Permaculture #3 - Localise Your Food Supply

[Ashley Cawley]

Another great vid from: http://www.youtube.com/user/howshawthebrave


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa7xkmTtghg

[JonnyP]

Good stuff..

[swkieran]

it is ive been doing simular sort of things for a few years myself.In places like devon and cornwall were lucky because we have an abundance of local food and its not that much dearer than the supermarkets,if you know were to source it from and you know were its come from always tastes better esp things like eggs they have a completly different colour yoke a much creamier taste aswell,cant remember last time i bought eggs from tescos or sainsburys lol.who watched that programme about a week or so ago i think it was dispatches,might be wrong thou,but cut along story short it was about how they are going to produce milk in this country in the future massive battery cow farms all locked in a warehouse never let out to graze etc.they have these places in america all ready all to get milk as cheap as possible scary when you anaylize the way things are progressing

[Fletching]

I agree wholeheartedly, but try living somewhere like London and getting 'local' produce without spending a fortune. Methinks some kind of group buy and arrangements with farmers out in the country might be the way...something to think about at least...

Steve

[Martin]

I agree wholeheartedly, but try living somewhere like London and getting 'local' produce without spending a fortune. Methinks some kind of group buy and arrangements with farmers out in the country might be the way...something to think about at least...

Steve

Err, Tesco have already thought about that. ;)

Martin

[Claire Cawley]

When we moved to our house in 2009, I saw a sign a little way down the road for a farm shop. I thought, great, I'll try and get most of our shopping from there. So I went for a walk a few weeks later to find this farm shop. I walked quite a long way, passed a farm and a group of outbuildings and sheds, came to a bit of a dead end so started walking back. Then I realised that the run down wooden shed by the side of the track road WAS the farm shop. They don't have any meat, but plenty of seasonal veg and eggs for much cheaper than the supermarkets. There's just a little saucer to leave your money, I love the country! We're very lucky to have this resource, but I am ashamed to say that I don't use it nearly as often as I should. Because I can get everything I need from Tesco in one go, I'm afraid that more often than not, that's the option I choose. A bit late for New Years resolutions, I know, but I will try and use our 'farm shop' as often as I can this year. Starting with a nice walk now...

[comanighttrain]

They don't have any meat, but plenty of seasonal veg and eggs for much cheaper than the supermarkets. There's just a little saucer to leave your money, I love the country!

ahh yes...one of those high tech automated checkouts.

[fish]

I agree wholeheartedly, but try living somewhere like London and getting 'local' produce without spending a fortune. Methinks some kind of group buy and arrangements with farmers out in the country might be the way...something to think about at least...

Steve

its called a cooperative mate! get maybe 5-10 members signed up and buy in bulk from rural farms and producers,i buy most stuff like veg and meat in bulk and save 60% on the cost had i gone to a supermarket,butchery isnt dificult and as long as a beast is in cookable joints its fine.i baught a sack of 40 big swedes for £6.00 the same size in morrisons was 99p! same with spuds parsnips etc.
do some googling and emails to find the suppliers get a pricelist worked out ie how much the actual cost would be for items and show it about,tell your coop members that the milage would be 20p a mile to get the stuff and that everyone has to split that cost ,it will work out cheaper in the long run.also worthy of note is that if you buy the equivilent of a whole pig in shop sized pieces it would cost £200 or there abouts a whole pig cut in half from a producer will cost £90,if you have to pay the abbatoir to butcher it will cost an extra £30,still a huge saving. better still buy 2 piglets and do a wartime style pig club,everyone feeds it and splits the cost,fat em up and £400 worth of pork will cost you about £100 incl slaughter fee of £20.00.

[JonnyP]

its called a cooperative mate! get maybe 5-10 members signed up and buy in bulk from rural farms and producers,i buy most stuff like veg and meat in bulk and save 60% on the cost had i gone to a supermarket,butchery isnt dificult and as long as a beast is in cookable joints its fine.i baught a sack of 40 big swedes for £6.00 the same size in morrisons was 99p! same with spuds parsnips etc.
do some googling and emails to find the suppliers get a pricelist worked out ie how much the actual cost would be for items and show it about,tell your coop members that the milage would be 20p a mile to get the stuff and that everyone has to split that cost ,it will work out cheaper in the long run.also worthy of note is that if you buy the equivilent of a whole pig in shop sized pieces it would cost £200 or there abouts a whole pig cut in half from a producer will cost £90,if you have to pay the abbatoir to butcher it will cost an extra £30,still a huge saving. better still buy 2 piglets and do a wartime style pig club,everyone feeds it and splits the cost,fat em up and £400 worth of pork will cost you about £100 incl slaughter fee of £20.00.

The two pigs (Berkshires) we raised last year, cost us £320 all in. That includes buying them, feeding them, ear tags, slaughter and butchery fees.. Certainly going to be getting more piggies again this year..

[Aaron Rushton]

my mum runs prmaculture courses and designs edible gardens. the reason i took up shooting was to protect crops which led to me taking up bushcraft!

[klause]

I get most of my fruit and veg from our local market at a third of the price they are on sale at the local Tesco.
I couldn't tell you where the veg is from but it is 'muddy' so i guess it hasnt been transported too far. there is one farmer on the market that sells his own produce and has given me valuable information in the past as how to grow and improve my own crops at home.

The local council are trying to run down the market (I wonder why?) by hiking up the rent for stalls causing alot of stall holders not to bother last week; it was a sad sight to see..It is in our own interest to buy from local suppliers so we can continue to buy fresh produce not flown in from the other side of the world.

Better still grow your own - i've planted my own cherry tree a year last autum (got 10-15 cherries last summer, hoping for alot more this year).

[paul standley]

Hi Steve, maybe you could look to start a little urban permaculture project if you have a garden or patio/yard (food plants not pigs...!)

Have to say, I'm getting interested in the general topic and looking to get a small allotment this year as one of my 2011 goals is to start switching to some self sustainability with an 'edible garden'.

I just bought 4 fruit trees that stay small and will be in large patio pots and I'm looking to take some of my lawn up and planting some food plants and herbs.

Paul

[Marvell]

A few urban garden tips:

1) You can plant a really decent herb garden in a window box.
2) There are varieties of tomato which are specifically bred for growing in hanging baskets.
3) Don't grow pumpkins!

[paul standley]

Hi Steve, maybe you could look to start a little urban Permaculture project if you have a garden or patio/yard (food plants not pigs...!)

Have to say, I'm getting interested in the general topic and looking to get a small allotment this year as one of my 2011 goals is to start switching to some self sustainability with an 'edible garden'.

I just bought 4 fruit trees that stay small and will be in large patio pots and I'm looking to take some of my lawn up and planting some food plants and herbs.

Paul

So, 5 months on from my earlier post and I'm pleased with how my first foray into food growing has gone this year. Here's a short clip of pics of stuff I'm growing in containers (mostly) right now...

Tomatoes (upright cherry tom variety in pots and 'tumbling tom' cascading cheery type in hanging baskets & in front garden) , potato's, onions, garlic, lots of various salad stuff, various herbs, capsicum (sweet) peppers, various soft fruits, lemon and orange trees (got flowers on the lemon tree but first 3 dropped off so might have a problem there) and the 4 fruit trees (now 5 actually) are growing strong but I won't see any fruit until next year at the earliest.

Took the front lawn up...! and in the middle of slabbing part of it for sitting out and for pots and I'll cultivate the rest. Got some cherry toms in the front garden as I ran out of pots & space in the back and they're taking over...!

Compost bin is doing great as well...!

I didn't get an allotment yet, thought I'd see how I did this year first.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTlSYmbBAxw

[ElementOwl]

Looks like it is going well Paul, I would like to start growing my own stuff but I am in the middle of renovating the house so I have to sort that before I can begin tackling the land (it was used as a small garden nursery before the previous owner became ill and it fell into rack & ruin, now it is a bit of a mess).

Thanks for taking the time to update this thread, I would be interested to see how your future harvests go.

[kernewek]

Looks like it is going well Paul, I would like to start growing my own stuff but I am in the middle of renovating the house so I have to sort that before I can begin tackling the land (it was used as a small garden nursery before the previous owner became ill and it fell into rack & ruin, now it is a bit of a mess).

Thanks for taking the time to update this thread, I would be interested to see how your future harvests go.

Im embarking on a full permaculture design course at the mo, i need to design 10 projects over the next few years and am looking for gardens in notts. would you be interested in having a designed food growing garden?

[paul standley]

Im embarking on a full permaculture design course at the mo, i need to design 10 projects over the next few years and am looking for gardens in notts. would you be interested in having a designed food growing garden?

Good luck with your course Kernewek... Anyone in Nottingham area should take you up on this opportunity, it's not often one get's a chance to have their garden designed for them.

This year was a fast learning curve for me and next year I will grow some things again and not others and doing some things the same and changing others in an attempt to further integrate food growing within a suburban 'normal' garden. Key for me seems to producing good natural compost (just starting on my 2nd compost bin now) and growing produce that is either expensive to buy in the shops (like rasberries & strawberries) or easy to grow (potatoes & tomatoes)...

[Edwin]

Veg gardening in containers useless this year again but our newish fruit trees have really taken off and pruning will be necessary this year. Definitely makes the case for forest gardening or whatever one wants to call it. Would be really good to have pigs and chickens in an orchard but that isn't possible.

[ElementOwl]

Im embarking on a full permaculture design course at the mo, i need to design 10 projects over the next few years and am looking for gardens in notts. would you be interested in having a designed food growing garden?

Yes, just had a chat with OH and she is keen to know more, if our patch of Nottinghamshire fits with your course it could well be an interesting project. Our place is rural rather than sub-urban and there are a few aspects you would have to work around too. If it sounds like it could be useful for you please drop me a message when you are ready and I will send further details.
Many thanks:)