U.S. President Biden stated on March 24, 2022, that food shortages are “going to be real” following sanctions on Russia. And, my fellow Americans — we are included in that statement. I implore you to consider starting a survival garden today.
Survival gardens used to be called Victory Gardens. People planted food in back yards, front yards, and vacant lots during World Wars 1 and 2. Many also kept some chickens or rabbits. Imagine how much this reduced their grocery bills and provided food at times when it was expensive, rationed, and in short supply.
In the 1940’s, more than 40% of all the fresh produce consumed in the U.S. was grown in Victory Gardens! (That’s according to history.com.) There was a problem with the food supply, and people became part of the solution. It’s amazing, when we put our minds to it we can have a great impact!
It’s time to become part of the solution to today’s problems with food inflation and shortages. The experts say it will continue to get worse and will take years to recover. I say it’s time to get started — today.
Everyone should be starting a survival garden today
At the time of writing, there are no regulations limiting what and how much we can grow. You may be limited by an HOA or local ordinances, and I encourage you to research your limitations today. Look it up online and make phone calls to find out if you are limited for some reason. And then start growing food up to those limits.
Ideally, you have a big yard or acreage to grow a garden. However, you’re probably starting a survival garden on a much smaller scale. And that’s okay. Let’s start right where we are, today.
The time to provide your own food is *now*
“Don’t’ be scared, be prepared.” Fear keeps you trapped, but knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you can prepare. Commit to taking care of yourself, your family, and working together as a community as you’re starting a survival garden today.
The time for a wait-and-see attitude is passed. At the time of writing, it’s springtime in the northern hemisphere and the perfect time to get some seeds in the ground. But remember, you can grow food in any season anywhere in the world. Greenhouse gardening, container gardening and indoor gardening are popular hobbies that can provide you with food all year long.
If you have a backyard, it’s easy to start growing some of your own food. If you’re in an apartment or otherwise cannot plant in a yard, there’s good news for you too. Anyone can grow something, whether it’s a full-fledged farm or a few containers on the windowsill. Check your locale for a community garden, or ask a friend who has a large property to let you start a garden, and share the bounty with them.
If you’re already gardening, good on you! Is there something else you can add to your existing garden? Maybe a couple extra tomato plants or some herbs you haven’t tried yet. If you’re not a gardener yet, let’s go!
Let’s get started!
Determine how much space you have to grow food. Do you have a patio or balcony? A nice big backyard? A few acres? If you truly don’t have space, ask a friend who does have room for a garden. Maybe you can combine efforts where your friend has the yard and you work together to grow food, sharing the harvest.
You need healthy soil to plant in. Read on to see how to do this quickly, on the cheap.
Last, you need seeds, which I talk about below.
Lasagna Gardening for starting a survival garden today
Rising fertilizer costs and shortages (and other economic factors) are presenting challenges for many backyard gardeners at the moment. Let’s think outside the box.
There’s a method of building soil called Lasagna Gardening. It reduces your need for fertilizer, which is great news in today’s strained market. The layers you lay down are basically a kind of compost pile, but one that you can plant in directly.
In lasagna gardening, compostable materials are layered on the ground or in raised beds to create a no-till, no-dig way to build a garden quickly. You can plant in it right away, and over time the materials will break down to build rich soil.
In a perfect world, you would build your lasagna garden in the fall and let it compost over the winter. You would gather and buy specific materials and place them in exact layers. These days, there’s no time to waste. It’s time to plant now, even when fertilizer is hard to find and bagged soil amendments have become expensive.
Great news — there’s no need to wait, and no need to be too particular about the materials you gather! I’ve successfully built lasagna gardens haphazardly and planted directly in them, resulting in a great garden yield. Others have done this too, with excellent results.
To plant in it right way, ideally you’ll want the top few inches to be topsoil or finished compost. BUT…if this is stopping you from starting your garden, then skip this step. (I’ve actually done it both ways, and it works even skipping this step!) The goal is to start growing food right away.
Collect lasagna garden materials — compost is built by mixing “greens” and “browns”
In the world of composting, there are two types of organic materials, referred to as “greens” and “browns.” Greens are fresh materials that are high in moisture, and browns are dry low-moisture items. You need about twice as many browns as greens, or else your compost will be too wet and lead to mold and bad smells.
- Greens are fresh, damp things like fresh grass clippings and other fresh garden trimmings. They feel damp to the touch and haven’t had time to get dry and crunchy yet.
- Browns refer to dry items like cardboard, newspaper, peat moss, dry pine needles, straw, and crunchy leaves. Ask friends and neighbors to save their cardboard boxes and newspapers for you. If your bed is at least a couple feet deep, you can even use bigger tree branches on the lowest layer. They’re great for filling in those deeper levels and will very slowly break down to release organic material back into the soil.
- After you build the lasagna garden, designate a corner of the yard to collect all these same items in a compost pile. After it breaks down, you can use the finished compost to amend your garden beds next year. As your garden grows, top dress with this finished compost. This just means to sprinkle small shovels full of compost all around your existing plants. It gives them a nutrient boost during the growing season.
Manure from livestock
Manure is a fantastic addition to any garden or compost pile. Just remember a few things.
Do not use manure from any animal that eats meat (that means no cat or dog poop). Most livestock animals are strict vegetarians and their manure can be composted.
Most fresh manure will burn the plants in your garden. The exception is goat and rabbit manure ~ if you know someone with these critters, ask them for the manure. All other manure can go directly into your compost pile for a very valuable contribution to next year’s garden fertilizer! Hit up neighbors that have chickens, horses, pigs, cows, sheep, etc.
Make sure to include the straw and bedding too! Anything organic can be composted.
NOTE — if you’re planting in your lasagna garden right away, don’t use any of the “hot” manure listed above, and instead use only goat and rabbit manure. If these aren’t available, you have the option of using store-bought manure if it’s available and affordable for you. Otherwise, just focus on collecting whatever manure you’re able to, and compost it for use next season. Don’t let it stop you from getting started today.
How I collect items for my lasagna gardens
- Ask people to save boxes and newspapers for me.
- Ask neighbors for their lawn clippings. Most are happy to get rid of the stuff. Keep in mind that heavily sprayed lawns will introduce chemicals into your garden. Try to gather clippings from untreated lawns.
- Go into the forest with big bins and a small shovel. Collect manure from deer and elk, and dried cow pats from free-range cattle. Scoop out the composted crumbly insides of fallen trees. Smash some dried leaves and pine needles into the bins as well. Small fallen twigs are a great addition too. Anything organic and compostable is fair game. It’s free and I’m cleaning up the forest floor. No worries for the environment — there’s plenty left behind to break down and nourish the trees. If you have a forested area nearby, make sure it’s legal for you to collect these items. Then spend a couple hours in the fresh air, getting your hands dirty (don’t forget your gardening gloves!) and really connect to nature.
- Some municipalities give away these materials. Contact your local waste management or recycling program to find out if you have access to free materials.
First steps
Choose a sunny spot in the yard for your garden. It can be any shape or size that suits your needs. Some partial shade is okay since there are some plants, like lettuce, that don’t mind a little less sun.
Use a garden hose or rope to mark off the area for the garden. The plot(s) should be 4’ wide or less. You want to be able to reach across it without stepping on your plants. Lay out as many garden beds as you want.
At this point you might make sure that your garden hose reaches the garden bed. (If it doesn’t, you’ll need to find a way to water the garden, which usually means lugging heavy buckets of water.)
Decide if you want to layer the materials directly on the ground, or if you’d rather build a raised bed. Raised beds are simple 4-sided frames, usually made from wood boards, to contain the garden. They can be 1 to 2 feet deep, or taller if you don’t want to bend down to tend to the garden.
If you want raised beds, check your garage or ask friends and neighbors if they have scrap wood they want to get rid of. Check local big box home stores for scraps, too. Facebook Marketplace and Freecycle can be good places to find materials. A contractor or carpenter friend might point you in the right direction.
Raised beds or not, these ideas will get you starting a survival garden today. You may want to quickly knock out a raised bed or two, and that’s fantastic. If not, do what you need to get that food growing.
If you don’t have a yard to plant in
You can use these same principles even on a patio or any other small space.
Use large plastic bins or other big containers to build your lasagna layers. Make sure your containers have holes drilled in the bottom for water drainage. Line the bottom of the container with gravel and then lay your lasagna layers on top.
You can also use large canvas bags or feed sacks. If the bags are waterproof, poke a couple holes in the bottom so excess water can drain out.
You get the idea — use your imagination to upcycle any large container into a lasagna garden.
Build the lasagna garden
Start by laying cardboard or newspaper directly on the ground to choke out any weeds and grass. Top with a layer of greens.
On top of that, lay down alternate layers of browns and greens. Try to make the brown layers about twice as thick as the green layers. Don’t worry about it being perfect, just get all those goodies laid out.
Finish off with a layer of browns. It will be easier to plant your seeds if this top layer’s materials are crushed. Even easier, lay some topsoil or finished compost, if you have them. Your little seeds will rest very comfortably in this fluffy top layer.
Aim to make the bed a couple feet tall. As it breaks down and composts, the level will shrink down pretty fast.
If you don’t have enough materials to build the bed a couple feet deep, then simply start with a smaller garden bed…for now. You can always expand it later, as you gather up enough materials. In fact, you can continually expand it through the summer and well into autumn. It will break down over the winter, giving you perfect soil to plant in next season.
Smooth over the top of your new garden beds to get them ready for seeds. Water well enough to moisten them thoroughly (without making them soggy).
Deciding what to plant
Calories
The #1 priority in a survival garden is calories. To survive, you need enough calories. Certain plants provide starches and other calorie-dense carbohydrates. Animals also provide calories in their fat, which is easily rendered for daily use in the kitchen. Remember, you won’t be eating a calorie-restricted, low-fat diet if food is in short supply.
For example, grow some of these calorie-dense foods.
- Irish potatoes — which are white potatoes and related colorful varieties (white, red and purple, for example).
- Sweet potatoes — which also come in a variety of colors (orange, white and purple).
- Corn — grow sweet corn for its obvious deliciousness. Also grow some field corn that can be dried and ground into cornmeal (for cornbread!). You can even grow popcorn.
- Winter squash, including pumpkins — there are so many countless, wonderful varieties! They’re beautiful, tasty, and keep for a long time.
- Beans — these come in a kaleidoscope of lovely colors and flavors. Think pintos for refried beans, kidney beans for chili, chickpeas for hummus, white beans for salads and casseroles, and black beans for tacos. Once dried, they can be stored for use all year round. Delicious, nutritious, beautiful, practical…what more can you ask for.
- Sunflowers — not only do they add vibrant color to the garden, their seeds contain valuable fat to the diet. Cover the flower heads with bird netting, because humans aren’t the only critters who love to eat these seeds!
- Peanuts — a good source of calories if you’re able to grow them in your climate.
- Nuts — if you have access to almond, walnut and pecan trees, collect the nuts for eating, baking, and making nut butters. Nuts are full of health-building fats.
- Chickens — their eggs supply you with healthy fat in the yolks. Render the fat under the skin to use in cooking. Before deciding to raise chickens, check your local laws and ordinances to make sure you can legally do so. Many jurisdictions allow at least a few backyard hens.
From this list, choose a couple foods that you and your family already like to eat. Do a quick search to find out which ones grow well in your area.
Nutrition
The second priority is nutrition. It’s true that calorie-dense plants are nutritious, but you’ll need some additional foods to complete your nutrient profile.
These are the foods that are high in vitamins, major minerals and trace minerals, and phytonutrients. They build health over the long-term and help prevent disease.
They also add a much-needed variety of flavors during shortages.
They’re all the veggies that aren’t on the calorie-dense food list above:
- Lettuces — leaf lettuce is easy to grow. Also try romaine or iceberg.
- Greens — spinach, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, collards…everyone can find at least one that they enjoy. Remember, you can also eat beet greens and radish and carrot tops, too! Each one brings its own personality to the dinner plate.
- Beets and carrots — these root veggies are easy to grow. Your homegrown version will most likely be remarkably sweeter, more colorful and tastier than the store-bought counterparts. Choose from a beautiful variety of colors (each hue has a different array of antioxidants, too!).
- Cabbage family — green and red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Napa cabbage, bok choy, turnips, mustard greens. Such variety, so many flavors.
- Sweet and hot peppers — red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers, in mini or regular sizes. Spicy poblano, habanero and jalapenos. These lovely little gems add a burst of flavor and condensed nutrition to any dish.
- Garlic, onions, ginger and turmeric — easy to grow and a tasty foundation for most meals. They are all superfoods that pack a potent punch of flavor and nutrients.
- Sprouts — while waiting for your vegetable garden to grow, sprouts are an excellent addition to your kitchen. They are easy to grow, ready in a few days, and high in many valuable nutrients.
- Rabbits — a great protein source when you cannot legally raise chickens and other livestock on your land. They can be cage-raised in the garage or shed, and “pet” rabbits can be pastured in rabbit tractors in a grassy area. Their meat is very lean, and therefore not necessarily calorie-dense, but useful as a protein source.
With all this in mind, think about your family’s favorite vegetables. For a more complete nutritional profile, “choose from the rainbow.” For example, grow red beets, orange bell peppers, yellow summer squash, green spinach, purple carrots. The more colorful, the better!
Now that you have 5 or 10 veggies in mind, do a little research to find out if they grow well in your specific area.
Flavor and Herbal Medicine
The third and last priority is herbs — a variety of plants that add flavor and can be used as herbal medicine. Grow them as you have room, and the ability to get seeds.
These are the plants that augment the delicious foods you’re already growing. They also have medicinal properties that come in handy when you want to reduce reliance on conventional medicine.
Which herbs do you typically reach for at meal time? Choose a few to add to your garden…
- Basil
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Sage
- Oregano
- Lavender
Having a variety of herbs on hand means you’ll always have a way to make your garden harvest taste even better! All these herbs can be dried and stored in the pantry for year-round use. Mix a few together to make Italian seasoning or any other blend you like.
Here’s some info on the fastest and easiest vegetables to grow. This might help you decide exactly how to plan your right-now garden.
Buying seeds
Now that you know what to grow, it’s time to get some seeds. For our purposes here, let’s talk about two types of seeds — hybrid and non-hybrid.
Hybrid seeds are the easiest to find — you can get them at any hardware or big box store, some dollar stores, and even some grocers. If this is what you can afford and will get you started, then by all means get them!
Be aware, however, that you won’t be able to save seeds for next year. Hybrid seeds grow plants that produce food for the first harvest. You can save seeds from those foods (like tomato or bell pepper seeds, for example) but if you plant them next year, they won’t produce food like the first plant did. Some might not produce any food at all.
That’s why I’ve found it useless to save seeds from most store-bought produce. The exception is — if the food is organic, the seeds might work if planted the next spring. I’ve had good success using seeds from produce purchased at farmers markets. Of course, ask the seller if the item is organic and non-hybrid. And then you’ll know if you can save the seeds as you’re starting a survival garden today.
Therefore, with the future in mind, plant seeds that are non-hybrid, such as open-pollinated, organic or heirloom varieties
Look for these seeds at any big box or hardware store or garden center. They’re usually on the same rack as the hybrid seeds, but the packets will be labeled organic, heirloom or non-hybrid. You can also buy seeds online.
Then, when you head out to the garden and pick that perfect, beautiful, delicious tomato from the vine, save the seeds and be confident that you’ll grow more of the same next year.
As you collect seeds, find other seed savers to trade seeds with. Ask at your local farmers markets, health food stores, or search online for a local organic gardeners group. It’s fun to hang out with other gardeners to learn tips and tricks, and trade seeds to try out new varieties.
Now you’re ready to follow the instructions on the seed packet, as well as any details that are specific to your area, and sow the seeds.
Just get started
Maybe you’re planting rows of carrots and radishes. Or maybe you just start with a few seeds in milk jugs on the patio.
Either way, it’s important that you’re starting a survival garden today. As food gets harder to come by and prices keep going up, you’ll be very glad you did.
Tell us what you’re growing and your food production goals!
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