Bunker Hill Hardware is owned and operated
by Javon and Becky Miller and
their sons Brandon and Jayden. They also
have a daughter Emily helping in the store.
Javon grew up on the farm and has been
employed as a plumbing service tech,
pump service man in the past. He is with
the hardware store, operating Enviro-Sol,
an off-grid solar installation company employing
four people.
Bunker Hill Hardware was started about
40 years ago as a small independent country
hardware store. It has changed ownership
a couple of times and is now located
about 3 miles from Bunker Hill village.
But more on homesteading. A homesteader
is anyone that has a desire to reduce
their dependence on the national and
global food market. Many do this by growing
their own gardens and orchards. Others
do it by buying directly from local growers
or local market stands. Whichever is your
preferred option, you can be assured that
it will be fresh and that you know what
means were used to grow it.
A homesteader will also usually devote
as much space to food production as possible.
When you think gardening, what
comes to your mind? Probably many of us
imagine a large area of bare “dirt” with
long, orderly rows of plants. Much of this
has come about because of the commercial
market “gardens”. Do you picture sprays,
dusts, and fertilizers derived from chemicals
in order to be productive?
Do you envision
“organic” gardens that are overrun
with weeds and bugs? Do you picture the
same product that you will find on your supermarket
produce shelf, but with added
work? If this is your idea of a garden or orchards,
let’s take a look at what it really is.
You don’t need large acreage to have a
garden or orchard. By mixing the garden
layout with 3′-4′ squares filled with carrots,
lettuce, cabbage, and other small crop
items you will harvest more food per
square foot. Javon explains, “In my personal
experimental landscape garden I
have inter-planted tomatoes, carrots, multiple
colors and varieties of cabbage, cauliflower,
and broccoli among my quince
fruit trees.” Cabbage lends itself well to
small acreage gardens and it also makes a
healthy delicious salad.
Another crop that is easy to cultivate in
landscaping is carrots. Ahh, the crisp
sweetness of a freshly dug carrot can’t be
beat. Add the fine fern-like fronds of carrot
tops amid brightly colored flowers and it
doesn’t even resemble a vegetable garden.
Carrots take up little room with their small
footprint, but grown in loose friable soil,
will grow downward and make a delicious
fresh snack.
Now for the most widely grown vegetable
ever: Actually, let’s make a minor
correction. I believe the tomato is genetically
a fruit. Roma, Beefsteak, Amish
Paste, red, orange, yellow, purple, heritage,
or hybrid – the list goes on and on. Is there
any other produce that gets the attention of
the tomato?
There are many ways of cultivating
tomato plants. The main goal is to keep
them up off the ground. There are stakes,
cages, fences, and trellises to support
them. We like to use wire “cattle panels”
tied to metal T posts. We keep them about
one foot off the ground and tie the plants
to these. Be sure and trim the bottom
twelve inches of leaves off the plant as it
grows. We have found this helpful in reducing
disease problems.
Going into fruits on the homestead: The
very first basic is strawberries, the first
fresh fruit of the year! They can be easily
grown in containers on the porch or as a
border plant in your flower bed if you
don’t have acreage to dedicate to a strawberry
patch. The delicate white blossoms
make a showy early flower display. Add
the benefit of an ever bearing variety and
you have luscious berries all summer long.
Strawberries are good frozen for a year.
They can be frozen whole or pureed and
chopped.
Apples from the orchard are good fresh,
as pie filling, applesauce, or dehydrated.
Applesauce is easy with the food strainer
made by Norpor or Victoria. We especially
like the Yellow Transparent for frozen applesauce.
Simply cook the apples in a
stockpot until soft and run through the
food strainer. Add sugar to taste and
freeze. It’s so simple that anyone can do it,
with the right tools.
As with strawberries, apples can be integrated
into your landscaping. Instead of
weeping or flowering trees, use dwarf
apple trees. They can be pruned into fine
landscaping focal points. For fresh eating,
choose Gala, Yellow Delicious, or Jonagold.
For processing or dessert apples,
choose Red Delicious or Jonathan, and for
sauce apples, Yellow Transparent.
Grapes can be grown on an arbor over a
walkway or up a wall trellis. The old
standby is the Concord purple grape. They
might be a bit messy and juicy, but well
worth the effort.
These are the core basics to start with:
We could add raspberries, cherries,
peaches, gooseberries, and many others, but
the mentioned fruits and vegetables are the
basic core group for a self-sufficient
Homestead. With these, you have what
you need to start processing your own
soups, desserts, and base foods for many
main dishes. These items will empower
you to gain control of your food source. If
you have never canned or frozen your own
food, start simple with applesauce, jams
and jellies, and pie filling. Then move on
to the vegetables. Remember that the right
tools make any job easier.
In summary, the goal is to provide a selection
of items that will make your life
easier and better if you live in the country
and try to be self sufficient. many of the
items that you will find in their store are
items that they personally use.
Stop in and check out their large selection
dedicated to off-grid energy. They
have their homestead set up to run on solar
and wind. They offer systems large and
small. Many of their customers do not
wish to go with a large all electric home
with large inverters. They understand this
and will try to help you keep it small and
basic. They offer their own brand of LED
lights in electric and many models also
available in battery (DC voltage).
The retail store offers many items not
listed such as tools, paint, farm supplies,
electric and solar fencers, electrical supplies,
plumbing supplies, and lawn and
garden tools. They will be working on
adding more in the future. If you need
something that you don’t see, feel free to
ask.
Stop in Bunker Hill Hardware today at
3939 County Road 135, Millersburg, OH
44654. They’re 2 miles east of Berlin, just
south of State Route 39. Open Monday
through Thursday 7:00am to 5:00pm and
Saturday 8:00am to noon.
Written by www.ohacg.com