Homesteaders, Off-gridders and Preppers- Welcome!

Welcome to Off Grid and Free My Path to the Wilderness

Aerial View of our Homestead on Hockley Lake

Our Remote Off-Grid Wilderness Homestead

 

To homesteaders, off-gridders and preppers everywhere- Greetings from the Canadian wilderness! Welcome to Off Grid and Free My Path to the Wilderness!

Imagine if you can, living so remote that access is only by float plane. You won’t see another person for 6 months at a time.

Twin Otter landing on Hockley Lake

Twin Otter Landing at Hockley Lake

No daily mail delivery, no commute to a mundane 9 to 5 job, no easy access to malls and supermarkets, and none of civilization’s chaos and noise. Nothing but the silence of the forest encompasses you. Continue reading

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Alternative Methods to Weed Control

I know this post is coming a little late to be useful this year but I’m hoping this post will be helpful next growing season for all gardeners and homeowners who wrestle with weed control. Unless weeds are dealt with in some fashion throughout the spring and summer growing season, they will quickly overwhelm all efforts to grow lawns, flowers and in our case, vegetables. And then in the fall, they have a natural tendency to reseed themselves. There are many alternative methods to weed Control!

Some Unpicked Weeds Around Apple Trees

Some Unpicked Weeds Around Apple Trees

Let me ask you this. Have you ever noticed the similarity between a weed and a cat? What’s the one trait in common? It’s a natural instinct they share. Can anybody guess?

Ever hear of the cat righting reflex? There’s been a lot of study about it. This is true now. I’m not pulling your leg on this. The cat has an innate sense of being able to land on it’s feet regardless of the situation. They somehow can twist and contort their body so that they are able to land feet first. See where I’m going with this?

Weed Control

Surely we’ve all pulled weeds. Ever pull a weed and toss it aside only for it to land back down on its root. Come back a few days later and that sucker has rerouted itself and is thriving again. Especially after a rain. There’s no physics principles that can explain this phenomenon. The only thing that makes sense to me is that the weeds internal gyroscope is programmed for ROOT DOWN.

We have pulled a lot of weeds over the years and we’ve done a pile of mulching for weed control. And I even fire up the string trimmer and pulverize the weeds to bare soil. But the one thing we’ve never done is use herbicides such as roundup around the garden or house.

Glyphosate Alternatives

I recently received an email from an organization dedicated to healthier living. I have never heard of this group. I have no affiliation with this group. I was simply asked to read what they have to say about the herbicide roundup (glyphosate) and I was pleased that the article was straight forward on the health concerns of using products like roundup. Better was the majority of the page listed many natural alternatives to weed control. Basic stuff like using vinegar or boiling water. Some things I’ve honestly never knew existed like corn gluten and natural oils for weed control.

I found the information quite educational and there’s a few tricks I plan to try such as boiling water. I wanted to pass the site on to you for a browse since whether you garden or have a lawn, weeds can be counted on to sprout every year and anything we can do to make the battle simpler and environmentally friendly is a noble cause.

Here’s the website. https://www.drugwatch.com/roundup/alternatives/  I’m curious. Any tricks you’ve used that we might add to the mix? 

Until next time, keep the dream alive! We wish you a great day!

Ron and Johanna

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Those people aren’t off grid! How dare they claim that!

Those people aren’t off grid!

How dare they claim that!

Twin Otter landing on Hockley Lake

Twin Otter landing on Hockley Lake

The following was written by two off grid people, Ron and Johanna Melchiore, sent to you via satellite for distribution on social media.

A couple of weeks ago, our publisher put up a short video clip on social media of Johanna and me. That video clip touted our self-reliant, off grid lifestyle. That video clip went viral. Over a million views which generated enormous interest in us with hundreds of comments. We tried to respond to most.

We are grateful for the overwhelming love and support from the vast majority of them. They fully understood what we have done in life and the gist of that video. They easily made the connection that they were on our publisher’s pages which promotes self-reliance. That’s the context and the spirit in which all posts on these accounts are made. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. It is you folks who keep us going. But we were a bit surprised that there was a small fraction of people who ended up with exploding heads over the topic along with a few radicals who gave us exploding heads. Continue reading

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Our Solar Greenhouse Construction

We’ve mentioned our solar greenhouse many times over the years both in Saskatchewan and now here in Nova Scotia. Our greenhouse is an indispensable necessity for us and an invaluable resource for maintaining our self-reliant lifestyle. It not only allows us to grow vegetables requiring longer growing seasons like sweet potatoes but it is a season extender both in spring and fall and allows us to grow some vegetables literally year round.

Solar Greenhouse Framework

Solar Greenhouse Framework

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12 Steps to Becoming More Self-Reliant

If you’ve been wanting to become self-reliant but are unsure how to proceed, consider these 12 steps to becoming more self-reliant to get you started. If you’re already on your path to self-reliance, there may be some items in this list you’ve never considered but after some thought, may decide to pursue. The items are in no particular order of importance.

Garden that Will Feed Us All Year

Garden that Will Feed Us All Year

1. Plant a garden

Often this is one of the first steps someone chooses to become more self-reliant and for good reason. Freedom from supermarket produce means you can be certain of how vegetables were grown and are no longer subject to escalating food prices or potential shortages. Whether you start small with a garden big enough to only supply fresh eating through the summer months or one big enough to feed you all year long, you’ll be glad you embarked on this path. Continue reading

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Six Herbs for Homegrown Herbal Teas

If, like us, your goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible, we can recommend you raise these 6 herbs for homegrown herbal teas. We’ve grown these 6 herbs for years and never tire of drinking them. They are as good as store bought herbal teas yet because you can grow them yourself, you are a step closer to independence from the supermarket.

Herbs Washed and Spun Dry

Herbs Washed and Spun Dry

Many of the following herbs are perennials meaning once established, they will come up every year. Although in truth some are only perennials in the deep south of the United States. Lemongrass and Stevia are 2 herbs that are perennials in zone 11. This doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t grow these plants however. We simply have to treat them as annuals and plant them each year. Depending on where you live, you may need to mulch the other perennials to give them winter protection. Here’s our favorite six herbs for homegrown herbal teas.
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Basic Knitting Equipment for the Self-Reliant Homesteader

As we’ve eluded to in previous posts, winter on the homestead is the perfect time to engage in pursuits there’s no time to do during the busy summer months. Knitting is a pleasurable hobby but for the self-reliant homesteader it’s an invaluable skill that’s part of a well rounded basket of survival skills; one that you can draw upon in hard times to help keep the family clothed. Familiarizing yourself with basic knitting equipment increases your level of self-reliance and may give you an edge in the future.

Using Double Points to Make Gloves

Using Double Points to Make Gloves

Equipment

While there’s a lot of paraphernalia available to any knitter, the fact remains that all that’s needed to get started are 2 things: needles and yarn. Continue reading

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Winter Activities on Our Homestead

We had a recent inquiry about our woodlot work as well as our winter activities on our homestead so here it goes.

Woodlot Thinning

Woodlot Thinning

With gardens put to bed, preserved bounty socked away in the root cellar, pantry and freezers, life on the homestead in winter takes on a slower pace. Nevertheless, there are numerous winter activities on the homestead that occupy our time. These include but are not limited to: indulging in various hobbies, spending more time cooking and baking, planning the coming season’s garden as well as reflecting on last season and what we want to do different, perusing seed catalogs while dreaming of spring and working in the woods. Lastly let’s not forget about relaxing. Let’s explore each of these winter activities on our homestead in more detail.

Wood Lot Work

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2023 Resolution – 100% Self-Reliant Vegetable Production

Is raising 100% of your own vegetables possible? Absolutely. We’ve done so for decades. Why not make 100% self-reliant vegetable production your 2023 resolution.

100% Home Grown Meal

100% Home Grown Meal

We raise 100% of our vegetables which means we don’t rely on the grocery store for any of our veggies regardless of the time of the year. This was particularly relevant when we lived remote in the bush of northern Saskatchewan where our homestead was only accessible via bush plane. We flew to town twice a year and it was only during those biannual trips to civilization that we did any shopping. Being self-reliant was a necessity. Even though we are more accessible to stores now, we still grow all of our vegetables.
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The Aging Homesteader

Aging is a fact of life. Even though we’ve been homesteading for over 43 years and we’re in our 60’s, we haven’t slowed down much. But we know the day is coming when we’ll slow down to the point it will take us longer to accomplish tasks. As the aging homesteader knows, they may put in the same number of hours as always but their productivity will decrease. In other words, they won’t be able to accomplish the same amount of work in the same number of hours as they had in the past.

Elevated Bed in Full Production

Elevated Bed in Full Production

This will be hard to accept but is to be expected. Since we know the day is coming, now is the time to prepare for it. This post is dedicated to the aging homesteader including young homesteaders who are smart enough and possess enough foresight to prepare for the inevitable.

Acceptance

The first step is to accept and expect the aging process. You don’t have to like it or be happy about it but rather figure out strategies for dealing with it. Aging and homesteading don’t have to be at odds with each other so long as you’re smart about it.

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Green Manures for Increased Garden Fertility

Green manures, sometimes referred to as cover crops, are crops that are grown with the intention of tilling or plowing them back into the soil for increased garden fertility. They include legumes such as clover, alfalfa, beans, peas and vetch as well as grasses such as rye, winter wheat, oats and buckwheat. We’ve used just about every one of these green manures at one time or another during our 42 years of off-grid homesteading.

Lush, Healthy Rye

Lush, Healthy Rye

Benefits of Green Manures

Green manures improve soils by adding organic matter as well as nutrients and even help to control weeds. When growing, they prevent soil erosion from winds as well as heavy rains. When incorporated into the earth, all the various nutrients that went into growing the green manure are added back to the ground and all that organic matter helps improve soil structure, a plus if you have sandy or heavy clay soil.

All legume green manures add nitrogen to the soil. These plants “fix” nitrogen on their roots from the air into the soil, thus becoming a built-in source of nitrogen that once turned under is now available for the next crop. This is one way green manure increases garden fertility. Continue reading

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Grow More Perennials and Save Labor

Whether you’re a backyard gardener, a homesteader or someone contemplating joining the ranks of those desiring to be more self-sufficient, we’re all busy and are looking for ways to save time and effort. Raising perennials is the answer. Why not grow more perennials and save labor?

Grapes with Vines Behind Ron

Grapes with Vines Behind Ron

What are Perennials?

Perennials are plants that once established, will come up faithfully every year with little or no help from any of us. While they require some effort to get established at planting time, that time and energy expenditure is a one time item. As a result, they are a gardener’s best friend because for that initial investment of time and effort, you are rewarded with years of productivity. Continue reading

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Compost is the Lifeblood of any Organic Garden

Compost is the lifeblood of any organic garden since it not only enriches the soil, but also improves soil structure. Both clay soil or sandy soil can be transformed into a productive loam through the addition of compost.

Lush Garden of 2021 Thanks to Compost

Lush Garden of 2021 Thanks to Compost

What is Compost?

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Woodlot Thinning

For 42 years, I’ve actively managed and worked in the woods. The forest has been a source of firewood, income, recreation and exercise. Johanna and I cannot imagine living anywhere else other than surrounded by forest. I cannot look at a forest without thinking that tree here needs to go, that’s too thick in there, I need to salvage that leaning tree etc. This is a post about woodlot thinning.

Thinning the Woodlot

Woodlot Thinning

When we lived in Maine, we were part of the State/National Tree Farm program and we won a couple of County Outstanding Tree Farm awards for our forest stewardship. We own a large woodlot here in Nova Scotia and I continue to spend time improving our woodlot by thinning the jungle of trees that at times is so thick, it’s near impossible to bull my way through. Twenty or more stems within an arms radius. Way too dense! Continue reading

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Wood Cookstoves – Tips and Tricks

Given a wood cookstove is the only appliance we’ve ever had in our off-grid kitchen for the last 42 years, we’ve learned lots of tips and tricks that a novice may find useful beginning with the selection of a stove, installing the stove and finally using it. Let’s talk wood cookstoves – tips and tricks.

Antique Woodstove in Maine

Antique Woodstove in Maine

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Homesteading Track and Field

Homesteading Track and Field? Is there even such a thing?? By the time you get to the end of my article, you will have a definitive answer to that age old question. Homesteading Track and Field. Indeed!
US Master's National Championships Bronze M65 200M 28.01

US Master’s National Championships Bronze M65 200M 28.01

Competitive track and self-reliance? Off grid homesteading and competitive track?? A bit odd that I included sports and competitive athletics with homesteading and self-reliance don’t you think? But bear with me. Give this a read and let me know what you think.

I’m growing older and much closer to the end than the beginning with an unknown amount of time left. I’ve tried to make the most of what time I’ve had on the planet. I’m too old to toot my own horn so I’m simply writing to pass on my story as motivation and encouragement for others.

As a younger guy close to 40 years ago, I was a sprinter for a local Pennsylvania track club. Then I moved to Maine where homesteading and self-reliance became my career of choice. I was always active so this move to Maine was just a continuation of physical activity.

The only running I did was around the base paths for the local softball team. As many of you know, we then moved 100 miles into the Saskatchewan wilderness where the only running I did was from a fast approaching forest fire.

Then about 5 years ago, we made the transition from the wilderness of Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia to build our third and final homestead. Two years ago, I noted a competition for those 55 plus and older. The competitive juices started to flow and I thought to myself, how hard could it be to get back into sprinting shape? Well, surprisingly hard!

Everything I do, I give it my best shot and this was no different. I surely did not want to show up on the track and get smoked by a pack of old guys. So I trained hard, limped for months, pulled my quad and limped some more. Showed up at the track mostly healed with my quad taped up yet won my races. I was absolutely shocked!

Suffice it to say, I’ve paid a steep price to get into and maintain sprinting form. I’ve torn the quad, several hamstring muscles, felt the sickening feeling of my calf muscle tear but I continue plugging along. Each injury took 2 to 8 months to heal. But the body is quite resilient and will heal. I now have a completely factory rebuilt right leg! I’m the Canadian Master’s indoor 60 and 200 meter champion and took a Bronze medal in the US Master’s Indoor National Championships.

I think it crazy and preposterous that as a result of a whim to run in a fun track event several years ago, I will now be running for Team Canada in the world masters Championships this summer. I sure didn’t see that coming.

So let’s get to the important stuff. I’d like to think this lifestyle of hard, satisfying work, coupled with clean air, fresh garden vegetables and healthy living put my body into a position where I could attempt this comeback.

Age is Not a Barrier!

It doesn’t hurt to be a bit goal oriented and driven to succeed either. I’m in the 65-69 competitive age group and I can’t stress this enough… age is not a barrier to success! Don’t ever let anyone tell you you are too old to try something new. You have no idea what you can accomplish unless you actually give it a try.

This concept applies to whether you’re contemplating something competitive, a change of lifestyle perhaps oriented to self-reliance or something as simple as walking around the block. Do something on a whim!

Maybe see you on the track for a race?

Until next time, keep the dream alive! We wish you a great day!

Ron and Johanna

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A Homestead Staple – Potatoes

Potatoes are a staple vegetable for us. We grow several hundred pounds each year for just the two of us. Let’s explore how we grow and harvest a homestead staple – potatoes.

Bucket of Potatoes

A Homestead Staple – Potatoes

Here’s a video we did on potato planting. As you can see from this video, we will only plant potatoes in the traditional hilled rows. Over the many years of gardening, we have had consistently large potatoes in quantity with vigorous healthy plants. There is no good reason to change our methods which work great for us. Continue reading

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Using Our Cast Iron Waffle Maker

In a previous post we extol the virtues of cast iron for any homestead kitchen. Cast Iron Cookware for the Homestead Kitchen. Below is a video of me using our cast Iron waffle maker to make homemade buttermilk waffles. See if you can guess what the secret ingredient is before the video is over.

Here’s the recipe in case you want to give these a try.

1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour or a combo of both)

1 tsp double acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk

1/3 cup oil (or melted butter)

2 eggs

I large bowl whisk together the first 4 ingredients. In separate bowl mix buttermilk, oil and eggs. Add to the dry ingredients and mix. Cook waffles till golden brown. Makes 5 to 6 waffles.

Until next time, keep the dream alive! We wish you a great day!

Ron and Johanna

If you found our site and this post of value, would you please click the “Top Prepper Sites” link in the right hand column to vote for us. Thank you so much!

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Grow Your Own Italian Herb Seasoning Mix

Anyone, even apartment dwellers, can grow their own Italian herb seasoning mix. All that is required to make your own Italian herb seasoning mix is equal parts of the following dry herbs: Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Sage.

Herb Bundle Ready to Hang for Drying

Herb Bundle Ready to Hang for Drying

Growing the Herbs

All these herbs can be grown indoors on sunny windowsills, in pots set on patios or balconies, in window boxes or in outdoor gardens. Some are annuals meaning they must be planted each year while others are perennials meaning they should come up each spring without needing to be replanted.
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Consider a Wood Burning Cookstove for Your Off-Grid Kitchen

Since an electric range is out of the question, anyone off-grid or considering going off-grid is faced with determining how they’ll cook meals. Most opt for a gas/propane stove trading dependence on the electric company for dependence on the gas/propane company. Instead, why not consider a wood burning cookstove for your off-grid kitchen.

Newly Installed Cookstove at Nova Scotia Homestead

Newly Installed Cookstove at Nova Scotia Homestead

Why Consider a Wood Cookstove

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Cast Iron Cookware for the Homestead Kitchen

Having lived off-grid for over 40 years, I’ve always used a wood cookstove for all my cooking, baking and canning and have found that cast iron cookware for the homestead kitchen can’t be beat.

Waffle Iron, Muffin Pan and Corn Stick Pans

Waffle Iron, Muffin Pan and Corn Stick Pans

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