People have forgotten how to take care of themselves - Ignorance

Agriculture (gardening) is actually part of the problem.

Human beings are hunter-gatherers. We were never meant to lead sedentary lifestyles. We're supposed to be nomads living off the bounty of the land.

The first garden represents dependence. It paved the way for the commodification of land. It birthed the conquering army.

Truly being able to take care of yourself means being free from your crops, too.

originally posted by: JFA13
a reply to: JAGStorm

I completely agree with you! I get called a prepper, or survivalist all the time cause i am prepared for everything. People love to poke fun. We will see who is laughing if and when the SHTF.

Thats neat. I cant for the life of me understand people being against preparedness in case of xyz. Seems totally stupid to deny that its a smart thing to do.

But hey people love to falsely label others and ascribe totally unrelated b.s. to people becsause oooo nooo theyre a "prepper."


To the OP, ive got some potstoes im about to plant. Late season I know, but they should be okay.

What a good thread. Man we lost a lot of knowledge in a mere 2 or 3 generations. Makes me curious as to how our future ancestors are going to look back at this time in our history. How did we get so dumbed down?

Where I grew up, almost all backyards came with a garden, most with a "kid's section" where we as kids grew our own little bevy of veggies. We were responsible for all aspects and wow what a thrill to dine on the fruits of your labour.

Guess we assumed it would carry on.
Guess we got used to grocery store strawberries & tomatoes tasting like cardboard. Or the taste of McDonald's.
Guess we just took it for granted.

You mean there's a schwack of people who have or never will get the experience of going to the garden to snack on peas and pea pods?
Never the delight of rummaging your fingers through the soil and finding a nugget, when digging for potatoes??

Where and how did we fall?

For the girl who had never seen a potato... the saddest thing I've read in a week.


a reply to: JAGStorm

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

you obviously missed the point, my point was that the school system is to focused on test scores for funding and not enough on basic things like growing a garden among other things

try again

If you spend an hour a day on your garden, that's 365 hours per year. If the grown food saves you $2000/year (about $40 per week... which seems really high) you're working for $5.48 per hour. Replacing time with low paying work is not a good exchange to get people out of poverty.

originally posted by: toysforadults
when do kids have the chance to learn real world skills when they have to study for the next exam? no time for work, business, personal development as is evident by todays society

So, in other threads you claim the schools need to teach viable skills, but here you are arguing for a skill that's worth much less than minimum wage.

I'm in the starting a small market farm in upstate NY. I agree with the OP that basic food knowledge is a fading thing. I'm an oddity at my part time job, and am constantly asked for lack of a better term stupid questions.
Once I am fully up and running I plan on offering classes for the general public. Hopefully I can help reverse this trend.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Puppylove


I knew a girl that thought dark meat and brown eggs came from brown chickens.
Don't underestimate people's ignorance

Hey guess what - not everyone knows everything!!
Life is all about discovery - until it has been disclosed - it is not known!

I didn't know what eggs were (I'd seen and eaten an egg) until I asked my Aunt who kept chickens.
A chicken is a way for eggs to make more eggs!

Yeah I understand when you say people don't know where food comes from. I can't have a garden or I would. My yard gets no sunlight because of trees or I'd have a garden. I hunt and fish I take what I can from the land. People don't understand what it's like to go out and kill your own food.

the last time we tried to garden, we spent all that time and energy working the soil, planting the seeds, making sure they were watered and stuff.... had these really gorgeous squash plants growing, with such lovely flowers, and a herd of deer decided to move into the yard, I was actually finding them sleeping in the back yard in the morning... a big beautiful buck, a few lovely does and a few of the cutest little fawns!!! all of whom just love those squash plants for breakfast!!!
needless to say.... we really didn't get much out of the garden. it was a waste of time and money.
if things get really rough, we'll plant two gardens, one that is protected, and one for the deer.... and well, if we are starving, we will be more apt to see steaks when we wake up to find deer sleeping in the back yard. lol..

a reply to: ItsEvolutionBaby

A little story. I had to have some surgery, afterward I was required to not eat and only drink liquids for two whole weeks.

The weird thing is that after those two weeks it reset both my sense of smell and taste. Almost everything had a peppery taste. I can't even tell you what gatorade tasted like, like pure poison of some kind! My most favorite scent in the world is lilac, yet my sense of smell was so heightened I couldn't even walk near them. All processed foods smelled too awful to eat.

I think a lot of people have completely lost their sense of both taste and smell from the chemicals in foods we are eating.

All the shampoos in the house smelled too chemical for me to use except one, Burts Bees, they claim to be all natural and now I believe it. It makes you wonder what they are really put into all of our foods and body products.

a reply to: dawnstar


If you have a place that sells milorganite you can spread it around your garden and deer just hate that smell, it really works.
I have a deer highway in my backyard. Seriously, there are so many deer they have stomped a permanent path back there, and when I use milorganite I don't see them for months ! Also, if you go the fence route, you need to use at least 8ft. Sounds tall, but deer can jump crazy high and laugh at low fences.

a reply to: JAGStorm

my problem was I liked the deer more than the garden...
would probably be the same way with rabbits...
so, well, two gardens, one for my furry friends, and one for us... lol...
or things getting so bad that my furry friends look more like steaks to me I guess...

a reply to: JAGStorm

Oh god yes. For me at least, that is the best part. Actually tasting foods again. Raw food. Carrots that taste almost too sweet. Individual spices that I never could pinpoint before now leap out with the smallest of usage. I could make steak in a pressure cooker for 6 months straight and be able to produce unique flavors every week just from different combination of spices, never tiring of the deliciousness. It is quite amazing how different foods compliment each other and produce new flavors when combined that exceed the individual parts.

I tried a mild taco seasoning packet a while ago after cleaning up my diet. Not even grass fed beef could salvage that garbage. Now I have to make my taco seasoning from scratch and store it for easy use.

Trying some of the pre processed poison is sort of interesting every once in a while, in the safety of ones own home because you never know what will happen. Usually the effects start within 30-45 minutes. Once you get your body clean and healthy, not eating healthy isn't even an option anymore. The diet becomes a way of life and not looking back is easier and easier.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: kelbtalfenek

Yes, this is what my post was about, not necessarily gardening, just all those little life skills that are almost extinct.

Yep I agree. The situation won't self correct until a massive "event" occurs that forces us to change.

That is it I now believe I have traveled to a parallel universe Kids who have never seen potatoes ?
Cashiers who dont know what a green pepper is ?
And a bunch of hobby farmers who are tring there best to get us to believe they have it so hard lol .
Well In my Universe first for a garden we get a tiller using it in less then 2 days a acre or more is ready to plant .
Now for seeds After weeding out LOL 10 - 10 year old kids and only using the ones who know what a seed is I now have ten little people to drop the seeds in the ground ( man that was hard )
now seeing as I like cheating I will not wate for rain i will just play god and make my own rain . A thing every 5 year old knows what is called a sprinkler .

Now the only guy who any one should listen to at all is the one how had a hail storm but even then usaly can salvage 75 to 80 % of the garden most plants dont give up quite so easily .

now if you had said no young people know how to kill and clean a chicken I mite agree with you But rest assured they know what one looks like .
And I am sure even the most city bound person ever could figer out how to kill and clean a chicken before starving lol .
You hobby farmers are so over stating your skills .
I lived on a old style working farm for a good amount of my childhood and Frankly its was not nearly as hard as you make it to look .
I loved it Nothing better then carrots fresh from the ground or tomatoes right off the vine .
Milk straight from the cow ( no milk you buy comes close ) fresh eggs lord Hard you say ?
well its some work in the spring then waiting till late summer to pick lots of hours cramed into a couple months other then that sitting relaxing alot .

hard ?? lol maybe 300 years agaio before the PLOW and tractors it was hard now its just hot .

Ps am 52 and I grant I could plant and harvest 50 acres ALONE . Hard LOL
combines tractors pickers of all kinds the hard days of farming have been going for alest 200 years .

Ps am 52 and I grant I could plant and harvest 50 acres ALONE . Hard LOL
combines tractors pickers of all kinds the hard days of farming have been going for alest 200 years .

a reply to: wantsome

That's because most people have better things to do with their time. Unless you're producing food at a commercial scale, the economics of it don't work out.

Had to post this, it's scary how prescient this movie is.

dp