2. Summary
Considering I will need less than one acre of land to grow a year’s
worth of vegetables, my ability to produce it all does not concern
me. I grow for two adults, and as of now I have 1/8 of an acre of
garden space to use. ¾ of my garden was in cover crop last season
and I used about 1/32 of an acre, which is also how much I
calculated I will need for vegetable production for this
assignment. What concerns me is my ability to harvest all that is
grown. Last season I failed to harvest all of what yielded, though
we still ate vegetables daily. I am slowly transitioning into
consuming only vegetables I have grown year round. What I store
in the freezer lasts me into early January. I believe, my next step is
learning to preserve in different ways, other than just freezing.
I would also like to note, while calculating servings per year to
pounds per year, some of the crops seemed miniscule compared
to how often I eat them.
3. Challenges
The first challenge that came to mind, not getting my
calculated yield for each crop. Causing a setback in
household food consumption.
Germination can be spotty, due to poor irrigation or bad
seed.
Weather varies. Flooding can wash away seed, or even
cause seeds to rot. Extra moisture can cause disease to
show up in plant species in close-quarters.
Methodical understanding of food preservation to
maximize food storage.
Harvesting as much as possible. Not letting things go to
waste.
8. Cultivate Diversity
The more plants species I can have growing in my
homestead, the better. Especially if these plants can help
each other grow and produce maximum yields. Not only
is diversity in plants good for healthy soil, it also makes
for a healthier diet. “It is estimated that humans have
used 100,000 plants for food, medicine, fiber, dye, fuel
and weaponry, yet today only 20 plant species make up
90% of the human diet.”(p.38, Bane) The healthier the
soil, the easier it will be for different plants species to get
the correct amount of required nutrients, the more my
garden will yield. Ultimately, diversity will provide my
body what it needs and allow me to sell to the
community, whilst preserving the land.