How did you start being more self sufficient?

[MsHarryWinston]

Oooo, first post, so exciting!

My husband and I are just getting started with self-sustainability. For now we’re doing what we can in our condo. I’m currently working on our first vegetable garden with a balcony container garden. I’m going to can pasta sauce and salsa, and I will freeze any extra veggies that may be produced.

We are also waiting on permission from the building STRATA to keep quail on our balcony. We will use them for eggs and a bit of meat.

We want to save up for a house with some land so that we can produce most of the meat and veggies we need. I want to raise quail, chickens and rabbits.

But at the moment we are just trying to do what we can with the space and resources that we have.

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us
In your current situation, find a local CSA... Learn to can... Ask the CSA for "Canning tomatoes" substitute tomatoes for what ever... Fill your pantry... Buy less and spend less. Pay off debt. Learn to store foods in bulk and buy in bulk to save. I got my beans for $0.19 per pound, but had to take 500 pounds to get them. search for restaurant supply stores that you can buy from. GFS is a good one.. Long and short is that debt kills self sufficiency.... so get rid of it as soon as you can. Again welcome and I hope to see you on the new member thread soon—but I'm a bit slow these days and could miss you. Too much work and not enough BYC. That's kind of the results of not getting rid of debt.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Oooo, first post, so exciting!

My husband and I are just getting started with self-sustainability. For now we’re doing what we can in our condo. I’m currently working on our first vegetable garden with a balcony container garden. I’m going to can pasta sauce and salsa, and I will freeze any extra veggies that may be produced.

We are also waiting on permission from the building STRATA to keep quail on our balcony. We will use them for eggs and a bit of meat.

We want to save up for a house with some land so that we can produce most of the meat and veggies we need. I want to raise quail, chickens and rabbits.

But at the moment we are just trying to do what we can with the space and resources that we have.

Welcome to BYC!!

That's an exciting start! If your container garden goes how you'd like and you'd want to do more (growing your own food is fascinating!) perhaps there's a nearby urban or community garden that you can get some actual space in the dirt to play in!.

Good lock with the quail! Like chickens I find them far too adorable to raise for meat I imagine in couple years fish will probably be the only meat I eat. And bacon. Why does bacon have to be so good?!

That's the wonderful thing about sustainability and self-sufficiency: there are so many aspects to it everyone gets to explore their own unique path!

Good luck! Enjoy the ride! And hope you have fun on BYC!

 

[MsHarryWinston]

Thanks for the lovely welcome! I still need to make my newbie thread.

I’m lucky in that I learned to can when I was younger and I’ve already canned pasta and salsa before so I’m not starting my education completely from scratch. I can also cook, bake, sew (ish) crochet, knit, and make candles and soap from scratch, lol. *shrug*. I love to learn new skills.

There are two community gardens near me that, if we haven’t moved next year, I might try to snag a plot. But in my year for learning to grow from seed I wanted everything close at hand. I’ve got about 22sq ft of growing space on my balcony so I’ve got:
-Tomatoes
-Onions
-Beets
-Pole Beans
-Eggplant
-Bell Peppers
-Hot Peppers (4 types)
-Lettuce (2 types)
-Spinach (2 types)
-Swiss Chard
-Rosemary
-Tyme
-Cilantro
-Oregano
-Basil
-Marigolds

Next year I would like to add carrots, potatoes and garlic.

 

[lazy gardener]

That's an incredible amount of s.f. for a balcony garden! You also might look into the benefits of a dehydrator!

 

[MsHarryWinston]

That's an incredible amount of s.f. for a balcony garden! You also might look into the benefits of a dehydrator!

Thanks, I’ll look into that.

 

[Kusanar]

Thanks for the lovely welcome! I still need to make my newbie thread.

I’m lucky in that I learned to can when I was younger and I’ve already canned pasta and salsa before so I’m not starting my education completely from scratch. I can also cook, bake, sew (ish) crochet, knit, and make candles and soap from scratch, lol. *shrug*. I love to learn new skills.

There are two community gardens near me that, if we haven’t moved next year, I might try to snag a plot. But in my year for learning to grow from seed I wanted everything close at hand. I’ve got about 22sq ft of growing space on my balcony so I’ve got:
-Tomatoes
-Onions
-Beets
-Pole Beans
-Eggplant
-Bell Peppers
-Hot Peppers (4 types)
-Lettuce (2 types)
-Spinach (2 types)
-Swiss Chard
-Rosemary
-Tyme
-Cilantro
-Oregano
-Basil
-Marigolds

Next year I would like to add carrots, potatoes and garlic.

If you haven't already, check out Square Foot Gardening, it's ideal for packing the most into a smallish area like a balcony garden.

 

[MsHarryWinston]

If you haven't already, check out Square Foot Gardening, it's ideal for packing the most into a smallish area like a balcony garden.

That’s actually how I’ve been able to get so much into the space, through a mix of SFG and container gardening techniques.

 

[henless]

*Update on the powdered laundry soap*

I've been using the homemade powdered laundry soap since January 1 of this year. It works great! My clothes are clean, smell good and it lasts a good long while. My first batch lasted till about the middle of June. I wash a load almost every day. If I miss a day, then I usually have 2 loads to wash the next day.