Gardening To Help Your Food Budget !

Watching 'Little House on the Prairie' gave us a sense of
what life use to be like a long time ago when there was no
grocery store to stop in at on your way home from work in
the evening.

We would see Charles breaking the soil with a plow and his
team of horses and almost fall asleep while eating his
dinner.



Working hard to produce their food was necessary. If they
didn't work to produce their own garden they may not have
enough food to get them through for the winter.

Over the years, as times changed, it has become possible
for grocery stores to offer foods to consumers for less
money than what it would cost to grow it themselves.

Because of that most people do not have to grow their own
garden for food because of the affordable prices. There are
some that find that growing a garden is still necessary for
their own personal reasons.

Growing a garden may be a way of life for some. If you grow
up producing a garden every year you soon learn all the tips
and tricks that you can pass down to your children.

Raising a garden for your main source of food requires a
lot of work and some expense involved as well. In the end
you can enjoy everything from your garden all year long by
preserving them.



When you harvest your food you can save seeds from your
vegetables so you can use them next year to plant with.
This will save you money in the long run because purchasing
seeds and plants can be a big expense.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

When A Seed Is Not Just A Seed, But A Heirloom!

What is the difference between heirloom seeds and hybrids? Hybrids were started so that they could grow anywhere, ripen uniformly, ship well, and keep longer than heirlooms. Science came up with the hybrids. For all the reasons listed above. They might not have as good of a taste, but they keep longer and ship well, ripen uniformly and can be grown anywhere. Hybrids where started in the 1940's. Seeds from before that time are heirloom. Heirloom seeds you can save the seeds from one year to the next, and you get what you expect. Not with hybrids.

For those that love tantalizing flavors and classic beauty of old-fashioned vegetables. These are known as heirlooms, these are "antique" varieties often have birthrights that go back centuries, and as the name implies, they are treasured. It's all in the taste, then you will know why they are treasured.

Some do better in some areas better than others. Get some and try them. Seed companies have them. You just have to order them and try them. Heirloom seed when times are tough could be of more value then our paper money or some metals. With heirloom seeds you will always have somethings to eat.

How did heirloom seeds become what they are now? Heirlooms have endured because people cared enough about the flavor and /or their disease resistance or growing habits to keep planting and saving their seeds from one season to the next. Heirlooms include...

* Seed companies and market gardeners that developed plants in the past.
* From home gardeners that have beloved backyard mongrels that they have been carefully growing, saving and passing along through the families from year to year.
* Varieties that are coming into the U.S. from other parts of the world that are not hybrids.

Things to keep in mind are the next 5 things for the best results for growing heirloom plants.

* Try out a number of the varieties to find the ones that have the best flavor to you. Some heirlooms are more regional than others and require certain conditions for maximum flavor.
* Harvest them regularly to encourage continues growth. Most heirlooms mature over a period of time rather than all at once. Observe the plants through the growing season and take notes that you will know what to expect the next time that you grow them.
* Taste it at various stages to know when the best flavor is. That way you know when an heirloom is at its peak.
* Learn the history of a heirloom plant. For example some tomato's that are very seedy was probably grown just for sauces. Peas and beans with extraordinarily small pods may have been developed for garnishes.
* Best of all save some seeds from your best heirlooms whenever possible. By saving seeds from plants that produce early or without disease, you form a collection of vegetables that war well suited to your own backyard garden.

To learn more about heirlooms, having more varieties to try. You can learn more about:
* How to save seeds
* How to swap seeds with others
* How to tell ripeness
* How to store and preserve your harvest

Try these websites: almanac.com/garden or rareseeds.com

We welcome your comments. Please leave them.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Tools And Things That The Gardener Is In Need Of

Get the best tools for the gardens in your yard. This one can do so much. Now you can trim, edge, blow, cut and more.

The STIHL KOMBI SYSTEM can do more then one thing. These tools helps you get the outside gardening chores done sooner. Then you can have more time to play a round of golf, shoot some hoops.

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This is good for the earth and us. This Battery-Powered Mower is a great tool for the lawn care. Has no power cords to get in the way. No need to get gas. You get the exercise. That helps you to look as good as your yard. To get more information on this mower go to NEUTON.














To help keep your vegetable garden and flower garden looking the best that they can. This is a very helpful tool. It has other parts that can be put on it to have it do more things in your yard. You can see more at MANTIS



















This large cart is a great tool to have in the garden. It is very helpful for moving things around. It works best if you have the best tools that you can get. It will save you money in the long run. If you buy cheep tools, you will pay more replacing them later. Than you will buying good quality tools up front. See more at
LEE VALLEY GARDEN TOOLS





















Water where your plants really need it, from the roots up.
Keep 20 patio plants watered for up to a week.
The bottom one works well for your indoor
plants. They can water themselves. What a good way to keep your garden growing good. For more information about other
watering systems. This is a time saving tool.







A lot of great products to help your garden. Save you time and effort. When you can find one product that does many things just by changing parts. That even saves you space in the storage shed or garage.

We would like to hear your comments. Have you used these things? How did they work for you?

copyright Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"