Urban agriculture and survival: Family grows 6,000 lbs produce on 1/10th acre

If you haven't started prepping, are a city-dweller, or don't have much in the way of resources or space, this might be of interest to you. This family shows it is possible to grow eye-popping amounts of food in a cramped urban environment. Even if you aren't expecting SHTF, it's still an encouraging reminder that everyone -- even those embedded in huge cities and very much "on the grid" -- can do things to make themselves more self-sufficient and to take their destinies into their own hands.

If you work hard and get prepared, you can survive the economic nightmare that is coming. All over the United States and around the world there are millions of people that are learning how to become more self-sufficient. For example, there is one family that is actually producing 6000 pounds of produce on just 1/10th of an acre right in the middle of Pasadena, California. In fact, they grow so much food that they are able to sell much of it to restaurants in the area. Video of this incredible "urban homestead" is posted below. The key is to start with what you have. The family in the video below would like to have a large acreage, but for now they have turned what they do have into an absolute miracle. Yes, a horrific economic nightmare is coming to this country, but you don't have to be afraid. One of the main reasons why so many of us are trying to warn people about what is coming is so that they will wake up and take massive action to become self-sufficient like the people in the video below have.

More at source.

This is an act of Terrorism...to some people...S+F to you.

Truly great stuff I saw a clip of this family last year just awesome and inspiring. This is what everyone one on the planet is capable of and can work towards. Solution like this can help more than just the family. Hopefully more people will be watering gardens rather than extra lawn space this summer.

problem is in the urban environment theirs high chance of cannabis seed being discarded or tossed into the mix.

+1000 stars and flags for you!

This is amazing! If they can do that on only 1/10 an acre, my mind boggles at what I can do with my own land (a bit over an acre)!! Needs to be...re-arranged though...

Man this video makes me want to start my own garden. Not so doable in a condo

This was great to see!

Originally posted by Kargun
Man this video makes me want to start my own garden. Not so doable in a condo

This was great to see!

I'm with you man, I rent a 2 Bed room upstairs apartment, and have been trying to figure out how I can at least grow some tomatoes on my deck without pissing off my downstairs neighbor every time I water them.

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
problem is in the urban environment theirs high chance of cannabis seed being discarded or tossed into the mix.

Sad but true. All someone has to do if this family's endeavor starts cutting into the local produce market is to throw some cannabis seeds randomly into a few of the garden boxes then in no time they'd be shut down and fined, or maybe even worse.

I hope nothing like that would happen because it really is a great thing what they're doing, but you know people and their scheming ways nowadays...

Man that is almost as good as Michelle Obama's "garden".

I mean look at this picture she sure knows how to “garden”. I know I always hold my pitchfork like this!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/43567ea125b5.jpg[/atsimg]

The Amazing First Garden

White House garden. Since it was planted in the spring of 2009, the garden has yielded thousands of pounds of produce that has gone to feed the Obama family, White House guests, and the needy at a local food shelter. The first lady has also used the project educate children about the benefits of fresh food. (Watch Michelle Obama work in the garden.)

Here, a numerical look at the Obamas' backyard plot:

1,500 - Area, in square feet, of the garden — or, about 1/30 of an acre — after a 400-square-foot expansion in the spring of 2010

$200 - Cost of the seeds, mulch, and other supplies needed to start the garden last year, according to the assistant White House chef who oversees it

23 - Number of fifth graders who helped break ground for the garden

55 - Number of different kinds of foods — mostly vegetables — grown in the first year

0 - Synthetic fertilizers or pesticides used — much to the chagrin of conventional farming lobbyists and synthetic pesticide manufacturers

330 and 170 - Number of different types of vegetable and fruits, respectively, grown at Thomas Jefferson's garden at Monticello, which served as an inspiration for the First Lady's project. The Marseille fig, French artichokes, and purple calabash tomatoes were some of Jefferson's favorite picks

1,000 - Weight, in pounds, of the food the garden produced last year

1,600 - Weight, in pounds, of the food the garden has produced this year

4 - Number of new vegetables — bok choy, cauliflower, artichokes, and mustard greens — added to the garden in 2010

4 - Weight, in pounds, of a particularly large sweet potato from this season's harvest

134 - Amount of honey, in pounds, the White House beehive had produced, as of April

$495 - Cost of the "amazing" boots by "preppy chic" designer Tory Burch worn by the First Lady at this season's harvest festivities

Sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation...forgive me my transgression - I do like the OP article and as a farmer myself I find it amazing how creative people can be at bringing forth its bounty. Can you belive she has time for all that "gardening" and yet remains sooo...well whatever she is.

The White House garden I bet has a better publicist though....

reply to post by Crunkman919


They're in California...all they need to do is get a pot script and they'll be fine.

But on the realistic side of gardening. Anyone who has the means to garden should be doing all they can to get ahead of the learning curve now before it comes down to the crunch.

You need to know what can be grown in your climate, what varieties do best, how to deal with pests and disease, how to preserve your harvest, etc.

You need to know if there are certain types of plants that will survive through drought and poor weather--'starvation varieties' so to speak. My starvation plants are carrots and beets.

Lots to learn!

reply to post by Golf66


hahahaha

Looks like she's trying to kill a snake or something.

They sure do grow'em self-reliant in Chicago.

I have 4 acres of land and no idea how to grow anything, especially year round when it gets cold here in Northwest Florida.

Hmmm...

Wow..awesome thread! S&F!!

For anyone who is interested in reading up on some tips and tricks to gardening there is a thread here that fellow ATSers are posting in that has some really good tips and tricks to gardening. Would welcome everyone to post in it as it is something that I feel that we are all going to need knowledge of very soon.

I know when I lived in an apartment I grew some tomatoes on my back deck and what I found to be helpful, as to not water the downstairs neighbors, was to place my container in a shallow tray with a lip on it (kind of like the trays you get at Home Depot to put your wet boots on) so that when I watered them the excess water would drain out of the container into the tray and not run over the deck onto the downstairs neighbors. I also found that a bribe with some home grown tomatoes as an "I'm sorry" for the few times I did drip on them went along way towards forgiveness!

according to amazon their book is NO guide...just ideas...and their movie is old...2008...

so i am asking:

anyone a good guide/book/website he can recommend - but with manuals and not some philosophical-bs talk about the adventure and benefits...i need a manual to start =)

like:

This is an encouragement to me.

I pastor a church where we own several acres of land and have plans to start a community garden this next year. My hope is to be able to supplement the local food bank with fresh produce year round. Watching the disastrous crop failures this last year has truly woke me up to the reality that we need to as people learn to take care of ourselves, and not merely rely on the local supermarket to supply our needs.

By the way, I am a conservative and yes even a republican, lol....don't hold all that against me.

Originally posted by Crunkman919

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
problem is in the urban environment theirs high chance of cannabis seed being discarded or tossed into the mix.

Sad but true. All someone has to do if this family's endeavor starts cutting into the local produce market is to throw some cannabis seeds randomly into a few of the garden boxes then in no time they'd be shut down and fined, or maybe even worse.

A scheme which would take months to pay off and which probably wouldn't pay off at all. A single plant can get weeded, eaten by rabbits or whatever, or just not grow.

Anyways, they probably wouldn't have to.

In a lot of urban and suburban places, doing this much farming on your land is already against the zoning laws.

It's entirely possible that doing this much farming/gardening where they are is already in violation and getting attention for doing it will result in their operations being scaled back to compliance levels.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by Golf66

 

hahahaha

Looks like she's trying to kill a snake or something.

They sure do grow'em self-reliant in Chicago.

It would help if she got out of that Gucci jacket first .. throw on some overalls .. and get down and dirty ...

Awesome, but I have to wonder, how much time this all takes each day, and what they do for income. Maybe they said, I don't know, as couldn't hear the sound part (at work).... Seems like taking care of this thing would be completely time consuming.

A couple of recent innovations in alternative food production.

VertiCrop is a commercial high-density vertical growing system which increases production volume for field crops up to 20 times over but requires as little as 5% of the normal water supply. It is a non-GM solution to food problems, using trays on a looped dynamic conveyor belt and automatic feeding stations to grow plants efficiently.
www.paigntonzoo.org.uk...

Advantages;
Year-round crop production
No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pests
All food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides
Virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling back water
Product ransportation reduced
Use of redundant buildings

Disadvantages;
High start-up costs
Less choice as not all food plants respond well to this type of intensive farming
Possible negative public perception due to use of black water in food production

..South Pole Food Growth Chamber, which has been in operation since 2004. This semi-automated hydroponic facility in Antarctica is used to provide each of the 65 staff of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station with at least one fresh salad a day during the winter months, when supply flights to the station are extremely limited. The chamber has a floor area of 22 square metres and produces a wide range of fruit and vegetables with little more than the occasional topping up of water and nutrients. It does, however, require artificial lighting because the station is without natural daylight for most of the winter.
www.economist.com...

www.brighthub.com...

www.onlinegardenertips.com...

Hmm... Yeah this definitely got me thinking..

I know we have a few flower beds in the backyard here, maybe I'll talk my roommates who own this house into starting a little garden for tomatoes and carrots and #... Guess it's time to start my research in Utah gardening, if our snow ever goes away =\