Gardening is the second most popular hobby in the United States. Home gardens can be found on acres of land, or in small 4×4 square foot garden boxes. Many people are discovering the joy and benefits of learning to plant, grow, and harvest their own foods.
Gardening and Food Storage
Gardening goes hand-in-hand with food preservation (canning, dehydrating, or freezing). If you can grow your own foods to preserve them you can save a lot of money and your preserved foods will be a lot cheaper than store-bought foods. Many people who are interested in food storage have quite substantial home gardens to supplement their basic long term storage.
Gardening is something that could be a critical skill in a long-term emergency situation (food shortage, transportation system shut-down, etc.). Everyone should keep some emergency seeds on hand at a minimum. We highly recommend at least dabbling in gardening so you can get the feel for your area’s seasons, your soil conditions, etc.
Benefits of Gardening
- Gardening is a fun hobby and actually provides a little exercise
- Grow your own healthy, organic fruits and vegetables
- Save money during months of harvest
- Have enough produce to preserve bulk quantities to add to your food storage
- Fun activity to involve the whole family in (kids LOVE to harvest!)
More About Gardening
How to Build a Vinyl Square Foot Garden Box
Video tutorial and written instructions on how to build your very own vinyl garden boxes. Definitely a money-saver if you are handy!
Square Foot Gardening 101
Video introduction to the concept of Square Foot Gardening and gardening for beginners.
Square Foot Gardening FAQ Part 1
Extensive set of frequently asked questions about gardening.
Garden Update and Gardening FAQ Part 2
Check out the good, the bad, and the ugly in Jodi’s garden, along with part 2 of our gardening FAQ.
Our Trip to the Dump
Cute pictures of Jodi’s family getting the compost for her gardens.
It’s Garden Time
2009 gardening season intro.
Making Your Own Plant Pots Out of Newspaper
Don’t buy expensive plastic plant pots. Make these ones for FREE!
Lessons Learned From Gardening
A funny look at Jodi’s 2009 gardening failures.
