Gathering enough food to live off the land for a year

[1 pot hunter]

I recommend "Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden." It's a condensation of many interviews with a Hidatsa woman who described how they lived (rather well) with the trilogy of beans, squash and corn, supplemented with eggs and meat. One major issue, no matter what they did to store dry food, were the rodents, the mice, the voles and the rats. You will have competition for your resources.

2. If you have not yet read Andy Weir's work of fiction: "The Martian," you really should. NASA fact checked his maths for survivorship, growing potatoes is of great biological accuracy.
It's a wonderful drama and also a great lesson in nutrition, calories and human physiology. Yes, it can be done.

I have not followed the outflow from the book. I'd like to see attempts to mimic his "gardening" and survival here on earth. I would allow any and all useful forms of preservation as rodents here were not an issue for him on Mars.
= = = =
It's only come to light in very recent years but the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian on the Northwest coast have been growing potatoes for centuries in hidden forest gardens.
This potato is an exact genetic clone of one grown also in Peru. Who brought it north? Chinese and Russian traders were here long before Europeans. Maybe Spanish Conquistadors? Point is, it's a huge caloric cushion to supplement ocean harvestings.
It has a name now, I have forgotten., should have written it down. I want to eat some. Modest size, pale yellow and elongate.

I won’t have competition for resources in my house

 

[1 pot hunter]

Why did they go or why did they die? I cannot answer I'm afraid. The one chap came on here looking for learning resources if I remember correctly. Very sad either way. In essence relying on nature to provide is roulette, Russian roulette at that. I think we've damaged nature too much and left too little wild that could in anyway provide for people. Then we come into how many people could it provide for. That is one of the reasons people went down the route of organised agriculture. Not my speciality I'm afraid I've only done a bit of reading.

Been fishing n hunting all my life I know it’s possible to meet calorific needs just sitting at home by catching a tonne mackerel in advance shooting a big stag eating nose to tail having few starch staples n taking advantage off seasonal fruits berry’s wild game ect.If stored in advance and I spend time at home.

 

[Broch]

There just main staples I can get other stuff obv like berries n nuts shellfish many options.

Ah, the list is expanding

That's a big chest freezer by the way - one whole red deer and 600 Mackerel!

You obviously think it can be done; most of us don't - there's only one way to find out

 

[1 pot hunter]

Ah, the list is expanding

That's a big chest freezer by the way - one whole red deer and 600 Mackerel!

You obviously think it can be done; most of us don't - there's only one way to find out

I could survive iff I eat head skin off fish fish livers the eat deers brain marrow eyes meat nose t tail eating bread from flour ect wasting nothing. Whether or not it makes me miserable is a different story altogether.

 

[Kav]

Are the Chumash from California ? I’m sure Iv read about them in my book collection

They are Californian. Their territory was @ from Santa Barbara where Harry and Meghan are south to the line of Ventura and Los Angeles county , east to Bakersfield
And including the Channel Islands.
There were more distinct tribes @ 500 in California than the rest of N A combined.
The mission system destroyed most of the cultures and the following ‘Anglo’ period saw populations collapse.
Saxton Pope’s classic archery texts were based on the teaching of Iishi,
The last ‘wild Indian.’ One CA tribe made the finest known bows that were traded as far as the Lakota territories.
Chumash created stunning rock art
Remi

Are the Chumash from California ? I’m sure Iv read about them in my book collection

The Chumash are from Turtle Island, the Pan- First People’s
Name for North America. California was named after a mythical goddess in European mythology.
But yes, Their range was from Santa Barbara where Harry and Megan are roughing it down to the Ventura county- L A county line where I live, east into Bakersfield and out on the Channel Islands.
California held over 500 tribes; more than the rest of N A combined.
Kroeber: Indians of California by Dover Press is the standard reference. His daughter was Sci GI author Ursula K LeGuinne

 

[1 pot hunter]

They are Californian. Their territory was @ from Santa Barbara where Harry and Meghan are south to the line of Ventura and Los Angeles county , east to Bakersfield
And including the Channel Islands.
There were more distinct tribes @ 500 in California than the rest of N A combined.
The mission system destroyed most of the cultures and the following ‘Anglo’ period saw populations collapse.
Saxton Pope’s classic archery texts were based on the teaching of Iishi,
The last ‘wild Indian.’ One CA tribe made the finest known bows that were traded as far as the Lakota territories.
Chumash created stunning rock art
Remi

The Chumash are from Turtle Island, the Pan- First People’s
Name for North America. California was named after a mythical goddess in European mythology.
But yes, Their range was from Santa Barbara where Harry and Megan are roughing it down to the Ventura county- L A county line where I live, east into Bakersfield and out on the Channel Islands.
California held over 500 tribes; more than the rest of N A combined.
Kroeber: Indians of California by Dover Press is the standard reference. His daughter was Sci GI author Ursula K LeGuinne

Yeh Christian missionaries are still destroying cultures by contacting remote tribes in rainforests they really messed up Papua new guini ,this is very interesting post about the Chumash thank
You for taking the time to write .

 

[Kav]

Sometimes the missionaries get destroyed by the cultures first. It’s not just Christians. Scientologist showed up at a Pow Wow I attended. Their car had four slashed tires, glass smashed and that inane book burned

 

[1 pot hunter]

Sometimes the missionaries get destroyed by the cultures first. It’s not just Christians. Scientologist showed up at a Pow Wow I attended. Their car had four slashed tires, glass smashed and that inane book burned

I don’t think highly off Scientology but that’s not for this forum the missionaries should leave the cultures alone.

 

[British Red]

What you are proposing is an interesting idea. We try to live as self sufficiently as possible. We do butcher & preserve wild deer, produce our own fruit, vegetables , soap, fuel etc.
There's no particular reason why you couldn't eat only venison in this country if you had the right permission although in my experience you would certainly need an external fat source as venison tends to be very lean.
Chestnut flour is an interesting choice. Its not a UK native tree so there are lots of alternatives although bulk carbohydrates are always going to be a challenge.
If you want to try - go for it, but of course its sensible to develop the skills now. FAC or not, why not get a deer carcass and butcher it at home? Practice your food preserving. We can. A LOT. Even with food in the ground, huge amounts of dehydrated food, four freezers and hundreds of pressure canned jars its hard to preserve all we need. My advice? Start now. Develop your food preserving, shooting, butchery and all the other skills you will need.

 

[Wildgoose]

Once again I’m impressed by your attention to detail and organisation BR

 

[Tengu]

So organised!

I do a certain amount of preserving but its mostly for presents.

 

[SaraR]

Just out of interest @British Red - how much food (weightwise) do you get out of a carcass that size?

Your point about fat is important, not just for the fat itself, but because that's were a lot of vitamins and nutrients come from if you are on an animal-centric diet.

 

[Toddy]

I preserve, but I really struggle to find storage.

It takes time and effort and resources to prep and preserve, but that's useless unless it's stored safely, cleanly, etc., and it takes up a surprising amount of room.

M

 

[SaraR]

So organised!

I do a certain amount of preserving but its mostly for presents.

Still a good use of time and resources! Good for you wallet and for the social connections it forges/maintains.

 

[SaraR]

I preserve, but I really struggle to find storage.

It takes time and effort and resources to prep and preserve, but that's useless unless it's stored safely, cleanly, etc., and it takes up a surprising amount of room.

M

We don't have nearly as much as British Red, but I still struggle with the balance right between having things well-protected (from light, moisture, vermin) and easily accessible to use and to keep an overview of stock levels.

I'm currently using a 3-stage solution for things like lentils and rice, where things are in small containers in the kitchen, that get refilled from plastic 3-L jerry cans housed in the kitchen settle, which in turn are refilled from sturdy air-tight barrels or buckets in an unheated side room. Tins and glass jars are on shelves in the side room.

I'd really struggle if we did a lot more preserving ourselves! It's bad enough with all the honey buckets standing around taking up space.

 

[Toddy]

We don't have nearly as much as British Red, but I still struggle with the balance right between having things well-protected (from light, moisture, vermin) and easily accessible to use and to keep an overview of stock levels.

I'm currently using a 3-stage solution for things like lentils and rice, where things are in small containers in the kitchen, that get refilled from plastic 3-L jerry cans housed in the kitchen settle, which in turn are refilled from sturdy air-tight barrels or buckets in an unheated side room. Tins and glass jars are on shelves in the side room.

I'd really struggle if we did a lot more preserving ourselves! It's bad enough with all the honey buckets standing around taking up space.

I do a two stage for most things, but three for those that we use daily. There are the small at hand containers, and then the big storage ones that stay on the top and bottom shelves, the awkward corners and the like, of the pantry. For the daily use there are stacker pots that keep them easily available.
When I need to re-fill from the big ones, I sort through and tidy while I'm in there

The Kilner jars are a pain to store. It seems such a good solution, a great way to preserve seasonal bounty, but unless one has space for dedicated shelving racks, or to stack crates, they're awkward.
In the end I have stashes behind the removable kickboards of the kitchen cupboards. I bought flat baking sheets, put the jars on them and slide the whole thing into a clear poly bag. It keeps them at hand, I keep it organised so I know what's in each 'bay', and it keeps them clean and cool and dry, but it's not ideal.
Right now my knee is miserably sore and getting down to them is not funny.
Modern houses aren't really built for good food storage options, especially if we don't want to rely on freezers.

 

[SaraR]

I do a two stage for most things, but three for those that we use daily. There are the small at hand containers, and then the big storage ones that stay on the top and bottom shelves, the awkward corners and the like, of the pantry. For the daily use there are stacker pots that keep them easily available.
When I need to re-fill from the big ones, I sort through and tidy while I'm in there

The Kilner jars are a pain to store. It seems such a good solution, a great way to preserver seasonal bounty, but unless one has space for dedicated shelving racks, or to stack crates, they're awkward.
In the end I have stashes behind the removable kickboards of the kitchen cupboards. I bought flat baking sheets, put the jars on them and slide the whole thing into a clear poly bag. It keeps them at hand, I keep it organised so I know what's in each 'bay', and it keeps them clean and cool and dry, but it's not ideal.
Right now my knee is miserably sore and getting down to them is not funny.
Modern houses aren't really built for good food storage options, especially if we don't want to rely on freezers.

Yeah, our main kitchen storage area is a large, deep corner cupboard with vertically spaced out shelves. It's standing against a North facing wall, so a bit of a mini pantry. The only problem is that I can only reach stuff in the back on the second shelf from the top and that's if I dive in. It doesn't matter how much I organise or use hoppers, mini shelves etc, I still can't use the space as efficiently as I'd like. Ive been thinking of some sort of pull outs on rails, but the dimond shape doesn't really lend itself to that.

 

[British Red]

Just out of interest @British Red - how much food (weightwise) do you get out of a carcass that size?

Your point about fat is important, not just for the fat itself, but because that's were a lot of vitamins and nutrients come from if you are on an animal-centric diet.

If you take that as a "Larder" carcass (head off, feet off, gralloched), it dresses out to around 60% of the Larder weight - so a 50kg carcass of a decent sized doe will yield 30kg of meat off the bone. Boning and portioning maximises the efficiency of freezer space too. You can get a BIG Fallow buck into two freezer drawers

 

[SaraR]

If you take that as a "Larder" carcass (head off, feet off, gralloched), it dresses out to around 60% of the Larder weight - so a 50kg carcass of a decent sized doe will yield 30kg of meat off the bone. Boning and portioning maximises the efficiency of freezer space too. You can get a BIG Fallow buck into two freezer drawers

Thanks!

Do you save the bones for stock etc as well?

 

[1 pot hunter]

What you are proposing is an interesting idea. We try to live as self sufficiently as possible. We do butcher & preserve wild deer, produce our own fruit, vegetables , soap, fuel etc.
There's no particular reason why you couldn't eat only venison in this country if you had the right permission although in my experience you would certainly need an external fat source as venison tends to be very lean.
Chestnut flour is an interesting choice. Its not a UK native tree so there are lots of alternatives although bulk carbohydrates are always going to be a challenge.
If you want to try - go for it, but of course its sensible to develop the skills now. FAC or not, why not get a deer carcass and butcher it at home? Practice your food preserving. We can. A LOT. Even with food in the ground, huge amounts of dehydrated food, four freezers and hundreds of pressure canned jars its hard to preserve all we need. My advice? Start now. Develop your food preserving, shooting, butchery and all the other skills you will need.

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Interesting this has give me a lot to think about thank you .