Category: Gardening

John & Abigail Adams on Survival Gardening

At times I hear from folks that are concerned about raising their own food during a WTSHTF situation. I have heard, it will be a tremendous amount of work, there will be no seed to put out, there will be no fertilizer to feed the plants, we’ll use up all the nutrients in the soil and will need to leave it lay fallow for a year and other concerns and worries. If you don’t mind I’d like to address some of those issues. Abigail and I have been using our current garden since 1982. Over those 23 years we may …


Letter Re: Subarus and Heirloom Seeds

Hello, I’d like to compliment you on having one of the most informative new blogs I’ve seen. I’ve enjoyed reading it, so far. I have a couple of things to contribute, one on the subject of gardening, and one on the subject of good cars to have around. On the car, first, as it’s short: Subaru stations wagons, 4WD drive ones, if older–all new ones are all wheel drive, are fantastic vehicles for rough driving conditions. Their only drawback is that they are not diesel. My Outback has actually done the stuff you always see in Subaru’s commercials–and then gotten …


Wheat–From Broadcasting Seed to Baking Bread, by John and Abigail Adams

I thought that the SurvivalBlog readers might like to hear about our experience in raising wheat for our own use. My wife and I have lived on a small farm for many years. We raise most of our own vegetables, have chickens for eggs, run a couple of steers in the pasture and at times feed out a hog. We both have full time jobs so there is not enough time to raise everything that we need but we do what we can. As most of our kids have moved out or are off at college we no longer need …


On Climate and Growing Season

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.” – Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love When starting your search for a retreat location, concentrate on “dry land farming” regions, and of those, the ones that specialize in truck farming. Dry land farming regions are where crops can be grown with seasonal rains and are not dependent on electrically pumped irrigation water. Remember that when grid down, the areas in the West that were originally desert will revert to desert, in a hurry! Even an area that might otherwise look good for a retreat at present may be uninhabitable …