If you are a homesteader, you need to learn how to do a spot of gardening. This is how you are going to be getting the bulk of fruits and vegetables into your home.
Keeping a Garden
Perhaps the biggest tip we can give you when you are starting to garden for the first time is to make sure that you keep things nice and simple at the start. This will allow you to get into the swing of things. So, do go over the top with plants. Stick with popular, yet easy to raise, ones such as:
We tend to recommend that somebody starts with just a couple of these plants to begin with, and then expands as the seasons go on. In fact, this will actually work in your favor, because if you want to ensure that your plants thrive, you need to practice crop rotation i.e. switching out the crops you are growing regularly. If you can do that, then your garden is going to be absolutely fantastic!
Choosing the Best Place for a Garden
Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot that you need to think about when choosing a location for your garden.
Your primary concern will be to ensure that the area receives a lot of sunlight. After all, plants need sunlight to thrive. Ideally, the garden will also be located near a water source. Not only will this ensure that the soil is going to be of a far better quality, but it also ensures that transporting back and forth from the location is going to be a whole lot easier for you to do.
Of course, the more space that you have available to you the better. This means that you are going to be able to plant a lot more crops and, ultimately, this means that you are going to have a lot more that you can feast upon. However, do make sure that the area you are planting on is a flat area. Slopes are not all that good when it comes to placing a garden.
Finally: make sure you test the quality of the soil. This will ensure that there are no containments that could end up ruining your crops.
Food Preservation
Of course, if you are producing your own fruits and vegetables, it is highly likely that you will have an abundance of crops. You probably won’t be able to eat them all at once. As a result, you will need to look into ways that you can preserve your foods.
Making jams and chutneys is probably going to be the best route to go down here. It is quick and simple, and jams and chutneys can be stored for years if you really need to. Although they can, of course, also make a fantastic gift for your friends and family!
You will be able to freeze certain vegetables, and a limited number of fruits, but it isn’t really recommended unless you absolutely need to.