Garden Towers? Anyone?

[JBen]

yep, funny that someone so "young"...puts a lot of old timers to shame
Copied his post and pasted.

[Fox]

yep, funny that someone so "young"...puts a lot of old timers to shame
Copied his post and pasted.

31 here, we were lucky enough to buy our first house and decided that getting a place with a garage in the city vs country being $100K extra, $100K buys a lot of gas.

We currently have a very nice setup on 1.84 acres, we are trying to build a system that keeps our food in our control, I even bought a scythe so that I can cut the long grass and dry it for hay for my rabbits until we pasture the back with a few lambs or goats, yes I said 1.84 acres .

If you are "stuck" in the city there are tons of options, where abouts in Whitby are you stuck?

If you head north a bit there are lots of old orchards that have fallen into disrepair, I bet a lot are owned by the municipality but many are owned by city people who just like the colour in the spring. Ask them if they would not mind you picking some apples. You can make your own apple sauce, cider, apple butter and many other things off apples from trees that have gone wild, and don't forget the crab apples that the city puts all over the place.

Train tracks can be a good spot to find wild grapes, just make sure you actually pick wild grapes, there are some inedible things that grow along side of them, they are sour as heck but make a nice jelly.

Elderberries are another free one that is readily available along old woods, just make sure they are cooked.

Choke Cherries are all over the place as well, mmmm, choke cherry jelly.

Cucumbers grow vertically if trained to do so on commercial fence, the nice thing is that they stay cleaner and are easier to pick. Try pickling cucumbers, you can eat them in salad like any other cucumber but do not get too big that they pull down your fence.

Another thing to try is white asian radishes, they do not bolt and go woody like the red, you can preserve them too. Kale is another hardy one, you can plant it and pick it into the winter, just brush off the show and pick, start from the bottom leaves and go up. Brussel sprouts are another, they grow vertically so they do not take up much space in the flowerbed.

If you want to be off grid keep your eyes open for a pressure canner, this allows you to can meat and reduce your freezer requirement. We found an All American 921 canner, this will can 1L jars no problem, we have used it for pulled pork and chili, mmm, chili. They are $700 new but if you plan it right you can find them for cheap, but you have to be ready to jump, they use a metal to metal seal and not an O-ring, so you don't have to worry about parts not being available.

I hope you go for it, my mom sat me down and had a talk with me, she said we better start this before kids or the city will just be too easy, live in the country and love it then pass that along to your kids.

[JBen]

I'm in North Whitby, right on the northern edge.
Kids are my largest hurdle
House/land prices in the region being the next They are insane.
Life and the trappings..........

We will be going for it, as with anything its a process. Start small, learn as you go. In time be it 3 years or 6 I don't expect we will still be in the burbs.