I'm wondering how many people on this forum grow their own food...enough to actually to survive on. In my case I grow vegetables but not enough to live off of. In the long term situation how many can live off their own vegetable plots. I've been watching this forum for a while but all I really ever see is discussion about gear and personal survival kits. I suppose pics of blades is more interesting but being able to grow your own food is pretty important too. If people are interested then I think we can start discussing what we plant and whats good for survival situations.
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Just Curious
- Thread starter chazbo88
- Start date
At my last house I had about a 30ft by 50ft garden plot. Not enough to totally subsist, not even close. To live off of, year round, you are into acres. You are canning, preserving, pickling and drying. Rotating crops, and using the entire growing season, even starting seedlings in cold frames, which I did do for a few years.
Something to consider, from a survival situation, should someone really want to be food independant. A lot of the plants we grow are hybrids. Take tomatoes for example. It's getting more difficult to find varieties that you can use the seeds to grow next years crop. Thye are hybridized to the point their seeds won't grow next years crop. part of me thinks this is a nice way for the governments of the world control the populations food supply. The other part of me knows it's because we want fatter tomatoes for our burgers, so we have scientifically engineered them in one direction, while sacrificing some other traits.
So, for anyone wanting to get gardening, and be able to subsist without outside help, be certain to research and use some good old fashioned varieties that can and will reseed themselves. Use the seeds from the biggest largest plumpest best specimens you have to keep your quality high year over year.
I'm scoping my current property for a good place for another garden. We have a huge deer problem, so, I'm looking at some serious fencing issues. And before anyone says just shoot them....last year my neighbors took 33 deer, this year there are still even more. Legally, we don't think we can thin them down enough to make an impact....but, on the other hand, for a survival situation when the government can't help and the local grocery store is belly up, we know where to harvest some serious amounts of venison.
The moral of that story, when in a long term survival situation, your garden is going to feed you with plant crops, but it's likely to draw in some "meat" crops, as well. :thumbup:
Something to consider, from a survival situation, should someone really want to be food independant. A lot of the plants we grow are hybrids. Take tomatoes for example. It's getting more difficult to find varieties that you can use the seeds to grow next years crop. Thye are hybridized to the point their seeds won't grow next years crop. part of me thinks this is a nice way for the governments of the world control the populations food supply. The other part of me knows it's because we want fatter tomatoes for our burgers, so we have scientifically engineered them in one direction, while sacrificing some other traits.
So, for anyone wanting to get gardening, and be able to subsist without outside help, be certain to research and use some good old fashioned varieties that can and will reseed themselves. Use the seeds from the biggest largest plumpest best specimens you have to keep your quality high year over year.
I'm scoping my current property for a good place for another garden. We have a huge deer problem, so, I'm looking at some serious fencing issues. And before anyone says just shoot them....last year my neighbors took 33 deer, this year there are still even more. Legally, we don't think we can thin them down enough to make an impact....but, on the other hand, for a survival situation when the government can't help and the local grocery store is belly up, we know where to harvest some serious amounts of venison.
The moral of that story, when in a long term survival situation, your garden is going to feed you with plant crops, but it's likely to draw in some "meat" crops, as well. :thumbup:
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I have a couple of nice little gardens, but I would be dead if I had to live off them. I can grow peppers, tomatoes, and melons like crazy, but the squash family stuff in my raised garden just kept on getting downy mildew and dying off. I sprayed every other week with 3 in 1, no luck. Maybe they'll do better next year.
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You know, I was thinking about this, and wondering how well a very large greenhouse would do. If I had the land, I would put one of those in, and not have to worry about critters. I bet the insects and fungii would be a lot easier to control too. You could have some high quality soil and still rotate your crops, but I wonder how sustainable it would be. Greenhouses in places like botanical gardens seem to do just fine, so I bet it could work. I have seen the prices for the materials, and it would not be very expensive. I know the end of the world guys are going to say that is just inviting looting, but I think critters and insects eating your plants are a little more probable.
I have cattle and goats. The garden I let go the last year so I could use my time on the homebuilding project.
Skunk is right about the hybrids, I plant a few open pollinated tomato plants and keep the seeds. You can get corn also, the multi colored Indian corn is good.
If you have the room, plant crops the native way, corn, squash, and beans planted together. Corn gives the beans a trellis, and the squash shades out the weeds. When all 3 are eaten together, they form a complete protien like meat.
If you want seeds that are not hybrid, seedsofchange.com has them.
Plant apple trees. It takes a while but lots of food value when they bear.
Skunk is right about the hybrids, I plant a few open pollinated tomato plants and keep the seeds. You can get corn also, the multi colored Indian corn is good.
If you have the room, plant crops the native way, corn, squash, and beans planted together. Corn gives the beans a trellis, and the squash shades out the weeds. When all 3 are eaten together, they form a complete protien like meat.
If you want seeds that are not hybrid, seedsofchange.com has them.
Plant apple trees. It takes a while but lots of food value when they bear.
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- May 27, 2006
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- 2,325
I keep a supply of seed and grow a vegetable garden every year. I don't grow near enough to feed my family but I have and could. I know how to can, store root vegetables, and dry others. I grew up raising a garden, raising a couple of pigs a year and chickens. Very little of what I ate until I left home came from the grocery store.
Good thread and something people need to think more about. With this drought we are having it would be a very tough time to grow anything. It actually kind of worries me, GA is losing a lot of trees and here in NC we are not far behind them. Chris
Good thread and something people need to think more about. With this drought we are having it would be a very tough time to grow anything. It actually kind of worries me, GA is losing a lot of trees and here in NC we are not far behind them. Chris
Ordering a supply of non-hybridized (or lightly hybridized) seeds is relatively easy over the internet. However, figuring out what will grow best in your area, matching the soil conditions and weather/temps is critical. The local farmers markets are great places to find non-hybridized varieties of vegetables that will grow well in your area. You can also talk to the guys that are growing them and get their recommendations. They've already figured out what works locally. I've found them to be eager to talk and give tips, these guys love what they do and are happy to share. Also, a lot of it is organic and just better tasting.
I don't have much of a garden yet. Just a couple of tomato and pepper plants. I do have a fairly large, a bit over an acre, tank (pond to you northeners). It's stocked with bluegill and bass. The bluegill reproduce so quickly that you'd have to do some serious fishing to put a dent in the population.
I don't have much of a garden yet. Just a couple of tomato and pepper plants. I do have a fairly large, a bit over an acre, tank (pond to you northeners). It's stocked with bluegill and bass. The bluegill reproduce so quickly that you'd have to do some serious fishing to put a dent in the population.
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If I wasn't working I could grow enough to survive I think.
My main problem is the sheer time involved in processing large amounts of produce.
I have several gardens but we mostly eat the stuff fresh.
I have said this before but I have a garden, about 5 acres of hayfield, 85 acres of woods, 2 water wells, a gas well, natural gas refrigerators, I raise laying hens, raise dairy goats and make cheese, and have turkey, deer and squirrel in my woods so I probably could subsist.
My main problem is the sheer time involved in processing large amounts of produce.
I have several gardens but we mostly eat the stuff fresh.
I have said this before but I have a garden, about 5 acres of hayfield, 85 acres of woods, 2 water wells, a gas well, natural gas refrigerators, I raise laying hens, raise dairy goats and make cheese, and have turkey, deer and squirrel in my woods so I probably could subsist.
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Not enough to live on but apples, tomatoes and potatoes taste better when home grown. We also grow herbs and spices for the same reason.