

The problem is that hard water leaves a layer of lime-like deposit on the filter, and water can't get through that. Vinegar will dissolve it, and frequent back-flushing in the field will flush it out it before it dries and hardens.

Your husband should test the filter immediately before any trips into the woods. If it works when he leaves home, it will be fine for the duration of the trip. But if you put it away for several months, you may need to soak it before it works again.

COWLOVINGIRL

This is really cool!

Annie Kate

Thanks for mentioning that about the water filter. These are things most people don't know or talk about.

Monek Marie

@VermontCathy

I never heard of a swayer Squeeze. Thank you. I will have to check that out