210_Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Food

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 210

Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Food

As you well know one of my favorite topics is self sufficiency. Most likely this is because I am a strongly independent person and very motivated to take care of myself. I truly do not want to depend too heavily on any societal system to provide me with my personal needs. Additionally I grew up in a rural area where some degree of self sufficiency was necessary.

But what I see in our society today is that over 80% of us live in urban areas where everything is easy and convenient. We no longer think about all the simple ways in which we can take care of ourselves and produce a little bit of personal security.

So join me for episode 210 Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Food.

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E210 which is called Ten Way to Grow Your Own Food.

Now the reason I want to bring this up is that these are extremely easy ways for everyone of us to be self sufficient in some small way. Despite what most people think, some level of self sufficiency is even more important if you live in an urban area. But more on that later.

First of all I want to convince of the importance of producing at least some of your own food. Then I will follow that by giving you ten easy ways in which you can do just that.

But before we dive into this weeks episode, let’s talk about the good news story of the week.

Good News Story of the Week

Besides solar energy, self sufficiency and sustainable living, one of my other favorite topics is health and wellness. This is simply because there are so many things in our modern culture that tend to go against best practices as far as maintaining our health and well being. 

Furthermore, I enjoy reading research articles that point out specific ways in which we can promote better health and prevent certain disease processes. For example, the health benefits of regular exercise have been well documented. But recent research revealed another benefit of regular exercise, the prevention of dementia.

This is actually an important finding since global cases of dementia are on the rise. There are now an estimated 10 million cases of dementia each year worldwide. This implies a new case every 3.2 seconds. Most studies at this point show that there are a number of factors that predisposes a person to dementia. But a recent study revealed that high levels of physical fitness are linked to a lower risk of dementia for people with a genetic predisposition to this condition. Researchers say physical fitness may be able to reduce the risk by as much as 35%.

What is know at this point is that with each decade that we age, cardiorespiratory fitness declines. But proper cardio-fitness is needed to supply oxygen to the muscles and is linked to improved cognitive performance. Lower CRF is a stronger predictor of strokes, heart attacks, and early death from any cause including dementia.

Although dementia is a multi-factorial disease there are many things we can do to prevent this from happening to us. These include staying fit and trim, regular exercise and a good healthy diet. And it just so happens that a sustainable lifestyle is a great way to maintain an active healthy life and stay fit.

Now let’s move on to this week’s episode Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Food.

Twenty seven years ago I bought the cabin property and started living off the grid. This was long before such a lifestyle became acceptable to main steam society.  Needless to say everyone thought I was crazy.

At the very start my home life was extremely challenging and nothing I did was easy. But I learned some extremely valuable lessons that I will never forget. The first lesson being is that if you have no experience living off the grid full time it would be in your best interest to not take that leap without some forethought and planning. The second lesson I learned at that time was that it is possible to essentially walk away from main stream society and go live in the woods but life is going to be very difficult at first. If you are going to do that it takes a lot of determination and you had better be up to the challenge.

At the end of the day, I never regret my choices. I would do it all over again. However, there are a lot of things I would do differently. At the same time I learned some extremely valuable skills that I can take anywhere. Those experiences will affect how I think and how I evaluate my choices for the rest of my life.

For example, it is fairly common for me to work out of state or out of the country for several months at a time. In fact, I am about to leave Colorado for 5 months and will be working in three different destinations. But whenever I do this once I get to where I am going, I immediately find the local supermarkets just to see what is available locally as far a dry goods, spices, and other basic supplies. Then I make a plan for having extra supplies so I can prepare meals in the event of an emergency or if the infrastructure is interrupted for some reason. Additionally, depending on how long I am going to be in any one place, I take the necessary steps to set up a container garden and start growing some of my own food.

What I find truly interesting, whenever I visit smaller countries, especially island nations, the locals do exactly the same thing. At least in the Caribbean, people are already prepared for tropical storms and hurricanes. They have extra containers at home to store water, they keep extra supplies to feed the family and prepare in other ways to carry on with life if the electricity goes out and they have to stay at home for days at a time.

However, the average person in our culture no longer thinks like that. In contrast, growing up in a very rural area we provided so many things for ourselves because we had no choice. Sometimes I question why people these days think so differently.  Perhaps over time we have become so accustomed to the ease and convenience that we no longer think such skills are necessary.

For example, I truly have no memory of eating store bought meat until I was an adult. While we did purchase some vegetables from the supermarket, the majority of what we ate came from our garden or the local farmers market. Excess vegetables and fruits were canned to hold us over through the winter when those things were out of season. My grandparents had a very large walk in closet in the farm house that was lined with shelves all of which were full of home canned goods. But in today’s modern economy, that just doesn’t seem to happen any more. Few people make any attempt to produce their own food.

Most people in today’s society don’t even have an clue as to where their food actually comes from. They would be surprised to know that a significant amount of what we purchase at the supermarket is now imported. If you really start thinking about this you have to wonder why this happens. Such a means of food production further increases the environmental impact of what we eat. But is also should make you question whether we should change how and what we eat. Better yet, should we truly try to produce more of our food at home.

When I was a kid my mother always had us help her in the kitchen. I distinctly remember her giving me a stool to stand on so I could reach the top of the stove. She would then hand me a spoon and tell me to stir slowly and continuously. As we grew older she would make us help her home can fruits and vegetables. We also had a large garden and had to help with that as well. And of course we complained relentlessly about the whole process.

As much as I complained about doing all these things I find it somewhat hilarious that I am doing exactly the same things as an adult.  My younger sister often jokes and says to me that I have always been a foodie. That’s  because I am constantly trying new recipes, different types of foods, making my own sauces, spice blends, etc. And of course I think everyone should enjoy this just as much as I do.

But in our modern culture, fewer and fewer people have a garden, most people eat out more than they cook at home, practically no one does any sort of home canning, and even fewer people grow their own food. On top of that, to satisfy our taste for a great variety of foods year round an increasing amount of our food is now imported instead of coming from a local farm.

Having come from a farming background it makes me question why it has to be that way. There was a time when so many more people had gardens at home because they depended on it to feed the family.

That said, to be fair there are a number of reasons for why we import a significant amount of food.

-There are climate and soil limitations in the US that restrict the types of crops that can be grown domestically.

-Domestic production tends to be seasonal especially for fruits and vegetables.

-It is economically advantageous to import foods from countries with lower labor and production costs.

-Importing food products diversifies the supply chain. This reduces the risk of relying solely on domestic production and mitigates risks associated with extreme weather events, pests, and disease.

At least according to the USDA, nearly half of our fresh fruits and about 30% of our vegetables are now imported. Those imports are expected to increase by 45% over the next few years which means 75% of our fruit and nearly 50% of our vegetables will likely be imported.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Nearly 80% of our fish and seafood products are imported, about 20% of our beef, and the biggest portion of our feeder hogs come from Canada. The only exception is chicken. Nearly 100% of the chicken sold at market in the US is raised and processed in this country.

When I see statistics such as this it truly makes me question why it has to be this way. I do realize that you have to take into consideration that we are trying to feed an entire nation. However, in my opinion my feeding our country like this we also puts us at a significant risk.

For example, what would happen to our food supply in the event of a major world conflict and global imports were virtually non-existent. Additionally I think about how much of our own food we produce at the homestead and the fact that all of our meat is sourced from a local ranch. We routinely purchase a whole animal, process it ourselves and have more than a years supply of meat at all times. This is a prime example of how we can truly keep ourselves fed from local sources.

From my perspective, and maybe this is because I am such an independent person, it would make me very uneasy if I had to solely depend upon someone else for my entire food supply. Yet, at least 80% of the population in the US lives in urban areas which means 80% of the population would be in deep trouble if our imported food supply was interrupted for some reason. That alone should be encouragement enough for most of us to take the necessary steps to produce and secure our a source of food that is within your control.

But most people do not think that way anymore. We get caught up in the conveniences and fast pace of modern society. We either forget that there are a lot of things we can do for ourselves or we complacent and just don’t do it. However there are so many benefits to growing your own food. For example:

-Home grown is far fresher and more nutritious. It does not have to be transported anywhere and consequently does not have to be stored and preservatives do not have to be used.

-It is far more cost effective.

-You can control what goes into your own produce, meaning fertilizers and pesticides.

-Increase food security. As I eluded to above, producing your own food increases your food security and your dependence on an infrastructure that is out of your control.

-Growing your own also reduces your food waste because you can harvest only what you need. Furthermore, it reduces your environmental impact of packaging and transportation.

-Working in a garden also provides health benefits in the way of exercise, a closer connection with nature, and a sense of accomplishment by simply providing some things for yourself.

-Preservation and storage. You can also preserve your excess food for use in the winter.

-Learning opportunity. Growing your own food also provides a valuable learning experience. You can also teach other people what you know. This is especially important when it comes to teaching children.

Ten Ways to Grow Your Own Food

Fortunately there are a number of ways to grow your own food even if you don’t have a lot of room. For example:

-Vertical gardening: Use trellises, arbors, or even wall mounted planters if you are limited on space. You can easily grow things such as cucumbers, peas, and tomatoes.

-Hydroponics: This is a system of growing plants in a nutrient rich solution instead of soil. This allow for precise control over nutrients which means you can regulate growth and produce more food. Hydroponics use 80 to 90% less water than traditional farming as well as 60% less fertilizer.

-Container gardening: This method uses pots, planters, or hanging baskets for growing a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits even in small spaces. We do a lot of this in the sunroom at the homestead. We often have tomato plants that are producing fruit well into December when there is plenty of snow on the ground.

-Raised beds are a great option because they improve drainage, it is easy to modify soil structure, you don’t have to dig or till the soil. This makes it much easier to grow a wide range crops. You will also hear the term square foot gardening since each raised bed is going to contain a limited amount of crops.

-Aquaponics are a good option if you live in an appropriate climate. Fish water is used to fertilize the plants and the plants filter the fish water. However, just be aware that this is a long term project. An successful aquaponics system depends on an established, stable mini ecosystem similar to a fish tank.   

-Companion planting is a great way to improve soil and a natural means of pest control. This is a system of pairing plants that are mutually beneficial. It is a great way to improve productivity, enhance soil health, increase pest resistance and reduce your use of fertilizers and pesticides. Examples of companion planting would be:

-corn, beans, and squash

-Tomatoes and basil

-Marigolds and carrots

-Beans a cucumbers

-Succession planting: This is the practice of planting small batches of seeds at regular intervals to ensure a continuous harvest rather than waiting for a single crop to mature.

-Permaculture is a good option if you have the space. This is a gardening method that mimics natural systems that aims to create sustainable, regenerative and resilient ecosystems.

-Cold frames and greenhouses are also another good option if you have a little space. A cold frame is essentially a raised bed with a glass lid. A greenhouse of course is an enclosed structure. Both methods are a good way to extend your growing season.

-Conventional gardening. Now the last method I want to mention is conventional gardening. This of course is going to require a lot more space. The downside to conventional gardening is that it is perfectly acceptable to use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides which most of us would like to get away from these days.

The opposing side of this is organic gardening which focuses more on natural methods of pest control and the use of organic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and non-GMO seeds. A good example of organic fertilizers is something such as compost.

Other Tips

Other additional tips if you are considering growing some of your own food.

-Choose vegetable and fruit varieties that are well suited to your climate and growing conditions.

-Start small and experiment a little  then slowly expand your garden.

-Be efficient with your watering by using soaker hoses and drip systems.

-Use mulch and compost to improve soil health and retain soil moisture.

How Much Space Do You Need

There has been a lot of research on just how much space you need to produce enough food for one person. Research back in the 1970s found that 4000 square feet would be needed to produce enough food for one person for one year on a vegetarian diet.  But with additional space needed for walking areas and storage, you would need to almost double that size. This amounts to a plot of ground about 80 feet by 100 feet or 24m x 30 m.

But if you live in an urban area, this is going to sound like a lot of space so let’s take this down a notch. It you have at least 10 square feet you can still do a lot.

-Micro-greens: You can grow a variety of micro-greens, such as pea shoots, radish greens, and lettuce, in as little as 4 square feet. With 10 square feet, you can harvest a steady supply of micro-greens for salads, sandwiches, and other dishes.

Herbs: Many herbs, such as basil, cilantro, and parsley, can be grown in small spaces. With 10 square feet, you can grow a variety of herbs that can be used in cooking and as garnishes.

Leafy Greens: Leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, and spinach can be grown in 10 square feet. You can harvest individual leaves or wait for the plants to mature and harvest the entire head.

Cherry Tomatoes: While tomatoes require more space than some of the other crops mentioned, you can still grow a few cherry tomato plants in 10 square feet. You can use a trellis or cage to support the plants and make the most of the space.

Of course, if this is all the space you have you are going to have to get creative. But you can also find compact varieties of a lot of common vegetables which will make it easier to grow things in a small space.

Sustainability tip of the week

This tip goes right along with the subject of this episode because it proves an important point about how much food we can produce for ourselves.

One person can produce enough food to partially or significantly supplement their diet with around 200 square feet of garden space per person. This is enough to grow a substantial amount of vegetables throughout the year, depending on factors such as climate, growing techniques, and the types of crops chosen. Choosing high yield vegetable such as tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens and root crops can help to maximize production. Additionally, choosing high calorie crops such as corn, potatoes, squashes and legumes will help to maximize the benefits of what you produce.

Now in closing, for me I think it is simply a combination of my independent mindset and the fact that I have lived off the grid as long as I have that I am always thinking in terms of being self reliant in as many ways as possible. But that was also how I was raised.  But it seems to me the average person in a developed country never gives the first thought to being prepared for anything. And perhaps this the result of a society full of ease and convenience and our getting to that point has been a slow subtle transition.

So many things are available to us whenever we want most of us feel as if some level of self sufficiency is just not necessary. But in my opinion, with more than 80% of the population now living in urban areas it is even more important than ever to be self reliant to some degree. In the unlikely event that we have a true national emergency the local infrastructure will be completely overwhelmed. There will never be enough supplies to meet the demand. A great example of this was what happened during the pandemic.

It is worth noting that achieving complete self-sufficiency through homegrown food alone, or by any other means, is typically very challenging. But you don’t have to go that far. It is completely reasonable to think in terms of being 50% self sufficient for all of your basic needs by growing a certain amount of your own food. You can make up the difference by storing extra supplies such as dry goods, install small solar array, go to the farmers market and buy bulk produce and do some home canning. All of these things are just a few examples of things that can be done inexpensively but would have a significant impact on you and your family in the event of an emergency.

I also think we are so accustomed to the conveniences of our modern society and we depend so heavily on modern technology that we have lost most of our critical thinking and problem solving skills. But I can tell you from personal experience that having the skills of self sufficiency, even in some small way, significantly increases your self confidence and personal security.

In closing, I truly hope this episode has made you think more seriously about growing some of your own food and being self reliant even in some small way. Once you gain some experience and knowledge one of the best thing you can do is to share that with others. The reason that is important is because one of the biggest problems in our society these days is that we are too often told what to think and how to be. That said, I want to leave you with one final thought.

In today’s society we are bombarded with so many messages telling us what kind of person we should be, what we should look like, and how we should live. Consequently, we are missing an extremely vital lesson that is by far one of the most important. It is far more important that we are taught how to think instead of what to think. And that is especially true when it comes to teaching children. Our media, especially social media is a very powerful venue. Children and younger people are very impressionable. These are the people that will carry our planet into the future. They need to be taught how to think instead of what to think.

Well folks, I truly hope you have enjoyed this episode and it encourages you to plant a seed to grow your own food and to plan for a sustainable future.

This is your host Patrick signing off. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.