Focus

Wendy suggested (OMG I had a reader and she commented twice and my husband thought I had lost my mind when I saw that because I ran around the house giggling for like 20 minutes) in my comments that I focus on one thing as we begin our Survival Journey and she suggested what my gut already knew.

There is just too much and I feel manic when I try and get it all straight and organized in my head. I can not accomplish total survival mode in a year. I just can't.

Or even 2 really. So please, as our Mayan guide told us in Chichen Itza, do not let the world end on 12/21/12 because I will SO not be ready.

I am going to focus on food. This will be a slow process of course but my main focus will be learning to grow it, store it (including drying and canning) and introducing it into our diets.

My kids will eat more vegetables than my husband or I currently do so this will be a challenge. I hope he's up for it.

Currently my container garden holds:
Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Yellow Onions
Cucumbers
Strawberries
Blueberries (if the dogs would stop digging it up)
Radishes (I'm actually waiting to see if those sprout)
Rosemary
Chives
Sage
Spearmint
Mint

Yet to be planted are tomatoes, both Cherry and regular as well as some more cucumber plants and some jalapeno peppers.

I need to still start my bell peppers as well. And I want some apple trees. And raspberry bushes.

This is more than I had initially planned and I'm already learning some valuable lessons such as chicken wire for garden fencing in case of dogs.

I didn't focus this year on open-pollinating seeds or heirlooms because at the time, I just didn't know how important those would be.

Next year that will be more of my focus. Acquiring those and learning to seed save from those plants.

This year I want to learn to can. I have a basic idea of how to can applesauce so I'll try that on my own. I would also like to make a tomato sauce or salsa and can it. And finally some fruit leather made either in the oven or in the sun.

I also need to learn how to incorporate more of our home grown and local food into our diet. I'll start with our farmers market and see, with the help of my children, what we can move to.

A small goal also will be ongoing and that will be to acquire 1-2 books a year on this homesteading/survival situation.

Not surprisingly I think a book on either growing food in a small space or storing the food will be a top priority.