Here in Canada, May 24th is a holiday, Victoria Day, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. It is the first long weekend of the Summer and usually it rains. This year the weather outdid itself, not only did it rain, but the temperatures sunk so low that people were certain winter was returning. The May 24, as it is called, is also the first gardening weekend west of British Columbia. The other Canadian exception would be the Yukon, the Territories and my home Northwestern Ontario. You may be able to plant peas and potatoes, if it's not too wet, and you can get away with tomatoes, if you use row covers or walls of water to protect them, but forget anything else until June.
The family who wants to increase their food supply, whether they are concerned about
Y2K or not, needs to do much planning if they want to ensure their crop. If you start seed inside you need to determine the starting date so that it coincides with the first frost free day, which here in Thunder bay is generally considered to be after the first full moon after the May 24, which this year will occur on May 30th. Even then you must keep one eye on the weather and have row covers or a tarp handy.
If you have decided to prepare for the possibilities of Y2K, there are some important food issues you will want to think about besides growing. I believe the saying that you are what you eat. Our bodies break down the food we digest into the nutrients we need to thrive. Nurturing, healthy food is preventative and in some cases possibly curative medicine. You may want to take a close look at what you are currently eating and determine how sustainable your menu choices are.
Wendell Berry talks about the industrial eater. This is someone who does not produce any of their own food, nor buys it direct from a farmer's market or community shared agriculture project but lives on fast food and prepackaged, precooked meals. This is a person who is trapped in the consumer culture that enhances our dependence upon industrial agriculture. You need to overcome. This dependence if you are going to move towards self-reliance.
