Growing/Raising food section?

[Bebop]

I've never heard of Beemaster or Beesource. I know of a different one, but there's not many people on it yet.
I know what you mean reinbeau, but I would rather not use the same password for every forum, just because if someone figures out what my password is for one, then they'll know them all (it could happen), also some just like to stick to the same group of people, or more like-minded people because it can be hard to keep up with other forums.
The Easy Garden looks like it mostly for people who like to landscape and grow flowers and here and there about veggies and herbs.
What about vineyards and orchards and growing to be more self sufficient and not just as a hobby, like growing to be be self sufficient, rather than grow because it looks nice?

Still, if Chicken, Cow, Bee and Garden topics cannot be added, then why not the others? I mean there are plenty of other forums on energy and hunting and fishing, but I choose this forum for Self Sufficiency. It would be nice if this were a one stop type forum for this kind of thing.
I don't know.. if it's not possible, it's not possible, but it would be nice!
Thanks!
>^.^<

 

[Beekissed]

I'm with you, Bebop! I know we discuss our different animals that we raise for food on our journals, but it wouldn't hurt to have at least one more category.....growing/raising food would encompass anything grown or raised for food...garden or animals or even fish!

After all, isn't that a part of being SS? Being very versatile and adaptable to change and trying new things......

 

[dacjohns]

If enough interest is shown by posting threads in the everything else topic areas then maybe new topics will be started. We don't have to have the topic heading already in existence.

 

[the simple life]

Those two bee forums are a wealth of information and any question you will ever have relating to bees will be answered by the experts there.
I know that those are the 2 biggest out there and anytime you search anything bee related they come up.
The information gleaned over at those 2 sites I cannot imagine finding here.
I understand how it would be nice to have a bee section here but who is going to answer all of our questions?
Are there that many beeks on this site with alot of experience who could help out other members?
If you have a beekeeping question you really need an experienced beekeeper to answer it.
How many are on this site?
I am not worried about it being an interest issue as I am sure there are members who may be interested in it, but I would wonder where all the info would come from.
Beekeeping can be pretty complicated and I don't know how many experts here would be able to answer all the questions to our problems, then you would still have to run over to the other bee forums for help.
I am guessing it would be more of a chit chat forum which could still be talked about in one thread in the general section.
Let me say that I am not against a bee section since I am into beekeeping, however I don't see myself gleaning all kinds of pertinent information on this forum as it relates to keeping bees.
Maybe, as I said just a place to chit chat about the bees and that would only take one thread.

As for the gardening, again I am not saying I am against it, however Nifty owns a gardening site and I am not sure he would want to compete against his own site which is essentially what he would be doing.
I remember when this site first started there was discussion on whether we should even have a canning site here because it was already on the easy garden site.
There was a concern stated over replicating on subforum from that site so I don't know how he is going to feel about replicating his whole site.
If people start coming here and not there that site could die off considerably.
I don't know where you were looking but that site absolutely addresses everything that you mentioned.
If you want to know something then go through some of the old threads using the search button and you will find what you are looking for.
If you have any gardening questions they will be anwered over there believe me.
Again, I am not for or against anything really as I will still go to the other sites, but realistically I am not sure its going to be much benefit to anyone in the end due to the lack of information.

As was suggested, all you really need to do is start a thread and see where it goes. I don't think you will end up needing an entire forum in the end.

 

[FarmerChick]

I'm either way on all of it.
whatever is easiest on the administrator....we have alot of topic sections. But Simple Life is right. There are no experts on certain areas in this forum. We are an SS type forum, we cover grocery coupon savings, to who has rain barrels, who has animals, who has gardens or who has what equipment....more generalized stuff.
I know my goats, my hogs, my farm equipment, my markets etc...an expert. nope, couldn't answer all questions ever on any subject, so if I need tried and true info I search out the expert sites on all info I need.

this site gives me general great ideas, some in depth, and if I want further info off I go to find the expert sites.

I dont' know...just rambling on..LOL

 

[Beekissed]

What qualifies one as an expert, I wonder? I've seen a lot of "expert" advice on BYC that was just from someone who had read every article in Backyard Poultry...and believed them!

THEN, on Beemaster or Beesource, you have a bunch of people who aren't steeped in theory but are actually doing it, sorting out the fact from the fiction and letting people know the difference.

I don't imagine I could claim to be an expert on anything, nor could many people.

The Easy Garden has a lot of very good gardeners with some accurate and helpful information, but even they aren't "experts".

I don't think the OP was necessarily interested in "expert" info or opinion, just a place to post the items in which she was most interested in....sort of like our Hunting/Fishing peeps. If general farm animals raised for food is what you like to exchange ideas about, I can see where you would like a separate category.

It has as much merit as having a solar or wind energy category, of which noone on here is an "expert", or can provide more than info gleaned off of websites.

Just a thought here....

 

[the simple life]

Right, the point I was making on the experts and what I mean by that is the people that have alot of experience in what they do and you can get alot of help there compared to here. In fact for many its their bread and butter, what they do for a living and have a ton of advice, many of it tried and true.
Many are commercial beeks, have honey houses and know alot of the rules, regulations and disease control, swarm prevention etc. this is the stuff I want to know about.
Even the beeks who aren't commercial but have been doing it forever and a day is what I meant by the term experts.
Their info is not gleaned off of websites, it comes from doing.
I also think that with the very diverse group on those forums you can get alot of opinions on just about any questions to choose from.
Here we can basically chat about bees and honey but as far as needing a whole subforum for it I don't see how since there are not a huge number of people here keeping bees.
Believe me, I wish that were the case, others to chat with about our shared experiences keeping bees, and not info they looked up on the website and then came and answered a question you asked, like you said, but something they actually have done in practice.
I would LOVE that, but it does not appear to be the situation, I have rarely even heard anyone mention their bees on here, even in chat.
I know you have mentioned getting bees beekissed, and I know Ann has them and I have 4 hives painted and ready to go for the end of April and 2 more in the works that I will finish painting on those snowy stuck in the house days.
Aside from that, just not hearing much about them here.
So, who will be contributing to a subforum on bee keeping?
I think it will run out of steam, much like the solar or wind energy section has, there has only been on average a dozen topics started in either of those catergories in 5 months.
I think alot of forums have gone that route now too, there isn't nearly as much information being contributed to the sub forums as there was before as it relates to self sufficiency.So I really don't see how adding anymore is going to change things.
Taking a quick peek at the active threads tonight I see only 4-5 that relate to anything self sufficient minded.
Most have absolutely nothing to do with any of the forums that have been created.
So to the point I made before, if its such a headache for them to manage another subforum why can't it be as a thread?
In fact maybe a good way to test it out is to start a thread and see how it goes.
If you want to start a beekeeping thread thats great, I love that topic and can always use more information before the girls arrive.

 

[reinbeau]

Dixiedoodle or whatever his name was was definitely a jerk - but he had a point. Unfortunately most of our threads are tending towards chit-chat, rather than the sharing of useful information. I know, I know, we're a chatty group and that isn't going to change. But we need to be more focused on the point of the forum, which is self sufficiency, which encompasses many things, all of which I really think can be dealt with pretty much within the framework we already have here.

 

[FarmerChick]

you can't just say...post SS stuff.
look at us...we are wanna be windmill owners, wanna be solar owners, wanna be more off the man's payroll and out of debt type people. We just aren't backwoods homestead living off the grid people.

Alot of us are stopped by monetary problems when it comes to installing a $20,000 solar system to make us more SS. I sure can't do it.....

We are going to have moderate SS threads happening from what I see......we talk animals, how to improve soil, gardening, preserving foods, how to live less off the earth and reuse and recycle....but being SS means more living off your land also.

I think alot of us can't get off the main stay of life. We can't afford to with debt we are in, some don't have alot of land to do certain things, like owning bigger livestock, etc......


I don't know how we define what to post about on an SS forum. I think anything we do to reuse, recycle, save money and try to improve our situations is just kinda boring in a way...LOL-LOL---I know that didn't come out right in a way, but I am not sure how to word what I am trying to say. Along in all that chit chat to me is some great info.....like hearing about Bee trying to follow the tried and true method of tier farming with animals and such....good info. Great info from Roos on learning how to tan hides. I hope I give some info out there to people who might want to step into the farmers market arena and make money...money is there......and so many other great ideas that are getting bounced around the board.


just rambling again......if I chat it out it starts to make sense more to me.

 

[poppycat]

I would argue that growing/raising (or foraging maybe?) food has a place on a SS forum. After all food IS a basic human need that MUST be met, even if you're a survivalist. If you want to be more self sufficient, producing some of your own food is a really good place to start.

Conversely, you could have a fabulous garden and never grow a bite of your own food. Or be like my friend who grew tomatoes for caprese, ate a few of them and then threw the rest in the trash without batting an eye.

But I'm ok with it just being a thread or two also.

The reason I'm mostly chatty right now is that my life-self sufficient or insufficient as it may be is boring. Especially in the winter. How many times can you say I fed my chickens, made breakfast, did the dishes, split some wood, shoveled some snow, made lunch, made dinner blah blah blah.

Yes some of those meals included food I canned and grew and seed saved myself, but really who want's to hear about that every day? As dixie-what's-his-face said, LAME.

And homemade soap, laundry detergent and the like? Once the novelty wears off I'm afraid that laundry is still a monotonous chore.

But I really like the people here. They don't think I'm a wacko for raising chickens, composting, or canning. Nor am I looked at as trailer trash for hanging my laundry out. They aren't putting pressure on me to spend more money than I've got on stuff that I don't need. And thank goodness they aren't encouraging me to stockpile ammo and join a militia either.

(and now I'm scrolling down and seeing that FarmerChick said basically the same thing )