When we look at the world around us, it can seem so overwhelming to try to figure out how to become more self-sustaining. It is hard to know where to start. Most people on earth today have become so dependent on the middleman that it is overwhelming to think about how to break free from it and become self-sustaining in any way.

Food security is a big one. It is hard to grow enough fruits and vegetables to supply all our food needs as well as any animals that we have, etc. We personally have been doing it for a few years now and it is still a daunting task at times, especially to take care of our pets as well as the wildlife whose diet we supplement.

When we first started gardening, we did it the right way. Then the next year, we got a little off track. Then the next year, we got even farther off track. Then it was out of control. Trying to grow our own food became more of a stress than dealing with the food insecurity in the world around us. What we did right to start with was to grow just a few things and really learn all we could about those things then move on from there. What we did wrong in the following years, once we fell in love with gardening, was trying to grow every kind of food that looked good on the seed rack in the local supply store.

Our garden was full and even fuller the next year. While it looked very nice and welcoming, it was also quite overwhelming and felt chaotic. That was not exactly what we were going for. We also had a huge abundance of some stuff and not nearly enough of others. We had a lot of wasted food, not to mention time, energy, power, water, etc. The worst year was 2020 when the pandemic first hit, and we wanted to grow everything we could possibly eat. What a mess that turned into. We did have food, but we also had a lot of waste, confusion, and chaos. Then in 2021, we both got covid right in the middle of our peak gardening season. It all went quite badly very quickly. Three weeks of not being able to do anything at all, much less in the garden, turned it all into a major disaster. It took us the rest of the year to recover from our illness and that whole garden disaster.

During all that fiasco, not only was our garden a mess, so was trying to keep the warm weather crops warm enough and the cool weather crops cool enough because of course we grew them all together in the garden at the same time when we first started. Even once we figured out how to grow stuff seasonally, it was still all about running fans cos they were too hot in the summer and running electric heaters in the winter cos it was just too cold even in the greenhouse we had. So, all in all by the 3rd year or so, our tomatoes, even though the taste was worth every penny of it, were costing us probably $10 per lb., as was everything else we were growing. While food security is great, that was definitely not sustainable. Not to mention, even though I will now, the HOURS we spent working in the garden, trying to get rid of bugs, pests, disease, and weeds as well as trying to keep everything watered, harvested, pruned and on and on were overwhelming. It was definitely a full-time commitment to keep it all going. I thought gardening was supposed to be relaxing. I did always feel better after being out in the garden for a while, but that was for another reason entirely, as I discovered later. The work in it was quite exhausting.

So, in 2022, we started out much better, but there was still lots of chaos, just on a smaller and more defined scale. We grew a lot less of the stuff that we really don’t eat, no matter how good it looks and more of the stuff that we do eat. That did work out better for us as far as waste and amount of time went but it still wasn’t that sustaining, but better than it ever had been. We learned SO much about so many things over the years, that we decided to really start putting it all into practice, one step at a time.

When it came time to start canning and putting stuff up for the year, we went through all of our “stores”, as we call our goods in the pantry, and figured out what we had a surplus of there as well and what we needed more of. We began to compile a list of those items and started to figure out why we still did not have the balance we were hoping for, even though we were planting more according to what we thought we needed to do.

So, little by little, we have figured out what we needed to do, to become more self-sustaining in a way that would work for us without adding to the stress and chaos of it all. That is what the next series of posts are going to be all about. We are going to talk about how to decide what and when to plant according to your own needs and wants as well as how to get a good healthy harvest that will continue to benefit you and your family for years to come. We will discuss easy alternative ways to add nutrients to your plants without using chemicals, etc. We will also discuss how to keep them safe from wildlife and birds. We will talk about sustainable energy and how to work with the earth and all the incredible utilities it offers for free and how uncomplicated it can be to tap into those resources. We will even delve into how to make a living from your homestead no matter how large or small it might be. We are now growing amazing tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc. for pennies on the dollar of what it costs to buy them in the store. Its just all about utilizing what God gave us in abundance and continuing to cut out the middleman.

Our life here on earth started in a garden. When God planted us here, we had absolutely everything we needed to grow, be healthy, happy, and enjoy life to the fullest without limitation. There were just a few rules that we needed to follow and the whole earth could have become the paradise He wanted it to be. We all know how that went. Greed, corruption, selfishness, chaos, discord and did I mention greed set in and turned it all into a disaster. There are still a few rules today that we need to follow in order to have a very healthy, happy and especially self-sustaining, or as we like to call it, God-sustaining, lifestyle. With each post moving forward we will include those as we go along and as they come up. You are free to ignore them, but the result will not be what you expect in most cases. But keep in mind, this path needs to be your own and you need to listen to your own heart and see what feels right to you and follow that path, especially if you feel God is sending you in a different direction. However, as we go along, we will share everything we have learned through our successes and our failures and try to take out as much chaos as possible as we all head down that same path. As Jessie McCallin says in my novel:

Today, I begin a new journey. A Journey to Caprice. A journey to a place I do not even know exists. We are all on this journey whether we know it or not. We might as well go together. Walk with me to Caprice. One Step at a Time.