This is a tool to break down complex systems so individual elements can be analyzed and quantified. It is also a tool that doesn't work well with a good bit of the real world. A beam connecting to a column is laughably simple compared to ecosystems.
This famous quote by John Muir is more like how things interact:
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."
I was thinking about this as I wondered just how far we've come on our journey to self reliance here on our homestead.
Not very far.
Now, I realize that to be completely self reliant is impossible and a very unrealistic, even counterproductive goal. But, ever striving to reduce dependance on the fossil fuel enabled economy and logistical chains is I think prudent.
So here is a rough first cut at defining the "free body diagram" for our home, and acknowledging all the dependencies that remain.
Crossing the boundary:
Sunshine, air and rain are givens of course.
Food from the grocery store as there are still many things we don't grow ourselves.
electricity- We generate a fair portion here, but the grid is the 24/7 backup and supplement.
Feed for the chickens- It's organic, and they forage a certain amount, but the majority of their calories are still from the feed store.
Building materials for the various projects and regular maintenance.
Information from the internet that would otherwise be very difficult to find so quickly.
Seeds- We do some seed saving, but more than half our garden, and all the tree seedlings are from suppliers.
Chickens- We haven't pushed the incubating and hatching like we could, so still buy chicks every so often.
Gasoline- to run the brush mower, tiller, chain saw, and of course the cars that get us to town and haul things for us.
Money- Our savings and income leave the home in exchange for the above purchased items.
All manner of personal goods- Clothes, cleaning supplies, medicine, all the "normal" household goods we so easily acquire today, coming from hundreds and thousands of miles away.
I'll even count water, as the domestic water is from our deep well. It would be inaccessible if not for electricity and the well pump. Till now, we are only capturing a small percentage of rain from the roof, to use for watering trees. So much more to be had.
Just pausing to think about losing one or more of these connections should make one deeply appreciative of the flows across our boundaries that sustain us.
So where do we fit in here?
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteIt's funny isn't it how you set out on a journey with the idea of self sufficiency in mind, and at one point you do a double take when you realise just how hard a goal that is. I tend to believe that it is an impossible goal if only because you can't be over everything.
And the other thing which you learn along the journey is that there are diminishing returns to the many aspects of such a goal. If you get one system sorted out from beginning to end, there are heaps of others needing equal attention. I dunno, but didn't the old timers used to say that it takes a village to raise a kid?
Cheers
Chris - Fernglade Farm
Hello Steve,
ReplyDeleteIndeed a good question. What is coming in and what is going out?
On our small farm that we bought this summer, we are experimenting with nutrients. (i.e. Joseph Jenkins home turf)
We try to keep as much nutrients as possible here, and we started with just buckets of liquid and bags of soil + nightsoil. Even a daily dose of two people is heavy to carry out to the gardens, so I am considering tubing and fertigation combinations.
How do you deal with this?
Peace,
Goran
Greetings, Goran;
DeleteYes, maintaining, or even improving soil properties is a big job if you are trying to snip the fossil fuel umbilical. The trip from the house to the compost bins is uphill for me, and there will come a time where I can't do it, but that day has not yet arrived. Moving stuff from point A to point B is just one more thing that our muscles will need to do to replace fossil fuel convenience.
We use the Joe Jenkins system, with a cycling three year compost bin setup. Each bin is around 6 cubic meters volume, but the volume reduction over time is amazing. In addition to our Loveable Loo waste, all kitchen trimmings and food processing scrap go in the bins, as well as the bedding and manure from the chicken coop.
I transfer the oldest compost bin to the garden once a year, ( wheelbarrow and pitchfork) but it does not provide enough organic content. I also rake the leaves in the yard near the house, and put these in the garden in the fall, so they have many months to break down before the next planting.
We were lucky enough to get composted cow manure for several years from a neighbor, but that has ended, so I'm worried soil tilth will decline, but so far things have gone well.
I really should have a soil test done, to see where we are, but the plant health and production has been good, so I have put it off.
I don't know much about fertigation, but sounds like purchased nutrient mix? We have a quite large garden, so the tubing required would be extensive.
Not to dwell on things scatological, but my Jan, 2021 post discusses this topic as well.
(True confession- ran out of sawdust for the humanure bucket this summer, and have reverted to the in home toilet, need to go get another load of sawdust)
Thanks for stopping by.
Steve