I grew up in the city but both parents were raised in the country.

Many of the prior generation, the greatest generation knew how to grow and preserve their food.

It is widely accepted that if we experience a catastrophe that shuts down grocery stores for 3 days, there will be widespread panic.

Knowing how to grow your own food and to harvest seeds could easily keep your family alive if things get really bad.

It could be a really bad recession.

Despite the fact that I have been really busy, I have been honing my gardening skills and learning much more about the whole process. The cycles of seasons and seed harvesting.

This past winter I have experienced a number of “firsts.”

I have successfully harvested and replanted seeds from my crops.

Yesterday I planted corn and green beans and watered them with a rain barrel that I constructed.

It is amazing how much water collects after a average rainfall.

One thing I discovered about bell pepper and tomato seeds was that I could harvest them from a fruit and immediately plant them.

You can still dry them for later planting.

This winter I have kept alive bell pepper and tomato plants and harvest all through the season. Though smaller than normal, they were great to use fresh from the garden (bay window).

A few weeks ago I was going to pick some of the smaller peppers and to my surprise found this.