We spoke about resilience Tuesday to the Central Alabama Master Gardeners Association. Today’s podcast is a summary of that presentation. We cover our work to grow more of our own food, to use as little energy as possible, and to increase redundancy

Our lives changed instantly when Lee’s accident left his left arm hanging limply by his side. We’re hoping for full recovery, but meanwhile we keep the farm producing by lowering our standards, handing tasks to Amanda, and calling on friends for help

This is our "second summer" when nearly everything but the okra slows down on Veg Hill. Today we cover what has already shut down, what's still producing well, and what's still on deck for later. We end with strategies for getting through this.

We talk about why you should want to help organic subsistence farmers like us, and then on how you can do so. You could become one! And even if you can’t see yourself as a farmer, support your agricultural extension system

Could we adapt to the crushing changes coming if we still lived in the suburbs? We would build raised beds for food, keep laying hens for eggs and maybe meat rabbits too. We would need to make our house tolerable without the heat pump.

Most Americans preparing food start with a recipe, and then we go buy the ingredients we need. At Longleaf Breeze we start with whatever’s lovely and in season. Then we try to figure out the best way to make it tasty and nutritious

We talk blueberries, blackberries, persimmons, figs, muscadines, apples, pears, and even olives. Then we go to Veg Hill and reflect on tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans, peas, and cucumbers. So much to talk about, and so much to look forward to!

As new farmers, we focused almost exclusively on annuals. As we do this more, we’re paying more attention to perennials that require less seeding and planting each year, like fruits, nuts, asparagus, and our favorite, self-seeding green beans

We love the roles and relationships we’ve formed with our church and community, but lately we’ve neglected work on the farm to attend to all our commitments. We must stay engaged, but we also must be judicious about volunteering our time

Our annual review ends with allness statements and the ease with which we avoid them. We consider and reject a handful we could be making. We finish with our quasi-principle of always learning, always teaching