Re: PING! Michael

Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-11-27, Carol <cshenk@virginia-beach.com> wrote:

Cindy Hamilton wrote:
 

On 2024-11-26, Carol <cshenk@virginia-beach.com> wrote:

songbird wrote:
 

Carol wrote:
...

And you have no clue how much we produce and how much more we

have >> > that never enters the sales market (I even gave 2 nut
samples).  >>

  yes, if people had gardens they could cut food expenses
but then they'd actually have to do something to grow and
harvest it (and learn about nature and stuff...).
 
 
  songbird

 
Yup.  I'm still working on it but only trees really work for me,
though I get other things in smaller amounts.  Lettuce and green
onions equal to our needs.  Most years lots of bell peppers.
 
Current project, source some plant warmers and better seedling

pots >> > yhat I can use year after year.

 
The United States imports about 15% of its food supply or
$204 billion worth.  People fucking around in their backyards
are never going to make up for that.

 
Cindy, tank you for saying those of us who enjoy a food garden as a
hobby are 'fucking around'.  I'm sure we will all stop because you
don't like it.

 
I'm not asking you to stop.  I'm asking you to realize that Americans
will never grow enough in their back yards to make a dent in the
amount of produce consumed in this country.

I never said it would nor did Songbird.  You have come over on
something NO ONE HERE SAID OR IMPLIED.

We do not have a food shortage.  We import for variation of products
and for out of season goodies.  We export fruit in summer and
import in our winter, for example.  Overall, we export far more
than we import.  The only charts that don't show us as the top
nation exporting foods, are the ones that treat ALL the EU
countries as one, in which case they have an edge.

 
We export crops like soybeans, corn, and wheat.

And fruits, vegetables, seafood, fresh water 'seafood' and meats in
poultry, pork and beef.  I believe our main exports of pork are to
China.

We import crops like fruits and vegetables, seafood, coffee, and
speciality products.

For most fruits/veggies, it's just thw seasonal nature that has us
importing in winter.

 

Unless you're going to plant your back yard in soybeans, corn,
and wheat, your hobby isn't going to have much impact on what
the rest of the country does.

https://www.rubyhome.com/blog/gardening-stats/

55% of USA homes have a home garden.

18.3 million U.S. households started gardening in 2021.
The U.S. is one of the top 3 gardening countries.
55% of people garden to create a beautiful space, and 43% garden to
grow food.
Tomatoes are the most popular homegrown vegetables and found in 86% of
food gardens.
The average U.S. garden is 600 sq.ft. and produces $600 worth of food.
The average return on food gardening investment was 757% in 2021.
A 100-200 sq.ft. food garden can feed one person year-round.
People garden 5 hours a week on average.
29% of U.S. gardens are in the South.

Good article to explain it.  Even in apartments, we container gardened
lettuce, spices and green onions.

Apple trees (one in background and one closer):
https://posti mg.cc/SnZWC0SB

Cherry trees (1 of 7):
https://postimg.cc/v48r48s7

Part of garden (3 of 18 raised panels):
https://postimg.cc/CzJxPCMq

(A few flowers mixed in but most of the 18 panels hold food and are now
raised with more cinder blocks to 24in tall.  Panels are made of split
wood fencing.  When we have fence work replaced, we keep the better
pieces and use for the raised garden.  This is an older picture.

On the other side is a small green house in a wind protected place and
tied to cinderblocks.  In case of hurricane, the top can be lifted off.
I'll try to remember in spring to get more pictures but I moved most of
my gardening habits off to another newsgroup it was more suited to.

Oh, this one blows Sheldon off the map on costs vs return on investment.