A Living Magazine - Tap Root: Days 296 to 299 - Revisiting the Five Basics for Modern Human Survival

In this post I wanted to haul an old concept of mine off the dusty shelves. It is a 5-fold model used as a kind of checklist for evaluating whether a living situation is self-sustaining or not. The 5 basics are: Water, Food, Shelter, Heat and Electricity. They are ranked by survival necessity. In other words, (except for electricity--which is a modern human requirement), you need 1 more than you need 2, and 2 more than 3... etc to survive. Please check out the very detailed explanation for this model, here.

Back in 2014, during the months before leaving on my first crossing of America, I created a blog called, Self Sustaining Property. It had always been my plan to do exactly what I'm doing now, except back then. So, today I'd like to give a quick review of why survival is possible on the property I am developing, along with an assessment of the quality and limitations of each of the 5 basics as they currently stand.

1. WATER

This is a temporary filling system for a five gallon jug.

First, it is unwrapped.

Next, a premeasured hook on a string is connected to hold the tarp out.

Then a wooden frame is inserted to widen the mouth of structure and keep it open.

In the future this will have a mesh to keep larger objects from falling in.

Whenever clean water is harvested, it will be poured into the large white water barrel. To start though, I will have to fill this by transporting water. This white barrel water will be used for washing dishes, showering, cooking, and drinking...

The barrel is just high enough to allow for a small amount of water pressure. Water pressure is always measured proportionate to the height of the water level. Volume, counterintuitively, is not a factor. Without being forced by other means, water will never naturally rise above its highest source level. There is an easy rule for calculating water pressure. It is: 1 foot of water level height (h) creates 0.433 psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure, and it takes 2.31 feet of water level height to create 1 psi of pressure. So, if my 30 gallon bucket were completely full, and the height of the water level was 4 feet higher than the spigot level of the sink, then the psi at sink level would be 1.732 psi [or, 4 feet high * 0.433 psi/foot = 1.732 psi]. That's not very much, but enough to wash dishes. If I were to hose something out right at ground level, the pressure would increase. Let's say the barrel sits 3 feet off the ground. So, adding the three feet (now extended down by the hose) to the four feet of water in the barrel, I would have 3.031 psi [or, 4 feet high barrel + 3 feet high hose length * 0.433 psi/foot = 3.031 psi].

Because my property is on a moderate incline I can bring the hose way down the hill to gain more water pressure. I would do exactly that for a shower. If my shower head were another 10 feet below the ground level of the barrel, there would then be a total height of 17 feet. This would add a significant amount of pressure. Using the formula above, my shower head would squeeze out  7.361 psi. That's not bad. Yet, to give some perspective, your house water pressure is more like 40-50 psi, being about 5 times greater! But, we use what we have.

2. FOOD

Typical breakfast.

The plan is to use this summer to grow different useful plants and to experiment with various growing locations. Although this is a "food" category, I include herbs and medicinal plants as well. I know from last summer's garden at my sister's house (just before I moved to Farmington), that  I was able to grow two flushes of spinach, radishes, lettuce and carrots, all in pretty low quality soil. The soil I have at my current land is much richer. I also bought some peat moss potting soil to mix in and start plants. Here are some of the seeds... 

In no particular order: spinach, two kinds of lettuce, two kinds of radishes two kinds of carrots,

cucumbers, white and red onions, cilantro, bread seeds poppies, heavenly blue morning glories,

moon flower evening glories, some others yet to be acquired, and (hopefully soon) cannabis.

The neat thing about many of these plants is that, not only do they (radishes and carrots, for example) give more that one crop per year, all of the parts can be consumed. In the case of radishes, the sprouts, green, radishes themselves, then flowers and seeds, are all delicious. Carrots greens too can be eaten, or they can grow more carrots if kept in water. Even celery (which I bought to eat, but then regrew the heart as seen in the next photo), will give perpetually, if watered and regrown...

Celery heart, regrowing.

Some readers may remember my obsession with the Rose (Rosaceae) family? Apples are particularly useful members of the family (genus, Malus). One of my main goals is to grow a great variety of apples. Of course there are issues with establishing apples. For one, seeds are genetically unreliable. You may end up with something far different from the host fruit. because of this, seeds are usually only used to create root stock upon which branches (called "suckers") of already-established varieties can then be grafted. Secondly, even making root stock requires seeds to be kept in a freezer for several months in order to break their dormancy. I know of several wild apples trees around that I could get suckers from, but there is no way for me to freeze seeds. Even if I were able, it would still take a year or two before the root stock would be hardy enough to have branches grafted to it. I had read that some people had about 30% success getting very young suckers to root, if kept in water. For the hell of it, I am trying this with a young 8 inch branch. I am also trying to root raspberry and a rose bushes, just to see if it is possible...

In the jar on the right are apple, raspberry, and rose branches, attempting to root.

Morning glory plants still germinating.

While most plants will do well in the ground, for others I want the ability to control how much moisture and wind they receive. Cannabis, for example, would benefit from less wind (I regularly get gusts of up to 40 mph), and should be watered at ground level to avoid molding during the flowering stage. So I will be making a small greenhouse to protect the plants that need it. Here is the spot...

Just under the log structure I built last year, would be perfect as a greenhouse.

As for my current needs, eating once a day is what I am limited to, because of my bare bones budget. To store food, I have a a shelf for dried goods and a cooler for refrigerated food. Since I walk to town every day, I try to bring home a 5 pound bag of ice every other day. This keeps the temperature at about fridge level, while giving my clean water when it melts and ice to cool off the lemonade or water that I drink when I return from town hot and tired...

The food shelf.

The cooler.

Finally, the thing that has made all of my cooking much easier, was the purchase of  $15 propane stove attachment. Last year I could only cook by lighting a fire in the fire pit and cooking with that! So much more efficient and less deleterious on my wood pile to cook with gas. 

3. SHELTER

The back of the tent.

My shelter is an easy one for now. Although I definitely plan on building a small cottage, the tent works perfectly for my current needs. It is bug proof, well lit day or night, and mostly waterproof. It is also very cozy! I have a bed (made in a way described in the last post), a desk and a rug. Unlike last summer, my canopy/windbreaker is able to house everything else I need, so it keeps the tent in a state of zen-like cleanliness. No shoes are allowed in the tent! Having to deal with the build up of dirt from my shoes was a big issue last year. Making all of this a bit easier is the drying effect of straw that I laid down around the paths. As we will see in the next post, I was able to sprinkle grass seeds on theses formerly muddy pathways. The tent fly is held down by rocks...

Although this is a primitive site still, the homesteading activities I was unable to initialize last summer are getting their chance this year. I still have no money and am struggling every single day, but slowly - in the material sense - I am finding that I am able to acquire what I need to advance the final plan. And it is just enough stuff to make life more settled and comfortable than last year...

Outside utilities are coming together.

Inside is my refuge (mostly from black flies and mosquitoes)

and a comfortable place to rest and work.

Sunset, or Golden Hour.

4. HEAT

Because it is spring I haven't had a need for my propane heater, but I wanted to list it as filling the need for heat if necessary. Propane is clean and cheap ($15 to fill a 20 pound tank). Someday I will have radiant heat flooring and a small wood stove, but propane is very practical for now. Some of these mid-May nights can still go down to freezing, and (even though I like the colder air for sleeping) other people might choose to supplement with a bit of heat. Anyway, I'll just show my picture from last December when I first installed the heater. 

Heat, if needed.

This heater, even with its small size, would have no problem warming a well insulated, 100-200 square foot cabin or cottage.

5. ELECTRICITY

My Renogy 100 watt, 12 volt solar panel. My little solar radio is charging too.

The more individual items I have with their own mini solar panels,

the less power I have to use from my battery at night.

Having quite a bit of experience now with even my very tiny system, I understand much more about my own needs and what additional equipment is going to be needed. As things are, I can charge up to about 60 watts worth of tools and electronic equipment (phones, computers, rechargeable lights, etc.) and still be able to recharge my 12 volt battery with the next day's sunlight. Even with very muted daylight the panel will deliver enough juice to the battery each day to keep things going at night. But, if I stretch things too far, I end up with a deficit in battery power that may take an extra day of charging (with no load, or only a small one) to catch back up.

It should be remembered that when I bought the setup I was on my typical shoe string budget and had to pay the very least I could for each component. I - like so many people who are inexperienced with this kind of power system - thought that generation was the most important aspect (be it solar panel, wind turbine, or whatever). However, I have learned that it is storing - recharging and capacity of the battery - that is a problem; storing enough power to use when generation is not available. My weakest link is therefore my battery. It is a $50 deep cycle, sealed, lead acid, 12 volt battery. Technically it is for golf carts, but often also sold for solar systems. It is a great battery and almost does everything I need. Yet, ultimately it is just too small. I will soon need at least 1 more battery (more likely a pair), and keep them separated as two systems of power storage. Then I can charge 1 system, set it aside and charge the next. Either will then be able to supply power over night, with the other as a backup. As things stand though, it is better to have some power than none. Here is my modest system...  

At top right and moving clockwise: The charge controller (takes the incoming 12 volt DC from

the panel and portions it evenly to the battery without overcharging, and giving an alarm

if the battery is over-discharged), the inverter (takes the 12 volt DC power from the battery and

inverts it to 120 volt AC for use powering and charging household and office items,

and the battery (already discussed).

I fashioned the cabinet now holding all these items from scrap kitchen cupboard parts given away at renovated house downtown. Last year these components were all just resting on a 2 x 6, half-assed, and sticking out to inside of the tent.

One of the least expensive but most important items I bought with the power system is the little meter that let's me know the status of the system...

From top left and moving clockwise (powering only my desk lamp): charge of the DC battery

in volts (13.10), current of the AC load on the inverter (0.88--power of AC load divided by DC

storage voltage), total energy used in kilowatts (15--this includes all the use of last year!),

and finally power of the AC load in watts (11.5 watts--current times DC storage voltage).

Standard AC power strip supplying power to the tent.

As I said, the system isn't perfect, but it is much better than nothing. All of the components have already easily paid for themselves. Now any power I use truly is free. 

* * *

In the next post, we'll see how much more progress was made on the greenhouse, planting, water storage and some rain reinforcement.

As I write this things have gotten very lean for me. I am pretty much out food and have no more money. I have faith that some generous soul will donate a few extra dollars to keep things rolling. And, thank you ahead of time, to whomever that kind person might be!