From keeping a five-year diary to seed swapping with her neighbours, Sarah Winbow shares her journey to self-sufficiency
Suppose something seriously interrupted our status quo? How would you feed yourself, your family or neighbours? It is one thing to aspire to growing our own but, as I know through experience, actually growing food that is edible is something else entirely. Then there’s the challenge of preserving the surplus in such a way that it remains edible throughout the winter when fresh garden produce is scarce. My own journey of growing and preserving edible food for my household required several years of experimenting and diarising mistakes. It also needed lots of practical investment and preparation because we had to adapt to the vagaries of the soil and the growing conditions of living at altitude. (Photo – Sarah Winbow)
Getting started – my experience
In 2008 God provided the funds for me and my late husband to buy the field adjacent to the prayer house where we lived and worked. We really had very little food-growing experience and what we did grow was poor quality or eaten by rabbits or pests. There was a lot to learn if we were to become self-sufficient!
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