Casual survival thoughts; Rules 1 through 3.

Apparently, just in the nick of time (it getting set to rain), I was able to get one of my two main raised beds seeded with an assortment of vegetables. And, that brings me to point number one when it comes to survival gardening.

#1 ‘Any sized prepared and planted bed is better than none at all!’

Right now I have about 32 square feet of good soil seeded with an assortment of carrots, peppers, green beans and romaine lettuce. Of these, the carrots are most likely the most nutrient rich of the group. However, the bean will also provide many of the essential amino acids needed to sustain life. If you have some rice in the pantry then you could live by eating just these two, although it would be boring to do so.

Another great addition to any survival garden would be the common potato. It’s a breeze to grow, will tolerate many soil types and you probably have a bag of them sporting in the pantry somewhere right now! The picture at right shows a four foot trench I dug. At the bottom (just under the soil) are two spuds I cut into pieces. After the spuds form plants that grow up through the soil, I’ll add a couple more inches of soil to keep the level just below the growing points. Later in the spring, I’ll allow these to grow higher before adding any more soil. By late summer, I’ll have some spuds I can dig up for the occasional meal. (As a survival measure, it’s a good idea to have some spuds in the ground or pantry in and around your house. These can easily be multiplied into a whole field of nutritious ready to eat meals should bad times come around). Now for rule number two.

#2 Plan to have at least seventy square feet of ground ready to plant per person!

Seventy square feet of space is pretty small. So, even those people living with small lots can certainly find some space in which to grow vegetables. Even if you’re the type who loves flowers, you should be able to sneak in the odd carrot or two. Nobody will notice.

Note: If you live in a large city with little to no land available for growing, you are basically screwed from the get go. Plan on being the first in a long list of causalities in the event of a complete societal collapse.

I came up with the number of seventy square feet per person as this is just enough space to grow high nutrient crops (a hundred pounds or more) to get you through the first year of surviving on your own. I’m assuming, of course that you have stockpiled food items prior to everything going south. In your pantry should be such items as powered milk, yeast, flour, canned goods, beans and pasta. All these items, when properly stored in airtight containers, can last for long periods of time. Make sure, also, to have really basic long lasting kitchen tools like iron skillets in your home in case you have to cook over a wood fire. If you haven’t already, be sure to acquire a good resource book on survival. There are many to choose from on the internet and more be written every day. (Ya think they know something you might not)?

#3 Acquire the ability to protect what’s yours!

I wanted to through this rule in early because it is an important item to consider. And, that is, no matter how well you have prepared for you and your family, it will all be for naught if someone sashays in and takes it from you because you were defenseless. Make no mistake. When a society crumbles, it doesn’t take long for people to loose the facade of civility.  Thos who have something to eat will at first be visited by neighbors who did not prepare. At that time you will probably give freely of what you have. Then, as time goes on the requests will become demands and if the man standing at you door has a gun and you don’t – you’re screwed.