Food Self-Sufficiency Contest

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Milo maize was a real lifesaver for us the first couple of years we were here. It grows in extremely poor soil and produces . . . in even the hottest and driest summers. In a typical year, we plant 5,000 feet of row with two pounds of maize seed and harvest 300 pounds of the grain.

We harvest our maize by simply cutting the plants' heads off with a pocketknife. We then beat out . . . the grain, grind it fine, and use it just like cornmeal. The ground grain makes a good pan bread and—when cooked in milk—an excellent "maize mush".

By plowing and replowing our garden three or four times during our first winter, working large quantities of manure and limestone into the soil over the years, and sowing a mixture of winter vetch and rye grain ( not grass) on the area each fall and plowing it under as green manure the following spring . . . we've been able to build our vegetable patch into a fairly fertile piece of land.

The planning of each year's garden is probably the most important and the most difficult homestead activity we face. Homegrown fruits and vegetables make up a substantial portion of everything we eat, and we approach our gardening activities in a very serious and systematic way. We rotate crops for maximum utilization of soil fertility and for control of diseases and insect pests. We manure heavily and (although we don't agree with Ruth Stout that it always works miracles on all plantings in all gardens at all times) we use a certain amount of mulch. We use both standard and hybrid seeds and in many other ways take a "middle road" through all the "miracle, cure-all gardening methods" that the "experts" seem to be constantly pushing.

Our best advice to the beginning gardener is: Start slowly with the old cultivation systems—plowing, discing, and harrowing or rototilling—that have already been proven in your area. Experiment with new ideas a little at a time. Beware of the agribiz industry's claims that any and all problems can be solved now and forever by the application of some "magic" chemical. Prepare your seedbed as well as you can and stir the soil around your plants as they grow. Plant across the slope and grow cover crops during the off-season to keep your ground from eroding. Learn what to expect from your soil and climate before you begin to test "far out" theories and ideas . . . and then test such "breakthroughs" cautiously and a little at a time.

Jerusalem artichokes are a true survival food. A few roots from a neighbor are all the start you'll need and, after the first year or two, the plants should become so prolific that you'll have to thin them for better tuber production.

The tuberous roots of this plant "self store" themselves in peak condition in the ground right through the winter and they can be dug and eaten at almost any time. We like 'em raw in salads or prepared any way that potatoes are cooked. We also use Jerusalem artichokes as supplemental feed for our hogs, chickens, and rabbits.

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