Hi garden adept folks, I'm starting an ecovillage in about a year and a bit from now and Im starting to think about my produce options, though I will probably know alot better what those options are after I take a permaculture course, I was wondering if any of you guys know of any plant that might grow in the mid-southern United States that bear fruit all year round the only one I nkow of so far is the lime tree. Any advice you can give is much appreciated thanx!
with a green house or three you can do anything. one of the better suppliers of wheatgrass is in North Central Colorado and producing year round. are you asking about saleable produce or sustenance? for sustenance you will also need to look at putting food by (canning, drying, freezing) and perhaps sprouting. (cheap, plentiful food with variety.) if you are close to the gulf, and not veg, fishing is an option as animal raising would be. Even the chickens for egg production can be thinned, slaughtered and smoked (preservative) each fall/winter IF you are somewhere where freezing is a possibility. If it isn't, chicken litter is good stuff, especially from rescued birds. visit the extension office for the states (s) you are considering and get all the seasonal info they have. Most is online these days. add that to permaculture or even square foot gardening, and see where it leads.
thanks for the good advice, finding an effective and especially cost efficient preservation method it would definitely put many of my food worries aside(why they don't make economy size food savers is completely beyond me).still wondering about other year round yeilders. My only real goal is sustainance
I suggest more research. Some suggestions of where to look: The first 60 issues of Mother Earth News is on CD: https://www.motherearthnews.com/ecom/router.aspx?PageId=ShoppingCart&BuyItem=1&ItemNumber=1765&ItemQuantity=1&SubjectCode=MCR&SubjectName=Products Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management by M. G. Kains, Maurice Grenville Kains; and the other boks on this page: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486209741/ref=pd_sim_b_1/103-2931068-4365444?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance The book "The Manual of Practical Homesteading" by John Vivian ISBN 0-87857-092-6 Hardback (I recommend the hardback. It'll last longer.) ISBN 0-87857-154-V Paperback This book came out about 30 years ago, but a lot of folks still think of it as "The bible" for homesteading. I got my most recent copy off of e-bay. What, when & how you'll grow your food will depend a lot on where. What USDA zone will you be in? Peace, from poor_old_dad
hey chad, did you check out the books i suggested? the backyard homestead by jeavons, etc... check out the ecology action folks and go to www.commongroundinpaloalto.org they are full of helpful knowledge and they also have the farm here in willits(california) check with the local ag departments in the colleges where you plan to buy your land. as you know i study horticulture and if you tell me where you are buying your land then i will get in touch with the different extension offices for you if that will help. but you can email those folks too. so let me know if i can be of any more help and feel free to keep in touch if you like. www.co-operativeeffort.com -rabbit
