Climate crisis is a food crisis. As the local food growing weather shifts with climate change we are going to have to adapt along with it. That can mean finding new varieties to grow, new ways of keeping crops cooler, wetter, warmer or drier. We have to plan ahead for events that we are not sure about. We have to try to follow a path of logic without definites. We are being challenged to use our resources and tools in ways we never have before. Some ways that some of us might change what we are doing could be using greenhouses more and expanding them to all seasons which means finding ways to keep them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Of course 4 season greenhouses already exist but they are prohibitively expensive for the backyard gardener. As of now, my greenhouse lengthens the seasons by one month in spring and one month in fall. Last year I successfully overwintered brassicas, spinach and a couple other things under the second tunnel. They didn't grow in the cold but they stayed alive and grew fast and early in the spring. This year, the rats got in there and ate everything. So I don't know. Constantly looking for ways to adapt.
The harvest is in and there’s a chill in the air, so our Pumpkin Spice seasonal tincture is back! This is our most flavorful tincture, especially good in milky coffee, tea, or hot chocolate on a cold day when you need a little extra warmth. Get it for $20 off for a limited time. (Please boost to help a small farm.) #MilkBarnFarm#SmallFarm https://milkbarn.farm/products/pumpkin-spice
The harvest is still coming in, so our harvest sale is still on! Treat yourself to a better night's sleep, a little extra calm during the day, or a soothing salve to ease body pain. Use the code "HARVEST23" for 20% off all our small farm products until the end of the month. (Getting the word out is hard, so boosts are appreciated.) #smallfarm#MilkBarnFarm
I’ve failed to get a photo of Martha, our one white sheep who is like a grandmother, with our smallest chickens sitting on her back. Whenever I approach, they all jump up. But, I have got a still from the camera. This is what they like to do a lot. A sheep must be a lovely soft resting place. #sheep#animals#SmallFarm
@AbandonedAmerica And the thing that many people are not thinking of is how this affects the farmers and the food they produce to feed us all.
Speaking as a former #SmallFarm owner and #farmer and a current suburban #microfarmer the seasons used to be more predictable. You could estimate your crop yields and livestock yields much more effectively, and you had plans in place to deal with heat waves and small droughts or unseasonal rain amounts for a few days or a week.
Now? We (my family) grow more in greenhouses- not because we want to, but because it's the only way we can be assured of actually having successful harvests. And yes, greenhouse growing works, but it is more expensive for us.
I'd love to see you do a series on abandoned and destroyed #farms of all kinds (plants and livestock and poultry). Many people have no idea where their food comes from- they just go to the grocery store or farmer's market and wonder why things are more expensive or out of stock.
My life partner and I live on a 13 hectare #SmallFarm in rural #Merida#Venezuela. We raise dairy cows, heritage breed creole pigs, chickens, geese, fish, and #freerange children.