What are you growing someplace nobody would expect to find it?
Addison in VT z4a
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
last yearlast modified: last yearBillMN-z-2-3-4
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What plants/crops would you grow in a major crisis?
Comments (98)Interesting discussion. Reading what others have said set me to thinking. It seems it would be best to consider growing foods that give high yield with not a lot of effort and they have to be foods that I like! I would definitely do sweet potatoes and some kind of bean. But what foods can you grow without the use of pesticides in Florida? I would use onions, garlic and herbs to help keep some of the bugs away. I've read also that some insects don't like marigolds. I'd have to research more on using plants to protect other plants from bugs. Of course, citrus fruits, mangoes and bananas. I read recently about a peach tree that has been developed to grow in Florida. Tomatoes, squash, peanuts. I like the idea of chickens for fresh eggs, but I couldn't slaughter them myself. (Yeah, I'm a wimp.) And a dairy cow would be useful too. But if things got really bad and you couldn't get butter or vegetable oils, I guess olives would be nice.I have no idea how many trees you'd need to be able to press enough oil to make it worth while and if you've got olives,capers would be nice too. I would really have to try growing coffee....See MoreWhat have you tried to grow unsuccessfully but would like to?
Comments (20)Great discussion topic... Makes me feel less bad about my place. After all, I have a traditional no-name lilac which blooms quite tolerably in spite of being squeezed in between some other bushes. My hill is actually chilly , windy and shady, so the lilac likes it. My background makes me want to grow edibles though. This does not work. Vegetables that grow like weeds in normal gardens - radishes, squash, carrots, potatoes, dill, - it it a good thing nobody ever sees what becomes of them here. Tomatoes and peppers succeed occasionally, with much care. Yes, I have been searching constantly for varieties that will agree to grow and fruit here. I am quite depressed about it....See MoreWhat would you grow . . .
Comments (4)Wash your food very well and cook it, unless you've grown your own and feel it's safe to eat raw--but rinse it well anyway. There are many blends of mesclun available that have a wide range of colors. All leafy greens are usually fast and easy to grow. Zukes make a stunning amount of fruits in a short time, so do sring beans and beets or chards. It's most important to wisely choose what you're growing--don't waste space on plants nobody is going to eat. Make sure you'll have the supplies on hand for freezing and canning before you start cropping. Also, estimate the time you'll need and the days you can give to preserving your harvest. If you're in an area prone to blackouts then keep a generator and gas on hand, or can everything so you don't have the concerns about electricity to continually run a freezer. If you have a pressure canner you can put up meats too--make some stews or meaty soups and preserve them for the future. Some people have dehydrators for their herbs, fruits and veggies, or making jerky. There's a lot of ways to preserve foods, but make sure you CAN do the work so you haven't wasted money and months in growing crops you can't save, and do what you is needed so that you won't have serious concerns about a steady flow of electricity for running the freezer. I was looking at generators last week, they're not cheap but they are an important investment. On LI, it seems our winter storms are getting more severe and our summers are hotter--power lines can go down in ice storms or gales, and brownouts are no longer rare. If I was dependent on putting a large supply of food into a freezer I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a generator and several gas cans....See MoreIf you read this would you find it offensive?
Comments (34)Natal, I find it very interesting that you call ME out for use of a word in reference to MYSELF instead of one of the several other people in this thread who have used the same word to describe other people in a more negative fashion. Yes, I do call myself a redneck, in the same sense as comedian Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be A Redneck If..." (which fits most of my family to a T, and me too, to a level that many of you would find rather surprising). There's a great deal of his material on YouTube too, just put "Foxworthy" in the search box. For many years I was very ashamed of my background and lower-class family - who do quite gleefully refer to themselves as "rednecks" - until I decided to accept them and join others in reclaiming the word with humor and affection. (Contrary to popular belief, rednecks are not confined to the Southern US.) Many ethnic groups are now using normally-pejorative slurs as humorous in-group terms - see Carlos Mencia's use of the word "beaner" to refer to his Mexican heritage, but a non-Mexican person calling a Mexican a "beaner" would be considered very insulting. That's the point of in-group slang. Several times now you have interpreted tongue-in-cheek comments of mine as being serious ones (and often being rather snotty to me in the process). I shouldn't have to put smileys on everything I say, so perhaps you should just skip my posts....See Morefloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last yearbengz6westmd
last yeararbordave (SE MI)
last yearL Clark (zone 4 WY)
last yearlast modified: last yearL Clark (zone 4 WY)
last yearSue W (CT zone 6a)
last yearBillMN-z-2-3-4
last yearbengz6westmd
last yearlast modified: last year
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