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live off your own land?

May 3rd, 2011 by

The Damsel is fascinated with this graphic. Even though there’s some dispute about the numbers (some say it could be done on less) it’s still an interesting thing to think about.

How self reliant could you be if you had to grow your own food?

Home Solar Power Discounts – One Block Off the Grid

Posted in self reliance

  • http://twobearsfarm.blogspot.com Varunner7

    Very interesting. What it doesn’t take into account is when deer get in the corn or it’s a drought year and the crop yields are low. A lot of stuff can happen along the way. Thanks for sharing!

    • Anonymous

      So true. But it gets you thinking. (mmm, venison :) )

  • Allison @ Novice Life

    Wouldn’t it be great….but I fear it isn’t as easy if you have to also work a full time job away from home ;(

    • Anonymous

      that sounds impossible! :( Just having a garden is huge work, and we’re not trying to live off it. But what if we HAD to?

  • http://www.justdevinestyle.blogspot.com Tara@JustDevineStyle

    Well it would almost be like living in years gone by. If it didn’t grow or no water you just went with out. It would be really hard in our society. I am afraid too many people are allergic to real hard work. This would be a lot of hard work. It sure gets you thinking though. Thanks for sharing it!

    • Anonymous

      This has really got me thinking. It would NOT be easy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/terrie1958 Terrie Smith Nielsen

    We are making steps in this direction! We have 62 acres, but most is not farm-able. We tried to go solar; ran out of money. It’s still in the wish list. We do have rainwater collection for the whole house, which means no water bill. We have a basement and energy-efficient building, which means our electric is never high (fluctuates from between $55 a month to $155 a month, even in summer, thanks to the concrete and a window unit) (not to mention a woodstove for winter heating). We have acres and acres of trees, so we have enough firewood cut right now for about 3 years plus some to sell…

    I should point out that almost no one has ever been entirely self-sufficient. There are always things you can’t grow yourself (or make for yourself) that you trade for, whether in money or goods. We have enough jam to trade for a lot of stuff…like 3 years worth of our own…anyone got some fresh milk to trade? lol

    Oh, and just saying: chickens don’t take up much room at all…and there are eggs and protein and meat…you eat the roosters and let them free-range as much as possible, so they eat less wheat than we do.

    • Anonymous

      wonderful, Terrie! You are a great example.

  • Miettemonster

    however if you have friends, nieghbors, family etc, with land, you could spilt who grows what veggies and raises which livestock. Kind of how I have fruit trees and you have veggies, and soon you’ll have eggs, and maybe, just maybe I can convince Danny to let me get a goat. LOL!

    • Anonymous

      go go go goat!

  • blundesblitz

    Love it! Someday I’m gong to have land and put this into action! I do live for challenges, even if I often wonder why when I’m in the midst of them. :)

    • Anonymous

      It’s really made me stop and think. I’ve often thought we could do okay–not great, but stay alive–with our measley 1/3 acre.

  • Denise

    Very few people can grow their own wheat. Aside from the vast amount of space it requires, not many people have the skill or equipment for it. This is a fascinating chart, though. I’d opt to buy wheat and corn, but grow my own vegetables and fruits as much as possible. Chickens are a possibility, but it would be hard to keep a goat or pigs unless you live in the country. I have a feeling I’d be fishing a lot, or becoming mostly vegetarian. Thanks for the thought-provoking post!

    • Anonymous

      I thought the same thing about growing wheat…it just takes up a great deal of space–and it would be so time consuming to try to fool with it without modern equipment. The space could probably be better used for other things and used to trade for flour. But it is fascinating to think about.

  • Kristl Story

    Very interesting statistics, and I could not live off my tee-tiny, full shade courtyard!

    • Anonymous

      I think most of us would starve! Glad there’s a store around the corner. :)

  • http://www.mamasheartblog.com Sue

    The graphics suggest a traditional growing method (i.e., rows) as opposed to a space-conserving system like Square-Foot Gardening. It makes me wonder how many SFG containers would be needed to do the same thing?

    The other thing is that this presumes we all live in areas where we CAN grow all of these things. As a desert-rat (whose heart is still in The Mitten), I can tell you that there are certain things which simply will *not* grow in the crazy-heat down here. And there are things which will grow here that wouldn’t in MI, b/c of the lack of sunshine that MI-summers often have. So, hmmm…. I like the concept (a lot!), but unless one lives in Agri-topia…. ;)

    • Anonymous

      you’re absolutely right…there’s a lot of things about the graphic that aren’t quite right…but it serves the purpose of getting me thinking.
      Thanks! I appreciate the comment.

  • http://profiles.google.com/3kitchenwitches Erin Rockafellow

    Well I won’t be living totally off the grid anytime soon but it was neat to find out an estimate of how much land I would need minimally (ya’ know for when I win the lotto).

  • http://serenedesigns.blogspot.com serene

    That is rather fascinating! We hope to someday own some property, that’s the goal! I would love about 5 acres!

    • Anonymous

      5 acres sounds perfect.

  • Pimienta33

    What about water?  It would take a lot of water to grow all of those crops, especially in drier climates.  Good graphic though.

    • thedamselindisdress

      You are so right…water is a big consideration.
      Thanks for the comment!
      Margot (The Damsel)