Brian Frank's Victory Garden 2011 - GROW YOURS!

[Patriotxi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKnEPv02fp4

[Patriotxi]

I will plant the rest around Federal Extortion Day

[Patriotxi]

April 15th if you didnt know!

[pacelli]

Nice job. Keep those vids coming as you make more progress. What gardening zone are you in?

[Teaser Rate]

This is a nice project if you enjoy that kind of stuff, but why do you insist that other people need to grow their own food as well?

It’s not like supermarkets are going to run out of food anytime soon and it’s hard for someone who doesn’t get some non-financial satisfaction from that kind of activity to justify the required cost and effort.

[Patriotxi]

Nice job. Keep those vids coming as you make more progress. What gardening zone are you in?

South Carolina garden zone! LOL. I dont know, maybe 5 or 6

[Patriotxi]

This is a nice project if you enjoy that kind of stuff, but why do you insist that other people need to grow their own food as well?

It’s not like supermarkets are going to run out of food anytime soon and it’s hard for someone who doesn’t get some non-financial satisfaction from that kind of activity to justify the required cost and effort.
If there is a truckers strike because oil goes to 200 a barrel, stores will be empty. I very well can happen!

[Patriotxi]

Nice job. Keep those vids coming as you make more progress. What gardening zone are you in?

Will do

[eduardo89]

I wish I had a garden to plant!

Back when I lived in Vancouver, Canada we had a huge garden with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, plums, walnuts, chestnuts, and pear trees. My neighbours also had a mini-farm growing everything from oranges to cabbage to grapes to eggplants!

[Patriotxi]

I wish I had a garden to plant!

Back when I lived in Vancouver, Canada we had a huge garden with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, plums, walnuts, chestnuts, and pear trees. My neighbours also had a mini-farm growing everything from oranges to cabbage to grapes to eggplants!

Oranges in vancouver? WOW!

[eduardo89]

Oranges in vancouver? WOW!

Yeah I was really surprised too. My neighbours said it was hard work, but they'd figured out how to keep 2 orange trees alive. They had them in a small greenhouse btw, along with other warm climate plants.

[Anti Federalist]

This is a nice project if you enjoy that kind of stuff, but why do you insist that other people need to grow their own food as well?

It’s not like supermarkets are going to run out of food anytime soon and it’s hard for someone who doesn’t get some non-financial satisfaction from that kind of activity to justify the required cost and effort.

Three to five days.

That is the average amount of stock a typical grocery store has on hand.

That is assuming normal customer traffic and not throbbing hordes.

That's not a whole lot. Ideally, I would say you should never have less than a 6 month food supply either growing or stored.

[EndDaFed]

About the weed thing. Mulch will also do the job and keep your soil moist longer to boot. It should also lower the need for watering and as it breaks down it adds humus to the soil.

[Patriotxi]

If you are in the south, now is the time to start your victory garden!

[EvilEngineer]

Well I will have to disagree with his premise that dog shit = fertilizer.

Unless it has been properly composted, it is not fertilizer... it's still just shit. Because of the high protein content in dog / cat foods their waste is actually toxic to plants.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/653575/common_misconceptions_about_dog_feces.html

http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html

^ Take note in this one that it mentions pathogens in animal feces can be absorbed by the plants and be past on to you if you are dumb enough to eat it.

[amy31416]

Well I will have to disagree with his premise that dog shit = fertilizer.

Unless it has been properly composted, it is not fertilizer... it's still just shit. Because of the high protein content in dog / cat foods their waste is actually toxic to plants.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/653575/common_misconceptions_about_dog_feces.html

http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html

^ Take note in this one that it mentions pathogens in animal feces can be absorbed by the plants and be past on to you if you are dumb enough to eat it.

Yeah. I've read up pretty extensively on compost, and it's not a good practice--especially if someone who's immunocompromised, elderly or very young might eat the food.

Vegetarian animal feces is usually the exception. Rabbit poo is ready to use right from the tap, so to speak. But most experienced gardeners prefer their cow/horse manure to be "aged" prior to using as compost.

[Vessol]

This is a nice project if you enjoy that kind of stuff, but why do you insist that other people need to grow their own food as well?

It’s not like supermarkets are going to run out of food anytime soon and it’s hard for someone who doesn’t get some non-financial satisfaction from that kind of activity to justify the required cost and effort.

Considering the immense instability of our current economic system, it is imperative that people know how to grown and maintain their own gardens.

[RSLudlum]

Only 2 heads of cabbage are left from my winter planting. Spinach, carrot, and lettuce seedlings are popping up now. I just planted onion sets and transplanted broccoli seedlings today. I'll be spending some time prepping the rest of the garden tomorrow in the beautiful 80 degree weather.

[noxagol]

A friend of mine and I are doing a 50x100 foot garden this year.

[Teaser Rate]

Considering the immense instability of our current economic system, it is imperative that people know how to grown and maintain their own gardens.

Can you describe a scenario under which an economy with a GDP of +$14 trillion runs out of food ?

Barring a massive natural disaster, pandemic, nuclear Armageddon, asteroid or alien invasion, I have a hard time seeing it happen; and under all those possibilities, growing vegetables in your backyard isn't going to help very much.

[Teaser Rate]

Three to five days.

That is the average amount of stock a typical grocery store has on hand.

That is assuming normal customer traffic and not throbbing hordes.

That's not a whole lot. Ideally, I would say you should never have less than a 6 month food supply either growing or stored.

Seems like a huge waste of time, money and space to me. Do you know something that I don't ?

[amy31416]

Seems like a huge waste of time, money and space to me. Do you know something that I don't ?

Saves you a hell of a lot on grocery bills, if anything. You rarely have to buy when prices on certain items are inflated...and you don't have to go shopping if you're sick...and you have a lot of variety if you want to make something weird (at least I do)...and it's just the responsible thing to do, especially if you live in a cold area and oil prices are fluctuating all over the place. Truckers could strike, crops could go belly-up...who knows? But I have the time, space and money to "indulge" in it.

To me, it's an insurance policy that you really can't go wrong with, and ends up saving you money--unless your house burns down or something.

[Teaser Rate]

Saves you a hell of a lot on grocery bills, if anything. You rarely have to buy when prices on certain items are inflated...and you don't have to go shopping if you're sick...and you have a lot of variety if you want to make something weird (at least I do)...and it's just the responsible thing to do, especially if you live in a cold area and oil prices are fluctuating all over the place. Truckers could strike, crops could go belly-up...who knows? But I have the time, space and money to "indulge" in it.

To me, it's an insurance policy that you really can't go wrong with, and ends up saving you money--unless your house burns down or something.

The net financial impact is dependent on the opportunity cost of the time you spend on the garden. If I had to guess, I'd say that most people can end up with a lot more food by spending that time working an extra couple of shifts than by working on the garden. On the other hand, if you enjoy gardening more than working, then the non-financial compensation might be enough to justify the time investment.

Regarding the possible risks to the food supply chains, I'd venture to guess that stores running out of food would be a very, very low probability; the worst probable case scenario is that prices would significantly increase. I don't know by how much they would have to increase in order to make gardens profitable for people who wouldn't enjoy the process, but I'd guess it would have to be by quite a bit.

EDIT: Regarding the issue of speculating with large quantities of food, it just doesn't seem like a very good investment, especially if you live in a city and have limited space. I think you'd be better off investing the money required to buy food in bulk in other things which are more likely to appreciate. Of course, if you're somewhat paranoid and having lots of food helps you sleep at night, then I guess that could justify foregoing the lost returns.

[amy31416]

The net financial impact is dependent on the opportunity cost of the time you spend on the garden. If I had to guess, I'd say that most people can end up with a lot more food by spending that time working an extra couple of shifts than by working on the garden. On the other hand, if you enjoy gardening more than working, then the non-financial compensation might be enough to justify the time investment.

Regarding the possible risks to the food supply chains, I'd venture to guess that stores running out of food would be a very, very low probability; the worst probable case scenario is that prices would significantly increase. I don't know by how much they would have to increase in order to make gardens profitable for people who wouldn't enjoy the process, but I'd guess it would have to be by quite a bit.

EDIT: Regarding the issue of speculating with large quantities of food, it just doesn't seem like a very good investment, especially if you live in a city and have limited space. I think you'd be better off investing the money required to buy food in bulk in other things which are more likely to appreciate. Of course, if you're somewhat paranoid and having lots of food helps you sleep at night, then I guess that could justify foregoing the lost returns.

I like gardening, I like finding the big sales at stores, I like the convenience, and sometimes I even like being paranoid and speculating on worst case scenarios. Each person's circumstances are different...when I lived by myself several years ago, I only bought enough food for the week because I had zero tolerance for clutter and preferred open spaces. I didn't have the land for even minimal gardening, didn't have anyone but myself to cook for (mostly), and we were in different times--and I was making a shit-ton of money, with lots of prospects in the area.

Things change. Sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly. It works for me...and I won't have to rely much on other people in a worst-case scenario, which is worth it. I do agree that supermarkets running out of food is indeed a low probability, but I could have worse hobbies--ones that actually cost me money, rather than save it. And I get organic, high-quality food cheap when I grow it myself, get some vitamin D from the sun, make healthier food, learn a bit more about botany--it's stimulating. In the winter, I often entertain myself with various forms of fermentation, whether that's beer, yogurt or my planned foray into making cheese.

Obviously, YMMV, and your interest level may vary.