Soapmaking: In the Beginning

         Not a very long time ago, in a local galaxy (or maybe a nebula), there lived a young man with his family.  He had no Jedi powers, unless you consider an exceptionally dark farmer's tan to be a useful ability.  He wanted nothing more than to live free on the land, producing things for his family, and things to sell.

Well, here we are in a new spring year, it's finally nice weather, and Disney is the new owner of the Star Wars franchise.  What new things can we expect for the year?  Well, I've finally gotten on the ball with gardening, a part time job is in the works, and we're starting a non-farm business.

We're making soap!  Well, that's where we're starting, I have designs on making a number of useful household products, other than soap, or things that have soap as a base, like shaving soap and laundry soap.  Here's the plan:
1.  Experiment!  Soapmaking is an excellent "cottage industry", unlike say, steel smelting, and building airplanes.  It's basically cooking, but with the added element of danger from the lye used to turn oil into soap!  So far, I've tried bar soap, and liquid soap, and they both turned out well.  The bar soap is still in the little plastic molds, and needs another couple weeks to cure, but the liquid soap is nearly ready to go.  My first few tries at bar soap were hilariously disastrous, and the pot boiled over TWICE in one day, hahaha.  Turns out I used the wrong type of olive oil, which reacted waaaaaaaay too quickly.  Easy fix, and the next few tries worked very well indeed!

2.  Start simple:  Let me be honest.  I am not the first person to try selling soap from home.  It may have been done before, and many people are making a small, but honest living selling soap, makeup, deodorant, lip balm, and fancy looking soaps that look good enough to eat.  Most of these are women, and their products are exceptional in quality!  All kinds and flavours of soap, scented with everything from lavender to coffee.  They seem to sell what they make, or else they wouldn't make it.
       I don't want to compete with these ladies of super-soap.  I think the market might be pretty crowded for "fancy" soap, although I think there is room for someone to make custom printing on soap bars as a gift item.  When is the last time you bought a bar of soap with dried herbs in it?  Or a salt scrub?  Or a bar scented with lavender?  I have never purchased any of these things.  I have purchased bars of soap to wash my hands with, and I really didn't care what it smelled like, except that it didn't smell "bad".  I also buy a bottle of liquid dish soap about every two weeks, because we wash our dishes by hand.  The average Joe (or Jane) may occasionally buy a fancy soap as a gift, but what they NEED is regular soap for every day use.  Some of them might be interested in soap that is free from chemicals, and that's where Herbal Haven comes in! (Herbal Haven is the name of our company)

3.  Ebay, Internet sales:  There is a few sellers of liquid soap on Ebay, but most of them seem to be in the US, and I suspect that they find shipping to Canada to be irritating.  I plan to target Canadian buyers with smaller sized bottles of liquid soap. My wife is working on a different line of products, womens makeup, perfumes, lip balm etc.

4.  Getting bigger:  If you've ever made soap by hand, you can appreciate that it requires a lot of patience, something I was not given an abundance of at birth.  Fortunately, there are shortcuts, although it requires some money to buy these time saving devices, it will drastically cut down on the time spent endlessly stirring a batch of soap.

That's about it, I will have some pictures of what we've done so far, and when it comes time to sell, I will link to the Ebay page where you can buy all natural liquid soap!

Year End Report

MEMO

Fm:  Frodo @ Sunset Meadows Farm

To: Everyone

RE:  What happened to 2012???  We thought you were dead!

I haven't posted since May, which in Canada is just about the primetime of spring.  Alas, the warm weather left us too soon this year, we got our first major snowfall on October 12th, and temperatures dropped like 99 luft balloons to car-not-starting-ly cold.

There was no garden this year.  There were no chickens.  I focused this year on curing some debt woes, and the fix is just about in!  Ever since the "credit-crisis" struck the world in 2008, getting a loan refinanced, even on real-estate, has been quite difficult.  We needed all of our debt rolled into the mortgage, but the bank wasn't going for it.  Until now, that is.  Once we've completed the refinance, we will be shaving $1,400 in interest payments off our monthly budget.  That's $1,400 that can be used for savings, car repairs, home renos, and buying things that are on my prepping wish list.  Here's my list, just for fun!

1.  More solar - I can now buy solar panels for less than $1/watt, but I need to invest in the mounting hardware too!  #70mphwinddestroysthings

2.  Wind turbine - Nothing from the ChinEsebay collection.

3.  Landscaping - I need a bunch of permanent planting beds (wooden, 2.5 feet high), surrounded by gravel, and filled with soil.  I never want to fill a planting bed by hand ever again.  The wife wants it to look good, which I am on-board with. #IheartBobcat

4.  Fencing - To pasture animals efficiently, one must be able to move them from paddock to paddock.

5.  Water collection/storage - I need at least 10,000 gal of storage that's connected to the house, and buried underground.  That means cinder blocks, and a way to divert the roof water into it.  I've got 2,500 gal of storage now, about 1.5 months worth.

6.  Trees, trees, bushes, and more trees - And more trees.  Big fast growing poplars, mulched, with automatic watering devices of some kind.

7.  Watering system - For plants and animals.  Either ponds that stay filled year round (difficult), or piping to send water to distant areas underground (expensive)

8.  Greenhouse - Nothing less than 1,000 sq feet of almost year round growing space will do.  I would prefer more like 3,000 sq feet, but I am will to start small.  #motherofallgreenhouses

9.  Batteries - A brand new bank that can store 3 days worth of power.  Very costly, but necessary!

I haven't abandoned my dreams, but I did get reaaaaally distracted this year!  The fallout will last another year, and then we can really start to grow!  I am very excited to imagine the future out here, and the great things that can happen, not just on the land, but in my own family's lives as well!  Stay tuned, good things are en-route...

A long overdue update

The last two months have been very busy!  Some activities are done for the year, like my karate class, but others have taken their place, including soccer, and spring cleanup.

LIVESTOCK

We have goats!  There are now two pygmy nanny goats running wild and free on the farm, and they are pretty dang cute!  They are only about the size of a medium dog, and have little short horns, but they are very playful, and completely non-aggressive.  They like to climb on things, but they typically stay within 100 feet of the house.  We don't have them penned up, but they eventually will be put into a fenced area, and I might be getting a few more of them.  I am thinking about selling them as milking animals, so that people who would like raw milk, but don't have room for a cow could have one of these, and then they could have some milk!

I am also gearing up for my first batch of chickens in 2012.  I will be ordering them next week, and I'm starting with 150.  Instead of ordering all of them at once, I will order smaller batches, raise those, and that will allow me to manage my freezer space better.  It's also a lot easier to manage 150 chickens on pasture than 400!
This year, I will be raising several different breeds, the main breed being the Cornish Cross.  As much as I don't really like that breed, they do grow fast, and they get big.  Last year, my dual-purpose birds only got to 3 pounds in 14 weeks!  It costs $5 per bird for processing, so literally half of the price of the bird was the processing.  My net profit was very low, maybe $1 per bird.  I need bigger birds, or lower processing costs, or both.  I will still be raising some dual purpose types, but mainly so I can have some hens.  Last years flock was all male.

WORK

I mentioned before that I am volunteering with the local fire department, and I am still doing that.  I am not officially a member, but I am hoping that will change this week!  Apparently they are reviewing the budget to see if they can add more members, so here's hoping... Even so, I have enjoyed the training immensely!  There is so much to know that I literally feel retarded, but this summer should hopefully see me learning enough to be a contributing member of the team.  I've also been able to meet some more people, which has been a bit of a challenge, since I don't work in town.

NERDY STUFF

A couple of weeks ago, we had a STAR TREK CONVENTION in the big city that I work in!  Technically, it was a "comic convention", but the main attraction was the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation coming.  I've loved that show since I was a kid, and I determined that I was going to go to this convention!  I took the kids to the stadium, and walked up to the front...and was informed that they were not allowing anyone else inside.  Apparently the fire department had told them to stop allowing walk-in's because they had too many inside already!  I was choked...and we went home.  If they ever return again, I will make sure and pre-purchase my tickets.  Hopefully at least some of the cast will be back next year!

EPILOGUE

Everything is turning green, the weather is great, and I am excited about summertime!  I will also be posting more pictures, and maybe a few Youtubes.  By the way, you can visit my website at
www.sunset-meadows.org
and see pictures, order chicken, or shower me with glowing accolades ; )

Joining the Fire Dept!

Last Tuesday, I participated in my first training night at my local volunteer Fire Department.  Because I live in a rural area, we don't have a huge full-time Fire Dept like a large, or even small city might.  What we do have is thousands of square miles of land that is the size of a small European country!  With homes and people working in the far flung reaches of the county, having a way to combat fire is essential, but it has to be cheap!  Hence, the volunteer Fire Dept, where people like me give time to train, and eventually attend calls that require specialized rescuers and equipment.

I originally thought about doing this when I realized that I need a part-time job.  Rather than take some low-paying gig sweeping floors, or driving to the Big City to do something, I thought I would rather do something worthwhile.  What could be more worthwhile than rescuing people in emergencies?
I'm sure I won't make much money, but I only need a little bit extra to help pay some bills (and traffic tickets), plus, the department will give me all kinds of amazing training, free of charge!  My first night, we learned how to pull someone out of a well using ropes, pulleys, and harnesses.  I got my own pair of boots, pants, and a jacket, although they are well used, they are mine to use during the training.  If I am persistent, I could be a regular member in a few months, and be able to attend calls!

One of the courses that I really want to take is the Emergency Medical Responder, the very first level of Paramedic training.  Once I have that course, and register with the Paramedic College, I would be certified to ride on ambulances as a junior member!  Of course, I would rather ride the fire truck, but they attend many of the same calls.

I will keep updating as I continue doing this, including some pictures of the vehicles, if I am allowed.

HugelKultur planting beds.

GARDEN PLANNING

It's February, but it feels like April, or maybe late March at the worst.  The picture below was taken today, as you can see there is no snow, and the soil is pretty much thawed in the first few inches at least.  Below that, it is frozen, but I was still able to hack into it with a pickaxe.

Soon to be hugelkultur mound

If you haven't read any of my past postings, I will briefly describe the benefits of hugelkultur.  It was invented by a very wise and inventive man name Sepp Holtzer, who is Dutch.  It consists of wood mounds covered in dirt, and left to decay.  The decaying wood soaks up and retains lots of moisture from rain fall, and when it's planted, the roots have access to that water, as well as nutrients from the decaying wood.  A hugelkultur bed that's large enough may not need to be watered at all!  This has some very obvious benefits in a dry climate like mine, watering is a pain, and costs me money.  If I build a couple of these beds every year, I will eventually have enough of them that my gardening will be a relative breeze.  These mounds should be plantable immediately, with the addition of chicken manure to the pile.  The only difficulty is getting enough wood to make a decent sized pile!  

I will add more photos when I have placed all the wood, I will need to wait for the soil to thaw a bit more before I really get going, since I will need quite a bit of soil to go on top.

How Capitalism can Save the Free World

I am a Capitalist.  I provide goods that people want and need, and I make it possible for 6 billion people to exist on this planet.

The whole point of capitalism is "Capital", the real durable good that make production possible.  A farmer's tractor, the land he plants, the trees he harvests from, and the animals whose meat he sells.  Capital does not fall from the sky, nor does it grow on trees.  In order to buy the land, the farmer needed to save a down payment.  To buy the tractor, he needed to save more money.  The trees cost money, and take time to grow.  The farmer plants trees with the hope to someday profit from them, in some cases knowing that his children will be the real beneficiaries of that profit.
All of this "Capital" would not exist if the farmer did not save.  He willingly consumes less money now, with the hope that by accumulating these items, he will profit from them more in the future.  It's true that the farmer is thinking of himself, but in doing so, he is benefiting all of mankind.  If the farmer had no land, he could not plant.  If he had land, but no machines, he would have to work with primitive tools, and he could not produce nearly as much food, nor could he transport that food to the people who want to eat it.  Trees produce even more food, and feed the soil through their leaves.  The farmer has to nuture and feed that tree for many years before he can gain the harvest, while there is always a risk of the tree dying before it becomes productive.

Many people believe that capitalism oppresses people.  Walmart underpays it's employees, destroys other business, and is bad for us.  They moan about the loss of "mom and pop" stores, which are more of a fantasy that reality.  Even large stores usually have a single owner, who may be a "mom and pop" team, or a business team of 2 or more unrelated partners.  Smaller stores can, and are very prosperous, judging by the fact that we apparently still have millions of them.  Most of the people who have jobs work for an employer with less than 100 employees, which is the definition of a "small business".  Only about 20% of the workforce are employed by the "big guys".

Many millions of people are like me, the farmer, working for themselves.  Are they contributing less to the world than the Walmarts?  More?  Or, do all of these people benefit the human race through their work?
My contribution may be smaller than Walmart, but it is real, and measurable.  I use the capital that I own to provide something that people want, and they are my bosses.  If no one buys my products, I have failed, and I need to do something differently, or find a different group of bosses.  I don't get to charge whatever I want, and neither does Walmart.  The people who buy the products determine the price, and they also determine what is on the shelf, through their "votes".

If you don't like Walmart, that's a personal choice.  Don't "vote" by shopping there, and your conscience will be clean.  But maybe I like Walmart, and I want to vote for it.  Who will win this battle?  How about both of us?  You win by shopping where you want, and I win by shopping where I want.  We both get what we want, and no one loses.  Too bad politics doesn't work that way!

I hear a lot of noise about "reforming capitalism" or "paying our fair share", and I tune it out.  Just let me concentrate on producing as much of what people want to buy as I can.  Let me keep the profits of my labors, and I will be inspired to produce more.  If I produce enough, I could even start hiring people!  This is how the system works when nobody interferes.

If you care about humanity, stop trying to "help" the poor by taking from the rich.  The rich may have the money, but believe me, they would rather invest it in something useful than shove it in a drawer.  That useful investment could give one of those "poor" people a good job, or provide a better tractor for a farmer, or enable a company to create a better TV, cellphone, gadget, all of which makes the lives of the "non-rich" a little bit better.

More chickens for sale!

Just a quick announcement, we now have around 50 nice, plump older roosters for sale, at the same price as the smaller, more tender chickens.
These roosters are a bit under 5 months old, and weigh about 4 lbs each, some a bit more than that.  They are tougher than the regular birds, especially in the thigh, but the breast is much bigger, and has so much more flavor!
The legs are tender enough to eat, but I just took the whole leg and thigh and simmer it for about 6 hours in a large pot of water.  Then, the meat will be quite tender, and the water will have absorbed an incredible amount of flavor.  The minerals in the bone and marrow will now be in the water, and if you let it cool, it will actually set as hard as jello!
These minerals are very nutritious, supporting your immune system and giving you lots of calcium, magnesium, and trace minerals.  There is a reason that chicken soup is the universal food for colds and flu!

You will not find a better chicken for soup or stew anywhere, with this much flavor.  These chickens have been foraging since their first day, even during the winter, and they have never seen any antibiotics or hormones in their life.  Order now, because if you don't buy them, I just might end up eating them myself : )

PROJECTS

This week I expect to be very busy with some things.  I need to plan the location for my huglkultur bed (google search, or visit www.permies.com) and then try and dig down a bit through the soil so the logs will be partially buried.  I am going to cram old hay, and a bit of chicken manure into the spaces between logs, which will hopefully start them breaking down faster with the extra nitrogen.  I would like to have about a 4 x 16 foot area planted with huglkultur.  Then, I will need to hay mulch all of the saskatoons, blueberries, cherry trees, and asperagus plants I put in the last few years.  I will put about 6 inches around the plants, which will compact a bit.  This will hopefully keep the soil moisture high, and provide some nutrients as it breaks down for the trees.  I may also toss a bit of chicken manure too, I have probably 300 lbs of it in the shed.

GOATS

We have goats!  I purchased two female miniature nubian goats, and they have been roaming free range around the property for the last week or so.  They are very small, but I will breed both of them in March, and perhaps I will be able to sell the kids when they are grown.  I will also be able to milk them, although I won't get a lot of milk unless I milk daily.  I would be content with a cup a day or so, since I would be the only one to drink it.  The goats are easy to keep, and don't eat much.  A bit of barley keeps them happy, and they have been grazing on the exposed grass as well.  Now that the majority of the chickens are gone, I can cut my feed costs down to about $3/day for all the animals.  I could save more by purchasing barley or wheat in bulk directly from a farmer, except that I need to store it somewhere safe and dry.  I still have plans to build a barn, and as soon as the soil is warm enough, I will start mapping a location.