Survival Gardening

What do you do when those “emergency foods” run out? That question leads us to the topic of survival gardening, which is one of the most overlooked aspects of survival.

This concept conjures up the old Asian proverb, “Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime.”

Your food stores will only last so long if you only have processed and/or preserved foods. Instead of focusing on cans and jars, I want you to think about long term survival — not just surviving, but thriving. We can certainly get by on canned and packaged foods. Most people do just that and they are surviving each and every day until their unhealthy food choices catch up to them.

Rather than simply “surviving,” I want you to thrive no matter what kind of situation you’re in. By eating fresh, nutrient dense foods, especially plenty of leafy green vegetables and their sprouts, you can thrive under any circumstances.

This is far easier than you may think. Let me explain how we can all have a survival garden, no matter where we live geographically and how much space we have to grow our food.

There are two main points to consider when it comes to survival gardening: Skills and Resources.

If you have one, but not the other, you may have limited success with a survival garden.

First, let’s talk about skills. Without having the specific knowledge of how to grow food, and understanding how to give the plant what it needs, you may not have the best results in growing your food.

I am sure many adults reading this article know how to drive an automobile. Can you remember the time before you learned how to drive? It may have seemed stressful or difficult at first, but each time you got behind the wheel, it was easier than the last.

Similar to driving, gardening is a new life skill — with the added benefit that gardening is better for your health, and for your pocketbook, and certainly for the environment. You just need to start growing food and learn as you grow.

The most important way to grow food in a survival situation is to grow sprouts. This is also the most versatile as sprouts are easily grown indoors, anywhere in the world, regardless

of outdoor weather conditions.

If you attended Hippocrates Wellness’s Life Transformation Program you have already learned specifically how to grow sprouts. Sprouts are nutritional powerhouses, and, in many cases, can be grown with just seeds and water. Some sprouts can be ready in just a few days, making them instant, fresh food!

My gardening expertise is focused on growing food in soil, which is the other primary way to provide food in a survival situation. Vegetables grown in soil can be ready in as few as 25 days, while others may take 90 or more days to grow before harvest. Over time you will discover which crops grow best in your area, and which mature quickly.

Both sprouting and traditional soil-based gardening have their place. Sprouting is especially good for a short-term food growing solution, and gardening in soil is utilized for more long-term production of the bulk of the foods you will eat.

That said, sprouting is a good practice to maintain, as sprouts can beautifully complement the food you will grow in your garden. Some heartier leafy sprouts, such as sunflower and pea sprouts, can be meals unto themselves. Bean sprouts are hearty as well, very easy to grow and are ready to eat very quickly.

Now let’s talk about resources. What I mean by “resources” are all the supplies you will need to grow your own food. Instead of storing things like canned foods, you will want to store things like organic seeds, purified water, sprouting trays, buckets, as well as other tools that will allow you to grow your food.

Large quantities of organic sprouting seeds are essential. I would also store heirloom vegetable seed packets (to plant in the ground).

An often overlooked food source are local wild edibles. In my area, there are wild foods (many people would consider them “weeds”) that grow really well, untended by man. These include things like dandelion, clover, sorrel, stinging nettles, plantain, mallow, lambs quarter, chickweed and miner’s lettuce. These can be wild-harvested without you even having to tend to them.

I encourage you to learn about the wild foods in your area by seeking out an expert. You can harvest these plants and their seeds. You can also cultivate these wild foods in your garden and they virtually take care of themselves!

I really enjoy including wild foods in my diet. They offer me not just new taste sensations, but (more importantly) nutrients that are absent in standard produce items.

The best tip I can give about seed storage: airtight containers. One of the easiest and least expensive is a five-gallon bucket with a lid that has a good rubber seal.

Besides just storing seeds, you will want to store some purified water for drinking and to water your plants. One excellent way of doing this is by catching the rainwater off your roof. If you have barrels or totes to catch your rain water, you will have a supply of water on hand to use to water your garden and for other needs in case a situation arises.

You will also want to have supplies on hand to grow sprouts; including: trays, buckets, sprout bags, etc. For growing outside, the main things you need are the seeds and some water. It is smart to have tools to work the soil, too.

If I had to pick just one soil nutrient, it would be trace minerals. This can be in the form of a rock dust or sea water solution to provide your sprouts and plants with trace minerals that are absent in topsoils of today. Trace minerals make a big difference in your yield and in the health of the plants you grow, plus the plants absorb these trace minerals and convert them to a form that you can absorb. This means you’ll get trace minerals in your food.

How can you start your survival garden? Just like driving a car, you need to get behind the wheel. Grow some sprouts and start a garden today. This will give you handy skills for later, should you need them. Even if you don’t end up facing a “survival situation,” you will benefit greatly from the time invested in growing your own food. You will also save money, get exercise, connect with nature and most importantly eat more nutritious food than what is offered in the store.

After reading this you may feel a bit overwhelmed by all my suggestions, but even starting with a single tray of sprouts or a potted herb plant on your windowsill is a step in the right direction. I encourage all of you to start growing a small vegetable garden today.

Even if you are in a small apartment, you can start with sprouts and vegetables in pots or other containers. Anything that holds dirt will work to get you started. By starting a garden today, you will begin learning important skills, and start acquiring all the tools of the trade. In addition, you will start growing the most important aspect of any garden: the soil. I strive to constantly improve my soil, as the soil is the basis for the food I will grow and eat.

Even a small garden space can produce lots of food if planned properly.

If you don’t think you can grow enough food to feed your family, consider that my 4,000 square foot lot provides me enough space to grow 90–95% of my vegetables year round. You can do it, too! I encourage everyone to start growing their own food not only to learn the skills for survival, but also for today, as each one of us needs to thrive instead of just “survive.”