The Time To Learn and Prepare  Is Not When You Are Faced With an Emergency, but Now Before An Emergency Arises.

Can you prepare a garden bed and plant vegetables and herbs?  If you did, do you know how to use fresh herbs now and how to dry them for future use?  Do you know how to Can your excess produce?

Do you have the materials to do so?

Do you cook from scratch or do you use prepared meals and meals in boxes where all you need do is add water and boil?  Have you ever made a loaf of bread from scratch? (bread machines don't count).

It is too easy to purchase fast food or prepared foods.  If the time comes when we need to cook from scratch, will you know how? Now is the time to practice and learn.



This is my raised bed garden.  We are at the end of the growing season for now so you won't see a lot of crops.  The benifit of a raised bed garden is you can control the soil texture and ingredients you use instead of relying on the existing soil.   

Raised bed gardens drain better.  The soil in raised beds doesn't get compacted.  It's easy to formulate the soil for your raised bed to the plants you plan to grow there.  After building the raised bed, they  require less maintenance than conventional garden beds.

My garden is constructed with pressure treated landscaping boards, 3 high.  They are held together with rebar through each corner and through all the layers of boards.

To prepare the site, first till the area you will build on so the ground is soft for the roots of your plants.  Remove sod and weeds.

When laying the landscaping boards, make sure they are level on all sides to insure proper drainage.

When in place, fill the area with good quality top soil and manure, and mix in well and rake the soil level. To keep the weed population down, next you want to lay a good quality weed mat.  Now you are ready to plant.  Remember to follow the directions for placement on your plants.

Don't be afraid to use compost to encourage lots of good bugs, and mulch the top with a good wood mulch to help keep moisture in the soil. Water daily in the early am or at dusk, never during full sun as the heat can will cook your plants.

This is one way to plant your herbs...a lot in a small area...