Why I Want to Live Off the Grid - Part III Producing Your Own Food

Why I Want to Live Off the Grid - Part III Producing Your Own Food

It seems that lately organic food and natural lifestyles have emerged on the National scene as never before (see note 1). More and more Americans are taking hold of the belief that food grown without chemicals, preservatives and antibiotics is better for your overall health. I think that this trend is really cool.

However, the problems with organic produce remains: it is substantially more expensive, and it is shipped across long distances. This puts a great strain on our environment in many ways. It also puts a great strain our budgets :-)

A benefit to getting off the grid then is the ability to obtain locally (in your backyard locally!) produced, cheap, organic vegetables and fruit. And if you have a little bit of land, you could even get some fresh meat out of it.

Let me first say that there are few things that will taste and satisfy hunger like fresh meat and vegetables. There is nothing like chomping down into an all-natural-grass-fed-beef hamburger when you're hungry!

Some quick math: Seeds to grow your food 1 $/packet, mini sprouting greenhouses 3 $/house, various gardening tools 30 $, fertilizer 10 $/year, water roughly 0 $. Thus to grow 10 different vegetables in your backyard would cost approximately 10+3x3+30+10 = 60$ the first year and 20$ the second year. I don't know your budget, but with my budget this would save us about 50 dollars a month = 300-600 $ savings over a year's time! Now what to do with all my money!

Starting a garden in your backyard, balcony, or even just a sunny window will bring hours of fun, "fruitful" labor, and much delicious produce free of chemicals and unwanted possible side effects. And if you take the extra step of learning how to naturally preserve food, it can feed you and your family throughout the year with the added benefit of naturally occurring pro-biotics which have been proven to aid digestion and keep your gut and thus body in great condition!

A small portion of my backyard. When filled, it should provide vegetables to feed my wife and I nearly year round (I'll still need red meat of course).

First, you'll want to select a nice sunny area of your backyard that you can water easily. A sunny window will also do, just attach a nice little window box and plant whatever you would like in that.

Second, you must pluck the weeds and till the soil prior to planting. Tilling mixes up the soil, helps it to breathe, and to be soft enough for the new roots to grab in!

Third, you'll want to sprout your seeds at least 6 weeks prior to planting. Stores like Lowe's and Home Depot make these great miniature green houses which are well suited to sprouting. The mini green houses have these great circular disks of peat which hold the fledgling plants until they are ready for the great outdoors.

Poor quality picture demonstrating the mini-greenhouses I've been using to sprout my garden. Here in Colorado the potential for snow and freezing lasts until about May 15, so sprouting indoors prior to planting is nearly imperative.

Fourth, once the seeds have sprouted and have obtained a decent strength it's time to plant them in the soil. Plant them in the soil and cover the remaining soil with weed cloth. The weed cloth will let the soil breath, get water and keep the weeds from choking your plants!

Fifth, water ever day when the plants are young. Make sure the roots don't dry out.

Sixth, when the fruits/vegetables get big enough, pluck 'em and eat 'em!

Seventh, if you can't eat them all, preserve them! Cucumbers can be made into pickles, and tomatoes can be made into ketchup. Cabbage can become Sauerkraut, and raspberries can become jam.

Eighth, let your soil rest and get ready for next year!

Well I hope that after reading this you too will grow a garden full of healthy and delicious vegetables. And remember, gardens can be grown both in the fall and late Spring. Enjoy!

note 1: It could be said that prior to the 60's and 70's food was predominately Organic. Thus the trend towards organic is really a reversal of the highly processed and unnatural agriculture of the late 20th century.