[Pil-pc-oceania] REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: Garden productivity

[Terry Leahy]

Dear Permaculture people,  

I tend to think that time required for replacement of the veggies and
fruit people usually buy - with your own crop  - is quite often
underestimated.  I remember thinking about 3 hours a day when you put it
all together including gathering and preparing the crop for the kitchen
as well as setting up the beds etc.  On the other hand if you just want
to put in some very easy veggies that most of the family will probably
not eat!  (e.g. taro leaves, asparagus, amaranth leaves, parsley,
lebanese cress, bamboo shoots, lima beans, scarlet runner beans, bidens
pilosa leaves (!  Farmers' friends !)).  Plus good do-er fruit and nut
trees (e.g. citrus, macadamia, pecans, loquats, mulberry, bananas,
mangoes).   In that case you may get by with three hours work per week. 
But that would be the absolute minimum. And it would take about 7 years
to establish it as far as the fruit and nuts are concerned.   I think
this easy strategy is what should be proposed to people who talk about
poor people not being able to afford vitamins after the irrigated food
goes through the roof in price.  You need a big tank to be sure of the
water supply, even if you are using grey water and not using the tank to
supply the house.  The simple easy strategy does not really cover
cereals or meat but they are not too strongly affected by the irrigation
crisis - though of course the oil crunch is another story,

Terry

>>> <steve_burns at wvi.org> Tuesday, 24 April 2007 11:01 am >>>
I've noticed that Path to Freedom in Pasadena keep ridiculously
detailed
records of the produce they manage to generate from their suburban
block,
but then they work on it more full-time than Ted sounds like he wants
to
know about...

Has anyone done Australian comparisons to John Jeavon's work?


Steve



                                                                       
   
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                                       [Pil-pc-oceania] REQUEST FOR    
   
             04/23/2007 07:26          INFORMATION: Garden productivity
   
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The following message is forwarded for Ted Trainer:

>>> Ted Trainer <F.Trainer at unsw.edu.au> 23/04/2007 1:45 pm >>>

Re: Gardening time inputs,  yields?

I would appreciate some figures or estimates from gardeners, individual
or
communal, re the time it takes to produce how much food.  Does anyone
know
of research giving us some conclusions?

My impression from e.g., Clive Blazey's work at Diggers Seeds is that
miracles can be worked; re small areas required, and also re
person-hours
per week, but I don't have good figures.

We need to be able to convince people that the alternative way is not
about
dawn to dusk labouring in the fields to barely survive.

I have no doubt that home and collective gardening, plus small local
farms
and Permacultured commons can provide food etc. abundance within small
settlements, on a few hours input per person per week, but if I had
some
firm numbers or even estimates from experience re how much time
produces
how
much stuff, I would be in a better position to put a convincing case.

Thanks

Ted Trainer

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