Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: CSAs and your yard

[Fred H. Olson WB0YQM (fholson]

michael murray MENTUS1 [at] WINTERNET.COM
is the author of the message below but due
to a listserv problem it was posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop (Fred).
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Mike Mariner made some great points about CSAs and gardening, but I'd really
like to emphasize that "deciding on an urban or suburban community" does NOT
preclude growing LOTS of produce yourself w/some forethought and preparation.

In our city lot backyard (which I wish was part of a larger, common space),
we are approaching around 1/2 of our vegetable and fruit needs in pretty
small space by using the "square foot method" and other intensive
techniques. We start most stuff from seed early in the season in the
basement (add me to the chorus of pro-basement folks BTW) and have planted
fruit trees and grape vines "espalier" style along the property perimeter
which takes very little space. We have just put in drip irrigation tubing
for watering which cuts way down on water usage and buys us back around 1/2
hour each day.

Granted there was/is alot of preparation work and initial expense involved,
but organic produce is normally priced at a premium so I believe (no I
haven't done an ROI!) that we save money in the long run.  For example, we
still have around 40 quarts of tomato sauce in the cellar from last season,
we bartered our "overage" to a local cafe in exchange for sandwiches and
baked goods, and we usually "pick dinner" from the greens and herbs in back
when it's too hot to cook.  Note that this is USDA Zone 4 -- not a very long
frost-free season -- so most of you can probably do better than this.

Sorry this is tangential to coho perhaps but I like to point out that urban
living and agriculture are not mutually-exclusive, even in an apartment house.

Bye,

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michael murray, hopeless xenophile      mentus1 [at] winternet.com (for now...)
snail: 1906 dayton ave st paul mn usa 55104       voice:01-612-943-8193(d)
              "I hope that truth is its own reward
      I hope the pen is mightier than any sword" - Peter Garrett
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