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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Since the sixties I have wanted to be self sufficient in food stuffs etc. It is only now that we have been able to get enough land to make this possible. John Seymore was our guru and after all these years, I still find myself reaching for one of his books for reference from time to time. Allotment plots were put to good use but trying to be self sufficient is a full time job me thinks. So do we have to be rich to follow the dream?. It would be interesting to hear from others their views on this subject Smile

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phil · Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:57 pm Post subject:

If we go back a couple of generations people grew and ate much more basic food.It was grown in season, you only had strawberries for a short period of time,fruits were grown that kept well in winter,now you can get all sorts of fruit and veg all year round,maybe people expect too much these days.
It costs more to keep your own house cow than buying milk,butter,cheese,but lifestyle is much more important than money.

greentree · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 9:53 am Post subject:

IMO - Everything has become so relatively cheap nowadays. I mean 1 euro for a bag of carrots that would take 4 months to grow and tend. It really is about lifestyle and not about money.

quarryman · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 417 Location: Sligo

For me, it is a lifestyle choice. It's about the pure joy of going out to your garden and picking food for your table, starting from seeds or eggs to meat and veg for your family.

Having said that, who of us can totally rely on what we produce to make enough to provide electricity, petrol, spare parts for machinery that breaks down, broadband, etc. etc. We all need cash from some source, be it Government Welfare, EU Subsidies, savings or a wages cheque.

I would love to live off the grid but the setup costs of say a wind turbine and solar panels would pay for electricity for the next 30 years. If I was in my 20s I would try it but I am 52 and will be dead and composting slowly before an off grid system would pay for it's self.

So back out to the garden to tend my willow for next years fires and to fend off the slugs and wood pigeon.

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Interesting points. We try to supplement our income to pay for other incidentals buy adding value and selling produce at the local Country Market. There is a will to pay a bit extra for fresh quality product and not necessarily organic. There was great demand for our spring cabbage which was over wintered in the poly tunnel. A tip for those who have not tried it. After harvesting our early cabbage crop I planted out the stems, and by picking off all the new shoots except one we are now cutting and come again as much spring greens as we can eat. Being mature plants we can pick more greens in just 2/3 weeks. Wink

Phil sums it up by saying " It costs more to keep a cow than to buy dairy products". The pleasure of keeping a house cow is more important than the cash. We would also get the value of her calf for the freezer of course. So are super markets making us soft?
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blowin · Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:25 am Post subject:

FWIW the opening comment in the talk given by the lecturer at an organic centre on the subject of being self-sufficient on one acre a few years ago was something like " You can't " .
He did go on to say that he made a living ( which his wife called subsistence ) by working 18 hrs a day , 7 days a week .
If I recall correctly the course cost us something like 100 euro per head for the day .
But we did get carrot soup for lunch .
That was nice .
If you like carrots .

As others have said . it has to be about lifestyle , the meaning of what you do and the quality of what you get to eat . And meeting nice people like those on this little forum , of course Wink

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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

I dont think that you can compare "Making a living" and being self sufficient. I am sure that a farmer with forty acres could not make a living let alone me with my one and a half. We can produce all our food from this small holding and barter our surplus for what I cant produce. Like beef for instance. As I said, Its a full time job and so other incomes would be needed to pay for all else. I have a company pension which helps. If I needed to work for wages I would not be able to work my plot as intensive as I do. A bit of a paradox me thinks, We have to be financially secure before we can work an 18 hour day 7 days a week to be self sufficient. Confused

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blowin · Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:11 pm Post subject:

Very profound observation !
I have moved on to a stage further than that . No longer financially secure and can't manage an 18 hr day but continue to spend an awful lot of time doing things which make the local wildlife self sufficient . Breeding chickens for the fox , planting shrubs for the deer , cabbage for the caterpillars . Stuff like that . Still better than being in the office . It might all get rather boring without a little challenge , eh ? Laughing

admin · Site Admin Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 227

So, how do you judge your performance in this lifestyle ?
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quarryman · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 417 Location: Sligo

I could be totally self sufficient as long as the international financial markets hold up, how else could I afford that type of lifestyle?