DIY Hunter-Gathering & Agriculture

Last month, my mother challenged herself to a week of eating only what she had harvested herself. In the several weeks before, she busied herself with picking, digging, shelling, freezing or drying, or squirreling away into the bowels of the refrigerator all kinds of thin
gs from her garden and P-Patch. Raspberries, fava beans, potatoes, garlic, onions, chard, kale, plums, blueberries, yellow squash, Sichuan peppercorns... She even picked off some mussels from her hometown beach. She was all revved up for it to be a hard and unpleasant week and worried about running out of food or going hungry. And the pains of going without red wine or green tea!

Turns out it wasn't too bad. Actually, you might say she had fun. She was surprised at how much work she had to put into preparing each meal. Without any cooking oil, she was limited to steaming, blanching, boiling, and baking -- grilling would have been acceptable too -- all of which take more time than, say, the instant oatmeal or pre-made microwaved lasagna that she is accustomed to eating. Mint tea was an okay substitute for green tea and she suffered successfully through her alcohol sabbatical, even in the face of several fingerfood-wine-and-cheese-style fundraiser events.

I'm drawn to the idea. How far could you go? How much could you forage/grow/harvest for yourself and how well could you eat for that week/fortnight/month, permitting yourself only the luxuries of running water and a stoven?

Ain't got no garden of my own right now, just a contested claim to a small raised bed in my mother's sideyard. Can't build any foundation on that, unfortunately. But say next year, when we're no longer living in this city apartment and we're living in our fantasy house with its breakfast nook and garden in a bike-friendly, child-friendly neighborhood, with a bakery and grocery and playground nearby. And and and. And perhaps then I could give the self-sustaining week a try. A smart hardworking ant would start thinking about it now. Apart from salt strained from seawater, some herbs, and a handful of Sichuan peppercorns from a tree in the Arboretum, my mother had almost no seasoning or spices, and absolutely no oil or vinegar or sweeteners or meat or eggs or dairy. If I want any of those things, some advanced planning would be mighty helpful.

Chamomile flowers on my drying rack.

Coriander fruits on my cilantro plants.

Oil: With a proper press, oil could be made from sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or rapeseed. Sunflower heads are currently expiring and now is the time to go out and forage seed.

Vinegar: It's most easily made from twice-fermented apple cider, but it requires a couple months, and apples. But would aid in pickling and/or chutney production. Apple time is soon!
Spices: I have some coriander seeds ripening on my cilantro plant. The fennel and mustard will be seeding soon. In my fantasy garden I could also grow cumin, dill, caraway, and black peppercorn (if it's indoors).
Tea: Chamomile is blooming now. I've already been collecting and drying the flowers for tea. Then there's mint, lemon balm, and all kinds of other plants and flowers that make nice infusions, like lavender, nettles, rosehips, calendula, or hibiscus.

But would really be brilliant if I could go out and catch one of these. A person could certainly live off of one of these big guys for a whole week. Would that be cheating?

Chinook salmon at the Chittenden Locks fish ladder.