4 ms·

>In terms of just money, it's far cheaper to grow your own food Not necessarily - thats the point of the article Even in just cost of seeds and fertilizer you

>In terms of just money, it's far cheaper to grow your own food Not necessarily - thats the point of the article Even in just cost of seeds and fertilizer you can't grow wheat more cheaply than iowa or saskatchewan.

camiller 16y ago
There is a story about a well know homebrewer who wanted to try to grow and malt his own barley for brewing. The story goes that after the wildlife were done with his barley patch and losses during winnowing he had managed to turn 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of barley.
- weaksauce 16y ago
  I would think that the hops are the determining factor in cost and taste of beer. there are just so many varieties of hops and there is a shortage right now because of the subsidies in other industries pulling farmers away from it to focus on corn. (I think it's corn but it has been a while since I read it) The owner of sam adams brewery had a hop subsidy to small brewers at the prices he could get to help foster the microbreweries around.
  - camiller 16y ago
    I don't think he was doing it to necessarily save money but to have more control over the process, or possibly to create a under-modified malt suitable for decoction mashing. None the less, he turned 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of seed. There are 50+ types of specialty grains, each with distinct flavor and color contributions to the beer. In a more malt forward style like a scotch ale the grains certainly do provide a lot of the flavor profile, and there are at least 100+ strains of yeast for that matter. Actually hop prices have dropped to half or less of their highs during last years shortage. Disclaimer, I work part time at my local home brew shop to support my brewing hobby with the employee discount.
    - weaksauce 16y ago
      Interesting. I didn't know that the hop prices fell. The craft beer prices have increased a bit since then. Need to support the local brewers though.
util 16y ago
Might want to substitute "corn" or "soy beans" for "wheat" when talking about Iowa :-) (Not that this undermines your point really.)
SageRaven 16y ago
Apples to oranges comparison. We grow (among other things) our own wheat and spuds, which take a lot of hard work and can be bought for cheap. However, even the best "organic" (a term the USDA has diluted to the point of being almost a joke) versions from the best food stores in the area simply aren't in the same class as the stuff we grow. The taste, texture, and flavor of organic home grown food can be so much better than the industrial food we're all mostly familiar with. You don't even have to be a "foodie" to notice. I can only eat about 1/2 of our home grown spuds when compared to store-bought ones, even if they're the same variety. Ours are so much more satiating than store spuds, that we eat far less per meal. I assume this is due to higher nutrition per unit weight/volume. It's not really fair to compare home grown stuff with commercial agriculture, as they are two totally distinctly different products.

camiller 16y ago

There is a story about a well know homebrewer who wanted to try to grow and malt his own barley for brewing. The story goes that after the wildlife were done with his barley patch and losses during winnowing he had managed to turn 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of barley.

weaksauce 16y ago
I would think that the hops are the determining factor in cost and taste of beer. there are just so many varieties of hops and there is a shortage right now because of the subsidies in other industries pulling farmers away from it to focus on corn. (I think it's corn but it has been a while since I read it) The owner of sam adams brewery had a hop subsidy to small brewers at the prices he could get to help foster the microbreweries around.
- camiller 16y ago
  I don't think he was doing it to necessarily save money but to have more control over the process, or possibly to create a under-modified malt suitable for decoction mashing. None the less, he turned 50 pounds of seed into 20 pounds of seed. There are 50+ types of specialty grains, each with distinct flavor and color contributions to the beer. In a more malt forward style like a scotch ale the grains certainly do provide a lot of the flavor profile, and there are at least 100+ strains of yeast for that matter. Actually hop prices have dropped to half or less of their highs during last years shortage. Disclaimer, I work part time at my local home brew shop to support my brewing hobby with the employee discount.
  - weaksauce 16y ago
    Interesting. I didn't know that the hop prices fell. The craft beer prices have increased a bit since then. Need to support the local brewers though.

util 16y ago

Might want to substitute "corn" or "soy beans" for "wheat" when talking about Iowa :-) (Not that this undermines your point really.)

SageRaven 16y ago

Apples to oranges comparison. We grow (among other things) our own wheat and spuds, which take a lot of hard work and can be bought for cheap. However, even the best "organic" (a term the USDA has diluted to the point of being almost a joke) versions from the best food stores in the area simply aren't in the same class as the stuff we grow. The taste, texture, and flavor of organic home grown food can be so much better than the industrial food we're all mostly familiar with. You don't even have to be a "foodie" to notice. I can only eat about 1/2 of our home grown spuds when compared to store-bought ones, even if they're the same variety. Ours are so much more satiating than store spuds, that we eat far less per meal. I assume this is due to higher nutrition per unit weight/volume. It's not really fair to compare home grown stuff with commercial agriculture, as they are two totally distinctly different products.