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Food Storage, Gardening, and Self-Reliance for Busy Moms

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Gardening – Get Growing

Gardening is a great adventure.

A gardener needs a lot of faith…and imagination to get the job done – PreparednessMama

Why should you bother growing your own food if you can purchase it at the store?

We’re all about self-reliance here at PreparednessMama, and that’s my number one reason to grow it yourself. It is a “just in case” skill that will allow you to feed your family in times of trouble. That trouble could be because of job loss or an economic downturn. No matter what, you’ll be glad you’ve learned to grow your own food and preserve it.

Growing your own food also:

  • Saves money in the food budget
  • Gives you control over the chemicals that are added to your food
  • Is a great way to get inexpensive food for canning, freezing and dehydrating
  • Children are more likely to eat “unusual” food if they have had a hand in growing it

Where can you get your knowledge to be a great gardener?

Gardening for Food Production | PreparednessMamaFirst, you just need to jump in and try it. Everyone can grow some kind of food if they have the skills and are willing to try. I don’t believe in having a “brown thumb.” Brown thumb people just haven’t learned the rules of gardening yet.

Ask a gardener friend. Every person I’ve met that loves to grow also loves to share their knowledge, you only need to ask. They are most always willing to share plant cuttings too!

Take a beginning gardener class at the local community college or extension office. Who knows, you’ll be a master gardener in no time.

Ask the extension office. Every major metropolitan area has an extension office ready and willing to help. Not only can you get information about growing in your particular area, but they will also have extensive skills in home canning and food storage. See the links below for some extension offices in the USA.

Read great books – here are some of my favorites.

Follow great gardeners, like PreparednessMama online. I promise you will learn a bunch about gardening from this site!

PreparednessMama Gardening posts to get you started:

Use This Throwaway Bathroom Item to Grow Your Seeds Any house that has a lot of girls has an excess ...
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Make toilet paper seed starters | PreparednessMama
Basil and Containers Go Together Basil is one of the most popular herbs to grow for culinary use and you ...
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Basil is one of the most popular herbs to grow for culinary creations and you can easily grow basil in containers. Find out how to get a bumper crop for pesto and cooking | PreparednessMama
Drying and Saving Seeds for Long Term Storage It is the end of the seed growing season and the local ...
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DIY Seed Vault - Learn how to save seeds for at least 10 years | PreparednessMama
Learn Two Homemade Soil Ph Testing Methods I'm always looking for quick tips to make my gardening chores easier. I ...
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2 DIY ways for testing soil pH without a kit | PreparednessMama
Most of These Recyclable Seed Pots Can Be Planted Directly Into the Ground This is the time of year that ...
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Homemade seed starter pots | PreparednessMama
Get Your Garden Schedule Into Shape! It's time to think about starting seeds and planting your garden. Once the season ...
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5 {Mostly} Free Vegetable Garden Planners to Try | PreprednessMama.com
Clay soil is quite challenging and might need some special amendments before you can start a vegetable garden. You just ...
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Starting a vegetable garden in clay soil is possible if you have patience and stick to the rules. Learn about amending and mulching for the best crops | PreparednessMama
The Gardening Zone Series, 13 Bloggers Talk About Gardening in Zones 3 to 9. This is my first gardening year in ...
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8 Steps to Successfuly gardening in zone 8b | PreparednessMama
Implement Companion Planting in Your Garden The practice of companion planting has been around for generations. We see the principle ...
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Get companion planting basics for tomato, beans, peppers, and squash. Implement companion planting in your garden and have a bumper crop this year. | PreparednessMama
Last year I put a new garden in my Central Texas yard. It’s a 30x50 foot experiment that’s been a ...
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There isn't much maintenance with my lavender hedge year 2, it's looking great. A bit of compost and a bit of cleaning and you’ll be enjoying a wonderfully fragrant summer harvest | PreparednessMama
Garden Dreaming?  Use Seed Catalogs for Ideas to Plan Your Garden 10 Reasons seed catalogs are still relevant in the ...
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10 Reasons seed catalogs are still relevant in the age of online shopping | PreparednessMama
When You Don't Have Room for a Compost Bin. Trench Composting is an easy and inexpensive way to get nutrients ...
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Trench Composting is an easy and inexpensive way to get nutrients into your garden soil when you don't have room for a compost bin. | PreparednessMama
Seed Self-Reliance This year I grew Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, an heirloom variety known for its huge fruit and excellent taste ...
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How to save heirloom tomato seeds using the fermentation process | PreparednessMama
Take a Photo Tour of My June Garden Welcome to the garden tour, we're glad you're here! Most of you ...
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Garden success and failure in Central Texas garden zone 8b. | PreparednessMama
Get a Jump on Your Spring Planting Schedule It's the time of year to think about starting your seeds, but how ...
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Download the Last Frost Date Planting Worksheet and get a jump on your seed starting schedule | PreparednessMama
It's Almost Time to Plant Warm Weather Crops. These plants do best when the weather and soil has warmed up, they ...
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Warm Weather Crops | PreparednessMama
What Can You Grow in an 8 X 50 Plot? If you've been following along you know I moved from Oregon to ...
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PreparednessMama is creating a garden from scratch. See how she is using gutters, raised beds, straw bales, pallets and containers to plan a garden for her family | PreparednessMama
Frugal Gardening Tip #4 I realize I'm in a gardening bubble here in Central Texas.  It's February and my seeds ...
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Starting seeds in recycled containers: Milk Jug Greenhouse | PreparednessMama
How Much Seed Do You Need? How many melon seeds do you really need? A packet has anywhere from 10-25 ...
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Frugal Gardening Tip #1: How much seed do you need? Start a seed exchange with friends to save money | PreparednessMama
Up Your Gardening Game This Year This is the time of year when I pull out my gardening books and ...
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15 favorite gardening books to up your gardening game in 2015 | PreparednessMama
Cold Weather Crops  - Is It Too Soon to Plant Them? There is a time and a season for everything ...
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It's time to plant cool weather crops | PreparednessMama
Take the Time Now to Plan Your Garden. The Extra Effort Will Be Worth It This Summer. Congratulations! You've decided ...
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Starting a Garden From Scratch - Six Planning Tips | PreparednessMama

 

Other PreparednessMama Gardening Pages:

Gardening for Food Production – What’s your Garden Style? – Tips, Tricks, Sprays & Brews (DIY Gardening) – Growing Herbs – Composting and Soil Building

Extension Offices –

The purpose of an extension office is to teach, which is just what you want. Go to this website to find the county extension office closest to your location, plus these are some of my favorite extension websites:

Oregon State University: Don’t forget to check the guides and handbooks section. If you are new the Pacific NW, or new to gardening, this is the place to visit for valuable information.

Visit the Utah State University site and look through their extensive publications page.

Texas A&M Agrilife has, in addition to other publications, free online courses and an extensive area dealing with water management and rain catchment.

The University of Georgia has a very good Fruits & Vegetable page with downloadable publications.

Here are some others, by area that you might be interested in I am not as familiar with these pages, but as I was doing my research, these pages looked promising: Penn State Extension, Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Ohio State University

Find your first and last frost dates – by zip code – at Dave’s Garden

What other extension offices have you found to be helpful with your gardening endeavors?

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I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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