Secret Garden

You can turn your living area and surroundings into a Secret Garden by planting edible perennials around your house, apartment, condo, park, trails, woods, creeks, ponds and any public access area.

Start by looking at your nearby area for garden beds, hedges, planters, etc. to see what you can plant close by.  Then look at a Satellite Map of your area to identify places like trails, waterways, parks, etc. that you can legally get access to. 

Around your area, try and plant some of the following:

1. Fruit & Nut trees; Figs & native pecans are good, but any other low maintenance tree that produces food each year without humans action necessary.  Fig trees can be grown from cuttings, or cutting a finger size limb off of a regional variety that performs well and putting it in moist soil.  
2. Asparagus is a great vegetable that produce early spring food, and continues to produce for several months, as long as it is not over harvested.  It resembles a flower bed or hedge plant that most people would not recognize and can be grown most anywhere.  Plant roots are available to purchase for a few bucks, or Heirloom Seeds or the Mary Washington variety can be planted and grown, but may take more care to get them going.
3. Black berries, blue berries, muscadines, wild plums, and persimmons are all good to plant most anywhere. 
   
4. Jerusalem Artichokes and Sweet Potatoes are a good root vegetable that will be largely unnoticeable by others and can be grown most any place.
5. Spinach is a good cool weather plant that will be largely unnoticeable by others and can be grown most any place.

If necessary, grow some in pots inside, on your patio or porch to get them started. 

Once you know what grows well, begin transplanting some to surrounding areas.  Plant things that will blend in with the surroundings, and look similar to other vegetation in the area.  For example, if a hedge bush dies, replace it with a tea or blue berry bush.  Plant them on holidays, when the apartment staff is off, &/or early in the morning when few are awake.

Look for places that are already dirt surfaces like flower beds, and transplant a single plant there, with a label, or something to show this was intentionally planted, so the Gardner or lawn care people will not destroy them.  Once you get one plant growing successfully, add more. 

In nearby ponds and along creeks, you want to plant Cat Tails and Arrowhead, which are wild edible plants.

Over time, you can develop a large collection of edible plants.  In addition, if there is a park near by, feed the ducks and pigeons there. They would be a great source of emergency food if ever needed. 

Also good to identify the locations of any places that might have food or supplies for Salvaging if necessary.  For example a grocery store distribution warehouse is a good idea.  Keep old paper phone books and maps to use if the internet is down like in a power outage.

We have a number of gardening links below and in our Table of Contents that you should also visit.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents 

 

Gardening Links
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
 

Vegetable Days to Harvest Budget Garden Preparations 
Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
 

Food Shelf Life

Aquaponics Growing your own food from seed Practice Garden 

Also check out our Prepper Livestock series 

Power Outage Preps
Power Outage Heater
DIY Solar System 
The SHTF Day One
Survive a 2 week Power Outage

https://www.foragingtexas.com/

 

Best Anarchy Investment: Seeds

5,000 seeds at $80 is 1.6 cents per seed.  One seed can easily generate a dollars worth of food making them your best investment.  Think about it; turn $80 into $5,000.

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https://readynutrition.com/product/ready-nutrition-garden-kit

If you can't start a garden now, at least read and learn about gardening below and buy some seeds.

For additional information see the following links:  
Blog Table of Contents

Gardening Links
Gardening 101– Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
Vegetable Days to Harvest

Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
Aquaponics
Prepper Livestock series
DIY Solar System

Fall Garden

Budget Garden Preparations 

Practice Garden

Best Prepper Vegetable

Growing Your Own Food From Seed

Sustainable City Survival

Step by Step Prepper Plan

List of Top 10 Lists 

Top 10 Prepper Websites

Top 10 Prepper Handbook Posts

Best Prepper Vegetable

My parents and grandparents gardened on a scale up to perhaps 10 acres, although typically smaller, and we grew, canned and ate some of our vegetables, year-round.   We understood the Soil Basics, Spring Planting Dates and Fall Gardens.  We Saved Seeds from our best Heirloom vegetables to plant what grows best from our own seed, and knew how many days until harvest.
They usually had a small Green House to start plants early from seed, and then set out the plants after the last frost and also to grow a few winter veggies. 

Starting from green house plants instead of seeds, gave them a few weeks head start and allowed an earlier harvest.  An early harvest began providing food sooner, and commanded a premium at the Farmers Market, when selling our crops, that was often three times (3X) higher than mid season crop prices. 

With my grandparents and dad surviving the great depression, and World War II Food Rationing, they understood their Garden was important for survival.  As a preteen boy during the Great Depression, my dad got a biscuit from government rationed flour and a spoon of scrambled eggs each day from their chickens and then had to use wilderness survival skills to find any additional food he was going to get.  Harvesting food from nature was much easier then than today due to the large population we now have.

The point is, my family did a lot of serious gardening.  From this gardening experience, I've developed some favorites like corn on the cob, green beans, pinto beans, okra, peas, potatoes, squash, & tomatoes, which grew well, taste good and in most cases, were easily preserved.  

But there is one vegetable, that was the easiest to grow and harvest, began to deliver food early, even before most of the other vegetables were planted, and continued to yield nutritious food for several months.   In addition, it was easy to cook and taste delicious.  All of these are great traits for the Best Prepper Vegetable.

That vegetable is Asparagus! Why you might ask?  You plant asparagus once, and let it grow for 2-3 years before harvesting, to let it develop a healthy root system; then each year around the first of spring, you have the first vegetable of the year, and it will continue to produce for several months.  It begins producing about the same time as my turnip greens (and taste much better), which is historically the first garden food of the year.  Further, no pesticides are required to protect from bug, which makes it a good Prepper Vegetable as pesticides may not be available in a serious SHTF Scenario.  It also grows in almost the entire continental United States (see zone map at the bottom) and is very nutritious.

Clearly, you can see this vegetable has a lot going for it.

You can plant seeds, but planting 2 year crowns (roots)  will get you a big head start on reaping your harvest.  I have Heirloom Mary Washington (a classic), Jersey Giant & Jersey Supreme varieties.  The Mary Washington are thin (mans little finger diameter) and tender and the Jersey varieties are thick (mans ring finger diameter) and produce more.  There are constantly new varieties, like AsparaBest, with higher yields that might also be worth trying, but I do like having multiple varieties for redundancy.  I would suggest having multiple plots, with one for each variety to avoid cross pollination.

Don't wait!  Get Started NOW, on your way to a healthier life style and security of your food supply.  With a low budget garden and very little livestock (like chickens), you can survive on what you raise.  Start your small Practice Garden today.

I've included some detailed planting & harvesting information at the bottom.

For additional information see the following links:  
Blog Table of Contents

Gardening Links
Gardening 101– Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
Vegetable Days to Harvest

Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
Aquaponics
Prepper Livestock series
DIY Solar System

List of Top 10 Lists 

Top 10 Prepper Websites

Top 10 Prepper Handbook Posts

Or click on a label at the BOTTOM for similar topics.

Here is some additional planting reference information:

Product Details

• Height: Grows 3 - 4 Feet tall.
• Spacing: 12 - 18 inches apart.
• Depth: Plant 6-8 inches deep. These plants can be planted with a trowel.
• Spread: 12 - 18 inches.
• Light Required: Full Sun in most cases, but some varieties are better for partial sun. 
• Yield: Bears when roots are 3 years old, so if you purchase a 1 year plant, you can harvest in 2 years, if you order a 2 year plant you can harvest in one year. Limit harvest the first & second year. It will take 3 years after planting for the plants to be strong enough to be fully harvestable.
• Size:  6 - 12 inch spears, depending on variety.
• Zone: 3-8; Zone 9 for some varieties. 

• Pruning: Cut the ferns down to ground level in the Fall once they have turned brown, or in the early Spring before new growth appears.
• Foliage: Graceful, feathery green foliage.
• Comments: Different varieties perform better in different soils, temperature regions, and are hardier than others.  For this reason, I recommend you check out the BLUE Links to select a couple of varieties for your region.  By having more than one variety, you can see what grows best and plant more of that type.
• Fertilize with one cup of 4-3-1 (NPK) per 25 foot row or for every 16 to 24 plants depending on spacing and how many you have planted in 25'.

 Last note:  I have no affiliation with Gurney's who has good selection and information, so I link to them for your convenience only.

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For more information:

Blog Table of Contents
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time 
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 
Prepper Handbook Recommendations 

List of Top 10 Lists 

Top 10 Prepper Websites 

Top 10 Posts

Top 20 Prepper Books 

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

Fall Garden

Fall garden planting starts in August, and can yield some good healthy food for gardeners. If you have never gardened, now is a good time to start your first Practice Garden.  The ability to Growing your own food from seed is a skill that can prove priceless.  

A few dollars worth of Survival Seeds could prove to be the best investment you have ever made.  Most households have a few yard tools, but if not, there are a few Budget Garden Preparations to consider buying.

Its not hard, just get started viewing some of our links here.  Start by reading our Practice Garden post; finish up by reading Budget Garden Preparations.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents 

 

Gardening Links
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
 

Vegetable Days to Harvest Budget Garden Preparations 
Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
 

Food Shelf Life

Aquaponics Growing your own food from seed Practice Garden 

Also check out our Prepper Livestock series 

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

Practice Garden

You know fresh grown food will be healthy but in today's modern life style, you don't have time for a Garden.   

Most home owners spend many hours (or $) each year on yard care.  Mowing grass, trimming hedges, watering flowers, hedges, potted plants, and when they are done, they have nothing of true value to show for it. Okay, it looks nice, but it will improve your chances of survival by 0%.

Suppose you could have some small level of preparation with minimal cost and effort?  Not a low budget garden but just a few potted plants that grow food instead of flowers or ivy.  Instead of hedge bushes, what about blue berries, fig trees, or asparagus? Perhaps grape vines growing on your fence.  Minimal extra cost or effort, if any, but the fruit of your labor is now delicious.  Having a timer to automatically drip irrigate them will make the process even easier.

Seeds are one of the lowest cost investments you can make, are excellent for Barter, and a good addition to any Prepper Plan. But you need to know how to use them as growing plants from seed can be challenging without experience.

 In doing this, there are a few key objectives you want to accomplish.

1. Grow fresh healthy food at a fraction of the cost
2. Gain valuable experience 
3. Learn what varieties of foods grow well for you in your area
4. Save Heirloom Seeds each year to maintain your seed stock to meet future needs

1) In gardening, you will find that fresh grown foods taste much better than most store bought varieties.  This is because your crops were not picked green, weeks/months earlier nor coated with chemicals & pesticides. 

2) The gardening experience is a connection with Mother Nature that brings a peace of mind while developing a valuable skill.

3) Gardening is easy, but you would not want your life to depend on your ability to learn it overnight.  Knowing what crops will grow from seed in your area without pesticides and commercial fertilizers will provide a level of survival security that nothing else will.

4) Save seeds from your heirloom garden to plant again the next year.  This way you develop your own personalized sustainable store of seeds.  

 

For $5 and a package of seeds, you are in business.

Your seeds should organically grow foods in your area that you like to eat. My recommended foods that grow well without pesticides include:  Okra, Squash, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Figs, Pomegranates,  Bantam or field corn, Turnips, pinto beans, green beans, purple hull, black eye peas and sorghum, oats and wheat for bread or animal feed.  

These seeds should be dried for a few days at room temperature and then stored in freezer bags in the refrigerator for 1 year of storage.  Figs trees are grown by cutting a small branch off of an existing tree and planting it in moist soil until roots sprout and take hold.

OK, here is how you get started.  

1. Buy one or two packages of heirloom seeds. I would start with corn and pinto beans or peas, but you pick your favorite.  Under $2 per package, seeds are one of the lowest cost Prepper purchases you can make, and will be excellent for Barter in a SHTF situation. 
   
   Plant a few of them and save the rest in a freezer bag in the freezer for long term storage.  After several years, I take them out and plant them in fields, the woods, or throw them in the creek to wash down and hopefully grow; sort of a hidden garden you might say. This may greatly improve your Wilderness Survival chances some day. Freezing or drying and preserving foods is good practice too.
2. Harvest your food and save the best looking seeds for planting next year.
3. Plant your home grown seeds and repeat the process each year.

 

You can plant them in the flower beds of your Apartment or Condo, although it is good to share the benefits with your neighbors.  Above we have tomatoes & peppers; okra, onions and tomatoes below.  Dead hedge bushes have been replaced with figs.

 

If second, third, etc. generation seeds don't grow for you, get another variety of heirloom seeds and start over.  Hybrid seeds will usually not grow second generation crops well.  Also don't grow two variety of plants as they will cross pollinate and make a third variety of potentially unreliable seeds. 

Goal:  Save your own home grown seeds, fresh each year, of foods you like to eat. 

For additional information see the following links: Blog Table of Contents

Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website

Gardening Links
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
Vegetable Days to Harvest  
Budget Garden Preparations 

Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
Food Shelf Life
Aquaponics  
Growing your own food from seed
Prepper Livestock series

Growing Your Own Food From Seed

The Value Of Sustainability Today

Today’s economy has a dramatic aspect to it. The moment you think things have become stable, something strange knocks everything out of whack again. It wouldn’t be so bad if you had the resources to weather the storm in some degree of comfort. But the vast majority of people just aren’t in such a position, and are further hampered by debt.

There needs to be a way of escaping things like debt, reducing living expenses, and increasing the solidity of your current situation. One thing that is characterizing many households today is the sustainability movement. This is a kind of living wherein individuals try to concoct solutions that preclude government reliance.

In terms of energy, three modes of electrical production are becoming more mainstream for residences: solar energy, wind energy, and water energy—all three of which can be installed on a property that has a fast enough body of water nearby and regular wind for about $15k, depending.

Something else that is quickly becoming a characteristic of the modern household is a vegetable garden—something which bears its own elegance. There are plants which will grow in just about any environment, and don’t necessarily require a deluge to maintain. Certain cacti can grow in almost any environment, and many seed-bearing plants with nutritional benefits (like hemp) are likewise easy to grow.

 

Husbanding Your Garden

As you might expect, a market has developed due to this shift in consumer sensibilities. While it may take a few years to get a garden’s growth at such a level where it regularly produces enough for your household, this gives homeowners not just a useful hobby, but a means of deferring costs related to nutrition.

It is possible to remain healthy from an entirely vegetarian diet sourced through a garden. Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, hemp seeds—these all have protein and fats necessary for health. Tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, squash, peppers, onions—these are just a few available plants you can husband toward healthy, regular yields annually.

To get started, you want to do your homework beforehand, know the seasons of your local community, and source your seeds from a purveyor that understands the market, and what that market is demanding.

At https://www.myseedneeds.com/collections/vegetables you can find seeds provided through a top-tier operation; according to the site: “Seed Needs consistently ships thousands of seed packets on a weekly basis. The vast majority of our seed products are packaged based on customer demand, and are stored in a temperature-controlled environment for maximum freshness.”

Comprehensive Sustainability

Now imagine a possible scenario: after five years, you’ve got a garden that is regularly productive and has facilitated its own micro climate which requires much less intervention than it did from you previously. Additionally you don’t need energy from “the grid”, because you use solar, wind, and water energy.

What you save in electricity pays for the garden. If you’re savvy with plumbing, you may be able to use nearby water-sources as means of irrigation, cutting out your water bill. The coup de grace? A crypto currency mining operation in the basement. Double down on architectural developments and install a prefabricated structure on your property.

If you are savvy, you have the potential to live entirely off the grid without losing money or health while yet providing a service to society that returns you assets. It’s conceivable you could do all this for well under $100k, and be without the bounds of debt in under ten years.

Yes, it will take a lot of work—but it’s not something entirely impossible. Still, you may not want to go with so comprehensive a venture. It may be wiser to start small—with a simple vegetable garden in your backyard, or hung from a planter in the window of your apartment.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

Gardening Links

Budget Garden Preparations   
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply

Vegetable Planting Dates 
Vegetable Days to Harvest
Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden

DIY Solar System

Top 10 List of Prepper info

Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time

Top Rated Prepper Website

Budget Garden Preparations

During World War II, the United States was forced to ration food. It was the family Victory Gardens that pulled the hungry nation through.
 
IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN!
Two percent (2%) of the US population feeds the other 98% as well as millions of other people around the world.  This makes our food supply chain very fragile.  Many things could disrupt it.

Every adult who is responsible for the lives of others should have the following gardening preps:

1. Garden Hoe - top quality and sharp - $57
2. Round point shovel - no plastic nor fiberglass - $40
3. Garden Rake - 16 metal teeth - $30
4. Vegetable Heirloom Seeds - sealed and kept frozen; rotate them each year - $16
5. Fertilizer - use compost or 10-10-10 sparingly - $12
6. Quality Garden Hose ($35) and metal water sprinkler ($8) IF you don't have one already.
7. Gardening Book -  The Vegetable Gardner's Bible is a good choice - $20

All tools should be good quality, heavy duty, with hard wood handles that can be easily replaced and no plastic. Preferably Made in the U.S.A.  The hoe is the tool you will use the most so having an extra one is a good idea.  Doing so will also allow two people at once to work in the garden.

I recommend alternating your seed source each year to provide diversity.  Date each container of seeds when you put them in the freezer.  Don't discard old seeds as they are good for 2-5 years although the germination rate decreases.  I plant or spread my old seeds some where, in the woods, in a meadow, along the back roads, creek or river in hopes of having a hidden food or seed supply in the future, if ever needed. Some plant seeds or plants around their apartment hedges and in the flower beds with a small stake so the lawn care people don't pull them up.

Compost is a great natural fertilizer, but if not available, a commercial time release 10-10-10 fertilizer is good for beginners as it will reduce the risk of burning your garden up from over fertilizing.  Experienced gardeners will use different fertilizers for different vegetables and based on the results of soil tests.

There are a number of good Gardening books on Amazon.  Get one that is rated four stars or better with a low percentage of 1 star ratings.  The more ratings by verified buyers, the more reliable the rating. Get a hard copy book, not an electronic version. 

The one time investment for quality tools is less than $200, then $15 for fertilizer and then less than $20 per year for the seeds for a operating cost of $35 each year for a productive hobby and hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of fresh healthy food.

Beyond this, an electric Garden Tiller is a great addition to help prepare your soil.  Start breaking up your garden plot by February before the grass and weeds start growing, then again a month later.

Don't wait! Enjoy fresh grown vegetables this year.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

Gardening Links
Gardening 101– Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegetable Planting Dates
Vegetable Days to Harvest

Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden
Aquaponics
Prepper Livestock series
DIY Solar System

List of Top 10 Lists 

Top 10 Prepper Websites

Top 10 Prepper Handbook Posts

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

Sustainable City Survival

Surviving long term in the city is perhaps the most challenging place to do so.

 When we think about the challenges of sustainable survival in the city, the Rule of 3 has never been truer. This Rule of 3 states that you can die in 3 seconds without security and in 3 days without water.

The gangs and starving, robbing hoards will be a serious threat that will make Urban Survival a dark event.  You must have an Urban Security Plan that organizes the neighborhood instead of having them fighting each other and coming after your resources.  Even then traitors and back stabbers are likely.

Having enough water will be another constraint long term, even if you have a swimming pool. There are a large number of important preparations you will need, especially to protect your home. Along with Security, Water and waste removal will be your biggest challenges.

So aside from the links above, especially Security, you will need the following.

First start by drilling a water well with a faucet and then installing an automatic lawn sprinkler system, both of which will operate off of a DIY solar power system.  This will give you a long term supply of water and electricity. 

1. Privacy Fence
2. DIY Solar Power system
3. Water Well
4. Automatic Irrigation System
5. Electric tiller
6. Gardening tools - water hose, hoe, rakes, drip irrigation hose
7. Heirloom Seeds 
8. Food preparation and preservation methods

The irrigation system can be used to turn your back yard into a productive vegetable garden.  You will start by using a quite electric powered tiller to kill the grass and till all your organic waste into the soil and begin planting first turnip seeds and then other vegetable seeds that you have practiced growing on a small scale.  Start your practice garden now; don't expect to start gardening when your life depends on it.

For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents

Modern Home Security

Night Vision
Thermal Vision
Night Vision vs Thermal Vision   

Red flag warnings its time to Bug Out

The Best Gun
Best Handgun Selection Criteria

Group Security Drills

Urban Survival Perspective

Urban Survival Plan

The right amount of Ammo

Passive Layered Security
Communications
Actionable Intelligence

PVC Survival Tube  

Using your garden for cover 
Security Patrol Pack (or Bug Out pack) 
Country Home Security Plan 
Home Invasion Response Plan

Guns in plain sight
Situational Awareness 
Intruder Detection 
Riot Preparations 
Double Barreled Defense