Pour Yorick - Alas

It feels like a uniquely American capitalist take to assume these traditions will make you completely self sufficient. You need a lot of people, a lot of time, a lot of knowledge across a lot of subjects, and a lot of luck to provide for everyone's nutritional needs.

So should you even bother trying to be more self sufficient with your food? I argue yes. Foraging and gardening are fun and will teach you so much about many things. They are deeply rewarding activities that can supplement your diet. There are herbs I haven't bought in years because I grow my own. There are dishes I can only make with foraged ingredients because I can't get them in stores.

-Fresh herbs: Many many perennial options that largely take care of themselves with summer watering every now and then - oregano, sage, rosemary, chives, fennel, lemon balm. Focus on what you actually use, plus a lot are great for pollinators when they flower

-Fresh greens: I really struggle to use these in time if I do buy them and lots of greens, like lettuce and mustards, grow in a single month and can keep coming back when pinched. Collards and spinach are perennial in a lot of the US - these are typically cooler season guys so best for early spring/fall plantings or shade gardens

-Perennials that just keep producing: Sunchokes, artichokes, asparagus. Lots of berries - raspberry, salmonberry, blueberry, currants, thimbleberry, on and on.

-Things that taste way better than you can get them at the store: BROCCOLI and tomatoes, berries, I'm sure there are others but those are my favorite.

-You can get a lot of starts for free or trades in local gardening groups, and there's tons of free seed shares in many towns every year

-Focus on things you'll actually eat and enjoy, start small and then scale up as you learn more and troubleshoot problems

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