Accounting
When I mentioned the farmers' market the other day, a friend said to me, "Oh, the farmers' market . . . I haven't needed to go since LA Farm Hands installed my garden last year."
This made me feel both impressed by what she has achieved in her garden and frustrated with myself.
I've worked on this property since we moved in, and though we are closer and closer to providing for ourselves all of our basic produce needs, we are not there yet. I still need to supplement what we grow and trade for with purchased items. I figured it was time to figure out how much we really do produce here, not in terms of weights, but in terms of purchases: what do I find myself buying?
In these produce items, we are completely self sufficient for the two of us (I may need to make purchases only when I am feeding a crowd):
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Favas
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Green onions
Herbs
Kale
Lemons
Melons
Peas
Peppers, both hot and sweet (and pepper products, eg hot sauces, flakes, ground, etc)
Persimmons
Poppy seed
Rutabagas
Salad greens (in winter)
Shallots
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes (and tomato products)
Winter squash
In these produce items, we are neighborhood-sufficient (we grow some of them and are able to trade through RIPE for the rest of our needs and wants):
Apples
Eggplant
Feijoas
Figs
Grapefruit
Kumquats
Limes
Mandarins
Oranges
Passionfruit
Pomegranates
Rhubarb
Tomatillos
In these items that we eat regularly when in season, we must make purchases (asterisked items are plants we grow but are not yet able to produce enough to keep from purchasing):
Almonds
Apricots*
Artichokes*
Avocados
Bananas*
Blackberries and Raspberries*
Carrots*
Cherries*
Corn*
Dry beans*
Grapes*
Mushrooms
Onions*
Peaches and Nectarines*
Pears
Pecans
Pineapples*
Plums*
Potatoes*
Mangoes*
Salad greens (in summer)
Strawberries*
Walnuts
Looking through this gives me a new goal for this year: bump up the dry bean crop. I'd like to grow enough to get us through the year, and homegrown dry beans are so nice; they cook much more quickly and some varieties have wonderful, unique flavors. Plus, already purchased and on its way in April, a new tree will enter our yard—a Reed avocado. This list also makes me so happy to have the community in RIPE. Finally, writing this proves to me (for the umpteenth time, really, though I keep trying to ignore it) that we're never going to be completely self-sufficient in our produce needs. Just like in other parts of my life, I need to do what I can and not beat myself up about what I can't. My garden and my farmers' market are both healthy, good places. I'll enjoy them both.
This made me feel both impressed by what she has achieved in her garden and frustrated with myself.
I've worked on this property since we moved in, and though we are closer and closer to providing for ourselves all of our basic produce needs, we are not there yet. I still need to supplement what we grow and trade for with purchased items. I figured it was time to figure out how much we really do produce here, not in terms of weights, but in terms of purchases: what do I find myself buying?
In these produce items, we are completely self sufficient for the two of us (I may need to make purchases only when I am feeding a crowd):
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Favas
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Green onions
Herbs
Kale
Lemons
Melons
Peas
Peppers, both hot and sweet (and pepper products, eg hot sauces, flakes, ground, etc)
Persimmons
Poppy seed
Rutabagas
Salad greens (in winter)
Shallots
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes (and tomato products)
Winter squash
In these produce items, we are neighborhood-sufficient (we grow some of them and are able to trade through RIPE for the rest of our needs and wants):
Apples
Eggplant
Feijoas
Figs
Grapefruit
Kumquats
Limes
Mandarins
Oranges
Passionfruit
Pomegranates
Rhubarb
Tomatillos
In these items that we eat regularly when in season, we must make purchases (asterisked items are plants we grow but are not yet able to produce enough to keep from purchasing):
Almonds
Apricots*
Artichokes*
Avocados
Bananas*
Blackberries and Raspberries*
Carrots*
Cherries*
Corn*
Dry beans*
Grapes*
Mushrooms
Onions*
Peaches and Nectarines*
Pears
Pecans
Pineapples*
Plums*
Potatoes*
Mangoes*
Salad greens (in summer)
Strawberries*
Walnuts
Looking through this gives me a new goal for this year: bump up the dry bean crop. I'd like to grow enough to get us through the year, and homegrown dry beans are so nice; they cook much more quickly and some varieties have wonderful, unique flavors. Plus, already purchased and on its way in April, a new tree will enter our yard—a Reed avocado. This list also makes me so happy to have the community in RIPE. Finally, writing this proves to me (for the umpteenth time, really, though I keep trying to ignore it) that we're never going to be completely self-sufficient in our produce needs. Just like in other parts of my life, I need to do what I can and not beat myself up about what I can't. My garden and my farmers' market are both healthy, good places. I'll enjoy them both.
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| The first purple sprouting broccoli of the year. |
Comments
My husband and I have been wanting to do an inventory of what, how much, and where the food comes from that we consume over an entire year; not only produce, but everything else as well. Perhaps we'll finally get around to it this summer.