Off Grid and Free: My Path to the Wilderness

It’s the height of the growing season. The garden is yielding a bounty of fresh produce each day. How can you possibly make use of it all? That’s the dilemma for beginning and experienced gardeners alike. How does one make the most of your garden’s bounty?

Basket of Fresh Picked Vegetables

The Evolution of the Process

I began gardening as a teenager with my dad being my tutor. At the time, our garden was pretty basic: peas, corn, beans, broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and zucchini. Nothing so “exotic” as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks or Belgian endive. Once I began homesteading in my late 20’s, I expanded my garden horizons and began growing a greater variety of vegetables. At the same time I made it my mission to find ways to utilize what I grew. After all why go to the trouble and work if the vegetables and fruits of your labor go unused and are wasted because of a lack of knowledge regarding their preparation, lack of inspiration on ways to use them or techniques to store them longer term.
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You’ve decided to become more self-reliant, but don’t know where to begin. With 40 years of homesteading and self-reliance behind us, we’d suggest you plant a garden as your first step. This is especially important in this new virus era when some food items are being rationed or when income security is in question. Let’s take the first step to self-reliance by planting a garden.

This is What it’s All About

First Step To Self-Reliance

If your diet consists of frozen pizzas, microwave burritos, cheese doodles and fruit roll ups, planting a garden won’t help you in your pursuit of self-reliance unless you’re willing to change your eating habits. But if you’re looking to free yourself from reliance on supermarket produce and commercially prepared canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, then a garden is a viable, important first step toward your ultimate goal. Continue reading →

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Garden record keeping is part of ensuring a successful garden. The mundane task may seem trivial, unnecessary, and of no value but the truth is once you get into the habit of recording vital bits of information, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without this valuable wealth of data. We touched on the topic in our previous post but let’s delve into garden record keeping in more detail.

Garden Notes

Why Keep Records?

The biggest reason to keep records is so you can make a comparison against previous years. You can compare frost dates in spring and fall, at a glance see what you planted in what location and look for patterns, be they weather patterns of rainfall (or the lack of it), or patterns of poor production. If you notice any vegetable grown in a particular spot does poorly no matter what the vegetable is, this likely means the soil in that location needs improvement. Good record keeping will show if the garden is behind or on schedule as compared to previous years and whether or not yields are up or down. Finally records can serve as a reminder it’s time to do certain duties such as get transplants started indoors or get the fall spinach in the ground before it’s too late to harvest a crop. Continue reading →

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Mapping out your vegetable garden so you have a plan on paper once planting time arrives is a key component to a successful growing season. So is detailed note taking. I have a sketch of every garden I’ve ever planted, about 45 different drawings at last count, and I’ve never regretted the small effort it took to commit the plan to paper. As well, I am meticulous in writing down varieties, dates, first harvest, frost and any other pertinent details. So let’s talk about mapping out a vegetable garden.

Garden Plan

Meticulous Notes

Why a Paper Sketch?

Having a layout on paper ensures you have allocated room for every item you wish to grow. It ensures you don’t forget something or run out of room at planting time. It can also save time during the hectic spring rush of planting because you aren’t wasting time figuring out where everything will go. Continue reading →

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Dry beans, a homesteader’s staple should be in everyone’s larder whether they are a homesteader, prepper, city dweller or rural resident. As long as they are properly stored in a cool, dry location, they keep indefinitely without the need for refrigeration or freezing. They are versatile as they can be used in soups, stews, casseroles, chili and of course the proverbial pot of baked beans. As a bonus, they are nutritional powerhouses being exceptionally high in fiber, high in protein and cholesterol free (until an animal fat such as salt pork or bacon is added). And finally if you grow a garden, dry beans are easily raised requiring little attention until harvest time.

Beautiful Bowls of Beans

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Gardens with the vegetables and fruits they provide are an integral part of our self-sufficiency plan. We derive a great deal of satisfaction in providing the majority of our fruits and vegetables. In order to get the best results, we put a lot of time and effort into making our soil the best that it can be. Let me give you the real dirt on garden soil.

July 19 2018 Garden

Dirt versus Soil

I haven’t looked up the proper definitions of dirt versus topsoil since in my mind, they are two very different subjects. For this conversation, dirt can be any layer of earth that may or may not support minimal plant growth. Whereas soil is a prime medium teaming with life and nutrients just waiting to give a seed a new lease on life. Continue reading →

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