YMMV, but the last tomato patch I put it, my tomatoes cost me about $300/pound. I don't doubt my grandma would have a fine garden, here, but I didn't inherit her green thumb. I've never so much as broken even on a garden plot. We also have a hawk living in the area, so I doubt chickens would last very long, either. I'm also on a city lot, in Del City, 60'x120', with road & sewer easements so I get more like 54'x90' including the house, driveway and sidewalks. Clay/sand soil about 6" deep over most of the lot where it isn't paved.Not trying to knock on you guys who are preparing for the next mad max fury road, but what about what is going on right now? Specifically, within the city? I’m moving from mustang to Edmond, staying in a regular city lot. Watching food/energy prices gives me the willies. I would really like to try and pad my losses with all this crap going on. I have maybe 3-6 months worth of food, but I don’t want to store food for the fall of civilization, I want to be prepared for the sake of my pocket book. If it were 2-4 years in the future and I had bought my 20-30 acres and such I wouldn’t be concerned and could go about farming, everything would be ok. But right now living in a standard city lot is my reality. What can I do to offset things/build myself a bit of a safety net? I’m on a fixed income at the moment, so I don’t have a ton of wiggle room. I’ve been considering getting 4-6 chickens (Edmond allows that many for my size lot if I’m not mistaken), maybe starting a garden. This spring I would also like to start beekeeping. But given my little plot of land, and my finances, my options aren’t great right now. Aside from stocking up on a few staples, I don’t have much desire to hoard a ton of ridiculously inflated groceries.
what do you guys suggest? Keep a half dozen chickens, start a few raised beds and a beehive? Am I looking at spending more money that I will likely save?
what about quail? They’re plenty tasty, produce eggs, and from what I heard take up little space. While the husbandry techniques would be different, having a few quail would be super handy next year, as I’m getting a hunting dog and would need some good training aids.
Good luck finding something you can do.
Bill