Higgenbotham wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 10:22 pm
Earlier in this Dark Age Hovel I had discussed location and how a borderline location could be beneficial if someone prefers to fight the problem of fertility of the land instead of denser populations...
...Also, the fertility of the area prepared 2 years ago seems better than it was last year, indicating that it can take at least 2 years to optimally prepare ground for growing vegetables in this location.
The other aspect of this, besides soil, is weather extremes. This year it was in the upper 90s on March 15. During the early morning hours of March 17, it was 29 degrees. As the cold air came in, winds were brisk, which didn't help. Many gardeners in this area lost all of their cold sensitive crops or they were badly damaged.
This is when it can be advantageous to be working on a small scale. I covered my tomatoes with blankets (they had to be put over stakes so that the blankets wouldn't touch the plants). Only 3 were damaged out of 28. In an open field, everything would have been lost.
It is possible to put infrastructure such as hoop houses in to avoid these outcomes, but I would prefer not to be "advertising" my garden plot while the new dark age is incoming. At present, it can't be seen by anybody, but putting a hoop house out there would make it highly visible. We have visitors here from time to time. The instructions I've given is the garden plot is not to be discussed with or shown to any visitors.
It's only April 9, but it's looking like yields are going to be very heavy. Last year I said I'd be lucky to get 500 pounds of tomatoes, but this year I think it's more than likely. I've added blackberries with thorns. Those will eventually spread through and around the garden plot for security. Soon I will be adding strawberries and okra.
The method I used was discussed here but briefly it involves digging pits a little smaller than 4 feet by 4 feet 30 inches deep. A thick layer of wood chips is put in the bottom, followed by soil, then grass, weeds, cow manure, cover crops (hard red wheat mostly), kitchen waste, and urine interspersed with more soil. No fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides have been necessary.
My goal is to be growing 30 percent of our food in the next 3-5 years. But that can be sped up if the collapse accelerates more than I expect. We'll see how the fall and winter go. We should see a lot of price increases at a minimum.
https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comme ... are_button
The post I'm pointing to will be highlighted in yellow.
While the periphery breaks down rather slowly at first, the capital cities of the hegemon should collapse suddenly and violently.