Time To Start Spring Planting

The weather across the United States during the 2011-12 winter has been much warmer than the previous year. This has also been a wetter winter for much of the country as well. I checked the online almanacs and it appears, (cross your fingers) that we may have much of the worse behind us. 

That means... drum roll please.. It's time to get ready for spring and with that, spring planting. 

With gasoline prices expected to soar both in the U.S. and E.U. this spring and summer, now is the time to get a green thumb and start growing some of what you eat. Gas prices mean the cost of food will go up (delivery trucks, farm equipment and farm laborers driving to work all run on gas and diesel) and the best way to offset that expense is producing your own food. 

I know some who grow big crops (wheat, corn) and small crops (garden vegetables) who produce most of what they eat. However, if you do not have a green thumb or have a history of killing grass, feel free to take small steps. But hurry up and learn to walk because your life and your families may depend upon what you pull out of the soil. 

To start, growing food requires soil, seeds, water and sunlight. By soil, we mean healthy soil. Most of the soil we see everyday is good for growing grass or weeds. To properly grow tomatoes or peppers, soil needs to be amended with living material, most notably, compost. However, good compost takes time to develop, so get a jump start and purchase some high quality soil from the garden store and amend it with some compost purchased at the same place. 

If money is an issue (when is it not?), search out a local source such as a friend who might have some good soil available for hauling. Local farms are good for obtaining manure and other natural soil foods and with some labor and gasoline, you can develop your own healthy soil for planting. In the meantime, start a compost heap - add old soil, some yard debris like grass clippings and leaves and plenty of kitchen waste i.e. vegetable and fruit peels, egg shells and coffee grounds. That way you will have your own healthy compost to feed your next garden. 

If you have the space, build a raised bed for optimum production. If that is not an option due to health, space or time, get some large planting pots or if push comes to shove, some empty five gallon buckets with a few holes drilled in the base for drainage. I grow plants in almost anything which can hold soil and which can be drained naturally of excess water. 

Seeds - Seeds cost one to two dollars a packet. Yes, this is for hybrid seeds and not heirloom. The difference? Hybrid seeds generally will not germinate after they are collected from the plant thus, they cannot be reused next year. Some hybrid seeds will regrow, but won't produce fruit, so they are worthless next year. This is a big deal, unless you have never successfully grown anything and my advice is get some hybrid seeds from your local mass merchandiser and try them. 

After your soil is ready and the seeds have been planted, water the plants regularly and make sure they get plenty of sunlight. That's it. Sure, there's more to it that what I have written here, but this is ninety percent of growing food. 

So what is easy to grow? Tomatoes, peppers, melons, almost all herbs and cucumbers. I have found grapes and berries, particularly raspberries, are easy to grow. What's neat is much of what you can grow is expensive in the stores. A pint of cherry tomatoes can be priced as much as $3.99 each; a cherry tomato plant can produce dozens of pints in a single season. This isn't hard, it's just basic math. 

What is hard to grow? Corn and potatoes. Both require lots of room. I have grown both and the potatoes were cheaper in the store when compared to the total amount of work and space I devoted to my potato crop. But there's a warning with this: Food prices are rising and if you have the space, it might be wise to try your hand at both. And there is nothing better than an ear of sweet corn right off the stalk. Yummo. 

In some parts of the country, there are still sub-freezing temperatures at night. No worries, just start your seed trays in March so you will be ready for warmer weather in April. You can also cover your tender young plants with plastic sheeting during the night to lock in warmer air. 

OK, so I did not cover simple greenhouses or what to do with too much home grown produce, but you get the idea. It's time to plan and start that spring garden before gas prices hit five dollars and the grocery stores are selling wax fruit. 

Happy gardening! 

Prepare: Gardens and Reality

This weekend, I spent more time on my garden. It's nice to grow flowers, but I like to grow things I can eat.

I put in strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, and peppers. Some of my seeds that went straight into the ground did not come up, so I transplanted pots grown in the house. I put in four more types of herbs in containers on the patio.

Other seed plants are coming up nicely; spinich, cucumbers and green beans. The ground will have to be tilled soon for the corn and I built three more raised beds.

The grapes took two hours per plant not including soaking and ground preparation. It's the way that it is when you are setting up new "mini arbors" each year.

I am just getting started. I have to track down some new dwarf fruit trees because my normal supplier is out. I was able to snag another mini orange tree though and I am darn glad to have it.

I am no Old MacDonald, but I have been growing food in my yard for over fifteen years. It took a few years, research and lots of trial and error to get it right. And I am still learning.

Let's take a look at the convential prepper now.

He may have his can of non-hybrid seeds from Waltons as recommended online, along with his copy of Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening". Figures he's set now and once the SHTF, "The Ladies" will put in a garden (when they are not making him home made bread and beef stew) and oila! A well producing garden full of all the food he will need to get through lean times.

What a moron.

Is the ground ready? Has the soil been amended? Or is he going to drop those seeds in the ground and expect 100% success? Has he grown anything else besides a fat gut watching "Red Dawn" for the fiftieth time? Will he eat what he grows? Will the seeds work in his zone? Or will they wilt in the sun or drown from overwatering?

Forget the seeds. If someone has never grown anything, then seeds will only be a waste of time. Build one raised bed, buy some tomato and pepper plants and keep them alive for a summer. Then try seeds and trays next year.

What about books? "Square Foot Gardening" is swell, but also look for something else written locally. Years ago, my mom gave me some of her gardening books. One featured a guy getting his SPRING garden ready wearing a Carhardt coat, knee high rubber boots and a sweater. Down here we garden in the spring in shorts and a t-shirt. The book was fine if you lived in upper state New York and were putting in some rhubarb, but was virtually worthless where I live.

Here's the deal with gardening. It's fun, rewarding and there is nothing more secure than picking a dozen tomatoes from your garden and eating them fresh for dinner. But it's also work and frustrating. There is more failure than success. And if your kids are counting on that food, you had better get it right the first time.

Forget that can of "miracle seeds" and "square foot shortcuts". Start now, learn, research and work at it. One day in the garden is not enough.

Practice now.

Good luck,

Prepare: Garden Time Is Just Around The Corner

There may be snow outside, but now is the time to plan your spring garden and get a jump on the competition. Growing your own food is fun, healthy, saves money and will probably save your life.

The weatherman is predicting snow again, tomorrow. Seems like the last batch just melted here, but it gave me time to scope out my planting area and start making plans. There amongst the brown grass and abandoned raised beds I can see overflowing tomato plants, corn shoots, green beans hiding in the leaves, bell peppers and fresh raspberries.

But this all means nothing if I don't get a start now on my spring garden plans. Most will get the "bug" to grow something sometime around April or May when the first warm days kick in. They wait until Saturday and then wander on down to the super garden center and find the best plants, seeds and supplies are long gone. They end up with two plastic pots and a couple of brown tomato plants for their summer bumper crop.

Don't let this happen to you.

It may be too early to start putting tender seedlings into the ground, but there is no reason not to start seed shopping right now. Seeds can be ordered online or at the retail store. There are hybrid (cross bred seeds which do not re-pollinate) or non-hybrid seeds (original or heirloom seeds which can be reclaimed from the fruit and reused the following season).

I generally pick up my seeds at the retail store and get a mix of hybrid and non-hybrid. I always get extra because they are available and I can save them for later. I keep my seeds in their original packets and store those in large coffee cans. They last well for me as I have used seeds I purchased three and four years ago without a problem.

Some advice - pick up extra "big seeds" like corn. There is generally only enough in one packet for a single planting. If you are shopping at the farm supply store and buying 100lb bags of seed, ignore this advice of course.

Lay out the garden on paper how you want it to look but don't plant anything until the danger of frost has passed. Too many gardeners take advantage of an "Indian summer" and plant too early and lose everything when that freak snow shows up.

Planting. Raised beds, pots, or tilling up the ground? What's best? I do all three. For most of my vegetables, I put together raised beds out of bricks, left over lumber and anything else around. I then tear them down at the end of the season. I use pots for herbs on the back patio. I have never had a great harvest growing tomatoes in pots, the ground works better.

I till up a large part of the yard for corn and have several growing areas which I move around.

The more growing space, the bigger the harvest. Take advantage of every corner to grow something edible. I make compost throughout the year. I throw yard and kitchen waste, old potting soil, grass, anything in the compost heap. And I turn it once a week for good effect. I don't water it much as it attracts ants, and even in a drought the heap stays fairly moist.

If rats or mice are a problem in the compost heap, get a couple of inexpensive trash cans with lids and throw the kitchen waste in those things until it breaks down then add them to the big pile.

Other than compost, I don't like to use fertilizers other than soil amendments like green sand, lava sand, earthworm castings. I don't use pesticides at all, but might have to chance that if the garden is life or death. Other than that, attracting birds and hand checking the plants is the natural and best way to get rid of pests.

Save rain water from the down spout. Get trashcans and rig them under the spouts as rain water is always better than hose water for plants. Water when needed but short duration, small waterings as it encourages the roots to grow shallow. Deep roots are the plants best friend.

Like buying food, only plant what you and the family will eat. While growing an Asian mustard plant is interesting, if you hate the taste, don't do it. Also, plant things which will produce a lot and are healthy - like tomatoes.

A garden is healthy for you, a way to save money and most likely will save you and your families' life if things keep going the way they are. Even if we hold the country together, the price of gas alone will make a garden pay for itself is lowered grocery costs and shopping trips.

Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

SHTF: Coupons and the Garden Rush

Coupons and grocery shopping are to survivalists what taxes are to politicians; one has a hard time existing without the other.

As people who are preparing, we take advantage of any money saving means to buy extra and lots of staples for the pantry. When we shop, we always have a list, always use a cart (that's a buggy for you people in foreign lands like England, Belgium and Michigan)and follow the mantra "one is none and two is one".

So, using coupons at the grocery store saves us lots of dough. With many of us downsized or furloughed from the job, men and women who formerly spent more time in the to go line at the local restaurant are now finding themselves looking for deals in the grocery store.

Here are some hints for you first time bargain shoppers.


- Sign up for the grocery cost saver card whatever it may be. When shopping, there are two prices displayed on an item, regular purchase price and a lower "members only" purchase price. You don't get the lower price unless you have a shoppers card.
For the paranoid: Yes, the store will track your purchases. I know this because they send me plain, but good, store coupons, on things I buy regularly. Further, when my receipt prints at my grocers, I receive another receipt based upon what I bought.
If this bothers you, fill out your shoppers card with bogus information. The store does not care and won't check your ID.

- Sale flyers arrive at home on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

These flyers from the grocers are to be viewed before you go to the grocery store not while in them.
Set down at the table. For each store, note what is on sale at the grocers and what you actually eat. Note how much you have in the house and if the product is worth purchasing or storing for later.
This is the start of your grocery list.

- Coupons come in the Sunday paper.



Don't get a subscription to the paper if you can get a copy of the coupons from a friend or neighbor for free.
Clip the coupons of products you actually use or would like to store. Compare this list to the sale list you compiled earlier. Better, clip the Sunday coupons and use the sale pages the following Tuesday or Wednesday.
Note: Many stores are not accepting internet coupons any longer due to fraud. Remember that when someone wants you to sign up for "freebies" on line.

- Go to stores with double and triple coupons.
Double and triple is what you think it is - double or triple the printed savings value on the coupon. .35 off? Make it .70 o even 1.05!
Note: Most stores have limits on double and triple coupons such as .50. Others do not, so they are worth looking for.

- BOGO - Buy One Get One free
Coupon + BOGO sale generally means free + free. Keep an eye peeled for these deals.

- 10 for 10 is sometimes not a great deal


So you see a store flyer with 10 cans of Chef Boy-R-Dee for $10. What a deal right? It depends because a careful examination of other stores may show that same can goes for .88. Suddenly that deal is not so good as it would save you 1.20 to buy those same cans elsewhere.
Stores use the "many for one price" marketing technique not because it saves you money but because it moves merchandise fast.


Finally, use a grocery list and stick to it.
Too many shoppers think they can keep it in their head and save money. It won't happen. Make a list and use it religiously.

If you use a coupons, sales and a list, you can fill your pantry with lots of good food and can plan menus based upon what you have.

The Great Garden Rush.

Gardening for food is a bug everyone gets in the spring, but this year, it is more than a passing fancy.

Gardening for food may mean survival for you and your family.

First, forget all that "sustainable, community, earth, preachiness" online. Gardening for food is necessary for you and your family to save money now and guarantee a food supply later. The "community" can find their own plot of land and till it; I have mine and will trade for tools, seeds and labor under equal terms. Not so I can build a sustainable imaginary future. Bah.

I digress..

The home stores and garden centers are full of potting soil, fertilizer, seeds, seedlings, dwarf fruit trees, berry bushes and tools.

They won't be for long. In a month or so, only some measly looking tomato plants and a few oddball herbs will be left. Everyone is on board with gardening, not flowers or ornamentals, but fruit and vegetables this year.

First, plot out your yard for garden space.

Next, get to the store and start buying seedlings if the ground is ready or seeds if planting time is still a month or so away.

Then, get busy in the garden. It will take work but eating is worth it.

Remember, a garden will not magically feed a family. You will need to supplement with grains, rice, fats and oils. Buy those in bulk now.

Also, don't forget storage for fruit and vegtable after harvesting. That means drying (get a dehydrator) and canning (get those supplies now). Freezing helps too if the power is on.

Get busy in that garden before the Rush is fully underway and there is no more time!

Get your non-hybrid seeds here now!

SHTF: Garden, Urban, Inflation

Sunday round up of miscellaneous stuff.. Here goes.

Gardening this weekend.

I setup a new raised bed in the backyard. This was pretty simple.

Cleared a 4 x 6 area of grass and weeds. Turned the soil.

Built out of left over bricks a 12" wall, (no cement) around the area.

Filled with 6 bags of soil from garden store.

Layered newspaper in the bottom to kill off any additional weeds.

Ready to plant with 3 tomato plants or bell pepper.

I won't put any down right now until the weather warms up. It's in the 50s today and set for the 70's this week, but who could have predicted the cold snap we had this past week?

Time: 1 hour.

Went to the garden store that same afternoon. Dwarf fruit trees and berry bushes are available. The prices were low and now is the time to stock up on these as online retailers are out of most fruit and berry plants.

Consider fruit tree availability like ammunition sales are now. They won't be available at all soon when people start getting wise to growing their own food. Sure, may will imagine that fruit tree producing 'store ready' produce in a few months, but realistically, if the tree is well taken care of, could produce some nice fruit next year or the year after.

By the way, the seed section was pretty well picked over too. More and more people are putting in food gardens this year what with the economy doing so well and prices going up.

Which brings up the next observation: Inflation.

With FedGov printing and pushing so much imaginary cash, it is having less value. Prices at Costco early yesterday morning were higher than I had seen before. Everything as two dollars more expensive than it was last October.

As debt-backed money increases, tangible goods cost more. Further, suppliers in other country, seeing our dollar decrease in value, demand more money for same goods. For instance, jasmine rice, produced in Thailand, was four dollars more expensive than the last time I shopped.

There were also several products understocked or low at Costco. This could be the beginning of shortages in the near future. Stock up now on staples like flour, honey, sugar, oil and so on.

Urban survival?

There has been a rash of stories sympathetic to this cause lately.

Urban survival means making do in the city during hard times or after the SHTF. There are a bunch of survival minded folks who believe that "peak oil", shortages, and other problems will force most of us back into cities.

The concept is that cities will become urban oasis' of like minded individual, families and quasi communes cooperating as they eek out an existence.

Homes, (buildings) will have roof top solar and rain collectors. Vacant lots will feature community gardens. Citizens will walk to work, shop and drop their kids off at nearby schools.

The problem with this scenario is lack of space.

If peek oil forces all of us into urban centers, the vacant lot will be razed for a new high rise condo to squeeze all the new citizens in.

Many jobs, such as manufacturing or retail, require more space and will compete for homes and schools for the room.

Even roof tops will be squeezed and hard pressed to provide enough power or water for all the citizens.

Further, money and power talk. That quaint neighborhood with its community gardens and proximity to shopping and jobs will be commandeered by the newly returned power elite just back from their far flung suburbs. Old residents will find themselves and their belongings thrown in the back of an open truck destined for the edges of society.

Nope, my theory is based upon the underpopulated suburb. Vast tracts of abaondoned homes and strip malls. One family home occupied out of every five or six houses. Gardens in overgrown backyards. Small scale livestock product such as goats, chickens and rabbits.

Swimming pools converted to cisterns. Solar panels and windmills generating power. Neighborhood groups organized for defense and protection while a few fortunate members work from home on hijacked Internet connections.

The key is space. Lots of room for production and food while still within an organized grid of streets and dwellings.

Now the smart, true rural prepper is laughing at my scenario right now. "The suburbs will fall to the gangbangers and welfare bums as soon as they cities are stripped clean", they say.

And they are probably right, but its my opinion and they have theirs. Regardless, I don't think the Kumbaya urban survivalist option is any better; its far worse.

Before the weekend ends, get to the garden store and do some stocking up. Spring is in the air, let's get those gardens ready!

Get your non-hybrid garden seeds here now!

SHTF: Gardening

Nightline had a story Thursday night about the return of the Victory Garden. As usual, they blabbed about the "sustainable, eco-friendly" reasons for growing at least some of your own food.

Despite the fact that the story was taped in the trendy, high dollar suburb of Venice, CA and most of those interviewed were well-heeled and single, just having this sort of story must be significant.

Victory Gardens hail from World War Two (they had a version in WWI as well), when the government encouraged Americans to start gardens in their backyards allowing farm produce to be sent to the troops and starving allies like England. Amazingly, at its height, 40% of the produce consumed by Americans came from backyard and community Victory gardens.

Remember, in the 1940's, most Americans either lived in rural areas or urban. There was little if any suburban dwellers. So these Victory Gardens were producing food from postage stamp sized lawns, window boxes, roof top planters and vacant lots.

Imagine what today's suburban farmer could do with their 100 x 200 lot in a modern subdivision.

Asides on the Nightline story..

There were three interviewed in the story.. a single guy, a garden consultant and a odd ball film maker who had a few raised beds in front of his ocean front home. Wow - what diversity.

They should have included a Midwestern (or anywhere in the U.S.) family with kids working a backyard garden complete with a few yard walkers who were trying to shave their grocery bills.. (and prepare for the coming food shortages.. )..

They should have included an urban dweller with a mini farm in an adjoining vacant lot..

They should have included one of those supersized community lots seen in many large urban areas..

But they didn't. Oh well.

Next up Compost.

Do you compost? I do. Everything from the kitchen in the form of vegetable and fruit waste, tea bags and coffee grinds goes into the compost heap. With spring approaching, I have my own way of expediting the compost process.

I take my large planting pots from last year and add..

- A layer of leaves.
- A layer of dirt.
- A big old pile of rotting vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, etc.
- Anther layer of dirt.
- Another layer of leaves on top.

Mash the whole thing down underneath another empty pot and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. After that time, I dump the full pot into the top pot, turn over and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. Repeat until planting time.

It works for me.

Watch out for vermin in the compost heap. Rats and mice love digging for those kitchen scraps and once you have those guys, they aren't leaving anytime soon.

I go out in the evening with a flashlight and my little Robin Hood (a kids wooden bow and arrow with the rubber tip removed and the end sharpened with a pencil sharpener). Scares the devil out of those pests.

Time to get to the hardware store and check out the seed selection. In my area, the seeds come out now and disappear at Easter (must be a Lent thing). After April, you can't find any vegetable seeds at the store.

Remember, you can produce your own food at home and it is mandatory that you start this year. There is no reason to expect our economy to support Washington's madness much longer.

Good luck!

SHTF: Survival Garden

This topic comes up frequently at Prepare and I have written about it before here.

We all know to store food and water and other consumables. But after the balloon goes up, we will go through our stored food. Knowing this, we have been told over and again to plan on growing and harvesting some of our own food.

Unless we live in a rural area surrounded by 5 of more acres, the rest of us are forced to make due with our back and front yards for food production.

Now, if you have never gardened before, you are in for a surprise. I think gardening is easy and fun myself, having been an avid vegetable gardener for more than ten years.

But, if you have never grown anything more than mold in your fridge, gardening food is not easy. Especially if you want to grow enough for a family.

There are numerous websites out there which point out the best way to get started, so I won't repeat the obvious, only the answers to questions people with our mindset want to know.

How much space do I need to have to feed a family of four?

With enough space, year round growing and good soil, a 100 x 200 can feed a family with a few big BUTS thrown in.
- This is vegetables with a few fruits thrown in. No wheat, large amounts of corn and limited potatoes. That means hardly any starches which can be converted to breads and stored.
- Where you live is a big part of it too. For most it means tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and melons in the warm months and carrots, squash, potatoes, in the cool months.
- Colder climates would do well having cold frames or a green house for longer grow times.
- Leafy vegetables can be grown but only during cooler "shoulder" months like early spring and fall - these vegetables do not do well in the hot summer. Grow mustard greens though.

How much space do I need to grow wheat?

Wheat takes a lot of space to grow enough for adequate production yields. A great article in Organic Farming I read about 10 years ago had a backyard farmer producing 75-100 pounds of flour from one acre of wheat. That is a low harvest for a manual (he harvested everything with a scythe to prove he could do it) crop.

So what carbohydrates should I grow?

Corn. Remember though it takes several rows clumped together to pollinate - i know because of my crop this summer.
Also, corn loves water - pray for rain or have a good supply on hand in the survival garden.
Also, potatoes. Plant them in a raised 3x8 bed about 12" deep at least. Have plenty of enriched (compost) soil. After they grow tall greens, bury everything in 6-12" of straw. In this situation, you can harvest as many as 100-200 potatoes (I have done this before).

What about this Mel Bartholomew book all the preppers talk about?

Here it is, All New Square Foot Gardening. Prep writers love to cite it but I don't know if they have used it.

The idea behind square foot gardening is to create a producing garden in a limited amount of space. It is done using a grid, built and placed over a garden area. Seeds or seedlings are placed within each section of the grid and cultivated. Bartholomew's website has several examples of success stories using Square Foot Gardening.

Minimal gardening does work, people in other countries have done it for years. I remember seeing small gardens all over Europe when i was stationed there. Old and young alike worked the backyard plots and produced beautiful produce. They have to because they have so little land to work and the prices are high.
But you have to practice with this method of agriculture first.

Can I grow fruit trees?

Yes, but they take years to produce fruits. Most fruit trees require more than one tree for pollination. There are dwarf fruit trees, but read the fine print on those you purchase online. Sometimes they are 2-3 years from producing fruit. Bottom line - an orchard of producing fruit trees take years from planting to production. Also, fruit trees require lots of care and maintenance.

Try growing melons and berries in the meantime. Both can be grown in one season.

After the SHTF, where am I going to get fertilizer and chemicals to treat my plants once my stocks run out?

From the same place our forefathers did. First, build a compost heap now. Compost is a natural fertilizer that no self-respecting farmer does without. Take some chicken wire and fence off a 4X4 area. Put leaves, then soil, then kitchen waste (vegetable and fruit peelings, eggs shells, coffee grounds, etc. but no grease, meat or people/dog/cat waste) in layers. Keep somewhat moist and turn once a week or so.

If pests (rats or mice) show up in the heap, move it to a closed container. I use an old trashcan with a lid and it works great for me.

Also, google Dirt Doctor for Howard Garrett's organic methods for fertilizer and pest control. Most of the supplies can be bought now cheaply and last forever. Others can be obtained naturally long after the SHTF.

Also, many garden pests can be controlled by our egg and meat machines - chickens, goose and ducks.

What do I do in the winter?

Some edibles grow fine in the winter. Kale, garlic, onions. Also, google cold frame and put a couple together on the patio during cold months. Or bring a container garden inside and place by a window.

Don't forget to grow herbs! Sure they make food taste better, but some have medicinal properties. Herbs can be grown in containers easily.


Finally, learn how to store what you grow. Too many gardeners toss or giveaway their surplus during the summer months. Canning and drying brings the bounty of summer home in the winter. Besides, after the SHTF, you won't be tossing anything out I am guessing.

Plan on starting some gardening now in the winter with a window sill garden. During the winter, measure out and plan on garden spaces around your home. Start with a 6x6 area, build, plant in the spring and then build another. By the summer, you should have 3 or 4 of these producing beds around your home. Cover the patio with containers full of herbs, tomatoes, and peppers. Use a side yard running on the east side of your home for a 3 row spread of corn.

Whatever you decide to do, make your plans now, buy the seeds and tools and get busy. By this time next year, having a home garden may be your best bet for fresh produce and food in the troubled future.

Get your non-hybrid garden seeds here now!

Quick tips for the SHTF garden

You hear this a lot...

"We are going to put in a garden on our property and grow our own veggies and fruit once things go downhill.."

"Just put in a garden and grow your own food in a small space!"

"Anyone can put in a container garden and have their own food once the SHTF, right?"

I have bad news for the novice gardener, it is not that easy to plant a producing garden if you have never done it before. What's more, there is no worse time to learn how to grown your own food if the poop has hit the fan.

So, the time to get started is now. It is summer in most parts of the country and there is no reason to not start growing at least some of your own food now. Be prepared: it will take some work and effort to get your garden underway and producing.

- The fastest way to start is with containers and already sprouted plants like the ones sold at the garden stores and big box retailers.
- Avoid using the black plastic pots the plants are sold in. They capture too much ambient heat which stresses the plant and evaporates the moisture in the soil faster.
- Replant only in high quality soil. I cannot stress this enough. Do not use any soil sold in a bag or worse, unfortified soil from the yard.
- To make your own potting or bed soil, use a high quality base soil for your area, add compost and vermiculite.
- Raised beds work better than planting direct into ground.
- Water in the morning. Water in the heat of the day burns off before it can help the plants. Water in the evening can produce mold on some plants.
- Water deeply container plants daily and raised beds a couple of times a week.
- Use natural fertilizers like fish emulsion and green sand. Make insect repellents from hot peppers and garlic.
- Work natural compost into your beds and containers often; it replaces the nutrients in the soil.
- Mulch beds using friendly bedding material like alfalfa grass. I purchased a bail at the local farmers market and had enough for my entire tomato bed.
- Grow what works local. For instance, tomatoes, corn and melons grow well in my area while asparagus, broccoli and lettuce does not. Post-SHTF is not the time to experiment with potential failed crops.
- Camouflage your garden space. Surround the borders of your yard with weeds, overgrown bushes and native plants. Grow food as landscaping. Grow herbs in the front or side yards where passersby will think they are wild growth or weeds.
- Fruit trees take 3-5 years or longer before they produce edible fruit. Plant dwarf versions now. If possible, put in large containers on wheels so they can be brought in during cold weather. I have a producing orange tree I keep in this manner and have done so for over 10 years.
- Experiment with seeds only after you have successfully grown from plantings. Start with small pots filled with top quality soil and replant in beds or larger containers. Herbs are best to start with.
- Corn is an excellent and fast grower, however it rapidly depletes the soil. Be ready to grown rye or another nitrogen replacement crop during cooler months in your corn patch.
- I have never had much luck with fruits or vegetables grown in doors. Maybe your experience is different.
- Certain food crops can be grown during the winter months like garlic, onions, and kale.
- Finally, don't bother gardening if you have not learned how to store your surplus with canning, drying and dehydrating!