Living Car Free - Subsistence Garden as a Way to Reduce Petroleum Usage and Emissions?

I'm going to be all over gardening when I finally get a house or at least an apartment with some sunlight on my patio (or find a community garden if the area around my next apt has one)
growing food as locally as possible (doing anything as locally as possible) is definately the way to go.

In addition to the 30% of US energy that's used by cars, probably another 30-40% is involved in making something move. The less distance and speed at which things have to move (no matter what they are or where they're going) the sooner we won't have an energy problem. Food, building materials and people's movements can all be drastically cut and still maintain a world worth living in.

I'm going to be all over gardening when I finally get a house or at least an apartment with some sunlight on my patio (or find a community garden if the area around my next apt has one)
growing food as locally as possible (doing anything as locally as possible) is definately the way to go.


An idea for those who have no land or patio. You could get into sprout farming. You could easily grow enough sprouts to make one or two giant sprout salads. Great source of vitamins in winter. I used to do it many years ago with a large jar and a small piece of screening. Very tasty and take about 1 minute a day.

I'm going to be all over gardening when I finally get a house or at least an apartment with some sunlight on my patio (or find a community garden if the area around my next apt has one)
growing food as locally as possible (doing anything as locally as possible) is definately the way to go.

In addition to the 30% of US energy that's used by cars, probably another 30-40% is involved in making something move. The less distance and speed at which things have to move (no matter what they are or where they're going) the sooner we won't have an energy problem. Food, building materials and people's movements can all be drastically cut and still maintain a world worth living in.

Absolutely right! :beer:

An idea for those who have no land or patio. You could get into sprout farming. You could easily grow enough sprouts to make one or two giant sprout salads. Great source of vitamins in winter. I used to do it many years ago with a large jar and a small piece of screening. Very tasty and take about 1 minute a day.
Salmonella and E. coli concerns with sprout seeds. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9086144)

Salmonella and E. coli concerns with sprout seeds. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9086144)
Actually, you seem to be right. A lot of information indicates sprouts could be contaminated with E. Coli
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA202343

And I guess the commercial sprouts are either irradiated or chlorine dipped... Don't try it at home!

I had a baby radish with my salad last night for dinner - all from my garden. For someone who has never grown anything in her life, that was pretty thrilling! Tasty too :)

Sweet! I have to give you a heads up tho....don't try to replant them once you pull them up:rolleyes: ;) Several years ago when my daughter was small and helping dad with the gardening...we planted radishes and carrots, but they kept dying. Seems DD was pulling them up to "check" on them then sticking them back in the ground:roflmao:

Aaron:)