http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/20/1495490/lineylineygarden-for-your-health.html
I've a linked our local garden columnist's, Margaret Lauterbach, review of a book by Carol Deppe "The Resilient Gardener, Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times." She brings up a lot of issues and I was wondering if anyone here is interested in these issues because I read A LOT and I would be happy to share anything of any interest to people here. I haven't read the book but after reading this review it's going on my wish list.
Among the issues addressed in the book (and review) are health, nutrition, plant breeding at home, seed saving, raising poultry at home, and being resilient to disasters both natural and man made. I'll be honest and say that back home in the San Francisco Bay Area I regarded my garden to be part of my earthquake survival kit, I tried to always have something ready to harvest in the garden or at least from the garden in storage. If the Big One had hit April through January then my garden would have been able to help feed not only my family but several of neighbors for days if not weeks--for February and March I would stock up on extra canned foods.
Here in Idaho our chances of experiencing a Big One in our life time is far less than the SF Bay Area but it's not zero. Our growing season is shorter and we don't have snow cover all winter to store our veggies in place in the garden. I'm finding myself wanting to grow fewer crops for fresh eating and more crops for winter storage--less summer squash and more winter squash, fewer designer tomatoes and more paste tomatoes, not so many green beans but far more dry/shelling beans, and I chose a chicken breed well known for laying eggs in winter (many breeds stop laying in winter).
Back to my original question, is anyone here interested in any of these issues? Would you like me to share articles that I read on these issues or anything else?
Your writing's and comments are very interesting, to say the least, & perhaps timely for our future, or part of perhaps our near future,
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in reading your input from time to time, & of course reading what other’s might have to say as well.
Thanks
LT
Absolutely share Amy I love everything you share and these topics covered are extremely interesting to me. Thanks Amy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful read, thanks for sharing it Amy!
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll be sure to share some stuff after I get my laptop back.
ReplyDeleteI ordered some books yesterday and I actually ended up not getting this book, LOL! After reading some reviews it seemed like it might be a bit too basic for me? Years ago I read "Solar Gardening:Growing Vegetables Year-Round the American Intensive Way." It's very good and comprehensive, its one draw back is that it's geared more toward climates with snow on the ground all winter long which we don't have here in the high desert. Other than that it's very good.
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Gardening-Vegetables-Year-Round-Independent/dp/0930031695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296004775&sr=8-1
I did buy "Seed to Seed" because this year for the first time I'm going to make an effort to save my seeds and keep them pure by pollinating myself and then covering it up.
But if I see this particular book "The Resilient Gardener" in a book store or nursery I'll pick it up and look through it to see if I should buy it after all.