One of the finest things about modern life is to be able to eat raw fresh produce when it is out of season! There is simply no way that I can produce strawberries in February, but the stores do have them!
Is it possible to grow 90% of what you eat?
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You could produce them in a greenhouse. There are different varieties of strawberries and I'd think you might even be able to grow some indoors, provided you had a surviving "mother" plant that was still sending out new shoots. Foods out of season don't always taste their best.
Yes, I was going to say YouTube. That and FaceBook show a lot of people, projects and communities that are very close to self sustaining. It's not all out in the country, requiring a lot of space either. There are a lot of inner city projects that are very exciting. And yep, rooftop farming is one of them. 
Our growing season isn't long enough for us to eat 90% of the growth. I can grow the crops and freeze some of them through the winter, but unfortunately there is no way for us to heat fresh produce through the winter. It is nice to have some stock in the freezer though, and you know that there are no pesticides and it's all organic. That's the part I love about gardening.
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It is possible to grow all of what you eat (or hut and forage for it too). There are extremists who live 100% off of the land in some places in America. I guess the real factor you have to consider is if you would want to or not. If I had not job or bills to pay, I could totally make all of my own food, but right now, it is just not practical.
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Most of the staple food can actually be grown in your backyard. For example, corn, potato, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, peppers, beans, and the like. This is especially the case if you are a vegetarian. You won't find any difficulty eating what you have in the garden.
I used to do that, but I won't say it was 90%. Probably it was more like 20% of my food were coming from the garden. However, I got busier at work and so I didn't have much time to actually grow more plants. It requires a good level of dedication as well, especially when you like your food to be totally organic.
I used to do that, but I won't say it was 90%. Probably it was more like 20% of my food were coming from the garden. However, I got busier at work and so I didn't have much time to actually grow more plants. It requires a good level of dedication as well, especially when you like your food to be totally organic.
I think at this time I probably could not grow 90% of what I would need for me and my family to eat. We live in an apartment with a deck and so far I have starting growing every fruit tree and vegetable that I can along with herbs. I am going to explore growing vertically in order to save space and have some hanging boxes that go over the rail of the deck. This will give me more space as well. I even started a potato in a huge pot and have been successful at growing small ones before. Still not enough but it is a start for when I do have a yard again.
One thought is that we may not have enough on our own to sustain ourselves, but what about bartering and trading with a neighbor or a small local farmer for the things we are lacking. Especially if you have your own garden that produces a surplus of anything at all.
One thought is that we may not have enough on our own to sustain ourselves, but what about bartering and trading with a neighbor or a small local farmer for the things we are lacking. Especially if you have your own garden that produces a surplus of anything at all.
Many years ago a man who was trying to grow almost all of his families' food said it took him 7 hours a day, and at the time he was not growing grain! (Well, he had TRIED to grow grain but wild animals ate it all!)
This gent pointed out that it took as long to care for 2 pigs as it did for 4, so he proposed that families could share the work, with one family doing the pigs for both and the other family raising the poultry for both, He figured that if most of the work was divided that each family would only have to work for 5-6 hours a day, or some such thing.
Our ancestors supported themselves but then our ancestors farmed full-time, and the excess that they sold brought in a comparatively higher price than it does today!
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And no government regulations and no taxes on everything they touched either.
You have to go WAAY back to not have taxes, LOL!
A wise person once said, "A dollar saved is $1.25 earned, because you did not have to pay taxes on it!"
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I wish I could grow 90% of the food that I eat but I can't. Some of my vegetables grow better than others. I can really grow vegetables for salad but cannot grow lettuce. I am a salad Eater so salad would be my specialty. I could leave the city right now and move to the country and be a farmer. Maybe then my lettuce will grow.
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Why can't you grow lettuce. Where do you live?
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I tried to grow romaine, but it looked like leaf lettuce. Last year the iceberg didn't grow at all