Self Watering Containers

We made these self watering containers so that we can at least have a few things to grow this year while we primarily prepare the ground for future garden beds.  We will continue to use them until we are up and running a full yard of edibles.  At that time I hope to gift them to one of my kids to see if they have interest.

I got the instructions from http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm and http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Dearthbox-A-low-cost-self-watering-planter/ and yes all materials we used were safe for food production.

New page added!!!

So I finally got the pictures of the front yard taken and uploaded.  See "FRONT YARD" to the right.

I'll be starting to sheet mulch this week.  I picked up my very first load of horse manure last night.  I can't believe how excited I am over this.  I tried gardening MANY moons ago with absolutely no idea what I was doing and too much information that I got overwhelmed, i was also a baby at the time, all of 26.  I'm much wiser and much more comfortable in who I am today to go after what FEELS right.  My little homestead is on it's way!!!  I know it sounds weird to some but when I start smelling "earth" in the spring i literally can't contain myself.  I joke about hibernating in the winter but I believe that's what I need.  Listening to my body and my heart seem to be pushing me in this direction.

So there it is....the beginning!

Weeds to Wonder - explanation

We moved to our house in 2003.  We have just under 1 acre of land and at one time it was landscaped and I'm sure beautiful.  However, it had been some time since someone took care of the yard.  I've been overwhelmed when looking at it so it continued to be in sad shape.  I've always wanted to garden but to tell you the truth I never learned and felt overwhelmed when I started researching how to do it.  Over the past year I've read about permaculture and people's blogs that have taken their small pieces of land and made them into beautiful productive gardens/homesteads.

Now that spring is here (hopefully) I will be posting my progress in turning this mess into something beautiful.  It will take time and it will be done one small step at a time.  The other day I had to ask a friend who's family owns horses how to shovel shit...I've never done it before.  But I'm willing and ready to learn.  I'll be posting the before pictures over this weekend to show what I have to start with and what my plans will be. 

My ultimate goal and hope is to have a functioning homestead to provide my family and my children's families (as they get older) with fresh nutritious organic food.  I have a lot to learn.