permaculture

[Steve Diver <steved@ipa.net>]

Interesting notes, Sharon.....  but it's not clear how
you got started and where you wound up.

Be that as it may, a 1/4 acre of land is also roughly
equivalent to a "rood" and a 1/4 acre of land is roughly
equivalent to the size of a "dacha garden" in Russia.  

The rood is an old measurement with lots of interesting 
equivalents, including the amount of land that might 
be given to a a serf to raise food for their family. 

The dacha garden was an official land allottment under
the Soviet system. Nowadays, there is more fresh produce
of certain fruits and vegetables raised in dacha gardens 
than on commercial farms in Russia.  The dacha gardening 
experience has also inspired by a growing interest in 
ecologically-centered spirituality in Russia. 

My garden in Arkansas was a quarter acre of land and
so I've spent a lot of time thinking about that size 
of land and how much you tend and grow on a part-time 
basis. 

It is the perfect size "country" garden, meaning that
it's a huge garden that requires a certain amount of
equipment, hand tools, and mulches to accomplish; 
and secondly you'll need a family to eat all the food 
and help put it up through canning and freezing.

If push comes to shove amidst socio-economic meltdown
and people need to rely on their own gardens to survive...
... similar to the situation in rural Russia, where it's
said that, "if you don't raise your own food, you don't
eat".... instead of driving to the grocery store, then
be on the lookout for a suitable spot of land with good
soil and water about a rood in size. 

A qarter acre of land is 104' x 104' in dimension.  

Steve Diver