From the New York Times: Back to the Land, Reluctantly

[Deleted12]

I’M not interested in being hip or a hippie. Nor does my happiness particularly hinge on artisanal cheese. (Odd, perhaps, given that I grew up a stone fruit’s throw away from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif.)

As a 42-year-old Brooklyn mother of three, what I care about is lunch, and feeding my family on a tenuous and unpredictable income. And so I have 20 fresh-egg-producing hens and a little garden that yields everything from blackberries to butternut squash to burdock root.

My turn with spade and hoe started a few years ago when I found myself divorced and flat broke. My livelihood as a freelance writer went out the window when the economy tanked. I literally could afford beans, the dried kind, which I’d thought were for school art projects or teaching elementary math. And I didn’t know how to cook.

Luckily, my late father had hammered into me that grit was more important than talent. So, when I couldn’t afford fancy food — never mind paraben-free shampoo — for my babies, I figured, if peasants in 11th-century Sicily did all this, how hard could it be?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opini ... .html?_r=1

[Guest Anonymous]

I've gardened and raised food all my life, even did a stint at Chez Panisse in my younger days. Making food takes some of the struggle out of being poor and to me its a purposeful pastime. Because of my move I won't have a winter garden this year, and I won't be dealing with almost an acre of box beds in the spring. But my new location will afford me a nice kitchen garden. And lucky for me I have friends will appear on my doorstep with a couple of bushels of apples and a bag of tomatoes like yesterday.

[keen23]

My husband is working on plans to have a "wall garden" this year. We have limited space, and destructive kids. He saw a system of growing pockets and irrigation lines in a neighbor's yard, and has been wanting a similar set up. We'll see how it turns out.

[Kitten]

You can tell yourself anything is too difficult, or you can just do it. And you do not need to reconstruct your worldview or take issue with others. You just need to be hungry.

This.

And it's not just hunger and growing your own food. I live with chronic medical issues that force certain limitations on me. I have a child born with a severe medical condition who began having surgeries at 6 months, and who will live one small step away from a life-threatening crisis forever. I have family who struggle with mental illness that keep them from living the productive life they envisioned growing up.

Facing a crisis reveals who you are. Living with ongoing challenges require you to find ways to do what other people can do without even thinking about it. Neither I nor my family asked/wanted to live this way, but the alternative was less appealing. :D

If more people were truly "hungry" (not that I wish that on anyone), they might be able to see beyond their narrow little worlds of self-limitation. I am always shocked/amused/appalled (all at the same time) whenever I hear someone declare "I could never do that."

[bananacat]

If more people were truly "hungry" (not that I wish that on anyone), they might be able to see beyond their narrow little worlds of self-limitation. I am always shocked/amused/appalled (all at the same time) whenever I hear someone declare "I could never do that."

But sometimes people can't do everything. I hate to be a downer, but the reality is that we have given up the old-fashioned ways because so many people died. A lot of peasants could work hard and grow their own food, but a lot of them simply died, especially when famine struck.

There's also the land issue. Not everyone can grow a garden or raise chickens because they have no place to do it. When your ability to eat depends on growing food, land becomes exponentially more important. That's why there were so many wars over land throughout history. There is absolutely not enough land in this world for everyone to go back to the peasant subsistence farming method. It's great and fantastic for people to have gardens and grow their own, but it's really not feasible for everyone to do it.

This whole idea that poor people just need to suffer more so they can be more grateful and stop whining needs to stop.

[duplessis3]

I think anyone with a balcony could have a chicken. And a laying hen produces an egg a day.

But! having a garden costs MONEY. The seed saving isn't always successful. Or the weather may suck. Or you may live in a desert. My husband is an awesome gardener, and it is amazing what we get out of our regular suburban backyard - I want a fish tank to grow catfish but we'll see. And we have chickens but there is no way we could survive on just what comes out of the backyard.

[dawbs]

But sometimes people can't do everything. I hate to be a downer, but the reality is that we have given up the old-fashioned ways because so many people died. A lot of peasants could work hard and grow their own food, but a lot of them simply died, especially when famine struck.

There's also the land issue. Not everyone can grow a garden or raise chickens because they have no place to do it. When your ability to eat depends on growing food, land becomes exponentially more important. That's why there were so many wars over land throughout history. There is absolutely not enough land in this world for everyone to go back to the peasant subsistence farming method. It's great and fantastic for people to have gardens and grow their own, but it's really not feasible for everyone to do it.

This whole idea that poor people just need to suffer more so they can be more grateful and stop whining needs to stop.

I was thinking this on reading this article today.

There are the luxuries authors like this assume people have. Land (where it's legal to have a chicken :) Knowledge. TIME.

I know a bit about growing plants/gardening. In order to keep my job (the one that pays things that won't take chicken feed and veggies in exchange) , I'm gone from home for 14 hours on days I work. I'd love to have a veggie garden. I've tried, actually. But it doesn't work to weed in the dark--it's very hard on gardens to do so.

So many of the crunchy-granola 'back to basics' things require the luxury of time. (in my own house, Mr. Dawbs and I only manage to cloth diaper because we bought 2x as many as 'needed' [2x the minimum--we just do laundry less often] and don't line-dry. We would starve to death without a microwave (we don't do pre-packaged foods--but we do take shortcuts and use the hell out of the microwave)).

[Deleted12]

I must confess that I posted this article because the author of the piece sounded more like a hobby farmer than a subsistence farmer.

I read it and I thought of Laura from NLQ. :(

[Wolfie]

I think anyone with a balcony could have a chicken. And a laying hen produces an egg a day.

But! having a garden costs MONEY. The seed saving isn't always successful. Or the weather may suck. Or you may live in a desert. My husband is an awesome gardener, and it is amazing what we get out of our regular suburban backyard - I want a fish tank to grow catfish but we'll see. And we have chickens but there is no way we could survive on just what comes out of the backyard.

Not an egg every day- especially in the winter when the days are shorter....

Yes, I had a bad weather year for my garden this year. I was already expecting low yields because it was my first year on this property, but the weather added to the poor yield. But, once you get established, you can do a garden on just a little money- save seeds, or buy the dollar packs, ect....

[Guest Anonymous]

Not an egg every day- especially in the winter when the days are shorter....

Yes, I had a bad weather year for my garden this year. I was already expecting low yields because it was my first year on this property, but the weather added to the poor yield. But, once you get established, you can do a garden on just a little money- save seeds, or buy the dollar packs, ect....

Cash out of pocket can be minimal for an established garden. its the sweat equity that costs.

[oscar]

Why was this woman spending $10 on the Health Loaf at Zabar's? It's five bucks, tops. Where is she shopping that balsamic vinegar is cheaper than red wine? Where is she getting milk in Brooklyn where it is cheaper to make ricotta and mozzarella than buy it? How is one "living off the land?" when one is "supplementing our diet with dried beans, nuts, baking basics, dairy products, olive oil, and the occasional long-lasting protein (pork shoulder, chicken, canned anchovies and sardines)?"

I think this article is stupid.

[doe]

I rent a duplex in the city/burbs (our city isn't that big, and downtown is like 5 minutes away) and I would love to have chickens, but I have to consider a probably reluctant landlord as well as the local laws about livestock.

But what I am doing is growing some turnips, chard, kale, and carrots in pots in my front yard. I could only afford one bag of soil and a few packs of seeds, and luckily my mom had some pots she wasn't using. I'm currently collecting all our milk jugs because I plan to grow lettuces in them in the spring. And I have bed frame box that holds a queen size mattress (free on Craigslist) we will use as a raised bed. Also in the works is a cheap compost box my husband will be building out of some old wood we have sitting outside. These are all little things I can do.

Keen23, I'm interested in this wall garden.

[ilovetchotchkes]

My husband is working on plans to have a "wall garden" this year. We have limited space, and destructive kids. He saw a system of growing pockets and irrigation lines in a neighbor's yard, and has been wanting a similar set up. We'll see how it turns out.

Rain gutters. Nail em to the wall. I THINK there are instructions on the Mother Earth News website. :D

I have been gardening this year because I wanted to try my hand at canning. My mom did it when I was a kid and it always looked like a fun pain in the ass.

I have 35+ quarts of pickles and I'm now starting to work on the tomatoes. Of which I have a bushel basket full that aren't yet ripe. ( they'll ripen if you pick em early, you just have to keep em in a cool, dry place). I've made only about 10 jars of spaghetti and 6 pints of homemade catsup, but I've got more plans for the tomatoes. :D I'm gonna harvest 2 of my pumpkins tomorrow and hopefully the frost won't kill the other 2 that just appeared out of nowhere.

I've found it VERY rewarding. This is my first year gardening and I've learned some things (like, don't plant pumpkins in a small bed....)

[Katiebug]

I've had a garden each year for the last 5 years, since we bought this house. We bought it with a 4'x8' railroad tie raised bed already installed, and a year later I renovated it to be masonry block construction. I had great results until 2010, when the double whammy of being in my third trimester of pregnancy and our neighbor's trees growing substantially resulted in poor yields. Our property and the property of those around us is full of mature oak and maple trees and these are small lots - 1/4 acre or less. There are two trees on our neighbor's property that they love because they keep their backyard shady, but they also now keep most of our backyard - including my veggie garden - in a mostly shady condition as well. Most veggies require sun or at least partial sun and this is the second year running that I've poured hours of work into my garden to yield 1 or 2 tomatoes per plant, or one bell pepper. The only one of 5 tomato plants that produced a good yield was the orange grape tomato plant in the one corner of the garden that gets a little sun so it's clear that the neighbor's oaks growing the way they have are the cause of the shade. I have a small 3'x3' bed closer to the house that allows us to have a great herb garden, but my veggie growing days are over until we move or those trees do. This fall I'm pulling the masonry blocks out and next year we will plant grass seed in that area so that Little Bug has more space to play.

I would like to have chickens and our city ordinances allows poultry in residential zones, but our current yard just doesn't allow for it. We don't have enough land and we're not protected enough against predators like raccoons and coyotes. And there's the whole business of both of us working full time and wrangling a kid and sometimes forgetting to feed our DOG for a few hours, so I wouldn't want to add caring for chickens to the mix as well.

We always said when we got a bigger house we'd make sure it has a nice piece of land so we could build a chicken coop and have a nice big sunny garden - but with the economy tanking that bigger house is probably at least 10 years off. Oh, well. Honestly it's probably better this way. I seriously spent $100 on getting heirloom tomato and pepper seedlings shipped to my door, plus seeds for other veggies and buying bags of organic fertilizers and fish emulsion. :lol: That didn't happen this year what with the expenses of having a kid last year, but even buying seedlings at Lowe's and seeds at Target set me back $50+. I could have spent that $50 at the farmer's market and bought produce to last us a month!

If we HAD to do it to survive and feed ourselves it would be a different story. I'd convert the shed to a chicken coop and wrangle fencing materials on Craigslist, and I'd plant vegetable plants in the front yard where we have some sun (and go for potatoes and other vegetables that can keep for a long period). But we don't have to, so right now I've chosen not to.

[Kitten]

FYI, I wasn't, by any means, saying that poor people should suffer more, or that everyone can live off the land, or that we should all go back to 1890. I fully appreciate the standard of living we have achieved, and I take full advantage of it every day.

My message was that we can all do so much more than we THINK we can, most of the time, in regard to anything. So many of the "limitations" we perceive are actually created in our minds, not in reality. The woman in the article began her garden and baking because of economic necessity, and discovered that what she thought were necessities (fancy store-bought bread) were actually luxuries, and easily replaced with a little effort on her part.

As I said, I have chronic medical issues that limit me in many respects, and I have one child with serious medical issues. Sooooooo many people have said to me over the years, "I don't know how you do it. I could never go through all that." My answer (in my head) was always "Gee, I didn't know I had a choice!" To me, life was what is was, and I just had to get on with it. I know full well that no matter how much you want something, or how hard you work, life might just not let you have it. Been there, done that.

I guess what I was trying to say is that so many of the factors we think are absolutes in our lives are really not. Can't save any money, living paycheck to paycheck? What if you put a dollar a day in a jar? Or fifty cents? Or a dime? I've done that - put any change in my purse at the end of day in a jar, and made myself leave it there until the jar was filled up. Can't afford fresh vegetables? What about one tomato plant in a pot? Or one package of lettuce? Maybe you can't grow an entire garden's worth of food, but you can supplement what you have to buy. Even an herb pot in a kitchen window can help spice up a pot of food bank beans and rice. Can't pay your mortgage? How about giving up cable tv, or your Internet service? One of my co-workers didn't even know the library offers free Internet access.

There's always something you can do, but most people can't/won't even imagine they could do it until/unless they are faced with some sort of earth-shaking event. And some of them not even then. I've had friends faced with losing their house who kept their satellite TV, expensive cars, latest phones, etc. because they felt entitled to that standard of life. Head slap.

I'll give the woman in the article kudos for doing something. I've known far too many people in similar circumstances that spent all their time whining about their former lifestyle. Or people who think they are facing great obstacles ("I had to switch from Whole Foods to the regular grocery store!" The horror!!), but haven't a clue how much more they could do to help themselves.

[EmmieJ]

Most cities have ordinances that prohibit people from having chickens - the noise I suppose, or else the ordinance is against having livestock and chicken fall under that umbrella. My own city is re-thinking their existing ordinances re chickens, and may now allow people to own a limited number for their own personal use. The sounds of clucking and crowing don't bother me, and there is no store bought egg that can compare to a fresh one. However, I live in a mobilehome park and having even one chicken is not an option. I also have very limited space for any sort of planting, but this fall I am going to begin a compost bin, with plans to put in a small raised bed come spring time. I figure this will accomplish many things: 1) I won't feel bad about throwing out vegetable and fruit waste; 2) Building a raised bed will be a great learning project for me and my son; and 3) Even if all I grow are fresh herbs, that's still something I know is organic from start to finish.

I'm not happy with the downturn in the economy, but it has taken me back to my roots. My parents were children in the Depression, and they have always lived frugally. It has been the source of many loving jokes among the siblings over the years of my dad's common phrase, "I'll put that to good use" and my mom's ability to make leftovers out of leftovers. Now I'm utilizing a lot of the money-saving techniques they demonstrated over the years. Waste not, want not - words to live by.

[Spider Burps]

Maybe I'm just a bitchy New Jersyian (*fist pump!!!!!!!one11!!*), but when I read this article in the Times this weekend I got grumpy. I'm totally in favor of growing what you can and wish that everyone who could do it would do it, but something about her "out of work antiques restorer" husband just didn't jibe with me. "Oh, gee, we can't afford food on my meager freelance writer's salary (but we -can- afford to live somewhere with room for CHICKENS in Brooklyn), but my darling husband can't be expected to do anything other than restoring antiques so I have to be the sole bread winner. Pity me while marveling at my superwoman-like abilities to do ALL of the work, bake my own bread and 'farm' my family's food at the same time!"

[emmiedahl]

This article made me grumpy as well.

On one hand, I think I am someone who is doing the impossible on a daily basis, at immense personal expense. I think many people can get out of their dire straits and keep body with soul if needed. Some people are just lazy fucking whiners who want everything to be easy. I hate it when those people tell me I am lucky we can survive on such little income and get through school. It's not luck. It's hard work and I think people who do it deserve a little props. I'm not talking about anyone here, mainly my neighbors and such.

On the other hand, there is only so much a person can do, and I hate it when the complex issues behind poverty are distilled into laziness and lack of DIY spirit. Like, if I just hang out my laundry and raise chickens, life will be all better! I'll be able to pay off my medical debt and catch up on biochemistry homework and everyone will live happily ever after! I'm not allowed to do either of those in my low income housing, btw.

[hapamama]

While I'd love to have a garden, I live in a condo and have no space. I've been thinking of getting on the waiting list for a space in one of the local community gardens, but right now the wait is around 2-3 years.

I draw the line at chickens though. Too much work.

[nuri]

I wish our town let us have chickens. I rent, so it wouldn't be allowed, but our neighbors had a few chickens and ducks they were raising for eggs. The wife either has or is in remission from cancer, and they decided to go all-natural in their diet. The town over lets people have chickens, so I guess they thought they could too. Our yards butt up against each other-- they had that poultry trained! They made little noise, and they almost crossed the road once.

Then some busy-body called the cops on them, and the birds disappeared one by one.

This article annoys me, but so does the "surely there is something you can do" attitude. A year and a half ago, there wasn't money for one tomato plant. It was insulin or rent, after cutting out everything extra. (we're fine now. What a difference a year makes!). And we were still doing better than some of our friends.

[Bella99]

I have to admit I found much to admire and a lot I found extremely irritating about this article. A friend of mine has teenage sons, a well, and a big productive garden. Our family has had respiratory problems all during the current drought (sp?) and no well, so we had a lack of able bodied labor and a water bill. I kept a bowl in the sink for handwashing water all summer to keep my herbs alive, and if I was going to water anything it would have been my foundation. If I had tried for a real garden this summer, I would have spent more on keeping it alive than I gained in veggies. So our situations were completely different.

Most people do find ways to be resourceful (I'll post pics of the $15 amazon princess costume when it is finished) and make sacrifices when faced with hard times , they just may not be the same sacrifices you would choose.

Nuri I hear you, health care is eating our family alive and we don't need insulin.

[duplessis3]

We get an egg a day from our hens - even in the winter. (But we live in No. Nv so yes, snow but also we have sun 360 days a year.)

And maybe its the lack of humidity but seed saving doesn't work that well for us.

[Kitten]

I hate it when the complex issues behind poverty are distilled into laziness and lack of DIY spirit.

I do, too. As a teenager, I heard all the time how much better I could do if I wasn't so "lazy" -- from my teachers, from my coaches, from my parents. It wasn't until years later that a wonderful doctor (and the Internet) helped me realize that, much to the contrary, I shouldn't even have been able to do a fraction of what I did, given my medical issues (some diagnosed then, others not until my 30's). I can't even say why or where I found the energy, except that I'm a stubborn bitch with a highly competitive streak.

Yes, I think society stigmatizes a lot of people unfairly with the "lazy" tag. To this day, because of that early conditioning, I still think I should be accomplishing more than I am. That's why I sometimes wish that other people could experience what I go through - not because I wish bad things to happen to anyone, but because I think it would make them able to empathize with me, and understand that my "normal" is nowhere near theirs.

In fact, a few years ago, my mom ended up having to take the same medication for a few months that I had to take from my early teens into my late 20's. She actually called me up and apologized for the way she treated me when I was a teenager, because she finally understood what I was working with all those years ago, and how well I had actually done, given the circumstances. No amount of my trying to explain that to her had ever worked.

This article annoys me, but so does the "surely there is something you can do" attitude.

I'm aware that what challenges one person crushes another. But even though it's very "Pollyanna" of me, I think attitude is 9/10 of the battle. Can't afford a tomato plant? Okay, then you are doing the best you can do. If you are honestly doing everything you can do to help yourself, then you've already put my beliefs into action. I've just seen a lot of people in my world who think they are doing everything they can do, but in reality, they haven't even scratched the surface.

[dawbs]

I'm aware that what challenges one person crushes another. But even though it's very "Pollyanna" of me, I think attitude is 9/10 of the battle. Can't afford a tomato plant? Okay, then you are doing the best you can do. If you are honestly doing everything you can do to help yourself, then you've already put my beliefs into action. I've just seen a lot of people in my world who think they are doing everything they can do, but in reality, they haven't even scratched the surface.

I think this gets hard.

'The best you can do' is a sliding scale. I may only be able to lift 50# but might do one of those 'huzzah, I can fling about a car with hulk-like strength and adrenaline' if it was going to crush my cat. I may not be able to get through my work day but if there's a real risk of being fired, I'll open my eyes in spite of the migraine and literally crawl out the door.

People often only 'scratch the surface because it isn't really psychologically healthy for us to be doing what we *could* do (if a gun was held to our head) all the time.

[PBrooke]

they had that poultry trained! They made little noise, and they almost crossed the road once.

But... why? :eusa-whistle: