No, not the name of a new punk band (though that would be cool), but the title of an article by ever so mainstream finance blogger Felix Salmon, writing about a conversation he had at Davos, of all places.
Interesting reading; the comments have some good points too.
I'm of two minds on this: On the one hand I love the idea. However - my grandfather and great-uncle had precisely these kinds of farms - five acres or so, a big variety of crops. It was back-breaking work of the kind that drove my father to study hard in school, so it would not be his permanent lot in life.
I'm thinking high tech Israeli greenhouses staffed with Japanese robots. But that's just me.
Saw your comment, monkeyweather, and thought this might interest you (and everyone else who, y'know, eats...)
ReplyDeleteIt does interest me, so thanks! :OD
ReplyDeleteThere's a family in Pasadena, CA, that have done really well with this "locavore" thing.
These are the stats on what they've done with their typical-sized urban lot:
URBAN HOMESTEAD
Location: Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena
Property Size: 66’ x 132’ = 8,712 sq.ft. (1/5 acre)
House: Simple, wood frame craftsman bungalow. Circa 1917.
House Size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Garage Size: 600 sq.ft.
Garden Size: ~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')
Garden Diversity: Over 350 different vegetables, herbs, fruits & berries
Raising Small Farmstock:
- chickens (eggs/manure)
- ducks (eggs/manure)
- dwarf rabbits (manure)
- dwarf/pygmy goats (milk/manure)
Productivity: Up to 6,000 lbs harvest annually on 1/10 acre
Here's a trailer for the video they made about their family project.
btw, Barber mentioned the national transference of pests and disease in plants from places like Home Depot and Walmart? I've got a solution for pests anyways (still working on the disease thing - may see if chlorine dioxide will work on plants).
ReplyDeleteHave you ever used diatomaceous earth in a pool filter? Well it kills bugs. Cuts their exoskeletons to shreds. And isn't toxic to humans.
You mix it with water in a spray bottle and mist the plants - both sides of the leaves and the stems.
DE can also be used to protect grain/dry food storage. You just mix the powder in with the dry grain, sift through it so that the DE is lightly filtered through the whole container of grain or beans or whatever, close the lid and you don't have to worry about bugs eating your food! ;O)