Farmington West Provident Living

  Have you ever wanted to plant potatoes in your garden but A . didn't have enough room, B . figured your soil was too hard and compact to allow for proper growth of potatoes or C. just weren't sure how to even go about doing it.  Well if any of these or other reasons apply then this post is for you.     Potatoes are a great thing to know how to grow in your garden.  We can and probably do use them quite often in most of our everyday cooking whether it be in soups, breakfast casseroles or skillets, fries, or just good old baked potatoes. So, why not try your hand at growing your own!     This post will teach you how to grow potatoes in a bucket.  One of the great advantages to growing them in a bucket is that you can bring them in your garage or other cold storage space over the winter and keep them "fresh" for use during the winter months.  What types of potatoes can you grow in a bucket? Any kind you want including sweet potatoes. So let's get started. The list

 We all spend a lot of time in our cars, we need to make sure we are prepared for whatever may come our way or even someone else's way. It is a good idea to  have a car 72 hr. kit in your vehicle.  You will likely be surprised how often you end up using it, not just for yourself, but other motorists in need.  Some things most often used are gloves, shovel, axe and portable jump starter. It's amazing how many people get stuck in the winter or have dead batteries. If you choose to carry a portable jump starter, be sure to take it out occasionally and charge it up.  Just because you have it, it does no good if you don't maintain it and make sure it is good to go when you need it. You can find several pre-assembled car kits out there that will work in a pinch and are a great starting point, but putting your own together, so that you know for sure you have the things you will need. You can find checklists that can get you started  here ,  here ,  here  and  here , but ultimately

  What am I supposed to have in my food storage? There are three main components of food storage: Food supply (three-month and long-term) Water supply Financial reserve Store foods that are a part of your normal diet in your three-month supply. As you develop a longer-term storage, focus on food staples such as wheat, rice, pasta, oats, beans, and potatoes that can last 30 years or more. Click HERE to read the entire article, complete with MORE links and great information!  (after clicking the link, scroll to the top of the page... I don't know why the link sends you to the bottom of the page.)

                            Don't make the mistake of ruining your food storage. Check out  this post from Simple Family Preparedness  about the four ways you could be ruining yours. 

  Do you know what you are preparing for? We often think of natural disasters when we're thinking preparedness, but there are so many other reasons to be spiritually and temporally prepared. We never know when there will be a crisis in our lives, so now is the best time to  sit down and walk yourself through a potential emergency, then figure out what you need to do to get yourself through it.   Check out  this woman's story of what she learned from her personal crisis   and how she is using that knowledge to help her better prepare for the future. 

  Long Term and Short Term Storage...  both are IMPORTANT. Here are 8 key points to remember when building your food storage. 1)  VARIETY -- Not having enough variety in your food storage is a big mistake! Add variety by including comfort foods and dehydrated or freeze-dried fruits and veggies. 2)  STAPLES -- Longer-term staples are important! Don't forget to store recipe staples like grains, beans, rice, cooking oil, yeast/leavening agents like baking soda, and spices. These items are the basics for most recipes and often have a longer shelf life than other foods. 3)  READY TO EAT FOODS --Don't forget to store a MINIMUM of 3 days of ready-to-eat foods! In an emergency situation, meal planning and cooking will be challenging. Store foods that are easy to prepare by opening a can or just adding water. This will make the first few days or weeks after a disaster much easier to handle. 4)  NUTRIENTS --Difficult times can diminish the body's ability to store nutrients. Be sure t

September is National Preparedness Month.  It's the time designated for everyone to take a look at just how prepared they are for any emergency that may arise.  Up to this point we have mostly talked about 3 day to 3-6 month supply and a few longer term solutions, i.e. dehydrated and freeze dried foods.   What is the difference? Well, most things we buy at case lot sales or grow in our gardens are short term solutions unless they are dehydrated or freeze dried and then packaged for longer term storage. In order to make the things we buy for our storage last as long as possible they all need to be packaged in a way that will ensure the longest shelf life.  Just having a bag of flour in our pantry doesn't ensure that it will last the long haul.  Most things will only last about a year before they go bad and start causing pest problems in your pantry. In order to make that same bag of flour last for 20-25 years it would be best to put it in a 5 gallon bucket or mylar bags with the

Harvest time is coming!  Time to think again about how you might preserve some of your garden (or purchased) produce for the winter months. Here are some links to BLOG pages that have some wonderful tips and tricks for preserving your harvest. DEHYDRATION    DEHYDRATION vs. FREEZE DRYING    CANNING