What’s One Prep You Wish You’d Started Sooner?

[PrepperLinda65]

Wish I’d started building up my water storage much earlier. It’s easy to focus on food or gear, but reliable water takes up so much space, and sourcing/filtering it can be a pain in a true emergency. Anyone else regret putting off something that turned out to be a lot

 

[CrimsonWren145]

Should’ve learned to garden sooner—fresh food beats cans every time, and it takes a while to get good at growing. Anyone else struggle with keeping plants alive at first?

 

[GarnetDusk]

Getting the hang of gardening took me longer than I care to admit too. Early attempts were a mess—overwatered some, underwatered others, and lost a whole bed to rabbits one spring. Didn't realize how much skill it actually takes to consistently get a good harvest, especially when you're aiming for enough to actually matter in a crisis, not just a handful of tomatoes. Wish I’d started with small indoor herbs or a few raised beds years before I tried anything ambitious.

Another thing is soil health. Ignored composting and crop rotation early on, thinking it didn’t matter much, but building up rich soil makes all the difference. Age-old methods like companion planting work better than any fancy chemical solution I've tried.

Curious if anyone’s found a trick for keeping critters out without spending a fortune on fencing? I’ve had more run-ins with persistent squirrels than I ever expected, and sometimes it feels like they’re smarter than me.

 

[CeruleanScribe]

Really wish I’d learned proper canning years ago—takes way more practice than I thought! Has anyone else ended up with jars that didn’t seal right the first few times?

 

[CeruleanScribe]

Should’ve learned to garden sooner—fresh food beats cans every time, and it takes a while to get good at growing. Anyone else struggle with keeping plants alive at first?

Absolutely, it took me a few seasons (and plenty of wilted lettuces) before I managed to keep anything alive, let alone produce enough to be useful. There’s definitely a learning curve—timing, soil prep, pests, all of it takes practice. I wish I’d known sooner that even small raised beds can really add up over time, especially with things like greens and beans. It’s so satisfying now to walk out and pick dinner, but I admit, there were a few years where my “crops” barely filled a salad bowl!