Experiment in Food Production Methods

TorrKing

You have a point about the organized poachers. As for guns, they are, unless lucky, not worth anything without the skill needed for finding the animal.

I for one hope to monopolize the right to hunt in my area. Taking with me a few experienced hunters and protect the game from everyone else that would intrude.

Though, I still believe that in a fast crash, most people will sit on the fence and wait for the government to bring things back to normal and starve to death. It doesn't help to

As the game gets increasingly scarce, chances are that the former poachers will turn to raiding. Hunting for profit is only profitable down to a certain level (not today, but that is hunting for novelty stuff like rhino horns). In most cases there would still be left a few animals after that. And if the human population crashes quickly (if not the prolonged pressure may cause extinction) the game populations can recover from that.
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elocs

TorrKing

Elocs, the passenger pigeon was just as much a victim of habitat destruction (breeding ground on the plains) as well as it probably was one of those species which rely on a large population. If it comes under a certain number the specie will collapse to extinction. Probably what happened to the Great Auk as well.

Many of the hunters you speak about are not skilled enough to sustain on it. Their EOREI when hunting is negative. Very few hunters today are skilled enough to subsist on it (have a positive EOREI).

I will say it again Rolling Eyes

: After some time, the deer (for example), will become so scarce and shy that hunting would become unprofitable except for the most skilled ones. The EOREI of hunting would become increasingly worse after, lets call it Peak Deer Laughing

. Peak Deer is now or in the very close future.
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xerces

Experiment Update:

70lbs of Ripened Tomatos were harvested in totality. Some 10lbs were lost due to rot, pests, and roaming children.

5lbs of Turnip crops were harvested, the rest lost due to Rabbits, Squirrils..etc.

Dwarf Kale crops were entirely lost due to Rabbits and Crows.

Hunting with the bow has been very difficult, with no successes so far.
I can't seem to deliver the kind of accuracy needed to take small game from medium range. And I can't get close enough to the small game to ensure consistent hits.

http://backtowilderness.blogspot.com/

Cornelian

I grow all my own vegetable food (potatoes, beets, salads, brassicas, tomatoes, herbs, onions, peans, gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries etc) in an area 10 metres by 10 metres (roughly 10 yards by 10 yards). That area includes 4 compost bays, plus 4 metre-wide paths dividing the beds. Potatoes I grow in wire cages rather than in the ground which gives me a 10 times the yield per square metre, the strawberries are grown in hanging bags. I use no fertilizer and no pesticides (the compost bays provide soil nutrients as wel as legumes, which put back nitrogen into the soil). One person can survive on a relatively small area of garden if they want which can be very productive if you farm if well.

nocar · Intermediate Crude Joined: Nov 05, 2004 Posts: 665

Next gardening experiment: I will sow a small patch of carrots the coming weekend (nov 25). Supposedly the seeds will survive in the soil and start to grow very early next spring - an old trick, I have read. Works for some seeds. An early start is important in my garden as the growing season is short (59th parallell).

I must see if it works for me.

nocar

JBinKC · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 14, 2004 Posts: 248

I live on a north facing steep cliff with lake access so I am not too concerned about obtaining protein. Fishing has been very productive and hunting has been good at times. Nor am I too concerned about heating costs as I have an EPA approved wood stove and free access to firewood within a 20 mile radius and if that free source falls through can get 5 cords for a $5 permit fee. However, I have a very limited space for a garden 10x30 ft. In that space I have decided to plant a peach tree on the east side and plant a raised garden on the west side. I would say the area gets 6 hours of sun maybe an hour more on the east side. I have planted tomatoes before in the area with fair- poor results. The problem with the tomatoes is the extreme heat in July and August kills the flowers so I get little new production after the 4th of July. I also am not sure what edible I could plant on my cliffside (an area that gets 4 hours of sun max during the summer). Other than mint. I was thinking about a couple of paw paw or persimmon trees. I also have a small wild black raspberry patch on the cliffside. Any suggestions to get the maximum efficiency of the space with limitations would be appreciated.

TorrKing

JBinKC

I haven't tested the information in these books yet, but the method in the books on this site is said to be good: http://www.growbiointensive.org/

Are there cattails growing in ponds or something close by? They provide an excellent source of carbohydrates. If there isn't you should maybe consider introducing them. At least if they are natural to the environment.

Keep in mind that karbohydrates isn't really neccesary. If you have a steady supply of fat fish or game you can sustain on that only. It is very important that they are fat though. And to a fairly great degree eaten raw. More on nutrition can be read on my site. There is a link in the signature.
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JBinKC · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 14, 2004 Posts: 248

I live on a public waterway that is very deep so no cattails can thrive there but I know where there are a few of them close by however, it is on private land.

The fish I mainly have access to is crappie, bluegills, blue catfish, and largemouth bass. These are all low fat fish though. However, I do take fish oil supplements daily.

I also have access to acorns. I know acorns from the white oaks are not as laden with tannins and can be eventually made into flour. I was also interested in tapping a few red maple trees and see what it takes to make syrup on top of my wood stove.

The carbohydrate I have very easy access to are wild persimmons so many that I could perhaps start a commercial niche market in the pulp. I would define a wild persimmon perhaps the sweetest fruit on earth with a flavor similar to a dried apricot.

I also have easy access to hickory and black walnuts but cracking them is a very tedious process.

I would think eating a diet consisting only of fish would eventually cause scurvey but I know boiling pine needles or grinding rose hips are great overlooked sources of vitamin C.

Loki · Expert Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 976 Location: Cascadia

I'm not sure that you could grow much in a 300sf plot. I'm going to be renting a 300sf community garden plot in the spring, so I'll be able to see exactly what can be grown in such a small space. Right now I'm thinking I might devote 1/2 - 2/3 of it to growing the "three sisters" together (corn, beans, squash). The rest might go to potatoes or possibly hot peppers. I might try out the square-foot gardening method, but haven't decided yet.

For your cliff, are blackberries possible? Or maybe pole beans? For the waterway, Japanese knotweed is apparently tasty and nutritious. But I wouldn't purposefully introduce it if it isn't already present (they are extremely invasive). They also tend to be sprayed a lot in my area.

Living off of lean fish could lead to serious health problems over time, scurvy and rabbit starvation being two of the possibilities. Some sailors made spruce beer to stave off scurvy (not always with success)---rose hips will also work. To avoid rabbit starvation you need fat, animal or vegetal.

Ludi

See the book "One Circle" for ideas about growing a nutritionally complete diet in the smallest space.
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