I think that would be impossible for me. We do eat a lot of meat and grains. It might be possible to grow 90 percent of the fruits and veggies that we eat. I want to work on a big, nice garden this spring.
Is it possible to grow 90% of what you eat?
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I think it would be extremely difficult to grow 90% of your required produce in a normal garden, especially if you are talking family rather than just one person. As many have already mentioned, location would be a big player to start with.
That said, much would depend on the type of diet you follow. If you had a large garden or allotment (UK), then I think a good proportion could be homegrown. Salad crops could be harvested through most of the summer for daily use if planting was staggered, and for a family wouldn't require a great deal of space. A lot of veg could be grown for immediate use, the remainder blanched off and frozen to suppliment buying through the winter.
While 90% I think is high, 50% might be achievable, still a big saving with food prices what they are today.
That said, much would depend on the type of diet you follow. If you had a large garden or allotment (UK), then I think a good proportion could be homegrown. Salad crops could be harvested through most of the summer for daily use if planting was staggered, and for a family wouldn't require a great deal of space. A lot of veg could be grown for immediate use, the remainder blanched off and frozen to suppliment buying through the winter.
While 90% I think is high, 50% might be achievable, still a big saving with food prices what they are today.
There are only two of us, so it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to grow a lot of our own produce. The problem is that I worry about things that don't grow well here. Our climate is mild but it fluctuates a lot, so more sensitive plants might really have a hard time with it.
I think it would depend on your diet, if you eat a lot of veggies and fruit you could possibly provide 75% of your food needs. The size of your yard and the climate you live in would also play a part in how much you can produce for your needs
That's such a good question. I have been aiming towards that goal. But I have come to the conclusion that I would have to incorporate some animals such as chooks, ducks for their eggs and perhaps a few goats to make yogurt from their milk. Also I thought about keeping bees for honey.
When I look at my diet, I know that I could grow most things that I eat myself. But I would want to already have some established fruit and nut trees in my garden, and that takes a while. I keep trying.
When I look at my diet, I know that I could grow most things that I eat myself. But I would want to already have some established fruit and nut trees in my garden, and that takes a while. I keep trying.
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I have a fairly large vegetable garden, a tad less than 1/4 acre. I grow most of my food but I doubt it is 90% though. There is just myself and my wife so that is a big savings right there. I try to plant just enough for a years worth of that particular vegetable. For instance corn. I will try to grow enough corn for the two of us to eat corn three times a week, so that adds up to six ears of corn per week or 312 ears per year plus 15% for loss and it equals to about 350 ears or 350 corn plants. If I have a bumper crop I give the excess away. I don't grow many vegetables that I can't freeze, can, pickle or dehydrate such as squash, eggplant, cantelope etc. just enough to feast on during the season. I grow lots of green beans, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, all kinds of peppers, onions, chard, etc. Some things like potatoes I grow a small amount of because it gets so hot here in the summer that storing them proves impossible so I buy most of them. Things like black eyed peas I buy at the store because they are cheaper to buy than to grow. And then there are the years of complete failure where I have to force myself into a grocery store, numerous times and pay exorbitant prices for cardboard flavored tomatoes and everything else I couldn't grow.
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I think that during the summer and early fall I can grow enough vegetables that I don't have to purchase anything from the produce section at a store during these months which I am pretty proud of. I can also say that I produce 100% of my eggs and don't buy those from a store either. I do have to buy everything else like any meat products or breads and things. It is nice to be able to produce a little bit of what we consume though.
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Have you ever tried Stevia as a sugar substitute? You should be able to grow it in La. I have grown it here in South Central Texas but the summers are just too hot for it to thrive.
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I don't like stevia. I've tasted the leaves and they have a weird after taste. I barely use sugar for anything so I don't really feel the need to find a substitute for it. I think the jury is still out on whether or not stevia is actually a good thing for you to consume. Sugar plays an important role (chemical reaction) in some baking, but I rarely even use it for that.
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I tried to grow stevia more or less commercially and it didn't work out but I learned a little about it. Using the leaves raw is like sucking on chemical sweeteners, not good at all IMO. When boiled down in distilled water it is almost like simple syrup, not bad at all. I had hoped to grow plants for the diabetic community but they don't like 100+ temperatures and I gave it up. I still think it would be a good idea though.
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I would need a huge area to grown all that I eat. As others have said, meat would be a bit of an issue. Chickens would be a possibility as would rabbits. The other factor is time. I don't think I would have the time to deal with grains in a large enough quantity. It would be different, I suppose, if I were not having to earn a living at the same time. I could then find the time to grow and process more grains. Were it not for the squirrels, nuts would be a great alternative to grow as they are filling and nutritious. Fruits and vegetables for a season would carry me through most of the year as the climate here would allow for cooler weather plants to grow in spring and fall.
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That's interesting to know; I guess I just don't have a real need for a sugar substitute. Since I stopped putting sugar in coffee (which I don't drink everyday) I hardly ever use sugar. I also like honey, though I mainly use that on pancakes in place of syrup.
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You and me both! A large area, lots of time, and a way to control the light and temperature in part of the area so that I could stagger crops to have them year-round. Some of my favorite things to eat that I would want to grow take forever to come to harvest, which, along with their shelf life, is a little frustrating to come to terms with when you want to grow your own food and have it available.
Meat is not an issue, but enough rice...
Well, some summers I have bought almost all of the produce we ate, but I have not raised any of the meat and dairy and almost none of the grain!
In the spring I start out with a lot of greens, which makes the big part of the salads. I will buy the odd cucumber and such but I will grow cabbage greens, lettuce, spinach, green onions and such. About the time I get tired of greens and salads, the tomatos, bell peppers, peas, and string beans start yielding, which is always very welcome! Where I live fresh peas and green beans are very expensive to buy, and fresh vegetables taste so much better than frozen!
I suppose it is possible for me to raise most of our produce but i really do not wish to. Summer time is when all of the fun things go on, and with the kids and the housework I have to squeeze in time to maintain my garden as it is, and if I try to have a big enough garden to feed the family year round I would have to start giving up some of the fun things we do in the summer time. A small garden is a lot of fun, but if I tried to have a very large one plus canning it all up I would have to stop going to the fair, the book store, fishing, the wine tasting festival, and other good things in life!
I would also have to stop eating raw vegetables during our long winters, and while I could do that I do not WANT to!
In the spring I start out with a lot of greens, which makes the big part of the salads. I will buy the odd cucumber and such but I will grow cabbage greens, lettuce, spinach, green onions and such. About the time I get tired of greens and salads, the tomatos, bell peppers, peas, and string beans start yielding, which is always very welcome! Where I live fresh peas and green beans are very expensive to buy, and fresh vegetables taste so much better than frozen!
I suppose it is possible for me to raise most of our produce but i really do not wish to. Summer time is when all of the fun things go on, and with the kids and the housework I have to squeeze in time to maintain my garden as it is, and if I try to have a big enough garden to feed the family year round I would have to start giving up some of the fun things we do in the summer time. A small garden is a lot of fun, but if I tried to have a very large one plus canning it all up I would have to stop going to the fair, the book store, fishing, the wine tasting festival, and other good things in life!
I would also have to stop eating raw vegetables during our long winters, and while I could do that I do not WANT to!
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That's how I feel. I not only don't have the space, it takes up a lot of time and it's just so much work! It would be nice to have one of those well-plotted square foot plots, which produces a lot of food, but even that would take way more planning, time and work than I have to give to gardening at this point in time.