Years ago, I had a country house built in 1840. My wife made a vegetable garden behind the barn, perhaps inspired by her mother who had one three times the size a few miles away. If you're working a garden, there is no need to go to a gym. A few hours with a shovel is informative.
Life used to be extraordinarily hard for people. That pig you raised, fed from your farm, could be all that stood between you and life and death over the winter.
There is some argument as to when human's way of living became unsustainable. Was it the advent of agriculture, no longer living as hunter-gatherers? Was it the advent of iron, when human and animal power could plow a field? Certainly, if not these, the advent of machines powered by fossil fuels pushed us over the edge of sustainability.
I never thought of myself as a revolutionary, but you are correct. At this point, nothing short of a revolution will do. Big changes are happening whether we want them or not.
I, and at least five or six other people could easily survive on what I produce. Possibly 50 people could do that. But I like the finer things in life also. I don’t have any dry red wine grapes, I don’t have any dairy goats currently showing of goat cheese. It would be rather bland after six months.
I know a handful of people who are making a good go of it, but none of them are in cities, limited to backyard veggie gardens, which is what I was focusing on here. The grain aspect is a big challenge if you're not in a rural area.
That does make it more challenging. I think a community garden supplemented by your own specialty garden Izzy best practice in such a case. Again, I’m positive I could feed two people with the average suburban backyard. It would just take a season to set it up. You’d have to really appreciate chickens and other poultry because your meat protein options are quite limited
Very informative, thanks. I often dream of doing this but know the limits practically speaking. What if you farmed and included a few animal sources of protein, such as backyard hens (for eggs and occasional meat) and sheep for milk/cheese? I’m curious about your thoughts!
People have definitely looked into the animal factors, in terms of space and labor and return, but I don't know enough about that subject to speak to it. There's also a lively discussion, as I'm sure you know, about how much of what kind of protein people truly need for health (with some saying the current issue for US Americans is a lack of fiber not a lack of protein).
What I will say from my own experience is that having chickens for eggs is not overly challenging and can even be done humanely in an urban setting. Their manure is valuable in the garden once it's been aged. And chickens are fun to hang out with because they really do have different personalities. The relationship also feels mostly consensual in that they voluntarily go into their hen house at night, and all you have to do is close and latch the door to protect them.
Holding animals captive in order to fatten them up for slaughter presents ethical issues for some people (including me). I know folks who are actively grappling with those issues in small-scale operations in attentive ways and I believe that their thoughtful kind of approach is very important. We cannot live without taking life (which includes many, though not all, of the plants we eat) but we have a responsibility to do that respectfully. What the Buddhists call "right living" maybe.
Sorry I couldn't offer more details, but I would recommend seeing what permaculture folks have come up with. They're very much focused on yield in terms of space for everything.
Thanks, Kollibri, for your response. We have five laying hens and their eggs are wonderful sources of high quality protein (in addition to the manure for compost). I completely agree about too much protein and too little fibre being one of the biggest issues for the ill health in the US (and Canada). The more raw veggies the better but many of us get our best sources of plant protein from beans and lentils, which as you point out, are difficult to mass produce and harvest. I try my best to be respectful of all I take from this planet. I have been to a couple of permaculture workshops and 2ill continue down that road. Being self-sustained will be very important very soon.
You're already a chicken-keeper, great! I couldn't agree more about the importance of being self-sustaining, and I think the best way to accomplish that will be in cooperation with other people trying to do the same.
Completely agree and if you have any practical advice on what to do/not to do with respect to community sustainability, let me know whenever you have a moment!
Sure, not enough to live on, but I see two positives of growing your own food. You know what you are planting, and you do not have to use any pesticides or herbicides. If your efforts were multiplied by ten, would that have made a difference? I am talking about a large community effort for a large community garden. I have no experience in this area, but I am curious about growing your own Thanks for the article.
What do people make of the likes of Robin Greenfield, who has claimed to have grown or wild crafted all his own food for a year or more at a time? (In Central Florida, in his case.)
Years ago, I had a country house built in 1840. My wife made a vegetable garden behind the barn, perhaps inspired by her mother who had one three times the size a few miles away. If you're working a garden, there is no need to go to a gym. A few hours with a shovel is informative.
Life used to be extraordinarily hard for people. That pig you raised, fed from your farm, could be all that stood between you and life and death over the winter.
There is some argument as to when human's way of living became unsustainable. Was it the advent of agriculture, no longer living as hunter-gatherers? Was it the advent of iron, when human and animal power could plow a field? Certainly, if not these, the advent of machines powered by fossil fuels pushed us over the edge of sustainability.
I never thought of myself as a revolutionary, but you are correct. At this point, nothing short of a revolution will do. Big changes are happening whether we want them or not.
I, and at least five or six other people could easily survive on what I produce. Possibly 50 people could do that. But I like the finer things in life also. I don’t have any dry red wine grapes, I don’t have any dairy goats currently showing of goat cheese. It would be rather bland after six months.
I know a handful of people who are making a good go of it, but none of them are in cities, limited to backyard veggie gardens, which is what I was focusing on here. The grain aspect is a big challenge if you're not in a rural area.
That does make it more challenging. I think a community garden supplemented by your own specialty garden Izzy best practice in such a case. Again, I’m positive I could feed two people with the average suburban backyard. It would just take a season to set it up. You’d have to really appreciate chickens and other poultry because your meat protein options are quite limited
Not to say my efforts not produce finer things in life, just not all of them. I would miss the hell out of coffee!!
Very informative, thanks. I often dream of doing this but know the limits practically speaking. What if you farmed and included a few animal sources of protein, such as backyard hens (for eggs and occasional meat) and sheep for milk/cheese? I’m curious about your thoughts!
People have definitely looked into the animal factors, in terms of space and labor and return, but I don't know enough about that subject to speak to it. There's also a lively discussion, as I'm sure you know, about how much of what kind of protein people truly need for health (with some saying the current issue for US Americans is a lack of fiber not a lack of protein).
What I will say from my own experience is that having chickens for eggs is not overly challenging and can even be done humanely in an urban setting. Their manure is valuable in the garden once it's been aged. And chickens are fun to hang out with because they really do have different personalities. The relationship also feels mostly consensual in that they voluntarily go into their hen house at night, and all you have to do is close and latch the door to protect them.
Holding animals captive in order to fatten them up for slaughter presents ethical issues for some people (including me). I know folks who are actively grappling with those issues in small-scale operations in attentive ways and I believe that their thoughtful kind of approach is very important. We cannot live without taking life (which includes many, though not all, of the plants we eat) but we have a responsibility to do that respectfully. What the Buddhists call "right living" maybe.
Sorry I couldn't offer more details, but I would recommend seeing what permaculture folks have come up with. They're very much focused on yield in terms of space for everything.
Thanks, Kollibri, for your response. We have five laying hens and their eggs are wonderful sources of high quality protein (in addition to the manure for compost). I completely agree about too much protein and too little fibre being one of the biggest issues for the ill health in the US (and Canada). The more raw veggies the better but many of us get our best sources of plant protein from beans and lentils, which as you point out, are difficult to mass produce and harvest. I try my best to be respectful of all I take from this planet. I have been to a couple of permaculture workshops and 2ill continue down that road. Being self-sustained will be very important very soon.
You're already a chicken-keeper, great! I couldn't agree more about the importance of being self-sustaining, and I think the best way to accomplish that will be in cooperation with other people trying to do the same.
Completely agree and if you have any practical advice on what to do/not to do with respect to community sustainability, let me know whenever you have a moment!
Sure, not enough to live on, but I see two positives of growing your own food. You know what you are planting, and you do not have to use any pesticides or herbicides. If your efforts were multiplied by ten, would that have made a difference? I am talking about a large community effort for a large community garden. I have no experience in this area, but I am curious about growing your own Thanks for the article.
What do people make of the likes of Robin Greenfield, who has claimed to have grown or wild crafted all his own food for a year or more at a time? (In Central Florida, in his case.)