Is growing food a waste of time?

[jansman]

That is an inspiring article. Thanks.

[2ndRateMind]

Growing food is a skill. It takes time to learn, but would be vital part of your CV post EOTW, and make you a welcome participant in any surviving community. For that reason alone, it is worth 'growing your own'. Meanwhile, in happier times, where the major problems might be limited to a temporary reduction in income, it puts inexpensive food on your plate, free from insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers if that is your choice, and renders you just that bit more resilient than you might otherwise be. You may have other, better things to do with your time. If so, do them. But being with, and working with, nature, takes a lot of beating as a way of life.

Best wishes, 2RM.

[jansman]

It is most certainly worth it. Absolutely. Right now I am salting runner beans. Got three x 1gallon buckets. Salad coming out of me ear'oles. Marrows and squashes, stored and chutnied. Spuds-THE crop. Enough 'til New Year. Etc. etc.

[PreppingPingu]

As 2nd rate mind said its a skill which is worth a bucket load of beans to my mind. A skill you can use in the here and now to save money and learn - I too have recently started an allotment https://www.facebook.com/Gardening.pingu While I have had successes and failures, I have not had to buy any potatoes all season. One row of which came from last years plants - I chose the best and healthiest plants and use the spuds from a couple of those to plant this year to see what would happen.

But also if you learn these skill now and iron out the problems and learn from mistake made in times of plenty, you can use these skill if life does go "Fubar". A personal shtf such as redundacey will mean you can grow your own so save money, a global, social and economic shtf will mean you have a useful skill so are useful to a community. In a bad situation you want to be useful or have required skills. Yes it could be a dog eat dog world in your area where everyone is nicking what isn't nailed down but people tend to band together for safety and security so having a skill is good - especially one that could feed people and you'd have the people to protect that food supply.

[TwoDo]

Spuds-THE crop.

Can't disagree - potatoes are the thing to plant if you need to live off the output. However, the problem with spuds is blight. If times get tough everybody and their uncle will be planting 'victory' gardens (all with potatoes) and the amount of blight spores around will explode. I can envision scenarios in which anybody relying on potatoes may find themselves cropless. Yes there are blight resistant varieties (Sarpo Mira for one) but they are only resistant not immune.

There are alternatives, jerusalem artichokes of course but also relatively unknown stuff such as oca, yacon, crosnes and varieties of sweet potatoes suitable for the UK climate. I've got them all in as an experiment this year - although I planted some of them very late and it may not be a fair test.

[Triple_sod]

To be honest I reckon unless you have some kind of defence and live in a remote location you're pretty much f*cked anyway should the S really HTF,
It's like Aaron and Jonathan once said on their Urban Survival Podcast, at that point pretty much no-one above ground's safe.
What's to stop people taking any of your preps?

Realistically though I think we're much more likely to see a gradual decline in the economy (oh wait hasn't that already happened... )
followed by our standards of living. With plenty of riots, disruption and pandemics thrown in along the way.

In which case, our level of self-sufficiency would certainly play a major role.

It's often being said that the working class diet reached it's pinnacle during Second World War and it's being downhill ever since,
...what's that going to look like if/when the NHS goes crony-capitalist?

[maverick71]

We have been trying to grow our own veg this year, we started late last year with a allotment. I echo previous comments of we can only grow weeds and potatoes but we are learning now for when we really need to.

The allotment is not far but obviously in a SHTF scenario these places will be targets, i tend to grow low value crops that require more than a "pick" to harvest. Some people grow strawberries and tomatos etc which are far to easy to quickly steal.

We keep that type of thing to the garden. One idea my wife wants to do is utilise our flat roof with trugs for food again security better as difficult to get to.

We also been experimenting with growing food for our pets, sprouting barley for the rabbits etc much cheaper than pet food.

Anyone had experience with hydroponics, something i would like to try. Maybe just me being a scientist thats interested in it

I am new to this site and haven't explored all topics yet but it seems there is many of us who could do with some tips on growing veg and permaculture.

[izzy_mack]

I agree with Nickdutch, in many cases buying your food is cheaper and easier than growing it. However the food you grow is going to be of a higher nutritional value and taste better.
As nick also pointed out, no skill gained is a waste of time, some day you may be glad that you know how to grow your own food and preserve it. Personally, anything I learn makes me feel more confident in myself and that confidence may make a difference someday. The less you panic the more effective you are - isn't that what we're aiming for?

[ForgeCorvus]

Buying is cheaper and easier..... However growing is a prep in and of itself

Besides, eat a shop bought tomato then eat one that was growing in a garden less then an hour ago.....No contest


Growing before SHTF, great experience and an life improvment
Growing after SHTF, a neccesity and a useful function
Growing while SHTF, be preppared to lose your crop or have to defend it....... Problem is you'll never know when It is going to happen, so if you can grow what you can where you can

[grenfell]

The allotment is not far but obviously in a SHTF scenario these places will be targets, i tend to grow low value crops that require more than a "pick" to harvest. Some people grow strawberries and tomatos etc which are far to easy to quickly steal.
.

As has been said what's to stop anyone taking any or all of your preps but I do wonder if having crops is it itsself a form of defence? Everyone knows what a tin of beans looks like and most will recognise strawberries, tomatoes and apples but I reckon there is a sizeable proportion of the population who wouldn't know a potatoe plant from a parsnip and probably wouldn't take the time to investigate, looters want in and out quickly and take what's easy and quick to grab. Of course there will be those that know what is what but at least it's helping the odds a bit.