[Project] Microfarming

[Vehn]

Originally Posted by kegkilla

why don't you get a horse and go live in the mountains?

this

[Mythas]

While i am no expert in the field by anymeans. I spoke to a few people who grow thier own veggies recently and said Mycorrhiza is frickin awesome.

Mycorrhiza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They also said to take a soil sample and see what all you have in your soil / check the quality of the top soil.

And of course since you know im dyslexic i read it originally as mircoframing...I was like wtf does he need to make tiny frames for?

[blizzak]

My wife and I grow veggies in our back yard almost every year. We grow tomatoes, green beans, watermellon, green peppers and cucumbers. This year we also added carrots to the mix. We live in Ont. Canada and sometimes have to wait until a week or two later than the May 24 weekend to plant outdoors. Knowing this we wil buy seeds and plant indoors and get the plants started a little early and transplant when we get the warmer nights.

As far as our experiences go, prepping the soil is the heaviest work. We have a lot of clay here and find that tossing our ash from the woodstove helps break up the clay. We also add peatmoss and manure as soon as we finish the weeding. Potatos are great for breaking up soil and making it more usable for other plants the next year. For our carrots we added a little sand to the area around the plants,(they like really loose soil I'm told). The plants pretty much take care of themselves for the most part, we get plenty of rain usually.

Protip: If you water your tomatoes from the hose (city water) from time to time, that water can cause the skin on the tomatoes to harden and the skin will split when the fruit grows. It means ugly scars, but the fruit is still fine and tasty to eat.

[Hal2005]

Squash, Tomato's, any herb (basil to thyme), and carrots all work well indoors. You will need to nitrate the soil (10-15-10 blend ) once every few harvests and ensure you airate (sp?) your soil boxes.

If your feeling some chutzpa strawberries and blueberries are good ideas.


Best of luck and feel free to SS your project. The foilage also adds great ambiance to your loft, which makes for great cocktail talk, esp. amongst your more hippie colleagues.

[GrobbeeTrull2.0]

Originally Posted by Ashes Emberblade

I'll second the potatoes suggestion. They're easy to grow, and homegrown potatoes are absolutely delicious compared to store-bought. They usually have a better texture.

Edit: Oh, and here's a good link with a lot of valuable research into agronomics: Link

Thank you for the link, but I've already read it. Though it doesn't pertain at all to the practice of microfarming, I can see how you might be offended that I advocate self-reliance and low-impact living. I'm positive you think I'm going to be the next Trofim Lysenko, but I'm not going to pioneer this. I'm going to listen to what real agronomists, farmers, hobbyists and other growers have tried and proven, and deposit the information here.

Originally Posted by Furism

Do you plan to build a fence and build watch towers? You'd be ready for a nuclear holocaust or zombie invasion, whichever happens first, this way.

I had thought about it, but upon reflection, I'm simply going to annex my neighbor's property for the good of the community, and rely on them to watch my new found property. That way, we simply have to construct one longer wall with a gate at the end of the street for maximum land usage and protection.

Originally Posted by Kegkilla

why don't you get a horse and go live in the mountains?

I'm sure you offer sound life-planning advice, especially after your recent escapades. To humor you, I hate horses, and I can't afford to live in the mountains.

[kegkilla]

too much

IMO

[tikkus]

After the passing of kegkilla's grandfather, he inherited the family farm - on one condition. After two years, if the farm was not in good condition and he didn't obtain the approval of the townsfolk, the farm would then be the property of the town. Close to two years passed and on one desperate night, kegkilla got on his computer and went to the Fires of Heaven internet message board. In a wild frenzy, he created the thread that would ultimately determine the destiny of his bloodline.

"Guys, I snorted some blow last week..."

[tikkus]

On a serious note, I really support what you're doing. Agriculture is something everyone should experience once, its really a life affirming and rewarding past time.

If you have limited space, I'd recommend doing what my grandfather used to do. Find vegetables that complement each other as far as growing goes. For example, plant green beans with corn plants and save space. (Green beans will grow up the corn stalks)

I'd also recommend growing some cucumbers.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

So you can practice fellatio techniques on them.

[Aegdaien]

I'm not sure I understand what 'Microfarming' is. Is that just a new-fangled or commie term for having a garden?

[GrobbeeTrull2.0]

Microfarming is the practice of taking traditional "gardening" and applying the same sort of efficiency and high-yield techniques found in traditional farming to it.

The difference being that you can have a garden and occaisionally grow things for use, whereas in Microfarming, you're actually attempting to produce surplus.

Also: Microfarming is typically done in metropolitan/suburban areas where greenspace is at a minimum. This includes rooftop microfarms, and the like. I don't have a lot of space, and depending on what the fiance says, may have even less to capitalize on, so... microfarming it is.

[kegkilla]

Originally Posted by tikkus

After the passing of kegkilla's grandfather, he inherited the family farm - on one condition. After two years, if the farm was not in good condition and he didn't obtain the approval of the townsfolk, the farm would then be the property of the town. Close to two years passed and on one desperate night, kegkilla got on his computer and went to the Fires of Heaven internet message board. In a wild frenzy, he created the thread that would ultimately determine the destiny of his bloodline.

"Guys, I snorted some blow last week..."

you could've done a lot better there

[Aegdaien]

Originally Posted by GrobbeeTrull2.0

Microfarming is the practice of taking traditional "gardening" and applying the same sort of efficiency and high-yield techniques found in traditional farming to it.

The difference being that you can have a garden and occaisionally grow things for use, whereas in Microfarming, you're actually attempting to produce surplus.

Also: Microfarming is typically done in metropolitan/suburban areas where greenspace is at a minimum. This includes rooftop microfarms, and the like. I don't have a lot of space, and depending on what the fiance says, may have even less to capitalize on, so... microfarming it is.

So how much are you expecting to make from this venture? I can't possibly imagine it producing any sort of useful extra cashflow for the work involved, other than the bonus of having free fruit/veggies for yourself to eat, if you aren't opposed to eating your profit.

[Regime]

As someone that is interesting in this, thanks Grobb. Post results and your veggies! (And watermelons :P)

[kegkilla]

Originally Posted by Aegdaien

So how much are you expecting to make from this venture? I can't possibly imagine it producing any sort of useful extra cashflow for the work involved, other than the bonus of having free fruit/veggies for yourself to eat, if you aren't opposed to eating your profit.

i strongly advise you not to buy any cucumbers from grobbee. you don't want to know where him, his wife, and their asian boy toy stick those things.

[Darus Grey]

One of my favorite hobbies I took up last year is "microfarming" as you put it, watermelons in my back-yard.

I grow about 50 a year, and I made glass containers for them so they grow into novelty shapes.

Your classic square watermelon, and the egypto-melon(pyramid shape).