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Posted: 5/7/2008 2:08:04 PM | crash, thats terrific that you do that, 50-70%? wow, very impressive!
i had an acre of land in oregon and a long growing season and grew in abundance, i'd be doing that now if i were there but i am in an apartment at the beach with barely any yard at all...........i just do a lot of the shopping at haymarket, open air... and "try" to buy local .....
still, you are a rarity. having the means for people to buy local and especially fresh, organic foods might actually have an impact.
I am reading Diet for a Dead Planet now by Chris Cook. Meat processing..........YUCK! | |
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Posted: 5/7/2008 3:52:07 PM | I know many of ogasmic farmers who would love to trade some food for help with weeding/planting/harvesting
Crash ,please explain more about the ogasmic farmers. This kind of farming might catch on real fast | |
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Posted: 5/7/2008 6:00:49 PM |
liberal that I am, I send the extra food to the senior center..... A conservative would teach seniors to grow their own, be independent and self sufficient. | |
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Posted: 5/7/2008 6:24:02 PM | ...right, I can see you out there now glamour, "Bend down you old liberal jerk! You can't weed holding onto a walker! You just expect us to do everything!"
I guess that answers the question as to Jesus's political persuation. I can see him now "Well I was going to give you all these fish and loaves but instead we're going to send this to the market and CASH IN. Ya'll get your poles and we'll go down to the river of Jordan and I'm going to teach you how to fish you lazy sods."
...yes, ORGASMIC farming is what happens when you grow your own!! | |
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Posted: 5/7/2008 8:44:07 PM |
...yes, ORGASMIC farming is what happens when you grow your own!!
Ah.. that explains why it's called ORGASMIC farming !
...right, I can see you out there now glamour, "Bend down you old liberal jerk! You can't weed holding onto a walker! You just expect us to do everything!"
of course not, I would allow them to use an extended hand held weeder not purchased by tax payer dollars of course... donated by wealthy hollywood liberals. | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 5:23:15 AM | I dont mean to wax conspiritorial, but the doubling and tripling of wheat and corn and rice prices in the past couple of years worldwide ...like the gas prices we have seen ... I'd like to see what the books of Archer Midland Daniels and Tyson foods, etc. look like and what "windfall" profits they have.
People quote supply and demand dynamics .... but there are also the dynamics of huge, multinational monopolies who control every aspect of the food chains.....from the kind of seeds sold to packaging and distribution ....just like Big Oil ...so there is very little competition available .... and then the sudden "shortages" which turn out to be untrue, spikes in retail prices, etc. ....
I had a business once nd when I ordered a large job, my cost per unit went down as their cost of production went down with the bigger volume..... if I made a large order and the cost went up, that would have been screwy .........yet that seems to be what is happening now.
Something is fishy about all of this ..........and I would venture to say that in the next 6 months we will find that the big food and big Ag multinationals will show record profits like big Oil has.
I'll bet $10.00 on it. | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 6:57:00 AM | Nice obs steven. I just ordered a bunch of bulk grains from our local (1.5 hours away) co-op and I'm re-stocking my 5 gallon buckets full of grains, as one must rotate through food stocks to keep freshness up and to make sure the body is used to eating such things, and I haven't noticed the price hikes yet on these bulks but I might just be getting in on the tail end of it. Growing grains is something I haven't played with yet but I've participated in total hand harvests of grains which feels really rustic....
yeah, I didn't get that one poster who didn't understand how this was "sticking it to the man" but our dollars, those things that seem to have less and less worth, are really the way we cast votes in the US, and I say NO to the corps with my dollar/vote.
I mentioned feeding my critters with spent brewery grain, well the master brewer and I were talking some months ago because he's having to figure out how to make beer without barley do to a world wide shortage of barley. I was dumbfounded as barley has been a hugely produced grain for a really long time. I should have foreseen these food shortages when he said that but missed it.
It is surreal to think that there are food riots going on in this day..... | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 7:33:49 AM | This family lives in the heart of Pasadena, CA on a 1/5 acre of land.
You gotta see what they have accomplished!!! Their property is 66x132.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=treehugger+urban+homestead&sitesearch=
Just last week I was watching a short video clip on internet, about how homeowners are turning their front yards into mini vegetable farms, as well as their back yards. They even RENT their neighbors yards for cultivating! Do you think I can find that video now? NOPE! I will post it if I manage to stumble across it again. | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 8:02:47 AM | This is not the video, but an article written about this new trend...
http://myventurepad.com/MVP/24582
WALL STREET JOURNAL ON SUBURBAN FARMERS
One of the trends we've been tracking for some time is the growth small farms and local food production. The front page of the Wall Street Journal discusses this in their article "Green Acres II: When Neighbors Become Farmers" (registration required).
The article covers the growth of hobbyist farmers turning their front and back yards into mini-farms. From the article:
".... has uprooted his backyard and the front or back yards of eight of his Boulder neighbors, turning them into minifarms growing tomatoes, bok choy, garlic and beets. Between May and September, he gives weekly bagfuls of fresh-picked vegetables and herbs to people here who have bought "shares" of his farming operation. Neighbors who lend their yards to the effort are paid in free produce and yard work."
The article points out that demand is coming from restaurants looking for fresh, locally grown foods such as arugula and kohlrabi as well as consumers. Since it is a Wall Street Journal article, they cover the financials associated with these mini-farms:
"Start-up costs for a one-eighth-acre farm run about $5,500, says Ms. Christensen of Spin-Farming. That includes a walk-in cooler to wash and store fresh produce, a rotary tiller and a farm-stand display. Annual operating expenses, including seeds and farmers-market stall fees, can add about $2,000. Such a farm can generate $10,000 to $20,000 in annual sales, she says. That's "an entry point into farming to see if they have a talent for it," Ms. Christensen says. "Those that do will eventually be able to expand and increase that income level quite substantially."
The trends towards local food production are quite strong. The emerging consumer buy local coalition, coupled with increasing food costs and more focus on environment is making small farms increasingly viable.
Another article to read...
http://snapdragonconsultants.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/suburban-farmer.html | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 10:21:31 PM | ...freaking great ideas SA. What a trade off...no more mowing a lawn and using gas and water to have some grass to walk on? never did understand that.... I LOVE the idea of people using those spaces to grow food rather than waste fuel and water for what really amounts to appearances.
I was talking to Thom Hartman about this subject and he mentioned that lawns originally started with the aristocracy as a way to flaunt their wealth by saying in effect "see, we are so wealthy we can just use all this labor and energy to have grass just to walk on that really does nothing for anybody save an escaped sheep." pure decadence.
...and I love how there are those of us in this thread that are normally not on the same page who are in agreement here!!! we all gotta eat and its getting more expensive to do so in a way that is healthy, not to mention the reduction in the use of fossil fuels which is killing people. Kudos to all of you..... | |
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Posted: 5/8/2008 10:42:46 PM | The best part is that people can start to work together, talk, and get to know one another.
Again, Montreal's done a good job on this historically. Just to give you all some ideas :
The City of Montreal has the most ambitious and successful community gardening project in Canada. Some 10,000 urban gardeners have access to 6,700 garden plots, each about 200 square feet in size, divided among 73 different community gardens. The program, initiated in 1975, is run by the municipal Service des loisirs, des parcs et du developpement communautaire. (I should clarify here that the program is happening within the City of Montreal, population 600,000, the small central core of the huge urban area known as greater Montreal.)
The number of actual garden plots in each community garden varies from 10 to 250. So popular is the program that often new applicants are put on a waiting list. Applications must be made each winter, with priority given to previous members of good standing: that means they have obeyed the rules and regulations set out for the garden. One city rule that applies across the board to all 73 gardens in the project forbids the use of chemical pesticides: "Pest control must be carried out manually or through the use of ecological products," it states.
Each garden is administered by a volunteer committee of from three to seven officers, elected annually by its members. This committee acts as a liaison with the city administration and makes requests or suggestions on behalf of its members. The committee is also in charge of allocating the plots to users and of managing the funds and property of the garden.
Each garden also has a horticultural consultant who provides advice and assists the volunteer committee. For each of its nine districts, the city in turn appoints a manager to supervise and assist in all operations for gardens within that district. In this way, urban gardeners are not left on their own. They have services, equipment, and technical support; having these resources at their disposal can make gardening a lot easier for beginners.
The Chateaufort Community Garden, situated in Montreal’s Mahatma Gandhi Park, is a good example of a successful community garden. Each gardener receives a 10'x20' plot. There are 166 gardens of this size as well as 23 smaller 3'x5' plots reserved for children. Gardening tools, water, soil and services such as gardening information are supplied. Most of the financial needs are covered by the annual member’s fee of $10. The garden is open from April 15 to October 31, from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Hoses are used to fill water barrels and watering cans. Watering with the hose, being potentially wasteful, is forbidden.
Gardeners are responsible for equipment and for keeping their plots and alleys clean and free from weeds. The garden is surrounded by a fence and gates are kept locked at all times; members have keys. A city regulation stipulates that a minimum of five varieties of plants must be planted, but that potatoes, corn or pumpkins cannot be grown. Rules of the garden itself indicate that the entire plot must be cultivated and that flowers can occupy a maximum of 10 per cent of the area. According to a city rule, plots not seeded by June 1 will be assigned to waiting-list gardeners.
There is evidence that the Montreal Community Gardening Program could go even further. In some areas, there is a waiting list of two years to get a community garden plot. The city is trying to recuperate more area to be used for this purpose. But one and a quarter million square feet of community gardens in the city is a good start.
http://eap.mcgill.ca/MagRack/COG/COG_A_93_04.htm
I think if someone started that type of idea locally, they could get a lot of people interested - especially as food prices climb. | |
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Posted: 5/23/2008 11:05:08 AM | so how's your plot coming?
....i've been busy with 400 spuds in, 200 onions, 40' x 3' bed of spinach and lettuce, and I've only just begun.
I have never seen so many gardens in my town ever. it is amazing. Lead story in the Economist "The silent tsunami - The global food crisis". | |
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Posted: 5/23/2008 11:24:12 AM | ....liberal that I am, I send the extra food to the senior center.....
You'd fit in nicely around here. Our town not only provides door to door bus service for seniors to the local Farmer's Market, but also accept food stamps/coupons/vouchers of any kind. Any kind....clip a supermarket 2 for 1 add for broccoli & the Market will match it w/ organic, local produce.
The majority that come out say it's the highlight of their week.
A conservative would teach seniors to grow their own, be independent and self sufficient, starve them for the 3 months until they produced, then take 1/2 as consulting fee & sell it back to them for double it's worth during the winter months
Gotta love that compassionate capitalism! | |
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Posted: 5/30/2008 8:06:35 PM | ... on the radio the other day an op ed peice went into the history of lawns and how much we are destroying by having pretty things to look at when we could be using the same resources to grow food....and he even suggested (don't faint clean over glamour) that you can grow food and GIVE it away!!!
he referenced the this site for more good info;
http://www.foodnotlawns.com/ | |
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Posted: 5/30/2008 8:34:26 PM | Oh good grief.. now we've got food people telling us how to manage our lawns.. it's not enough we have the environmentalists telling us how much toilet paper we can use.
Growing food and giving it away is fine as long as the receivers don't become dependent on the givers..
You know Crash I believe in teaching a man to fish instead of giving him the fish....I do understand the concept of orgasmic food.. it is a good idea.. as the food multiplies. | |
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Posted: 5/30/2008 8:36:01 PM |
Ah.. that explains why it's called ORGASMIC farming !
Um...I would like to sign up to grow this kind of garden, may I ask where you purchase the seeds? | |
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Posted: 5/31/2008 10:54:10 AM |
Um...I would like to sign up to grow this kind of garden, may I ask where you purchase the seeds? I think Crash may have some seeds leftover if he hasn't given them all away. | |
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Posted: 6/7/2008 10:37:01 PM | I know it's late in the year but I'm preparing the ground and am going to start to plant my garden toward the end of this month. School and other responsibilities intefered with my being able to begin until now, but isn't it better late than never in terms of learning to garden and grow my own food? I figure it can't hurt even if a lot of what comes up dies from the heat here in south Texas.
I think learning to grow my own food and becoming skilled at it is going to be an extremely valuable skill set I need to hone for the future. Based upon what I'm hearing every time I turn on the world and local news, I sincerely believe your OP is very important to us all, Crash. | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 12:37:42 PM | .... the plot thickens....
planted 500+ cloves of garlic yesterday...better late than never
...take that agribusiness....!! | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 12:42:01 PM | I'm OddAndy, and I support this message  | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 12:43:01 PM | We have many 'community' gardens in my town where neighbors get together to farm a public piece of land donated by the city. Sure it doesn't produce much of the local produce...but it sure gets people interested in & hooke on the taste of non-commercial goods. That kind of thing spreads conciousness.
I've been advocating a "Black Earth" movement to utilize more recyclable materials. If you gardening folks aren't hip to this technology that is more than 1000 years old, give it a quick Google. Quite interesting & more effective than any single fertilizer! | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 6:36:25 PM | | Any one that thinks growing green grass is better than growing an edible garden is IGNORANT!!!! Just my $.02 | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 7:29:57 PM | | So Crash, when the government espoused the idea it was propaganda, but as your idea it is anarchy? I agree, though. I live in farm country and I think the Amish will be the last left standing. | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 9:07:33 PM | My next door neighbor gave me a gardening calandar. This is sooo cool! 
I'm actually tilling a pretty big portion of ground with a hoe and a three point rake. I don't want to spend a lot of money renting or buying a machine to do it as I want to learn to do it by hand and the idea is to save money, right?
This is darned hard work though and I must tell you, I'm slowly developing some toned arms as a result. It's great exercise too. I bet I don't get anything planted though till end of July at this rate, but that's okay. Better to go with a fall garden, according to the calandar. I've got people in the neighborhood that are watching me preparing for this garden and suddenly a lot of them are going home and doing the same thing. I see them when I take my walk around the area out here.
I had no idea I would be into this kind of thing. | |
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Posted: 6/25/2008 9:08:21 PM | ^^^ no yotc - when i say it its a plot.....
i was using the word propaganda in this context....
Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.
nice SL.... yes, many physical benefits.
i like your idea of doing it without the use of a engine to make it happen too. your lucky to be able to garden year round. you may want to look into a manual technique called double digging. it makes really nice, long lasting beds but it is labor intensive. also, if there are areas that you are thinking about turning into a garden later you can start by laying out cardboard or plastic on top of the spot. it will block out the sun and kill what is growing there now and make your plot less weedy.
another layer to add to this thread is the growing acceptance of raising small livestock in cities. more and more cities which had bans on livestock are now starting to allow some critters like chickens to be raised. you can make small, moveable pens without floors that will allow the chickens to graze and eat bugs and make it so you don't have to shovel chicken crap. people with lawns are using them as lawn mowers of sorts and get the added benefit of fertilizing at the same time they are growing out protein....plus raising your own chickens helps keep the levels of arsenic in your body low, since they feed chickens arsenic in large scale chicken industries to keep the smell down.....find free feed at breweries, restaurants, and grocery stores that are throwing things out chickens will eat which is pretty much EVERYTHING....
EAT ME MONSANTO..... | |
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