Hello, my lovelies!
I’ve been thinking a lot about food security lately.
Between food recalls, contamination concerns, and the absolutely ridiculous amount of money it now takes to walk out of a grocery store with a few bags of food, I’ve been getting increasingly uncomfortable.
For me, growing my own food has suddenly started feeling less like a hobby and more like a practical form of food security.
I am a farmer. And let me tell you something. Farmers ain’t rich.
I’ll go grocery shopping, hand over what feels like half my paycheck, come home, unpack everything onto the counter and stare at it thinking: That’s it?! THAT cost that much?!
And somewhere between worrying about what is in our food and how much our food costs, I apparently reached my breaking point. So, in true Olga fashion, I panicked productively.
I went outside and started ripping my garden apart.
In this Article:
- I Need to Grow More Food
- Maybe Food Security Starts on Your Own Street
- Humans Aren’t Supposed to Do Everything Alone
- So I’m Starting an Experiment
- Growing Mushrooms at Home for Food Security
- Another Kind of Food Security Is Already Growing in the Woods
I Need to Grow More Food
My summer garden had become overgrown, dried up, and generally looked like it had given up on life. So I started clearing. And ripping things out.
Because suddenly I had one thought: I need to grow more food.
Fall greens. Roots. Herbs. Vegetables. Mushrooms. Whatever I can reasonably produce.
Seeds are cheap. I already have the land. And I know how to grow things.
But while I was tearing through the garden, another thought hit me.
I’m a single woman in my late 40s. I work. I bust my ass every day. I’m tired. But I am still physically capable of doing this. And I am feeling the squeeze. My money doesn’t go far at all.
So then I started thinking about my neighbors. Especially the elderly ones.
If I’m struggling with this, how are they doing? And that thought has really been bothering me.
Maybe Food Security Starts on Your Own Street
This weekend, I’m going to do a little investigating.
I live on a relatively small street, and honestly, I don’t know nearly enough about the people around me.
- Who gardens?
- Who used to garden but physically can’t manage it anymore?
- Who could use some extra vegetables?
- Does someone have a little garden that needs help?
- Could I start seedlings for somebody?
- Could I grow more food and simply share it?
- Could we grow mushrooms in somebody’s shady yard?
- Could several households grow different things and trade?
I sort of know, but I don’t know enough.
And that’s exactly why I want to start by asking instead of assuming. Because maybe somebody doesn’t need tomatoes.
Maybe they need help turning over a garden bed. Maybe they have fruit trees producing more than they can possibly eat.
Maybe someone has chickens and too many eggs.
Maybe someone else has nothing to contribute physically but would absolutely love a bag of greens and some mushrooms once in a while.
And then I thought:
Why aren’t we doing more of this already?
Humans Aren’t Supposed to Do Everything Alone
We are social animals. Yet somehow we have turned our homes into little islands.
- Drive home.
- Pull into the driveway.
- Go inside.
- Shut the door.
- Buy everything individually.
- Own everything individually.
- Solve every problem individually.
- And apparently struggle individually too.
Why?
People have survived difficult times throughout history because communities helped one another.
- Someone knew how to preserve food.
- Someone grew vegetables.
- Someone had chickens.
- Someone could repair things.
- Someone looked after children.
- Someone checked on the elderly.
Nobody had to be an expert at everything. And I think maybe we need some of that back. Not because I think the world is ending.
But because life is expensive, people are tired, and there are a whole lot of things we could make easier for each other.
So I’m Starting an Experiment
I don’t know exactly what it looks like yet. It doesn’t even have a name. But I’m starting with my street. That’s it.
I’m going to expand my garden, plant for fall and winter, grow vegetables and mushrooms, talk to my neighbors, and find out what I can realistically contribute.
And the word realistically is important here.
Because I know myself.
I can turn a sweet little neighborhood project into a nonprofit organization with six committees and a spreadsheet by Tuesday. 😂
I do not need another giant job.
I want to know what one person, on one small street, with a little bit of land and some useful knowledge can actually accomplish without burning herself out.
And I’m going to document the whole thing.
- What I plant.
- What it costs.
- How much food I grow.
- How much I share.
- What works.
- What completely fails.
- How mushrooms fit into the system.
- Whether my neighbors participate.
- And whether any of it actually makes a difference.
I’ll be using everything I know about growing plants and fungi together, improving soil, recycling organic matter, growing mushrooms outdoors, and making small spaces more productive.
Mushrooms can be part of a home food-security system in ways that go far beyond growing them for dinner. Some species can be incorporated into garden beds, wood-chip paths and shaded areas while helping break down organic material and build soil. My goal with this experiment is to see how much food I can produce from the same small piece of land by thinking about the garden as an ecosystem rather than separating vegetable growing from mushroom growing.
And I’m going to share all of it with you. Maybe some of you will try something similar. Imagine if a whole bunch of us just started with one street.
Resilient Living Online Summit – FREE!
The timing of all of this is almost ridiculous because I’m also participating in the Resilient Living Online Summit, happening September 14–19, 2026.
It’s completely FREE to attend.
There will be more than 20 presentations covering practical skills like:
- Growing and storing food
- Self-reliant homes
- Disaster preparedness
- Health and family care
- Community and connection
- Practical skills for everyday life
And yes, I’m one of the speakers. But I’ll also be sitting on the other side of the screen taking classes. Because there is always something else to learn.
Knowing a ridiculous amount about mushrooms does not automatically make me an expert on everything else. 😂
GET YOUR FREE RESILIENT LIVING SUMMIT TICKET
Growing Mushrooms at Home for Food Security
Want to Learn How to Grow Mushrooms Yourself?
People who attend the Resilient Living Summit will also receive a special discount code for our upcoming in-person Mushroom Cultivation Workshop at Mushroom Mountain.
October 24, 2026
This is our full-day cultivation workshop where we get into the practical side of growing mushrooms – not just talking about it.
If part of your own food-security plan involves learning how to produce mushrooms at home together with your plants, this is a very good place to start.
LEARN ABOUT THE CULTIVATION WORKSHOP
Another Kind of Food Security Is Already Growing in the Woods
Growing your own food is only part of the picture.
There is also an enormous amount of food growing wild around us that most people simply walk past.
Wild mushrooms can put food on your own table.
And for people who develop the proper identification and food-safety knowledge, wild mushrooms can also become a source of supplemental income.
Our next Wild Mushroom Food Safety Certification Course will be held completely online:
📅 November 14–15, 2026
This is for people who want serious training in wild mushroom identification, food safety, and the requirements involved in selling wild-foraged mushrooms where permitted.
And yes, getting good at foraging can turn a walk in the woods into groceries and income.
Not a bad skill to have these days.
LEARN ABOUT WILD MUSHROOM CERTIFICATION
One More Thing…
I really want to hear from you about this one.
- Do you know your neighbors?
- Do you already share vegetables, eggs, seeds, tools, plants, meals, or anything else with each other?
- Has somebody in your neighborhood created something like this?
And if someone on your street said, “Hey, let’s grow some food together,” would you participate?
Because I suspect quite a few of us are feeling the same uneasiness right now. And maybe instead of sitting around feeling helpless about it, we can actually do something.
- One garden.
- One street.
- One neighbor at a time.
Mush Love, Olga ❤️🍄
