Does anybody here want to talk about what we THINK we know about agriculture and maybe what the Great Awakening COULD mean for food production in the future?
I believe the Great Awakening will apply to far more than politics and its nice to discuss other things from our unique perspective 🐸
Well I can tell you that I am in my second year of true gardening. In the past I grew tomatoes or cucumbers in a patio pot for the fun of it. Now I garden for necessity and oh, it's fun too. Now that my second true garden is producing I've learned a few things...by trial and error.
Home gardens don't take as much water as I thought. I was over watering and leaves were turning yellow. Stopped over watering and they turned green again. Lesson: plants are resilient.
Home gardens produce more than myself/my family can consume at one time. I've picked up canning and learned which things freeze the best. Over abundance is a blessing because...
I have more to give away and trade with. For example, my neighbor down the lane raises chickens. I took him a bag full of squash and green beans and he gave me 2 dozen eggs. Barter system at it's finest.
My great awakening has come in many forms. But I think gardening, living off the land and resources on my own property will become a major part of how we live in the future. It's a lot of work but it is so very satisfying to pick a squash from a plant that I started in my green house from a tiny little seed, nurtured in a garden, and put upon my family's dinner table.
That's awesome! Keep at it! It's so satisfying to eat food that you've grown! And way more nutritious!
Have you looked into permaculture/ regenerative agriculture?
I super enjoy learning about companion planting, specifically fruit tree guilds.
A good example of companion planting that most people are familiar with is the Native American Three Sisters (Corn for food and stalks for beans to grow vertically, Beans for food and to fix the soil nitrogen to fertilize for next season, Squash for food and to cover the soil and protect the soil biology and the other crops from pests. You would THINK that the plants would compete but they actually help each other produce ~30% greater yeilds.
We THINK our plants belong in tidy rows but nature crams things in and mixes it all together. Maybe gardens COULD be more chaotic.
I garden in a potager style it’s Flowers herbs and veggies with winding paths and some geometric raised beds. Gets messy by August but it’s also abundant and pretty.
That's great! Who cares about a mess when you're giving away more food than your friends and family can eat?
How are you handling fertilization? Do you have areas that produce heavily and need nutrient replenishment? Or are crops that come off the land mixed in well enough with soil building and pollinator plants that you can let nature handle it?
I don’t til. I use organic fertilizers like fish emulsion, and compost and compost tea. Sometimes Epsom salt. I always plant with compost and bone meal in the planting hole. Sometimes stuff dies. I try again.