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Get your food the old-fashioned way...Grow it!
Survival gardening can provide fresh food for you and your family in the aftermath of a disaster. Disasters can occur at anytime and anywhere, and take many forms. Not all disasters are dramatic and natural. For some people a severe economic downturn can be a disaster. Having garden seeds on hand before a disaster strikes is like having homeowners or rental insurance. You hope you will never need it but should the need arise you will be thankful that you have it.
There are many types of garden seeds available. Seeds stored for a survival garden should be heirloom varieties. These types of seed are capable of producing viable seed for re-planting. Hybrids seeds are not recommended for a survival garden. Nitro Pak offers many types of heirloom seeds packaged for long-term storage. They offer survival seed packs containing enough vegetable seeds for a garden up to half an acre.
No-Till Garden Method
Most garden plots are tilled. This may not be possible after a disaster. There are many alternatives for growing vegetable plants. Greens like lettuce and spinach grow quickly and require little dirt depth. Using a hand rake you can prepare the dirt by removing the grass and roughing up the dirt. Greens require only a few weeks from the time they are planted until they are ready to eat.
Plant in Buckets
Above ground vegetables like tomatoes require loose soil that is about 10 inches deep. Using a shovel you can turn and break up the dirt. The tri-fold military shovel available from Nitro Pak will allow you to dig and turn the soil. Container planting is an easy way to grow these types of plants. Using buckets, large pots and old tires that are stacked on top of each other you line the bottom with a layer of rocks and fill with dirt.
Plant in Tires
Root crops provide valuable nutrients but require 12 to 14 inches of loose soil in which to grow. These can however be planted in alternative containers. Root crops can be grown easily in raised beds. A solid wall is built and loose dirt placed inside. Stacked tires or heavy plastic bags provide wonderful alternative containers for growing potatoes. A shallow layer of pebbles covered with dirt provides the initial growing medium. As the potato grows additional material such as grass, dirt or a combination of both is added.
Vegetables that grow on a vine like cucumbers and squash only need a small spot of broken dirt. They do require space to spread out as they grow. Preparing a small area about 10 inches across and about the same in depth will be enough for a single plant. Cucumbers will grow up a stick or fence while squash and pumpkins prefer to remain on the ground.
Beans are easy to grow. They can be planted with corn or alone. Planting pole beans with corn allows the beans to grow up the corn stalks. Beans can be eaten green, allowed to dry producing a storable vegetable or sprouted later. Sprouting seeds are also available through Nitro Pak.
With a little ingenuity and having heirloom seeds on hand will allow you to provide fresh, healthy food after a disaster. Survival gardening is easy if you prepare ahead by having your seeds and hand tools before an emergency strikes.
Survival Homestead is happy to provide more information about Survival Gardening.