Self-Reliant

I have a very long way to go in becoming self-reliant, but my goal this year was to increase our food storage. So, I decided to start a garden. This was quite a feat for me since I definitely do not have a green thumb and had never gardened before.

Matt and Ethan made me a nice little garden in our back yard. I think I got a bit over ambitious and planted way to much for such a little space. Oh well, live and learn. I did get some great harvests of spinach, tomatoes, and carrots. I learned that broccoli grows very big and that snails love peas and tomatoes. Ethan was such a great help. He loved to help me water the garden and look for snails to toss over the fence.

I also talked Matt into letting me get a freezer so we could store all this wonderful food. It has been great.

Ethan watering our lawn and garden. You can see how small it started out and the results below.

My lovely overflowing garden.

Freezer jam made from some apricots Matt's grandma and grandpa Nielsen gave us.