By Robert Tomkinson. One of the best solutions that we can do to solve many of the problems that we are dealing with in recent years is to grow our own food. This has a much greater impact than most people realize. With large scale commercial farming there is 10 times more energy from fossil fuel use going into our food production than there is in the food itself. This is reflected in the high prices at the grocery store which are a result of the industrial farming cost,transportation/fuel expenses, the production and transport of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and profits from sales.
Buying our food at the grocery store supports the corrupt big agricultural farming industry and companies like Monsanto which have an agenda to dominate, control and monopolize all food production, and in the process, putting small independent local farming out of business and drastically reducing the nutritional quality of our food.
The increasing use of highly toxic pesticides and herbicides are creating chronic health problems in humans, animals and the environment. This in turn supports the agenda of the pharmaceutical industry which, behind the scenes, through the "revolving door" practices of our corporate controlled governments, control the regulatory agencies that would(should) normally not approve the use of such toxic carcinogenic chemicals.
Some of the many reasons for growing our own food are: It saves you money, it takes power away from the corrupt corporations, it's better for the environment, it opens up opportunities for local bartering and trading, gardening is good exercise, it creates better health, the quality of the food is much better, and it is a very rewarding hobby.
Once the initial cost of a few gardening tools, seeds, and if needed, some soil amendments such as peatmoss, top soil and compost for the first season only, it is very easy to create an all natural organic closed loop system by composting and using natural fertilizers with very little or no additional monetary expenses.
Composting is at the heart of any organic self sustaining garden and is very easy to do. Every thing you need for composting are byproducts in this closed loop system or can easily be obtained for free. Fallen autumn leaves and grass/weed clippings make excellent compost and are the easiest to obtain.
It is not necessary to grow organically or make and use compost. Growing your own food by any means is a huge step in the right direction and goes a long way to breaking our dependence from this current corrupt poisonous unsustainable food industry. This also goes a long way in reducing our dependence on the oil and pharmaceutical/allopathic medical industries. We can survive without gasoline and allopathic medicine, but we cannot survive without food.
If enough people grew their own food and boycotted the food industry, then they would have no alternative but to give into our demands for GMO labeling, the removal of toxic food additives, and the discontinuance of nutritionally destructive food processing, irradiation, and spraying with chemical pesticides and herbicides. But by then, we probably wouldn't even need them anymore.
A word about lawns.
The following two paragraphs come from this excellent article "8 Reasons to Become a Yardfarmer"
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/08/08/8-reasons-to-become-a-yardfarmer/
>In 2015 the fifth largest crop in the United States by acreage was the turf-grass lawn. These lawns are using valuable resources such as water, fertilizers, energy, fossil fuels, and no less importantly, our time. Each week across North America millions of gallons of gasoline are used in the weekly lawn mowing ritual. It seems a bit crazy when the U.S and Canada are doing everything possible to extract difficult highly polluting oil resources such as tar sands, deep water, and fracking that we are wasting our time and energy on making sure the lawn looks good for the neighbors.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that landscaping and the maintenance of lawn account for approximately 30% of all water use in the United States. Considering that lawns serve no practical purpose and are purely aesthetic in nature, it seems extravagant that such a precious resource is wasted on a hangover from the 16th century. It is therefore the perfect time to reduce our lawns and start investing and/or propagating native plants, fruit and nut trees, vegetables, and other edible plants.
There are currently large scale studies being done with human urine as a fertilizer. This also solves some major pollution problems. 75% of the nitrogen and 55% of the phosphorous in our waste water is from human urine. Removing nitrogen from our waste water treatment plants cost about $100 per pound and creates utrophication in our water ways.
Human urine is non toxic, and in most cases, sterile. Almost all associated harmful pathenogens are found in fecal matter. Not urine. It has an NPK(Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) ratio of 10 1 2. The dry weight is 88% Nitrogen. It is excellent for composting and as a liquid fertilizer diluted at 5-15 parts water to 1 part urine.
It is not necessary to use your urine as a fertilizer but if you can overlook the "Yuck" factor and realize that the fruits and vegetables we get at the grocery store are grown with far "Yuckier" things than human urine, such as cow,bird and worm manure, chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides, and in some cases polluted water that contains human urine and feces.
Its interesting to point out that birds do not urinate and defecate separately. Their urine and feces are mixed together, yet a lot of farmers use chicken and/or duck manure as fertilizer/compost.
I highly recommend this 20min video on human urine as a fertilizer and the problems that it can solve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OokaDYjOTUA
As of writing this article it is now August and I realize its too late in the season to start a garden but there are things that can be done now and in this coming fall and winter to prepare for a garden for next spring. now is a good time to start onions and garlic from seed for overwintering. The onions and garlic will go dormant in the winter and will begin growing again in the spring.
In the fall you can start composting autumn leaves. A compost bin can easily be made from discarded items such as bed frames, baby cribs, plastic tote containers, wooden pallets or any untreated scrap wood. Some municipalities will give you a composting bin as part of their recycling programs. Its not even necessary to use a compost bin. Composting can be done in a large pile right on the ground in a shaded area. It is recommended in this case to have a minimal size of 3 feet high by 3 feet in diameter in order to maintain the core heat.
During the winter months you can order seeds and do some research on gardening. In more northern climates, it's a good idea to germinate your seeds indoors and get a head start on the shorter growing season. A small area in a closet or a basement with a florescent bulb is all that's needed. You can also use a south facing window sill.
Now is a good time to purchase garden supplies. A lot of the garden centers will have sales and will be liquidating.
Finally, on a related subject, a lot more people now are raising backyard chickens. You can actually order baby chicks in the mail and will arrive at your address in a cardboard box.
Why we should grow our own food
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQiOlxLTUzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezuz_-eZTMI
why compost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yza9sQmVwZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eXRfynD-M8
how to compost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13wXZ9lfJYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_rocCyfho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJuiNtXXB58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-JqApyMaP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74pHLSLDy0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84h4aYIfO3s
Here's an interesting one. Using a compost pile to heat water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jm-c9B2_ew
leaves for nutrients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf2t8HxJ7T4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9OhxKlrWwc
free sources of nutrients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhFWoqak4uI