>>1209227 #How do you define self-sufficiency? I could grow 2 acres of hazelnut and chestnut with salads and soft fruit crops in between the tree rows and easily produce enough calories to live on. But this would not be a good diet. Our ancestors were not self-sufficient, they were subsistence farmers who barter traded with each other for goods they didn’t produce. And even with trading they mostly had a poor diet which left their growth stunted.
In that 2-4 acres of SA land you’d have to organise multiple different plants, which have varying growing seasons. On top of that, vegetarian diet is a meme. You need animals or nutrient supplements or your diet is going to be bad. This 2-4 acres is going to have to be really fertile, and diverse enough to support a wide range of plants. And if you have a bad year and a crop fails you’re still buggered.
I’m not saying not to do it, it's a great thing to try if you've got the money. Just be realistic, and expect to have to supplement what you can grow with external produce, or otherwise enjoy the medieval peasant diet and shortened lifespan.
