The future of farming

https://grassfedexchange.com/videos/gfe-2016-ray-archuletta-it-starts-with-the-soil an interesting video on soil science

 

It will go back more toward local production, especially in small towns and cities. That trend has already started with the big success of farmer's markets.

 

Commercial farming will still.be big business. It will just be done differently.

 

Well... I'm but a city boy with at best, gardening and lavender and rose bush growing and tendering.
I get my kicks from my location being well within the M25 motorway and in the concrete jungle in the middle of South London, buying flowers from the local flower shop that sells a few you can plant too, next to the train station, or big fancy scented ones on eBay from somewhere else in the UK; all planted in my garden in Thornton Heath.
I went one year where I didn't see 1 bee, just wasps, and I heard the bee population is in danger, so I went for flowers I like the smells of, 'red scented roses & lavender' and since I planted those last year, I've seen bees use the lavender; I like honey, bees are cool, also, I like tomatoes and, well, bees don't grow tomatoes, but, they do something with pollen also that creates tomatoes, so, no bees, no tomatoes, no honey, no bee's wax; I like bees, would never farm them, but I like flowers too, and I only know of the 2 I've got.
I planted a sunflower type flower, some sunflower, it died and it or the flowerbed I dug it attracted a cat and I swear the cat even took a bite out of it, which amused me, as I never knew a cat to eat sunflower before, but; that plant was half alive when I bought it (like £1.25), so, whatever, I guess that was cool - seeing the attention it got.

 

You should set up a couple of bee hives on the roof of your building. Share the honey with your neighbors.

 

How much honey does that yield, but I hate swarms of bees and stuff, no.

 

I grew up in the city and moved to the country and I love it. I grow most of my own food and have a large garden. I am in the process of planting a fig orchard. But moving to the country is not without its problems. I have had to learn how to fix things and to do things. Like putting up fences for livestock and doing my own lawnmower and auto repair. But all in all it is the life for me. I always look forward to the first hummingbirds of the season and eating my first fresh tomato off the vine. Right now we are harvesting fresh green peas from the garden. So much better than store bought and practically free....discounting labor.

 

That depends upon many factors, but a good average for a healthy hive in my area is about 30 pounds per hive. Honey bees are not typically aggressive, save for perhaps the africanized ones, and will not swarm or sting you except under extreme circumstances. When they do swarm, it is usually a simple process to collect them again. Keeping bees has been one of the most interesting and rewarding endeavors I have engaged in during my lifetime, though I no longer keep them. It truly is a fascinating thing.

 

I just saw this on my Facebook and found it on Youtube so I was able to share;

I thought this was neat, about growing fruits in your kitchen.

 

I work in the center of London and one of roof tops we overlook has 4 hives - there seem to be some bees coming and going so I guess even in the heart of the city they have a source of nectar?

 

Many beekeepers will feed the bees in sucrose feeders if food is sparce.

 

I built a leaf and pine straw mulcher today. I had an old stand, electric motor, and some weed trimming string. I think it is going to work. Cost about 10 bucks to put together and 5 dollars of that was for a decent drill bit. I will test it tomorrow and see if I need to modify.

 

Trash cans filled with soda containers probably. Anyway, local grown will not replace big ag anytime in our lifetimes because the pricing model has been inverted. When I was a kid, the farmers markets were cheaper than grocery stores generally, now they are premium priced. With declining household incomes, people stretching their dollars are not going to flock to food that is 50% more expensive

 

Where do you get that nonsense from. It's certainly not true where I live.

 

Hadn't thought of that. Always think of the little critters wandering from flower to flower but I suppose food is food whereever it comes from - and with all the crap lying on the streets and the overflowing bins of waste food from the cafes and restaurants around here there's more than enough to keep them happy. Thinking about it I guess thats why all the wasps get excited when the bins are full. Does it impact on the quality of the honey though?

 

Certainly true where I live, of course people are idiotic enough to believe those "home grown" tomatoes coming out of a box marked "product of Mexico" are really home grown tomatoes in May in the mid-Atlantic because they are being sold at the Farmer's Market and the sign says so too even though local farmers are just planting tomatoes. The farmers market has become a gentrified yuppieland since it moved to a high profile location that will hardly issue a permit to anybody who doesn't buy a season long slot. The days of Farmers just pulling up and selling whatever they have in the back of their truck from that week which is the same haul as most every other local farmer is selling from their truck are long gone.

 

I don't know if it does or doesn't impact honey except honey has flavor profiles based on whatever the primary food source is, so I would assume it might. I personally can't taste much difference between say clover honey and another type though. I am sure some bees do flowers too. I worked at this local recreational resort when I was in my teens. Emptying trash was one of my occasional jobs. I liked doing it because it required no effort and I just got to leisurely ride around a few hours, but most people despised the task because of all the bees that swarmed the cans. They were just honey bees so they weren't aggressive and seldom stung you but something about them freaked other people out.

 

Maybe where you live the people are suckers. Of course I live in rural America and the Farmer's Market is going balls to the wall. Even much of our local produce in grocery stores is locally grown as is the meat and poultry. High output postage stamp farms already supply large numbers of restaurants in the country. The so called truck farms will likely make a big comeback. The trend will move from rural areas into larger towns and cities. The big cities will probably remain corporate because of the volumes.

 

We have an area locally where a lot of tomatoes are grown. I don't know what the boxes say but they sell and ship a lot of boxes. Our local produce stand buys from farmers markets south of here and raise their own. But you can tell the difference in the produce ...especially the tomatoes. The store bought tomatoes are grainy and lack flavor. I will take a vine ripe tomato over a gassed green tomato any time. That is why I grow my own.

 

We have a three or 4 location independent grocer that will buy from local farms in bulk when something is available and a few one location boutique grocery stores that will carry local grow aquaponic veg at outrageous prices. The farmers market is worthless though. Some farmers tried to still sell out of their trucks when places like kmart gave them permission to use their parking lots but that got squashed by the city pretty quick. You aren't even allowed to grow food to sell at all even in your own property in my city unless you go through this pricey and cumbersome process, and if you raise more than 2 acres you have to go through it even if it is for you own use. A few decades ago my city basically stole several large employers from the county through annexation and a lot of farmland in between got sucked in with it.

And they wonder why people are fleeing the city in droves, leaving mostly elderly people and welfare queens behind to pay the bills.

 

I don't buy store tomatoes unless absolutely necessary, and grow my own if in any way possible. We don't really have a yard, but some resemblance of a flower bed. It works, and so do pots. We also have a local grower...small family business...very near by, and we support them as much as possible. Eggs and all veggies grown in season. We love it.

 

I read years ago that local honey helps with allergies. Since I purchase only locally, I haven't had many problems.

 

I know little about honey but I have seen different labels on bottles...like clover honey...orange blossom honey etc. We have someone locally that makes honey and we buy from him.

 

Pots are great for tomatoes and because you can move them, they will produce for a long time. You don't really need many chickens for fresh eggs. The rooster is always the problem. LMAO

 

I have raised pigs, goats, cattle, and game birds. And the animal that scared me the most was a Rhode Island Red rooster. We had to approach him armed. And if you knocked him silly he would shake his head and come back at ya...spurs first.