Marion Elliot

I guess there are a lot of things you can make yourself, this has been a good list so far. My top five are planters, compost, soap (you can make soap once a year and have enough), curtains (out of old bedsheets if you have a nice pattern you like), and fish food (if your fish are vegetarians you can grow duckweed and use it for about 1/2 of their total food intake)

I live in north Florida, and I was not expecting how beautiful and mild the weather is here. You can grow pretty much year round, except in July and August, so it takes a little getting used to the adjusted planting schedule. This area is relatively rural so there are lots of plots that are agricultural. If you look in the Palatka area, you will find a lot of 5 acre plots from a housing project that never really took off, that are pretty secluded and beautiful, so you can have your animals without bothering anyone. Things to look out for are sink holes, which happen occasionally and clay underneath your house, so you have to ask the real estate people about that specifically. Other than that, I would definitely consider visiting. You will fall in love with the grassy fields, live oaks, and palm trees I promise you. Plus no matter where you are you are no more than an hour or two from the beach, either the Gulf or the Atlantic ocean. Near Palatka there are lots of properties that are lakefront or river front, if that is something you are interested in. The culture here is very diverse. There are old timers, that have owned farms for generations and young hippies that have started homesteading projects, so there are lots of farm shops and communities, depending on your taste.  You can choose to live close to the city, like Jacksonville or Tallahassee or live in a cute little town like Micanopy, with great antique stores, or go even further out into the really rural areas. I can't say enough good things about north Florida! Best of luck :)

These are some really good ideas. I'm still trying to figure out how to make grow in abundance in a small space. I'm mainly using pots, so I end up with one plant per pot, which gives me some food but not a lot. I did build a planter to grow out a variety of lettuces and leafy greens, but I end up with the problem of having a lot of leafy greens all at one time and I can't eat them all, then none, so this year I want to try a more staged rotation so I get a perpetual supply of salad greens! I have had the most success with leafy greens grown off the ground, so snails and other creatures cant get to them. They also seem to do well in partial sun, low sun conditions, which is what I end up with in the back. In the front I get full sun and I'm trying to do strawberries in hanging baskets this year. What else does good in planter boxes and full sun?