Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from November 1998

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from November 1998

Good chance of widespread TEOTWAWKI. (the end of the world as we know it) (possible outcome of the year 2000 computer transition) (includes related articles)(Cover Story)
November 1, 1998... The people who most need to read this, won't. They aren't interested in computers or Y2K. They don't believe there will be any problems. They think it's all hokum from the lunatic fringe. I think they're mistaken, and in grave danger....

Y2K-not OK. (year 2000 computer transition) (includes related article)
November 1, 1998... Countryside: My Wife, Marcia, wrote you an article last year, that I believe may have encouraged you to take the turn you have for this magazine with the Y2K preparation approach. I am sure glad we were able to give those existing homesteaders...

Serious as it Y2K is, it's not the only problem we have to look forward to. (imminent problems and the year 2000 computer transition) (includes related article)
November 1, 1998... As the Countdown to Year 2000 continues, we continue to focus on the Y2K computer problem. But that's not by any means the only event that concerns us. An explosive non-computer event (or two) before 2000 wouldn't surprise me a bit... and as...

The homestead chicken. (guide to raising and harvesting chicken)(Cover Story)
November 1, 1998... Our reader surveys consistently show that the most common form of livestock on homesteads is the chicken. There are some very good reasons for this popularity. First, while many people who are unfamiliar with farm livestock are...

Yes, you can grow rice in zone 6. (cold climate agriculture)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Although rice is a tropical crop early maturing varieties can be grown as far north as Long Island. And you can harvest enough rice from your garden to feed your family for a year. (A 100 foot by 15 foot bed will produce about 170 lbs of rice....

Seed-saving has many benefits. (includes related article on seed drying)
November 1, 1998... Saving seed will not only reduce gardening expenses, but it can enable you to have control over size, disease resistance, maturity dates, flavor and overall quality of your produce. Your seed should come from healthy fruit or plants with...

Super-bug, meet super-weed. (genetic manipulation of crop products affects weeds) (includes related article on hybrid seed sterility)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Genetic engineering of crops has spread further and faster than even most biotech boosters predicted only a few years ago. Since the infamous (and ill-fated) "square tomato," there has been a steady parade of genetically engineered crops that...

Learning to cook on a woodstove.
November 1, 1998... When my companion and I began our 18-month transition period of moving to and living in the woods, we also began a period of education. We discussed and planned much. We bought books and magazines and took classes on everything from solar...

Advice on safe canning. (food preservation)
November 1, 1998... In a recent issue a reader wrote of the difficulties of keeping meat for the winter, and mentioned canning it. She said she wanted to buy the huge canner from Lehman's Hardware that covers two stove burners because it "would make the job go...

Watering livestock in winter.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Frozen buckets of water can be a headache, especially if you have to haul water any distance. Livestock care is never as easy in cold weather as it is during the summer, but here are some ideas to make it easier. Water piped to the barn...

Raising earthworms with rabbits in Alaska.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Here in interior Alaska, our weather isn't a whole lot colder than Montana, but earthworms aren't native to the area and generally don't survive our winters. However, I've managed to keep redworms in my raised garden beds, winter some over,...

Sheep can utilize many grains.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Sheep can live well on grains other than corn, according to South Dakota State University Extension sheep specialist James Thompson. The other grains are generally used as an energy source, and protein and mineral supplementation may be...

A frugal homesteader makes a case for registered goats.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... I'm writing this from the view-point of a person who has learned to be frugal. This wasn't usually by choice, but by the need to make ends meet. I raise goats, with a preference for Nubians. Why? They are a large goat and are capable of...

Homesteading in suburban Connecticut.
November 1, 1998... We have been subscribers for a few years after finding our first issues at the library. I went to search for reading material on raising chickens, and up popped Countryside. The library had three years' of back issues, and we read them all...

Despite ups and downs, they're making it in Michigan. (homesteading efforts)
November 1, 1998... My experience with homesteading is that the "ideal" of total self sufficiency usually doesn't happen. There are many aspects of this lifestyle that are fruitful and rewarding, but most people are forced to adapt homesteading to their own...

They didn't know they were homesteading!(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... In raising our four children, we gardened and raised our own meat whenever possible. Homeschooling provided most of the education, and the children always helped us with the care of the garden and animals. We didn't know we were homesteading....

The cistern: a solution for declining water quality. (includes information on water conservation techniques)
November 1, 1998... A few years back, the orphanage up the road decided (despite Newt Gingrich) that there wasn't any future in orphans. They figured that old folks who didn't want to maintain their own homes any more offered greater potential. So they built some...

Tools for secondary tillage. (seed-bed preparation)
November 1, 1998... For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed the sight, feel and smell of a mellow, healthy soil. Producing such a soil condition is the goal of secondary tillage. More specifically, secondary tillage takes the coarseness of soil subjected to...

Fighting fires-and fear-in Florida. (homesteaders threatened by wild fire)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... I'm writing from a war zone. Not literally, but it might as well be. Helicopters are flying overhead with loads of water. Forestry men are on the scene with heavy equipment, cutting fire breaks. There is a flurry of excitement and fear...

Heating with kerosene requires caution.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... An old fashioned method of heating homes and farm outbuildings is making a comeback, bringing hazards perhaps not familiar to a new generation of users. In the last few years, use of kerosene heaters in homes and farm buildings has...

Power from the sun. (solar energy)
November 1, 1998... Even people who have a genuine interest in solar often lack understanding of just how different it is from the almost universal power grid system of electricity. It involves much more than just saying good-bye to the grid and installing solar...

The most important aspect of home power is learning to conserve it. (solar energy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... You can get a taste of what it's like to live with solar (or wind) power even before you set up your system. The first three rules for alternative energy systems are conservation, conservation and conservation. You can practice that (and...

The Intentional Peasant ponders progress. (modern dependance on computers and technology)
November 1, 1998... The Intentional Peasant Baltimore, Maryland Almost all of us are in favor of progress: a better way to shell corn, get the garden cleaned up for fall, heat the house, bring in a few extra dollars, whatever. To most of us, progress means...

How to get started. (homesteading)
November 1, 1998... Countryside: My husband and I are "farm-sitting" for a couple who gets Countryside and we are both very impressed by it. I stayed up until 3 A.M. this morning reading the "Countdown to year 2000" issue which came yesterday. Enclosed is our...

Ideas to help in preparing for Y2K: the message: quit waiting to live life! (year 2000 computer transition)
November 1, 1998... Countryside: Your July/August issue much affected my life. I thought I would share some tips based on what my husband and I are doing to get ready for Y2K. First let me say that we are not running around, half crazed out of our minds with...

When starting a business ask 'what do people need that I can provide?'
November 1, 1998... I'd like some advice on starting a home business. What can I do to make a little money for necessary expenses without leaving my homestead?" Homesteaders have always asked this question, but most approach it from the wrong angle. The...

Preparing for Y2K? (yawn.) They're homesteaders!
November 1, 1998... With Y2K quickly approaching, food storage will become a dire matter of necessity. Here is how we address it in the woods of the Upper Peninsula. Food storage is my favorite subject! It feels like I've been doing it all my life. As a...

His homestead has almost everything ... almost.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... I have been a subscriber for almost 25 years. I have seen some good issues, but July/August and September/ October proves that it only gets better. The Y2K stuff and the book sections really got to me. I would not change a word if I had...

Y2K preparedness on a budget. (year 2000 computer transition)
November 1, 1998... In my job as an ICU nurse, we "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." This idea is also useful in preparing for unsettled times. There is potential for at least temporary failure of utility-delivered electrical power. Those who...