Susan: I take it that Washington state is getting the same wind and rain storm that is pummeling the west coast of Canada right now? Our lights have flickered a few times and we are prepared for a power outage that may also put our hike in jeopardy tomorrow...

I now just had to go out and rescue the potted spinach and swiss chard plants starts and put them under safe cover. Not too much damage done and all the plants should recover..

A lot has changed since this thread started. I was out looking at seeds on the rack this week. My knowledge of non-hybrid seeds is somewhat limited, even though I have had some fabulous gardens in places where I formerly lived. I wasn't worried about economic survival in those days, just wanted fresh vegetables. My concern now is what seeds can I store that would be the basis of an emergency garden that was 'defensible'. By that I mean, even though I love leafy greens, tomatoes and melons as much as the next person, how would I prevent that type of crop from being stolen by those who didn't plan ahead for economic strife? Greens, and tomatoes have no shelf life without canning, so some starchy staple crop would be necessary. During the depression, people lived on turnips, rutabegas, fat carrots, onions and potatoes. I'm thinking that these root crops may be harder to identify from the road and steal than tomatoes, squash, melons, etc. They would also keep well into the winter, and parsnips can overwinter in the ground to harvest in the spring. How do you identfy and store non-hybid seeds of the starchy root crops for a potential lawn-garden?

A defensible crop might include some resistance to hungry insects and other more furry food thieves like raccoons and deer.

Garlic grows extremely fast and stinks nicely. Could that work as a type of repellent for bugs/critters?

I have found that my biggest losses are to furry 4 legged theives. I have a solar powered electric fence . Works like a charm, I actually harvested sweet corn last year. to repel critters, there is all kind of things. Put hair from a barbershop around your garden, piepans on a string, streamers, netting, fences, 12 gauge, pee along the borders, dogs and so on. animals do not understand fences, to them its just a barrier to cross.

IMO good fencing combined with an electric fence, regular inspection and presence are the best.

For starchy tubers, I like potatoes. they are easy to grow, did not have a problem with pests, and produce! That and most people do not know what they look like in the ground. They store well in cool dry areas, and you can plant what you had left over from the previous season to grow a new crop.