In choosing to eat healthy, I have undertaken alot of reading and research. Growing up in my family they were all about consuming all the wrong things in very large quantities. This is a habit that for the most part I have broken and by the time my children are old enough to live on their own, I would like to see them making great choices without me there to guide them.
The healthiest foods that you can eat is what you grow yourself, organically without chemicals or pesticides and then picking and eating when ripe instead of the cardboard you buy in the grocery store. For the moment I have two little bitty raised bed gardens. In them we have three butternut squash plants, five tomato plants-two different kinds, six zucchini plants and two pepper plants. Even with the drought and extreme heat, they are producing and doing just fine.
I have started my seedlings for my fall garden which we will expand into containers on the patio (our soil in the yard is extremely poor). For the fall I have green beans, cucumbers, eggplants, squash, three kinds of peppers, two kinds of tomatoes, and pumpkins. They will all be going into self-watering containers that my husband and kids are making! I am very excited for this as it will be my first time container gardening.
For this spring, we have plans for at least ten more raised beds (small...only 3x3) and more containers. I have a fenced in yard and will get the soil ready for some climbing vines to attach to the fence as well as a huge tree in the front yard that we can use for vines to grow up. I have a desire to grow some unusual varieties (at least from where I come from up north) I am looking at the possibility of Kiwi and Passion Fruit vines as well as Goji Berries and the Dwarf Pomegranate. I have a couple of shady areas and will plan on some veggies that are ok with shade such as collards and Miner's lettuce.
Growing as much of our own food as possible will not only be healthy, but also save us alot of money. There are some things we cannot grow yet such as wheat, flax, oats, barely and large fruit or nut trees. What we can grow though is a step in the right direction. Every little bit helps!
While saving money is a good thing, making money to get out of debt is good too. Next week I will share some steps that I am taking to climb out of the hole. I don't believe in leaving it all to my husband, instead, I want to help make a difference in my families lives on top of home educating, gardening, and keeping up my home as well as cooking and baking practically everything from scratch! See you next week, until then check out these books from our affiliate...it is my recommended reading list for gardening!
