If I save seeds this fall, I will be a nearly self sufficient little suburban food growing unit.

[wildeyed]

I started out with a small garden. Then I learned to compost yard and kitchen scraps for fertilizer. This year I added rain barrels, so for the most part, I am not dependent on city water to irrigate the garden. I can preserve my garden bounty using the rays of the sun. If I learn to save seeds this year, I will be a mostly self sufficient little unit. Not like I am living off the land or anything, but still pretty cool :)

Next year, maybe I will get some chickens, too :crazy:

[hippywife]

1. Bravo!

You should be very proud of yourself! All it takes are small steps, one at a time, and it all comes together eventually. :applause:

We aren't going to get much out of our garden this year, but it's our third year and the best results yet so I'm hopeful already for next year.

[wildeyed]

2. You had that bad storm.

Results would have been better if the garden hadn't been pelted with hail!

I try to explain the small steps thing to my conservation adverse friends. You don't make all the changes at once. Pick one and then work on it for a while. Bring your own bags to the grocery, make one vegetarian meal per week, whatever. It all helps.

The other thing I tell them, don't worry about perfection. It is very difficult, in today's society, to be completely green. When we bought our current house, I really wanted to be in a walking neighborhood to cut down on car usage. Unfortunately, very few of those exist in my city, and the ones that do are out of our price range. So we settled for a house that is near work and amenities, but I still have to drive to almost everything :( But I can make my yard "greener" by raising food and bringing native plants in the landscape, so I settle for that for now.

[hippywife]

3. We all do

what we can. If everyone did at least one or two small things, what a difference it would make.

I truly never envisioned myself gardening, canning, raising chickens, none of that. Any you are right. Take one change and do it for awhile. When it becomes ingrained as part of your routine, add something else. I call it my eco-layering. :)

[BOSSHOG]

4. Excellent

I like to save seeds from produce. I find that little medicine bottles work very well for storage and you will want to keep them indoors in relative room temperature. Its a great hobby.

How are your rain barrels set up? Do you have any tricks?

[asdjrocky]

5. We're right at just about the same place.

The rain barrels will be going in this fall, right after I paint the house. Feels great don't it?

[K8-EEE]

6. Interesting article in this month's Sunset Mag re: chickens

It said for suburban/urban setting, you can have an all female egg team -- they will lay one unfertilized egg a piece every day, so if you have 6 hens, you will get half dozen eggs a day for chicken scratch.

The roosters are loud and aggressive and generally a pain in the ass...men! LOL....