Author Topic: The economy and gardening  (Read 6585 times)

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Offline Tina

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #25 on: Dec 30, 2008, 06:35:44 PM »
None of our WM are super stores so no fresh veggies or meat. But I do buy my eggs there regularly because their prices are so much better than the grocery stores. But the rest of my dairy comes from the other stores because of better prices.
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Offline bestofour

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #26 on: Dec 30, 2008, 10:48:35 PM »
gosh Triss, that is a lot of potatoes.


Penny, when my girls were at home I spent a bunch of money on groceries because I cooked a lot.  I sent lunches to school and of course after school snacks.  It added up. 

Offline Triss

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #27 on: Dec 31, 2008, 01:01:50 AM »
I would need a huge garden to grow enough for our family to self sustain with.  Remember though we are feeding 8 and with all those boys sometimes it feels like 20, they can sure pack away the food and most of them are not even teens yet.

We are all under the same stars, therefore we are never far apart.

Offline bestofour

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #28 on: Jan 01, 2009, 10:05:23 PM »
you know Triss, people did it years ago.  They probably traded with others if they could.  I wonder what they ate if the garden didn't do well.

Offline duh

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #29 on: Jan 02, 2009, 09:36:15 AM »
hard tack and water?

Offline Tonya

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #30 on: Jan 02, 2009, 09:41:49 AM »
Biscuits and gravy and smoked/salt cured ham. When people were self sufficient with Gardens and animals, they always had(usually) potatoes, and some sort of pork, as welll as eggs and fresh chicken. I read somewhere where a millionaire was interviewed and said "If you want good food and lots of it- go to a poor man's house, if you want to starve- go to a rich man's house" My family (eastern TN) was very poor(outhouses, cardboard on the walls to keep the cold out, flour sack dresses, etc) and always ate well.
Bad garden years were cause for concern, but usually just meant they had to grow more and can more the next year.

Offline Triss

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #31 on: Jan 02, 2009, 01:17:49 PM »
Tonya is right, they did not live from just a garden.  And they did work together, people taking all of the produce from a successful harvest, gathering in a neighbors kitchen and canning enough for not just a family or a few gifts, but enough for a community.  Nothing ever went to waste back then. 

And people helped each other, for example, a young mother helped to feed the old woman could not work in the gardens, in turn the older women made quilts and watched the children of the mother so she could work the gardens.

We are all under the same stars, therefore we are never far apart.

Offline barleychown

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #32 on: Jan 02, 2009, 01:30:14 PM »
And yet that way of life died, for the most part. If only it had persisted...everyone had a place, every life had value. The old woman may be frail, but she has a wealth of knowledge, and can still do things for the benefit of the family. The old man has seen his share of tragedies and triumphs, and can help the young man through them. The young girls can prep the food to be cooked and canned, while learning the how's and why's from the mother...


I was born it the wrong era. :eek:
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

Offline Tonya

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #33 on: Jan 02, 2009, 02:04:36 PM »
And yet that way of life died, for the most part. If only it had persisted...everyone had a place, every life had value. The old woman may be frail, but she has a wealth of knowledge, and can still do things for the benefit of the family. The old man has seen his share of tragedies and triumphs, and can help the young man through them. The young girls can prep the food to be cooked and canned, while learning the how's and why's from the mother...


I was born it the wrong era. :eek:
That way of life is not completely dead, Sarah! It lives on in you and I and others like us. I am lucky to have a neighbor like I do that teaches Doug and I so much about everything. If it were not for him- we would be sunk...

As long as we help each other and pass along the knowledge we have- it will never die. :ThumbUp:

Offline Triss

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #34 on: Jan 02, 2009, 02:42:31 PM »
You and I both Sarah.  I think I would have loved to live in that time, hard as life might have been.

We are all under the same stars, therefore we are never far apart.

Offline barleychown

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #35 on: Jan 02, 2009, 03:02:59 PM »
Tonya, it does live on in a select few, but when the community around you is so me-oriented, to the point that the simple sound of a chicken talking softly, not even being loud, can inflame a neighbor to the point of calling the city managers and police to complain, it's pretty impossible to even imagine a community that would come together to help one another.

That is the life I speak of...a time when we helped one another, instead of only ourselves.
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

Offline Tonya

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #36 on: Jan 02, 2009, 03:11:54 PM »
You are right Sarah! I am fortunate to live in a community where that way of life has not completely died off. All of my neighbors are wonderful and share their gardens, meats(fish and the like), and knowledge. I guess sometimes I forget that not everyone has that. I am truly blessed with the nieghbors I have!

Forgot to add- My elderly neighbor woman loves my chickens(Thank God!) and hates when I have to "lock them up" come spring gardening season. She loves watching them interact with each other. There are some serious advantages to living in the middle of nowhere! :ThumbUp:
« Last Edit: Jan 02, 2009, 03:13:41 PM by Tonya »

Offline barleychown

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #37 on: Jan 02, 2009, 03:20:00 PM »
You are very lucky indeed, Tonya.  :grinnnn: Mike and I are seriously weighing the pros and cons of moving farther out into the country. So far, there seem to be more pros. I think once the girls have moved out we will be moving once again, despite the fact that I said never again.

For now, I'll enjoy the animals I have, and work on other skills, like canning and cheese making. So far, so good.  :ThumbUp:

This spring, I'll be putting in a bigger garden, and focusing on growing a wider variety of crops. And I'll be doing my best to make sure nothing goes to waste.  :grinnnn: Although, finding something to do with 100 pounds of green tomatoes can be challenging.  :giggle:
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

Offline duh

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #38 on: Jan 03, 2009, 08:05:36 AM »
I am lucky in my neighbors.  They always bring me over surplus veggies.  I do the sour dough bread for right now.  And I helped them with building their shed.  I may not have been a great help but I did what I could.  He's going to see if he can do anything about my car when it comes close to inspection time.  It would be nice if I could keep it one more year.

Offline bestofour

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #39 on: Jan 03, 2009, 10:32:35 PM »
that's great you have nice neighbors.

Lefse

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #40 on: Jan 05, 2009, 03:23:23 AM »
Had one of my next door neighbors ask if I wanted to use their back yard "ex-garden" area next summer. Couple old raised beds, some level ground that has been left to itself for a few years. Totally doubles my garden area. Give part of harvest for "rent".  :ThumbUp: Has more sun than mine for the better part. I need to can and freeze more next year. In my "spare time" of course.  :laughmao:

Offline Tonya

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #41 on: Jan 05, 2009, 08:01:36 AM »
In my "spare time" of course.  :laughmao:
:giggle: What's that?? :giggle:

Offline duh

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #42 on: Jan 05, 2009, 08:05:49 AM »
Good deal Lefse

Offline Triss

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Re: The economy and gardening
« Reply #43 on: Jan 05, 2009, 11:39:57 AM »
Awesome deal lefse.  You sure are going to have fun with that.

We are all under the same stars, therefore we are never far apart.

 

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