Bored Panda asked Biggs whether it's really possible for a household to be fully sustainable and grow everything they need. "Probably," he replied. "But I don’t grow everything. I do grow a lot. And most days of the week we're eating something I’ve grown—whether it’s fresh, frozen, dried, or preserved. But I don’t grow all our produce. The reason? I’m not a full-time farmer. I have a garden communications business. Gardening is my hobby."
Biggs says while it might be possible to grow everything you need, you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself to do so. "Sometimes when people think of homesteading and self-sufficiency, there’s a desire to grow everything. That’s fine if it’s what you want, and your situation makes it possible. But homesteading can also be about carving out a bit more self-sufficiency. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition."
#26 Hopefully Some Friends Will Help Me Take All These Bell Peppers Off My Hands
Biggs used his own household as an example of how to strike a balance between the garden and the grocery store. "I think of it as grazing. For every meal, I scout out something in the garden. But the whole meal isn’t necessarily from the garden," he told us.
We hope his words of wisdom have inspired you to do a bit of grazing of your own, and not to beat yourself up if you face a little failure. As Biggs says, all's not lost. You've just created some great compost!
