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Baggywrinkle
11-13-2008, 06:44 AM
A Measure of Your Food Self-sufficiency



See how your ability to feed yourself and your family measures up by the old-timers’ standards. There are no right or wrong answers to this “test.” Its purpose is just to help you evaluate where you are right now --- and think about what direction you might want to expand in.:

Do you grow your own vegetables?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you grow your own dairy foods?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you grow your own Meat?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you grow your own fruit, berries, honey, and sorghum syrup or maple syrup and use them for the sweets in your diet?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you grow your own cereal and bread grains?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you save your own seed from garden and grain patch?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you have males for dairy and meat breeding or easy neighborly access to them?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do your orchard and nut and berry patches include young plants?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you replace every tree you harvest?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Is the land on which you grow your food:
Borrowed?_____ Rented?_____Being bought on contract?_____ Paid for?_____

Do you preserve vegetables for year-round use?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you make cheese from your extra milk?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you preserve you family’s food supply by salting?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

By drying?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

By freezing?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

By canning?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

By root cellar storage?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you use cloches, a cold frame, or a greenhouse to prolong your growing season?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Do you have enough food on hand to feed the family
1 week?_____ 2 weeks?_____ 1 month?_____ 3 months?_____ 6 months?_____
9 months?_____ 1 year?_____ Longer?_____ How long?_____

Do you have enough seeds on hand to grow your food supply next year?
Yes_____ No_____Percent_____

Carla Emory, "The Encyclopedia of Country Living"