Organic and Economy

[j.luetkemeyer]

I can definitely say that growing/raising your own food this year is going to be very important. The credit crunch is beginning to affect the big corporate contracted farmers and grocery stores. They are not getting the credit for operating and stocking their shelves. There is a good chance of food shortages this year, in my opinion. Regarding costs of raising/growing organic, there are many alternatives that you can do to lower costs. Do a search on permaculture. I also recommend a film by Geoff Lawton called "Establishing a Food Forest". I have been studying these concepts for the last year and half and have begun to impliment them and test them on my small 12acre farm. Within 3 years I should not have to buy any feed for any of my animals. It will all be produced right on my own land. It can be done on a much smaller, or much larger piece of land as well. I've seen it done on less than an acre.

 

[Promiselandfarm]

The film you recommend Establishing a Food Forest how do you rent or purchase this? I would rather rent .
We do most of our own organic. I can not grow it I will not buy "organic" just like free range chickens there is such a loop hole and dishonest companies I would rather take my chances other wise. I have noticed that shelves not only of organic stuff but other items are are not being restocked. Choices in the stores are becoming less than they once were at least in most of our stores here...except Walmart they seem to still be very full of items. I know we are planning to kill a cow and some chickens this year along with our garden. I agree with J.luetkemeyer the credit crunch is having a big affect but I'll go farther and said more than just the corporate farmers and put everyone in that area. Again where does one find that movie/film?

 

[thedeacon]

For those of you that do alot of freezing. Purchase a portable generator. The initial investment will be more than returned if the elctricity fails. Look at current AR & KY. Saving the food in the freezer and staying warm are pretty darn important.

Be prepared

 

[j.luetkemeyer]

The film can be found at

http://permaculture.org.au/store/online_store_home.htm

I had to order a copy since no one in my area studies permaculture principles. You could request your local library get it. They have a few other films as well. They are also going to be releasing a Beginners Permaculture DVD this year. If I can get enough people interested I plan on doing a bulk order as well as stock some to sell.

I also agree with the previous comment. The economy is hitting everyone. I have been warning people for 2 years now about this and many say that a food shortage in America is impossible since we have the resources to grow a lot of food. Most people don't think about the credit side and how the big boys operate. If more people grew and raised their own food, there wouldn't be a problem with food shortages. There would also be much healthier food available.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
Our area is prone to hurricains, so the generator is a given. After a storm we have gone for a week without power. We even built a small "generator shed" right beside the meter base and put a plug in the bottom of it. All we have to do is open the door start the generator and plug in.

Steve in NC

 

[willheveland]

I know some people do the organic thing,but to most it is just a concept.It's nice to think you are doing the right thing and eating healthlier,but when it comes right down to money,can you really afford it?Is going organic costing more because of the cost to raise organic products or because people are willing to pay more?
I think really everyone wants to eat healthier,but why does eating healthier have to cost so much more.There are fewer processes that organic food has to go through.The only thing that I can think of is organic yeilds less.I've tried growing organic veggies with regular veggies in my garden.The organic production is a joke compared to regular.We'd starve to death if we tried living just on the organic.This is the only reason I can see why organic would cost more.These are hard times to live organic.I think if you took two products side by side one organic,one not.Most consumers are going to pick the cheaper route.I have seen some veggies in the store the same price either way.Then maybe most would pick up organic over the regular and feel good about it.JMHO

Bossroo,when do you get to change your title back.You carry it with you like leg-irons. Will

 

[AHappychick]

having gone the totally organic route now for several years I can say, probably a little of both. I think the stores mark up the price because it says "certified organic" and because there are those of us who will pay. I think the cost in general from the farmer is also higher because the crop is much harder to have be sucessful. Lets face it we designed the various fertilizers and pesticides because they grow a bigger and better crop, but the down side is that they are bad for you i do what I can to have the best crop possible but my tomatoes would not win any contests (on size that is)

on a different note it also depends on how you see eating healthy. I do not judge either way, I eat organically because i am convinced that the pesticides and chemicals are harming us and our children in particular, but that is just my opinion which as we all know are like **** everyone has one

Did you know the saturation level of pesticides on peaches is over 90%

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:
Yes... here is my experiences also. When I tried to grow organic veggies and fruits at our place, I had to deal with thousands of MUCH SMALLER predators. I had a much better crop of weeds than veggies or fruit. I spent way too many hours dealing with them dayly, oh my ACHING back and my wife had huge painfull blisters too. The extra protein, worm holes and distortions are less appealing when placed on the kitchen table. The kids didn't whant to eat them. After 2 years, the only person that made a profit in this venture was my chiropractor.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Weve raised our own beef for years, and will just probally put out an even bigger garden, and weve even thought about a field of corn, for the horsesand birds, to cut down on a little of the feed costs.

 

[dancingbear]

I don't yet grow my own feed, so I can't say my chickens are organic. I settle for feeding unmedicated feed, and allowing them to free-range and forage. In the summer they get a lot of garden scraps. I have a source of good quality feed, even though it isn't organic, I'm satisfied that it's decent feed.

I garden organically, have for years. The only thing I really have trouble with is the fruit trees. We goofed and got the wrong varieties for this area.

In the regular garden, I get buckets and buckets of tomatoes and peppers, squash, and so on, IF I can keep it watered. Last year we had a drought, and other factors (our previous source of water went away) that prevented us watering the garden, so we lost it all. Other years, I generally have more produce than I can process.

They're supposed to be bringing in county water before spring, so maybe, if we have another drought this year, I might be able to water enough to keep the garden alive anyway.

In organic gardening, healthy soil is everything. If you use chemicals in your garden, your soil isn't going to be all that great. Your soil will be dead, or nearly dead. Pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers kill off the beneficial microbes, enzymes, and helpful organisms, such as earthworms. Your organic plants will only be as healthy as the soil. Lots of compost helps enormously, but it takes time to build a healthy soil. It took us several years to get our garden soil into good shape. It was hard as a rock, nothing grew in it but jimson weed, thistles, and ragweed. We hauled in truckloads of horse manure and hay. We mulched. We dug. We composted. We tilled. We spent a long time reviving and repairing soil that had been killed by chemicals. After about 4 years, we started seeing results. now, several years later, we have lovely soil, most of the jimson, ragweed, and thistles are gone, and we get lots of produce, with no bug spray or weed killers at all.

You can't just plant seeds in dead soil, call it organic, and expect anything but problems. Organic gardening takes more than just not using chemicals. It takes years of bringing soil into good condition to support a garden that's productive enough to sell produce from. That's where the extra costs come in. But once you've gotten it in shape, it doesn't take all that much to maintain it. You just keep adding compost every year, and mulch a lot. Plant what is suitable for your area. Plant varieties that are naturally resistant to the local pests and diseases.

If the soil is healthy, the plants will be healthy. Healthy plants don't attract as many pests as stressed or sickly plants. Unhealthy plants produce chemicals that attract pests to eat that unhealthy plant before it reproduces.

I compost litter from the hen house, and get free rabbit poop from a guy in town, and mulch heavily. My highest garden cost is fencing to keep chickens out of it during the growing season, and the cost of seeds.