22nd
On my mind
The stuff we talked about last night over dinner has been stuck in my head today. I got some work finished this morning (God, remember the days when people actually commuted to work? I can’t imagine that now - a digital office is so much more practical, and all that time I used to spend travelling I can actually get things done) and then found myself surfing the net and checking out how much space is recommended for self-sufficient living.
This guy waffles a lot, but basically works out that you need about a tenth of an acre per person. Obviously you’d need more if you wanted to raise animals. I’m not quite up to raising sheep (though the wool would be good), but a bit more space for the birds would be good - lots of eggs and the occasionalt chicken feast.
So about 0.3 acres would supposedly feed the bigdamnhero and me, if we planned the space properly. I guess the plots we have add up to about a fifth of an acre, but it would be nice to have the land all together.
It’s a hell of a lot of work, though.
I’m really thinking about this too much. We’d have to move, for one thing, and we’re happy where we are.
I popped to the west plot after lunch and had a bit of a dig. The root veg are coming on nicely, and the late squashes are really ripening up. I think the blackberries are all done now, though, which is a shame. I like my berries.
Oh, and there are some nice apples ripening up. Now that the first tree’s nicely established I’d like to try my hand at some more fruit trees - maybe a nice pear tree, sans partridge.
