Meat Garden
What’s that even mean? Let me explain! So the obvious benefits of having this very shallow creek nearby is it’s a great source of fresh water for cooking, drinking and even comes in handy for building in the waddle and dob style I’ve been doing! The downside is it’s so shallow there’s no fish, crawfish or frogs! That’s not something you particularly want in your drinking water supply however in my case the benefits if I did have them would out way having to boil my drinking water!
This is where the experience of not being afraid to experiment with your environment comes in as some handy lessons learned! I know by damming this creek up by even as little as six inches right before spring approaches will be just enough to start developing frogs and minnows! (I know because I’ve done it)! These little critters are not going to provide much nutrients for me but in an absolute emergency situation could provide a few extra calories! The biggest benefits to their existence will be to draw in raccoons and the like that are looking for an easy meal! They have basically become my living bait pile and have localized exactly where my small game snares need to be set!
Same concept with this garden if I bring in the native plants and can successfully farm them I’m not expecting to get a huge amount of calories from them but in a pinch it’s something! Again I have localized my snare area and doubled my opportunity thus my success in snaring small game!
In an ideal situation I’ll grow my garden and hopefully catch my meat in the same spot! That means less calories I’ll burn foraging and checking trap lines! In theory I should be able to harvest my vegetables and my meat just right outside my door! ..... Ya know ...... In Theory!