Our Garden and the first steps to self reliance!

We have been a busy bunch getting this garden started. This is officially the third time that I have planted my own garden. It has been a gradual process getting everything accomplished. I have not measured precisely but our garden area is at least a 250 square foot area.

We started with the land and finding what place would be good with enough sunshine. We have alot of tree's on our property and we had to factor that in. We finally got the area picked up and our neighbors borrowed a tractor so we could plow and till the land. In trade we will be giving them food this summer for the help with the tractor. Having the tractor saved us days of work and also saved our bodies/backs from all the hard labor. I can tell you moving dirt will get you strong. I have lost a total of 60 lbs here in Tx. I am doing a lite exercise routine but I can tell you I have lost most of the weight by working outside doing hard labor all day. I now know why there was never a problem with obesity in pioneer days.

The garden has been an enjoyable process for me. I have always loved doing it which makes it so much easier. I studied on the clay soil and it has been mostly my pet project. When we lived in California I never had to worry to much about the soil. The area in Nipomo had great soil even in our apartment patio. Here in Texas it is clay soil and you have to make sure your water will drain from the root. I decided to use the Dr. Mittleider Methods for treating the soil. I also invested in heirloom (non-hyprbrid GMO) seeds. http://foodforeveryone.org/index.php

Since I had been using all my time to learn about the soil. I decided to put starter plants in the first 3 raised garden beds. In one bed I have Zuchini and yellow Squashes. I planted different types so we can find out which ones that we like more. Most likely we will enjoy all of them because we love fresh veggies! In the other bed I have Tomato plants(8) which I plan on canning a lot of sauces, salsa and soup. in the other beds I have all my cooking and medicinal herbs. I love these because they are perennials, which means they will die in the winter but come back on their own in the Spring. I also planted egg plant, Okra, cucumbers and 10 different types of Peppers from starter plants.

This week I planted some of the heirloom seeds. This is officially my first time planting from seeds. I planted enough to eat and also enough to harvest the seeds for next years crop. I will have some updated pics of my recent progress but this a start to a life long project of going back to basics. Living and relying on ourselves for food. People ask me what my future goals are with this garden. I plan on helping my neighbors and my friends. I plan on teaching and educating people that we can not rely on stores and super markets to take care of us. We must learn what God intended for us. Adam and Eve were first placed in a garden and we must delve into the hidden meaning behind that. I know everyone can not have a full fledged garden but you can start small and do your best with what you have available. You can buy from local farmers instead of buying imported unhealthy goods from the super markets. You can plant some plants and give it try.

I plan on donating some food to food shelters and churches. We must serve one another and what better way to do so. In the future I plan on gathering heirloom seeds from my crop for friends, family and neighbors. In the future I will not have to buy seeds. I also plan on buying a Dairy Cow, a Horse to work my land and the list goes on. I'm starting small but we will continue to have big hopes and dreams for the future! I feel truly blessed and will continue to share our progress!