“intersection of agroecology, food sovereignty, and biotechnology”
Food sovereignty requires you actively grow your own food. The tray of dry dead pepper sprouts in the next room reminds me how difficult and fragile that is (miss one day of watering...). Food sovereignty requires a level of commitment & involvement few are willing to sacrifice for; intersecting agroecology and biotechnology therewith isn’t going to make that sacrifice less for most people.
We went to Biosphere 2 down by Phoenix. It was a massive failure and proved this stuff does not work.
Just need one out of every 100 people to grow enough for 100 people. Could be done with High Tunnels and a sub compact tractor or walk behind tractor or even by hand when young and in shape. Problem is with Northern places that even with high tunnels, you have a short growing season so now you get into preserving and storing food. Cali and FL, you can grow year round. Mexico too but anything they grow has no taste for some reason.
I’ve got enough seeds to grow all our veggies this year but I doubt it will happen. I’m still learning. I should be starting some seeds right now really.
I’ve tried growing tomatoes from seed and didn’t have much luck. They came out leggy from not enough light trying to do it next to a window. Need to get some grow lights and just buy my mix instead of trying to make my own. I was going to use Elliot Coleman’s mix but couldn’t find most of the ingredients locally. Ask for greensand and they look at you like you have two heads around here. Try to explain you’re making potting soil and they look at you like you’re an idiot and tell you where the potting soil is. Couldn’t even find perlite which are those white chunks in potting mix that hold a lot of water.
Only way I’ve had good luck growing maters from seed is when they were volunteers that popped up where I had grown mater plants the previous year, which started out as 6 inch tall plants purchased from the store. They were hybrid though so the second year, I got three different types of volunteer mater plants and none were as tasty as the hybrids.
I grow taters every year but those are easy. Had some maters last year but the goats got in the garden and trampled them. Didn’t eat them but the nightshade family are poisonous to goats. Need to put a better, higher fence around it this year.
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/greens-oriental/komatsuma-tendergreen-mustard
Komatsuma is an easy green to grow. It’s a mustard green and if you let some go to seed, it will come right back next year. I had a patch going for 4 years but got down to one plant last year but I ended up mowing that area the year before so I probably killed it off. The goats did eat that.
Saw a video of a guy up towards New England who was experimenting with high tunnel maters. Some of his vines were 20-25 foot long with the top end hanging from wires stretched across the tunnel with special plastic clips. He just kept letting them down a bit and moving them left/right. The vine that got laid on the ground would set new roots off of it. The plants produced for 5-6 months. Cherry maters in clusters. 2-300 from each plant.
Gardening/farming is a lot of work and takes a lot of learning but like I said, if you could get 1 in 100 or 1 in 50 people that were into it, it could be localized for some things.
Last year, the grocery store had no meat for weeks, especially beef. Meanwhile I drove by well over 100 head of beef cattle to see empty meat dept coolers. Thomas Massie introduced the PRIME bill that would allow small processors to sell to the public without all the USDA red tape and inspections in certain situations. Not sure it ever went anywhere. I just finally introduced myself to one cattle farmer and bought a bale of hay from him. I’m going to ask him if he ever gets his own animals processed. Grass fed beef tastes so much better and if you take them young, very tender and if you can age it, Prime. I was given some short ribs last year. After we went through them, I happened to see some in the store and got them. Tougher and no flavor.
We’ve got meat goats and I also want to get some small breed of pig like Kunekune. Get some fat to go with that lean goat meat. You take the young bucks at 50-60lbs to get the highest price. Once the buck matures the meat gets strong tasting. Haitians are the only ones that like them then. They like a big old rutty buck. Sale barn pays close to $3/lb live weight but one or two will go in the freezer. $3x50=$150 so I’m hoping to take in 20 every year at some point and sell off 20 doe kids for $2-300/ea from 20 momma does. Need to get more land cleared. Just got started. Got two does and a buck last year but only got one kid. Goat does tend to have twins so I should have got four. The bigger doe had none. I have no idea who’s at fault so I’m going to let it go another year. Picky doe or buck with slow swimmers or low count? I think the kid is a buck so he’ll go in the freezer.
I’m slowly trying to get us closer to food sovereignty aka self sufficiency. Got a spot picked out for a root cellar. Got everything for a high tunnel but the plastic cover. Could have had something growing in it until those sub zero temps hit a few weeks ago and I could be planting cold weather crops it it right now. Tues. 65 and sunny so I need to work on some gardening prep task. As of now, very little wind so I might fire up the smoker too.
Got a $35 brisket I bought last summer and need to do it asap before it gets freezer burn. It’s a cryovac pack so it should still be good. Got good with the smoker last year using Boston Butt as a cheap learning meat. Made the smoker out of two full size and one under the counter water heaters. Those things are thin so I can’t smoke on windy days. Need three walls around it.
Built a wood fired grill too but need some improvements like adjustable height racks. Want to do some rocket stove projects too. Water heater. Pressure canner rocket stove. Need new canning jar lids which were rare last year like they were ammo. If propane and/or electric go sky high, we still gotta cook. All my wood stoves have flat tops that I can cook on. I’ve made pizza and corn bread on one by using a cover from a small smoker to create an oven. That’s a winter thing there. Would love a true wood cook stove.
Good buffer for communism until they come take it all or your neighbors get really hungry and you have to defend it from them.
When a hobby becomes life and death decisions, you won't forget the water.
And the darned peppers take weeks to sprout, too!