I have had a garden for years. Some years it is bigger than others.

I treat it like this.

• I grow things I love to eat.
• I grow things because they are better than what I can buy
• I grow things because it brings me joy
• I grow things because I want to know how to do it in case I every HAVE to do it.

The time to learn something is not when you need to do it. Its before that. I’m no expert but I try to be a life long learner. It is easy to make excuses. I did it for year. My father had a garden when I was a kid. He’s in his 80s and still does it.

I’m not self sustaining but I do mulch, share the production, and garden in a regenerative way without pesticides and commercial fertilizers. We get wood chips from tree trimmers and use it as mulch. But, there are many that do much more than I do.

I’ve learned a lot about gardening to the point my dad calls me for tips. I have to give a LOT of credit to my wife who always wanted to have a garden and eventually I wised up.

I started listening to Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcast and I have learned mountains of useful info from him about gardening, and many many other practical things. He’s even responsible for me really diving into bitcoin by using it.

The most surprising thing to me is how gardening makes me feel. It might sound silly but it is incredible to realize how a little work can be so rewarding.

People like Jack will tell you that being self-sufficient is almost impossible. But if you connect to your community and trade produce you can get a lot of value. We share with our neighbors and they share with us. I don’t talk about socialism and want to use guns to steal. I try to practice voluntary sharing.