When to know it's worth to start with agriculture?
Based on survival series, films etc. most of the people stranded on a lonely island (not necessarily restricted to this situation of course) over a long period start with agriculture at some point. While I understand that it gives you great benefits, it also consumes resources (water, energy etc.).
When do I know that the benefits outweigh the "waste" of resource (my daily routine is that stable, that it can handle the additional expense), so that I should start with agriculture? Which precedence does it have (like "Don't start with agriculture before you haven't ...")?
1 answer
Assuming it is not an end of the world scenario, the answer is never start agriculture.
If you are not on an island;
A traveling hunter/gather in a location that will support agriculture is going to be able to travel to civilization faster then any crop would come in.
If the location will not support agriculture, you need to move to someplace that will, which puts you in the scenario above.
If you are on an island;
Ecosystems are delicate, clearing land is going to disrupt the native ground cover, likely ending in the destruction of existing food sources. I doubt there is an island on earth that has an area suitable for farming, that would go longer without visitors then it would take for a crop to come to harvest.
Farming takes tools, you have to make those tools. If you can make the tools to farm, you might as well make navigation implements and a boat.
Related What Navigation Aids can I make on an island with only a knife?
When harvesting hunter/gather don't kill off the food supply. You or another being is going to want it later.
- Leave a couple of those wild onions.
- Don't strip all the leaves off of the only edible plant.
- Don't kill nursing mothers, or any female animals at all if you can tell the gender.
- If you eat something with seeds, bury the seeds in a similar location, either after consuming them or instead of eating them ;)
- Most plants have developed so that being consumed leads to their improved survival, i.e. Fruit has seeds so that animals will carry those seeds to new locations after eating them.
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