maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

"Milena" wrote in message
...
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Pretty much how everyone did it years ago. Every few years when times get
tough, the home garden catches on again, even for city dwellers. Empty lots
become community garden spots. Oh, the Victory Garden is more than the name
of a TV show too.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

In article
,
Milena wrote:

maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..

Great idea. Not everybody has a back yard, though.

I'm extremely fortunate in that I can borrow part of somebody else's.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Frozen veggies are a bargain, and a whole lot less costly and labor
intensive than growing ones own, and home canning can easily double
the cost, especially since it's risky business (your far better off
buying canned tomatoes). Btw, there is no such thing as organic, not
even home grown... what organic IS is a scam.

I know of only one way to lower the food bill consistantly, learn how
to cook, learn how to REALLY cook.

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:21:41 -0700 (PDT), Milena
wrote:

maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Not quite as easy as you think, or as cheap. Digging a first year
garden is hard work, or you have to rent equipment or hire someone to
do it for you. Then you need some basic tools for planting, trimming
etc. Canning jars are no longer cheap either. And it does take
equipment to can the foods that can be canned successfully. Freezers
are not too expensive and especially if you find a good one on sale.
But it takes money to run and I am betting that electricity will be
getting more expensive too. And we haven't even talked about the
time it takes to get it planted, keep it watered and weeded, watch for
bugs, harvest when it is ready. If you are planning to live off of
the summer garden, it better be a BIG garden. I have been gardening
and canning for lots of years.

BTW, you preserve the stuff as it gets ripe whether you have time and
energy or not.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

Sheldon wrote:
Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots,
etc.. in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or
freeze them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out
cheaper...the prices are horrible..
milena

Frozen veggies are a bargain, and a whole lot less costly and labor
intensive than growing ones own, and home canning can easily double
the cost, especially since it's risky business (your far better off
buying canned tomatoes). Btw, there is no such thing as organic, not
even home grown... what organic IS is a scam.

I know of only one way to lower the food bill consistantly, learn how
to cook, learn how to REALLY cook.

Have you started your planting yet? I love seeing photos of your garden
every year!

Jill

Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Is that a separate thought from the title Organic? Cause people can
certainly grown all the above organically...or not, depending on their
desires.
I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

The Cook wrote:

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:21:41 -0700 (PDT), Milena
wrote:

maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Not quite as easy as you think, or as cheap. Digging a first year
garden is hard work, or you have to rent equipment or hire someone to
do it for you. Then you need some basic tools for planting, trimming
etc.

You can get around most of those issues, as well as many of the space
issues by growing hydroponically. You also save a lot of water that was
too.

Canning jars are no longer cheap either.

No, but they are indefinitely reusable unless you're really clumsy.

And it does take
equipment to can the foods that can be canned successfully.

Another one time investment in your future food security.

Freezers
are not too expensive and especially if you find a good one on sale.
But it takes money to run and I am betting that electricity will be
getting more expensive too.

Only a factor if you have a dedicated freezer. For most people they will
always have a refrigerator / freezer running anyway, and for most people
they are a bit cluttered. Just organizing them better with well labeled
and compact packaging will let you store a lot of frozen foods in your
regular freezer.

And we haven't even talked about the
time it takes to get it planted, keep it watered and weeded, watch for
bugs, harvest when it is ready.

Again something that hydroponic growing greatly improves.

If you are planning to live off of
the summer garden, it better be a BIG garden. I have been gardening
and canning for lots of years.

I don't think anyone needs to live off their garden (at least not yet),
I think the point is to cut back on grocery spending. People aren't
likely to be growing their own wheat or farming fish or ranching cattle
quite yet. Just tomatoes, peppers, squash, lettuce, etc. can put a
decent dent in the grocery bill.


BTW, you preserve the stuff as it gets ripe whether you have time and
energy or not.

Well, no, only if you're trying to live off the garden. If something is
overproducing beyond what you need, you give it away to friends,
coworkers, senior centers, etc.

On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:03:15 -0400, Goomba38
wrote:

Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Is that a separate thought from the title Organic? Cause people can
certainly grown all the above organically...or not, depending on their
desires.
I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

Have you used pesticides in the past three years?
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Organic_Certification.html


--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smile first

Sheldon wrote:
Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots,
etc.. in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or
freeze them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out
cheaper...the prices are horrible..
milena

Frozen veggies are a bargain, and a whole lot less costly and labor
intensive than growing ones own, and home canning can easily double
the cost, especially since it's risky business (your far better off

You're = you are!

sf wrote:

On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:03:15 -0400, Goomba38
wrote:

Milena wrote:
maybe we should start growing our own tomatoes,lettuce, carrots, etc..
in our backyards...and in the winter preserve it in jars or freeze
them...that is how my grandma does it...it comes out cheaper...the
prices are horrible..
milena

Is that a separate thought from the title Organic? Cause people can
certainly grown all the above organically...or not, depending on their
desires.
I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

Have you used pesticides in the past three years?
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Organic_Certification.html

I only use pestilence personally...

sf wrote:

I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

Have you used pesticides in the past three years?
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Organic_Certification.html


No, but I reserve the right to dust 'em with something noxious if the
need arises. LOL

On Apr 19, 6:03*am, Goomba38 wrote:

Is that a separate thought from the title Organic? Cause people can
certainly grown all the above organically...or not, depending on their
desires.
I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

The government definitions of what constitutes "organic" are not
exactly straightforward and are of no interest to me. I use Miracle
Gro on my tomatoes so that probably disqualifies them. I don't use
pesticides, so that's okay.

We garden for the pleasure of gardening, which includes choosing to
grow only the things we think are clearly better than store-bought,
like tomatoes, and that we especially like to eat, like snowpeas and
Kentucky Wonder beans, and that we like the convenience of having at
hand, like herbs and carrots and lettuces. We have space for some
more things right now and probably will put in a few Japanese
eggplants because they are both very tasty and very pretty.

Subsistence gardening would be way beyond our pleasure, too far into
the realm of work. -aem

aem wrote:

The government definitions of what constitutes "organic" are not
exactly straightforward and are of no interest to me. I use Miracle
Gro on my tomatoes so that probably disqualifies them. I don't use
pesticides, so that's okay.

We garden for the pleasure of gardening, which includes choosing to
grow only the things we think are clearly better than store-bought,
like tomatoes, and that we especially like to eat, like snowpeas and
Kentucky Wonder beans, and that we like the convenience of having at
hand, like herbs and carrots and lettuces. We have space for some
more things right now and probably will put in a few Japanese
eggplants because they are both very tasty and very pretty.

Subsistence gardening would be way beyond our pleasure, too far into
the realm of work. -aem

My husband has been known to dust tomatoes with something white and
powdery over the years (I'm not sure what it is or why he's done it) but
we don't do it routinely. We're using huge rolling pots on our deck
these days and we toss the "used" potting soil into the composter after
the growing season and start fresh next year, but he's always been picky
about changing what's grown where the previous season when we gardened
directly in the soil. He rotated things around each year which is
apparently important so that the nutrients aren't depleted and certain
plant diseases are avoided.

On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:07:40 -0400, Goomba38
wrote:

sf wrote:

I'm growing tomatoes, parsley, cilantro and basil as we speak! My
tomatoes have a couple flowers on them already. I suppose they're
organic still... ? They may stay that way, I dunno?

Have you used pesticides in the past three years?
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Organic_Certification.html


No, but I reserve the right to dust 'em with something noxious if the
need arises. LOL

When it gets to the bugs or me I start looking for something that
really kills. Anyone have a hazmat suit for sale?
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)