On Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:34:42 -0700 (PDT), Mycosimian
wrote:

I don't remember exactly what lead me to this idea, but the
conversation was centered around the impending and inevitable
breackdown in society. The thought occurred to me, "What will happen
when the trucks stop coming?"

Those trucks, of course, are the big rigs that constantly replenish
our local store shelves with the sustanence we require. "Oh crap," I
thought to myself, "we're totally screwed!" Thus was sparked my
interest in sustainable agriculture. This was only a few months ago,
sometime around early February, and, at that time, I knew little to
nothing about gardening or agriculture on a large scale. I started
out reading anything I could find on the Web about gardening. After
eventually stumbling upon some literature on permaculture, I decided
to focus on gardening techniques that would take only the inputs that
I had readily available. After all, the trucks aren't running, right?

So all of this is getting ahead of my first foray into the world of
gardening. I started out just ripping up some grass, putting some
seeds under the dirt, adding some water and waiting. This, I decided
later, wasn't probably the best way to start a garden, but it was an
exeriment after all. I had terrible problems with powdery mildew and
most of my plants failed to produce much, with the exception of
tomatoes, which produced abundantly.

I eventually stumbled upon these Usenet groups. I learned more than I
could have ever imagined about composting and was able to turn my
dried out ant hill of a compost pile into an organic matter decaying
machine. I also learned of the terrible plight of our honey bee
friends and much about the numerous native bees and how to make a more
favorable habitat for them.

Perhaps the most important thing that I learned from these groups is
that all my plants needs can be provided for by the flora and fauna
living in the soil, so long as I treat them properly and try to make
my garden into a place where these tiny creatures can thrive.

Out of time now, so I will finish this later.


If you are serious about having a garden, contact the extension agent
in your area. They have information the pertains to your area, such
as what varieties of plants do well in your area. If you live in
Canada information from someone in Hawaii is probably not going to be
a lot of help. Some of the information you get from Usenet is very
good and some is not. Unless you have spent time in a group and know
something about the subject, you have no real idea who knows what they
are talking about.

I recently downloaded a 20+ page booklet "Home Vegetable Gardening"
that is published by my state extension service. It not only lists
varieties that do well but they also have a plan for a garden that
will feed 2 people for a year, when to plant, how to plant various
things and other information. I have been gardening for many years
and I found lots of good information and ideas in the booklet.

I suggest that you go to you local extension office and get to know
the extension agent or at least get information from their Web site.
You will get expert information for your area. It is better to get
the correct information early rather than having several years of poor
crops and having to break your bad habits.

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html