Oh, this has me missing my mom and all her grow lights and little buds coming up in our dining room until she could plant in the backyard. I needed this today. Thank you. And thanks to the Mayor of Minooka.
"They will live but just sit there and look at you."...... thank you. A dear friend passed away and her funeral is next Tuesday... This is a sentence that she would have shared with me if she read it first... and vice versa... we are both retired newspaper people. I will now be able to stand and say my goodbye with sharing this.. she may end up writing her next column because of you. Thank you for making my heart less heavy this morning.
Chickens are God's Gift to hungry people. My Chickens are my friends; happy chickens make tasty eggs and tasty eggs are good.
And Nick, I live on a ranch with coyotes, raccoons, and a Cougar (Puma Concolor) roaming the backside of my property. Along with goats, horses, one longhorned cow and donkeys, I keep chickens; they live in a solid, spacious hand-built coop with a very sturdy enclosure and delicious table scraps. In addition to eggs, they make fertiliser for my garden - a very valuable and underappreciated item.
Get chickens - your garden will thank you, and so will your family. The rewards are incredible, and I fear no man nor beast because I have chickens.
I'm headed out to work the garden as soon as I finish this comment. A picky detail - Monsanto hasn't existed since 2018 when they were purchased by Bayer.
Jess, we live on a city lot in St Paul, MN. Ot os chilly here. If you think that food scarcity will arrive in 1-2 generations, them you must make your lifestyle generational. Buy a chest freezer, a water bath canner, and a food dryer. We have almost no sod. Decorate with the native plants in your area because you will need polinators. Plant fruit trees, espalier for more space. Experiment with gardens that grow things you can freeze, can, and dry. In patches of sunlight that can't be churned up, use straw bales (good compost afterward) and pots. Use solar with battery storage to power LED hydroponics year-round. Shop at your farmer's market. We have wonderful Hmong farmers to support. Eat what they grow, learn about new foods. The meats(and) eggs sold there are often pasture raised. Eat lots of dried beans flavored with your herbs and vegetables du jour. This doesn't have to be your whole life, but involve kids. They love to grow and cook things. We even make jam from the mulberry trees that are found in hedges and alleys. Seedy, but tasty. Involve the kids. Show them you love them by teaching them what you think is important. It will make your efforts generational. Have fun as you involve the kids.
If you could transform into any animal for a mere twenty four hours, which of the countless majestic creatures that roam this earth would you choose, and what would you do?
I love this. As a Great Lakes kid (born in Buffalo, live in Chicago) I empathize with the variable frost date….I think we had a frost warning last weekend or not too far before! And then it was about 70 degrees days later.
My parents still plant in a community garden, (which is a great way to make use of space if you’re in a city or just suburban - plus people tend to like to trade! Especially when some crops are over-prolific) and a lot of the gardeners there start their veggies (and flowers!) inside for that reason. A small grow kit and lights doesn’t cost too much and if you need more space or plan to continue using the convenient extended grow cycle, hydroponic setups are your friend - usually a couple hundred bucks off the bat but worth it. (My mother and I had a long chat about how hydroponics are going to become super necessary as climate change makes things harder and harder.)
And of course root vegetables do great in cooler climates - there’s a reason Wisconsin is a huge exporter of potatoes! Or potātoes ;)
Anyway, enough from this city mouse! Loved this update, reminded me to write my parents and sigh over dreams of owning a co-op with my friends so we can have chickens :D
Great suggestions! I recently converted a cabinet into a greenhouse for EXACTLY the reasons you described. I had ants in my pants to get this growing season started (as a way of dealing with the indefinite winter blues) and put some quartered potatoes and soil in buckets in my garage. They're happy with what I've been doing so far, so that's reassuring. I feel like a witch, conjuring something from "nothing". :)
Thanks for sharing the great reader question and thoughtful insights from you dad. All good stuff. I can't help but think though that the real solution to solving what is a global issue lies in electing politicians that are truly interested in making real change to our food supply chain instead of getting fat from the corporate food lobby. Growing your own is excellent, though not for the majority of folks. And buying from locally sourced farmers is not always an option for the majority, nor does it absolutely guarantee that they are being responsible about the health of watersheds, biospheres, and ecosystems; local farmers also have to cast an eye toward profitability and consequently may also take shortcuts that are not entirely healthy. As loathsome as my opinion is of politicians in general, nothing changes on a massive scale without them...the latest example being the Roe v Wade / SCOTUS controversy. If we want to be better stewards of our planet, we need to be better about who we elect and for holding them accountable. Hard work to be sure, but so is farming in a responsible manner.
Oh, this has me missing my mom and all her grow lights and little buds coming up in our dining room until she could plant in the backyard. I needed this today. Thank you. And thanks to the Mayor of Minooka.
"They will live but just sit there and look at you."...... thank you. A dear friend passed away and her funeral is next Tuesday... This is a sentence that she would have shared with me if she read it first... and vice versa... we are both retired newspaper people. I will now be able to stand and say my goodbye with sharing this.. she may end up writing her next column because of you. Thank you for making my heart less heavy this morning.
Chickens are God's Gift to hungry people. My Chickens are my friends; happy chickens make tasty eggs and tasty eggs are good.
And Nick, I live on a ranch with coyotes, raccoons, and a Cougar (Puma Concolor) roaming the backside of my property. Along with goats, horses, one longhorned cow and donkeys, I keep chickens; they live in a solid, spacious hand-built coop with a very sturdy enclosure and delicious table scraps. In addition to eggs, they make fertiliser for my garden - a very valuable and underappreciated item.
Get chickens - your garden will thank you, and so will your family. The rewards are incredible, and I fear no man nor beast because I have chickens.
I'm headed out to work the garden as soon as I finish this comment. A picky detail - Monsanto hasn't existed since 2018 when they were purchased by Bayer.
Thank you for the heads up. I can add this gaffe to my list of answers for when people ask me "why did you call it donkey thoughts?"
Eat the homeless....
An excellent resource is Anne of all Trades. She shows you how to extend your growing season:
https://www.anneofalltrades.com/blog/2021/4/26/extend-your-growing-season-no-greenhouse-required
Jess, we live on a city lot in St Paul, MN. Ot os chilly here. If you think that food scarcity will arrive in 1-2 generations, them you must make your lifestyle generational. Buy a chest freezer, a water bath canner, and a food dryer. We have almost no sod. Decorate with the native plants in your area because you will need polinators. Plant fruit trees, espalier for more space. Experiment with gardens that grow things you can freeze, can, and dry. In patches of sunlight that can't be churned up, use straw bales (good compost afterward) and pots. Use solar with battery storage to power LED hydroponics year-round. Shop at your farmer's market. We have wonderful Hmong farmers to support. Eat what they grow, learn about new foods. The meats(and) eggs sold there are often pasture raised. Eat lots of dried beans flavored with your herbs and vegetables du jour. This doesn't have to be your whole life, but involve kids. They love to grow and cook things. We even make jam from the mulberry trees that are found in hedges and alleys. Seedy, but tasty. Involve the kids. Show them you love them by teaching them what you think is important. It will make your efforts generational. Have fun as you involve the kids.
Oh man, thank you so much for the thoughtful response. And thank your dad for his input! Small changes again and again.
Howdy!
If you could transform into any animal for a mere twenty four hours, which of the countless majestic creatures that roam this earth would you choose, and what would you do?
Much love from Colorado,
Sydney
I love this. As a Great Lakes kid (born in Buffalo, live in Chicago) I empathize with the variable frost date….I think we had a frost warning last weekend or not too far before! And then it was about 70 degrees days later.
My parents still plant in a community garden, (which is a great way to make use of space if you’re in a city or just suburban - plus people tend to like to trade! Especially when some crops are over-prolific) and a lot of the gardeners there start their veggies (and flowers!) inside for that reason. A small grow kit and lights doesn’t cost too much and if you need more space or plan to continue using the convenient extended grow cycle, hydroponic setups are your friend - usually a couple hundred bucks off the bat but worth it. (My mother and I had a long chat about how hydroponics are going to become super necessary as climate change makes things harder and harder.)
And of course root vegetables do great in cooler climates - there’s a reason Wisconsin is a huge exporter of potatoes! Or potātoes ;)
Anyway, enough from this city mouse! Loved this update, reminded me to write my parents and sigh over dreams of owning a co-op with my friends so we can have chickens :D
Great suggestions! I recently converted a cabinet into a greenhouse for EXACTLY the reasons you described. I had ants in my pants to get this growing season started (as a way of dealing with the indefinite winter blues) and put some quartered potatoes and soil in buckets in my garage. They're happy with what I've been doing so far, so that's reassuring. I feel like a witch, conjuring something from "nothing". :)
Thanks for sharing the great reader question and thoughtful insights from you dad. All good stuff. I can't help but think though that the real solution to solving what is a global issue lies in electing politicians that are truly interested in making real change to our food supply chain instead of getting fat from the corporate food lobby. Growing your own is excellent, though not for the majority of folks. And buying from locally sourced farmers is not always an option for the majority, nor does it absolutely guarantee that they are being responsible about the health of watersheds, biospheres, and ecosystems; local farmers also have to cast an eye toward profitability and consequently may also take shortcuts that are not entirely healthy. As loathsome as my opinion is of politicians in general, nothing changes on a massive scale without them...the latest example being the Roe v Wade / SCOTUS controversy. If we want to be better stewards of our planet, we need to be better about who we elect and for holding them accountable. Hard work to be sure, but so is farming in a responsible manner.
I wholeheartedly agree, friend.