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Post by synergy on Feb 8, 2013 12:08:01 GMT -5
Just a personal note, yesterday I went to a grocery here in Canada with bulk bins to stock up to make muesli. I bought grains , seeds, dried cranberries and currants , and about three cups of nuts . Altogether I have four shopping bags likely weighing 30lbs and that totaled $140 . Wow that shocked me , I thought all told it would be between $60 and $80 . I agree, rioting and protesting are not going to put food on the table, taking that energy to apply to hard work and investment might . I am not keen to grow my own grains but wow, there is a lot of other stuff I will be trying including planting for the long term with nut and fruit trees .
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Post by davida on Feb 8, 2013 12:36:53 GMT -5
The D-4, exceptional drought is virtually exactly the same area as the dust bowl. That drought lasted for a decade. We are starting our third year of exceptional drought. The farming family that has farmed this area for 80 years has kept very good records. They say that the droughts in the past 80 years usually last 3 to 5 years. And I posted before that this same family harvested 5 tomatoes from 1500 plants in 2011. Weill,, it was 5 tomatoes from 15,000, yes fifteen thousand, plants. |
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Post by atash on Feb 9, 2013 1:07:46 GMT -5
Synergy, can you grow Millet? It's a fairly short-season grain, and birds love it. It's easy for them to eat right off the heads so you don't have to thresh it for them. Low in protein but fairy easy to grow. I'm thinking of growing some. Davida, here in the Pacific Northwest we have had multiple la Niña events back to back. The la Niña is probably what's causing the drought inland. They seem to dominate the cycle when sunspot activity is low, which it has been for a while now. Our corresponding weather is cold and wet--enough so as to make spring planting impossible on the western end of the northern wheat belt. Tom and I have given up growing out cereals in general for the time being. Several springs in a row have been cold and wintery. Many heat-loving crops now impossible. Potatoes still OK for the time being. I suggest folks in the lower plains consider Sorghum as a substitute for corn. It can survive droughts that will kill corn, and it pollinates better than corn does when both are stressed. Might be a good year to try some Amaranth too. Amaranth is not drought-proof, but it does C4 carbon fixation--rare among dicots--which is inherently less water-consumptive than systems in other plants. It's really amazing to see Amaranth and Quinoa growing without any irrigation and going weeks without rain and still actively growing. Quinoa needs a long, coolish (below 90F) growing season, but Amaranth likes it hot and grows fast. If it does droop in dry weather, it can recover faster and better than most crops can once it gets water. Ironically, Tom and I are making plans to grow out corn, and ironically, precisely because of the prospect of food shortages. But we have in mind local production outside of the drought-prone areas; nobody in the corn belt would likely be interested in it, except maybe on a small, local scale. If you're too far north for corn--grow potatoes. We've got some that tolerate a bit of frost, to deal with summer frosts such as used to happen surprisingly far south until about the 1850s, and still occasionally happen in places like Minnesota, and I'm trying to focus on those, and varieties that are disease-resistant. The idea is to put more emphasis on reliability over production, as having some harvest is preferable to having none at all. Good harvests to all.  |
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Post by steev on Feb 14, 2013 23:23:01 GMT -5
Although I tend to be a tad slow on the uptake, it finally occurs to me to start keeping better track of what grows best where I farm, under fluctating annual conditions. That is to say, since weather tends to move in multi-annual cycles, I might be able to do a better job of hedging my bets, if I track weather and plan my plantings to maximize results given what may be coming, given recent weather. This is why I've started recording ~weekly max/min temps and set up a weather station to get a better handle on conditions on my farm. Given that most things I plant are annuals/biennials, I think it's very realistic to fudge my plantings cooler/hotter or wetter/dryer, from year-to-year. I suppose it would be convenient if climate change were unidirectional (which it may be, on the larger scale), but I think I need to be more aware of short-term conditions, and nimble of plant resources, to not fail in the short run. I guess I'm saying that I'm banking on the broadest possible palette of crops and cultivars therein to provide me with at least adequate bounty, given the choices I make to plant, depending on my assessment of probable weather trends, regardless of what Nature chooses to send me. In short, I can only control very limited, specific, factors of the system I am working, which ultimately is indifferent to my concerns. That I exist at all is remarkable; that my existance should be of consequence to the Cosmos is irrational; that I may perceive the workings of Nature, to my benefit, is a blessing. May we all be aware of our place in the web of life and participate, in humility and gratitude.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Feb 15, 2013 7:17:59 GMT -5
Can you say a little more about your weather station steve? I've thought about one very seriously to get a better handle on our microclimate here in the bottom of this little valley.
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Post by steev on Feb 15, 2013 11:44:50 GMT -5
Mine is a cheapo from Home Depot: max/min temps; rain guage; wind speed.
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Post by castanea on Feb 17, 2013 16:27:23 GMT -5
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 18, 2013 1:38:04 GMT -5
An example of downsizing. Same price, smaller package. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 18, 2013 1:42:08 GMT -5
Another example of downsizing. The bottle on the left used to come in 2 in a pack of the the Bel Olio, but it was the size of the one one on the right. Now the one one the right comes in a single bottle (I never buy canola, so this is only for the photo). But I've lost a liter of olive oil and am paying the same price. Oil is hard to grow on the farm. It requires much more processing than I have equipment for. The best I've come up with is pumpkin seed oil. I'm going to have to plant a whole lot more. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 18, 2013 1:45:10 GMT -5
Another reason prices are soaring. We have had no rain at all in February. Okay there might have been a measly shower. Nothing to even put a coat on for. This means that vegetables that should not have been ready for another 30-45 days are here now. I have more broc and cauli than I can handle. The CSA is not open till April. For heaven's sake I saw asparagus today. NOOOOOOO noooooo NOOOO This is not right. Attachments:
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Post by steev on Feb 19, 2013 1:07:32 GMT -5
Yeah; I figured out the price/product deal years ago, when it became apparent that so many companies were willing to reduce quality rather than raising price. Frankly, I don't care if my tighty-whities are the same price, when they're cheesier!
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Post by synergy on Feb 19, 2013 11:58:16 GMT -5
Atash, I have no idea if I can grow millet but I am going to try growing a bit of that and quinoa, both I have from organic seed out of the bulk grocery bin here locally . If I can find amaranth, that I might need to order to give it a try and save seed but yes hanging it to dry and then throwing it to the poultry in winter will help keep my laying flock going. I could actually experiment and get some idea how much I have to grow to feed them without outside inputs for a term so I have some idea of the scope I have to plant for them. I am concentrating on handling the plots I have in place this year and maybe starting to establish some perenials like rhubarb for some small future revenue .
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Post by atash on Feb 19, 2013 23:54:20 GMT -5
Rhubarb is pretty darn easy to grow. Used to be almost ubiquitous. I'm going to raise some from seed to have healthy, vigorous seedlings. I'll save the ones that have bright red stalks because that's what I want.
Most quinoa sold in the USA is from Bolivia, and almost all of it is from the tropics (there are 7 farms in Colorado growing it; no idea what happens to it...). It needs a long, coolish, dryish growing season. Some quinoas might be day-length sensitive, but even some tropical types are not. I've grown tropical black quinoa here at 47.5 degrees latitude.
Because you're further north than I am (how rainy is it there?), you might do well with something that ripens relatively early and sheds water relatively well. Some of the Chilean quinoas might be a better bet for you. Just like potatoes, quinoa originated in the tropics but filtered south along the trade routes, like potatoes reaching as far south as Chiloe island.
I'll grow out a few plants in my backyard this year. No time or resources for acreage this year. However quinoa grows out very fast so I might be able to spare some once I have a crop. Each head yields probably thousands of seeds.
Don't feed chickens quinoa, or if you do, you'll need to leach out the saponins first. If you eat it, you'll need to do the same. It's not a big deal, and the good news is that it protects the seedheads from predation by wild birds.
Amaranth will be problematic for you, but I know someone who might be able to help with low-growing, quick-bearing amaranths designed for growing in places like Colorado and Montana. Amaranth by the way has a gelatinous texture when cooked. Some people like it and will eat it, but most will not. Chickens love it, and it's good for them. A nearly complete protein.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 20, 2013 0:31:55 GMT -5
Rhubarb is pretty darn easy to grow. Used to be almost ubiquitous. LOL!!! Ain't that how it always is in the garden? One person's falling-off-a-log-easy is like climbing-a-mountain for another. I have planted Rhubarb roots many times. I'm going to try again this year, but from seeds. Hopefully there will be enough genetic diversity in the seed lot that something will survive for me. |
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Post by steev on Feb 20, 2013 1:00:05 GMT -5
Sunday, I saw that my Victoria rhubarb has a huge seed stalk budding; I'll let it go to seed for you, Joseph. I may have some Glaskin's Perpetual that the gophers haven't eaten, no sign of it yet; I just planted out Early Champagne.
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