If you want to level up your prepping just a bit more, this post is for you. It is the fourth in the series. The first post outlined the five inexpensive and versatile foods to stock first, the second post gave some tips on how to ensure easy access to fresh fruits and veggies during a crisis, and the third discussed how to navigate power interruptions.
In this post, let's talk about gardening. I don't think having a garden is necessary. However, if you have the space, why not try growing a few things? It's fun, and studies have even show it's good for our mental health!
Gardening does not have to be expensive like corporations and influencers would have you believe. Seeds are very inexpensive (and can be saved and traded with friends making them entirely free), seed starting can be done in used food cartons and containers (no new plastic tray needed), raised beds can be made by simply hilling dirt, and dirt can be amended with chopping and dropping weeds and grass clippings and adding in food scraps and leaves. The only expense you may have if you can't salvage fencing materials, is in buying t-posts and welded wire fencing. Also, you may want to buy grow lights. However, you don't have to. I choose to primarily only plant foods that will grow in my short season direct sowed, not wanting to deal with the time and expense of starting seeds indoors.
When creating a plan for your garden beds, take a look at Square Foot Gardening, created by Mel Bartholomew. It gained popularity in 1981, with the release of a book by the same name. The premise of the method is to divide your garden bed into one foot squares versus rows. In each square block, you plant one type of seed in a quantity that will fill the entire square, sometimes with a companion plant(s) as well. Utilizing the space so effectively allows plants to be shaded by others (with proper planning of what to plant where) and deters weed growth since so little soil is left bare. This conserves water and time weeding. Digging into his method also makes you realize how much people over plant compared to their needs, thereby creating extra work for themselves growing food they most likely will just have to give away or leave to rot. For example, this is how much can be grown in two months in just one 4x4 foot area!...
32 carrots, 12 bunches of leaf lettuce, 18 bunches of spinach, 16 radishes, 16 scallions, 16 beets, 9 Japanese turnips, 5 pounds of peas, 1 head of cabbage, 4 heads of romaine lettuce, 1 head of cauliflower, and 1 head of broccoli.
You can plant whatever you want, this is just an example of production levels to show what a very small space can churn out. As plants reach maturity and you pick their harvest, you can plant again in that square foot, either the same plant to get a second harvest, or switch to a different type - maybe a cold season Fall variety depending on the timing.
Many people have shrubs or perennials in front and/or around the perimeter of their house. If you do as well, consider adding in plants that can be both pretty and be made into a salad, brewed into a tea, or added to soups (mint, sorrel, daylilies, alliums, walking onions, jerusalem artichoke, lovage, rhubarb, hostas, and herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and dill to name a few). Some of them may be nibbled on by hungry deer, rabbits, and chipmunks. However, many of these plants are deterrents to these animals, so working in harmony your harvest should still be fruitful.
Don't forget that even "pesky" dandelions and other "weeds" are actually super nutritious! Ensure you are not picking from any areas where there has been harmful chemicals applied (or runoff from chemicals). Assuming that is not the case, it can be pleasurable to create something tasty out of plants that would otherwise cause stress.
If you have the space, creating a food forest could be a very abundant and interesting way to add fruit trees and bushes into your backyard.
As you switch out plants and add plants to your landscape, invest in ones that are drought tolerant, which you will appreciate in the years ahead. Learn natural fertilizer and composting techniques - I've been really wanting to learn bokashi, a Japanese way of fermenting food waste to use for compost. And, take a foraging class. All of these will make you more resilient and flexible for whatever is thrown your way.
