Grow your own — Food Self-sufficiency for you

[Seikou-Kishi]

I thought I'd make this thread offering a few suggestions about how to become self-sufficient in terms of food. There seems to be an idea that self-sufficiency means scrimping and scraping and having a thoroughly unpleasant experience, but there are many ways we can live abundantly without buying into the system.

I would be greatly pleased if this thread could turn into a place in which people share their ideas and experiences, and also where people propose new ideas and those with experience are able to guide those seeking it. If we pool our experiences and know-how, there is very little we can't do :-)

• Plant fruit trees. They might not fruit for the first few years (depending on the stage of development at which they're purchased). Fruit can be grown as plants like strawberries, raspberries, etc., but I find trees more efficient since they usually take no looking after. I have quite a few fruit trees of different types and a few nut trees as well. The harvest from them all is very large and so I'd recommend it highly. A little brewer's yeast is a very good way of dealing with the excess; just press out the juice and innoculate with the yeast. Vinegar can then be made from the country wine by innoculating with acetobacter bacteria.
• Grow bushes. Bushes which fruit are very useful. I grow blueberries, red, white and black currants, gooseberries, tayberries and gojiberries. I also have raspberries and blackberry bushes, but I tend to allow only a few stalks of them because of the way they propagate; they send large stalks upwards until they bend over and reach towards the ground, at which point they start growing roots into the ground. You can avoid this by allowing only a few stalks to grow and then using canes and strings to train them to grow in the right direction (i.e., to stop them touching the soil). They produce an awful lot for their size.
• Grow Vegetables. Vegetables are very easy to grow and given only a little care and attention they will produce large amounts. For things like beans, the plants can be harvested many times before they stop producing food. When they are approaching the end of their productivity, allow them to go to seed so that you have beans you can plant for next year. Be careful about 'choking' the soil with hay; it will prevent weeds but it will attract rats.
• Use your compost heap. Your compost heap is a very useful way of getting rid of all the uncooked garden waste and any uneaten (and uncooked) vegetables, fruit, etc.. The compost heap is also the perfect place to grow fennel, which requires no attention whatsoever. Throw a few fennel seeds on your compost heap and in no time at all you'll have huge fennel hearts ready to eat — and what's more, any you don't eat are in the right place ;-)
• Use your walls. Many people forget about their walls when they are thinking of where to plant their crops, but many plants thrive when grown against a wall and their usefulness can be maximised. The elder is considered a weed, and in structure falls half way between a tree and a bush. It grows a few central stems which give it the appearance of a willow which has been copsed. These stalks can be trained to travel along trellises in such a way that they can be made to cover a wall the way ivy covers buildings. This flexibility makes it a very useful plant, since it can turn an otherwise unused wall space into fruiting canvas. The flowers can be used for making country wine and the berries can be used for wine, syrups, jams and jellies. The tree is poisonous, though, so the fruit should be heated before it is used (heat breaks down the poison). The berries are very good as a health tonic because they contain components which inhibit viral replication, so made into a syrup either on their own or with other tonics like Rowan berries (Americans, read Mountain Ash berries) or rosehips they are a great way of bolstering one's defences during the winter months. It has become a common thing now for me to make elderberry, rowan and rosehip syrup in the autumn and distribute it around my family and friends and it's the perfect way to sweeten and flavour porridge.
• Don't be afraid to be decorative. I often encounter the opinion that any space that isn't used for vegetables is wasted space, and so people will be disinclined to plant decorative flowers. If you are of this opinion, you can in fact have the best of both worlds. Plant sunflowers around the house and any other buildings on the land up against walls for the protection and support it provides. When they mature you can collect their seeds, set a few aside to grow more next year, and use the rest as a healthy snack. Try planting roses on trellises as archways over paths for both their decorative purposes and for their edible petals. They can brighten up a salad, be used in confectionery, or dried and used sprinkled amply in wardrobes and clothes draws for the natural smell.
• Don't be scared of weeds. Some weeds are only weeds because they're prolific. Others are only weeds because people have decided they don't like them. Do the lawns of your gardens really look better for being uniformly green? I enjoy looking out over the gardens of yellow during the summer when the dandelions are in full bloom. The flower heads can be used in salads or made into wine, the leaves can be used in salads, the roots can be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute and the stalks can be split open and wrapped soothingly on sore or burnt skin — much more useful than grass. Nettles too provide quite a good array of vitamins and minerals. Held since ancient times to be a blood cleanser, it contains hefty amounts of iron and vitamin c, making it a great food for those with anaemia (the body can't absorb iron without vitamin c, making most 'just iron' supplements ineffective). They can be fried up with onions, shallots or garlic (or a combination) and puréed to make something which is great as a garnish, as an addition to soups and also just great spread on dry toast.
• Don't be scared of keeping animals. Most people aren't blessed with the space which I am lucky to have, but most people do have enough space to keep a few animals. Overlook this if you're offended by the thought of using animals for meat. Rabbits can be kept for their meat and over a few generations they can provide a great deal — selectively breed those rabbits which mature the quickest and which fatten up the most and your rabbits will produce a lot of meat very quickly. If you do not think you could bring yourself to prepare the animal for food, reassure yourself that your rabbits will have had great lives with you and will have lived free-range lives. Never kill anything you intend to eat in front of the others — they do notice and it's not fair to alarm them. Rabbits can be fed with vegetable surpluses (if you are gardening right, you'll run a surplus nearly all the time). Keep chickens for their eggs and also for their meat. Chickens can be fed on the seeds of whatever plants you are growing. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds -- even the seeds of the dandelions come their time (they take little gathering). I haven't yet branched out into keeping my own animals, though my cousin has and I relay here his experience. When it comes to chickens, a single rooster is necessary to breed the next generation (he should be removed from the chickens for the rest of the time so that the eggs do not develop). Since a rooster's work is minimal, quite a few self-sufficient households can share a single rooster. If you make use of another's rooster, it might be nice to contribute towards his food. To get your chickens and rabbits, speak to somebody who already keeps them or buy them new and breed them yourself. Once you get into the swing of it, it won't seem half as hard. My cousin is considering also taking on ducks, but remember the larger the bird the more space you'll need. They will take an initial investment in terms of creating their enclosures — just remember that any enclosure should be as good at keeping things out as in.
• Buy some good books. Buy books which talk about free food. There are many places in the country where you can get food for free. These books are obviously specialised to certain regions; what is good for the UK probably won't help an American and what is good for the US probably won't help a Briton, and so on. You can find many books online pointing out where to get food for free, such as what wild plants are edible (and which parts) and where to find them. Then there are books like the Vicomte de Mauduit's "They Can't Ration These" — a WWI era book written by a French nobleman with a forward by the Prime Minister David Lloyd George which details various recipes using free food, talks about how to prepare caught animals for cooking (such as skinning and gutting), gives recipes for a few different country wines and even cosmetics such as making soap, shampoo.
• Make good use of fire. Fire is a useful way of reinvigorating soil with nutrients. When burning fires for the purpose of nutrients, make sure to burn only natural things — logs, wood that's only been naturally treated, etc.. When the fire has burnt down the ashes can be mixed into soil or added to the compost heap as a way of raising the PH of the soil and increasing potassium content. You can also create tar by smoking wood and using this as a natural way of protecting your wooden fences against rot and rain.

[Seikou-Kishi]

When it comes to planting seeds and bulbs for growing, people can find all the requirements daunting. They say plant your seeds so far apart and plant them so many inches beneath the soil. Water them so often and feed them every week or so. All of these different demands can mean that planting becomes as tricky and as intricate as brain surgery, but you know it really doesn't have to be that difficult and gardening doesn't have to become a full-time job.

There is one simple thought to keep in mind when planting seeds, etc., and that is that plants are living things; it is their nature to survive and they have a vested interest in surviving. They're not fussy celebrities who are going to storm off if you don't pander to them — they want to live and will survive. I'm often surprised when people act as though they're great gardeners because their plants are growing so well and I think aren't they forgetting the tiny part the plants themselves played in it?

Plants survive and thrive perfectly well without human intervention. They're not babies that need constant attention or they'll wither up. If the weather is exceptionally dry, water them a little. If you've planted quite a bit in the same patch without leaving it fallow, give it a little food. Otherwise, though, put your confidence in the plants' own ability to survive. It's much easier to have a green thumb than people think. The trick is in not smothering them and letting them get on with it. I'm surprised by how often people manage to kill plants and most of the time it is because they water and feed excessively.

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Now, very often plants will attract pests. You absolutely do not need to use pesticides to protect your crops. It should hardly need to be said at Avalon that pesticides are not good products. Many plants that you will grow have developed their own defences against pests. The most common are aphids, which break through the stems and drain the sap, starving the plants. There are quite a few ways to deal with such in ways that won't introduce unnatural chemicals into your garden.

Most gardens will grow onions, since they're a staple foodstuff and they have developed defences against pests. Other plants like chilli peppers and garlic have very obvious defences. Two herbs which are known for the ability to drive away pests are mint and lemon balm (commonly called balm; melissa officinalis).

To make a wash to deal with pests like aphids, finely dice a large onion or two, a handful of chilli peppers, a couple of garlic bulbs and a bunch of mint or lemon balm (or both). Bring some water to a rolling boil in a stew pan and add the ingredients. Put the lid on and allow the ingredients to macerate in the hot water for a few minutes, then sieve and bottle into a spray bottle. Spray the plants wherever the aphids collect and they will be driven away.

Another remedy is to finely dice a whole onion and to place it in a jar thinly layering diced onion with granulated sugar. Leave it over night and the sugar will have extracted all the liquid from the onion. Sieve the remnants of the onion from the syrup and using a paintbrush paint it lightly onto plants such as roses (which are prone to aphids) at the joints where stems branch (which is where aphids strike). The consistency of the syrup provides protection on a longer basis than the spray and the syrup is far too "oniony" to be an appetiser for the pests. Not only will the syrup keep for a very long time, a little goes a long way. I make a jar and keep it with a brush in case I ever need it, but I don't use it at all if it doesn't seem necessary — but when something is necessary, one of these two will nearly always do the trick :-)

[Lord Sidious]

Anyone going to start doing this I would suggest that they study what they want to grow, how it would fit into their local ecosystem and what that crop needs in the way of water etc.

[christian]

Posted by Lord Sidious (here)
Anyone going to start doing this I would suggest that they study what they want to grow, how it would fit into their local ecosystem.

However, there is room for innovation, Sepp Holzer planted southern plants next to a mountain cliff, that acted as an oven, as the stones saved heat, so he could grow those crops in the Swiss mountains. His book "Permaculture" is a classic.

[Lord Sidious]

Posted by chiquetet (here)

Posted by Lord Sidious (here)
Anyone going to start doing this I would suggest that they study what they want to grow, how it would fit into their local ecosystem.

However, there is room for innovation, Sepp Holzer planted southern plants next to a mountain cliff, that acted as an oven, as the stones saved heat, so he could grow those crops in the Swiss mountains. His book "Permaculture" is a classic.

I was thinking more along the lines of planting things that require a lot of water in an area that doesn't have it to spare.

[sshenry]

Ideally you would want to have acerage in order to be properly self-sufficient, but for those who are stuck in smaller or suburban neighborhoods in the US, you don't have to give up on your dreams of taking steps towards self-sufficiency!

For those US based members, keep in mind that many home owners associations have regulations against growing 'agricultural crops' or doing anything that will 'adversely affect' your own or your neighbor's property values (infringing on these bylaws can come with some hefty fines; money which can be taken out of your bank account via garnishment since many of the associations use credit collection agencies for their fees and dues).


That being said, there are a good number of ways to get around the bylaws. Some suggestions:

• Create 'ornamental beds' that incorporate vegetables and edible flowers. Sunflowers, lavender, roses of course are always good choices. But also consider combining some standard 'decorative' ornamental plants and shrubs with tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peas, strawberries, and other low-growing foods. Herbs are a no-brainer as most people wouldn't know the difference between, say, sage and any other ornamental plant. Just keep your beds to a 'decorative' style (curved and rounded, leaving good sections of grass) and chances are it will go entirely overlooked.
  
• Plant fruit trees when at all possible instead of decorative alternatives.
  
• Use a metal (odor-free) composter. You can get these in some interesting decorative styles - I have an aquaintance who purchased a black, annodized worm composter and then arranged it into a "zen" corner of their garden - she gets tons of complements, and no one ever suspects even though her home association will fine home owners $500 for having a composter or compost heap.
  
• Use a 'standard' shed for raising your animals. If you want to raise rabbits or chickens (I suggest rabbits in a suburban area as chickens will soon make their presence known), convert a standard wooden 'garden shed' into a hutch. This will prevent nosy neighbors from reporting your rabbit hutch. If you structure it right, you can put a run for your rabbits between your house and the shed, construct it behind your decorative/edible plant boarder so that it can't be seen so that your rabbits can get fresh air and sunshine.

[Seikou-Kishi]

I'd heard Home-Owners Associations were tin-pot dictators but I didn't realise they were that bad.

Your suggestions about raising rabbits is excellent sshenry, a great bit of foresight there. I read a book about people who had converted their cellar into their rabbit den. It had small windows at the top which allowed natural light in and they had the run of the place. Such cellars/basements can easily be converted into "rabbiteries" or vegetable gardens and they're out of sight of prying eyes. They also have the benefit of sharing the house's warmth and providing year-round shelter.

[Seikou-Kishi]

I will tell a little about the usefulness of having a coppiced tree or two, since they really are very useful. A coppiced tree is one which is continually cut down to the base and which then sprouts many stalks rather than being a tall tree with a single trunk. For our purposes, it is best to use a fast-growing tree like a willow or a poplar.

Because of the way coppiced trees grow, they produce many long and slender branches which can be taken and used as supports for growing beans and any other plant which requires support. In addition, the bark of the willow tree can be made into a useful string by peeling the bark from a branch (slice it once along its length and peel it off circumferentially) and removing the inner bark from the outer bark like peeling a tissue into its layers. Once you have the inner bark, cut it into thin strips and boil it in a mixture of ash and water over night, then leave it to dry hanging on a branch and you will have tough, sturdy and almost leather-like string for tying plants to their supporting canes — and all of it perfectly biodegradable and easily replaced.

Now the size of some gardens may mean the space used by a coppiced tree or two could be sorely missed, but it is also true that coppiced trees are frequently found in woods and can be gone to as needed.

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For those of you wondering about food for plants, there are a few cheap and easy methods you can try.

The first is a simple putrefaction of nettles in water. Take as many nettles as your container will readily accommodate and roughly chop them up. Pour on enough water to cover them to the top and put a lid loosely on the top to stop anything falling in (if it's kept outside). This mixture stinks to high heaven, so I'd not suggest keeping it in the house, though the putrefaction process would be aided by the heat. The best place to keep it is in a greenhouse where its smell won't be intrusive but where it can benefit from the heat of the greenhouse (and add to it; as bacteria and fungi break down the nettles they raise the temperature to about human body heat). This mixture can be used for things like tomatoes, which have a high nutrient demand. You may want to dilute this as it can be very strong.

The second is coffee grounds. If you drink a lot of coffee, save your grounds and allow them to dry, then add them to soil around your acid-loving plants. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients necessary for good plant growth (but lower the PH of the soil so are only useful for the acid-lovers).

Another good plant food can be found in Epsom salts. Epsom salts are magnesium sulphate and plants thrive on these.

Many commercial plant foods actually only promote leafy growth. That's all well and good when a plant is first germinating, since leafy growth is basically all it's doing. They can really help a new plant get established, but when they're a bit bigger and you expect to reap a good harvest of fruits or vegetables, switch to something high in potassium like the putrified nettle liquid which will give the plants the nutrients they need to create really nourishing food for you :-)

[Ron Mauer Sr]

Food production is very important. So is food preservation, water access, water filters, solar energy, composting toilets and so much more. There is much useful information in my blog Ideas For Self Sufficient Living During Financially Turbulent Times.

[Seikou-Kishi]

Hey Rmauersr, I'd love to hear your experiences of preserving food. The closest I get to preserving things are turning them into wines and jams. I usually end up giving away any surplus I have, but it would be interesting to read your techniques and I'm sure other readers would be grateful for your experience on the thread :-)

[risveglio]

I'd like to start trying to produce my own food, though my two attempts at house plants have gone miserably wrong. Winter is approaching here, is there something that can be done before the winter or do I have till spring to plan my garden?

[Ron Mauer Sr]

Dehydration is my choice for preserving food. The best instructional videos I've found are on Youtube by Dehydrate2Store, or go to Tammy's website http://www.dehydrate2store.com/. It is not wise to depend upon uninterrupted electricity to power a freezer. Some dehydrated food will last more than 30 years.

Purchase frozen veggies from your local supermarket. No pre-processing (blanching, lemon juice, etc.) is required when using frozen veggies. Dry the veggies using an electric dehydrator. Excalibur is one of the best but an inexpensive American Harvester will work. Set the temperature no higher than 125 degrees F for veggies, or higher for jerky (dried meat).

Pre-packaged dehydrated foods (just add boiling water) can be purchased at some places where camping supplies are stored. Mountain House is a popular brand, and it tastes good.

Complete meals and meal components are available online from Emergency Essentials.

The enemies of long term food storage are primarily moisture, oxygen and temperature. Darkness is also helpful. Store the dried veggies in Mason jars or mylar bags that have had most of the oxygen removed with a Foodsaver or with oxygen absorbers. Store veggies at room temperature or less.

It is said that the average person can live 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water. So make sure you have access to water.

The Berkey water filters seem to be the most popular but there are many others. The AquaPak is a solar powered water pasteurizer designed for use in 3rd world countries.

Ron Ideas For Self Sufficient Living During Financially Turbulent Times

[Lord Sidious]

The only problem with dehydrated foods is that it needs our most valuable resource, water, to rehydrate again.
This isn't practical in a situation where you have low supplies.
I couldn't believe it when I saw the MREs that the USMC carried had a lot of dehydrated junk in it.
It is all well and good when the supply chain is working well, when it is not, you are using the water you can't afford to use.
You should see the amount of water you use daily in the field, just for drinking, even in the cold.

[Marianne]

Posted by risveglio (here)
I'd like to start trying to produce my own food, though my two attempts at house plants have gone miserably wrong. Winter is approaching here, is there something that can be done before the winter or do I have till spring to plan my garden?

Hi Risveglio -- I don't know which weather zone you are in so will generalize ... you can plant cold hardy greens in a cold frame well into cold weather, really until a hard frost and a bit beyond depending on where the cold frame is, etc. (southern exposure is best).

If you have a garden or space to plant a few things, plant lettuces and leafy greens. Many of them can be partially harvested so they keep growing and extend your harvest time.

Hope this helps you a little. PM me if you want to chat more about specifics.

[Davidallany]

However, there is room for innovation, Sepp Holzer planted southern plants next to a mountain cliff, that acted as an oven, as the stones saved heat, so he could grow those crops in the Swiss mountains. His book "Permaculture" is a classic.

Thank you chiquetet.

Free media 40 hours video on premaculture.
http://permaculture-media-download.b...-40-hours.html

[nearing]

Not sure why you would feel the need to rehydrate. Everyone, including myself, I know that dehydrates food eats it that way. It is nutritionally exceptional even if some things are chewy.

[nearing]

Posted by risveglio (here)
I'd like to start trying to produce my own food, though my two attempts at house plants have gone miserably wrong. Winter is approaching here, is there something that can be done before the winter or do I have till spring to plan my garden?

Lots of great info on web and YT about hydroponic gardening - growing without soil.

[GCS1103]

This is a great thread. Everyone here is giving constructive advice to help us all for some possible trying times to come. I learned a lot from reading the posts and I want to thank you all.

[Lord Sidious]

Posted by nearing (here)
Not sure why you would feel the need to rehydrate. Everyone, including myself, I know that dehydrates food eats it that way. It is nutritionally exceptional even if some things are chewy.

If you eat it that way, it will leach the moisture out of you when you attempt to digest it.
That is a quick way to go down with heat exhaustion/dehydration out in the field.

[nearing]

Posted by Lord Sidious (here)

Posted by nearing (here)
Not sure why you would feel the need to rehydrate. Everyone, including myself, I know that dehydrates food eats it that way. It is nutritionally exceptional even if some things are chewy.

If you eat it that way, it will leach the moisture out of you when you attempt to digest it.
That is a quick way to go down with heat exhaustion/dehydration out in the field.

Ah, well in a world where huge municipalities are no longer pumping water from the rivers and reservoirs (at least in my part of the world) there will be more water to fetch. It just won't come out of a tap.

Personally, I'd rather leave the body than worry about keeping it alive. But I know that I am not in huge company here.