We had 10 pots on the patio last summer, growing cilantro, parsley, green beans, stevia, potatoes, basil, swiss chard, etc.
Drip irrigation tubes attached to a timer faucet watered it every morning automatically. At some point I'm going to try to hook in a Pi or Arduino so I can remotely control the irrigation, e.g. if it's raining I won't have to go outside & manually shut it off.
We'll be doing that again, and this spring we're also planning to plant a couple of rows of potatoes, carrots, and lettuce. Growing food is not difficult, but it does require some knowledge and understanding of soil pH, pest control, etc. Fortunately there are plenty of how-to videos these days.
The food you grow in an organic, chemical free environment tastes fresh and pure, is good for you, educational for the children, and very satisfying. It may not pay for itself in the first couple of years, but over time you'll find that it's well worth it. Freshly grown potatoes taste incredible.
We are thinking of getting chickens, but it may or may not happen this spring. Self-sufficiency takes a lot of work, but partial sufficiency is quite attainable for many people. Even if you're in an urban apartment, there are hydroponic devices and grow lamps to help you grow considerable veggies. I suppose we can thank the pot industry for that.
>Growing food is not difficult, but it does require some knowledge
I'd push back on the first part of this lightly. Growing some food is not difficult. Growing food effectively however, in quantity and for a long period of time, does require a fair bit of experience and local knowledge that you just can't get in one season. My family gardened heavily growing up, and I've been gardening extensively since my mid 20's (late 30's now), and I would say I only now truly feel like I 'get it' with regards to many aspects of planting, harvesting, timing, and preservation.
Prior to the pandemic, my goal this summer was to have my house be 'food-independent' for 3 months of this year. I've revised that goal to try and get to food independence by end of spring and maintain that through the end of fall and into winter.
My argument would be that gardening has a very low barrier to entry: literally any one can (and should) have a garden. However, the top skill cap on gardening is very high and does take time to achieve. Its also not something that can be entirely short-cutted through self learning/ study. How you grow depends on where you are and the details of your particular garden. Nothing else but experience will get you there.
>My argument would be that gardening has a very low barrier to entry: literally any one can (and should) have a garden. However, the top skill cap on gardening is very high and does take time to achieve
It really isn't. Gardening is very easy, and the skill cap is very low. The problem is that there is a TREMENDOUS amount of misinformation being promoted as knowledge, and beginners have no way to tell fact from fiction. Almost all of my learning curve was spent trying things that are based on incorrect assumptions or just plain memes. As soon as I learned "build soil instead of killing soil" everything became trivial.
> At some point I'm going to try to hook in a Pi or Arduino so I can remotely control the irrigation, e.g. if it's raining I won't have to go outside & manually shut it off.
I mean do it if it's fun, but you can just buy something that does this at home depot.
Drip irrigation tubes attached to a timer faucet watered it every morning automatically. At some point I'm going to try to hook in a Pi or Arduino so I can remotely control the irrigation, e.g. if it's raining I won't have to go outside & manually shut it off.
We'll be doing that again, and this spring we're also planning to plant a couple of rows of potatoes, carrots, and lettuce. Growing food is not difficult, but it does require some knowledge and understanding of soil pH, pest control, etc. Fortunately there are plenty of how-to videos these days.
The food you grow in an organic, chemical free environment tastes fresh and pure, is good for you, educational for the children, and very satisfying. It may not pay for itself in the first couple of years, but over time you'll find that it's well worth it. Freshly grown potatoes taste incredible.
We are thinking of getting chickens, but it may or may not happen this spring. Self-sufficiency takes a lot of work, but partial sufficiency is quite attainable for many people. Even if you're in an urban apartment, there are hydroponic devices and grow lamps to help you grow considerable veggies. I suppose we can thank the pot industry for that.