Food Storage Friday #7

I think I'm just up still because I'm waiting for the new Peachy Cheap deal to show up! (or because Sam is watching a movie in here) But since it's Friday, and since Shauna requested a gardening FSF, here you go. Recently I heard someone say that if you are not producing your own food, then you are not truly living providently. Since most of us can't create a self sustaining farm, I don't think that's necessarily the goal, but I think with a little effort, anyone can start to grow some of their own food. A simple first step would be to plant a fruit tree, or 2, or 3. They are relatively affordable when they are small and within a couple years you'll have some real live food growing in your yard. If you want to get a little more involved, get a pot and plant some tomatoes, or herbs. One step further, start your own little raised bed garden. We used the method from the book Square Foot Gardening for the little gardens in my yard, but Better Homes & Gardens had an article for building and planting raised bed gardens you can read HERE. I like this method because it doesn't involve re-routing my sprinkler system, or worrying about "bad" soil. The soil recipe from the book, called Mel's Mix, is just equal parts compost, peat moss and vermiculite, all things you can get from Home Depot.So far mine is doing well- even some of the seeds have sprouted, I think I watered them too hard and made them sink down in the soil so they took a little longer to make it to the top. I'll have to take some pictures later and post them- the one above was taken before we planted anything. The mesh wall going up the side is for vine plants to climb up. It's taken me a long time to stop being afraid to plant a garden but I'm really excited to see the results- so go plant something, isn't Arbor Day or Earth Day coming up?