Our food supply can be interrupted abruptly by a disaster, or gradually by an economic collapse. Hyperinflation can cause food prices to skyrocket and out of reach for many needy families. When your local supermarket shelves grow empty and your personal food stockpile dwindles, where will your food come from?
The Answer – A Survival Garden
If you are anything like me, I kill everything I try to grow! If you don’t have a “green thumb”, consider learning now how to start your survival garden. Take it from me: your first try may not be successful. You will learn by trial and error. Not knowing how to grow your own food in an SHTF situation will put you and your family at a great disadvantage.
Start Small
You do not need acres of land to grow a survival garden. Even in small places, growing one or two edibles can make a difference.
If you live in a condo like I do, consider learning to grow one or two things that can sustain you and your family. Easy things to grow in containers or grow bags include root vegetables such as beets, turnips and potato varieties.
In my opinion, I would start with potatoes. They are a great source or carbohydrate and are easy to grow. Plus the greens are edible with the sweet potato variety.
Double Whammy Veggies
The beauty of certain root vegetables is that they offer a double bonus: not only are the roots edible, but the greens too!
Beet greens can be an excellent dual purpose crop. Harvest a few leaves early in the year and then harvest the roots later.
Turnips are low in calories, high in fiber, easy to grow even in the winter.
Sweet potato and it’s greens. Did you know you can eat sweet potato greens raw or sautéed like spinach?
Fast Growing Edibles
If there is an SHTF event and you need to start your survival garden sooner than later, here is a list of quick growing veggies to supplement your non-perishable food pantry.
- Radishes: Are ready for harvest just 25 to 30 days after planting.
- Green onions. While the onion itself can take several months, the greens can ready for harvest in just three or four weeks.
- Kale: Can grow year round is most zones. Most take just 50 to 65 days to mature, but you can also harvest tender immature leaves as soon as three weeks after planting.
- Lettuce: Most leaf varieties are ready just 30 days from planting. Cut the leaves once they’re two or three inches tall, and keep cutting until the plant bolts.
- Turnips: Turnip roots can be harvested in just 60 days. The leaves are edible and ready after waiting for just 40 days.
- Baby carrots: Carrots are not known for growing fast, but you can plant your carrot seeds as you normally would and harvest the tiny tubers 30 days later.
- Cucumbers: Some varieties can be harvested just 50 to 70 days from planting. But if you’re impatient, you can always harvest the tiny fruits, too.
- Beets: You can harvest the roots in 50 days, but the greens can be eaten in just 30.
- Bok Choi: A fast growing vegetable and matures in just 30 days.
To purchase these seeds and for more ideas on quick growing vegetables, check out the great selection from High Mowing Organic Seeds.
Keeping Your Garden Staying Out Of Sight
In the event of an SHTF, a survival garden may need to be hidden from people who want to steal your precious crops. Here are some ideas to keep it hidden:
- If you live near an open field, spread your crops out randomly: This will prevent your garden from looking like an actual garden.
- Build a tall fence around your home: This will make it difficult for trespassers to spy on you.
- Try indoor gardening near a sunny window.
Why Start Now?
What gardening has taught me is to have great patience. You will not have crops overnight or your first seedlings may die. You may have to experiment with different types of soils or soil additives to make your plants grow. Better to learn from your mistakes now than when there is a need.
Look for my blog, Your Survival Garden Pharmacy, where I will discuss the benefits of including medicinal plants as part of your survival garden.
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Have you tried to start a garden with no success and willing to share your story? Please leave comment below.
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