POLL: Theoildrum.com readers and food growing...
Posted by Nate Hagens on December 21, 2007 - 7:46pm
After reading the comments on Jason Bradfords post today "Does Less Energy Mean More Farmers", I noted, as in the past, the number of knowledgeable agricultural comments in the thread. I'm curious as to the breakdown of TOD readers and time spent farming.
Here is a Poll and open thread on the topic...Also 2008 grains made multi year highs today Dec 08 corn closed above $4.60 a bushel. Beans at $11.
I'm having Galeux D'eysines squash tonight with brown sugar, half and half and cinammon (I grew only the squash...)
Here is the Poll (same link) and questions:
1)- 75-100% We are largely self sufficient.
2)- Over 100% - but we sell it all to the open market and use the money to buy our actual food
3)- 25-50% - We grow a fair amount but still need to supplement it
4)- 5-10% - We have a small hobby garden and it supplements our grocery store trips
5)- Absolutely zero. My time is better spent trying to make money and buying food. Comparative advantage and such.
6)- Less than 5%. But I would grow some if I had more time, space or experience
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Wharf Rat on December 22, 2007 - 12:58am | Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
I'm gonna plead guilty to number 6, with an explanation. Prior to my divorce about 6 years ago, we were on the Farmers Mkt circuit, (CCOF certified organic) and grew a good deal of our food. I tried to muddle thru the first season, but it was just too difficult timewise, and I made a decision not to grow until I quit work. Gardening wasn't terribly compatible with 3 or 4 12 hr night shifts/week, combined with 2 hrs of commuting.
When farming, we grew all our seasonal produce, plus what we sold. Didn't do much canning; just tomatoes, I think. We also had about 100 chickens, and 5 hives of bees, along with 2 angora goats, and for a while, angora rabbits.
I'm retiring by the end of next Oct. If TSHTF before that, I'll quit sooner, but, as of now, I am not planning on a spring garden for next year.
I have maybe 100 fruit trees, mostly apples and pears, with as few plumps, Asian pears, almonds, and a non-producing walnut or 2. Tried cherries and peaches, but have a lot of trouble in our rainy climate. Have a large variety of trees, to try and extend the season as much as possible.
The garden had about 50 raised beds (100 sq ft), plus maybe 200 linear feet of raspberries, and some grapes.
Was pretty much pure John Jeavons, except the time constraints meant I was using sprinklers instead of overhead watering by hand. Dripped the berries and the trees.
Double dug all the beds by hand; had a U-bar built by the local blacksmith, and could do a bed in about an hour. The time constraints came at harvest; could have grown more, but had no time to pick it all, and no hired hands.
I also grew a few beds of wheat each winter, for practice, a cover crop, and goat food. Managed to grow about half the goat food for 8 months of the year, by harvesting the paths in the garden, + corn stalks, etc.
I've got my seeds, I have my beds and my trees. Next year, I'll have the time again. Probably hold it down to about 10 beds, until I need to go full tilt boogie. If that happens, I'll be growing for my kids, so they will be working out there, too. In the meantime, I have a lot of preserved food and canned seeds, + wheat, a variety of beans, buckwheat, and barley seeds I can plant. Have some split peas, too, but don't think they will grow.
No plans for chickens and bees again.May have to trade with folks I know who are already producing these. Plus, there is a herd of cattle next door, so I may have to trade produce for meat with them.
Oh...learned how to graft trees along the way. Had fair success with that.
Oh; reminded by VtFarmer's post...I have one sugar maple, maybe 20 years old. May not be big enuf to tap for another 10 or 20 years, but somebody on the West Coast will have maple syrup.
Rat |
