Quit Worrying and Start Survival Gardening
December 12, 2015
I’d
venture to say most preppers have squirreled away a few seeds for the
future, whether it be one of those apocalyptic sealed cans containing
50,000 varieties of lettuce or just a dozen packets tucked into a
cabinet “just in case.”
The problem: if things really did collapse, most of us don’t know how to get those seeds to grow into plants that will actually produce honest-to-goodness food for the table.
Most folks are still at the “I bought a pepper and it died” phase, not the “I got 100lbs of potatoes from one of my beds last week” stage.
Bags of rice and wheat eventually run out. MREs do too (thankfully). Yet if you’re able to convert part of your lawn into a garden and have the confidence and skill to grow a good chunk of your family’s diet in that garden, you’re in better long-term shape than the guy with 1500lbs of pintos stuffed beneath his bed.
It’s the difference between consumption and production, which we Rothbardian acolytes understand so well. The non-gardener with the bagged beans cannot create more beans—but as a gardener you can. Almost infinitely.
Right now most of the vegetables my family consumes grow in our yard. We’ve also got hundreds of pounds of edible roots beneath the soil that can be dug as needed. These stockpiles can also be regenerated and increased year after year with the proper knowledge. It took me years to get to the point where I reached the certainty that even if things fell apart, I would have food.
That’s a great feeling. You can get there too. I’ve shared my gardening knowledge and methods (including how to till without gasoline and keep a garden irrigated without city water) in my new book Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening—but even if you don’t get my book, I want you to know how to get started today so you don’t starve tomorrow.
Ready? Let’s grow.
1. Set Serious Goals
Don’t start from nothing with the goal of “growing all you eat” if you fear failure and unless you’re willing to spend hours and hours in the garden. Start with something manageable, such as “I’m going to grow all my salad greens” or “I’m going to grow enough roots to feed us for a month.” Nailing down something smaller will boost your confidence and get you knocking down more goals.
2. Compost Continually
Quit throwing away potential soil fertility! No more excuses. Start a big pile somewhere and start chucking all your biodegradable kitchen scraps onto it. Having perfect ratios and a nice bin is a lot less important than simply DOING it. Throw stuff on the ground and it will feed the soil. It’s that simple. Throw it in the trash and you’ve exported potential fertility from your homestead. Don’t do that.
3. Experiment Constantly
One variety of bean may thrive in your area—another may fail. Test a lot of types and don’t get caught up in the pursuit of novelty. With survival gardening you want to grow plants that are tried and true and well-known for their productivity. With the exception of zucchini. Zucchini is nasty.
As an example: in my corner of the Confederacy, flint corns do poorly but dent corns thrive. Scarlet runner beans are non-starters but Asian yard-long beans grow like weeds without care. Beefsteak tomatoes are a horrible pain but we get piles of homegrown hot peppers.
You don’t know what’s going to grow well until you test it, sometimes repeatedly. Do that now rather than later!
4. Ask LOTS of Questions
Don’t be afraid to look stupid. Ask your neighbors what grows well in their gardens. Stop by the side of the road when you see an old lady working in her garden, strike up a conversation and learn from her knowledge. Go to the local agricultural extension and ask what crops are being grown commercially with good success in your climate. Hit gardening sites like mine and post questions in the comment section. The point is: acquire as much knowledge as possible and then apply it to your own growing.
5. Don’t Give Up!
Many people have told me they “tried gardening but were bad at it” or that they just have “brown thumbs.” Sorry, that’s a lousy excuse. There’s no such thing as a brown thumb: there are just people who stick to it and people who don’t. Quit coming up with excuses and don’t give up. Plant, plant, plant. If something dies, plant something else. You learn through experience. There are really only three things a plant needs to thrive: water, sunlight and nutrients. Keep your gardens watered, plant them in good sunlight and keep the soil fed and most of the work is done.
The “brown thumbs” I’ve met are generally just undisciplined individuals. If you want to get fit—work out. If you want to get rich – keep hustling. If you want to grow your own food—get out there and garden.
Now is the time to start planning and planting. Not tomorrow. Not next year. And most definitely not after a crash.
Your tin of seeds isn’t a magic talisman that will save your life. It’s your experience that will save you.
The problem: if things really did collapse, most of us don’t know how to get those seeds to grow into plants that will actually produce honest-to-goodness food for the table.
Most folks are still at the “I bought a pepper and it died” phase, not the “I got 100lbs of potatoes from one of my beds last week” stage.
Bags of rice and wheat eventually run out. MREs do too (thankfully). Yet if you’re able to convert part of your lawn into a garden and have the confidence and skill to grow a good chunk of your family’s diet in that garden, you’re in better long-term shape than the guy with 1500lbs of pintos stuffed beneath his bed.
It’s the difference between consumption and production, which we Rothbardian acolytes understand so well. The non-gardener with the bagged beans cannot create more beans—but as a gardener you can. Almost infinitely.
Right now most of the vegetables my family consumes grow in our yard. We’ve also got hundreds of pounds of edible roots beneath the soil that can be dug as needed. These stockpiles can also be regenerated and increased year after year with the proper knowledge. It took me years to get to the point where I reached the certainty that even if things fell apart, I would have food.
That’s a great feeling. You can get there too. I’ve shared my gardening knowledge and methods (including how to till without gasoline and keep a garden irrigated without city water) in my new book Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening—but even if you don’t get my book, I want you to know how to get started today so you don’t starve tomorrow.
Ready? Let’s grow.
1. Set Serious Goals
Don’t start from nothing with the goal of “growing all you eat” if you fear failure and unless you’re willing to spend hours and hours in the garden. Start with something manageable, such as “I’m going to grow all my salad greens” or “I’m going to grow enough roots to feed us for a month.” Nailing down something smaller will boost your confidence and get you knocking down more goals.
2. Compost Continually
Quit throwing away potential soil fertility! No more excuses. Start a big pile somewhere and start chucking all your biodegradable kitchen scraps onto it. Having perfect ratios and a nice bin is a lot less important than simply DOING it. Throw stuff on the ground and it will feed the soil. It’s that simple. Throw it in the trash and you’ve exported potential fertility from your homestead. Don’t do that.
3. Experiment Constantly
One variety of bean may thrive in your area—another may fail. Test a lot of types and don’t get caught up in the pursuit of novelty. With survival gardening you want to grow plants that are tried and true and well-known for their productivity. With the exception of zucchini. Zucchini is nasty.
As an example: in my corner of the Confederacy, flint corns do poorly but dent corns thrive. Scarlet runner beans are non-starters but Asian yard-long beans grow like weeds without care. Beefsteak tomatoes are a horrible pain but we get piles of homegrown hot peppers.
You don’t know what’s going to grow well until you test it, sometimes repeatedly. Do that now rather than later!
4. Ask LOTS of Questions
Don’t be afraid to look stupid. Ask your neighbors what grows well in their gardens. Stop by the side of the road when you see an old lady working in her garden, strike up a conversation and learn from her knowledge. Go to the local agricultural extension and ask what crops are being grown commercially with good success in your climate. Hit gardening sites like mine and post questions in the comment section. The point is: acquire as much knowledge as possible and then apply it to your own growing.
5. Don’t Give Up!
Many people have told me they “tried gardening but were bad at it” or that they just have “brown thumbs.” Sorry, that’s a lousy excuse. There’s no such thing as a brown thumb: there are just people who stick to it and people who don’t. Quit coming up with excuses and don’t give up. Plant, plant, plant. If something dies, plant something else. You learn through experience. There are really only three things a plant needs to thrive: water, sunlight and nutrients. Keep your gardens watered, plant them in good sunlight and keep the soil fed and most of the work is done.
The “brown thumbs” I’ve met are generally just undisciplined individuals. If you want to get fit—work out. If you want to get rich – keep hustling. If you want to grow your own food—get out there and garden.
Now is the time to start planning and planting. Not tomorrow. Not next year. And most definitely not after a crash.
Your tin of seeds isn’t a magic talisman that will save your life. It’s your experience that will save you.
David Goodman [send him mail] (AKA David The Good) is the author of the brand-new release Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening and Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting. Find his further writings online at www.thesurvivalgardener.com.
Previous article by David Goodman: A Smart Survival Garden
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