#48 Building Food Self-Sufficiency on Our Portuguese Farm | Back to Basics Portugal

On our off-grid farm in Portugal, we’re building food self-sufficiency step by step. When we moved here full-time last August, we arrived right in the middle of harvest season, and for the first time in our lives, we stopped buying fruit from the supermarket completely. After the olive harvest, olive oil too. At first, it felt overwhelming. Picking, processing, preserving… there was so much to learn all at once. But through every step, we felt incredibly grateful, and the rewards still feel amazing. Now we’re working toward the same goal with vegetables. In this episode, we finish laying out our first upper terrace vegetable garden, and continue learning what grows well here in central Portugal. At the same time, we’re racing against the season. With Portugal’s summer fire restrictions arriving at the end of the month, we’re clearing overgrowth, opening access paths, and continuing our long-term mission of removing invasive monoculture trees and regenerating native Portuguese forest. Slowly, season by season, we’re transforming this abandoned land into a more resilient, self-sufficient home. Thanks for being here with us. Antz and Kinda Back to Basics 🌿 Support our work: https://buymeacoffee.com/backtobasics... CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 3:08 Walking to the lower terraces 5:14 Aphids on apple tree 6:13 Cutting overgrowth 7:16 Picking lemons 9:20 Preparing the upper terrace garden 11:52 Making lemon cake 15:23 Lower terrace clean up 18:04 Picking up mimosa debris 19:49 Sunrise from home 21:07 working on upper terrace garden 23:47 Planting sweet corn 25:01 Planting lettuce 25:07 Planting New Zealand spinach 25:41 Finishing upper terrace veggie garden