Bad Economy and fears of contaminated food spur newcomers to grow their own - Page 2

creister · February 13, 2009

Duane,

Many churches do this, while others don't. Our congregation has many home gardeners. Church is the place many of us bring our surplus to the non-gardeners. I also was listening to the radio and there is great political and social rest in Mexico right now due to the drug wars. We may not have long before many of our produce grown there is cut back or cut off. It is worse than people think. Tomatoaddict also has some wise words. If you have an emergency stash of food and water, be prepared to defend it yourself. I have also heard that many people are now buying their first firearm, many of them in their 40's and 50's.

creister · February 13, 2009

I said there was political and social rest in Mexico, I meant unrest. Sorry.

Tomstrees · February 13, 2009

Personally didn't need a "bad economy" (and could certainly do without it thanks) for my family to "wake up" and smell the mustard about store bought fruits & veggies -

I mean , lol , come on : do people live in caves ???

Wish I had enough room to grow orchards of fruit, chickens, cows, and pigs for crying out loud

~ Tom

stormymater · February 13, 2009

guinea fowl, I covet guineas... and Spanish meat goats... & fat tail sheep....& bees... not gonna happen on a 0.2 lot!
But I do have the vegies, the blueberries & the figs!

Polar_Lace · February 14, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomatoaddict

If things get as bad as they say, those of us with gardens might have to set up armed guards around them at night.

My Mother was thinking that very same thing! Only she wants to use barbed wire too! She said that some creepy looking guys (not too clean, with dirty hair) and hand printed papers were looking for someone that needed yard work done. They were around the house the other day when I wasn't home, she was scared. She kept the door locked and told them to leave the paper with their phone number by the front door just a little bit under the door mat. The dog was barking like crazy all the time til they left.

As I got out of the car when I came home, my neighbor, next door told me what went on that day and told me not to trust those two fellas. He said they looked like some guys that had robbed some property off of other peoples' front porches and backyards last year.

He said he went down to the police station with the info; and that they're checking things out right now. They'll let us know what the police said; as soon as the police tell them.

When the people who live around here see different people in the yards of the people they know that live there, they always call the police now.

Now that's a Good Thing!

~* Robin

piegirl · February 14, 2009

Wednesday I took my elderly neighbor to a Dr.s appt. While she is inside I usually go for a walk thru the nearby neighborhoods - and all I could see were 'potential' garden sites - great sunshine, few trees, and all were covered with lawn! This area didn't even have flower beds for goodness sake! Block after block. They could have great gardens! And while walking in my own neighborhood I always look at a property not so much for the house but the potential for a garden. Found quite a few that had great space. We have quite few trees in my area so some areas are too shady for a good garden. Last year I walked down a number of alleys in my area - huge beautiful homes on the street side with the appropriate # of geraniums, petunias in nice pots and the backside was dismal - overgrown trees, not one garden space or even shade gardens, landscaping must all go the front side. No patios, etc. They must be the folks who frequent farmer's markets. Just the way I was raised - if you didn't have a garden, well, the neighbor's talked, you know they could have a nice garden back here. Don't know what's wrong with them. They were kinda shunned. I know several who are tearing up their lawns and planting this year not so much because of the economy but because they really want their children to know about food and how it grows. Piegirl

dice · February 14, 2009

There are a lot more 2-earner families with both spouses
working 50 or more hour work weeks (include commute) now
than there were 40 years ago. They probably wonder when
they have time to garden. Just keeping up with the lawn and
geraniums probably seems like a challenge.

roamwhereiwant2 · February 14, 2009

Well, it's a matter of priorities. I work full-time, and am back in school working on a mba. I get a ton of pleasure out of gardening so it's easy for me to allocate the time. Most of my friends rarely cook; they eat out or eat take-out or just heat something up. The concept of growing their own food just isn't there. It will take more than a poor economy to change this kind of mindset.

Yvonne

Ruth_10 · February 15, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by dice

There are a lot more 2-earner families with both spouses
working 50 or more hour work weeks (include commute) now
than there were 40 years ago. They probably wonder when
they have time to garden. Just keeping up with the lawn and
geraniums probably seems like a challenge.

That would describe me (the 50 hour work week). I gave up television many years ago (it wasn't hard). People would be amazed at how much time gets freed up with the television off.

I applaud people taking up gardening to cope with tough economic times, but worry that their expectations may be unrealistic. Figuring out which varieties to plant, how much to plant, how to care for them, what to do with the vegetables once you harvest them--all those things take some trial and error. Most people new to gardening are not going to be able to produce a significant portion of their food supply.

That said, kudos to those who are willing to try! What they can grow will be way better than what they buy in the grocery store. I just hope they don't get discouraged and give up. Keeping at it and having some success will be a source of not just food, but of great personal satisfaction.

Quote:

You tomato folks know what I was thinking.

I have been eyeing the great expanse of lawn in back of our church. Some day....

stormymater · February 15, 2009

You are correct about the unrealistic expectations. I just picked up a load of leaves from a woman who explained she'd tried a garden last year & couldn't afford to try again. Her garden plot was such poor hard poor soil... right next to the pile of deciduous leaves she had been attempting to burn. I asked her about her garden plot & offered to turn more broken down leaves into it but she was done. I plan to pot up a couple of cherry tomatoes & drop them off for her later this spring as she had been talking about doing some container gardening on her front deck.
Things don't always turn out (Fergus the cat views my raised beds as gi-normous litter boxes - stinker tore up a 2 x 2 square of beets) but I learn from the oopsies.

newatthiskat · February 15, 2009

The one thing I have learned is that is takes years to fix really bad soil. I am hoping this year it will be better. I have a ton of leaves I am going to till into it (correction, Husband is gong to till). First year was abismal, I did not know to add anything to soil. Second was better, put in some compost. Hopefully this year will be better.

I do have a question and this could be a decent place to put it since there is a fear of contaminated food. For those that preserve their food with canning. If you use a pressure canner on tomato sauce and spaghetti type sauces do you need to add an acid? I know with a water bath method you would need to but wasn't sure of the pressure canner.

Kat

stormymater · February 15, 2009

Kat - do you have a copy of the Ball Blue Book of Preserving? It is a soft cover -costs around $ 6-7 new, less used. I looked & the pressure canned tomato meat sauces did not. Do you need pressure canner recipes for tomato/pasta sauces?

newatthiskat · February 15, 2009

No I don't have the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. My friend Neva (veggie babe)is getting a copy and I will read it when she gets it. I have never canned before and this will hopefully be the first year. I don't have any canning recipies, just what I have read on here. Pretty soon I will have 6 weeks of studying all of this due to the surgery. I think I will create a new tomato and call it Frayed Cuff to commemorate my ability to destroy my shoulders

Kat

stormymater · February 15, 2009

Oooowwwww! When I tore my rotator cuff that TOTALLY reset my 1 - 10 pain scale (gallbladder attack now a 4/10). Poor thing!
From the Ball BBP - Italian Tomato Sauce -
Yield - about 7 pints or 3 quarts
4 quarts chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 T basil
1 T oregano
1 T minced parsley
2 teapoons crushed red pepper (optional)
Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Cook 10 minutes, stir to prevent sticking. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2 piece lids. Process pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes @ 10 pounds pressure in a steam pressure canner.
You will like the book. It is clear & full of good stuff.

PaulF · February 15, 2009

Since we are taking care of two grandchildren for ten days, I haven't had much time. This thread is timely for me. Today I am giving a presentation at our local discussion venue called the Lyceum. My topic is the "Modern Day Victory Gardening."

Much of what has been discussed here will be in my presentation. So, the subject seems to be universal. Our discussion is for beginning gardeners and will less survivalistic and more for the health benefits, freshness and flavor. Saving the planet will be touched upon as well.

Community gardening is gaining popularity even in the country.

February 13, 2009	#18
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Personally didn't need a "bad economy" (and could certainly do without it thanks) for my family to "wake up" and smell the mustard about store bought fruits & veggies - I mean , lol , come on : do people live in caves ??? Wish I had enough room to grow orchards of fruit, chickens, cows, and pigs for crying out loud ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

February 13, 2009	#19
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	guinea fowl, I covet guineas... and Spanish meat goats... & fat tail sheep....& bees... not gonna happen on a 0.2 lot! But I do have the vegies, the blueberries & the figs! Last edited by stormymater; February 13, 2009 at 12:10 PM. Reason: add on

February 14, 2009	#22
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	There are a lot more 2-earner families with both spouses working 50 or more hour work weeks (include commute) now than there were 40 years ago. They probably wonder when they have time to garden. Just keeping up with the lawn and geraniums probably seems like a challenge. __________________ -- alias

February 15, 2009	#26
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	reply The one thing I have learned is that is takes years to fix really bad soil. I am hoping this year it will be better. I have a ton of leaves I am going to till into it (correction, Husband is gong to till). First year was abismal, I did not know to add anything to soil. Second was better, put in some compost. Hopefully this year will be better. I do have a question and this could be a decent place to put it since there is a fear of contaminated food. For those that preserve their food with canning. If you use a pressure canner on tomato sauce and spaghetti type sauces do you need to add an acid? I know with a water bath method you would need to but wasn't sure of the pressure canner. Kat

February 15, 2009	#28
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	reply No I don't have the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. My friend Neva (veggie babe)is getting a copy and I will read it when she gets it. I have never canned before and this will hopefully be the first year. I don't have any canning recipies, just what I have read on here. Pretty soon I will have 6 weeks of studying all of this due to the surgery. I think I will create a new tomato and call it Frayed Cuff to commemorate my ability to destroy my shoulders Kat

February 13, 2009	#16
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Duane, Many churches do this, while others don't. Our congregation has many home gardeners. Church is the place many of us bring our surplus to the non-gardeners. I also was listening to the radio and there is great political and social rest in Mexico right now due to the drug wars. We may not have long before many of our produce grown there is cut back or cut off. It is worse than people think. Tomatoaddict also has some wise words. If you have an emergency stash of food and water, be prepared to defend it yourself. I have also heard that many people are now buying their first firearm, many of them in their 40's and 50's.

February 14, 2009	#21
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	Wednesday I took my elderly neighbor to a Dr.s appt. While she is inside I usually go for a walk thru the nearby neighborhoods - and all I could see were 'potential' garden sites - great sunshine, few trees, and all were covered with lawn! This area didn't even have flower beds for goodness sake! Block after block. They could have great gardens! And while walking in my own neighborhood I always look at a property not so much for the house but the potential for a garden. Found quite a few that had great space. We have quite few trees in my area so some areas are too shady for a good garden. Last year I walked down a number of alleys in my area - huge beautiful homes on the street side with the appropriate # of geraniums, petunias in nice pots and the backside was dismal - overgrown trees, not one garden space or even shade gardens, landscaping must all go the front side. No patios, etc. They must be the folks who frequent farmer's markets. Just the way I was raised - if you didn't have a garden, well, the neighbor's talked, you know they could have a nice garden back here. Don't know what's wrong with them. They were kinda shunned. I know several who are tearing up their lawns and planting this year not so much because of the economy but because they really want their children to know about food and how it grows. Piegirl

February 14, 2009	#23
roamwhereiwant2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Lawrenceville, GA, 7b Posts: 130	Well, it's a matter of priorities. I work full-time, and am back in school working on a mba. I get a ton of pleasure out of gardening so it's easy for me to allocate the time. Most of my friends rarely cook; they eat out or eat take-out or just heat something up. The concept of growing their own food just isn't there. It will take more than a poor economy to change this kind of mindset. Yvonne

February 15, 2009	#30
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	Since we are taking care of two grandchildren for ten days, I haven't had much time. This thread is timely for me. Today I am giving a presentation at our local discussion venue called the Lyceum. My topic is the "Modern Day Victory Gardening." Much of what has been discussed here will be in my presentation. So, the subject seems to be universal. Our discussion is for beginning gardeners and will less survivalistic and more for the health benefits, freshness and flavor. Saving the planet will be touched upon as well. Community gardening is gaining popularity even in the country. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.