Is it too early for "start growing food on every square inch of land available."?

[Demovictory9]

Note: I didn't write the submission below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/longbeach/comments/1igr4n7/dear_beachies_start_growing_food_on_every_square/

start growing food on every square inch of land available.
Food
My dear neighbors. Don't Panic.

We need to build community resilience. It is time to start thinking like Cubans before we have to start thinking like North Koreans.

I am a student of history and my calculus shows that when VA Benefit payments, SSDI/SSI payments, Federal Grants and Loans, Native Tribe Payments and other funding fails to show up then we could have rioting in the streets. Which is what they want in order to enact Martial Law.

Please don't wait. Do what you can to increase food resilience now.

Grow a garden. (Potatoes, Corn, Sunflowers, Quinoa or Amaranth, & Beets all grow great here. Quinoa and Amaranth gives greens as well as protein and grows like a weed. Beets give you greens *and* starches.)

Plant pest resistant fruit trees. Apples, olives, avocado grow well here. Skip citrus if it's not already in your yard; there is a citrus disease going around.

Get your households' 4 legal chickens if you can. Start composting. Composting is Nature's Recycling and provides lots of grubs for your chickens to eat. Learn to reuse water as much as possible. Look into rabbit husbandry.

See if you can stock up on necessary medications. If you rely on medications that you can discontinue then consider whether you should. Don't quit medications without talking to your doctor.

The key is to build a strong community.

Meet your neighbors.

_____


agree with sentiments above but also know the ground you are planting in... because soil in long beach very likely has toxins in it. therefore, consider creating elevated garden boxes with new soil as much of the top layers of soil in long beach have been exposed to contaminants such as lead, oil, gasoline and heavy metals for decades.

i know because we just had our property tested and it showed high amounts of what i mention above. we're in alamitos beach. we took samples going down to six inches in four different areas of our property.

we've already constructed elevated garden boxes from salvaged wood that was repurposed from the old fence on our property, and then brought in new soil, and used our own compost to feed that soil.

use your best judgment.

22 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	Too early to be thinking of usa falling into catastrophy
	1 (5%)
	Not too early
	21 (95%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[Dontbestill]

1. multi garden

buckets on a roof ,
any container anywhere and indoors too.

[niyad]

12. Welcome to our DU family.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Welcome to DU

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. It's never a bad idea to be as self-sufficient as possible but food is one of the hardest things to be self-sufficient

about. The resources required -- time, money, space, supplies, luck -- are vast.

[MissB]

8. So very true. It's so much work!

I enjoy starting my entire veggie garden (and annual flowers) from seed.

I love walking through my raised bed garden when the beds are crammed with food and flowers. It would be mighty difficult to feed myself and Dh, but I can offset the cost of groceries a bit. And there is nothing better than a home grown tomato.

Canning, freezing and dehydrating my harvests is hard work. But it’s nice to throw together dinner using some preserved produce from my yard.

And I recognize my privilege at owning a small plot of property that can support a garden and having the time to do all of the work involved. Worth every penny and minute for me.

[usonian]

3. I'd have to fend off deer, rabbits, gophers, strays, wolves, cougars, bears, ravens, etc.

Not easy. It would take a greenhouse, not for the heat, but for the protection.

I used to grow a lot in the suburbs.

Zoning laws restrict what you can do inthe suburbs.

Deer can leap 6 feet or more.

[MissB]

6. I think we have lazy deer.

We do fence the garden, though it was completely unprotected last year and is still unprotected. It’ll be in place before I start putting out the good stuff in late spring.

Our property is fenced with a 4’ chain link or 4’ decorative fence all around the property. Since we put the fence up a few years ago, our dogs have had free rein of the entire property. And suddenly my roses are taller, my hostas actually bloom, and nothing snips off my columbine but me.

They could get in the yard and even the veg garden if they wanted. The fence around the veg garden is more decorative. I think they see the chain link fence and then see the side fence of the veggie garden and just can’t interpret open area, even though there is plenty.

I still grow a ton of food outside of the veg garden, because I know they’re not coming in.

I’m fortunate to live in an unincorporated part of the county. It’s all housing here, no businesses. I have 17 hens, and could have a rooster if I wanted (or a pig. Or a horse.) But since my property is only a half acre, I stick with baby dinosaurs. They’re awesome at contributing to my compost pile and taking care of leaves and veggie scraps. Oh, and they give me eggs. Used to not be worth it from a feed standpoint but now? With the price of eggs? Eh, probably still more of a hobby but I also view it as a bit of food security. They’re well protected from predators and avian flu.

[usonian]

7. Yes, dogs will scare them away! 🐕

They are not afraid of noise. Just motion, I find.

Happy gardening! And pets!

[kimbutgar]

4. I have noticed that the shelves in grocery stores are not as fully stocked as before.

I’ve been buying a little extra non perishable foods every week just in case. In 6 months things are going to be real bad if we continue on with the 🍊💩🤡 destroys our economy and country and does away with regulations that save lives.

[durablend]

5. So what pray tell

Are you planning to do with no money to pay the bills? Treasury go bye bye that "garden" ain't gonna do diddly squat when you get booted off the property.

[LoisB]

9. Already started.

[Demovictory9]

11. Wonderful

[NoonTimeRag]

10. I love the praise

of farm work and self self sufficiency and individual control over selves.

[elocs]

13. Well, so much for the carnivore dietary lifestyle.

If everyone will need to grow their own food for survival, they you will need a designated guard with a shotgun to stop all of those coming to steal your food.
Frankly, I don't see this working out for most Americans because we are generations past where most people grew their own food to survive.
I'm an old man now but who I really feel sorry for are the children who will need to grow up in this mess.

[yagotme]

14. WW 2 "Victory Garden". nt