A couple of people commented on-line that they are seeing a dramatic increase in the cost of food. As this continues, the sustainable practices I began learning eight years ago are paying off well.
This is to be expected as the cost of fossil fuels continues to climb. Big Agriculture is completely dependent on large farming machines and oil-based fertilizers.
There are several ways you can begin your own sustainable practices and also improve the quality of your food.
Here are the steps I have been taking over the last eight years.
As I have always wanted to homestead, it was easy to begin by learning how to can foods. The first thing I learned from a friend was how to make fruit jams and jellies. Since I am impatient, I ended up making fruit preserves since they take less cooking time.
You can make these easily for yourself using a Boiling Water Bath Canner. It, and the supplies you need, are sold in local grocery stores which carry canning supplies. You can also find them in farm stores and, of course, on-line.
When you can, buy food in bulk to reduce your cost. When you start canning, this means you will have to spend the time chopping up your fruit in order to can it. This is the most time consuming step. You may welcome the opportunity to do this in a group to split the cost of forty pounds of apricots, and also to enjoy the company and conversation of like-minded people. We are eating the very last pint of apricot jam from our original forty pounds five years later!
When you buy your canning supplies, get a copy of the “The Blue Book Guide to Canning” published by Ball Canning Jars. It will be in the same area in your local grocery store. Follow those recipes and guidelines until you get comfortable with the process. Then you will enjoy exploring some other sources.
In order to start canning some vegetables, you will need a Pressure Canner. This is different from a pressure cooker. Once again, chopping and cutting up vegetables will take up the bulk of the canning process time until you place your jars in the canner. The times required for canning under pressure are different and often many times longer than the times required for foods that are safe to preserve using Boiling Water Bath guidelines. Pay attention! We are talking food safety here!
Another excellent source for learning about canning is the on-line course from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (https://nchfp.uga.edu). These will teach you tested procedures for the foods listed. There are lots of on-line groups who share recipes and experiences. Be sure to can what your family likes to eat, but also add new flavors and spices from time to time so you don’t experience appetite fatigue. Try out a small batch of something new and if your family likes it, you can make a double batch and can it the next time.
My favorite type of food to preserve is soups and stews. Once they are in pints, they become my MIJs, or Meals-in-Jars. Since they involve many different foods, I can for the most time required by a specific food. For most meats, that means seventy-five minutes once the canner has reached the required pressure.
Also, as they are in glass pint jars, I can take off the metal ring and lid and heat them up in a microwave for about one minute, since they are at room temperature. It also makes it so easy to carry food with me when I am running errands. I don’t have to take time out to go to a restaurant or stand in line to get fast food. I am eating my own, responsibly sourced, excellent quality food.
To get healthy food, start at the Farmers Market. There are also several on-line services which offer food delivered to your home. Check with the farmers about buying in bulk. For instance, to make salsa, you do not need the best-looking tomatoes. Ask for “seconds”.
You may like to set up a buyers club with several friends, from two to six families, to buy meat in bulk if that is part of your diet. My family of two adults bought half a pig from a local farmer and another family of two adults we know bought the other half. We chose a processor, paid the farmer by weight, paid the processor by weight and were able to choose the cuts we wanted and how we wanted them processed. My price of pork chops, brats, roasts and bacon dropped from $8-$10 per pound to $3.50-$4.50 per pound. It has taken almost a year to eat one hundred pounds of meat. To split a cow, I will need four of us to go in on it. I am making reservations two years in advance with a friends’s friend who has started raising beef.
Finally, grow your own. The easiest way to start is in containers. Use plastic tubs and buy or mix your own organic soil mix. Make your own compost from your kitchen scraps while you are at it. You can start vermi-composting with worms right in your kitchen. It is a very sanitary process and very responsible. Your kitchen scraps are no longer going to the landfill in non-decomposable plastic bags. Instead, they are feeding worms which will turn the scraps into worm castings which will fertilize the plants in your containers. You can also start a compost pile in your backyard using one of the many composters available or build your own.
Learn about growing by using intensive garden spacing. With the value of nutrient dense soil, with your compost and worm castings, you will see production in a small area which is able to feed you and your family quite nicely. Of course, you can start small with just one raised garden bed, and then add to it each year until you are confidently producing good quality food for your family.
Get a plot in a community garden so you can learn from other gardeners. Share your yard with friends who live in apartments. Share the work and celebrate the harvest with pot luck dishes you have actually grown for yourself.
The rising food prices can be seen as an opportunity which moves you toward more responsibility for your own food and contributes to a self-sustaining life.
© 2018 Kathryn Hardage
