An introduction to this post: Writing about emergency preparedness has really pushed me into not wanting to be a hypocrite. I want to say I follow the advice I dish out. One of the steps my family has taken recently is planting a garden. This experience has been great for emergency preparedness as well as saving time, gas, and money. It has also been fun to watch our plants develop and know that we have taken a step toward becoming more self reliant! Watching our garden grow has prompted me to write a post about my experience and future gardening goals.

You know those Wells Fargo commercials that say “someday a _______” (there are several versions) and then they show the image of today?  That statement reflects the feelings I have about my garden.

When I was ten my parents moved our family to Tooele, UT. We lived in a very old, downtrodden house with nothing but fields and mountains surrounding us (my back yard was literally a mountain).  In fact, we had green vinyl flooring throughout much of the house, cement stairs leading to the basement, and electric wiring that was eventually hung as a joke on the walls of Tooele’s electric company (we ended up having to replace all the wiring. The electricity guys kept is as a joke).  Our air conditioner was a swamp cooler, our garage was a hand-made car port, and since we were surrounded by fields and mountains, rodents were an everyday issue. I’m not giving you this description to complain; I just want to give an accurate picture of the environment.

Our house was a pretty substantial disaster, but we did find some good there. My dad, wanting to save money and take control of our pest problems, decided to design and grow a garden in one of the fields on our property.  He started out small, but after renting every gardening book ever written (or so it seemed), he became a quick expert.  With the exception of winter, my dad worked on our garden obsessively. He’d spend hours a day creating new rows, managing his plants, and making sure everything was correctly watered (we had no automatic sprinklers). Within a couple years we had an extraordinary garden that I still admire to this day.  

After moving out of my parent’s house I always wanted a garden just like the one my dad used to have. And now, seven years later, my husband and I have finally buckled down (I actually planted a few things a couple summers ago, but that same summer we got a dog. She ate everything I’d grown).

So far everything has turned out well. In fact, growing a basic garden has been much easier than I thought it would be. We’ve never been able to keep house plants alive, but our garden looks great! I am also very happy about the gas, money, and time we’re saving and will continue to save on not having to buy herbs and other vegetables from the store.

And now the someday part comes into play…..

I’m glad we finally got our act together and planted some herbs and vegetables. It wasn’t hard to do, but it’s still an accomplishment for us—believe me! Still, I look at what we’ve done and I know we could do more. The garden I currently have my site set on belongs to my husband’s parents.

Like me, my husband comes from a garden-growing family. His mom actually grew up on a farm in Idaho, which means she really knows her stuff.   Anyway, his parent’s garden is nothing short of spectacular. They have three levels of cement-encased garden boxes that are chalk full of fresh potting soil (see my someday picture). Their setup is remarkable and their plants continue to thrive year after year.

When I look at our garden (and the area surrounding it), cement trucks, garden boxes, and large bags of potting soil pop into my head.  I don’t expect to duplicate the garden my in-law’s have, but I’m hoping to someday construct a mini replica.  

For now, we’ll take things day by day and continue to be thankful that our garden has survived our not-so-green thumbs!