gardening and foraging for resilience

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.

 

navigating power, water, and communication outages

This is the third post in a series on prepping should you feel so inclined to do so for the present situation, or for future potential interruptions. The first post outlined the five inexpensive and versatile foods to stock first and the second post gave some tips on how to ensure easy access to fresh fruits and veggies during a crisis. 

In this third post, I will discuss how to navigate power interruptions, whether they come about from natural or man-made reasons. 

Many preppers recommend a generator. I do not. If you get one that connects directly to the natural gas line in your house, I would be more open to it. The portable generators that have been really heavily marketed the past few years, I would not suggest. They are very expensive, require maintenance every three months or so to keep the battery in a good state (minimal maintenance, but still one more thing to remember while keeping up a house), and they would be limited during any sort of long-term power outage. If you have made it this far without needing one for a short-term power outage, you probably don't need one now. For a long-term power outage, eventually it's going to be difficult to charge a portable generator. They require purchasing extension batteries (raising the cost even higher), utilizing solar panels (again most likely an additional expensive on top of the already expensive unit and somewhere like where I am in Minnesota the sun would not be sufficient), or being plugged into your car for two hours (gas is going to be in short supply if we are actually in a long term crisis so this is probably not going to be feasible to do for any length of time). When considering whether to buy a portable generator, think about how many times you anticipate needing to use the unit. Both the core battery and the extension batteries last ten years or less. Comparing the cost of the unit and any extension battery packs and solar attachments you might buy, is that upfront cost worth using the unit one time in ten years, two times, five times? Once the battery does go out, you guessed it...another expense. And, surprisingly (or maybe not surprising based on the frustrating regularity of planned obsolescence), some models do not have core batteries that can be replaced at all. So, after ten years you're either stuck starting over buying an entire new unit and all of the accessories. Or, in some cases, if it's an option for that particular model, paying a technician to switch the battery out with a newly bought battery.

So, you are better off focusing your efforts on learning how to navigate life without being able to use power. Sounds scary, and a little uncomfortable. But, if you practice your skills and go into a situation prepared for it, it will be a lot less so. 

Heating and cooling a home without power is probably the issue most people would be thinking about solving initially. I can't help you with cooling your house, other than suggesting opening the windows and getting a good cross breeze ;) Heating a home without power is a little bit easier to solve, in most cases. If you have a fireplace, practice building a fire that lets off the maximum amount of heat. I have contacted a company that services chimney's so they can show me how to use the wood burning fireplace insert in the basement and am chopping and stacking firewood as trees fall so that firewood will be "seasoned" and ready to use. If you don't have a fireplace, there are many DIY videos out there to give you some ideas for creating spaces heaters, some elaborate and others using even just candles.

Cooking will be a labor of love if there are extended power outages. It will take much longer and most likely require tending a fire. So, get familiar with how to cook over an open fire and maybe grab a fondue pot if you see one at a thrift store that you can use to cook some things in when you're indoors. Instead of buying gadgets like solar ovens, which again rely on strong solar rays, you might consider investing in a butane camping stove. Ultimately though, the best option is probably to be amping up your skills in fire building and getting used to cooking recipes over the open fire. Fire wood is plentiful and while you can buy grates and tripods to expand your campfire setup, much of what you need you can just scrounge around your house and garage for. You can even bake bread and desserts over a fire!

 

Charging a phone would be viable for short periods using power banks or plugging it into a car charger. Long term, or if the communication network completely went down, phones would be useless. Consider getting up to speed on the meshtastic network for communicating. The units are powered by just small batteries and don't utilize any sort of cell network to operate.  

Related to the above, if communication goes down, radio communication will also be important. Many people race to get crank radios. In my research, I found the majority of them to not be so beneficial. It takes a lot of hand cranking to get limited power. The hand cranks on them do not look sturdy enough to  last through prolonged use. And, cranking every half hour is not what you'll want to be doing while you're trying to juggle all the other tasks like finding water and cooking food over a fire. Instead, I bought a vintage 80's alarm clock radio from a thrift store for $1.50, which can be run on batteries if power is out. 

Most likely, we would adjust to doing our daily activities during daylight. Yet, I did purchase an Energizer lantern. The handle will make it easy to carry outside if needed. 

Many people aren't aware that even if they have a well they will not have water if there is no power. You could consider having a well drilled that has a hand pump. More realistically, though, purchase an inexpensive water filter or a more expensive countertop version for drinking and cooking. Keep your eye out while thrifting or garage saling for one of those orange sports jugs with spigot, which would be useful for hand washing. And, think about getting two five gallon bucket toilets with pine pet bedding. You can also buy just the seats to pair with your own five gallon buckets. 

Hope this gave you some further direction on your prepping journey. Stay tuned for upcoming posts food storage, optional sustenance and supplies to layer on, gardening, foraging, and even some simple recipes to have handy in your toolkit!

ensuring easy access to fresh fruits and veggies during a crisis

This is the second post in my series on prepping. If you're just jumping in, see my prior post on the 5 inexpensive and versatile foods to stock first.

Once you've got the five most important foods stocked, you might decide that is sufficient for your anticipated needs, which is absolutely fine - these decisions are ones we all need to make based on our own criteria and priorities. If you do want to round out the assortment in your long-term pantry to further expand the foods you can make and ensure you are covering dietary needs, read on for next steps.

This next phase is really quite easy, and actions I'm sure you'll find helpful in your daily routine, not just during a period of uncertainty. It involves connecting with your community to find sources for fresh items and learning to grow a few things inside your house - not a garden and nothing that takes up more than a few inches of space, perfect for even small apartments!

Connect with people in your community to find a source for honey/maple syrup, eggs, meat, and fresh veggies and fruits. If you live in the country, typically you will see plentiful signs along the road advertising these items. Or, you can investigate to see if some local farms offer them. If you live in the city (and in the country too), look to join a CSA (community support agriculture). A quick search online will provide many websites listing active CSA's in your area or state, your neighborhood food co-op will likely have a board posting these, or check at your local farmers market. Farmers markets, in general, depending on how big they are, may provide everything you need. Fruit may be impacted by both weather and availability workers to pick them. So, check out berry picking farms near you. Many sell the berries as well if you can't, or don't want to, pick them yourself. Scouting these out ahead of a crisis, getting familiar with how they work, and incorporating them into your life will put you more at ease when the time comes where supply disruptions or shortages forces the necessity of these alternative means of getting fresh vegetables, fruits, and eggs/meat. The last few Summers, I have been visiting a farm two miles away from me that sells fresh vegetables, honey, maple syrup, jams, meat, eggs, strawberries, and blueberries. I passed their sign by the road for many years without paying any mind to what it was advertising. So, it pays to be on the lookout as they have been a fantastic resource since then! Two neighbors within walking distance from me also sell eggs, both duck and chicken, that I can get year-round. And, by visiting farmers markets, I have scouted out sources for honey, maple syrup, and fresh and dried mushrooms, all who deliver. 

 

 

The second suggestion I have for getting fresh veggies into your diet during supply chain or production disruptions, is to learn how to sprout. Anyone is able to do this on a kitchen counter with only a few inches of space - no grow lights or space for pots needed. If interruption to your daily life goes on for a significant amount of time, you will be craving fresh veggies. Sprouting provides that, and a lot of nutrition as well! The basic method of sprouting is to soak seeds in water for a number of hours and then rinse and tip upside down the mason jar with your seeds in it so it can drain. It takes just minutes out of each day to rinse and drain, and after just a few days you are rewarded with a jarful of fresh sprouts. A lot of people are familiar with the stringy sprouts most often offered at the grocery store. That is just one type. There are close to fifty types! Sprouted peas taste just like eating fresh peas from your garden and sprouted wheat can be turned into bread, just to name a few types! You need specific seeds for sprouting. These sprouting seeds are just like the seeds you plant, however, they have been tested for high germination rates and have been stored appropriately to suppress any mold. Sprout People is my favorite source for seeds. They are so passionate about sprouting, have built a solid network of seed suppliers ensuring quality, and provide detailed information on each page of their website to guarantee you are successful in getting your seeds to sprout to their full potential. They also have a range of mixes I have never seen offered anywhere else - a great way to take in a variety of nutrients and vitamins, rather than just eating one type of sprout at a time. Also, visit their Substack page, which has an immense archive of information. True Leaf Market is another great source. They stock the largest range of seeds I have seen and the quality has also been great every time I have ordered. While you're on their site, take a look at their stainless steel wide mouth sprouting lids as well. You'll typically be using a quart size mason jar to sprout, which you probably already have on hand (just make sure it is really clean to deter mold growth). And, you'll also need some sort of mesh lid for the jar, which allows water to slowly drain out in between your rinses. Buying the special stainless steel sprouting lids works well. Or, you can retrofit your own mason jar rings - cut circles to fit inside the ring out of window screen, fine hardware cloth, or plastic canvas (used for needlecraft). Or, place a double or triple layer of cheesecloth or muslin over the top of the jar and secure with the mason jar ring or a rubber band. I tip my jars upside down on a wood rack my dad made for me, but you can just set a bowl in a corner of your kitchen, leaning the mason jar against the wall/cupboard so it is tipped slightly and can drain into the bowl. No need to buy a special stand unless you want to. I will create a post specifically on sprouting, but I hope that gets you more familiar with the fun and ease of sprouting!

If you have a large South facing window in your apartment or house, you may be able to grow a medley of things successfully without any grow lights, heat mats, or humidity tents. Deep in Winter here in Minnesota, I have been able to grow a variety of lettuce, romaine, and corn mache as well as green onions. Additionally, I am testing out growing potatoes, red onions, garlic, and compact peas and peppers by this window, so I will keep you updated on how those progress!

What do you think about this phase? Do you think this sounds doable? And, even a little fun?!

the 5 inexpensive and versatile foods to stock first if you want to start prepping

Thinking about doing a little prepping? There is a lot of information out there! Everyone seems to have an opinion on it. In one aspect, it's good to read these differing view points and then come to your own conclusion about what will be right for you. However, all of the varying thoughts can also make it extremely overwhelming to decide which direction to head. 

Here, I will lay out the only five foods you need to get you started. No expensive generators, power banks, or solar ovens needed. Just some staple foods that will transform into so many versatile and varying meals. 

The five staple foods I suggest you focus on:

1) Flour - all purpose flour and bread flour

2) Whole milk powder

3) White sugar

4) Potato flakes

5) Beans - black beans and garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

With the above five items, you can make an astounding amount of diversified foods...

- All purpose flour and bread flour will provide fresh baked bread, sweet treats, pie crusts, pancakes, and thickeners for sauces. 

- Yes, with whole milk powder you will of course always have milk on hand by mixing it with water. But, you can also easily make it into yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, ice cream, buttermilk, sour cream, cream cheese and so much more using just a small amount of a few other ingredients you'll most likely already have in your cupboard.

- When properly stored away from humidity, white sugar can last indefinitely. Naturally, it can be used in baked goods "as is," but if you add corn starch you now have powdered sugar and if you add molasses you now have brown sugar. 

- Potato flakes provide a comforting food option that supplies high calories when food is scarce. And, just like the other items, not only can they be made into mashed potatoes, they contribute to an array of other foods, including being a substitute for bread crumbs in meatloaf, thickening soups, creating a crunchy coating for fish and chicken, and as an addition to rolls and tortillas.

- Black beans and garbanzo beans are the most widely used types of beans so that's why I chose them. You will have a protein in your diet just by cooking them up as a side. But, just like the other items, you can easily transform them into many things. Chickpeas can be turned into hummus or ground into flour, for example. 

In a future post, I will include some specifics for storing items both short and long term. But, at a simplified level, the above items can be stored for one or two years (and, in the case of the sugar, indefinitely) without any expensive mylar bags or special buckets. So, not only are they extremely versatile, they also are easy to store without purchasing additional expensive items or creating a special setup.

How much of the above items you buy and store is up to you. One key factor to decide this would be how many people are in your household. And, the second key factor, which might take longer to ponder, is what type(s) of things are you prepping for. Do you just foresee minor disruptions such as a short-term natural disaster that would knock out power for a few days to a week, shelves are bare, and gas may be scarce? Do you foresee a few months where there is a shortage of water, disruptions in the food and product supply chain, and gas prices are double the normal price? Do you foresee a year where the power grid has gone down, affecting communication as well, a war may have landed on our soil, and/or there is so much unrest that it is not always safe to go out? These scenarios sound crazy, and why the "prepper" term has gotten such a negative connotation. However, we're already seeing record droughts in the Western states this year and by 2030 the drought will reach large metropolitan US cities and continue progressing through other areas of the world. We don't like to think about it, but sooner rather than later, we will be faced with water rationing. Only a month into the Iran war, gas prices have already risen to record levels and airlines and airports are cutting flights and rationing fuel. This isn't meant to scare anyone, or cause anyone to not live in the moment and lead a fulfilling life. But, staying aware of some of the impending challenges by reading articles and taking small actions to prepare can help us all lead a better life when (not if) things continue to get more tricky to navigate. Therefore, determine what you believe will transpire, how it will affect your daily life, and what is reasonable to enact in order to prepare.

As one person (and a dog), I have stored away a 5 gallon bucket of each of the five items I listed above as most essential. I use daily some of what is stored away. And, then I replenish as needed, so I always have 5 gallons in long term storage available. I have practiced my skills so I now, by memory, can turn these staple ingredients into so many other things such as yogurt, artisan bread, soups, hummus, etc., and if needed can do these things over an open fire. 

I hope this gives you the confidence and nudge that with minimal effort and funds you can start feeling more empowered over your food security. And, that it won't be bland monotonous diet you'll have to be forced to rely on. Instead, just a few simple pantry items can be an inspiring jumping off point for nourishment.

Again, I'll be sharing in future posts additional details on storage, why I don't suggest purchasing some items that other preppers recommend, and some extra items you can layer on if you want to increase your self-sufficiency further. Look out for those shortly!