So, being the good granola boy that I am, I was sniffing around the Off-Grid.net for the latest and greatest in grid free goodness (yeah okay, so you can have a fetish for solar panels, kill me). And being a big fan of Wretha, I read her recent post on gloom and doom. Snip snip…

“I’m not one for doom and gloom, though anyone starting a sentence with “I’m not one for doom and gloom…” probably has a bit of it on the brain. I don’t have a TV therefore I get very little in the way of news and such. A good thing as far as I’m concerned, who needs it! It’s generally full of D&G, dozens or more channels telling us how we evil humans are destroying the planet, global warming, bovine flatulence and such, while bombarding us with commercials and infomercials on the latest fashions, diet adverts and penile enhancements…”

I was nodding along happily. How often have we watched the news, then have it interrupted by commercials for the latest and greatest in disposable crap that we don’t really need, and often the same crap into the mess to begin with. Right Wretha, amen sister, you go girl, I read on…

”Yesterday I heard a story on NPR about the economy, they were discussing how Americans might be making contingency plans, how to survive a worst case scenario. One lady on the program made this statement: '

…My name is Lara Fukes. I’m 38 years old. And if another Great Depression would happen, I would probably talk to all my good friends and probably all go together to a farm and, you know, start raising our own animals and vegetables, and we could all survive together…'

The statements made by other people in the piece weren’t much better… here is the problem, I assume that Lara (and many other people living in cities, or even in rural areas) has never been on a farm, or at least has never worked on a farm. No, visiting Knotts Berry Farm does not count.

First of all, during a “Great Depression”, does Lara think she and her friends are going to just show up on a farm and expect to be welcomed, I think during a major depression like the Great Depression, Lara and her friends might be looked upon as another mouth to feed and would probably be greeted by the farm owners in a hostile manner. Or does she think she and her friends are going to be able to buy a farm? I hope Lara and her friends thought ahead and purchased gold and silver as forms of currency, because I believe that in this worst case scenario, debit and credit cards aren’t going to get you very far.”

Oooh. Very good call. In fact, at times I’ve entertained the same fantasy as dear Lara… and then I started getting my hands a wee bit dirty learning about organics, permaculture, and land management. Yeah, so, it’s not so simple to become self-sufficient overnight. Wretha, thanks for the reality check on that one, and quite frankly, you’re damn right.

So, what does a well meaning, farm-curious, economic depression fending, forward-thinking person do? Good question! There’s quite a few ways to plant the carrot and be a bit more practical in your approach to farming than dear Lara. If you are some city slicker eager to roll up and get back into the garden or roll up on a farm, or suburbanite looking to rehab your turf into something edible, check out a few resources that should hopefully help you get going:

WWOOF – Yes, it’s a heavy acronym, and no, it has nothing to do with dogs or bizarre sexual references. It stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms better known as YOU and your friends and family. No matter where you are in the world, there are links, leads, and contact information for where to find a farm in your area. Contact the person who owns the land, they’ll tell you what help they need, arrange date, and presto. You’re slinging compost, potting sprouts, sorting seeds, chasing chickens… you get the idea. Best of all, no experience is necessary and it’s so easy even your humble editor did it! Tremendous, and you might even come home with some goodies to show for all your hard work.

Landshare – While this is a really cool site for you folks in the UK, it probably wouldn’t take much to get something like it put up on the likes of Craigslist and it’s a bloody great idea. It connects growers, landowners, land-spotters, and facilitators so that vacant land gets used productively, and people just like you learn the basics of growing lettuce. Nice. Anyone web savvy out there, take the idea and replicate!

Your Backyard Farmer – Ever thought that you’d like to do something with your backyard, but your turf grass with Thousand Island Dressing just doesn’t appeal? These people promise to give even the laziest a taste of seasonal produce, direct from the goodness of your friendly confines. While the company is located in the Pacific Northwest, there are probably similar enterprising types around the country and elsewhere in the world. In New Zealand, Patch From Scratch is another similar example. If you have gardening skills and just got laid off, congratulations we just found you a new calling!  No matter what happens, people have gotta eat.  Opportunity knocks baby!

Transition Towns – We would also like to take this opportunity to plug Transition Towns. This worldwide movement is all about taking action as a community to meet the challenges of the economy, peak oil, and climate change. One of the often repeated actions taken by Transition Towns groups is setting up a community garden. Get to know your neighbors, work cooperatively on something local, and save a heap of money on healthy food.  Wins on every count.  We’ll have more on Celsias about Transition Towns soon, but definitely check them out!

No matter what the uncertain times ahead throw at us, a bit of pre-planning, soul-searching, and good old practicality will serve us well. As Wretha pointed out in her post, there is no time like the present so, get digging! And of course, send us your stories when you do.

Related Reading:
Growing Lush Landscapes and New Behaviour
Conservation Agriculture