Thread: Getting back to living off the land.....

Originally Posted by Chelsea

Thanks all. I’m actually in the process of making the challenge that I have to make, hunt or raise everything we eat. So I should hopefully only need to buy the basics such as flour, sugar and some dried herbs etc.
we have got the chooks in the garden at the moment letting them destroy the lot because the potato seeds from a few years ago took off and smothered a lot of the stuff we grew. We are in south Waikato and it gets pretty frosty here so we can’t plant much until closer to spring. We will spray it out and run The rotary hoe through it later in winter. I might get some seeds started that I can get using indoors like herbs and maybe a couple of lettuces. We have a few broken troughs out the back I might fill with soil and plant some vine plants in those when the times right.

If you are starting with a clean slate vege wise, the ultimate system I have seen is to fence an area twice the size needed and have chooks on one half one year and the other half or side the next. Breaks the cycle of any plant diseases and the chooks eat the scraps and dung the soil. The chook house is in the centre at one end and has a door to each side of the garden

@Chelsea I grow as many greens as possible as I reckon they give you the best bang for buck. I eat sorta Keto-ish so don't eat a lot of carbs but will be putting a few spuds in. I just try to grow the easier veges. Here's a quick tour of my place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkINzQHjFM&t=450s

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

@Chelsea I grow as many greens as possible as I reckon they give you the best bang for buck. I eat sorta Keto-ish so don't eat a lot of carbs but will be putting a few spuds in. I just try to grow the easier veges. Here's a quick tour of my place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkINzQHjFM&t=450s

rule #1 : if its green its mean! ..................eeuwwwww

Originally Posted by gonetropo

rule #1 : if its green its mean! ..................eeuwwwww

Hahahahaha I used to live by this after I choked on a spinach leaf. Then you have kids and apparently greens are good.

Originally Posted by Chelsea

Hahahahaha I used to live by this after I choked on a spinach leaf. Then you have kids and apparently greens are good.

nope no kids, i got fixed when i was in my early 20's to avoid any accidents.
therefore vege is still evil

Originally Posted by gonetropo

nope no kids, i got fixed when i was in my early 20's to avoid any accidents.

Smart move.

As for getting gardens started; I try to go non-dig as it saves a shit ton of work. The Geoff Lawton vid below is a great starting point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wgHQtxgJw

And; Charles Dowding's no-dig YT channel is brilliant (link below). No dig has saved me a huge amount of work. Especially last year when I broke my ankle and couldn't get into the garden properly for a few months
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wgHQtxgJw

And.... If you have a lazy 15-mins.... Here's an interview Radio NZ did with me about my lifestyle. Hopefully the info will be helpful
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/progr...arden-of-eatin