Survival Garden

A long term survival situation might be turned into a simple adventure, with enough to eat.
Humans have raised crops for so many eons that we are literally hard-wired to grow plants.
Think about it…you are able to look at any field, crop, or single plant, and without any training, tell if it needs food, water, sun, or shade. The most committed city dweller I know keeps a few houseplants, and a pot of Aloe for kitchen burns.

All gardens are survival gardens, and you should think of them as such.
Gardens are rewarding and educational, relaxing and inexpensive,
and best of all, you can garden anywhere.

Here are a few ideas for you to consider for your survival garden:
Location-Window box, back yard, your deep woods bug-out spot, cabin, community garden plot…the list is endless.
Planning- What to raise, when to plant it, and next to what. It was tradition for settlers to plant a medicinal herb garden, perennial spice garden, and vegetable garden, whenever they moved to a new home.
Planting- Working up the soil, building it, fertilizing, and actual planting.
Tending- Weeding and protecting it from insects, animals, and other humans.
Harvesting- the whole reason for the effort. Fresh is GOOD.
Preserving and Storing- with and without modern conveniences.
The lessons Learned- for a better next years’ garden.

That thumb you use to flip a safety, turn on the lights,
tap the space bar, or open a soda…

is more than likely, GREEN.

And it doesn't have to look like a garden. I've landscaped our yard with assorted edible plants that most people just consider to be decorative. My most favorite is the simple canna lily. This plant produces a large number of edible, startch filled tubers. It grows just about everywhere though in really cold areas it's best to pack some of the tubers in straw in a box in your basement until spring. They can't handle freezing solid. It's great for guerrilla gardening a vacant lot. Regular day lily root tubers are also edible (as well as the flowers themselves) but they don't produce as large a crop.

My oak trees produce hundreds of energy-filled acorns, though rendering them edible does take a lot of water. These oak trees also produce squirrels for protein. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'd like to add a mulberry tree. Those things produce tons of the sweetest berries you've ever tasted but these berries also leave purple stains everywhere. I've found several in a park, but they aren't really convinent to get to.

When the mob comes they'll just see flowers, shrubs, and trees.

-Mark

I'm aiming to compile a list of things to know and do, regarding Long Term Survivi-Prep / Teotwawki / C hits the you know what, -I think its at least quite reasonable that some Bad Times are a coming.

Concerning such a list, -Think of all sorts of "Outside the Box" topics, -Languages, Soils, World / Primitive Cultures and Anthropology, Boatsmanship, -even a Magician's Sleight of Hand ! Etc etc etc. -Than we typically have in our Survivi-Prep baliwick. But don't neglect that centerpiece either! (There's a small part of my overall list right there.)

Now on to your part.-

Survival Gardening - Edible / Poisonous Plant ID, -are very important centerpieces of such a list! I appreciate your bringing some Attention to it! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Fallshirmjager[/email]

Someone gave me a book called, "stalking the wild asparagus". It talks all about what plants you can find and eat in the wild. While I agree that this info is important to know, we are talking about preparedness. To me, preparedness means preparing.

Go out into the area in which you live and look around to see what edible plants grow in your area. The whole idea of planning is to save time. Knowing in advance makes a big difference in an emergency situation. Additionally, you can seed your area with edible plants. Yes, you can grow a garden. I have a nice one. But you can also seed your area with edible plants that will self seed in successive years. Wild berries and nut tress come to mind.

One benefit to this approach is that those plants don't look like a garden to most people. People in your area will tend to leave wild edible plants alone. More for you.

In very long term preparedness, your garden should be comprised primarily of heirloom plants. These are varieties that you can save seed from and plant the following year. This is in contrast to hybrid varieties which tend to either yeild sterile seed or seed that has reverted back to one of the parent varieties. The point of this is "know your seed."

A root cellar or ice house can help preserve your garden crops for many months after harvest. They are fairly easy to build if you have access to digging machinery.

-peace

Here is a book that might interest the "home prepardness gardner"

http://tinyurl.com/ezlmt

The title is
Country Life: A Handbook For Realists and Dreamers
ISBN 0789419912

It is a very complete guide to living self-sufficiently on a small plot of land. I found it in my local library.

Regards,
Bill

Excellent suggestions. Landscaping can shade, conceal and shelter, as well as provide food.

Animals tend to follow and shelter along plant edges, which is a handy bit of knowledge. A little landscaping with shrubs and trees, a pathway to follow, and animals will transit your site, even if there is no food.

That instinct, along with careful planning and plantings lead visitors to a specific door to my home. They cannot be seen from the parking area or the public road, and have to walk in single file. Sound tactical control, should events merit a less than warm reception.