The Freedom Garden Grows On

“We will see the day when we will live on what we produce.” -Marion G. Romney

"There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own." -Ezra Taft Benson

“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments … can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods." -Spencer W. Kimball

If you've never seen the documentary The Future of Food, you need to as soon as possible. It will make you scramble to grow a garden like a chicken with your head cut off.

With that introduction, here's the garden update:

Texas has two growing seasons. The things to plant now are corn, zucchini, squash, and cucumber.

After watching The Future of Food, I was convinced to buy heirloom seeds. The "normal" seeds you buy from the store are genetically modified. As such, they are either sterile, or if you try to replant them, they'll grow weird stuff. Heirloom seeds are pure; you can harvest and reuse your own seeds from the plants.

Little did I know how incredible these seeds are. In the spring, using store seeds, nothing was up for at least two weeks. This time, I was shocked to see everything up within 4 days.

Heirloom corn, 4 days after planting:


Heirloom cucumber, 4 days after planting:


Heirloom zucchini, 4 days after planting:


And get this: On the fourth day (the day these pictures were taken), I turned the water on at 8:30 a.m. When I came back at 9, there were plants up that weren't up an hour and a half earlier. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Now check out our plants exactly 2 weeks after planting (and remember that nothing was even up by this time with our previous seeds):

Corn:




Cucumber:



Squash:


Zucchini:

I can't get enough of this stuff.