Animal, Vegetable, Miracle — The Book
This is the title of a book by Barbara Kingsolver that I recently started reading. It’s the true story of how Barbara’s family decided to move from their home in Tuscon AZ to a farm her husband owned and rented out in southern Appalachia. This journey for the family was to live a back-to-basics life, so they decided to see if they could live off just the food that they produced on their small farm. I really like what they did. I’m a vegetarian so I’d have to do it without the chickens and the pigs. But the idea of growing my own organic vegetables has taken hold of me. I haven’t finished the book, but here’s a paragraph from the first chapter that pretty much sums up why I think everyone should read this book:
“We’re a nation with an eating disorder, and we know it. The multiple maladies caused by bad eating are taking a dire toll on our health–most tragically for our kids, who are predicted to be the country’s first generation to have shorter life expectancy than their parents. That alone is a stunning enough fact to give us pause. So is a government policy that advises us to eat more fruits and vegetables, while doling out subsidies NOT to fruit and vegetable farmers, but to commodity crops destined to become soda pop and cheap burgers. The Farm Bill, as of this writing, could aptly be called the Farm Kill, both for its effects on small farmers and for what it does to us, the consumers who are financing it. The Green Revolution of the 1970s promised that industrial agriculture would make food cheaper and available to more people. Instead, it has helped more of us become less healthy.”
I have a log home business (more a hobby) in central Utah (Sanpete County). On a 3/4 acre parcel I have a small show home/office. The back 1/2 acre is perfect for a mini-farm and it has water shares for irrigating that came with the property when I bought it. Sanpete County was once known as the bread basket of Utah so it’s a great location to have a little vegetable farm. From my research I’ve come across three popular approaches to growing your own vegetables:
Mini Farming: www.markhamfarm.com
Biointensive Farming: www.johnjeavons.info
Square Foot Gardening: www.squarefootgardening.com
What I’m thinking of doing is the Mini Farming or Biointensive Farming on my 1/2 acre plot and square foot gardening in my backyard. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’ve been a student of self-reliance most of my life. I’ve learned and successfully applied the principles of financial self-reliance. I’ve learned and successfully applied the principles of emotional self-reliance. I’m learning and successfully applying the principles of personal health self-reliance. Now, I’m on a quest to learn and successfully apply the principles of personal and family sustenance self-reliance. I’m pretty excited about this journey. I’ll keep you updated.
Crusading for Your Health,
D. Scott Elder
