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Post by synergy on Feb 28, 2011 17:10:28 GMT -5
I don't know your proximity of your farm to the suburbs. I think lots of people have rising costs and not rising income the last two years. Students will find it harder to find jobs. U pick may become the new fad . But I know I am not young and I never learned how to preserve anything, that was not even learned by my mother so others are likely also not skilled and resourceful as they may someday find they need to be. Maybe teaming up with someone who offers weekend classes, Saturday they pick beans for an hour at your farm /Sunday they learn how to can them . A couple of those classes each weekend might help with your picking , create returning customers and put income in some ladies pocket who could use it for teaching the canning too ?
$120 for strawberries, that is why I want to be my own u-pick , especially for perenials.
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Post by castanea on Feb 28, 2011 18:16:26 GMT -5
LOL, nope, you can pick a LOT of strawberries in no time flat! Last year we went to the local UPick, me, hubby, 8 and 10, a friend and her 5 yr old. We picked 60 pounds of berries in 45 minutes. When the lady told us to pony up 120 bucks I nearly fell over dead! I thought we had 30 lbs. MAYbe 40... but 60 POUNDS? YIKES! Top it all off, I picked most of 'em! ok, so that part made me feel good ;o) You must have a strong back! I can't pick strawberries for more than a few minutes. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Mar 1, 2011 16:50:58 GMT -5
uh... well... let's just say that when I get bent over I try to stay that way because the up and down is the killer. ;o)
Yea, I paid Mr. Farmer $2 a pound when WalMart, 5 miles away, was charging $1.25 a pound.
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Post by castanea on Mar 1, 2011 20:39:11 GMT -5
uh... well... let's just say that when I get bent over I try to stay that way because the up and down is the killer. ;o) Yea, I paid Mr. Farmer $2 a pound when WalMart, 5 miles away, was charging $1.25 a pound. The stuff at WalMart though was soaked in toxic chemicals..... |
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Post by mjc on Mar 1, 2011 22:56:02 GMT -5
uh... well... let's just say that when I get bent over I try to stay that way because the up and down is the killer. ;o) Yea, I paid Mr. Farmer $2 a pound when WalMart, 5 miles away, was charging $1.25 a pound. The stuff at WalMart though was soaked in toxic chemicals..... Unfortunately, most strawberry growers (anywhere) aren't all that much better. If you want them chemical free you have to grow them yourself. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Mar 2, 2011 6:34:57 GMT -5
Yea, we know he uses some chemicals. He's a friend who is also a beekeeper. I don't know how heavily he uses chemicals compared to other growers though. I'll have to ask him about that.
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Post by garnetmoth on Mar 2, 2011 14:51:48 GMT -5
Its not the most beautiful thing in the world, but I got the coldframe roughed in today. I was beat, so I came in and ate some lunch, but I may seed tomorrow. game on!
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Post by lmonty on Mar 3, 2011 19:03:05 GMT -5
The local u Pick is strawberries and blueberries. They also have corn, but I don't think that is a u-pick item. I can imagine, it takes alot of time to pick the strawberries and blueberries. OL I would be ever so greatful if you would send me info on it! I live about 30 miles southeast of Harrison and work in town but finding a good u-pick! hey it would be worth a trip. haven't been to one since i lived in SC and i miss it. |
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Post by garnetmoth on Mar 3, 2011 19:41:19 GMT -5
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Post by honeydew on Mar 4, 2011 10:54:12 GMT -5
Good thread!
I have given myself this very challenge when we moved to the country 3 years ago. Each year we have put away more food, but it has yet to be enough to be considered self sufficient.
That is this year's goal, at least to provide 80% of our overall diet for the family.
I am learning that sustenance living is almost a full time job in itself! I am also learning that by making your own food, beyond growing it, can save you money too. So where to find the happy medium.
The kids love homemade pastas, soups, baking and other replacements for nutritionally void processed grocery store junk. Sure, they miss a few things, but overall they are happier. Taste beats most all considerations for the kids.
But, it really takes time. My dad once said that (and he didn't mean this in a sexist or non feminist way) the wife's job should be to do this, what I am talking about, and if done properly, coupled with realistic and thoughtful spending, it will pay for itself in the lack of a second income.
I like this idea. Yet, I still have to work outside of the home. Or do I? It's coming to a head now with increasing costs!
Certainly this is a consideration when people will approach this challenge. Society is set up for us to fail at self sufficiency. Time is the most expensive commodity - one that can't be earned back once spent.
Oh, another thing I am learning in regards to this challenge. It requires a lot of learning into nutrition, and I believe in many people's cases would require a major change to their diets. But that should be anyways. I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I do find myself eating more veggies and less meat as I learn more about proper nutrition and homesteading in general. And I have livestock and easy access to meat here. I just think that meat production can be very expensive on many levels, without much of a nutritional superiority. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Mar 4, 2011 11:29:01 GMT -5
That is this year's goal, at least to provide 80% of our overall diet for the family. I like this idea. Yet, I still have to work outside of the home. Or do I? It's coming to a head now with increasing costs! It's been a decade since I had a real job... The pay can be really good when working for myself, I just can't predict when I'll get paid, which is where a job somewhere in the family is handy. I look at it this way: I'd have to grow 1100 dozen ears of corn in order to pay for the gasoline to drive into town to keep a real job. I'd rather not grow that much corn just to burn it up. My family grew or hunted almost everything we ate... Some things were too much work for us. We bought wheat. We made bread and butter. We didn't make cheese even though we kept a small cow. We didn't make pasta. We didn't butcher cows, pigs, or sheep we took them to a facility. Sometimes we butchered chickens, sometimes we took them to town. We handled the deer ourselves. |
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Post by honeydew on Mar 4, 2011 12:25:33 GMT -5
It's been a decade since I had a real job... The pay can be really good when working for myself, I just can't predict when I'll get paid, which is where a job somewhere in the family is handy. I look at it this way: I'd have to grow 1100 dozen ears of corn in order to pay for the gasoline to drive into town to keep a real job. I'd rather not grow that much corn just to burn it up. My family grew or hunted almost everything we ate... Some things were too much work for us. We bought wheat. We made bread and butter. We didn't make cheese even though we kept a small cow. We didn't make pasta. We didn't butcher cows, pigs, or sheep we took them to a facility. Sometimes we butchered chickens, sometimes we took them to town. We handled the deer ourselves. I think you do have a real job. Just not necessarily what society may say is a real job? Lol. I would love it if the market garden was my "real job". I would also love it if my mortgage was paid, and I could afford to build a smaller, more efficient home. I'm really leaning towards putting all my focus into the gardens. Sigh. I was never Suzie Homemaker, but I have recently learned a lot of "domestic" skills and I haven't burnt dinner is quite a while now! I'd like to make butter and cheese, but my hubby says that Stella will lose her milk right away when she stops feeding the calf because she's not a milk cow. We will see. We butcher the chickens, but not the pigs (when we have them) though I could never butcher one of my hens. I know them too well. There is a sign going up on my greenhouse inspired by my son's comments when I get overly stressed by work "Mom why don't you go out to your Happy Place?" I think that says it all. ;D |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Mar 4, 2011 13:11:20 GMT -5
We didn't keep milk cows. One milk cow gives way too much milk for a family of 15 to use. We kept beef cows and milked them: Not so much milk that way. She produced milk from the time her calf was born almost until her next calf was born, as long as we milked her twice a day, every day, without ever missing a day. If you detect a bit of snottiness there it's because it was my job to milk the cow. I loved my cows, and I love milking, it's the never relenting schedule that gets to me.
We kept her separate from the calf, milked her, and then fed the calf with a bottle.
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Post by honeydew on Mar 4, 2011 16:09:15 GMT -5
If you let them be together would you still have been able to milk her for your family?
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Post by mnjrutherford on Mar 4, 2011 16:19:32 GMT -5
A single cow really produces more milk than a family of 15 can drink in a day? How much milk does a cow give in a day? You missed out on not having homemade pasta. Now that the guineas are starting to lay, it's all I can think about. Can't do it yet cause we are collecting a batch for hatching before we eat any...
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