Where is All the Food?

[Christopher O'Brien]

by Wayne Weiseman,
Article HERE:
When a product enters the marketplace it is doomed to be bandied about, prodded, poked and eventually, if it is a “valuable” commodity, confiscated, manipulated, packaged, politicized, corporatized, chained to will-o’-the-wisp market forces and forever relegated to the dungeon of the landfill, what’s left of it.

The pharaohs of agri-commerce will save the world, eh? Green revolution? Green devolution. The real “commodity” is the seed you plant, the cutting you propagate, the chicken you feed from the seeds of the seed you plant and the fruit of the cutting, which has become a tree bearing fresh, juicy, luscious gems for your ultimate pleasure. Now, go to Whole Foods and pick a piece of fruit off the tree growing in their produce department, eh?

We hear any awful lot about food safety these days. What does this mean exactly? Does it mean that we grow “safe” food or does it mean that we are safe with abundant harvests?

The biggest problem is this idea of farm. It was always a problem. Very small holdings, easily managed, when combined, is key here. Why is it that when we think of growing crops we only think farm? What is this idea of farm? From whence does it arise? When the commoditization of fresh foods takes precedence then farms turn into gigantic factories. Were indigenous villagers raising their crops at a farm scale? Rest of Article HERE:

 

[stonehart]

by Wayne Weiseman,
Article HERE:
When a product enters the marketplace it is doomed to be bandied about, prodded, poked and eventually, if it is a “valuable” commodity, confiscated, manipulated, packaged, politicized, corporatized, chained to will-o’-the-wisp market forces and forever relegated to the dungeon of the landfill, what’s left of it.

The pharaohs of agri-commerce will save the world, eh? Green revolution? Green devolution. The real “commodity” is the seed you plant, the cutting you propagate, the chicken you feed from the seeds of the seed you plant and the fruit of the cutting, which has become a tree bearing fresh, juicy, luscious gems for your ultimate pleasure. Now, go to Whole Foods and pick a piece of fruit off the tree growing in their produce department, eh?

We hear any awful lot about food safety these days. What does this mean exactly? Does it mean that we grow “safe” food or does it mean that we are safe with abundant harvests?

The biggest problem is this idea of farm. It was always a problem. Very small holdings, easily managed, when combined, is key here. Why is it that when we think of growing crops we only think farm? What is this idea of farm? From whence does it arise? When the commoditization of fresh foods takes precedence then farms turn into gigantic factories. Were indigenous villagers raising their crops at a farm scale? Rest of Article HERE:

Very nice post Chris, I grow my own food for a good reason

One thing that is very true in your post is that it is not the food that is the most valuable commodity but the seed.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

Vertical hydroponic farming (as an example) can be utilized virtually anywhere. City balconies, suburban porches, back yards. Combine that w/ aquaculture and a liberal dash of solar self-reliance and you begin to redefine sustainability and common sense. I'll trade you some tomatoes for some 'shrooms.

 

[stonehart]

Vertical hydroponic farming (as an example) can be utilized virtually anywhere. City balconies, suburban porches, back yards. Combine that w/ aquaculture and a liberal dash of solar self-reliance and you begin to redefine sustainability and common sense. I'll trade you some tomatoes for some 'shrooms.

That has summed up my thinking and approach very well.

I am using almost all the available space on my property these day to grow food etc .. and the solar setup is really only enough as a back up in emergency cases right now (but it is getting there slowly).

Personally I think people are to reliant on the system to feed and fend for them.

 

[mike]

Picked this lot yesterday

They came from the outdoor kitchen garden, but i also have a hothouse which includes rows of half pipes which grow lettuce and perpetual pick spinach varietys for salads etc.

We also save seeds and maintain a large seed bank of heirloom varietys

And the near the front door is a large herb garden , which i use in cooking all the time, a dish isnt complete without some fresh herbs imo.

The place came with an orchard, which weve expanded on with citrus trees (one of the few fruits the cockatoos dont pillage)

We often put out bags of lemons and grapefruit we cant use, and recently were delighted to find someone had reciprocated with a jar of home made marmelaide made from our giveaways. It was a very nice surprise

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

Picked this lot yesterday...

Wow, cool Mike, YOU the man w/ the green thumb! The road to self-reliance starts w/ the intent to make-it-so... I LOVE butternut squash and everything citrus. Where are you located?

 

[mike]

Wow, cool Mike, YOU the man w/ the green thumb! The road to self-reliance starts w/ the intent to make-it-so... I LOVE butternut squash and everything citrus. Where are you located?

Blue mountains west of Sydney Australia

 

[mike]

Hothouse and Shadehouse

Part of the kitchen garden, Bit hard to see, but its currently got broccolli, climbing beans, squash, tomatoes, basil, garlic, kiwifruit and cucumbers in the cage, outside is potatoes and cherry tomatoes, black and red currants and grapes
The cage is a necessity, living in a national park we have lots of hungry critters. Behind it is a peach tree, lemon and olive tree, but we have nectarines and apricots as well as limes oranges and grapefruit. We also have a nice elderberry plot which i'm told makes a nice hedgerow brew, but ive yet to try it , they say the result is a bit like Champagne.

Pertinant to the thread, we play this game at the supermarket, we ask "tomatoes ?" nah......
Cucumber ?...... nah etc etc
Most of the fresh vegies we eat we grow at home in season. Tastes better, and is better for you.

We also take regular bush tucker walks with a local indigenous fella, whos grandmother passed on all her local knowledge, We are lucky enough to live inside a national park where literally as far as the eye can see in two directions is un spoilt bush, to the very horizon looking north and south.
Plenty of bush tucker if you have the right knowledge on whats good to eat.

We also keep a couple of chooks for fresh eggs, and they in turn keep down the insects in the kitchen garden and turn the table scraps into fertiliser.


I brew my own beer with local honey instead of sugar , and also a fantastic hard lemonade with excess lemons in season.

We dont put down as much preserves as we'd like too, but we do get some pickles and mixed antipasto in most years

We give away a lot of excess stuff to neighbours and workmates, and also grow a lot of flowers for the fun of it, a fresh bunch of sweet peas in the bathroom, dining and bedrooms gives a wonderful smell without a need for canned air freshner, and we have lots of lavender for that as well. we sun dry pillow cases etc on the lavender hedge to great effect.

I have a number of hobbys i enjoy, but gardening is the most rewarding, everyone should do it.
I look at a block of flats and think battery hens.......... bugger that, i'm a free range human

 

[mike]

This ancient German recipe for elderflower ‘champagne’ contains a very small amount of alcohol. It’s a wonderful summer drink, fermented by natural yeasts. Here’s how to make it.

• 5–10 large, fully opened elderberry flower clusters
• 3 to 5 organic lemons
• 500–1000g of sugar
• 10 litres water

1. Collect 5–10 large, fully opened umbels (flower clusters) of elderberry flowers. It is important that you pick the flowers in the late morning of a sunny and dry day; this way you ensure good and potent strains of natural yeasts.
2. Place in a large bucket with 3 to 5 halved, organic lemons and 500–1000g of sugar, depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have. Add 10 litres of water.
3. Cover this and let it sit for about three days in the sun. The flowers need to turn brown.
4. Press out the lemons, filter the liquid (usually there are a number of thrips in the flowers) and pour into empty soft drink bottles. Close the bottles tightly!
5. Store in a dark and cool place for at least two weeks. The bottles will get very tight due to the carbon dioxide from the fermentation. Be careful when opening the bottles; pressure will build up in the bottles.
6. When stored in a cool, dark place the sparkling wine will keep for many months. If you want to preserve it longer, add a tablespoon of tartaric acid when starting the liquid.

Well this thread has inspired me to give it a go, ive just checked the elderberry trees i reckon i have enough for a double batch, ie a standard beer brewing vat, about 20 litres.

 

[Randall]

Hothouse and Shadehouse ... Part of the kitchen garden, Bit hard to see, but its currently got broccolli, climbing beans, squash, tomatoes, basil, garlic, kiwifruit and cucumbers in the cage, outside is potatoes and cherry tomatoes, black and red currants and grape ... The cage is a necessity, living in a national park we have lots of hungry critters. Behind it is a peach tree, lemon and olive tree, but we have nectarines and apricots as well as limes oranges and grapefruit. We also have a nice elderberry plot which i'm told makes a nice hedgerow brew, but ive yet to try it , they say the result is a bit like Champagne ...

Wow ... Amazing ! And check out the solar panels too . Man ... I'm totally impressed. It sure looks like a lot of work though.

 

[ProphetofOccam]

The biggest problem with this concept is the fact that certain areas of the country, or any country, are more fertile and.or seasonal than others. Without shipping and large scale farming in various parts of the country, the individual in the upper mid west, say, would have to rely on canning, pickling, salting, and freezing to sustain food supplies for the five to six months of winter they're going to experience between October and April (and sometimes the first half of May in my particular area). Most forms of food preservation are unhealthy, expensive, nutritionally damaging or all three.

The majority of people don't even have access to flash freezing or freeze drying equipment; most people couldn't afford to acquire it; some others wouldn't be able to afford to run them to the degree necessary. Solar and wind energy for the individual is a good idea, in these instances where energy costs are a factor, but the equipment and materials needed to implement these things on an individual scale are extremely expensive.

While that type of thing is reasonable for people in some parts of the country, or folks who don't mind what canning, salting and pickling does to them or their food, it's not practical for the people in the vast majority.

This is also from the perspective of a person who doesn't eat the dead. I'm sure, to a small degree, hunting and winter harvest crops could carry you through a mild winter. You'd still have to deal with storage and processing of the kills for proper preservation and nutritional content.

It's all too much of a pain in the ass. I'd rather just buy my apples and tomatoes at Earth Fare and spend the time I'd have wasted growing them on making virtual teddy bears dance or hanging out with my friends. To each their own, though.

 

[ProphetofOccam]

That said, nice set up Mike.

 

[stonehart]

Looking good Mike, I am just starting this seasons first harvest and as you know I live in the south of New Zealand so it takes a bit longer for us to warm up to summer
I have a seedling house but not a full hothouse (yet ), so I have to wait a bit for the summer and late spring veg to come in.

 

[boomerang]

Blue mountains west of Sydney Australia

Mike, that's fantastic. How high are your summer temps and are you able to grow most food crops throughout your summer season? Springtime here in central Texas is woefully short with highs soon reaching the 32 to 37 deg C range. This has a way of cooking our favorite veggies in the ground. Climate change over the last 30 years hasn't helped.

Looks like you are riding the wave of the future and have the process down pat.