Provident Living – Emergency Preparedness

Hello Parley’s 5th Ward Community. Welcome once again to the monthly emergency preparedness column. In this month’s column we will be discussing two concepts, the first is dealing with the emotional effects of isolation and the second is starting a container potato garden.

The effects and impact of isolation and separation are real. But we need to remember at this time, that while we are practicing physical social separation we are not completely cut off from friends, family, neighbors, and ward members. Reaching out over text is fine, but a FaceTime or Duo video call can be much more engaging and therapeutic. If you are looking to connect with a larger group, companies like Zoom provide free video conferencing solutions that can be used for calls up to 45 minutes at a time. Another thing that can help is to go outside, work in your yard or go for a walk; y ou can also jump in the car, roll down the windows, turn up the music, and go for a drive in the canyons. It is important that we not only prepare ourselves physically with food storage and supplies, but also prepare to keep ourselves emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy during these challenging times.  

Starting a garden can be a lot of fun and rewarding. One crop that is incredibly easy to plant and can yield a pretty good crop is potatoes. Eating a baked potato from your own garden or making french fries or chips from your own potatoes can be very satisfying. To start, you need some potatoes. Potatoes are not planted from seed. They are planted from the “eye” of an existing potato. The nursery sells what they call “seed potatoes”. This means that the potatoes were not washed or sprayed with chemicals. While this is ideal, this is not entirely necessary. A good organic potato or even a regular store potato will work just fine. Here are the steps to start:

• Get a large bucket or container. 5 gallon buckets work great, but larger containers can accommodate multiple plants. Make sure the container or bucket has a few 3/4 – 1 inch holes in the bottom for drainage.
• Put a few potatoes in a cool dark space, where they are not touching and let them begin to sprout. Once the sprout is about 1/8 inch or longer, it is ready. Each sprout will be from an “eye” on the potato.
• Cut the potato in about 8 parts where each part contains at least one sprouted “eye”.
• Put two inches of dirt / potting soil in the bottom of the container
• Place the potato pieces on top of the soil with the “eye” pointing up
• Cover the potato with just over an inch of dirt and lightly water every few days.
• Once the plant gets a 3 or so inches above the dirt line, add more dirt, so only about an inch of the plant is above the dirt line. As you add more dirt, you will need to water more deeply. Be careful to not over water and flood your potatoes. You do not want them to rot in the soil.
• Continue letting the plant grow and adding more dirt until you reach the top of the container, then just let the plant grow. You may need to support it as it get bigger, especially if you are susceptible to a lot of wind. 
• In the fall, when the plant begins to wilt and die, it is time to harvest. Just put some plastic down and dump the container out. This makes harvesting super easy. It also allows you to reclaim the dirt for next year.

While these times can be very challenging and can impact all of us in different way, we are all in this together. Let us also remember that the Lord has said, he will be with us and help us. Remember to stay close to the spirt and listen, so we can Hear Him.