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<blockquote data-quote="securitysix" data-source="post: 2691489" data-attributes="member: 32714"><p>Long, but not dumb. Definitely something to have to worry about.</p><p></p><p>Ideally, you have some food stored for such an occasion, whether it's MRE's, extra canned food from the store, veggies canned from last year's garden, or freeze dried food buckets. That will help keep the family fed during the lean times so you can focus on keeping the farm alive enough to survive the winter.</p><p></p><p>I'd do what I could to keep the animals alive. Protein on the hoof will store longer than veggies in the refrigerator. Depending on the livestock, their feeding may actually be fairly low maintenance even in the winter months. While goats will be healthier if kept fed better, they can subsist off of a lot of things that cattle can't. Pigs can be pretty independent and aren't likely to let themselves starve, either. Chickens can eat a lot more than bird seed. </p><p></p><p>Consider intentionally growing ]url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth]amaranth[/url], aka pig weed, or at least letting it grow where it wants (as long as it's not interfering with the rest of your garden). It is considered a weed in most places, but it's very drought tolerant, and it has many uses as a food crop for both humans and livestock. Also, learn something about <a href="http://www.oklahomawildcrafting.com/" target="_blank">wildcrafting</a> in your area so you know what plants grow wild locally that you can use to help supplement the food supply for your family and livestock. You won't necessarily be able to forage those things during the winter, but if you forage them during the summer, you can help stretch what crops do survive farther into the winter. Plus, you might be able to preserve some of what you forage via canning or dehydrating it.</p><p></p><p>Can or dehydrate everything you can out of the garden to help it keep through the winter. Also, if you had a good enough first few seasons, you might have some left over food stuffs from those seasons to help keep the family and the livestock fed.</p><p></p><p>I would also consider adding trapping to my list of winter chores, which would bring in meat and furs. Meat can be used to supplement feeding the family or traded for other needed goods. Furs can be preserved and traded or turned into blankets/clothing, which can be used by the family or traded.</p><p></p><p>As for the low well, a lot of water can be reused. Shut off the valve for the toilet so it doesn't auto-fill. Rather than draining the dish water, pour it into the toilet tank and use it to flush. Just make sure you filter out any chunks of food that might be in it so they don't clog things up. Bath water can be used for the same thing. Depending on the kind of soap you use, you may even be able to use the dish and bath water to water the garden.</p><p></p><p>Have a system set up to catch rainwater. It may not rain much, especially during the summer, but it will pick up some in the fall and through the winter. And don't forget the spring storms. They probably won't provide enough water to get you through the entire summer, but anything you can store up as it falls will be helpful when it's not raining. Any of it you can catch in a barrel is more water you don't have to draw from a well or fetch from the creek. Remember, your roof has a lot of surface area that can catch this water, so gutters with water barrels under the down spouts are your friends.</p><p></p><p>^^^ ...Talk about dumb and long... ^^^</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="securitysix, post: 2691489, member: 32714"] Long, but not dumb. Definitely something to have to worry about. Ideally, you have some food stored for such an occasion, whether it's MRE's, extra canned food from the store, veggies canned from last year's garden, or freeze dried food buckets. That will help keep the family fed during the lean times so you can focus on keeping the farm alive enough to survive the winter. I'd do what I could to keep the animals alive. Protein on the hoof will store longer than veggies in the refrigerator. Depending on the livestock, their feeding may actually be fairly low maintenance even in the winter months. While goats will be healthier if kept fed better, they can subsist off of a lot of things that cattle can't. Pigs can be pretty independent and aren't likely to let themselves starve, either. Chickens can eat a lot more than bird seed. Consider intentionally growing ]url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth]amaranth[/url], aka pig weed, or at least letting it grow where it wants (as long as it's not interfering with the rest of your garden). It is considered a weed in most places, but it's very drought tolerant, and it has many uses as a food crop for both humans and livestock. Also, learn something about [url=http://www.oklahomawildcrafting.com/]wildcrafting[/url] in your area so you know what plants grow wild locally that you can use to help supplement the food supply for your family and livestock. You won't necessarily be able to forage those things during the winter, but if you forage them during the summer, you can help stretch what crops do survive farther into the winter. Plus, you might be able to preserve some of what you forage via canning or dehydrating it. Can or dehydrate everything you can out of the garden to help it keep through the winter. Also, if you had a good enough first few seasons, you might have some left over food stuffs from those seasons to help keep the family and the livestock fed. I would also consider adding trapping to my list of winter chores, which would bring in meat and furs. Meat can be used to supplement feeding the family or traded for other needed goods. Furs can be preserved and traded or turned into blankets/clothing, which can be used by the family or traded. As for the low well, a lot of water can be reused. Shut off the valve for the toilet so it doesn't auto-fill. Rather than draining the dish water, pour it into the toilet tank and use it to flush. Just make sure you filter out any chunks of food that might be in it so they don't clog things up. Bath water can be used for the same thing. Depending on the kind of soap you use, you may even be able to use the dish and bath water to water the garden. Have a system set up to catch rainwater. It may not rain much, especially during the summer, but it will pick up some in the fall and through the winter. And don't forget the spring storms. They probably won't provide enough water to get you through the entire summer, but anything you can store up as it falls will be helpful when it's not raining. Any of it you can catch in a barrel is more water you don't have to draw from a well or fetch from the creek. Remember, your roof has a lot of surface area that can catch this water, so gutters with water barrels under the down spouts are your friends. ^^^ ...Talk about dumb and long... ^^^ [/QUOTE]
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