I'd agree with the local csa. If you have the space and time as the season draws nigh, it's not too late to get ready for growing. This year, we're increasing the size of the garden as we already can, pickle, and ferment; we're also looking into hydro/aquaponics as a year-round solution. Beyond that, we are part of a herd-share for milk and meat - we also support other local farmers that raise pigs, cattle and hens rather than the nasty and inhumane feedlots that plague the country.
EDIT: once you've got the plants producing, many can simply be overwintered to allow you to get them producing faster the subsequent years, or you can add humidity and full-spectrum light to keep them producing (albeit at about half) over the winter.
I learned to ferment this year and the pickles are the best! I have fermented hot peppers in my fridge right now that I add to recipes and they came from my garden in September.
I’d also like to add that the local flea markets and thrift stores and restaurants should still be supported. You and your $ matter to them very much. I live in a rural area yet only 30 mins from where there was rioting bc Kenosha. There are farms nearby that sell a box of whatever is ripe for $20 if your aren’t picky and know what to do with the veggies it’s a fun way to spend money and actually help a family business.
I tried the past two years but I don't have enough sunlight coming into where I can grow sadly. Hopefully I'll have a nice chunk of land in the future. I can do herbs outside and herbs/micros under the bulb inside though. I learned a lot on starting plants at least. Maybe I can see which don't require a lot of space and sunlight but peppers and tomatoes definitely weren't working. Might have a potato and garlic farm.
we haven't tried spuds over winter, only summer, but garlic is a great grower over winter. We roast most of it and keep it in oil. One tip for spuds though - be careful of your nitrogen levels, if you enrich too much, you will get large foliage but real very small spuds. This has presented with a few new things we had anticipated but didn't think things would escalate so quickly - bit of a scramble to set precedent. necessity is the mother of all invention!
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