Double Dip Recession?

[Farmfresh]

Being in the country isn't all you people are making it out to be.

1. depending... it is probably better in a tight spot. the farmers didnt starve during the depression. being "farm poor" means your next meal is in the yard not in a dumpster

2. they arent making any more land

3. most of us are up to the challenge for those long days and no, you dont need expensive equipment.

you'd be surprised what you can do with a shovel, a hammer, and the willingness to get out there and do the job.

I am with YOU OFG! I grow and raise a tremendous amount of food for my family here in the big city. It has taken lots of hard work with a shovel and other hand tools because the lot is so small you can't use a machine.

In the city I have a multitude of folks all around me just waiting to mow down my sweet potatoes because they "look like weeds". (see my journal for explanation) In the country I would still probably work my tail off, but at least my taters would not be mowed. With land around you, you have more options in times of depression or TSHTF. There is a wild larder to access as well as what you grow. Sure every piece of property is not suited for cattle. That just means you have to use your brains and grow what you can for your family to eat. I can't raise a beef on this property either, but in a depression situation at least I CAN raise poultry, rabbits, bees and some veggies as well. I just want that extra space for insurance. Easier to defend, easier to provide from and more choices both wild and tame.

Like she said - " they arent making any more land "

 

[jynxthecat21]

We are trying very hard here to buy local and American. It is so depressing to go to the stores and check labels- especially clothing-everything is made in Thialand, Mexico ect. At the grocery the other day i was thrilled when I saw a can of Cambells soup with Made in America on the front label
As far as the Clothes go what I can't make I buy online from a company that makes everything here in the good ole USA! It is called All American Clothing. Nice heavy cotton Ts for 9bucks and good socks for a decent price-they hold up to my Hubby and Son.

 

[Marshmallow Man]

I'm going to try them when I get down to my goal weight. Ed Schultz has the CEO on every week for about 10 minutes and I really like what they are doing. I used to be a size 52 waist and the only place you can get clothes is the big and tall places. All their clothes are made in China. I always figured those little Chinese people probably got a kick out of the size of my pants. I could just see 2 of them putting on ny pair of pants and having a picture taken.

I hope the guy stays in business for a few more months. Only 40 lbs left to go. Maybe then it will be easier to weed a big garden.

 

[big brown horse]

Being in the country isn't all you people are making it out to be.

1. depending... it is probably better in a tight spot. the farmers didnt starve during the depression. being "farm poor" means your next meal is in the yard not in a dumpster

2. they arent making any more land

3. most of us are up to the challenge for those long days and no, you dont need expensive equipment.

you'd be surprised what you can do with a shovel, a hammer, and the willingness to get out there and do the job.

I am with YOU OFG! I grow and raise a tremendous amount of food for my family here in the big city. It has taken lots of hard work with a shovel and other hand tools because the lot is so small you can't use a machine.

In the city I have a multitude of folks all around me just waiting to mow down my sweet potatoes because they "look like weeds". (see my journal for explanation) In the country I would still probably work my tail off, but at least my taters would not be mowed. With land around you, you have more options in times of depression or TSHTF. There is a wild larder to access as well as what you grow. Sure every piece of property is not suited for cattle. That just means you have to use your brains and grow what you can for your family to eat. I can't raise a beef on this property either, but in a depression situation at least I CAN raise poultry, rabbits, bees and some veggies as well. I just want that extra space for insurance. Easier to defend, easier to provide from and more choices both wild and tame.

Like she said - " they arent making any more land "

I'm with you guys. I try to do everything by hand, it is harder and it takes more time, but if I think of it as a workout, it doesn't bug me. I have sheep lawn mowers, a pig rototiller, chicken compost churners and they all make good fertilizer too. I do the rest by hand even sawing downed trees with an old hand saw.

I traded my rototiller off and I'm going to be trading my weed eater too for something I can use...like another sheep!

Plus almost everything in my kitchen can be done by hand too with my old fashioned kitchen tools that I love to collect...coffee grinder, juicer, wire whisks, mortar and pestle, egg beaters etc.



Good for you MM!! Keep up the good work!



Oh yeah, buy American! Jynx, thanks for sharing that American clothing company name.

 

[Mackay]

Buying American will be the only cure to our economic woes.

When will people learn?

Newspaper said this week that our import increase is now higher than they have been in 28 years!

Only by buying American will we be able to put people back to work.... Say Yes to Ford....

So, has anyone found a good blue jean company that makes in the USA?

Yah, jynxthecat, this site looks good! http://www.allamericanclothing.com/SFNT.html

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Say Yes to Ford....

aint. that. right.

wow i know someone who was very happy to brag about how they bought a toyota last winter. during the worst of it.

i've been telling folks to check with their produce guy at the store.. lots of food comes from china.

MM- good for you! onward and upward as they say. my hubby, The Big Man, found the best exercise is to get out there and push mow. it solves 3 problems... weight loss, cut grass...and he doesnt have to hear my stupid jokes!

remember we are all in this together

 

[Farmfresh]

Definitely always try to buy AMERICAN whenever possible. Even if the product costs more it is supplying jobs.

When American is impossible to find, (and that is a sad fact) it seems to me if you can't find a product made in America we should still try to buy as "local" as possible. I would rather support manufacturing industries in Mexico and Canada instead of those in China and Taiwan. Less shipping for one thing.

 

[Mackay]

I'm with you too, OhioFarmGirl.

If the SHTF the city will not be a very safe place to stay. It wasn't even safe 15 years ago where we lived in Dallas

You would be amazed at what people can do when they are pressed to do it to survive. Those who survived the depression well either had a job or they had land.

No job, no food, no house, no heat. Period.

Land opens possibilities.

We are working diligently to get more self sufficient. It takes time, and mistakes are make also that can set you back... but in the end you can get there. Our sunroom on the new house will be a major feature for survival for producing food, I will always be able to grow tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, and other stuff in there, year round come hell or high water. My husband says that we will still have a small green house too.

Large equipment is really really helpful but not necessary and i do love our tractor.. but Heck if you got 7 people thats 7 people working... to do hard tasks if they are not too young or too old.

If I was thinking about getting land ready I would make sure NOW that garden areas are tilled and fertilized even If I was not ready to plant... we are doing that... and just planting legumes helps the soil to enrich. ... That the pasture is being prepped. Hire a tractor if you need to. Learn composting and make more than you need. Find out where to collect stuff and start collecting.

75% of garlic comes from china! locally someone started a garlic farm and is doing really well!

My DH has been gradually loosing weight over the last two years from working the land and construction. Hes not getting older, he's getting better,, and when I was watching him through the window the other day working on the house all I could think was... hot dam! He's lookin good at 61.

 

[Mackay]

I traded my rototiller off and I'm going to be trading my weed eater too for something I can use...like another sheep
Oh yeah, buy American! Jynx, thanks for sharing that American clothing company name.

I am finding that you don't really need a rototiller, even for very large garden spaces if you do lasagna or layered gardening.

This year we planted a large potato garden right into nonpreped soil. The plants did not grow very big and we didn't compost much except for some cow maneur compost spread on.

In another part of the garden I took an 18 foot long 3 foot wide strip and made a lasagna garden raised bed with no box. just piled stuff up in the long strip kinda humped shape. I did put long 2 x2 square boards around it to keep volls out (volls will not climb 4" up) and wire mesh underneath to keep volls out too. but not the standard big box of raised beds. It was easy to do. My potato results have been fantastic!

So this fall or next spring I am going to take a section of that large potato bed and start layering on it. Wont need the wire mesh or side rail cause there are no volls in that part of the ranch. I eventually plan on having a 20 by 40 garden space in the lasagna gardening style...

I have been so pleased with my lasagna beds this year!.. first year too. they say they get better each year..... guess I'm way off topic here.

 

[Marshmallow Man]

We have a big greenhouse that we get all our tomatos from. They are so much better than store bought. Potatos and lettuce are the only crops we have had a lot of luck with. Oh I forgot weeds. We always have plenty of those.

I've read about growing veggies in old hay or straw bales. It's hard to find cow hay on the cheap around here though. Even when it's too moldy for cows to eat they still want 3 to 4 dollars a bale. If I could get something like that going it would be easier on the back and a lot less weeds.

As far as meat goes. I very rarely eat meat. I suppose we could raise a cow and sell part of the meat to help break even. We only have 6 acres of pasture and our 3 horses wear it out if we don't give them a bale of hay every day to supplement. A cow would require a lot of supplementing.

I would love to make my land more productive too. Like I said the land is only good for 1 horse or 1 cow per 6 acres. For the past 2 years we have had more rain than usual and it is helping. A lot of people with 35 acres or more are completely tearing up their dirt and then coming back and re tilling every time the weeds grow. After 3 times using finer and finer tills they have some real nice looking dirt and they plant hay or alfalfa usually. I have my pasture cut in 2 and would like to do that 2 mine 1 side at a time. I just don't have the equipment and it runs around 80.00 per acre to till each time. Then the seed is real expensive and if the rain doesn't fall, the seed goes to waste. You can't even count on the snow around here.

I think the solution is to move to a state with more precipitation. My wife grew up in Iowa and says that the ground there is good for at least 6 or 7 large grazing animals per acre. Houses on property are about 1/3 of what they are here too. Maybe I'll move there when I retire

I've been a yoyo on weight my whole life. I finally took the plunge and had the main problem removed. I had a gastric bypass. It is just a tool and you have to follow a strict diet to lose the weight. The nice thing is that you can only eat about 1/4 of a cup at a time. Later the stomach will stretch and I'll be eating closer to 1/2 cup. You have to eat your protein first and then carbs next. So far I have lost 80 lbs in 4 months. It is slowing down and will probably take 4 months to lose the last 40 lbs. They have come a very long way with this surgery and are now at an 85% rate for people keeping their weight off for 5 or more years. Anyone that has diet3ed through conventional means knows that the trick is keeping the weight off. My sister had it done and has been at goal weight for 3 years now. I no longer have sleep apnea or high blood pressure and my joints are a lot happier. I can also bend over now without having breathing problems. I was pre diabetic and am now well within normal limits. There are other advantages that I can't speak about. I have lost weight many times and have always gained it back. I am hoping that this time I will finally have success.

There are a lot of bad rumors out there about WLS. In my case they are false. It's not for everyone, but it is working for me so far.