Spinoff : Could you make it on your own ?

[ROYC75]

( From the Meat thread )With the rising prices of fuel, oil, meats,milk, foods, can goods, hay, grain, etc.......

If America was to fall on hard times,with prices getting out of hand, could you manage to grow and make it on your own ? This includes all basic needs to live by, food, water, & shelter. Those of us living in the city would have to find farm land to do so, that would be a tall order since prime farm land is scarce .

I could, if I was healthy enough to do the work involved so I would have to have help doing it, hire a farm hand.

Could you, how would you go about setting yourself and or family up to live by.

What if America fell to a 3rd world country as we see today across parts of this planet ?

[Manila-Chief]

It's been a long time since I left the small farm, but yep, think I could. Now, would probably eat mostly veggies ... except for a few chickens. We have space for an average garden here in the suburbs. My wife has a place with about a dozen acres of farming land (could be expanded) ... but, if times got as hard as Roy describes ... probably would not have the gas to travel the 60 miles to work it. Therefore, the reason for veggies and 2 legged protein producers.

Would I like to do it. No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a reason I left that life style.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by blueballs

Throw in people going apeshit and stealing and ****ing everything that can be moved

This is true.......

[Manila-Chief]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I live on a acre, but I'm not sure how much food I could garner from it. I guess I'd become a pro at canning... and keeping the varmints away. There are also a bunch of deer around my area, so I guess that would be viable.

Sure that could be enough land... if you manage it well. Look on the bright side the "varmints" and "deer" would add meat to your table. And, with so many people hungry their population would quickly deminish. It was kinda strange to go out into the rural areas of the Philippines. One would think it would be teeming with wild life but it was sparse ... I think people ate them during and after WWII when times were really difficult.

[ROYC75]

Bottom line it is / would be very tough to do. Our lives have changed so much that it would be a complete reversal to change it. To work a job and survive would be very costly, wages don't offset the large prices at the markets, stores, etc.

To the ones on the farm, if you have machinery to do the work, great, can you afford the cost of it.

If you don't have machinery, doing it all by hand is alot of work.

The big farms and farmers would be obsolete, focusing on their own instead of a multitude.

Indeed a challenge.........

[Iowanian]

A country boy can survive.


I was raised on a farm with a large garden, have some survival training, am an efficient fisheman, bow and gun hunter and live in God's country.

My family will be fine if some city slicker doesn't give us the plague.

I've run a simulation that suggests we'll at least make it to Ft Smith.

[BigRedChief]

Although I was around a cattle farm when I was a youngun I'm a big city slicker working in I.T. guy now. I'm hosed.

[blaise]

I couldn't do it. I was recently re-reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and the guy goes back in time and makes a gun, bicycles, dynamite and all sorts of things and runs the country. I was thinking that I don't even know if I could start a fire without a lighter.

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by blueballs

Throw in people going apeshit and stealing and ****ing everything that can be moved

we'll make cantines out of their bladders and tomahawks from their leg bones around here.


City people would be much, much more screwed if it every really hit the fan, due to competition, lack of resources and looting mobs.

[Mr. Laz]

doubtful

got a small pond in the back yard for water(filter,boil)
got squirrel traps that would now mean food
wood for warmth would be a major issue

[blaise]

I was living in Houston when Hurricane Rita was supposed to hit (a month or so after Katrina hit New Orleans) and everyone was trying to evacuate the city. I realized that the whole structure of our society is pretty fragile. People were starting to go ape-crap. All the cars were stuck on the roads, it was 95 degrees outside and all the gas ran out. People were panicking over the lack of fuel. There were people pulling guns on other people at gas stations. I saw people abandoning brand bew cars on the side of the road and walking away. All the water in the grocery stores ran out in like 5 minutes when the first reports of the hurricane came in. It was pretty eye opening.
I would definitely keep a supply of water and canned goods and vitamins in your basement, because you think it can't happen but it can.
Read the book The Road, by Cormac McCarthy if you want to see human beings reduced to no food and water. It's scary stuff.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Although I was around a cattle farm when I was a youngun I'm a big city slicker working in I.T. guy now. I'm hosed.

Although I lived in a small town growing up, I worked and farmed with my uncle and several farmers that had alot of land, doing crops to cattle. I have some background experence in this, but so much has changed over the years.

But we had our own garden,cattle,etc., mom and dad grew up in the days of doing mostly on your own, they taught us kids how to do likewise.

[Iowanian]

growing a garden in a crisis? Where do you get the seed, because walmart garden center is no longer a supplied option.

Better get a hand saw and stock up on some gas and kerosine....bullets and shells, dry beans in bulk and any garden seed you can get your hands on.

[blaise]

Yep- because even if you grew a garden, someone would steal it, or try to.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

You city slickers are DOOMED!!!!!!! Me, I'd have a pile of bodies from people trying to steal my pigs.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

growing a garden in a crisis? Where do you get the seed, because walmart garden center is no longer a supplied option.

Better get a hand saw and stock up on some gas and kerosine....bullets and shells, dry beans in bulk and any garden seed you can get your hands on.

This country would be in shambles....... The convienence available now to the american people today would make people kill for items if america really fell on hard times..