It’s high time to revive the working family garden
Via: Countryside & Small Stock Journal
(…) If you’ve got a garden plot rolling already you’re in good stead. While we normally have a long growing season here in southwest Missouri, we are about a month behind schedule because of the massive flooding and late frosts—but we’ll still give it the old college try.If you don’t have a garden, help out the folks who do this for a living (CSAs, produce farms, etc.) and buy some of their stuff on bulk sale. You’ll be happy with your bargain and they’ll be happy to sell their perishable stuff while it’s still fresh.
Over the past decade, Jimmie and I at Timberlakes Farm grew veggies to supply upscale restaurants plus our own household’s yearly needs. But, as many of you already know, when that flush of zucchini, other squash, peppers and tomatoes ripens, you’ll feel there’s enough fresh produce to serve the entire armed forces! Most growers, like us, prefer to sell it at a “fresh” bulk-discount price to someone who can take advantage of it and feed a family, than to let it spoil and get dumped onto a compost pile or go to waste.
In either instance, the biggest question that always raises its ugly head is: how much do I have to grow (or purchase) to supply my family’s food needs throughout the year? Since I’ve done this for so long (first to feed me and the two kids [as little tykes] and eventually just the two of us seniors—Jimmie and me), I’ll give you the best average to yield a year’s supply of stocked food for a household of four. (I am saying “average” because of the varying ages, appetites, and menu preferences that come into play.)
