The Reality of Food Self-Sufficiency

Comments · 2.2K

• SA

  @Sawisbetter · 4 years ago

  I work 12 hour night shift 5 nights a week. It feels like I'm missing my two sons growing up. I feel stuck and I'm not happy in general because time goes by so fast. I guess what I'm trying to say is I know what you're doing is very hard work but nothing will ever make up for your time spent with your family. Stay in high spirits and enjoy your time with your boys 🌅

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• NE

  @Nembula · 4 years ago

  I'm a retired organic farmer.  It might be helpful for you to seed your walkways to white clover.   When mowing it just let the clippings go Up on the beds.  This will help keep the raised beds raised, adds organic matter to the beds, when it's in bloom it is charming.  It helps make sure the bees have lots to eat.  Last it is a deep rooted plant which should help the drainage.

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• MR

  @MrMagyar5 · 3 years ago

  Self sustainability is very important but is a colossal amount of work.  There's a reason that people have formed societies.  It buffers against the overwhelming amount of work you have to do to provide for your family.   When you have 100 people (for example), each specializing in something to the extent that they can provide for others as well as themselves, it makes life far better.  My hats off to you and your family for the bonds you are creating and sharing.  These are lessons that last for generations in a family.

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• AI

  @Aiyvas · 3 years ago

  Growing up on a farm I’ve seen so many people get discouraged by stuff like this. The struggles and the “hard work”. As a kid I hated it, as a teen, I grew an appreciation for it, now as an adult I strive to return to the this life and raise my kids the way I was raised.<br>To all of you out there. Never be afraid of “hard work” its the main ingredient to your best life.

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• JI

  @jirup · 4 years ago

  As a retired market gardener, this was lovely to watch. Look after your knees, hun. You would not believe now inconvenient arthritis is in middle age.

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• RA

  @randybrown140 · 4 years ago

  I remember my grandparents, NO electric, outhouse, black wood stove, guns stacked in corner, horse&apos;s. If something didn&apos;t grow they did without. Grandma sold eggs, canned everything. Grandpa worried about the weather. That and much more was over 60 years ago, Good luck 🤗

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• CY

  @cynthiaskaggs6645 · 4 years ago

  My mom had the same problem years ago with our tomato plot. That’s when she started doing a sort of ‘lasagna gardening’ technique for the tomato plot. At the end of every tomato season we’d add multiple layers of dried leaves, greens (young weeds pulled from other areas), wood ash, veggie scraps and some reg compost. The layers added a lot of nutrients to the soil while also building up the soil level. She basically turned the whole plot into one giant working compost patch.

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• TH

  @TheTrock121 · 4 years ago

  Your best crop is good natured, loving children. &nbsp;Such a blessing to see your family.

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• JO

  @joanbeauregard9338 · 3 years ago

  This brings back such memories! Years ago, i had what i called my small urban backyard farm. Between fresh produce and canning and preserving, we not only ate better, we saved a ton of money on groceries. Now that it’s just me, the garden has shrunk to 2 raised beds. But there’s been lots to share and well over a hundred jars of various canned goods put up. Even at 80, i still relish the joys of growing and preserving in spite of the work.

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• GE

  @getinthespace7715 · 2 years ago

  We grew up helping my grandparents with their large garden. <br>My cousins, my brother and I would go over and grandpa would let us each grab a baby carrot to &quot;check on them&quot;. <br>Then he would task us with weeding the garden. He made a game out of it. <br>We would all get ice cream after but the kid who collected the most weeds got a choice of candy bars from grandpa&apos;s &quot;secret stash&quot;. We would all help cut wood to heat our houses during the winter and help grandma and grandpa harvest everything from the garden, clean everything up and can all kinds of vegetables. <br>Go picking gallon buckets of berries for Grandma to make Jam. <br>High Bush cranberry jam was my favorite. <br>Blueberry always went into pies. 😋

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• GA

  @Gala0908 · 4 years ago

  I love that your entire family works with you. Raising the kids to be knowledgeable in the garden now can save them so much in the future. Keep up the good work! &lt;3

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• EA

  @eagledove9 · 4 years ago

  &apos;Hugelkultur&apos; is the German word for burying large logs under the ground, to create a raised garden bed. They won&apos;t gradually sink down as much as it does if you&apos;re just piling dirt up. I don&apos;t know how much effort it takes to drag all those logs out into the field and bury them, but hopefully they would last a long time and you wouldn&apos;t have to do it again. They also decay and provide humus, they hold water, and they provide beneficial fungal mycelia, in addition to raising things up to help with drainage.

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