Garden Update

Growing a garden is definitely a skill that needs to be perfected before any kind of an emergency.  I admit this is one area of preparedness that I find kind of difficult.  I try every year to plant a garden but it is in no way our sole source of food during the summer and fall, and I have a long way to go before we are self-sufficient and eating off of our land.  

Square foot gardening is what has worked for me so far and so I continue to try and grow a garden in the easy to use grids. 

This is how my garden looked at the beginning of May....

....and here it is on June 2nd.  It has actually grown quite a bit over the last week too.  The peas in the back have grown taller and so have the lettuces in the front.  The box on the left has strawberries and hopefully potatoes soon.  

 This is the view of my garden from my kitchen window.  The box on the far right has zucchini and cucumbers, the box second to the right has tomatoes, carrots, and a volunteer onion, the third box from the right has peas, several lettuces, spinach, and broccoli (that didn't grow), and the far left box has strawberries.  I tried potatoes in the black garbage can last year but they didn't grow and I think it was because they didn't get enough water all the time.  The potatoes I grew in the garden box grew great, so I may stick to planting them in with the strawberries again.  I really don't know what I am doing but I am planting and trying every year.

This year my husband got into the edible gardening and planted grapes and an artichoke.  It will be really exciting if we can get them to produce.

 He also planted raspberries.  I really hope these grow well, I love raspberries. 

My goals for gardening are:

• grow only non-GMO or heirloom plants and save seeds (a must for self-sufficiency)
• grow more food every year to limit our dependency on the grocery store
• learn what plants grow well in my area and how to keep bugs away organically
• winter gardening using cold frames

Gardening is an adventure and you never know what you'll get at the end of the season but it is a fun learning experience.  Get outside and try...."We learn a lot more from our own experiences than any book could ever teach us." - Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew