Horticulture

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Permalink Reply by Chris Lewis on February 11, 2009 at 10:01am

I hate to be negative as I am a very positive person but I'm starting to read the writing on the wall and it scares the bejeepers out of me. I have mentioned on other forums here to survive we must go back to the land. The heck with that green lawn. Grow food. The circle of life begins with food. Food can be bartered for other commodities like meat from those who can hunt.
Our economy is tittering on extinction. The American dollar is going to be good for starting fires and that's about it. We're taking down the rest of the world with us. It the US doesn't make it no one else will either. I believe in mankind and our will to survive but we must all pool our skills to survive. Indoor greenhouses are a great idea for growing some herbs but that won't feed your children over a long winter. We have to plant every square inch of land you sit on, preserve the food by canning, drying, smoking and salting. I feel a ball of lead in the bottom of my stomach, not like me at all but I trust my own instincts, they've never failed me before. I best shut up before I say any more. All I know is there's millions of people in this country who want their children and grandchildren to live as do I.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Koch on February 12, 2009 at 8:10am

Thanks for your kind response Chris,

the horticultural element would be a stable base for a wide variety of nutritional needs,as well as an incubator for a Permacultureal out of doors,and an uninterrupted "fresh" food supply. there by minimizing the quantity of stored stock (although certainly not eliminating it...thank you for the mention)

permaculture is a high energy gain methodology....it involves working smart, not working hard...smart is establishing a food scape that self maintains..like an ecosystem.

and gardening (hands on botanical relationship formation) at waist level, in a climate controlled environment...is far more energy efficient, and stress free, than the repeated stooping and straitening schedules at the mercy of the elements.

regards,
rulgert ...(bow hunter willing to trade meat)

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Permalink Reply by cecil friend on March 7, 2009 at 11:14am

WELL, I guess i can add my 2 cents worth of actual experience over a few generations....One important thing i can add to the discussion is whenever you make a change in infrastructure or methodology , the primary rule of thumb has been , which has been proven over time is that you do a pilot program ......this way you learn frorm and and can make adjustments in your model......this way you prove up your science of mechanics.....I for one am not interested in living in a city, and i darn sure do nort want to be held accountable to sources outside my contol for the total broad necessities required for life support, like the majority of my food, water, energy for heat or cooking my food, shelter, my lifestyle, i prefer a balanced lifestyle with the other creatures on this planet in their natural habitat that evolution and science has provided ...therefore it has been my experience , when someone starts pushing for the larger development of cities, i start looking to move further out into the country, and also acquiring more land so as to make room for more balanced neighbors whom i know will be coming my way.....The quality of life is what makes life worthwhile, and since we are creatures of this planet i feel more comfortable and enjoy life when i have a lil elbow room and can pick and choose when and where i go to town...and I still can not figure out how cities are benefical to our planet in a environmental friendly way let alone the cost of living per individual......so, i think i will pass on this one......cecil .......horticulture, yes, farmers and rural dwellers have been doing it for generations....but building and forming populations into LARGER AND LARGER cities.....NO WAY....

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Permalink Reply by Oscar on February 12, 2009 at 8:24pm

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Koch on February 14, 2009 at 6:05am

Oscar,

and so it is that some old sayings may best be left behind.

...i think the bunch of us here realize that actions can alter outcomes ....it takes a brave soul to turn away from prophecy, and find the limitless possibility contained in the moment....to do what needs doing ,regardless of trends, with out hopes of reward, we may find it to stop punishing ourselves.

rulgert

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Permalink Reply by Chris Lewis on March 27, 2009 at 7:22pm

Wow, Thanks, I feel real smart with that definition, here I was calling myself a gardener/small farmer. I'm not being a smart*ss. I have been encouraging everyone I know to till up their yard and plant a 'Survival Garden" like they did Victory Gardens during WW ll. I live at about the same latitude as you but it's much cleaner where you are. I can, dry/dehydrate, freeze and root garden everything I can during the growing season and it makes a big difference come winter. Tomatoes until Christmas are mighty fine. Most cities over here have inner city gardens also. I know Wisconsin has tons of co-ops, I do envy you. I visit Sun Prairie every June and used to go to the Dells also but they kind of washed away last summer didn't they? I remember my long, arduous escape from that state- under- water also, what an adventure!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Koch on March 27, 2009 at 8:28pm

Haaahahahha....She's not a small farmer/gardener, She's a Horticulturalist/Permaculturalist !!!

Like Cecil said...a pilot program....that's what we need.

i'll be sure to let every one know with the slightest move in that promising direction.....till then i'll run the tiny patch of ground i have to do my best to offset some of my sadly unavoidable, ultra energy intensive "life in the machine" food.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Lewis on March 27, 2009 at 9:29pm

Organically grown canned, frozen or dried food and herbs will trade for meat.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Koch on March 27, 2009 at 9:52pm

i need community.....it's funny, the things we have in common are why we have discovered the distances.

kinda like ya don't even notice how allone you are till you realize your not.....ya know?

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Permalink Reply by Chris Lewis on March 27, 2009 at 10:13pm

Ditto

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Permalink Reply by Oscar on March 29, 2009 at 10:38am

Quite evidently this is a community of doers. Now can that rub off on the masses? An inch a day of education.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Koch on March 29, 2009 at 11:26am

hey Oscar,
Thanks for directing my attention to the evacuated tube collectors....turned out to be not so far off topic after all:)

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