Current Farm as of this coming weekend

So I am including a picture of my gardens as it will be after this weekend. Of course this does not include the 900 sqaure feet of wheat that I'm planting on my mother's property along with the 4 apple trees that still have not arrived, rasberries that I will place along the fence line, and an asparagus bed I will add in the fall. Also not pictured here is my herb bed that has well over 300 plants of rosemary, dill, sweet basil, lemon basil and parsely. So not a bad start if I do say so. Also this does not include the solar tracking bed I'm working on which should increase my total by another 60 or so plants. But I will keep everyone posted on that so stay tuned.

Affordable produce

More and more I find myself contemplating food prices and their relationship to the obesity problem in the country. You all have read the articles and shaken your heads at how large people are getting now, and maybe even asked yourself, why is it that people continue to eat poorly when they know they shouldn't. The answer is simple, walk through the aile of any grocery store and look at the cost of produce. 3.99 a lb. for green peppers, 1.99 a head for romaine lettuce, 1.99 a lb. for tomatos. The list goes on. I know from a recent experiment I did that to feed my family of 4 for one month cost me 853 dollars and that was shopping mostly sales when possible. And even with that figure I had to cut some corners and buy cheaper processed food items in some cases. Now I make a decent living along with my wife who is a nurse. I understand that the farmer needs to make a living and I understand that the grocery store needs to make a profit as well. I also understand that some people will just choose to eat badly out of laziness. But what about the people that want to do better but can't afford it. Vermont has a 120 as of 2006 which was the closest year I could find. Take into account the economic collapse that happen just a year later and I can only imagine it is higher now. But I will look into that more later. So I propose this and this is part of my project idea coming to Kickstarter soon, so you all get a bit of a sneak peak. What if through better more efficient means of growing, and utilizing the remaining land for renewable energy projects, such as wind or solar, I the farmer could lower my cost on produce. The grocery store could still turn a profit from selling my items at a lower cost and more people could afford to eat better.
You see I don't want to shut down grocery stores, they provide jobs and income to millions, not to mention conveinance on finding items from all over in one place. So while farm to fork is a great idea, making farms closer to your stores is better, jobs then are created on two fronts, at the farm and at the store.
My proposal is this the farmer through hydroponics, vertical farming, solar tracking beds, can use his land more efficiently. There by allowing him to place solar panels or wind turbines on his land and generate and sell renewable energy to suppliment his income. Case in point is a story about a strawberry farmer I read about in a book I will link to below. His land, some 100 plus acres, was decimated by a storm. When he rebuilt he used vertical farming techniques to restore his entire crop on only 32 acres, that would leave him 70 plus acres to use for renewable energy, thus allowing him to generate two incomes and offer his produce at a reduced cost.
The reality is everyone loves their computer, hell I'm on one now, they love their tv, thier Xbox, and whatever other electric devices they use. Renewable energy is going to have to be the way of the future no matter how much we want to resist it. And everyone is going to have to eat.
The farm proposal I will be placing soon will incorporate this ideal, with the placement of 240 solar panels to generate power, not only for the farm but for the community in which it is built. Through maximum use of the land I believe I can generate a crop capable of feeding thousands, and again I point to Will Allen and Growing Power for a referance. On 2 acres he grows enough food to feed thousands of people. Think of what could be done on a larger scale. Watch for me on  Kickstarter at the end of the month and please stay tuned. Healthy living doesn't have to be something only some people can afford.
Sorry for the long rant and I'm pretty sure I may have strayed from my original topic, but it's late and now I'm off to bed.

www.growingpower.org

http://www.verticalfarm.com/