~SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

[sumisu]

For me, Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is a clarion call to begin preparing for a cold period. Had this volcano lasted for a day or two, I would be lulled into not reacting. But since it began on May 3, 2018 and has been spewing lava and poisonous gases for a long while, I began posing a "what if" series of volcanoes erupting world-wide and their potential impact on weather.

The summer of 1816 was known as the "Year without a summer" and had devastated attempts to grow food in the northern hemisphere. "The aberrations are now generally thought to have occurred because of the April 5–15, 1815, Mount Tambora volcanic eruption[21][22] on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia.[23]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer#Causes

Things are lagging somewhat in my garden this summer, but I should not be suffering. My worry is what happens next year, if there are other volcanoes of long duration that put a crimp on growing in the future to possibly create another "year without a summer" experience.

As I once told you plus maybe others on this board, my Grandma always used the expression of "Food Insurance" in relating her experience going into the winter of 1930 after my Grandpa's construction business was bankrupted by The Great Depression. Henceforth in the 1930s she had a large productive garden with canning a must to survive the cold winters. She had connections with small farms to get chickens regularly, but her security after surviving that one year was attributed to canning and her filled root cellar. When I bought my small property, she brought up gardening as "Food Insurance" and over time I added that "Soil is nature's refrigerator."

Once again, I have saved your post and will take appropriate action to secure my "Food Insurance."

Thanks,

sumisu