Those little backyard gardens not only fed but provided a means of support during the deepest dark days of the Great Depression. It's quite possible the art of the backyard garden or small farm enterprise will once again save us in the very near future.
I found a very well written essay on the subject last evening during a visit to The Deliberate Agrarian. Do yourself a favor and click the link and take a few minutes from your busy day and read. I believe you'll find the essay very informative.
Good read. Thank goodness we are headed in the right direction!
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Deb. Before long you guys will be able to retire and farm like crazy. Thanks.
DeleteI have never understood having an acre of grass and going to the store for a tomato! Good post!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Why grow grass. I've mentioned to the wife from here on out if we replace a shrub or any plant, I want it to be eatable.
DeleteSmall farming is the wave of the future as energy prices continue to climb. I believe we reached the break even point last year on some items. From this point on local people with the proper skills will be able to undercut the big ag producers in most areas.
ReplyDeleteCitizens of this current government, I believe, must keep themselves well hidden in the underground economy if they are to survive. Even if one must hide in plain sight with one leg in and one out. At least for the foreseeable future. Small cash enterprises, like yours, are the future. Thanks, my friend.
DeleteEvery time I see a photo of an old soup line, every man is wearing a hat. No one is shoving. No one is proud to be there, and no one thinks they are OWED the soup.
ReplyDeleteMy dad grew up in those days and I am so sad for him that he did. He's been gone for 40 years now, and still I miss him.
And when us kids ate his corn, we each got to smoke the corn silks, wrapped in tissue paper after supper. OMG. Now he'd be arrested for child abuse.
Yes....on your first paragraph. I agree. The very reason this country is lost is due to this current, give it to me generation.
DeleteThanks for sharing that story!
ReplyDeleteOur supper last night was potatoes, green beans, and steak. The only thing we bought was the steak, I grew the rest. One day real soon we won't be buying the meat either. It's a lot of work but so satisfying!!! My husband said last nights meal was the best dinner he's had in FOREVER. Every meal should be that simple, homegrown and delish ☺
Well done, Pretty Kelly. Stay the course. And, thanks.
DeleteI've done everything he suggests. I have a big country house and it's mortgage free. I have plenty of room to move in our unprepared relatives if we need to (please Lord, don't make me have to do that). I have 8 acres of open ground for orchards, pastures and gardens. I have 16 acres of woodlands for game animals and wild edible vegetation (I need to learn about those wild edibles) and firewood. I am constantly learning new skills and collecting old tools and non-electric products. I hope the Great Depression never comes ( I love my modern conveniences) but I don't see how we can avoid a big economic meltdown with the way things are going.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Bubba. Seems to me you're on the right path. Thanks, and have a good night.
DeleteNice! As soon as I retire, and can back to the country, I'll be back to growing what I can... sigh...
ReplyDeleteI understand. I garden in huge clay containers.
DeleteMaryland has a farmland license plate. Co-worker, who lived in standard cookie cutter suburbia where you can change the neighbor's TV channel from your house, grumbled at me that she didn't understand why the license plate. After all, she said, farmland isn't where the population is.
ReplyDeleteNo mental connection at all between what was on her plate every night and agriculture.
People like her drive me nuts. They really believe beef is grown from plastic packages....
ReplyDelete