Mrs. R.J.,
I rejoice to read of your plans to prepare. It’s good to know you’re in Arkansas. The Christians at Ark Haven believe that is a protected area for many reasons, physical and spiritual.
Three generations on one piece of property is definitely getting back to the old ways. Two acres is great — focus on compact crops and animals; Jeavons lists crops by square foot yield and calorie count so you can be sure you’re getting the correct amount in his book “How To Grow More Vegetables” (read it free here). (And yes, it appears this free book is acceptable with copyright laws.) Each person can live on less than 5,000 square feet (perhaps less) so two acres ought to be plenty of food, with surplus to be charitable with, or to sell.
You said, “I have read many of the stories on SurvivalBlog but have yet to read a one from someone on a very tight budget” but I recall seeing several articles just this year on preparing with a tight budget. Use the Search box to check the blog archives, you might find what you’re looking for.
You said, “We want to add some how-to books to our library…” The following web sites have so many free books, it’s more than you can possibly read in the next year, perhaps in your lifetime:
- cd3wd.com
- Journeytoforever.org
- ssrsi.org
- Practicalaction.org/
- Appropedia.org/
- Fastonline.org
- Energyconservationinfo.org
A friend with high-speed internet and a thumb drive could bring them to you.
You said, “We are interested in special growing lights…” Before buying those, and using more electricity, consider an earth-sheltered greenhouse, which costs little to build and uses no electricity or gas, even in frigid northern Idaho. Also check out Eliot Coleman’s books from your library (or use inter-library loan); he is successful year-round in snowy Maine, using unheated greenhouses.
You said, “We (…) don’t know when or how we can add the grinders, expensive water filters or the solar power we will need.” Grinders: There are plans online for simple pipe-based grinders. I found this one. Water filters: Here’s a short article called “Five ways to purify water without fuel or purchased filters.” There are a sixth and seventh way in the comments under the article.
Solar power: Use less. I believe our family could get by with just these rugged solar LED lanterns
See also the book: Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning
I highly recommend you read about Permaculture. Permaculture’s emphasis is on letting God’s designs in nature do as much of the work as possible. It’s about working smarter, not harder, and once established most gardens take care of themselves without much costly input or labor. The best book I’ve found is “Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture” Don’t let the name throw you (like it first did for me), it’s not new age earth worship; just solid advice.
Also learn about seed saving; it’s not as easy as it sounds, there are some technical details you should know.
You can grow some of your own herbal medicines. This is another field which New-Agers have taken over, but it need not be that way.
Consider learning about animal trapping and wild foraging; this knowledge would pay off quickly. Take some of the seeds from the wild plants for your garden; outsiders will believe you are growing weeds 🙂
You might consider building a survival community such as Ark Haven is trying to do. There’s strength in numbers, and you can bring in specialists (doctors, vets, carpenters, skilled shooters, etc.) who can round out the skills you’ll need to pull through.
Lastly, continue to bank on the promises of God. I like to recommend reading Matthew 6:19-34 out loud. It has a stronger emphasis when you read it aloud. Same with Habakkuk 3:17-19 and Nahum 1:7. It’s as though half of the Bible is written for times like these.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight paths. Be not wise in your own eyes but fear the Lord; turn away from evil.” – Proverbs 3:5-7
Sincerely, – C.D.V.