So Jodi gave her garden update on Monday, and today it’s my turn. For those of you who have followed you know this year was my first year gardening. I still don’t have a yard that I can garden in (it’s small and shaded – always) so this year I borrowed some of my mom’s garden area. There were some advantages to this. She is a master gardener so she could teach me stuff, she tended to it while I was out of town, and she felt bad for me if some of my stuff didn’t come up right and gave me some of hers. The drawbacks of doing this was that I couldn’t just go to my backyard to pick lettuce for dinner, or see the growth each day. I’m glad I did it so I could learn a lot. I just can’t wait to have my OWN garden but…. once upon a time I had no room for food storage either. It’s a process.

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you how I’m using various garden vegetables. It’s SO fun and delicious to eat the yummy foods!

Green Peppers: When I first starting buying my own food in college, green peppers were 25 cents. Now they can be close to $1. For some reason it’s the only food price I remember, so it always bugs me just a little to buy green peppers. I love having them to throw in omelets with tomatoes, and onions. I make pizza once a week (more about that later) and love to top it with some fresh green pepper. I also love putting it in salads and bean salsas.

Zucchini. Oh I LOVE zucchini. I wish I had the abundance of zucchini I have right now YEAR round. I use it in everything. Really – spaghetti sauce, pizza toppings, grilled, boiled, fried, zucchini bread and more. The best part of it I think is the pizza though. I’ve been doing this amazing garden fresh pizza lately. I do whole wheat crust, tomato sauce, a little mozzarella cheese, and then top it with TONS of little chunks of zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and a little Parmesan cheese. Oh its HEAVENLY and it feels so light and guilt-free.

Spaghetti Squash. I may love spaghetti squash as much as I love zucchini. My favorite recipe is chicken Parmesan with spaghetti squash. I did a post about that one here. Well great- now I’m starving.

Lettuce, carrots, tomatoes: Who doesn’t love having fresh salad on hand all the time. The tomatoes are just coming in so I’ll be talking about that more later. I’m excited to can them with my mom and use them all year!

School starts in a week around these parts. How is summer over already??? We figured it’s been a while since we did our garden updates (although we’ve posted little updates on Facebook here and there) so here is a little summary of how things are going for us this year.

This year has been an interesting year for my garden. I got a late start on some things but they are finally catching up and I’m excited to START harvesting soon. We’ve been having pretty mild falls here lately so I’m hoping to still get a few months of good tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. Most of my spring plantings got eaten by my chickens so I’ve had to adjust a few things to avoid that problem in the future. They were thrilled to discover brand new carrot and spinach seedlings growing in my garden and dug up the entire bed.

Here are some pictures of my current garden!

First pepper harvest (my kids think it’s the funnest thing ever to harvest).

My HUGE pumpkin plant that has taken over the yard (that’s what I get for actually WATERING it this year, lol)

The world’s best tomato cage. Every year my tomato plants fall all over the garden boxes and take over the yard and break my tomato cages. This one has been awesome so far!

Here is a “volunteer” tomato plant that grew out of a crack in my paver stones. There are actually tomatoes on it!

I managed to salvage a few green bean plants from the chickens, gotta assign these to the kids next

My cute little corn patch. I always try to grow corn and it never works that well. So far I have quite a few little cobs coming on, and the chickens seem to have kept the grasshoppers in check so maybe this year will be the year!

And THIS is the problem I have been facing … I try to keep the kids from letting them out when I’m not outside to keep them out of the garden. You can see how well THAT works out

Items Not Pictured

I have two huge areas full of potatoes that I need to harvest. One I planted, and one is full of volunteer plants from last year. I am planning to try to can them since I will be pulling up so many all at once. I’m excited to try my new reusable canning lids for this project! I also have some zucchini just coming up (I planted two plants this year because they both looked half dead when I moved them outside … what was I thinking???). I have a few cucumber plants that almost died while we were on our trip to Canada, I THINK I will still get come cukes though. Probably not enough to make pickles this year though. I also have a few onions ready to pull up. I have decided I am not ambitious enough to do any fall planting. I will just enjoy harvesting what I’ve planted so far, and prepping my beds for next year.

Stay tuned later this week as Julie shares HER garden updates this year (her first year gardening!)

Here in Utah the first frost is around the corner, so I’ve been grabbing everything off of my plants as quickly as possible. The pepper plants have been pulled up after getting lots of great green and red peppers, and jalapenos too. My tomatoes still have some greenies on the vine so I’m holding out hope that I can squeak a few more good ones out. Needless to say I have an abundance of produce hanging around my kitchen.

Spaghetti Salad

Ingredients:
16 oz package of spaghetti
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped
5-6 green onion stalks, chopped

1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. basil
1 T. parsley

Directions:
Cook spaghetti until it is just BARELY done (don’t overcook!). Wash in cold water and let drain. Put in fridge while you chop up all the veggies. Add the chopped veggies to the spaghetti and toss together. Mix all the dressing ingredients (except parsley) in a small bowl. Pour over the spaghetti/veggies and mix well. Sprinkle parsley over the top. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is best.

Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:
1-2 jalapeno peppers (remove seeds)
4 bell peppers (combo of red/green)
3 pounds tomatoes–leave skins on!
1 large onion
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
2 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped

1/3 C vinegar
1 T. lime juice
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano

Directions:
Chop all of the veggies up to your desired consistency. Drain the tomatoes to avoid having excess liquid in the salsa. Add the veggies to a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Eat and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from my cousin Emily @ MySquareFootGarden.NET

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, cut in half
fresh garlic cloves
olive oil
basil and Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. diced onion, sauteed
6 oz can tomato paste
1 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. cream
1 T. sugar
Salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lay tomato halves cut side up on cookie sheet. Brush olive oil over each half (top and sides). Add a sliver of garlic to each tomato and sprinkle seasonings over them. Roast in oven until charred, about 20-30 minutes. Blend tomatoes in blender and pour into large pot. Add onions and mix. Add broth, tomato paste, and cream. Simmer until hot.

I’ve also been canning up some batches of salsa. But more on that later. Happy garden cooking!

If you have been following along with our Extreme Food Storage Makeover you will have already been introduced to my mom, Grandma Lori. I remember growing up we used to eat homemade strawberry jam and bottled peaches and my mom would make alfalfa sprouts on the kitchen counter. As I got older my mom kind of stopped doing those things and when I got married I was so busy I didn’t give it a second thought.

When we started our blog people started to ask us about some of the “food storage swear words” like gardening, canning, dehydrating, and sprouting and we realized we knew nothing about them. I asked my mom why she never taught me how to can and she said “When you can buy canned tomatoes at the grocery store for $0.50 why would you waste the time to can them yourself?” Because I wanted to LEARN HOW, Mom!

I decided it would be good to learn some of these self-reliance skills even if I don’t ever “HAVE” to rely on them. Plus there truly are some legitimate benefits to processing your own foods such as the health factors, you CAN save money, and a lot of it tastes so much better home grown and processed then store-bought. Not to mention it is really fun and satisfying to know you did it yourself. I am still a beginner to much of this stuff, but here are some of the fun projects I’ve attempted so far:
 

	COMING THIS SUMMER! As part of a series I’m going to be doing on self-reliance

I had never tried any of these things before I started blogging about them, so if you have been scared to try, believe me, if I can do it so can you!

The Good – Irrigation is IN, just need to add in the little drippers.

The Bad – I already had some plants started that got a little jostled.

The UGLY – In an attempt to harden off my seedlings, I killed them all

Square Foot Gardening FAQ

Canning Questions

What are some tips for planning your garden if canning is your end goal?
First, do you have a pressure canner? Because if you don’t you are limited to canning mostly fruits (remember, tomatoes are a fruit!) and pickles. Salsa also works, since there is enough acid to can it safely with the boiling water method. If you are interested in canning, I suggest dedicate most of your garden to canning veggies. To maximize your yield, grow as much vertically as you can. By trellising cucumbers you can plant 8 per square, compared to 4+ squares if you let them sprawl out.

Which type of tomato plant is better for canning?
In general, paste tomatoes (like Roma) are good for canning. The flesh is more firm, so it holds up to all the heat, and it is less watery, so you have more pulp per tomato. But Roma’s are a little smaller, so it’s more peeling compared to other varieties. I grow Roma, Early Girl, Better Boy, and Celebrity. For salsa I use an even mix of tomatoes, but I can whole Roma tomatoes for sauce.

When purchasing tomatoes, ask around. What do your friends and neighbors grow, and why? I don’t usually ask at the nursery or home and garden store, because I’m almost always advised to purchase what they have on the shelf! You can call your local extension office for a list of suggested varieties for your location. At many places the plants have tags on them, indicating if they are good for slicing, salads, canning, etc. Also look for disease resistant varieties.

How many to tomatoes, peppers, etc. should I plant if I want to can?
If this is your first year growing a garden, I suggest you start small and increase with time. Otherwise, you’re likely to take on too much, burn out, and never can a single jar. It’s just impossible to know until you try it, and see how much your garden produces.

Garden Planning

What are some tips on how you should rotate your garden plan each year?
If you SFG and use compost or Mel’s mix, you will need to replenish it with compost every year. As long as you didn’t have any diseases, there is no need to rotate your crops. Unless you get bored, like me, or become obsessed with finding the perfect gardening layout (also like me).

Do you have any detailed info on companion planting?
Companion planting is the practice of growing plants next to each other for mutual benefit. Read all about it in this post.

Miscellaneous

What plants grow best in desert climates?
Everything! You may have a hard time with cool-weather plants like broccoli, spinach, and peas. But if you give them an early start and shade from the hot sun, even these will grow well. Things like tomatoes and peppers do particularly well, since they can tolerate some heat and love the sunshine. I suggest everyone do a little research on their local extension website (www.extension.org) and/or check out a local farming supply store for varieties developed specifically for your climate.

Do I need to fertilize?
I believe in fertilizing. This can be organic or chemical, but I don’t feel Mel’s mix provides sufficient nutrients for my gardens. Now, you have to be careful because if you fertilize with too much nitrogen you will have big, leafy plants and little fruit. I sometimes use an all-purpose fertilizer (20-20-20 or 10-10-10), but I really love one called Blooming and Rooting (9-59-8). I use it when starting seeds (about 4 weeks after germination) and on all my veggies that flower (squash, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers) every 6 weeks.

Don’t forget to check out Part One of the Square Foot Gardening FAQs and also check out the great Garden Box Tutorial put together by Jodi’s husband.

Needless to say any time people see my garden boxes they are dying to know where I got them or how I made them. Well the answer is … I have an amazing husband He has been sweet enough to make a tutorial for you to show how to make a simple 4×4 vinyl garden box. Feel free to watch the video below, but I have also tried to summarize his instructions if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.
 

How To Build a Vinyl Square Foot Garden Box

Materials Needed:
4″x4″ vinyl post jackets (found in either 72″ or 100″ lengths)
- You can also use 5″x5″ vinyl posts but they have holes pre-drilled in incorrect places)
Vinyl fence slats (found in 16′ lengths)
- You can make your boxes one slat high, but I prefer to do them double
Fence Post Caps (optional)
- You don’t NEED these but they make the boxes look so pretty!
Liquid Nails (optional)
- Can be used to glue the two layers of slats together if you are worried about stability

Tools Needed:
Tape Measure
Pencil
Straight Edge/Ruler
Table Saw or Sawzall or Circular Saw or Hacksaw (to cut vinyl into segments)
Jigsaw or Sawzall or Hacksaw Blade (to cut the post holes, jigsaw works best)

Posts
Measure post lengths to give you 1-2 inches of space at the top, and 4-6 inches of space at the bottom. Then give yourself either 5 1/2 or 11 inches for the slats (depending on whether you are doing one layer or two). Cut 4 equal segments. If you are doing a longer box, you will need to add 2 additional posts to give it more stability in the middle.

Side Slats
Determine the size of box you want to make. For a 4 foot square box you would ideally give yourself a few extra inches on each side since they will be stuck into the posts. However, since the slats come in 16 foot lengths we opted to just make our box a little smaller. Cut into 4 equal segments. Again if you are doing a longer box, make additional slats as necessary. Don’t make the slats longer than 4 or 5 feet in length.

Post Holes
Draw yourself a template for the holes. Start down 1-2 inches from the top of the post (depending on what you measured for). Make sure to mark the center of the post. Measure your fence slat (should be about 1 1/2 inches) and mark that width down the post starting from the center. So you will have 3/4″ on each side of the middle line. You can either measure 11″ and draw the lines, or simply trace around your fence slat to get a pretty good outline. Use a large drill bit to start a hole in the outline. Then using a jigsaw, cut out the hole. You will need two holes per post and they should be on sides right next to each other.

Assembly
If you glued your two layers of slats together, wait for them to dry. Then stick the fence slats into the holes you made in the posts and form your square foot garden box. Once you determine where your box will go, dig holes in the ground for the four post holes and stick your box in! We like to fill our posts with dirt after to make them more stable. Then stick on the post caps for a beautiful finishing touch.

Cost of a 4′x4′ Box (all parts from Home Depot)
72″ vinyl post jacket – $15.97
16′ vinyl slats x 2 – $29.94
Fence post caps x 4 – $6.68
TOTAL COST – $52.59

Time Required
A simple 4×4 box like the one we built can be done in an hour or so. Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are with the measuring and cuts it could take a little longer. If you have a table saw and a jigsaw it could take a little shorter. To do a bigger box with more cuts and more complex measurements it will longer as well. Also if you choose to glue the slats together it’s best to let them dry overnight.

Hope this is helpful! If you or your spouse makes one of these boxes let us know in the comments how it works out for you.

Family trip to the dump to get compost for my vegetable gardens – PRICELESS

A BIG pile of … dirt

Gotta love a beater truck that’s not afraid to get dirty (my husband loves classic cars)

Hubby forgot his gloves … I’ll let you chew on that thought for a bit

The kids thought it was a grand adventure!

And my gardens are beeeeeautiful!!!!!!

And now if the weather would just cooperate I could actually start getting something DONE in my beautifully filled garden beds. If you need help with your vegetable gardens this year check out my cousin Emily’s eBooks and website on Square Foot Gardening. Tons of great info that I use all the time!

Well we had a great “Food Storage Fools Day” where we actually did some things we have been putting off FoReVeR! We were so glad our readers joined us and got some great emails, facebook discussions, pictures and feedback about what you all did. Wasn’t it so much more fun to do it together? We were just glad to have the accountability to actually DO stuff.

Although Julie was tending her nephew, had unexpected dinner plans come up, and was kinda feeling lazy on April 1st, she was THRILLED to have this day to FORCE her to get some things done! These are the things she accomplished.

-Purchased propane fuel and charcoal for the Volcano II stove she has. This is her current “electricity free” cooking plan, but it wouldn’t have worked well without fuel!
-Got some new foods for her 72 hour kits that required no cooking. Some of the things she added were beef jerky, raisins, granola bars, crackers with canned chicken, and new candy.
-Took all the disaster kits supplies out of the big awkward bin that is hard to carry and moved it into two bags.
-Packed bigger clothes for her toddler in the bags, and actually put clothes for the baby in the bag.

Jodi has been feeling behind with her gardening. Even though the weather was awful this week she was still able to get a great start on some of her gardening tasks that she has been putting off for several weeks now. Here’s what she got done:

- Printed and put together her new gardening binder
- Planned out and typed up her garden plans for this year.
- Sorted through all her seeds and made a list of what she still needs to purchase
- Planted a TON of seeds in her jiffy pellets using the planting schedule from her gardening binder
- Made a plan for getting the outside gardens ready for planting some seeds directly outdoors, hopefully to be done this following week!
- NOW I finally feel ready to start gardening this year, yay!

For those of you who submitted your pictures and results we entered you into a giveaway for our Food Storage Made Easy Binders! And the winners are…

Stephanie W
Alisa D
Sondra M

Email us at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net and we’ll get you the download!

Here are a few of the pictures we got from all of you! Good job guys, you inspired us with your emails, hard work, and diligence!

Square Foot Gardening FAQ

Hello FSME readers! I’m exited to have the chance to answer some of your gardening questions! Just a little background on me—I’m a mom of two boys, and this is my fourth year of gardening. I’m not an expert, but I am determined to learn all I can and pass it on to others. So here we go!

1. What soil mix is best for raised bed gardens?
I suggest a combination of ingredients called Mel’s Mix. It is equal parts compost, vermiculite, and peat moss. For specific instructions, go to my website and click on the Build It tab, then read the post there.

Each spring I add more compost to my boxes—I usually need to add one quarter to one third of the volume of my garden bed. Also, after harvesting you can replant in that square. Before you do, add a scoop of compost and mix it in.

2. What are cold frames and how do you use them?
A cold frame is like putting a glass roof on your garden. Imagine a mini-greenhouse, built around your garden beds. It helps you plant and grow sooner, and it extends the season later by protecting the plants. I would not suggest using cold frames if you are a beginner unless your weather conditions require it.

3. SEEDS

3a. Do higher quality seeds really make a difference?
YES! I’ve personally experienced this. You know those super cheap seeds by American Seed Company? There’s a reason they are so inexpensive. They have a very low germination rate, about 10%, which means you are paying for a bunch of seeds that won’t sprout.

3b. Where do you buy your seeds?
I have always purchased whatever brand I find at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, or IFA (Intermountain Farmers Association, the local farm coop store). I have found all of these seeds to be similarly priced and comparable in quality.

The advantage of buying seeds at a local store (like IFA) is that they often carry brands that have been developed specifically for the climate in which you live. The advantage of purchasing from a catalog is that you can choose from endless varieties and types of vegetables. I just hate waiting for something to come in the mail!

3c. What are Heirloom seeds?
Heirloom seeds, or vegetables, are varieties that were grown in the “old days.” Many have been used for over 50 or 100 years, and there are many more varieties. However, they are not as disease resistant as the seeds you will find at the store.

Since the industrialization of agriculture, seeds have been bred for consistency and disease resistance. This has resulted in fewer varieties (sort of a “one size fits all”) and hybrids, which are more expensive.

3d. How do I store seeds?
If you use the square foot gardening method, chances are you’ll have tons of seeds leftover. I put mine in snack size ziplock baggies, so if the seeds spill out it’s no big deal. Then I keep them in a cool, dry place. In the summer I put them in my fridge or basement. In the winter I keep them in the garage.

4. What are good plants for colder climates?

Root veggies (beets, carrots, onions, leeks, turnips, radishes, potatoes)
Cabbage family (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, mustard)
Peas and beans

If you have a short growing season, buy varieties that harvest in a shorter time frame.

5. Can you share any composting tips for beginners?
Don’t do it. Okay, that’s not totally true. If you have the space and want to compost for environmental reasons, by all means go ahead. But unless you have a lot of mass (think 100 gallons) and are willing to do a lot of work (turn it every week), you won’t be generating compost for this year. I live on 1/5 of an acre and with the grass clippings and the food scraps from a family of 3, combined with donated leaves, I have barely made enough compost to refill a box or two.

There is no compact, easy, non-messy, non-labor-intensive way to make compost that I know of. I am going to research composting this summer by interviewing my friends and neighbors to see if anyone has a magic composting trick.

The only composting I know of that is compact, very little work, but does use food scraps (fruits and veggies only), is vermacomposting—that’s right, with worms. I have a friend who does this. The compost she gets is like gold, but is measured in cups, not cubic feet. I’m going to do a post on this as well!

6. What’s the best way for a beginner to get started? Step-by-step instructions!
See my special offer below.

We had too many questions for one post, so stay tuned for more great info from Emily coming soon in a future post!

Gardening For Beginners

Emily is the author of a set of two new eBooks that are super helpful for beginner gardeners. We love her easy step-by-step approach to gardening that walks you through the entire process, just like our BabyStep program does for your food storage! She is offering a limited time discount to Food Storage Made Easy readers.

If you are a brand new beginner, here is a fantastic intro to Square Foot Gardening that we filmed last summer with our cousin Emily. We love love love the Square Foot Garden method developed by Mel Bartholemew.
 

How will we help you this year?
1. We will be posting periodic updates on how we are doing in our gardens along with details about what we will be doing next so you can follow along in your own gardens (ok we’ll be honest, JODI will be doing this, Julie hasn’t caught the gardening bug yet).
2. We will be having Emily from mysquarefootgarden.net do a series of guest blog posts on some of the more advanced gardening topics (leave a comment below if you have a specific topic you would like to have covered). Emily has some great eBooks you can check out by clicking the banner below. And her website offers tons of free information all through the gardening season!

Jodi’s To-Do’s This Week
1. Make a garden plan
2. Purchase grow lights (Emily convinced me that these are golden!)
3. Purchase materials needed to start seedlings (soil, plant pots, etc.)
4. Catalog leftover seeds and purchase any I am short on
5. Start appropriate seedlings indoors and plant peas outdoors (yay!)
6. Convince dear husband to help me start prepping my garden beds

Happy Gardening!!!