Basic Mushroom Growing 101 -by Woodsman Dave

Mushroom growing.

First you start by buying a bag of clean oats. You put a half jar of oats 1/8 cup of vermiculite and 2/3 cup water. Let it sit for an hour. While sitting, take the lid and punch a hole in the middle with a hammer and nail. Put the lid on top. Put Tyvec house wrap over it, then put ring on it. I usually cut the Tyvec out to the size of the lid. Then put aluminum foil over that so no water gets in or out when pressure cooking. Pressure cook for two hours at 15 pounds to sterilize. Then (use Glovebox that you can make for about thirty bucks) to do a culture from a mushroom you want to grow. After the jar is sterile, put it in the glovebox and clean everything with alcohol. Take the mushroom, rip it open, take a small piece out of the middle, and put it in the jar. Put the lid back on and let it sit for two to three weeks while the Mycelium Colinizes then grains.

Step two: put hardwood fuel pellets for a pellet stove in bowl. 5.5 cups, add 2 cups of bran, and 6 cups boiling water. The pellets will turn to sawdust almost right away. Then pack those into jars with normal lids pressure. Cook for two hours. Now, go back to your glovebox to sanitize a bucket. I like ice cream buckets and coffee cans- the plastic ones. Then use alcohol to clean the bucket. Dump your sawdust in and your mycelium mix, put the lids on. Poke a hole in the top and tap a Tyvec piece over it. In 14 days, they will start popping. I usually drill 3/8 inch hole in the side of the bucket and tap plastic over it —to see if it turn white and push on the plastic. Then I take it off and let the mushrooms grow out.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR LIVESTOCK WARM WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE “THE GENTLE BARN” -By Boots N Lace

Seriously, some of these city folks are really in need of a reality check. Coats for chickens and goats. Really? If they would do a little research and STOP HUMANIZING THEM, they would realize, those coats are a waste of money. Mother Nature has provided EVERYTHING a goat or chicken (all livestock—this includes dogs and cats) needs to withstand ALL elements (there is exceptions to every rule, we will go over those in a minute.)

Ever gone camping or hiking? Maybe a bonfire on the beach? Any good Boy Scout can tell you what you need to start a fire and to keep it then going for hours with the smallest effort possible. I will equate the livestock to a simple example of fire starting and maintenance. What do you need to get a fire started? Small twigs and DRY weeds gets it jump started. Gotta then have the medium sized branches to go on or it burns out fast. To keep a good hot fire going, you are going to throw a dry, log on right? This gives a longer, more steady burn.

So, what is it your livestock need to stay warm? Food and shelter. That’s it? Yup, that’s it. Here’s how it works. First, they MUST HAVE a dry place to go. Livestock cannot warm themselves up if they are wet. They get cold, shivering burns MORE calories, then they get pneumonia and die from exposure. So make sure you have a good dry place for them to go to get out of the wind, rain, and snow. This is first and foremost. IF you don’t have this, DO NOT GET LIVESTOCK. You are not ready for them. The shelter needs to be solid on 3 sides with ventilation.

For Food: Starches are short acting but burn hot, then flame out. They are the “small twigs and branches” and examples are: grains (corn, wheat, oats, etc). Proteins and Fiber are longer acting and take longer to break down in their digestive system, then giving off a stead heat. They are the “logs” of the fire. Examples are: some grains carry a high percentage of proteins than others, hay, alfalfa, etc. UNDERSTAND THIS: Livestocks heat themselves from the INSIDE out. This is the opposite of what Humans do. This is also why coats are ridiculous on a goat or cow or chicken. They do nothing, actually, they HURT them by now their own hair or feathers won’t come in to keep them warm as Nature designed! If you want to keep your livestock warm FEED THEM! Give them a starch to jump start the inside furnace, then give them a longer burning fuel of a protein or fiber source. Remember it gets colder at night, so they need food to keep themselves warm, available at all times. When it is REALLY cold out, by instinct, a healthy goat, horse, or cow will eat around the clock. You can’t over feed in those situations! Most animals grow such a thick coat in, some will refuse to get out of the wind/snow and stand in it with their butts to the wind because standing in their provided shelter is still to hot for them. Don't worry, that's what NORMAL HEALTHY livestock do!

As with anything, there are exceptions to every rule. The really old, anything sick, or the really young sometimes need more TLC by bringing them in to a heated area more than what the heat of the herd and the shelter provide. But as soon as they are able to go out, put them out with the herd/flock! You want Nature’s methods of coat and feather growth to take its course so that the animal stands a chance of survival on its own. If an animal has been inside most of it’s life (dog or cat) you will have to “harden it” like you do tender plants in the Spring to get them ready to go in the ground. Little at a time so their coat has time to grow in. My working dogs live with the goats/cows year around. You can’t feel their skin their coats are so thick in the winter time. To bring them inside the house would be cruel as they would be miserable.

Providing anything less than the proper food and shelter is neglect and abuse. But as long as you have these 2 important things, you are good to go for the winter.

SETTING UP A WEBSITE: BASICS 102 MARKETING EDITION -by Boots N Lace

These days, Farmers need to be tech-y or they are screwed. Most live to far out for customers to come to them, and the Farmer’s Market is 1-2 times a week in most rural areas (if that) and weather dependent. Most are lucky to make back booth expense for the day—and who is staying with the Farm? So, a website IS the best way to get your product out there and known. I have been running a business for 10 years and the past almost 2 years has been in a rural area. Several drive 2 hrs for our dog training/boarding services. They would not have heard about me or my services without this said website. I did build it myself. I am NOT a website designer. Just know what I like and what the “tone” of my brand should be. Should you wish to view it, please do www.puppyluvfarm.com

What you will need:
-domain name or URL (same thing, used interchangeably)
-A host provider
-A website builder (online or you can buy a CD too)
-About $150-200 to start
-Nice photos of your product
-Look up terms for definitions if you are not CERTAIN of what they mean or you will be confused: search words, disclaimer, virtual,

STEP 1: Domain name or URL is the “dot com” address you enter in the search bar of Google or another search engine. These have to be purchased by you from someone. There are 2 companies that hold the ownership of ALL domain names (other claim to, but they buy them from these 2 sources as well, so don’t buy into that crap and pay a mark up!). GO-Daddy or Enom are the 2 companies, cost is about $12.99/year. Go to either website, and do a search to see if the domain you wish to own is in use. Also do a search for your desired business name to see if it is in use on Google. IF IT IS CHANGE IT NOW! Developing a brand takes several years to build. To find out down the road THEN that someone else Trademarked it as theirs and then serves you with a letter to not use it any more, SUCKS and the law is on the side of the Trademark owner. So be sure to check that.

STEP 2: Now you need a website service provider., cost is about FREE-$150/yr There are several free ones with options to upgrade as long as you add their hosting service (Covered in step 3), GO-Daddy has this, so does Wix. com. Both are user friendly, if you can Facebook and scrap book then you can use these services—it is just a virtual form of scrap booking! To start with, just get an introductory page and a second page with your product. Have nice photos ready to load.

Common Mistake: folks want to explain and talk to much on their website. NOOOOO….you loose business! Keep it short and sweet! Remember, this is advertising. Example: Do you listen to the pharmacy advertisements for disclaimers that the courts ordered for them to do when they go on and on about all the possible side effects? Nope, course ya don’t. So don’t put your customers through that either. You want JUST ENOUGH that they then pick up the phone and call ya because you peeked their interest!

Make sure your contact information is listed ON EACH PAGE at least 2-3 times! Make it easy for folks to find ya. I got pissed at Sprint a year ago because their web designer forgot to list the 800 number! Business hours of operation need to be at the bottom (folks are used to looking there) and make sure you use your search words (we will cover that in the 103) at least twice PER PAGE.

Avoid labeling your pages with: home page, contact page, etc. When folks search you, you want your PAGE NAMES to pull up on the search engine right? Look at my website. What are the pages names? Relevant to a common search for that business type, right? Think of things that people would be using to search your business for, and use those! If you can figure that out you are AHEAD OF THE PACK!

AVOID THE USE OF: Guest books, booking services through your website, review pages that a customer can enter on your website in order to avoid the NASTY work of the hackers. Why? They will reverse that page against you, crash your website, and your hosting service will drop you and your website like a hot rock. They will then hold your URL hostage until you pay to fix the hacking damage done. Ask how I know this. (Ass holes. They tried to say my website contacted ALL customer for the Navy Credit Union in New York with some scam when I am down here in TN!) This is also the very reason you want to stay away from “free websites” and service. Nothing is ever free and the free ones are the easiest for the hackers to use! If I am PAYING for something, I then can make an argument that the hosting provider is the one at fault as they are suppose to have the fire walls to protect me from that! So DON’T USE THE FREE SERVICES!

STEP 3: To “attach” your website and your domain name (or scrap book for explanation purposes) to the internet search engines (like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) you MUST have a host, otherwise, you just have a pretty scrapbook sitting at home on a shelf that only YOU can see and no one else. The Hosting service is the one that will show your website to the world. This usually runs about $80/year.

NOW HERE’S THE KICKER. To save you money at first, use the free website builder from GO-Daddy or Wix.com but then pay them for their hosting service! You usually get a significant discount by doing this through them the first year. Currently my URL, hosting, and website are all thru Enom. But come the first of the year, I will be moving my URL to GO-Daddy (they will buy it from Enom and get it released) so that not ALL my eggs are in one basket. Word to the Wise from the Experienced: these hosting, ass holes play dirty. Set it up, then split it up as soon as you can. That way, should they sell any portion of your website, hosting service, or URL to a 3rd party provider (that has happened to me 4x in 10 years of business, and I knew about it once of being sold), then they can’t hold any part of your website hostage!

Make sure you understand the definition of EACH of these 3 things you need: domain name, host provider, and website builder before you start wheeling and dealing. To many people go into this lazy and unprepared. KNOW YOUR BUSINESS AND SAVE YOURSELF SOME CASH!

Fermenting Feed for Chicken Basics 101 (is there a 102?)

What you will need to get or have on hand:

TWO 5 gal buckets with lids. Food grade if you eat these chickens or their eggs!
1 small bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
Food for the chickens: your normal feed


To START: the process takes 3 days initially. You will want one bucket going out to feed the chickens while the other is “brewing”
Dump in 1/2 bucket full of your normal feed. Add 1/2 cup of ACV. Add water till about 3 inches over the top of your feed. Let it set. Go out and stir it 3x a day. Add water as needed till it is a tooth paste consistency. Keep it covered with the lid to avoid wild birds from getting into it if it is outside and odor down (smells like vomit). The food will swell to fill the entire 5 gals! Watch for bubbles and the odor. When you have both of those, it is ready to go out.

Feed: For 40 birds I feed 15 cups spread out in different dishes (4 total) in the morning. And another 8 cups in the afternoon mid day. They eat about 1 5gal bucket every 3 days. Feed till about 3 inches from the bottom

Next Round to repeat:
Take the 3 inches from the bottom, add from “To Start” at the top to repeat process but DO NOT ADD the ACV. Stir. You will get ferment in 2 days then instead of 3.

Findings:

One week finished of feeding fermented feed. They have ate about 40lbs. So 1lb each for 40 birds. Feed here is about $13/50lb for the mix I give (all natural layer feed, BOSS, Scratch). Averages to about .35c/bird per week. The poop is 1/3 of normal in the coop.

 

1/3 from the bottom

 40 birds chowing down. They LOVE IT!

--Boots N Lace

Getting your homestead off the ground: Marketing Edition

Getting your homestead off the ground: Marketing Edition

     Homesteading isn't all that we strive for in this simple hard life we have chosen. We also need to find a way to finance this dream without killing ourselves or landing in a mountain of debt. Much of this has us at some point thinking about selling something from our homestead to hopefully make a profit but settle for just breaking even. Why shouldn't we think of selling something? I mean we have fruits, veggies, meat, eggs, canned items, animals, and sometimes hand crafted items. Somehow, the generations before us made enough to live this way, yet many of us are lacking what they had.

     I think it comes down to several things. We have smaller families (labor force), more expensive equipment, more laws and regulations than ever before, and more competition because of the internet. This forces us to stay in the rat race when our heart is very far away. The longer you are stuck in the rat race, the harder it is to get out. By design, it is a faulted system now.

-Branding: Getting your name out there seems to be the hardest part for most. I have a few ideas on that. First. you need a name and a brand so they can find you again. Choose your name carefully because it is the hardest thing to change. Then, you need a picture they can remember (stranger is better). If you ever need to change the picture, it is easy. For about 2 months print both the old picture and the new picture on everything and have a "new look" blob on there. I say 2 months to cover as much of your customer base as possible. Use the same name and picture across all platforms (labels, business cards, brochures, etc...).

-Business Cards: There are several legitimate websites that give away 250 free business cards. Take advantage of this and include one in every item you use. This makes it easy for your customers to hand your information on to someone else when they are talking about your products. Word of mouth and contact details are by far the best way to get known.

-Labels: Sticky labels on your products also help. People will see them in use and want them. Avery makes very good labels of all kinds. You can buy them at Walmart and print your information on them yourself, or you can use their design studio online and have them print them. In the long run it may be cheaper for massive amounts of the same product to be printed by them as ink does cost a ton. For small quantity items, buy the labels and print yourself. You want the product name as well as your business name and logo on these labels.

-Samples, samples, samples! Now that you have the cards and labels, you want to make small samples to get people hooked with both included. Make it just small enough to want more but not big enough to last more than 2 weeks. This seems to be the "sweet spot" to get people hooked on the item and want to purchase larger amounts. If it is too small and pretty they won't use it so you loose sales in a "pretty" item. If it is too large, the excitement for a new item will be gone come ordering time. Samples are best given to nurses, left in random shopping carts, and the local auto parts stores. They are most likely to be taken and used at these locations.

-Brochures: Now that people are getting hooked, it is time to make brochures or possibly a website. I prefer brochures because they are easier to get to your local market, can be read at ones leisure, are simple to make, not many use this method, and give one a feel for what you have available. Microsoft office and Open Office both have templates for brochures so long ago are the days of trying to figure out placement and sizes. Use color and pictures to attract the eyes. Now, if you print these at home you will forever be buying ink. I suggest you go to your local library and print them there. Mine charges 15 cents a page for color copies. Trust me, that is much cheaper than buying ink and paper. Pass them out to friends so they will get to their work places. Know any health care workers? They talk a ton! Give them a few. In their downtime, they will look. Leave a few at the library, laundry mats, doctors office, random carts at the grocery store (looks like someone else liked it and forgot to take it), mechanics, and ask if the local auto parts store will allow you to leave some on the counter. All these places may seem strange for something homesteading related, but they will get around. *There is too much competition at big feed stores, and the little ones seem only willing to help if they know you either personally or through business.

-Online: Don't want to pay for a website but still want the access? You can use Bookoo, craigslist, and now facebook. Remember when using these places that there are spammers and bots. Make sure you separate your email address and put letters between the numbers for your phone number to reduce these occurrences. While these can be effective in larger areas, they can also be very frustrating. Bookoo seems to be less frustrating in my area, but you'll have to see what works best in your area.

-Orders: Now you have a ton of orders flying in and feel discombobulated. Easy fix there too. Create a standard order form for all the info you would need to collect from the buyer. You are better off if you print 4 order forms per page. You can buy a small clipboard and keep them in your pocket or purse. If you don't have enough products for an order form, get a pocket sized pen and notebook to keep on you. This allows you to take orders no matter where you are. Then, get some dry erase boards. Put them where you can see them the most. Update them with the amount of each item you have on hand. It is easier to glance at that rather than having to find and count everything. If you have a section for what was sold, that will also help in keeping track of costs.

-Sales: While sales are a good marketing tactic, do not over use them. If you always have a sale for single items, you are devaluing your items. Why should a customer buy something at regular price if they know darn well it will go on sale next week? Now, buying 2 or more and getting a SMALL discount on a regular basis is a good idea. It promotes buying more yet not costing as much. Larger regular orders should get the larger discounts for their loyalty and to keep product moving. Loyalty cards work great! You know, those punch cards. Go back to that business card website and print the punch cards. Let's say, for every 12 dozen eggs you buy you get one dozen free. Not only does this get their loyalty to you to fill up these cards, the customer also tends to loose them and will have to start over. Punches are easy to get in any design so I suggest signing each block or buying a stamp logo. This will prevent fraud on the cards.

-Donations: I know it sounds strange to send out donations to make money, but there really are a ton of bleeding hearts out there. Give some of your brochures to police stations and let them know that you will try to help with a little if something bad happens. Let's say that someone's house burns down, you could offer boarding of their animals for 2 weeks to get them on their feet, a couple dozen eggs, nest boxes, canned goods, a small basket with candles and soap, fruit or veggie baskets, etc... After a few, you have the loyalty of the bleeding hearts. The victims and police will spread the word of how nice it was that you helped, making more people want to buy from you. Even the smallest of gestures opens up these people, you don't have to break the bank to help.

     With a world of everything selling the same thing, you need to find your way to stand out of the crowd. Quality and unique marketing will help you achieve this. Never exchange quality for quantity, you will loose money in the end. For those that have had success, what helped you?

~Independent Twist