I grew up in Texas hunting and fishing. I admired my “off-the-grid” great-grandpa and aspired to be like my outdoorsman heroes. As an SFA student in the late ’80s and early ’90s, my adventures afield continued and expanded in Nacogdoches with like-minded people. We grew big gardens, brewed a lot of beer, had big potluck dinner parties and enjoyed a lot of time outside. I inherited generations of wisdom on self-sufficiency, farming and food that I get the privilege of sharing with students regularly. Here are a few of my favorites.
1) In East Texas, solar panels prove to be inefficient, but trees store the power of the sun, making modern, low-emission wood-burning stoves or fireplace inserts an alternative. I burn oak wood collected from dead trees on my farm, scraps from a local hardwood mill and, by permit, wood found in the Davy Crockett National Forest. I burn about six to eight pick-up truck loads of wood that would decompose and create biogenic emissions anyway. You can find many uses for the ashes on the Internet.
2) We live in Texas, so vegetables grow year-round. I recommend building fertile, organic soil by collecting bags of leaves thrown away curbside and composting them for the garden. I generally produce more vegetables than I can eat.
3) If you’re thinking about what you might do next, order a Lehman’s Hardware catalog or, better yet, take a vacation to Amish country. My great-grandpa took me to this amazing place in Kidron, Ohio, decades ago. You’ll find an unbelievable collection of non-electric technology, equipment and books sure to inspire great projects.
4) In Kidron, I learned about “chicken tractors,” so I built three that house my 12 birds. These lightweight, mobile chicken coops work great for backyard poultry production wherever local code permits. I have a flock of Dominique chickens ordered from the Murray McMurray hatchery, which also has a great catalog. The American Livestock Breeding Conservancy is a great organization with more information on poultry and other heritage livestock breeds.
5) To find the time to live more sustainably, consider turning off the cable and Internet after doing your research. I’m signing off to go outside to collect some eggs for breakfast and enjoy the sunset in Nacogdoches.