I grew up on the Jersey Shore, 1960s-70s. We lived in (a small) town, 8 blocks from the ocean. While my parents were far from well off, I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers, my parents made sure we had what we needed. While Mom worked outside of the home from time to time, most of the time we lived off my Dad's paycheck. My grandparents owned our home, a large victorian in need of repairs. Most homes in my town had small yards, ours was no exception but our lot was a double, the home was on a 50 x 100 foot lot, placed on the NE corner to maximize yard space, we also owned the lot next to it another 50 x 100 footer. This "side yard" was usually used for a garden. My dad grew tomatoes mostly but a variety of fruits and vegetables and my mon spent many weeks canning for the winter. We would see those mason jars opened at mealtime all winter long.
My parents were not preparing for any kind of grid down emergency, this was simply a thing they did. Today I wish I paid more attention to the ins and outs of gardening but I know a few things.
I'm at the point of my life where I want to completely remove any uncertainty as to where my next meal is coming from. Mrs. fatboy and I are blessed to own our home, which is in a semi-rural area and we have almost 4 acres. Roughly half of our yard is densely wooded and on a steep hill but I could have a decent kitchen garden if I wanted to put in the time and figure out a way to keep the deer out of the patch.
We do keep chickens. We don't have an organized way to collect the eggs but that is coming soon. I would like to start raising something for meat, rabbits I think make the most sense but so far Mrs. fatboy is cool on that idea.
One of my neighbors has a kitchen garden and I plan on consulting with him on the details. The thing that has me thinking about all this is yes, we can stockpile/prep with store bought goods but since I have some room I see no reason not to start becoming a little more self-sufficient.
A year ago I would have laughed at the thought but these days I'm planning on at least a small garden patch for this spring. Anyone else traveling this road?
