Gardening Season 2010

January is here, the holidays are over and here in the low desert we are in prime time for the beginning of a garden season.

See these links for a chart created locally for planting and harvest times. PDF and HTML.

If you are only self sufficient in growing, say.... parsley, then you are blessing you and your family.
With the moderate temperatures and beautiful sunny days, even simple pots are a great option this time of year.

Pulled mostly from the above chart:
Some of the garden plants perfect for starting within the next month either from seed or plant include:

• Basil
• Beets (try planting beets bought at the grocery (still with the green tops) for your own fresh greens. REMOVE all the leaves except for the smallest three and let the beet soak in water for a few days to wake up their roots. Plant in the ground w/ the very top of the bulb showing. Harvest greens w/in a few weeks and on.)
• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Eggplant (will thrive all summer, perhaps try it as a ground cover in your rocks (leave room for melons :) !)
• Kale
• Lettuces
• Mint
  
• Onions (year one from seed is green onions, second year of life they bulb)
  
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Peas
• Peppers (could live for years)
• Potatoes (wash & sprout a few red potatoes on your counter and plant whole in the top of a slightly split bag of potting soil (with a drip line) for easy summer harvest)
• Radish
  
• Spinach
• Thyme
• Tomato (Cherry tomatoes are the easiest for a long life and lots of fruit - even for much of the summer and again returning in the fall - just let it cascade wildly creating it's own shade!)

Tip for care especially when planting in pots and/or clay: Only water if wilted in the morning before it gets hot. (find a pattern by starting to do an 'auto-pilot' walk through your plants at least a few times a week - potted plants almost every day)
Wilt is a sign of 'stress' NOT just lack of water. So watering plants that wilt from heat or too much water will suffocate them and rot their roots.

72 Hour Kit

FYI - there are simpler and smaller kit lists that are readily available on the internet, including some mentioned before. Here is another one that I liked.
Whatever the kit you decide to make, you need to have it contained (backpack etc) and know where it is. You will be blessed to simply have something. My own experiences of emergencies has been a driving force of what I have included, Please make a kit that will bless you with peace.

I have (AGAIN) updated/improved our list for a 72 Hour Kit to a point that I feel I should share it! Here is the link to view and print. (note: multiple pages on link)
Feel free to copy and paste on your computer to alter for your family and needs/likes/dislikes....
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=plsMIvmilSk56F1ltg2AMDA&output=html

I aimed for about 2000 calories of food per person regardless of age. This is easy to change within just a few items.
Baby food is included and listed separately on the sheet but packaged together by meal.
I have also broken it down for what should work for one adult (calories are estimated based on the packages that my family uses).

Size of cans for veggies, chili, and beans can vary between small pop-top size ~8 oz, the standard 15 oz size, or a larger size depending on your needs.
I tried to find fruit and juice in lighter weight packaging such as juice boxes since more metal would be more weight to carry.
There is NO Glass. Obviously foods such as dehydrated, ready made meals (often sold in camping sections) would be very practical, but I felt that availability and cost would drive this kit.

Click pictures to enlarge.
Not pictured: the non food items and the (have to buy it still!) Water Bottles and Crackers. (Filter bottles are in the brown boxes in the back)

I have ours bagged in heavy duty (name brand) gallon size freezer bags with items split up into "3 days" of multiple labeled bags each.
In addition to this, I put the non-food items (can opener, TP, First Aid kit, etc) into additional bags. (Bags keep it orderly, safe from weather, and provide useful later. (can be put in boiling water to cook oatmeal/mush... etc))

The bags then go into a backpack, bucket, or sturdy bag of some sort.

The Water needs to be included in the same backpack as the food
OR
split the entire Kit between multiple backpacks so that each one holds part food AND part water (in which case, some duplicating would be ideal in case the bags are split up - such as TP and a can opener in each backpack.)

One commonly recommended tip is to update your kit every General Conference Weekend. I have included columns named Apr and Oct so that you can check off (on a yearly print-off that is kept with your kit) as you replace items when they expire. (Expiration dates are general time frames, just estimate your need to replace to keep them safe enough.)

I regret not keeping track of the prices. I bought the foods at various times over the last few months whenever I thought about it or saw a good deal. Generally, Fresh & Easy and Walmart were the more 'productive' AND cheaper priced places.

FYI - there are simpler and smaller kit lists that are readily available on the internet, including some mentioned before. Here is another one that I liked.
Whatever the kit you decide to make, you need to have it contained (backpack etc) and know where it is. You will be blessed to simply have something. My own experiences of emergencies has been a driving force of what I have included, Please make a kit that will bless you with peace.