Food for the Poor - What would YOU do?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by yeltto, Jun 29, 2010.

  1. sindhooram

    sindhooram Junior Member

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    Adam - your list seems good except for the Garlic - are you able to get garlic to grow in the tropics?? If so I would like to know how as I would love to grow it but am under the impression that it wont grow here and when I tried sticking in a few cloves to see what happened they produced leaf but nothing else...
     
  2. Adam

    Adam Junior Member

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    Upon further research, I think you are right, garlic can grow in the subtropics (Northern Thailand for example) but not true tropical areas. I am pretty sure that garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) can grow well into the tropics, though. Perhaps that would be a good replacement?
     
  3. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    You have a closed, pre-judicial attitude/mind. Try taking it out for a walk one day.
    The conference is merely occurring on a Uni Campus, yet you immediately pre-judge that as useless because of your prejudice and closed attitude.
    ISTM a 'talk fest' is the best place for you. You do it well.

    WMMHO
    Please do not advertise other threads, on other threads; unless there is a point, other than attracting attention to yourself.
     
  4. Mechandy

    Mechandy Junior Member

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    Just wanted to let you know

    MA, I just want you to know, that I am extremely comfortable for you to feel, however it is that you wish to feel!

    Mechandy
     
  5. andrew curr

    andrew curr Moderator

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    temperate /dry :figs mulberries oaks spagetty squash jerusulem artichokes corn pumpkin beans mustard booc choi ,turnip rape,rasberry,tree onions,
     
  6. butchasteve

    butchasteve Junior Member

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    feeding the poor? we could always rise up against our oppressors, grab power and execute the bourgeoisie?? i've heard it works sometimes.. :p
     
  7. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Year really !?
    Where? :)
    Seems to be just a great way of changing your oppressors?
    All power corrupts.
     
  8. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Thanks Mechandy, but I don't need your permission for feel anything.
     
  9. butchasteve

    butchasteve Junior Member

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    awww come on, revolution is such a romantic idea, no need to burst my bubble.. imagine the country run by greenies, permies and bleeding hearts alike... utopia is possible!!
     
  10. wingedbeans

    wingedbeans New Member

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    Winged beans,Cassava,Pigeon Pea,Yam,Prickly Pear,Sorghum.
    Cassava is by far the best food security plant.Leaves 16-20% Protein,Roots highest concentration of carbohydrates you can find per kilo other than sugar cane.Requires very little care,can grow in poor soil,can be harvested or left in the ground for a number of years.Can be propagated from cuttings.I am going to stand up and say that Cassava is the best food plant this planet has.Seeds are however limited to a few small research facilities in South America.Other wise you need cuttings,these are very hardy however.Does anyone know of seeds in Australia?
     
  11. Tropical food forest

    Tropical food forest Junior Member

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    First thing o remembembr is that as some greenhorn straight out of the deveoped world you probably know SFA about plants
    really you are the student.

    do a thorough survey of the local area and surrounding area
    record all species, noting uses where possible

    then go research features and extra uses as well as ecological properties of these species

    most of what you need the people will tell you

    through markets
    through interview
    through seeing what they cook and what they grow

    you can introduce a few new species but it needs to be slow and with backup , esp for the multipurpose functions and cooking

    imagine if an aid worker came in here and sid , right you are not sustainable , now you can grow rice
    we might object and say we dont have enough water, or that we really miss bread and pasta
    the supervisor may not care

    this is how its happenned in the past.

    better to collect and distribute
    in this process you will find over time, the gaps, and in these gaps spots for new species
    or foreign cultivars

    it takes time to track down all thats available locally. To understand that theres 3 or 4 mulberry cultivars, or that certain villages dont like calliandra as a mulch legume for whatever reason.

    in most cases amost of what you need will be 'on site' or in the broader area. Local planst are better accepted
     
  12. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

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    I like the idea of sending resources for people to support themselves rather than just material goods they need or prepackaged foods.
    I can also see that it is fraught with problems and people have picked up on this too but as an idea its great and deserves less negative imput.

    Having never grown anything in the tropics,just here where I'm told its temperate,(freezing right now is a better description),I've had a think about what I have found easy to grow with my current limited experience and what would be a reasonbly balanced vege diet, in no particular order, nor knowing how much land recipients would have or if it would be a communal effort:

    Beans, beetroot, sweet corn, brassicas of various types from broccolli, to kale to chinese cabbages, tomatoes, chillis, potatoes, butternut, parsley, mint, onions, garlic, silverbeet,

    My first thought on this is different areas are called temperate but have different growing conditions for example over on the east coast their spring starts almost 6 weeks ahead of ours.
    Secondly, I took the purpose of sending these, to be to help people who have just had a system breakdown and need a kick start to get them going again, not sure if this was right rather than an on going gravy train or in a cronic war torn area that hasnt settled yet.

    Otheer things that might be good to send that I have never grown so dont know I but assume would be good, would be:
    Barley, Amaranth-grain and seed types,maize( with instructions as to how to treat it the way the mexicans do with limewater?)
     
  13. Susan Girard

    Susan Girard Junior Member

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    The definition of 'poor' is interesting isn't it. By world standards I don't live in a poor area, by NSW Census statistics maybe I do. My 'city' has 26 villages strung out over 120 km of ridge top, in the middle of a World Heritage area. There is one recognised major town centre but it doesn't have a Mall; we have public transport (trains) that runs every hour to most towns; between towns buses are similar; there is a lot of urban sprawl and in most areas no foot paths etc. So food security is a problem for many of the residents, one village has only one shop and that sells paint so parts of the area have been described as a 'food desert'. The local Heath Area Dept, Community workers, some of the school's and other concerned groups (including permies) have over the last 3 years been involved in a program called "Gardening in a Box".
    Any box container, most often Styro broccoli boxes because they are deep enough for most plant roots; recycled; easy to access here; and importantly easy to put in drainage holes. The soil depends on the participants - the Woman's Heath Centre/s and one of the Disability Centre choose bagged potting mix because their participants took the boxes home and thus ease of transport, some of the After school/Vacation Care Centre's bought in bulk and kept the boxes on site and others just mix soil, compost and manure. Seeds and seedling (?) well - the climate in this 'city' ranges from temperate to temperate adjusted by altitude (snowed last week), basically the idea has been to try and help people supplement their diet with some easy growing leafy greens - 'pick and come again 'lettuce, chard, parsley are always included. Other stuff is seasonal. We pack it in, any where between 7 - 9 plants per box, with stuff growing vertically and flowing over the edges. When the lettuce has finally been harvested, the chard will have taken up the space and power on. We show how to make weed/manure tea and explain that feeding your plants is very important.
    We have had some inspiring feed back, I guess it's like the Jesuit saying give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, show a man how to fish feed him for his life
     

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