As a family, we have been practicing – and experimenting – for years. It started with a small garden, which took the place of the kids’ swimming pool when they got older and lost interest.
Our soil is a heavy clay, so after a couple of years of wrestling with the rototiller (it always won the battle), we decided to move up. Of course, by that I mean raised beds. So we bought some boards, and nailed them together. Then we ordered a truckload of top soil, and wheeled it out back one wheelbarrow load at a time. And since it was spring, we pushed each load through the mud and puddles. Whew!
Our first years of raised bed gardening were enlightening. We chose to use extended release fertilizers, and gradually learned how much to use and when. The time-release stuff is a good idea, but don’t trust the label! We found that toward the end of July, we had to add more to the surface, and gently scratch it in. And then there was the year we decided to add organic nitrogen to our sweet corn bed – it was looking tired. Unfortunately, we added too much and burned up our crop in a few days. Lesson learned… As far as pesticides? Well we decided to not use them. Surprisingly, we’ve had very little problem with pests. On the other hand, the grandkids have had a ball finding the praying mantises and the ladybugs. Every year, we use mulch to protect our beds, and to add humus to the soil at the end of the season. In addition, we’ve systematically added sand and compost to our beds. Loosening up the soil has shown great improvements in our yields.
Around our raised bed garden, we’ve arranged apple and pear trees, and this year we planted grape vines. Along the side of our house we’ve got blueberry bushes growing. By the way – be prepared to accept the fact that you’re going to provide treats for the local wildlife. I was excited one day while I was picking green beans when I noticed a nice big deer hoof print right in the middle of the bed. Cool! Deer are beautiful animals! And there was no evidence that our visitor had bothered our garden in any way! My excitement faded away the next day, however, when I realized that our Granny Smith apple tree had been completely stripped of all of its fruit! And later in the summer, we found out that the birds are very adept at picking blueberries and sunflower seeds. So yes – that’s always going to be a small glitch in the survival plan… [JWR Adds: Time for some serious fencing and bird netting!]
Overall our journey has been a series of experiments. We’ve tried growing crops vertically. The pole beans and vining tomatoes do great. The cucumbers we tried didn’t do as well. By the way, pole beans love sunflowers. Kind of a two-for-one deal. We’ve grown bush beans under corn, cucumbers under tomatoes, and onions and leeks lined up around and in between peppers and tomatoes. We grow nasturtiums on the edges of our beds (and eat the blossoms in salads). We’ve increased the variety of our diet by growing eggplant, okra (and we live in northwest Ohio!), parsnips, beets, celery, and greens (spinach, arugula, mixed lettuces, etc.). We’ve grown a whole bed of carrots, and then stored them in five gallon buckets of damp sand in our pantry. They were sweet!
The key is that we try new things every year. Sometimes we win; sometimes we learn new lessons the hard way. But every year we add to our “bible”. It’s a thick book of knowledge gained from our own experiences as well as tips and ideas collected from all kinds of sources – magazines, books, and the Internet.
Over the last couple of years, we have experimented with several new things.
First, we bought heirloom seeds from a reputable supplier. We chose a variety, and we bought two or three times as much seed as we “needed” for the garden space that we have. Just in case. Then, we packed the seed packages together with packets of desiccants. We then wrapped everything up together in zip-lock bags, squeezed out as much air as possible, and then wrapped the bags in freezer paper. Into the deep freeze they went. The next spring, we gently thawed them out in the refrigerator and after a few days, finally took them out and let them come to room temperature. The final test came when we planted the seeds, and watched for the results. Success! The seeds germinated as well as any we had ever bought from the store. Last year, we froze a supply of seeds large enough to last us for years.
This year, our next major experiment took place in our dining room. We had tried to start seedlings in trays by the window, but had never had real good success. So last year we bought four inexpensive grow lights, and set up two tables in our Dining Room. Each table had a shelf underneath, so we set up a light above the shelf, and another above the table-top. Then we planted our seeds in the trays, and waited to see what would happen. The results were good – too good. The seedlings were ready well before the weather was. “Lesson learned”, again. Timing is everything!
Another experiment this year was to leave a couple of carrots, a few onions, and a couple of leeks in the ground (actually, we left them in last fall). This spring, they all took off growing again (2nd year growth), and by mid-summer, we saw them developing flowers. We left the flowers to bloom, and by the end of the summer, we harvested the flower heads. After a few weeks of drying time, we gently ground up the flowers and harvested the seeds. You would be amazed at the number of seeds we got from each flower head! Next spring, we’re hoping that those seeds will bring us a new crop.
So far, I’ve only shared our gardening experiences with you. But that isn’t all we work on…
If we intend to survive a real breakdown of society and order, we will need more than just a nice garden. So we’ve tried to round out our learning with other subjects. For example:
We can properly and successfully can our own produce, as well as dry our own herbs, and can meats and stocks. We purposefully watched for sales at the “clearance stores”, and stocked up on canning jars and supplies. We bought and learned how to use a pressure cooker. Then we found a large pressure cooker at a garage sale for $10. We picked up the tools and recipe books on sale or also at garage sales. We use a cheap dehydrator to dry our herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, and rosemary). We make our own apple butter, salsa, soups, and tomato sauces. We pickle cucumbers and peppers. Our holiday meals always end with a large stock pot simmering the goodness out of the carcass of our roast beast.
We have planned for power outages – we have stocked numerous bags of charcoal, propane tanks, candles, and oil for our lamps. We can cook, see in the dark, and stay warm when it’s cold.
For the future, we’ve collected books on almost every subject, and the tools to do things without the aid of a computer or electric power. We have the tools and information to enable us to do engineering, drafting, gardening, hunting-fishing-trapping, butchering animals for meat, signaling, military tactics and strategy, and medicine – all the way from insect bites to minor surgery. Our shelves are stocked with medical instruments and supplies, gardening and construction tools (hand tools), and canning and food processing supplies and tools.
We’ve scouted out possible sources of food and supplies. There is some heavy industry in our town, and their factories could be a source of coal, tools, and building supplies. Our neck of the woods is predominantly a farming area, though. And we’ve noted the locations of the hog farms, cattle farms, and granaries. The woods and fields have abundant deer, turkeys, and geese.
For our own food supply at home, we converted a closet/storage area behind the garage into a walk-in pantry, and moved the door to connect it to the kitchen. We’ve slowly built up our stocks of canned foods (vegetables and meats), dry pastas, and staples. And when we have a little extra money, we spring for the special things that will make life more bearable in the event of TEOTWAWKI, like sauces, ethnic foods, spices, etc.
And suffice to say, we’ve planned for our own defense. We have weapons and ammunition, communications and vision gear, and routes and defensive positions scouted out in advance. Google satellite maps/pictures are invaluable.
We don’t broadcast our preparations and plans. In fact, the key to our plan for survival is that we don’t want anyone to even notice us, so we certainly don’t go around bragging about our stocks of food and supplies.
None of this writing is meant to instruct you on the exact steps you need to take for your own survival. Every situation is different. Every family is different. But what we’ve tried to do is to search out the knowledge that’s available, and make a plan that fits the particular needs of our own unique extended family. It’s important to understand that none of this happens overnight. You learn and grow over time. Our situation is always changing slightly, and we adjust our plans and preparations as we go.
But we do want to encourage you. You can do this! A little at a time – a little every day, every paycheck, every holiday (my wife gave me a flint and steel kit last Christmas – the perfect gift!). And every little thing that you do for yourself and your family will increase your chances of survival just a little bit more.
Good Luck! – From our family in Defiance, Ohio