Published on Jul 28, 2012 by Willem Van Cotthem
This video shows the efficiency and sustainability of a bottle tower garden. They can be installed against the wall of a house or along a hedge or a fence. The number of bottle towers has to be adapted for providing food security for the family all year long and year after year. It is a method applicable anywhere on earth, both in rural and in urban areas, e;g. on a balcony. It can be applied at the lowest cost to alleviate malnutrition and hunger.
How to Build a Bottle Tower
I am going to watch this latter and try to adapt some of these ideas.
The one thing missing in most of these valuable videos
is the bodies need for protein. And, I am not talking about the
powdered stuff at the health food stores.
Are there any ideas for when ones on hand supply runs out?
I’m not quite sure what kind of answer you’re looking for, Bullwinkle, but I’ll take a stab at it.
Quinoa, though pricey, is a complete protein, but lacks vitamin B12. The combination of beans and rice makes a complete protein, but also lacks vitamin B12. A strictly vegan diet would require a B12 vitamin supplement.
Eggs are a good source of protein with a high level of B12. Six hens of laying age can provide 2 up to 3 dozen eggs a week, provided they are heritage breed hybrids or a laying breed such as Leghorn. When they get past laying age (2 or 3 years), they would make excellent soup. On the down side, if you’re living in an urban area, you would need neighbors who mind their own business, a coop and space to keep them, an adequately fenced area, the continuing ability to obtain the feed they need, and the availability of young laying hens to replenish your livestock.
Rabbits are probably the best return on investment for animal protein and B12, whether living in a rural area or urban. They’re quiet, and they breed like, well, rabbits. Nutritionally, there is one caveat: rabbit meat itself is extremely lean and does not contain the amount of fat a human needs, so it would be important to fatten rabbits as possible prior to processing and harvest all the fat available, as well as liberally include other fats in one’s diet. As with any livestock, you would need the continuing ability to obtain the feed they need.