The global economy is crumbling. In my country, more people have planted fruit and vegetables in their gardens this season, instead of flowers that simply look pretty. People want to be prepared, and potatoes and peas actually bloom quite nicely.
What’s the situation in the US, where people live in rural areas or suburbs without homeowners associations and the climate theoretically makes growing vegetables possible?
Have you ever considered acquiring this knowledge and taking up a new hobby?
If so, how do you get natural, non-GMO seeds?
Is it possible to purchase seeds from the Amish?
Comments
> The global economy is crumbling
Take some deep breaths
> If so, how do you get natural, non-GMO seeds?
Miss me with that anti science bullshit
Why wouldn’t we be able to get seeds?
I grow a small vegetable garden every year. It’s very, very, very easy to get non-gmo seeds, most of which no one owns any proprietary rights to.
It’s very expensive and difficult to get gmo seeds if you’re a home gardener.
There are verrrrrrry few Amish in my area, but I don’t need to get seeds from them, because I can buy them from literally thousands of other places or get them for free through community gardening groups and even the public library (yes, the one that lends books).
I live in a small town in a rural area.
I have had a garden in my backyard for years.
I have had a small backyard flock of chickens for years.
I planted a few fruit trees a few years back.
I’m tempted to get a small hive of bees going. I have experience with bees, so it’s not that big of a jump for me.
I’m trying to start a backyard mushroom farm. I started with ‘Chicken of the Woods’ as my starter mushroom. I put mushroom plugs in last year. I’m waiting to see if they actually come up this year.
I’m tempted to invest in some Jerusalem Artichokes.
I have plans on staring grapes and blueberries eventually.
GMO seeds grow easier in droughts, produce a greater yield, and are resistant to disease.
There are many seed companies both GMO and not, not just Amish.
And people in cities have gardens too, no stereotyping on that front! Some on roofs, some in window boxes, some in yards (yes, cities have yards), some in community areas in an apartment building, some in parks managed by a garden club — loads of ways to grow and garden even in a downtown city area.
Anyone who is growing food in their backyard in the event that the global food supply collapses and they can’t get food is grossly underestimating how much space you need to feed yourself sustainably unless you have a massive garden.
I’ve had a garden for over 45 years; my largest garden was 100 feet by 150 feet. Now I just grow tomatoes rhubarb and peppers
Unless you’re planning to start a cornfield in your backyard the GMO question is meaningless. Stuff you buy at your local feed and seed is almost guaranteed to not be GMO.
I’ve always had a large garden so it’s really not any different for me.
Non-GMO seeds are readily available. There’s no need to go find someone that’s Amish in order to source them. You can literally order them online. And at worst you can always call your county’s agricultural exchange to find them.
Gardening only saves people money in a place like the US in a very specific set of circumstances. Typically vegetables are cheap enough that the average person would be better off getting a part time job or picking up some overtime than taking the time to learn how to garden, take to time to do so, and can the leftovers so they can last the rest of the year and not go to waste.
This used to be more common for a couple of reasons. My grandmother used to do this a lot and the reason why is that she did not work. She stayed at home to take care of the house and kids which meant her and the five kids could all work in the garden. But she also enjoyed it a lot, so it’s not like she was only doing it to save money.
Also, if you look at a chart of food costs over the years relative to the median income, people used to spend a far larger portion of their income on food, so growing your own food was actually worth the time instead of being primarily a hobby. I would say that these days 95% of the time people grow a vegetable garden because they enjoy it, not to save money. Rural people are far more likely to hunt to save money because meat is more expensive and many of them already own firearms. All they need is a hunting license and a tag. I know many people that eat pretty much only deer meat because they stock their freezer every deer season.
Suburban New Jersey just outside of NYC. Have had a large garden every year for the last 15ish years and several fruit trees.
Not a “substance” farming thing, rather just what we enjoy. Some neighbors have chickens too.
If you mean non-GMO as in the DNA hasn’t been fucked with, easy. Most all stuff available to public is such.
If everything went to hell and we were no longer able to buy groceries, a garden isn’t going to do shit to keep anyone from starving. If you want to actually become self sustainable, you need a farm, which is completely different from a hobby garden. If you plant the right things (such as herbs or very high yield crops like tomatoes), it might save you a bit of money, but in no world is a backyard garden going to keep you fed for any longer than a few days, if you’re lucky. Tbh, a garden is more valuable as a hobby (which, to be clear, is still very important!) than as a food source
It’s not “non-GMO” you should be looking for, it’s “heirloom” seeds. Many commercially available seeds give your veggies this year, but the veggies are sterile. Heirloom seeds produce viable seeds that can be planted next year.
I don’t grow food crops, but in my area, tomatoes and peppers are among the most common vegetables grown by home gardeners. That’s often because tomatoes especially are far better when freshly picked.
Vegetable gardens have been popular for years, it has very little to do with global economic collapse and preparedness.
You overestimate the scope and spread of pain and HOAs.
Growing crops in the backyard on a small scale is pretty popular, my family has always done it. I’m looking to put in a Blueberry bush this year
I can literally buy seeds at multiple stores, the library, or from a catalog. Nevermind online.
I grow a vegetable plot every year. Fresh produce is amazing and I love being able to go pick it and then immediately cook/eat it.
>If so, how do you get natural, non-GMO seeds?
What are you on about dude….
I have some heirloom seeds I grow specific crops from, but mostly I just order whatever sounds promising.
Whats the problem with GMO? GMOs are great. I ❤️ GMOs
> The global economy is crumbling.
It’s not, but I’ll play.
> In my country, more people have planted fruit and vegetables in their gardens this season
That’s great.
> instead of flowers that simply look pretty
Ok. Pretty is fine too. Beauty matters.
> People want to be prepared
Ok, nothing wrong with growing some food.
> potatoes and peas actually bloom quite nicely.
Great.
> What’s the situation in the US, where people live in rural areas or suburbs without homeowners associations and the climate theoretically makes growing vegetables possible?
HOAs aren’t as common as you think. Some of them also allow food gardens and the members of an HOA are the HOA, they can create change in their community if they want.
I live in one of these rural areas. Some people grow food, most don’t.
It’s super common for those that do grow to give their excess to neighbors, coworkers, food banks or open a small stand at the roadside to sell their goods.
> Have you ever considered acquiring this knowledge and taking up a new hobby?
>
Not really. I’d be fighting deer and squirrels and porcupines and birds for a meager harvest.
> If so, how do you get natural, non-GMO seeds?
>
Anywhere that sells seeds.
> Is it possible to purchase seeds from the Amish?
>
Yes, there’s actually a good size community around here. But why?
I have a vegetable garden every year. i spent a couple hours yesterday clearing all the weeds that grew in it during the winter. I don’t usually grow from seeds, I get starts at the nursery. there is no need to get seeds from the Amish, wtf is this about. It’s easy to get heirloom varieties of seeds and starts if that’s what I want. I’m not a prepper weirdo, i just like having the freshest veggies available. Having a garden is a luxury, not a necessity for survival. I don’t live in an HOA and do what I want. i live in an excellent climate for growing vegetables.
It’s impossible to sustain yourself let alone a family on the amount of property I own. I have an herb and vegetable garden for FUN – it will never change my dependence on commercial supply chains for food. I’d wager 99% of people (not just Americans) would be unable to provide a significant amount of food for themselves without industry farming.
In the US both GMO and non-GMO seeds for vegetables and plants are prevalent and common.
The non-GMO we call Heirloom as a category for vegetable gardening.
Growing your own food is not necessarily cheaper for us but if you enjoy it, then it’s something to do.
I believe in the idea of working for yourself and that means growing your own plants.
Right now I have frost resistant lettuce, radishes, and peas going and have started seedlings on 8 different peppers, 2 types of carrots, Roma tomatoes, 2 green beans and I’m doing potatoes in a couple of grow bags this weekend.
I have a small plot that I’m expanding this year. Just the basics, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, peas, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs. Once I get around to landscaping the front yard, there will be berry bushes. I don’t care about GMOs and I get my seeds and plants from a catalog.
I’m canning the tomatoes, green beans, and some of the peppers, freezing the peas, and everything else is just salad and general cooking. No relation to the global… situation, I’d just like to have some stuff put away for when it’s useful and honestly the tomatoes are just better from the backyard.
Vegetable gardens are relatively common, at least where I live. My neighbor has his entire back yard it set up for gardening.
I’m on year two of mine, it’s a lot of fun and I really enjoy doing things like pickling watermelon rinds.
Lol
Having a backyard vegetable garden has long been popular in the US, they were encouraged during WWII and again in the 1970s. Even people without large areas will often do container gardens (plants in pots). We don’t do “allotments” but there’s been a movement for years in some urban areas to do “community gardens” where they use vacant lots for the equivalent, though you don’t get to put up a shed, usually.
That said, as the child of an avid vegetable gardener who had an acre of garden, a greenhouse, and canned additional stuff from the farmer’s market every fall: you are not going to sustain yourself with your garden, not even if you grow zucchini. It is an enormous amount of work, and a moderate amount of expense, but a lot of time, and skill/knowledge. You can get heritage seeds (what you are calling non-GMO, though most modern plants are almost certainly hybrids going back 1000s of years) from literally any place you can buy seeds. Note, part of the improvement made with some plants was to make them easier for hobby gardeners to grow and not have them eaten by pests and vermin, so best of luck with trying to start on Expert Level.
I’m sure you can buy seeds from an Amish vendor, but it won’t be any kind of imaginary pure or old-fashioned.
Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in America.