How much food do you grow yourself?

I can say that 50 per cent of my food is coming from my garden, and you?
My purpose is to reach at least 80 per cent, all the commercial food does not have any taste!
Growing your own food out of your garden seems to be the ultimate solution and a key to a good health, and even a revolutionnary act..

 

pattymary, good for you. For us less than 10%. Would love to increase, but weather in Midwest, has not been good last 3 years, and hate to start watering.

 

Yes, the drought is a general thing, terrible this year, I lost a lot of seeds , corn, pepper..I cannot water everything, this is too much!
I hope you will have better weather conditions for the months to come !

 

Springs in Midwest have been cold and wet, then turns dry. Same this year more rain last night and more today, plus threat of severe storms.

 

Hard for me to gauge because I barter lots of what I grow I never have to buy tomatoes or potatoes or or garlic

 

We don't barter, but when we have plenty we give lots to friends and family. But plan to invest in more canning jars.

 

I was using the term barter extremely Loosely I too end up giving tons of it away to family... I cannot show up at a family member's home without at least one dozen eggs and at Harvest Time I I usual give pumpkins to anybody with little kids this year I'm growing the big monster pumpkins

 

For the moment we're only growing Basil, Rosemary, Oregano and Blueberries. We always grow tomatoes and bell peppers, but the bugs here are outrageous and we don't prefer to use pesticides. We've had some luck with pepper wax spray and talc. We grew okra last year but a lot of it was really tough.

Otherwise I'm growing my wallet downward at Publix, Whole Foods, Kroger, Aldi and Food Depot.

 

I like to grow winter foods - corn , beans and squash . There's an old chest freezer (unplugged) that
is great for storing grain . Have a small flour mill . To get max nutrition and flavor I'll soak the grain
(corn or beans) then roast it , then grind it . It's ok to mix the corn flour and bean flour to make a
high-protein biscuit .

 

I was going to do tomatoes thisbyear but decided not to bother because I havent had luck keeping the bugs off
And the ants always get my okra

 

What I dislike about hot house tomatoes from the grocers is how fast they go bad compared to the ones I snag from a vine. But I need more than 1/3 yield. And the bugs don't agree. I may consider electricity next.

 

None for many years. This year tomatoes and cucumbers in containers. Hope to make tomato juice, relish. Brined pickles. I'll know in abut 60 days.

 

Garden was a wash out this year. Too much rain early, then hot and dry. very few tomatoes. Ended up chopping sweet corn down.

 

Sorry to hear your garden didn't work out. I'm not happy with my effort at growing tomatoes and cucumbers in containers. About a dozen cucumbers and so far TWO tomatoes. Next year I plant in the ground. I am preparing a small (6x10 foot) garden plot. BTW, the two tomatoes tasted great!

 

Tomatoes always taste better home grown. We did freeze a few tomatoes that will go in chili, but never enough at one time to can.

 

I grow basil, tomatoes, strawberry cause I use it so much everyday. Also I planted apple, cherry and pear tree this year

 

If you are still having problems with bugs, you could try bringing in beneficial insects that will prey on the pests.

 

All of these claims need multiple citations to back them up. Blind taste tests have shown a 50-50 result. Meaning that when people are tasting organic and commercially grown produce, the taste testers can't tell the difference based on flavor. So I'm gonna need some kind of proof that commercial food doesn't have any taste.

Growing your own food is the solution? To what? Extra space in your back yard? You're lucky to have it. Those of us who don't rely on farmers markets and grocery stores. I guess we suck.

A key to good health? Cmon I could grow acres of potatoes and make French fries out of them. I'd have a hard time finding anyone who said I was practicing the key to good health. I'm pretty sure the key to good health is a balanced diet, exercise, and something to stimulate your mental health.

And revolutionary? I... what?

 

Yes, we have considered that as we ramp up gardening. We're usually growing flowers and herbs, but with the potential for shortages, we're dedicating our 20X20 raised bed to beans and potatoes. If we grow tomatoes, it will be in containers.

I have a blueberry heirloom that stayed in a pot in the back yard behind the shed, forgotten for years. Even after freezing and drying out it came back when I transferred it to a 4X6 plant box. Oddly the bugs leave it alone. So I got a half gallon of wine after 2 seasons of blueberries. But otherwise I've been lazy. I also need to have some trees removed to gain sunlight we used to have.

We're about to push the idea that there's a reason to plant something every month of the year.

 

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