I worked for the author of this book for several years , on and off.
It's thoroughly researched, and the late Mrs. Shippards farm is well worth a visit.
Isabell planted 20 acres with around 900 different edible plants, including drought tolerant carobs which produced prolifically, up on an arid hill.
We would walk around harvesting liquorice root, watercress, nystertium leaves, cinnamon sticks, mint, parsley, basil, blackberries, lemongrass, limes, mandarins, lemons, and carob pods for lunch.
Freshly made basil pesto with macadamia nut oil, and sliced Russian garlic is not a bad snack on crackers.
Models living in Bondi in Sydney will pay ( 20 years ago, actually this was just thinking about it ) AU$33/kg for popped amaranth seed breakfast cereal.
But it grows like a weed, on community gardens.
It produces a purple head with 1000s of tiny black , high protein seeds.
Potato yield per acre has increased 5 fold since 1945, mostly thanks to American science research.
Artificial fertilizers have done wonders.
Organic farming if done intelligently and economically, with judicious use of powered technology, can improve soil quality also.
It's well worth comparing Artificial fertilizers with for example a giant patch of comfrey, Lucerne, valerian, yarrow, and lemongrass, just up the hill from your vege garden.
There are pros and cons with both schools of thought.
We bought a large centre pivot irrigator recently, after watching the neighbours , who had bought one about 5 years ago, harvest their 300 acres of Lucerne every 2 weeks.
If you have enough water available, and you are growing Lucerne, a large centre pivot irrigator will pay for itself in about 3 years.
We are living in an incredible age of food production.
The Aussie drought is hitting very hard, but we are throwing every bit of technology known to man at it, and we are enduring.
Thanks to the aussie mining industry for supplying nickel, bauxite, iron ore, copper, and rare earths, lithium, coal and gas so that we can build airconditioned tractors, and did I mention centre pivot irrigators.
Comments (8)
I worked for the author of this book for several years , on and off.
It's thoroughly researched, and the late Mrs. Shippards farm is well worth a visit.
Isabell planted 20 acres with around 900 different edible plants, including drought tolerant carobs which produced prolifically, up on an arid hill.
We would walk around harvesting liquorice root, watercress, nystertium leaves, cinnamon sticks, mint, parsley, basil, blackberries, lemongrass, limes, mandarins, lemons, and carob pods for lunch.
Freshly made basil pesto with macadamia nut oil, and sliced Russian garlic is not a bad snack on crackers.
Thank you John. Sounds wonderful!
You're welcome, Judy.
Happy Gardening.
Here's a commercial amaranth product .
Sounds delicious, can't wait ;-)!
The tuber or the insect ice-cream?
I think I can complete my last lap or two without eating insects, tubers or jellyfish
Amaranth makes me laugh.
Models living in Bondi in Sydney will pay ( 20 years ago, actually this was just thinking about it ) AU$33/kg for popped amaranth seed breakfast cereal.
But it grows like a weed, on community gardens.
It produces a purple head with 1000s of tiny black , high protein seeds.
So really it should be cheap.
We also cooked the green leaves in stir fries.
There is a similar graph for potatoes.
Potato yield per acre has increased 5 fold since 1945, mostly thanks to American science research.
Artificial fertilizers have done wonders.
Organic farming if done intelligently and economically, with judicious use of powered technology, can improve soil quality also.
It's well worth comparing Artificial fertilizers with for example a giant patch of comfrey, Lucerne, valerian, yarrow, and lemongrass, just up the hill from your vege garden.
There are pros and cons with both schools of thought.
We bought a large centre pivot irrigator recently, after watching the neighbours , who had bought one about 5 years ago, harvest their 300 acres of Lucerne every 2 weeks.
If you have enough water available, and you are growing Lucerne, a large centre pivot irrigator will pay for itself in about 3 years.
We are living in an incredible age of food production.
The Aussie drought is hitting very hard, but we are throwing every bit of technology known to man at it, and we are enduring.
Thanks to the aussie mining industry for supplying nickel, bauxite, iron ore, copper, and rare earths, lithium, coal and gas so that we can build airconditioned tractors, and did I mention centre pivot irrigators.