Time to Start Planting Vegetable Gardens.

[stephendare]

There is something that people can do before the situation gets nutty over the next few months due to the economy.

And that is return to our southern traditions of keeping a thriving vegetable garden going in everyone's back yard.

Not only is it good for all the right green reasons, (local produce, organic eating, etc) but there is the very real possibility that shipping concerns and slowdowns in the economy could create food shortages or spikes in food prices over the next year or so.

Obviously you need to get a head start if you plan on having fresh vegetables available within a few months, and seeds are fairly inexpensive.

Tomato plants like fences (as do all beans), and this is the winter growing season, so its time to plant squash zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower. 

Encouraging everyone you know to begin plantings (even if they are modest) could be the smartest and kindest thing you do over the next few weeks.  If nothing serious results, then the worst outcome is that you have nice organic homegrown vegetables.

If the economy gets rough, then you have fresh food in an environment where people will be going hungry.

This would be an excellent time to encourage neighborhood associations to create group and community gardens in as many nooks and crannies as plants will grow and there are people to work them.

Jennifer McCharen from RADO and the springfield community garden should be congratulated for her New Green Pioneering on projects like this.

It might be the most important as well as the easiest preparation that we can make as a community.

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

We have peppers, eggplants, and a few other veggies growing in our backyard. Theres nothing like eating the fruits of your labor.

[Doctor_K]

Where I live, they don't let you plant anything in the ground.  So my wife has taken to growing stuff in pots and trays and such.  The corners of our back deck are lined with tomato vines and green bean stalks.  Pretty fun to take care of too - definitely a labor of love.

Can't wait to sample the fruits (and veggies!) of our labor.

Whoever thought that Victory Gardens would ever be en vogue again?

[Doctor_K]

My grandfather was from a farming family in North Carolina.

We grew EVERYTHING in our back yard.

It was part of growing up.  Cucumbers grow nicely here as well.

Hooray North Carolina!!  I went to school up above Asheville.  Most popular thing to grow up in the hills was tobacco.  Fields and fields of the stuff.  Was fascinating.  That'd be great to plant too... keep the smokers in tobacco and make a nice little profit.  I could become the next Big Tobacco, but without all the crap rolled into each cigarette.

But I digress...

Thanks for the cucumbers idea.

[KenFSU]

You know, it's funny. You stockpile batteries, people think you're smart. You stockpile liquor, people think you're cool. But as soon as you even mention stockpiling food, people look at you like you're some kind of nutjob survivalist. There's certainly a very real chance that the United States economy might completely collapse. There's certainly historical precedent for such a thing. Who knows if it will actually happen, but throughout history, when such collapses do happen, the ones who suffer and even die are usually the ones who took no precautionary steps to prepare for a collapse. At least when the Soviet Union collapsed, they had the advantage of their food still being grown at a neighborhood level. Who among us has even the vaguest idea where their food comes from? I know I sure don't. We're in this unfortunate situation as a country where the majority of us just kind of wait around like the family dog waiting to be fed, whether it be by supermarkets, or restaurants, or vending machines, etc. Supermarkets keep something like three days worth of food on shelves. If it's a bad collapse, what happens after that?

The way I look at it is as follows: If I'm willing to spend thousands of dollars a year insuring myself against car accidents, and disease, and flooding, and fire, and theft -- why then wouldn't it be logical to also insure myself against a food shortage? Nothing major, just a few extra cans of vegetables, boxes of pasta, bags of rice, mega-packs of Ramen, each week when I go to the grocery store. Before long, you've got enough to last you a very long time in the event of an emergency.

[BridgeTroll]

I just fatten up the squirrels in my backyard...

[KenFSU]

I just fatten up the squirrels in my backyard...

[Jason]

Mmmmm...

I agree with you guys.  Growing some veggies in your back yard makes you no more a "doomsdayer" than storing can goods and betteries in the cellar.  It should be encouraged, not because of fear of food shortaged but because its good for your health, very educational, inexpensive, and fun! 

[Doctor_K]

I just fatten up the squirrels in my backyard...

And fish in the creek behind the house!

Brilliant! 

[reednavy]

someone here who has a yard, get a coconut palm and see how well it grows. despite the frost the areas along the river even received last winter, it had been 2 or 3 years for a frost before then. many tropical palms are still growing quite well along the river and the Beaches.

[Shwaz]

It should be encouraged, not because of fear of food shortaged but because its good for your health, very educational, inexpensive, and fun! 

Agreed. I don't think we're forming the breadlines anytime soon.

We have a small herb garden on one of the windowsills.. and not THAT kind of herbs.
Parsley, basil etc.

I'd love to have a full garden outside too but have no yard.. 

[civil42806]

some of the best food ive ever eaten in my life was straight from the garden and from my grandfathers daily bout of surf fishing.

(plus a little friendly rice or home style grits of course)

Need to get a pressure cooker and start canning again.  Does the city still operate the canning facility downtown.  Also for you urbanites, it doesn't actually involve cans, it pints and quart jars with Kerr lids and rings, right Stephan.

[civil42806]

some of the best food ive ever eaten in my life was straight from the garden and from my grandfathers daily bout of surf fishing.

(plus a little friendly rice or home style grits of course)

Need to get a pressure cooker and start canning again.  Does the city still operate the canning facility downtown.  Also for you urbanites, it doesn't actually involve cans, it pints and quart jars with Kerr lids and rings, right Stephan.

Lol.  Yup. Mason or Ball Jars, pints and quarts.  Sterilized lids and some of the best variety of wholly organic foods available anywhere.  While I was in Muncie Indiana (home of Ball Jars in fact) I was always amazed that the best damned food available wasnt available in the stores.

Plus the pickling. 

ever done any of that Civil?

My mother use to make the best baby dill pickles you'd ever taste, fresh dill, cayan pepper out of the garden, mmmmmmm, they weren't kosher but they were excellent, nice lingering burn.  Used to make what we called Butter bread pickles, which is the normal sweet pickles that you buy today.  Still have the pickling vat in my house to day.

[civil42806]

some of the best food ive ever eaten in my life was straight from the garden and from my grandfathers daily bout of surf fishing.

(plus a little friendly rice or home style grits of course)

Need to get a pressure cooker and start canning again.  Does the city still operate the canning facility downtown.  Also for you urbanites, it doesn't actually involve cans, it pints and quart jars with Kerr lids and rings, right Stephan.

Lol.  Yup. Mason or Ball Jars, pints and quarts.  Sterilized lids and some of the best variety of wholly organic foods available anywhere.  While I was in Muncie Indiana (home of Ball Jars in fact) I was always amazed that the best damned food available wasnt available in the stores.

Plus the pickling. 

ever done any of that Civil?

My mother use to make the best baby dill pickles you'd ever taste, fresh dill, cayan pepper out of the garden, mmmmmmm, they weren't kosher but they were excellent, nice lingering burn.  Used to make what we called Butter bread pickles, which is the normal sweet pickles that you buy today.  Still have the pickling vat in my house to day.

And I have been dissapointed to realize that NO ONE, I mean NO ONE knows what the vat is for.

[civil42806]

pickling isnt really done here, I dont know why.

I learned more about it in the midwest than the south.

You need to get into the more rural areas of the south.  Where I grew up, the community of Mt. Hebron in north alabama pickiling was very common.  My mothers family was from Jax, always came down here and visited and after we lost the farm in the late 70's moved down here permanently.