The Hunger Gap: Part I

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How Do I Solve The Hunger Gap For My Family?

My Goal, More Sustainability and Self Reliance For My Family



The Hunger Gap usually refers to that time period between when the food from the last fall Harvest runs out, and when food from the first Spring Harvest comes in. most people at least in the Western World, don't even think about it, because they simply head down to the market and buy whatever they need. I mean, all food is readily available, right?

...but wait, didn't we learn anything from the Pandemic, and global Supply Chain Shortages?

I've been a gardener all my life - learned from my Papou (Grandfather) and my mom. Although, I haven't been as large scale or dedicated, before the CoVid Pandemic brought food shortages. Since then, I have been growing larger amounts, and growing over winter, indoors.

... but food is not in short supply any more!

So, why I am thinking about The Hunger Gap still? Because, actually, yes, there still are random food supply issues. AND, if you follow the news, on the invasion of Ukraine, by Russia, you know there still are some Global issues. Ukraine supplies a HUGE percent of raw wheat, processed flour, sunflower seeds, oil, and sunflower flour, to much of Africa, parts of Asia, and Europe.

AND, the grain deal was only recently renewed, for 60 days.
A trip each week, to my local grocery store, shows me plenty of items I skip on my list because the item is not there or simply OBSCENELY overpriced.


...but I will not be caught with my tighty whities around my ankles again.


I have been harvest a much more food, locally, from my own gardens. The pic above was my peak one day harvest early August last summer. I've been learning how best to store Onions, harvest September, and still have some left: maybe a quarter what I stored.

I harvest tomato, all summer and fall, and make Salsa, and Gallons of Tomato Sauce, for the freezer. I've only recently used my last tomato sauce. (3 jars salsa left!) I have 4 or 5 jars of pickles (some Dill cucumber pickle, some Sweet Bread and Butter). I have a few dozen jars of Jams and Jellies (Beach plum, Blueberry, Raspberry). but I want more stability.

I need to grow more vegetables and learn to dehydrate and save them. So far, I am saving Onions this way. I need to learn to partially cook, and freeze more, too. I am thinking Carrot, Peas, for sure.

I already grow herbs indoors, and Lettuce, Spinach and Arugula, all winter. What else can I grow indoors to cut down the Hunger Gap?

... but what am I growing Now?

This year, so far, here's what I have planted:

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Above: Tomato Seeds

Below: Pepper Seeds

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Above: Cucumber Seeds

Below: Squash< Eggplant, and Zucchini Seeds

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Above: Garlic, Onion and Chives

Below: Seeds to be planted still

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Next Post, Part II, we'll delve into HOW MANY plants per person is sustainable for one year. AND also, address a few very obvious shortcomings in my planning. As well, I will touch on not only parts of the Hunger Gap Shortages, but also, Sustainability, and Carbon Neutral Awareness.


If you follow me, you know I prefer to grow my own food for my family and friends. You probably also know, my love language seems to be serving. For my family and friends, that means, cooking and serving them healthy, locally grown food, whenever and wherever I can. Local food has a much lower impact on our local, national, and global environment.

And that makes me smile... better for the planet, better for my own family.


Show me your garden!
Leave me a comment, below...
and a link to your #GroVid22 garden!

It's time to take control of your own food supply,
your own health and your own lives.

The GroVid23 Challenge:
Grow Your OWN is not just a simple short challenge,
it's about taking control of your future!

Happy Gardening and Cheers,
BluefinStudios

All Images by Bluefin Studios unless specified.





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22 comments
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Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 148 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
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You are doing great…
Looking forward to the following post about how many plants for a person.
Very informative. Thanks for that.
Have an awesome week 👋🏻😊
!ALIVE

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This is amazing. It is interesting how my mind is not at all geared to think about this gap. We live south of the equator and we have a 365-year growing cycle. I have winter and summer crops, and sometimes they even mix! I had loads of winter veggies growing in the summer this year.

Good luck with the growing, from a fellow gardener!

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It seems I am thinking of something here and then people are posting about it right afterwards lately. My little one recently sat down to document the seeds we collected from harvesting them from the garden, purchasing them and collecting them from local seed exchanges. Planning the seeding at more appropriate intervals to plan for the upcoming gardening season is enlightening and a little challenging given our weather in Canada is the same but different.

I must admit I have the privilege of not worrying about the off-season because of the convenient stores and markets. We live in the region of Canada that produced the most food in the whole wide country so it is easy to get complacent. Makes for some fantastic local corn though.

I think you would get a kick out of @gubbatv and her homesteading adventure. Her focus on sustainability and storage is uniquely informative and will definitely help with the off-season strategies and tactics.

Fantastic learning daily via the blockchain!

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Our growing season, here East Coast, northern US, is similar to Ontario, but slightly longer (we get about 20 more growing days that ONT) We're not the breadbasket, like Alberta, or Midwest US, but, we do OK. Apples, Peaches, Corn, BLueberries, and Cranberries are our most popular crops, as far as Farm grown.

In my notes, I collect data on where the seeds are from: Bought from XXX, Exchange w/ friend XXX, collected my self from previous garden, etc.

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Very nice photo of your home grown produce. Impressive what you could do by yourself to provide food for the whole family. If I were near your place, I would drop by every weekend to be your helper in the garden so that I could learn this survival knowledge systematically. I have to take notes and keep records of plants from now on! Villagers here never make notes or records! I am now quite baffled by the difference between the two cultures!

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the best thing about keeping notes is I look back right before planting, each spring to note what did well last year, what did not. Why waste time, energy, and space, on something that doesn't grow well in my area?

I also note what are favorites, for the family, so we can plant EXTRA NEXT TIME.

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Yup. These are very good reasons for keeping notes and records of all the plants in garden . I think I will have to make a map and take notes of my fruit trees as well. Memories only last for a short time. I couldn’t find some of the fruit trees I planted three years ago.😂

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This is a great tribute to the wisdom of our ancestors. ✌️ As a child, I remember almost all of the women of my family spend hours in the rocking chairs on the front porch stringing/snapping beans, shelling peas, shucking/silking corn, and they taught these simple skills to their daughters. Only a small portion of the bounty was cooked for the evening meal, and the rest was blanched and sealed into jars for long-term storage in the pantry. Corn was cut off the cob and jarred along with tomato chunks and okra, to make a base for soup during the winter. Peaches were peeled, sliced, and either frozen or pickled in jars. Fresh figs, pears, blackberries, blueberries, were cooked into a preserve and sealed into jars. Cabbage was turned into sauerkraut and cucumbers were turned into pickles or relish. Potatoes were stored long-term in a cool, dry place.

I've gotten away from these practices in the last couple of decades, mostly due to shrinking family size because of deaths and geographical spread. And when one is widowed and living alone, home-canning is more of a chore than necessary. I still make fig preserves when I have a good harvest, but that's about it. The few other things I have go in the freezer. So, it's wonderful that you are able to make salsa, pickles, and other things that can keep your tight-knit family going through the winter! You are doing wonderful things with your gardening, and it keeps you out of trouble! Well, mostly... 😁

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Mostly out of trouble. I work at it to find trouble when I can, tho!

Similar, for us, growing up. My Papou (Grandfather) is where I first learned gardening. AND, He, my Yia Yia, and mom, are where I learned cooking, and preserving: Jams, Jellies, The tomato, pepper, cukes, so much more... from his garden, his chickens, goat, and even learned to make ouzo, kahlua, and a few other types of liquor!

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I think the interesting thing about the Hunger Gap is it also puts us back in touch with nature and the growing cycles and the seasons. Frankly, in our part of the world, watermelon in December is obscene 🤦‍♂️

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The other reasoning for my own "back to the garden" push, is to grow more locally, and rely less on importing food from South America. All the fuel and carbon costs to transporting food is obscene. AND killing the planet

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I can't even begin to imagine where that Watermelon comes from and how much fuel, and waste it takes to get here!

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Wow, dude.

THAT is abundance.

Where are you, btw?

I heard government was clamping down on people storing seeds. Specifically heirloom seeds. In the U.S.A.

Which is terrifying actually.

!LUV

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East Coast US.
And no, there is no clamp down on buying, selling or owning seeds of any kind. LOL!

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Ah... okay :)

I read something online a while back that mentioned new legislation to prevent storage of certain seeds... perhaps it was just the internet of amazing things doing it's job :D

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How odd that somehow, our dear close personal friend the interwebs had some silliness on it!

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:)

You gotta love the internet.

I'd keep an eye on things and do some digging if I were into growing etc

They are quiet about it... but legislation is in place and things are quietly shifted all fo the time. The folks who suffer most are those who are less privileged with decent education on what is and what isn't actually legal etc.

It's a good fight for someone who is into this stuff.

And this stuff is... as you say and know... crucial now!

https://www.fao.org/3/Y2722E/y2722e0d.htm

https://andesfiles.s3.sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/Publications/66+The+Impact+of+national+Seed+Laws+on+the+Functioning+of+Small+-+Scale+Seed+Systems+A+contry+Case+Study.pdf

https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/2015-Seed%20laws%20booklet%20EN.pdf

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