For those who are already on the peak oil "bandwagon", do a search on the 2 phrases below. This forum won't let me post the addresses, but they are great resources for learning more about peak oil.

"RunningOnEmpty2" For more hardcore discussion and preparation ideas.

"RunningOnEmpty3" For people newer to the concept of peak oil.

Both are moderated and have lots of lively discussion.

Oh, neat, I'll have to check out those sites.

I am starting somewhat slow, most of my prep is taking place in my head at this point, which is actually a very good place to start :). I recently started taking the trolley to my downtown job (3 days per week) and my goal is to actually cut that out altogether in favor of my walking-distance job within 6 months (plan B is 12 months).

Part 2 is to get the house converted to solar ASAP. Maybe that could be an 18-month goal (not sure how we'll finance it). With our weather here, solar could probably provide for most of our need, including cooking and heating. Still not sure about long-term water supply, though, that is a worrisome thing. Is there such a thing as a home-size desalination plant? (only 1/2 joking)

Oh, also the garden of course. Unfortunately, we just moved in in October, and gardens take a few years to really get going, so I hope we're not too late. I wonder/worry about food prices and availabilty, but not too much. I actually have a lot of hope for us to pull through this and transform our civilization into a sustainable one. That would be the best.

jeanne

We're just moving in June, so we're missing most of the gardening season. We'll have plenty to do building raised beds and fencing though. Hopefully we can get the rainwater havesting system going this fall. I need to find a big tank to use as a cistern, but I'll start with 55 gallon plastic drums for now. I have to see about rerouting the drain pipes to fill up all the barrels, and the greenhouse and critters barns will have their own rain berrels set up. I have a really sunny corner of the house where I might put up a lean to greenhouse. It would cover 2 windows, so in winter there would be some free heat built up. We could just open the windows a crack and warm up a bit.

I'm also planning to plant a lot of trees for wood and food. I read up on coppicing, and if you get the right trees, you can cut them to regrow fast around a stump and get small firewood fast.

LOL I have a huge pile of plans and articles and I can't wait to get started.

There is a good book on building your own concrete water storage tanks that you might want to get from your library system. Ferrocement Water Tanks & Their Construction by S.B. Watt. A small book, chock full of information and how-to.

Sue

EdenWest, you might consider rainwater collection. Many people don't realize that a house of 1000 sq ft can collect 625 gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls on it. Many people use it for drinking water, others use it for their gardens.

Sue

Monetary inventments is another serious topic. Our economy and investment returns fluxuate wildly based upon the price of oil. "The Oil Factor" is a good book that describes the problem in depth and proposes several solutions. If you are looking for a book about green investing, however, look elsewhere; this book is strictly about capitalizing on rising oil prices and global warming. Do not let this strategy keep you from reading the book - the background information can provide good ideas for better, greener investing.

On a more fun note: I recently turned my entire backyard, a 40'x40' area, into a vegetable and herb garden using sheet mulch. We plan to can and freeze everything possible with a goal of cutting our produce purchases by 75%.

40x40 is a good garden! Congratulations!

One community project I am doing this year to help rebuild the perennial food infrastructure in my neighborhood:

We live on a dirt road, and this year is re-ditching and tree removal under wires, etc. With all the dug up land and removed bushes, a perfect time to plant perennials like mint, raspberry, sunchokes,comfrey etc. I have talked with three neighbors who are all happy to have me plant in the road right of way along their property.

One of the advantages of a permaculture garden like ours is that after a few years there is plenty of perennial plant material to share with others- and after this spring- a good part of the roadside is going to be in perennial food sources.

BTW, this is what the famous Johnny Appleseed did, not only starting his small commercial orchards to support himself and extend fruits into newly settled areas, but also he is known for planting herbs along the trails and roadways to welcome new settlers in.

The big secret,

If you use any non organic (and even some organic) herbicides, pesticides, and/or fertilizers, chances are the main ingredient is oil (petrolium distilates). In other words, we literally EAT oil.

So, the more you look to nature to solve your garden problems, the less oil you will be using,
Ken

I worry about the trees. With oil & natural gas prices rising, people are beginning to rely more on wood. Not far from where I live there are corporate interests moving on plans to build a biomass power plant that would burn a million cords of wood a year...How long, I ask, would it take to burn up this continent's trees?

We've seen what happens when societies don't fully grasp the role of trees and soil in their lives--these societies collapse. Jared Diamond in his book Collapse wonders what the person was thinking as he/she felled the last tree on Easter Island. Monuments--enormous monuments--all around, that's where folks had put their energies, not on considering the trees and soil. This is what our North American society is doing--mindless monuments everywhere--streets, cars, movies, trophy homes.

The Peak Oil thing is so enormous it's hard to know where to start--house, gardens, neighborhood, community, Peak Oil education, government, transportation, protecting farmland and what little wilderness there is so that there will be some land left...It ALL needs rethinking, and it needs it now, and at a pace we're not accustomed to, speaking for myself.

I'm involved in a peak oil study/action group that's been meeting for a couple of years. We read The Party's Over and got a gig speaking at the Statehouse to a group of legislators and aides. We've shown The End of Suburbia numerous times. We met with a trustee of the local vocational school to promote getting a CSA started at the school.

At home, I've removed nearly all of the asphalt--driveway and sidewalks and curbs and am in the process of transforming the ex-driveway into a bed in which I plan to plant fruit trees and shrubs. I'm trying to choose species that produce fruit that can be preserved in a low-tech manner--dehydrated, kept in root cellar or lacto-fermented.

It's been somewhat of a meditation, this project, prying up this substance and remembering that it was made of the fossilized remains of dinosaurs and plants of millions of years ago.

Paige

There are pretty much internet forums which suggest a self sustainable cocon lifestyle with enough weapons in the home to defend yourself. But no one can survive the peak oil alone.

We must NOW build communities. Organizing groups, speeches about the topic etc. tell the politicians not to invest in motorways etc. we must get political persons.
We must begin community gardens, because there will always be people old or whatever which cannot feed themselves.

Personally, for our family I always liked gardening and garden more, but our block is too small for anything besides veggies and some fruit, chooks (250 m garden).
I think about getting more land.

If peak oil turns out to be a valid concept, there will be lots of skinny people in America. Petroleum-based agriculture is widespread for a good reason. For $20 worth of gasoline --about six gallons-- you can buy the energy equivalent of a year's worth of human labor from a hard-working man. If you can create a mechanical means of converting petroleum energy to a useful motion --and we have with the tractor and other engine-powered devices-- then for very little money you can have the equivalent of a small army of men at your disposal. You would be crazy not to adopt this technology, right? As it turns out, virtually no American farmer in the past half-century could resist the value proposition presented by petroleum.

So, we shouldn't treat lightly the radical re-thinking that would be required for even subsistence survival in a post-petroleum age. If petroleum were to run dry today, the vast majority of Americans would be dead from starvation within a fairly short period of time. Basically, you're talking about having to re-acquire skills that vanished almost a century ago and, even more improbably, bringing back breeds of animals and plants that can survive without intensive high-calorie feeding, climate controlled shelter, chemical fertilizer, Round Up, or the myriad petroleum-based barriers that separate fragile domesticated breeds from the stark realities of a harsh world. Realistically, can that be accomplished in a short period of time?

This ain't no picnic that's coming.

People should wake up, but not panic.

I was introduced to the "oil subsidy" idea - that our industrial/technological state of affluence was based on non-renewable fossil fuel - back in the late 1970s when I was growing to awareness. I was reading the writing of people from that point on who were aware of the Peak projections. The recent peak oil dialogue hasn't been news to me, except in the sense that some analysts feel we are either now at the peak of production or possibly just past it.

Meanwhile, the price of oil and deisel (and, I would think, heating oil and jet fuel) have been more steeply rising. Of course there are market fluctuation and political factors involved in the price rise, too. People in my region (British Columbia, Canada) have noticed the price rise, and they don't like it. People remark about it and talk about it.

Most of the people I know have been driving economy-motor-driven cars and pick-up trucks for a long time. I've noticed many others have been switching to such vehicles in the last year or two. I myself haven't owned anything larger than a 4-cylinder pick-up truck or sedan since about 1977.

What I feel is that the rising price of oil products will send more and more signals. People will adapt where they can. So - no doubt - will industry and the world of commerce. The energy expert Amory Lovins has noted how the North American public gripped up the the oil crisis (OPEC crude-oil price hikes) in the 1970s, with both consumers and industry choosing to conserve back at that time. Both public and commerce/industry became a bit more lax in the period since.

I tend to feel that it may be political factors, if anything, that might cause real price spikes. Otherwise, I think the price rise will be steady and gradual. A gradual rise can probably be dealt with by the natural concerned responses of: conservation investment, altered habits, and emerging technology that the situation is very likely to evoke.

There are things we can do as individuals, of course. I believe people should take conservation measures with transportation, home and commercial building insulation, altered recreation habits, utilization of solar and geothermal energy, etc. And I believe that farms and market gardens should once again be established close to home (as the Cubans did - even establishing large maret gardens in the city - when the Soviet Union collapsed and Russian petroleum became unavailable to them, in 1990). And as consumers, I feel we should support these more local food producers.

Be smart, communicate gently with those around you. Don't panic and give national political leaders a license to do rash things on the international stage. That would only worsen the situation.

Joel

There are preparations that need to be done on the personal level, on the FAMILY level, and on the community level.

No, panic won't help, but it is VERY LATE in the game.

Beware of distractions. Every crisis is an opportunity to promote another solution looking for a problem. The goal is to prepare for a low-energy future, and not to promote various political and social agendas that won't help.

I am accumulating ideas for low-energy living on my website (see link below). They're a bit hard to find...look on the bottommost left sidebar. Most of them are still PLACEHOLDERS looking for content. I can only type so fast, and I am not an expert in everything.

Food is a problem, but on a small scale one can revert to traditional methods of subsistence farming. The problem is all the dead weight we've got in a "post industrial" economy. We can't save the world...and the world isn't interested in anything we have to say anyway. "Composite beings are subject to decay. See to thine own salvation with due haste" (Gautama Siddhartha's dying words to his cousin...except he said them in Sanskrit...).

In terms of some pursuits and practical goals, on our place we've been doing some of the same things as Seraphima describes. We have so many perennial woody food plantings that we've wound up on the deers' A List. Better fencing is on *our* list for next year.

There are many things we can grow here despite our shortish season and often-cool summer nights. But our region is not well suited for growing grains favored by people, other than certain varieties of corn. Wheat is grown hundreds of miles from here, at the nearest - and further than that, if we're talking about large wheat farms. It's conceivable, I suppose, that transport costs could cause a steep rise in the price of wheat products. Still, I think people could adjust their diets.

I mentioned our fuel-efficient vehicles. The pick-up has a 2.4 litre 4-cylinder engine. It's adequate, power-wise, most of the time. The limited power is noticeable on uphill road stretches only if I have something like a full load of gravel, and most of the time I don't. More of the time I'm carrying lumber, straw or sawdust for garden mulch, or firewood. It's generally fine for that.

But to fill out the picture... If we need to haul a larger, heavier load, we either get a friend with a larger truck to do it or we make an exchange (trade) with a friend in order to borrow his truck for a period of hours. One neighbor has a deisel 3/4-ton truck that we occasionally use. (He needs the bigger truck/engine because he's in the housebuilding stage on his own land, and works in construction to earn a living, too.) But I'd say that, as a little neighborhood, our households average out to being pretty economical on petroleum.

Hybrid gas/electric vehicles would be great as part of the mix, if their price were affordable and if the local mechanics in this rural area were experienced in working on them. I suppose that will come in the next few years.

Joel

Interesting that after two years, this discussion is going again. In two years we have double our gardening space and continued to insulate and tighten our home. DH took a job just 1 1/2 miles away, and I work 3 1/2 miles away. We both are active in forming a sustainability group for our town, which appears to be up and running. We've also become a lot more aware of the effects of global warming and ocean acidification
(carbon goes into the ocean and forms carbonic acid, which dissolves the shells and bones of the little creatures bigger commercial fish eat. A huge problem!)

It has become clearer to us that the answers have to start with us, and locally. Big gov and big business can't and won't do it, so we are on our own!

The solution is changing my life, before I ask you to change yours- no one who doesn't DO it can walk others through it.

>>There are many things we can grow here despite our shortish season and often-cool summer nights. But our region is not well suited for growing grains favored by people, other than certain varieties of corn.

Joel, one of the things I have been researching is what to grow in cool-temperate climates like mine, and downright cold ones like yours.

As you are probably aware, rye will produce at higher latitudes than wheat will. It does contain gluten; not enough to make fluffy breads but enough to make German Pumpernickel and a few sorts of cracker-like Scandinavian breads.

Triticale (a hybrid between wheat and rye I think) will grow at higher latitudes than wheat and is more productive. Interestingly, more ancient versions of wheat like Spelt will grow at higher latitudes than wheat.

There are small-eared corns from my part of the world that would probably ripen for you. They produce mini-ears of starchy old-fashioned corn.

Fruit is another issue at high latitudes. I'm working on that one. Kirsten is a sweet cherry that will grow up there, and there are plenty of sour cherries (sweet fruit gets harder to find at high latitudes). There are probably several apples that should be fine. Apricots, if you don't have mild weather followed by frost. Apricots are extremely hardy but they break dormancy easily and the blossoms can get frosted. Some Labrusca type grapes will ripen all the way to the Alaskan panhandle (wow).

There should be plenty of strawberries for the far north, based on wild types found at high latitudes. Commercial strawberries are partially derived from the Pacific Beach Strawberry, Frageria chilensis, which is not ironclad hardy (and is evergreen). There should also be cane fruits for the north, Lingonberries, Honeyberries which I've heard are quite good, and a few other things. If you have experience with these I would like to hear from you.

I should think Gooseberries are pretty coldhardy--mine was bred in Finland. It is very slightly sweet, and ripens pink. I think black currants also very hardy, and those are important because they are rich in vitamin C.

>>DH took a job just 1 1/2 miles away, and I work 3 1/2 miles away.

Seraphima, that was a good move on your part. Expect gasoline prices to stay high.

>>Big gov and big business can't and won't do it, so we are on our own!

I agree.

atash... thanks for the goodwill & information. You've provided some useful bits, but I must have given the wrong impression in some ways. I'll be looking into some of these varieties you mentiion, because they are new to me.

BUT... yes, we can grow corn. I've been raising full-size-ear hybrids ever since my first garden! (OTOH, wheat does not seem possible here - I'll look into the rye-wheat crosses, though, as you;ve suggested). We have, for years on our land, been raising apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, northern grapes, hazelnuts, tomatoes, tomatillos, bell & hot peppers, brassicas, leafy salad veggies, culinary herbs, etc.

Due to higher mid-season daytime temps (but, still, coolish nights & the short season) I'm searching for a good open-pollinated corn variety, due to low yield this past year.

I have a friend, with more bottom-land situation & closer to the river, who has even found a few apricot varieties that he has been able to grow (2/3 or which are fairly tasteless LOL).

So we are not too bad off here! I was simply pointing out the sorts of things (grains, coffee, cocoa) that people will continue to import into the local markets.

Joel

At 58 degrees N, a local farmer grows barley reliably here every year. Oats and wheat only ripen sometimes- depends on the weather.

This past growing season we lost both the huge wild salmonberry harvest and wild blueberries to frost damage to the blossoms. The weather has been unpredictable.

Cold also affected harvests of gooseberries and currants, but at least there was some harvest. Potatoes were poor this year, too.

The moral of the story is- plant for diversity, plant lots of different kinds of plants. Even in this bad year, rhubarb, cabbage, turnips, greens, and lettuce were all exceptionally good.

I've been thinking an awful lot about this myself. We live on the edge of a densely populated area. I'd like to move to a smaller, more manageable sized community, and to an area with more natural rainfall for gardening, but have not yet succeeded in convincing my spouse. Maybe someday. We are recently retired, so we're free to go, but moving to a truly rural area at this time of life is probably not really prudent. I see this in my parents' situation. They are completely dependent on the automobile since nothing is in walking distance. As they become frailer, they will be forced to move.

I'm rambling, I see. What we have done so far is install on-grid solar. We generate the majority of our own power, but our electricity goes down when the power is out. In addition to a large ornamental garden I've been planting fruit trees and grapes and we have put in a couple of small vegetable beds. I'm learning to can.

Rosefolly

Dear Rosefolly,
Yes, you are grappling with the real things...
Any chance you and your parents could share a place? It might make their ending years more comfortable, you could share resources, live in a smaller community where you would get to know folks and have a local economy/food supply/support.

One of the best ways to plan for less energy and resource availability is to combine resources now, making your move while your family and your parents are reasonably healthy and able, and then in the future you won't have to do this in crisis mode.

Your gardening sounds great, and your solar too. Congratulations!

Hi all,

I've been checking this forum on and off for a while, and I'm so glad to see this thread. The scope of the crisis we face is compounded when we include the effects of climate change, species loss, and water depletion. Truly we are facing a perfect storm that globalized, industrial civilization (and maybe more) will certainly not survive. I am old enough that I may not live to witness the worst of it.

I suppose my first preparation was the decision to not have children. This article presents some the reasoning that went into my choice, although I didn't articulate it as well when I was in my 20s:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2005/11/16/gree.DTL

Does my decision constitute a "preparation" or a response? I mean, one could argue that a rational response would be to build a fortress, stockpile 30 years worth of food, fuel, supplies and guns, and keep the party going. I think that all preparations must encompass the obligation to minimize the harm that we do, especially as members of the most destructive and materially wealthy society that has ever assaulted Earth's ecosystems.

In terms of minimizing the hardship that husband and I will face as oil supplies dwindle, we have moved to a very small community closer to his workplace. It is still a 20 minute (25 km) drive, and we are looking at starting a commuter car/van co-op. I don't own a car, and I get around by bicycle when I do have to travel.

The future will be intensely local and, sadly, there is not much of a community here. The village locals think we're nuts ("eco freaks"). They only know what they see and hear on TV, at the Wal-Mart checkout, the donut shop, or in the church basement. We may never integrate with their culture. The newcomers, and there are a few of us, are at varying stages of awareness. Most are retirees who think that they will be gone soon so they're off the hook as far as the planet is concerned.

I hope that more young people will move to the area. Real estate is unbelievably cheap. We still have decent forest cover here, the soil is still good, the climate is moderated by our valley and the proximity to Lake Erie, and there is no major polluting industry (unless you count Nanticoke nuclear plant 100 km to the east)

Our one-acre property is bordered by a clean-running creek that could provide potable water with simple filtration. I have built raised beds and every year the garden increases in size and productivity. We're incorporating permaculture principles as much as we can.

My projects for next year include chickens, a passive solar greenhouse, and soap (lye) from scratch. We can't afford solar panels or other high-tech energy things now. I might be able to do a passive solar water batch heater, though.

We've made contacts with the nearby Amish to buy in bulk the "storable" staples that we can't grow enough of (yet): potatoes, carrots, onions. I want to organize an organic food buying club for the stuff we can't get from our own garden or local organic farms.

We have a corn / pellet stove for heat (our area produces massive amounts of corn) so we're okay for a few years in the home energy area. Our old farmhouse still uses oil, which we will convert to biodiesel when we have to. A friend in the next village has built a small biodiesel "still" so we have a local source.

I realize that biodiesel and other so-called new technologies can never replace the incredible ROEI that fossil fuels have provided for the past century or so. In a low-energy world (assuming we survive the bumpy ride of energy descent) we will make do with a combination of alternatives, but the main thing we need to accept is a massive, and I mean truly Herculean, reduction in consumption, and a corresponding shift in our values.

For myself, I bought the homestead with the nice maintenance free house, did the energy upgrades and planted trees and fruits and gardens and worked from home. And many other prep plans. Alas, being out in the boonies by yourself ain't no picnic, and even working from home, driving 50 miles to do major shopping every week or two adds up.

So the homestead in on the market, and I am purchasing a lot in town. When this place sells I will begin construction on a passive solar home with rooftop water collection, cistern, greywater system, solar space heating, edible landscaping and a PV array if I can squeeze it out of the budget. (Which I doubt.) The new lot seems remote but is a mile from the old town and I will be able to bike to do much shopping... and driving will be in single digits miles instead of hours.

We are becoming self sufficient on a 2 acre lot. We are installing solar power as we speak. We plan on digging a very deep well. We have planted over 100 fruit trees and over 30 fruiting shrubs (working on tons more) we are also building a 12,000 square foot raised bed garden. We are planting as many perennial vegetables as possible as we are trying to keep it more maintainable. We are also raising chickens, ducks, rabbits, and goats. We are considering raising talapia and catfish in 55 gal drums. We are planting medicinal herbs and learning how to use old remedies. We are planning to build a greenhouse to have a way to make a few more bucks while also providing year round food. We are learning how to save seed so that Monsanto doesn't gain control over the food we eat. We are looking at a wood stove for heat. Geothermal seems to be more effeciant as it uses almost no energy to heat and cool your home. Most power companies will finance it to you. We are trying to go to hand crank appliances when possible. I have started building a solar hot water box to heat our water for free. We are also thinking about building a solar outdoor shower but are not sure if we would use it. We are putting up a clothes line the next chance we get and hopefully a rainwater collection system. We want to build an outdoor kitchen with a smoker and a solar oven but are having a hard time finding enough scrap brick and tile. We are composting everything we can and trying to raise worms for the garden and for sale. We have lots of ideas but how do you prepare for the end of tis civilization and be the solution for the next.
There is a show that you can watch on youtube or google video called peak oil. For each episode they interview someone who is preparing for peak oil and they show you what they are doing. They generally give a walk through of their property and show sustainability at its best. There are also many many videos on youtube. We need to post our own and show others that there are many like minded people out there and they are not as crazy as people think they are. It seems to be a feat to find any useful information on living self sufficient and how to achieve this. But anyway I am tired of babbling. I hope this sparked some ideas. Try www.pathtofreedom.com to see the answer to peak oil.

I will be 72 in a few days.Retired about 15 months ago. A city girl most of my adult life. 9 yrs ago bought some cheap rural land and started to adapt and get prepared for peak oil. today I have fruit trees nuts and chickens. fastest fruit trees, figs and berries I collect water in barrels and I have not used my central heater for the last 4 years. I use a smal propane heater for cold nights. my water heater is used only for guest. In the summer I heat water in a black barrel and bathe under the stars. When I was 6 or 7 lights came to my small town and the water was one faucet every other block. I have this to share with you. save seeds lots of heritage seeds while you can get them. look up how the cubans have already dealt with peak oil. If you have money, start a small bussiness, buy hand tools not electric. We humans adapt when needed,don't panic, help someone else. If you can, take a class in horticulture so you learn how to seed effectively. WE WILL BE OKAY, JUST SLIMMER

40' X 40' seems small to me.
I have the land, wood & a stove. I live 6 mile from my work place & own a bike.
I am looking into aquaponics & building a larger greenhouse.
Growing your on herbs & spice, as well as fruits & vegetables.
I have blueberries,blackberries,strawberries,Raspberries.apples,plums,pears,hickory nut,black walnuts, bamboo,asparagus,sun chokes.
Still not sure the peak oil is a problem for the near future.

seraphima, I checked out your link to learn about the peak oil.
I learned that the preacher do not like most Americans,& that dick Cheney is a bad person. You do know Cheney is out of office, replaced by another bunch of liars.
Oh and that we do have a plan b,US oil reserves & the electric car. Can you up date with something current to today.

Political views probably shouldn't be posted here.

12345678910
gicore, putting aside that this whole thread is political.
I was talking about the LINK, did you read the LINK?
It is political, it called names, like Dick Cheney.
You can not have it both ways, ether you talk political or you do not.
Read the link or keep your remarks to yourself, until you know what you are talking about.

hmm, I didn't read anyone else singling out politicians or calling people bad or liars except you.

I reread the link, just to be sure I did not dream the word FETID- defined as to stink,as of decay or "routine political murders,stolen elections,"
Madness of Rumsfeild,Wolfowitz & Cheney
As for liars, every President in office since 1989 has lied about something.
At least Mr.Clinton did not spend tax money like it was his on money, like the last two have.
I noticed that you did not post an up dated link or commit on U.S. oil reserves or the electric car.
Do you own a Electric car?
No, I do not own one, but I am not running scared about oil shortages. We have know for many years, that we will run out of oil. Starting wars & being in debt to one of the biggest user of oil, will not help.
I am sorry, did not know asking for something that was not 5 or 6 years old would cause pain.

This still isn't a political forum. Politics is divisive. This thread is about "preparing for peak oil effects".

We can compare way of life during energy descent to life during WW2
A lot of vehicles and engines were run on woodgas.
Planting a coppice makes sense even if it were only used to make compost which can heat water.
Reading Onestraw blog made me realise that biomass is really the way to go. You can have energy in different forms from harvested biomass as well as compost for growing food.