How to Create a More Self-sufficient Family Garden

How to Create a More Self-sufficient Family Garden

Many families are looking to become more self-sufficient for various reasons. For some it’s about living a more eco-friendly life, for others it’s about saving money or even to prepare against supply shortages caused by external crises. A big part of becoming more self-sufficient is your garden. For this reason, this article focuses on how to create a more self-sufficient garden for your family. 

Creating a More Self-sufficient Family Garden

When creating a self-sufficient garden, there are several things to focus on. The aim is to have a space where you can grow plenty of produce all year-round without relying so much on external resources. A common goal is also to have a closed-loop system that creates resources instead of consuming them. This includes things like composting, water harvesting, seed saving, working on soil health and more. Let’s explore the importance of these self-sufficient garden habits below:

Composting

Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of waste that your family produces. It’s also a great way to create nutrient-rich soil that in turn will produce more food for you. Additionally, healthy compost can also reduce the need for soil additives. 

Water Harvesting

Rainwater is free and perfectly fine to use for gardening so why waste money and resources by using tap water to water your plants? Additionally, rainwater is actually better for your plants too. It’s softer, contains fewer contaminants and has a better pH level for plants. To be a self-sufficient gardener, collect as much rainwater as you can – this shouldn’t be too difficult in the U.K. at least! 

There are different types of water tanks to choose from for water collection and for storing rain water too. From simple water butts to bigger options if you want to be able to store larger amounts of water for predicted dry spells, for example. 

Seed Saving

Seed saving is when gardeners harvest seeds for the current year’s harvest to use for planting in the future. It’s a great long-term strategy for being more sustainable and it’s also completely free! 

Working on Soil Health

Healthy soil without external inputs is an important part of a self-sufficient garden. As mentioned above, adding homemade compost is a great way to help make your soil more fertile. Other healthy habits include rotating crops, not turning the soil to protect the microbial networks in it, using mulch to cover the soil to protect it, and only using organic additions as natural fertilizers. 

How to Grow Food in a Self-sufficient Family Garden

There’s a lot to think about when planning what to grow in your self-sufficient family garden. When done right, you can keep your garden healthy while also enjoying eating crops throughout the whole year. 

• Choose the right crops. When choosing what to plant, think about what your family would actually eat first. Then prioritize crops that provide high nutritional value and/or high volumes of produce (such as potatoes and onions)  that you can easily store or preserve. 
• Easy options. Perennial vegetables (such as asparagus) are great as they’ll return yearly which reduces labour. There are also plenty of perennial herbs that are really easy to grow with minimal effort – rosemary, thyme, and mint are particularly hardy. Don’t make it more difficult than necessary! 
• Plan your space. Create a balance and maximise succession with fast-growing crops (such as lettuce) planted alongside more slow-growing ones (such as parsnips). That way, once one is harvested, the next fills the space. 
• Preserve wisely. Food preservation is such an essential part of being self-sufficient. Learn everything you need to know about techniques such as canning, drying, and freezing to make the most of what you grow and to be able to enjoy your crops all year-round. 

Collaboration.