What a difference a year makes (before & after)....

Summer of 2013 was the first year I had a garden. After about 6 months of preparing, I realized very quickly that I wanted to have a more sustainable lifestyle. So I started to learn about gardening. I worked with a combination of "Back to Eden" and "Square Foot Gardening".
"Back to Eden" is a film that I go back and watch over and over, It is an hour and 45 minutes long, but I derive a sense of peace each time I watch the film. This is how we are preparing the ground for our garden this year. 
Living in Northern Virginia our soil is heavy with red clay. This is a picture of what our soil normally looks like & a picture of soil from my garden today after one year of preparing the soil by the Back to Eden method.     
               

                                                                                                               
Pretty amazing, right? Note the worm...I had worms all over my garden..The earthworms help increase the fertility of your soil. They burrow through the soil ingesting and digesting the unbroken down organic material that is in the soil.Their waste (worm poo) provide vital nutrients for the soil. As they move through the earth it creates an aeration effect, which helps surface water penetrate further into the soil. 
This is so simple to do & more importantly very easy to maintain. I simply use a rake occasionally to uproot whatever weeds may pop up.

The "Square Foot Gardening" method, helps maximize the spacing of your planting as opposed to traditional rows. 

So we (when I say we here, I really mean that Mr. Perky nicely asked me to just leave him alone and let him get 'er done) are finally getting tour garden this year & I am so excited to see my plants starting to poke their little heads up out of the ground. We actually had top soil, compost and mulch delivered and as you see Mr. Perky had several little helpers.

This is how it looks layered. This is my friend helping me plant some seeds.
For the seeds, I have chosen to use only non-hybrid and non-GMO seeds. While there are several great companies out there, I have chosen to use Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which was recommended to me. I also have seeds that I have saved. 

Now the why? I feel it is really important to practice your skills before you have to use them. I hadn't really gardened before, so I am learning as I go. This way I will have hands on knowledge BEFORE I really need to depend on gardening. Plus, I have learned I really enjoy this as a past time.
I encourage you to start your garden if you haven't tried it yet. Now, take the time to watch the "Back to Eden" film. it is well worth your time. 

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. If you liked this post we would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook, comment or share. Plus it would just make my day.

Your order, any order is so very appreciated, because anything ordered through my Amazon Associate links helps me to be able to stay home and write for you. Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.