You Can't Eat Money

Due to the recent economic crises, I - like many others- have had to re-evaluate our finances and level of preparedness. It's quite disconcerting to listen to news reports week after week filled with doom and gloom. The scriptures, however, remind us, "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." (D&C 38:30) Modern day prophets and apostles have long counseled us to have food storage, to stay out of debt, and to build a monetary reserve. In times of prosperity it is all too easy to become complacent.

A couple months ago I had a dream - well, more like a nightmare. When I awoke, I only remembered a snippet, but it was still powerful and motivating. What I recall is as follows: I was walking a long, deserted road. I understood that there had been some kind of disaster and I was out trying to find food for my family. I knew I'd come a long way and still had a long, long way to travel and that the chances of finding sustenance were slim. As I walked, I thought about my kids and I felt sick with regret. The thought that kept running through my mind was, "you knew better. You KNEW better. And now, it's everlastingly too late."
Fear = not prepared. I am certainly no prophetess, and my dreams have never "come true," but the message for me was clear - Get Moving, Get Prepared! I never want to feel like that again - that I knew better and did not follow through. A couple years ago I was talking to a gentleman about food storage. He made a comment that really stuck with me. He said, "during the Great Depression there was plenty of food, but very little money. The next time we have a Great Depression, there will be plenty of money, but very little food." I'm not totally sure where he got that information, but considering the way the economy has been moving, it doesn't seem like too far-fetched of a possibility.
One of the things we decided to help us be more prepared and self-sufficient is to plant our own garden. We have a huge backyard, so space certainly isn't an issue. The biggest roadblock is my own dark purple thumb (I don't think it's "black" because once I kept a bamboo plant alive quite a while...) and lack of experience. I planned to consider our first attempt a "learning experience," that way if none of the plants survived and we didn't get any harvest I wouldn't feel like too much of a failure. We started our plants from seeds, which was surprisingly enjoyable. Every morning Aubree and I would go outside to the patio to check the progress and we were always so excited to see the little green shoots pop out of the dirt.
My Mom suggested we try a gardening method called "Lasagna Gardening," which involves building raised beds. After doing a little research, we decided that sounded like a good idea and "built" our first garden. That takes a LOT of dirt, so we owe a big debt of gratitude to a couple friends with trucks.

Vanna-Aubree showing off our first little garden

Our family posing with the bush beans

Ultimately we made three garden beds. Right now they're just surrounded by mesh and poles, but I hope someday to make nice wood supports (I wanted to make sure we liked them and they worked before doing anything more permanent).

Every day I go out and check the progress of the plants. Some days are better than others. For example, I killed off a bunch of tomato plants (oops) and don't know enough to tell if many of the other veggies are growing correctly. Today, however, was definitely encouraging. On the right is a picture of Aubree posing with the garden this morning. The squash and zucchini plants are blooming, the bush beans are almost ready for their first picking, and the surviving tomato plants actually look healthy! Hurray! Maybe our garden won't be a total flop.

Green bean almost ready to be picked

Tomato plant growing well