Getting a Farm Going

[Silent Hunter UK]

Cats are good for vermin. Cute too.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Silent Hunter UK

Cats are good for vermin. Cute too.

Not exactly terrible as emergency rations either.....

[Olefin]

Also keep in mind are you just farming to produce food only for the 11 people or are you looking to get something you may be able to use for trade or even biomass for ethanol fuel. And the choice of crops is important as some vegetables keep much longer than others and thus will provide a longer duration source of food.

Finding someone who can show them how to properly jar tomatoes for instance can lead to them having to search abandoned houses for canning jars or containers that could be used.

Also they should be looking for ways they can maximize growing that wont require a lot of fuel or clearing/plowing land - you can grow mushrooms inside your house if you know how to, potted tomato and pepper plants, potatoes grown using dirt in large garbage cans.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by Olefin

Also keep in mind are you just farming to produce food only for the 11 people or are you looking to get something you may be able to use for trade or even biomass for ethanol fuel. And the choice of crops is important as some vegetables keep much longer than others and thus will provide a longer duration source of food.

Finding someone who can show them how to properly jar tomatoes for instance can lead to them having to search abandoned houses for canning jars or containers that could be used.

Also they should be looking for ways they can maximize growing that wont require a lot of fuel or clearing/plowing land - you can grow mushrooms inside your house if you know how to, potted tomato and pepper plants, potatoes grown using dirt in large garbage cans.

Thanks, these are also very good points. I was assuming that they'd be growing crops. I think as far as the group goes, they may just be thinking of trying to survive the year.

What kinds of vegetables keep longer? Things like potatoes?

[Vespers War]

On the animal side, rabbits are a surprisingly good animal to raise if you can keep them safe, clean, and fed. A herd of cows produces about 20% of their mass as harvestable meat per year. Rabbits or chickens are 500%, and rabbits can be fed more things that aren't edible for humans. An acre of hutches (which sounds ridiculous, I know, but this was being researched for space stations) running efficiently will produce 145 pounds of meat per day. Their manure is also better for fertilizer than cow, horse, or chicken, and it won't burn plants if it's not composted properly.

For preservation, winter squash, potatoes, and onions will last a long time if stored in a cool, dry area. Some other root crops can be left in the ground during winter in cool areas if they're covered with a thick layer of leaves or straw. (This also makes them less visible to raiders or scavengers).

Lots of stuff can be dried, which will keep for months or years. It's (ironically) a bit water-intensive, since most things should be blanched before drying and water's often needed for reconstitution, but it'll preserve food. Even without a purpose-built dehydrator, vegetables can be dried near a stove or with sunlight.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Have the PCs be taught the Ruth Stout method of gardening, it partially mitigates some of the main issues that complete newcomers to farming would have to deal with - it's not so labour intensive, it doesn't need as much water, it doesn't need weeding. But it is not without it's own negatives, it requires nitrogen which can, however, be conveniently supplied by fresh grass.
Much better detail here: -
https://www.bigblogofgardening.com/g...-stout-method/

And as an example of how effective it can be, how does 337 pounds of potatoes sound? Details in the following video: -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlratwBT5OI

The YouTube channel where that video is from is definitely worth browsing, they explore some questions we typically don't think of, such as, can you eat grass, how to make a root cellar out of an old chest freezer and so on.

[Raellus]

What about the Native Americans' "Three Sisters" method of planting beans, squash, and corn all together? It's pretty efficient in terms of labor, and the space-to-yield ratio is favorable.

https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/bl...sisters-garden

Here's a quote from the blog:

"Corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb so that they are not out-competed by sprawling squash vines. Beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil while also stabilizing the tall corn during heavy winds. Beans are nitrogen-fixers meaning they host rhizobia on their roots that can take nitrogen, a much needed plant nutrient, from the air and convert it into forms that can be absorbed by plant roots. The large leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds."

https://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/l...three-sisters/

-

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by Raellus

What about the Native Americans' "Three Sisters" method of planting beans, squash, and corn all together? It's pretty efficient in terms of labor, and the space-to-yield ratio is favorable.

https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/bl...sisters-garden

Here's a quote from the blog:

"Corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb so that they are not out-competed by sprawling squash vines. Beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil while also stabilizing the tall corn during heavy winds. Beans are nitrogen-fixers meaning they host rhizobia on their roots that can take nitrogen, a much needed plant nutrient, from the air and convert it into forms that can be absorbed by plant roots. The large leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds."

https://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/l...three-sisters/

-

There is a major reservation near the area. I wonder if they practice such growing in that area though? Isn't that practice an Eastern tradition?

[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Raellus

What about the Native Americans' "Three Sisters" method of planting beans, squash, and corn all together? It's pretty efficient in terms of labor, and the space-to-yield ratio is favorable.

https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/bl...sisters-garden

Here's a quote from the blog:

"Corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb so that they are not out-competed by sprawling squash vines. Beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil while also stabilizing the tall corn during heavy winds. Beans are nitrogen-fixers meaning they host rhizobia on their roots that can take nitrogen, a much needed plant nutrient, from the air and convert it into forms that can be absorbed by plant roots. The large leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds."

https://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/l...three-sisters/

-

Long-term, milpa agriculture ends up being basically a five field system, because it follows two years of cultivation with eight years left fallow. It's effective, but it ends up requiring a good amount of space over the long haul because of the long fallow period.

Other crops can also be included - pumpkin, avocado, chili - but I haven't read what the proper spacing of planting is for the additional crops.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

Have the PCs be taught the Ruth Stout method of gardening, it partially mitigates some of the main issues that complete newcomers to farming would have to deal with - it's not so labour intensive, it doesn't need as much water, it doesn't need weeding. But it is not without it's own negatives, it requires nitrogen which can, however, be conveniently supplied by fresh grass.
Much better detail here: -
https://www.bigblogofgardening.com/g...-stout-method/

And as an example of how effective it can be, how does 337 pounds of potatoes sound? Details in the following video: -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlratwBT5OI

The YouTube channel where that video is from is definitely worth browsing, they explore some questions we typically don't think of, such as, can you eat grass, how to make a root cellar out of an old chest freezer and so on.

that's a good idea for the options, and I can use the Youtube video as inspiration for their instructions.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

...it requires nitrogen...

Rotating or companion planting a crop of legumes helps a LOT to fix nitrogen in the soil for use by other plants. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edi...re-legumes.htm

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by Vespers War

On the animal side, rabbits are a surprisingly good animal to raise if you can keep them safe, clean, and fed. A herd of cows produces about 20% of their mass as harvestable meat per year. Rabbits or chickens are 500%, and rabbits can be fed more things that aren't edible for humans. An acre of hutches (which sounds ridiculous, I know, but this was being researched for space stations) running efficiently will produce 145 pounds of meat per day. Their manure is also better for fertilizer than cow, horse, or chicken, and it won't burn plants if it's not composted properly.

For preservation, winter squash, potatoes, and onions will last a long time if stored in a cool, dry area. Some other root crops can be left in the ground during winter in cool areas if they're covered with a thick layer of leaves or straw. (This also makes them less visible to raiders or scavengers).

Lots of stuff can be dried, which will keep for months or years. It's (ironically) a bit water-intensive, since most things should be blanched before drying and water's often needed for reconstitution, but it'll preserve food. Even without a purpose-built dehydrator, vegetables can be dried near a stove or with sunlight.

Good ideas. The characters might try to explore other farms in the area. I am going with the idea from the module that the area near the Columbia River north of the Coulee Dam is mostly insular. So that could be interesting. I figure that livestock like rabbits or chickens that go feral would be surviving, but they also could trade for them.

Thank you for the ideas on preservation. I will include that in the advice the PCs are given.

[Olefin]

Originally Posted by Enfield

Good ideas. The characters might try to explore other farms in the area. I am going with the idea from the module that the area near the Columbia River north of the Coulee Dam is mostly insular. So that could be interesting. I figure that livestock like rabbits or chickens that go feral would be surviving, but they also could trade for them.

Thank you for the ideas on preservation. I will include that in the advice the PCs are given.

Good article on vegetables that can be left in the ground for your players for the farm - https://lovelygreens.com/storing-roo...0and%20carrots.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by Olefin

Good article on vegetables that can be left in the ground for your players for the farm - https://lovelygreens.com/storing-roo...0and%20carrots.

Thanks!