Baby Steps and Sustainability

This is the first post, so I think it's important you know who I am and what I'm doing.

My name is Dave, and I want to grow my own food. Also, in doing so, I hope to convert to a vegetarian diet. Why? Health benefits, financial benefits, and also the satisfaction that I am closer to being self-sustaining. Also, I am a firm believer in supporting your local economy, rather than giving your money to foreign interests, who generally have complete disregard for the planet we live on.

Why the blog? I feel that if I'm able to keep a journal about my experiences, I'm more likely to keep it up. Also, if I get any readers who know things about gardening, they can leave tips and tricks I might not know about (hint, hint you reader folk)

On a whim a couple days ago, I decided to purchase some seeds, and some starter kits, in order to grow some vegetables for this coming summer. I shouldn't say it was on a whim, rather, I've had these crazy ideas to be self-sustaining, should some disaster occur that would preclude the use of money. Being able to generate ones own power, and food puts you in a pretty good position if anything terrible were to go down (nuclear holocaust, rising sea levels, alien invasion, 2012, whatever.) All the plants should fit on my 3rd floor balcony, which faces south, so it gets plenty of light in the summer.

These are my baby steps towards self-sustainability.

My grandmother has started a bean plant which she received for Christmas, then gave to me. That plant is starting to grow very strong. The plants that I've started are sweet basil, more bean plants, as well as broccoli. Following the directions on the packages, I planted them, and now am waiting for them to grow. I project that the first sprouts should appear around the 12th of March. When the sprouts start, I will include pictures.

That being said, there is much preparation I have to do. I have to get planters, and soil for the eventual transplants, a watering can, and gardening tools. I have decided against using fertilizers unless they come from a guaranteed natural, sustainable, local source. Also, I have to look at starting more seedlings, because the few plants I've started surely won't provide the harvests we (my partner and I) will need to feed ourselves. I myself eat enough for 2, so I could be looking at a lot.