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Gardening and Survival…….

One of the very first steps towards preparedness should involve food. Food storage specifically will be discussed at another time. But this is a fact – no matter how much food you store – it will run out eventually. So – what do you do? You plant and grow your own food.

There are lots of resources on the Internet on gardening – including the Gardening Download Page here at this site. What I must emphasize is the absolute must that you start gardening now. Gardening is not just throwing some seed in the ground and picking the vegetables that grow. It takes a decent amount of knowledge involving soil preparation, composting, seed/plant selection, fertilizing, and planting times to grow successfully. You cannot just buy a can of “survival seeds” and when TSHTF expect to be able to garden successfully.

My preparations are targeted toward a long-term TEOTWAWKI(The End of the World as We Know It) situation. With this in mind – I haves spent the past several years “practicing” the art of gardening. Through trials and tribulations I have learned an awful lot.  I have had successes and failures – and I can honestly say I am much better prepared today to supplement my food supply via gardening than I was just a few years ago. In fact – I am supplementing my families food supply with my gardening.

Below is a picture of my gardening space (keep in mind I currently live in a typical neighborhood on a small lot):

Click to Enlarge Pictures

The garden is approx 30 feet x 24 feet.

I have also built an 8 foot by 4 foot raised bed to expand my gardening production. The raised bed sits approx 10 inches off the ground – here is a picture:

Here in the Southeast weather turned unusually warm the beginning of April – so I rolled the dice and started planting a little early. As such, the MSO garden is in full bloom.

Check it out below:

The raised bed is doing well:

Garden crops include tomato’s, cucumbers, zucchini, crookneck summer squash, corn, watermelon, eggplants, potatoes, and peppers.

In addition to the regular and raised garden I have been trialing container gardening as well. Growing vegetables in containers can assist those with limited available land – such as apartment dwellers and house tennants that may not have permission to disturb the property.

Below are some container plantings I have done:

     Crookneck Summer Squash  

          Homemade Topsy Turvy (basil on top, huge tomato plant hanging out of bottom)

         

 Cucumbers Growing Great in 5 Gallon Bucket with Tomato Cage

 

Zucchini in Bucket – Looking Fantastic (You cannot go wrong with zucchini!!)

 

Gardening can be very rewarding. You can save money by growing your own food and reduce your exposure to the chemicals often used in mass food production. Most of all – growing your own food is amazingly satisfying. Sitting at the dinner table with a salad that contains lettece, cucumbers and tomato’s all grown from your efforts – it is a wonderful experience.

 

So – there are a lot of reasons to garden. If you are not gardening today – I recommend you start.

Take care -

Rourke

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