Extopian

One of the easiest and most rewarding ways to grow cucumbers is in a raised bed system. Not just any old system but a cinder block garden. This garden system requires no hammer, nails or wood. It uses cinder blocks for the walls. Inside the blocks you can tailor your soil mix to suit your personal needs and worry less about the limitations of your local soil conditions. It’s even attractive enough to replace those sterile plots of plant life we call “lawns” and sidewalk green space. Raised bed containers can use as little as ¼ the space of a conventional row garden and need up to 1/4 the time and water to grow the same amount of food.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 45% [?]

Those dried, chewy strips of fruit found in the snack and health isle of your grocery store are an excellent replacement for candy bars but command a premium price. Ironic really, if you consider that like jams, fruit leather is just one more way to get additional mileage out of low to middle quality fruits before they go bad. Pretty much any fruit that can be made into jams can be made into fruit leather (i.e. I haven’t had much luck with things like citrus and bananas). One drawback (or advantage, depending on your nutritional outlook) is that the fruit leather described below do not have the powerful artificial preservatives present in their commercial counterparts. As such, they should not be stored for long periods at room temperatures. Either consume within a couple days or freeze for later.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 20% [?]

Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, recreationalist, hunter or just a full/part resident of the outdoors one essential piece of gear that is often overlook are a good set of binoculars. Choosing a set for general use can be a bit tricky as many people can only differentiate gross magnification and price as a gauge of quality. This can lead to some powerful, but ultimately, inadequate, gear choices as well as wasting a great deal of money. Here’s what you need to know and consider when purchasing binoculars.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 34% [?]

Experiencing a disaster can be overwhelming. Even when one has avoided the numerous physical challenges and dangers of a disaster, the psychological threats are often harder to identify, evaluate and address. These threats can serious degrade your ability to cope with the disaster and its ongoing situations, as well as result in lingering psychological issues well after the actual disaster has subsided. As with most dangers, the first and best defense is the ability to identify them.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7% [?]

Depending on your region and hunting technique, hunting season for deer and some other large game is just around the corner (a few weeks to a couple months).  While I haven’t had the opportunity to do as much hunting as I’d like, I have enjoyed several excellent venison meals in my life, so it always comes as a disappointment when I hear about people having bad experience with venison.  I think most of these experiences are rooted in some of the fundamental differences and expectations between game and domestic animals.  The following is a basic overview of venison and how best to appreciate it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Roses can do more than grace our landscapes and floral designs. Like its cousins the apple, pear, peach and cherry, roses produce a fruit. Rose Hips are a valuable source of vitamin C, containing as much as 20 times more vitamin C than oranges. They are also an excellent antioxidant. Rose Hips can be found in dried form in most health food stores, but why not gather your own? You’ll save money and you’ll know where they came from and the conditions in which they grew. Furthermore, you’ll be adding to your own self-sufficiency by locating and gathering a nutrient-dense food source to nourish yourself and your family. In many parts of the country, large hedges grow in great abundance producing attractive and fragrant pink and red flowers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 16% [?]