Little-Known Secrets To True Freedom And Total Independence
During the COVID-19 confinement, I gave gardening a try…
I didn’t do so well.
Most of what I bought died. And, honestly, my heart was only half in it…
The apartment I was quarantined in was a temporary home and I didn’t have much invested in it…
Now, though, having just moved into a wonderful new apartment with three balconies, I’m eager to begin planning and planting my little city-mouse garden.
The planning part of gardening has always eluded me. I never put much thought into placement or synergy… I just bought what I thought was pretty and placed it where it looked good. When something began to fail—which was rare in tropical Panama where anything will turn to jungle if given a few days untamed—I tossed it and moved on.
Working over the last few months on our new Live and Invest Overseas course in self-sufficient living—with a guy who’s a pro in the ways of living off the land—I felt like a toddler who had been happily finger painting away… until stumbling upon Michelangelo’s frescos for the first time.
Turns out, it’s not just about direct sunlight or how much water you give… there’s so much you can do to control the (hopefully successful) outcome of planting. From soil health to the way some plants can actually help or hinder the growth of their neighbors, if you have the right know-how, plant health is almost an easy thing to ensure.
I wasn’t alone in my newfound pastime. Around the world, city folks like me with mere balconies… to suburban moms with backyards… and on up to those lucky enough to have some serious land to sow took up trowels and gave gardening a go.
My parents don’t have balconies to work with here in Paris, but their window boxes have yielded a hefty bounty. Lavender, strawberries, peppers, melons, onions, and tomatoes are all growing so quickly they’ve long since needed new homes.
Aside from needing something to do during all this social distancing we’ve been enduring, so many people also felt a need to take some control back in their lives. We’ve all become so dependent on shipping supply chains and Amazon deliveries, this pandemic was a much-needed wake-up call…
What if we can’t get all the groceries we expect to every single week?
What if roads get shut down and fresh produce can no longer make it into cities?
What if cargo planes are grounded so we can’t get any seafood in landlocked areas?
The possibilities for disaster are limitless… and the coronavirus helped us all see that we can’t depend on the status quo always remaining the same.
Over the last few months, we’ve learned to garden, to bake from scratch, even to cut our own hair! So many things that seem daunting are only so because of a lack of knowledge… or for want of a source of reputable, trustworthy knowledge.
And what about the things we don’t even stop to question?
When I went looking for certain vegetables back in March, I realized they couldn’t be found because they were out of season. (Ever picked up a pineapple on a freezing January day without a second thought? That was me.)
So, I started looking at the origins of my food before buying—trying to always go as local as possible. Aside from being a responsible thing to do, I also figured that if some international deliveries were eventually stopped, I wouldn’t be shocked to have to go without a “fresh” coconut.
It felt good to get in touch with the season of my new home here in Northern Europe. No, not all things are available here year-round, so I started to appreciate the things that were in harvest close to home.
My interest was piqued at the perfect time—now I have my balconies to put all this knowledge to use on…
And this time around, I’m going to get out pencil and paper and map out my “gardens.” I want some herbs and whatever other edibles I have space for by the kitchen… sweet-smelling vines and trailing plants off the garden-facing balcony… and some nice tall plants for the street-facing balcony. No more winging it…
Following the straightforward steps laid out in this brand-new online course I mentioned—59 Days To Total Independence—I’m going to do my research and maximize the potential of my super-small spaces.
I’ll let you know how it goes when I’ve reaped my bounty in a few months…
Meantime, if you’re interested in getting into this kind of thing yourself, I encourage you to take a look at this master’s course in all things self-sufficient.
It’s not just about gardening. You’ll also learn…
- How to decide on the homestead that’s best for you, based on multiple options, sizes, and goals (Day #1)…
- Understanding the idea of permaculture… and how to design your homestead or micro-farm (Day #2)…
- Is your current home enough? Learn the climates that work best for the fauna and flora you want to raise (Day #3)…
- Discovering the different types of self-sufficient communities—and even how to start your own… (Day #5)…
- Greenthumb tips for naturally supercharging your trees’ growth and health… plus: how to harvest lumber without killing a tree (Day #11)…
- A complete guide on growing culinary mushrooms—these can earn you thousands of dollars every year (Day #12)…
- Learn everything you need to know about seed-saving… this is arguably the most basic act of self-sufficiency, and you can even do it within a home apartment (Day #13)…
- A complete 101 on planting your gardens—what and how much to grow (Day #16)…
- Figuring out your water sources and needs… plus, how to calculate your water catchment and how to create dams, ponds, and fish farming pools (Day #17)…
- A step-by-step guide to create a backyard aquaculture system—a useful and lucrative way to farm fish and produce simultaneously (Day #19)…
- How to sustainably raise, manage, use, and profit from cattle, pigs, poultry, rabbits, sheep, and goats (Days #22–29)…
- Learn how to brew your own beer, create your own wine, and distil your own spirits… all 100% organic (Day #34)…
- A manual for canning and jarring food as a reserve or for sale (Day #38)…
- Preserve your most valuable foods or add value to them by learning how to cure, dry, and smoke your meats (Day #39)…
- How to sustainably heat your entire home—no heating bill, no matter the season (Day #48)…
- A comprehensive 5-day course on producing your own sustainable energy… from solar panels to creating bio-gas (Days #50–54)…
- Everything you need to know about waste management off the grid (Day #55)…
- How to turn your independent lifestyle into an income—you could earn US$4,000 or more a month (Day #57)…
Plus: baking bread (Day #41), homemade dairy products (Day #42), making cleaning supplies (Day #43), produce herbal remedies and medicinal tinctures (Day #44), and even how to create your own soap (Day #45)…
All for personal use or to sell for profit.
And, this all comes from a certified expert…
Con Murphy was born in County Limerick to a “small Irish family” of six. Farming is in his blood. He was growing sweetcorn by the age of 5 and had his first flock of chickens at 7.
After studying law at University College Dublin, he moved to Belize, where he founded a land development company, an offshore services firm, and an energy company. With the arrival of his daughter, he left that all behind to rediscover his love of nature. (If you’ve been to one of our Belize events in the past, you’ve surely met Con and heard him speak a little of his passion.)
A certified Permaculture Designer and Agri-Business International Consultant, Con and his family practice what is now called “self-sufficiency” (but was once just normal life) with cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, vegetable gardens, and fruit and nut trees at home.
But again… you don’t need to go that deep. You can set yourself up for some farm-to-fork produce from your own balcony… and have a whole lot of fun doing it…
Best of all, as we launch 59 Days To Total Independence this week, we’re giving you the chance to try it for just US$1.
Kat Kalashian
