How to Build a Seed Bank: When Your Stored Food Won't Be Enough
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- When your food runs out, then what? In this video, we'll discuss approaches you can implement now to ensure this never happens. Sign up at bit.ly/34futCW to get member-specific content in our weekly newsletter.
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I would like to ask you to consider making a video about vertical planting setups that can be combined with a DIY greenhouse
King led grow lights are pretty good bang for your buck. Has both veg and bloom settings
@Tom Richman sweet potatos can take over as well.
great idea to plant in potential bug out areas BUT keep in mind that some plants can become an ecological disaster when placed in the wrong place....
I love your idea of stealth-planting on backcountry routes.
I’ve been gardening for 50 years and my most important tip would be to go out to the garden every morning and take a good look at every plant. If it’s not doing well, there’s a reason...find out what the reason is and correct it asap
Most of my plants are gone and dead. Now I sit and scratch my head. Guess I'll starve and die instead. Heat waves and frost have taken my bread.
I put yellow frisbees with soapy water in them out in my garden. It attracts and traps insects so I know what kind of insects are getting in my crops sooner rather than later. If I see a squash and cucumber bug, I declare war on them immediately.
What a GREAT IDEA! @@wasidanatsali6374
Good advice, best to be proactive and reactive after assessment. I've produced nearly all of my family's produce for the past 3 years. I plan on doing it again this year. I'm adding a 3/4 acre pond to pull fertilizer from and protein as well. I've got a large hoophouse ready to go but had a rough go early winter with the cough. Now the grounds frozen so I had to hold off till spring.
Plus going out in the morning seems to make me feel better rest of the day!
Lol no joke in high school me and my friends went through a potato cannon phase and we fire 100s of potatoes into my mom’s field/forest 20 years later you can still find the plants growing on the property!
Having grown up on a farm, with a large "family garden", we ALWAYS kept seeds from our own plants. We grew very hot peppers, ground them up added a sticky soap {also homemade} & sprayed that on our plants to keep bugs down. It worked well. Now, 50+yrs later, I've noticed our Climate has changed a bit. Volcanic ash, & other things have helped in this. So now I'm growing in a high tunnel we made using old windows we have saved. Now I need to enlarge this, as I'm growing citrus in the Mountains of North Carolina. Chicken & Rabbit poop make the best fertilizer if used in your compost. Just make sure your soil is fluffy! You can also grow in old fabric food store bags. They work wonderfully if you need to move things to extend the growing season. I'm afraid those who think they can grow a sustainable garden, with enough food to can or cellar for the year, don't realize how labor intensive it really is.
You are so right. When done on the level we will need, it is a full time job.
We’re in the mountains of western nc too. Would love to hear how you grow citrus? I miss it coming from Florida!
Soil fluffiness is important. We have heavy clay soil where I am and I couldn’t understand why I was only getting greens from my root vegetables, lol. Grow bags are great for potatoes especially.
Full time job. But so satisfying. I hook up with other growers to help grow prepare and share foods. If you have a community use it. Great video as always!
Some of us are basically doing 95% of the planting, tending, harvesting, processing, etc. Thankful to be able to do this, but sometimes health issues and lack of energy factor in.....
Soaking the seeds in water overnight before planting, greatly improves your chances of them sprouting... I did that one last year, even with the carrot and lettuce seeds because I’d had them just sitting there for a few years, and almost all sprouted.
Great tip!
I wish I'd known that two weeks ago. Oh well, that's why I didn't plant them all. I'll try again soon, this time with soaking.
I've used a hydrogen peroxide soak successfully in the past....need to revisit ...
@@norxgirl1 I’ve never done that, I just meant water. Lol! Adjusted my original comment.
Especially true for okra. Soaking your transplants for 20 to 30 minutes before transplanting, and putting water in the bottom of the hole, in addition to on top goes a long way. I have used a 50% Miracle Grow solution in lieu of water to good effect.
Here’s a garden tip. Grow sun flowers in your garden. The bugs will eat them instead of your garden food. Our local county jail grows all its food for the inmates. One of the correctional officer told me this trick. I tried it and it worked wonders. I used to plant a 50x50 area every spring. I was hesitant to use pesticides. The sun flowers were perfect.
I've read the same thing so I am going to grow them in my garden this year
I will try that this year. My wife loves sunflowers.
doesn't work in Australia, grown in Australia, they attract cockies, that then destroy everything else you have growing in your garden just cause they're there & it looks like fun
When I planted sunflowers they attracted rats and squirrels
Sunflowers can also remove toxins from the soil after nuclear war or feed chickens. Someone on CZcams was also making flour out of the sunflower stalks.
We have over a years worth of food and seed banks/fertilizer to carry us past that. We've spent the last few years planting a small garden to practice. It's not as easy as many think to grow a garden that provides a sufficient food source. Start early, practice and learn.
Yea i have a few seeds that i can grow indoors. I have 0 space and 0 light to grow plants in the sun of my apartment.
Can I have your address?
@@briangriffin6224 - LOL. We take the grey man approach. Our friends and neighbors do not even know we are preppers.
keeping it to yourself will be the biggest chalange. are you prepared to kill to do it
My garden failed. Idk what I'm doing wrong. I'm sad about it
8th generation farmer. Companion planting is essential. Pray before every planting and give thanks at harvest. Never had a crop fail that the companion plant didn't make up for.
What is companion planting?
❤️
Do you have a reference book you would recommend?
@@dubuyajay9964 look up three sisters planting 😉
Love this ✝️🙏❤️
I live in an apartment with no balcony so I have to get a bit creative with my planting.
I always have a few packs of seeds in my backpack and often plant a few here and there when I find the right conditions for them in my daily walking routes in/around our city.
Recently I grabbed a tourist map of my area and now have marked all the places where I’ve planted things AND all my favorite foraging areas with edible plants/nuts/berries etc. my kids basically think it’s a treasure map and we spend the whole summer finding new spots to add to the map :)
I have had sunflowers, pole beans, tomatoes, herbs on my 6 x 20 concrete balcony on the second floor of a lowrise that gets afternoon sun.
The treasure map idea is great. Plant bombing is such a good way to expand available food. I am plant bombing all over my small town. Best of luck with your project.
Sweet potato is a great indoor plant to learn some growing skills. Indoors you won't get many potatoes, but the leaves are edible & once established, it's super easy to spread around, just cut a shoot off, leave in water until roots start growing & then plant somewhere & it will grow prolifically (at least in non-frosting areas, not sure when it gets colder)
@@lilaclizard4504 I will give it a try. Thanks
Buy some indoor grow lights
In the 1940's my Grandparents lived on 17 acres in rural Oklahoma. They hunted and fished, had a big garden, chickens, a milk cow and raised a beef steer every year but they still went to town to buy things they couldn't produce themselves.
things like coffee and sugar and salt. Grain growing, threshing, winnowing, and milling is very intensive, so people usually bought flour for bread, too.
Last summer my daughter and I plant bombed our area with chives, native blackberries, roses and several other edible plants. This year we will be collecting samples of the old farm apples that grow abundantly. So many useful and edible plants to add to our gardens. Thanks for an other great video.
Plant Bombing! Love it.
This video touches upon a topic that all preppers could benefit from: opsec gardening. The best defense is for opposing forces to not even know you and/or your resources are there. Non SHTF scenario? Sure… gingerly attend to one’s garden without the need to conceal it. SHTF? A visible garden is a giant sign that invites all passing by looters to pillage. And if one is a known gardener guess where that gardeners neighbors are going when they are unprepared? Opsec gardening is worth its own in depth video. Not only expanding on what’s here but indoor hydroponics.
I love this channel.
True, but where you can travel to easily right now by vehicle may not be possible during a SHTF. I absolutely think its a good idea ~ but so is planting a discouraging barrier around that garden in your yard. We started with stock panels, added blackberries, some acacia, and wisteria ... as well as rose bushes. There is now a dense (pretty, but dense) barrier that includes 1 inch and 4 inch thorns from three different plants, vines interwoven between and around them, and a steel fence down the middle. This goes around our entire year with the only entrance being the driveway. Or actual garden is more of a food forest than neat rows. People may recognize the fruit trees, or vegetables when they are about ready to harvest ... but that is only if they actually enter the property. They are welcome to the blackberries the birds don't get from around the outside, but I'm willing to make them put a lot on the line to help themselves to what is on the inside.
I also grew up in a PA Dutch family mixed in between a lot of Amish folks. I'm used to 18-24 months worth of home canned food in the root cellar ~ so that if a garden fails on year due to weather or other issues, there is still enough to get by to the following early summer harvest. I'm also prepared to bring my hens and rabbits inside if SHTF ... not left outside for anyone else. We've got a spare room that right now is just a guest bedroom, but the walls and floor were pretreated and painted to accomodate small livestock, along with built in ventilation. Our root cellar is non-traditional thanks to the water table here and has to be accessed from inside the home (we built insulated boxes into the crawl space), and there is enough space for storage to last us through winter and spring. No, we didn't seek permission or a permit to do that just for the record ... it is no one's business but ours. Opsec covers quite a bit of ground. Our tiny front yard between the entrance and the home has a 'sunburst pattern of decorative thorny bushes/berries in it deliberately planted to make sneaking anywhere difficult, and can be enhanced with things like noisy rock filled tin cans strung between them if necessary. Just because one lives in town or a semi rural area is not enough reason to plan on bugging out or living with the belief that all of their prepping is for the neighborhood in general.
@@LierinEdana not really sure where your message was going and i don't think you meant any offense by it. i was speaking of opsec gardening in a SHTF scenario. in a SHTF scenario people knowing one is a gardener/has a garden PERIOD is a huge threat. you underestimate the lengths people will go to when starving... especially if it's a starving family. thorns and fences aren't going to deter someone who is starving to death. then once they get their fill the next logical question they might have is, "who grew this garden? are they nearby? how many more supplies do they have?"
you can go out and deal with intruders but you have no promise that's not going to draw more attention and/or it's a trap.
so that's why the best defense is for people to not even be drawn to one's property to begin with. and if one's garden looks like a bunch of random weeds i'd much rather that then putting my life on the line to defend crops that can be seen from far away.
That's why a food forest/permaculture is a great concept. If it just "looks like nature" people won't recognize it as food as they would with a traditional row garden.
I wish I could do this. But I will need to wrap everything in netting this year.
We have wicked squirrels that ate all my tomatoes last year.
Alternatively you could just be friendly to your neighbours and help one another.
Seeds yes and also buy LOTS of sprouting seeds. They grow in 5 days in your home in a mason jar with just a few rinsings a day.
I am really happy this is being tackled. Raising our own food is part of our own long-term strategy for living well and thriving.
I picked up a Garden Tower 2 a couple of years ago. It's pricey and I'm sure you can DIY one but I just bought one.
We've not bought greens from the supermarket for the last year. Arugula, amaranth, dandelion, tatsoi, spinach and bok choy is what I've grown so far.
The benefit of the tower is it's relatively small for the amount of food it produces. The watering process yields 1/2 gallon of compost tea to feed fruit trees or other plants not in the tower. Worm casings are also a by-product of the tower which also helps fertilize the surrounding garden.
People get very obsessed with “heirloom seeds” but what most don’t know is that all living things have a kind of default setting and even GMO seeds will revert to their original strain in a few generations.
It depends on the GMO. A lot of our crops terminate after 2 generations, as they're designed to go sterile, in order to force more seed purchases. But the GMOs that were focused on issues with shipping will generally get over the alterations before long
This is only true if:
1. You are planting multiple varieties close together and aren't careful to avoid cross-pollinating
2. You are planting crops that have naturalized relatives growing nearby
Heirlooms by definition breed true, so the only reason they would revert is by outside DNA from a closely related plant. If you avoid that, your harvest will be golden for generations. Inbreeding will eventually make plants less resistant to disease so the best course of action is to have multiple strains of a plant in separate areas so you can keep them from interbreeding until you need an infusion of fresh "blood." Selective breeding is your very best friend here.
I love the direction that you have taken your message in this video. Instead of the typical internet prepper over the top, dire warning and gloom and doom approach, you have taken it a step beyond and made it both informational and educational. Thank you.
while growing your own food please dont forget to support the pollinators. I grow loads of lupins really early and put them all around the garden, they get several visits from bumblers. I actually started growing Sweet Lupin Beans this year and the plants are so much bigger, difference is you can actually eat these seeds but need considerable soaking to get rid of the toxins.
I did an experiment, by slicing a tomato and laid on top of soil in a pot outside. Just sprinkle a littIe soil on top of the slices. I wanted to see if the seeds would grow. To my surprise, so many tomato plants were coming up and growing. Just transplant when they have two true leaves. I couldn't believe how many plants there were.
My favorite way to get starter tomato plants....
I squish the seeds and rinse them in a sieve, dry on paper towel for a few days and then plant. Do the same for any fleshy fruit. I have just planted strawberry seeds and they have germinated. I got so many plants from one slice of kiwi fruit I have been giving them away. Capsicum have seeds ready to plant after drying them.
@@tsunamis82 You are now planting tons of food. I'm sure ppl appreciated the plants. Everybody needs to garden, now & forever.
You are a Blessing. Thank you.
@@debbiec6216 It was amazing. To just slice a store bought tomatoes, place on soil, cover with a small amount of soil. Then watch as so many tiny plants start rising towards the sun. The weather outside was warm. Easy to do.
Thank you. Hope you'll try it.
I grow a traditional garden but for a few years I have been broadcasting wheat, lintels and oats in parts of my yard. I have let them reseed for several years now with little help from me. it's helping them naturalize in my area, lets me see how they grow, and I know if I had to, I could help them produce more.
You are a great teacher. I began gardening last year, and I began prepping. I am a little overwhelmed since there are so many things to learn. Thank you for all the things you are teaching us.
I would be more than happy to share my spare land to grow food as part of a group effort. Many hands make light work.
You are friendly and generous. God bless you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I grow several pounds of potatoes in 5 gallon buckers every year, along with many other vegetables, patio gardening at its finest but i have just purchased some land and will be relocating there soon.
We’ve had a garden for years and regularly save seeds. Saves money and gives peace of mind.
20 years of growing my own food has taught me that your better off putting most of your effort in building your soil. Seed storage is a nice thought for those with no real long term experience growing food. Saving your own seeds every year and having the experience when it counts is a far better solution than trying to Mylar seal seeds for when that day comes.
I agree. The better the soil the less water we use by far. Water could be an issue some day….
Dead stuff makes great fertilizer doesn't it ? What if you could just burry like 60 Biden voters ? Wait that exists it's called a cemetery what am I thinking ?
I have grown food for 2 years now. First year, small garden. The second year we moved to a much hotter area and I struggled to grow food during the hottest summer on record last year. I did some research and found that the local college has a video series on growing food particularly for this climate. Very valuable resource. Check your local colleges for area-specific gardening techniques. Learn to grow what grows well there.
Great idea. Thanks.
@Lori Olsen the local Cooperative Extensions at local colleges are one of the most underutilized resources in our Country. For those that have not checked them out before and you are interested in gardening you will not be disappointed.
@@anchorageprepper9008 County Extension Service agents and their staff are a wealth of local agricultural information and resources. They can help you identify that weed that is trying to strangle your garden, as well as identifying that bug that's eating your greens. They will also know the best ways to deal with your gardening foes. They'll also be able to give you great tips such as which tomatoe varieties produce well in your area, and which probably won't ripen before you're hit by a frost or heavy fall rains.
@@greeneyedlady5580 Right!
@@anchorageprepper9008 Thank you for bringing up the County Extension Services. I learned about them 50 years ago in rural 4-H, but I'm pretty sure that most younger people who've grown up in cities or urban areas have no idea who they are and how they can help you.
One experiment I've done with seed saving is to "store" saved seed potatoes in soil instead of a fridge. I planted some potatoes(purple viking) last year in spring. They were grown in 5 gallon buckets, like those cheap kind you find at Lowe's or home depot with holes drilled in the bottom to allow proper drainage. The thing is, potatoes are a cool weather crop and it's very hot where I live(zone 9a). The good news is that in my warm, rainy climate I can get two harvests out of several different crops each year as well as being able to grow certain crops all through the winter. The bad news is that seed potatoes need some rest before being planted again and ideally they need to stay cool. The ground is too wet to dig a root cellar and I don't know if I'll have enough power for a fridge in a long-term SHTF event. My concern was that I would be unable to save seed potatoes for next planting. So when I harvested my potatoes, I buried a few of the smallest potatoes in the buckets and left them outside all through the summer and fall. I just recently dug them up and most of them were completely fine. Some were even starting to sprout. My next experiment is to plant them next month and see how many potatoes, if any, I get from them.
Another experiment I'm doing is storing sweet potato(Technically not potatoes. They're not yams either.) slips in soil inside a garage over winter to see what they can give me come this summer. I also would like to plant some saved tomato and pepper seeds into some separate soil, like in a container, and let them sit in the soil in a cool, dark spot, then plant them in a raised bed to see if they'll sprout. Hopefully I have enough time to experiment with different ways to save seeds in hot climates. Potatoes are pretty sturdy crops so it's best not to bet all my chips on one successful experiment. But there's hope!
When you dig up your potatoes leave one in the ground, biggest works best
@@mjs9710 I've always read that the smaller ones are better for replanting but I may be wrong. That gives me an idea. I'll buy a few bigger seed potatoes next month and plant them alongside my saved ones, see how they compare. Data is always good.
I watch all your videos, this in my opinion is the most informative for long term success you have done. All the food you can possibly store, will eventually run out. What was said here, combined with hunting and foraging are the game changers in long term survival.
I so agree with you, this was truly a top-notch video!
I agree - I really found this video useful and motivating.
Also fishing. But hunting and fishing should be a last resource only. Otherwise you could extinguish the wildlife
I keep trying to tell people
This will sound weird but I have been deliberately seeding my garden with dandelion for over 10 years. The greens are great in stir fry or smoothies similar to spinach. Just blow the poofy white seeds over the area you want.
Even if marauders come to my house they won’t come after my dandelion, purslane or sunchokes. And as you say they probably won’t recognize my potato plants or radish greens.
Oh my neighbors think I'm crazy. I don't get my lawn treated. I'm out there eating the weeds (dandelion, violet, and wild amaranth, etc.)! My neighbor used to come out of his garage to watch me pick it all with my colander. After COVID he started talking to me, really changed some people's minds. He also noticed I do a lot of the outdoors stuff myself while my husband stays inside lol.
I actually bought dandelion seeds to plant extra because we share with the chickens and rabbits! Now I've got enough, but I still deliberately blow the little poofs into a raised bed lol! I could care less who thinks I'm weird!
Dandelion wine is delicious.
I plant dandelions too! Delicious and nutritious.
Not sound weird at all. Dandelion has money benefit to our health. We use them as tea.
We started with chickens and rabbits. The soil where I live in the high plains of CO is bad. Took a few years of poo collection and soil building, but now our 5000 sq ft garden is a real provider. We planted some test seeds (Inside) we had from 2016 last week to see how good they are. And yes, we have obtained seeds in 2017, 2018...ect and even made the large order for this year's seeds. Making seed tape is an excellent help for all the small seeds also. Strive to obtain Heirloom seeds so you CAN capture the seeds from the plant. In a dire need situation, I suggest with staying with the basic seeds instead of the specialty types.
Probably your best video yet. I’ve found that one of the byproducts of doing things yourself is that you quickly realize how insane some of our laws are. Many are drafted to protect those very large industries that we depend on for survival and that will the first to collapse, leaving destruction like lack of food supplies in their wake.
Yep!
Absolutely. Monsanto leads the pack.
I absolutely love this video!!!Last year, I created an editable and medicinal garden on my very tiny patio! I was half successful but learned alot and this year I am sprouting. I haven't done microgreens as of yet. Today, winter sewed 6 editable and medicinal flowers.... Gardeening is my happy place and has saved me during the pandemic!!!
Many thanks to you Kris. You're in my top 5 favorite channels simply bc it's straight up EDUCATION! May God bless you, your family & your efforts.
Guerrilla gardening tip: mix a variety of seeds with clay dug out of the local area, and let them dry. Toss them around your property or into vacant lots, etc. Whatever is suited to the area will come up.
As for food most wouldn’t recognize- stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). It’s delicious and nutritious, and can be twisted into twine or spun into thread fine enough to weave into cloth.
Please be careful tossing seeds. Invasive plants are real…even if they are good to eat. They kill off natural ones.
@@jabow1878 yes, agreed. I keep on my own land and largely stick to native plants for larger plantings outside the kitchen garden and orchard. It’s just a method I’ve used for wildflower seeds. And stinging nettle is native to the Americas.
I like that urban waste areas can be made productive. This is subversive but appealing.
@@marktwain368 I’ve heard tell of such things being done in urban food deserts. Just make sure someone local is in the group who knows the plants and will cue the neighbors in
Thanks to this channel and some of the things I have looked at and researched I started to grow vegetables in 5 gallon buckets and medium sized containers on my back porch. I live in an apartment so it’s important to note that I have very little space. I am vested probably the equivalent of about $200 all Lynn… To buy seeds, ceilings, fertilizer, soil, and the buckets. So forward to date I have been growing cabbages for two years in a row, I just recently harvested some carrots they ended up feeding myself and my kids for a meal. I have harvested potatoes all though I learned harsh lessons along the way about when to fertilize and water potatoes but I still got a return on my investment. I’m waiting for my last potato plants to wilt and die before I can harvest them. More importantly I learned some good lessons along the way and I learned that it can be done. My ancestors were farmers but I am definitely not a farmer LOL. That being said, I’m glad that I paid attention to the advice on this channel over a year and a half ago. As a result I am now starting to grow sprouts in containers and put away seeds for a future opportunity to do a better job than my first try. I will say one thing… 5 gallon buckets. Go buy some. Preferably food grade. You can use them for all sorts of things. Storage. Growing your own food. Storing your own food. A washing machine. LOL. A water filtering method using layers of sand and gravel and charcoal. Storing firewood. I have about a dozen of them and I will end up getting more yet. The great thing about them is when you’re done you can stack them all up and they don’t take up much space. As far as foraging goes I recommend that anyone keep a mesh laundry bag in your car or with you wherever you go because you may get the opportunity to Harvest wild flowers or berries or plants and if you don’t have anything to put them in you may miss your opportunity.
I'd focus a lot harder in small livestock like chickens or rabbits. You can feed them with weeds that are always available. This is great if your crop fails.
There are so many wild hogs where I live, I don’t think people could kill them all even if the SHTF. If they did it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
If you live in an area that has wild hogs (40 something states now have wild hogs) and know how to hog hunt or trap hogs, you’ll always have a supply of meat. Unlike most domestic animals, hogs don’t need much care. They can take care of themselves. That’s why settlers turned hogs loose in the first place.
I'm raising guinea pigs outside in mini-pastures. They multiply better than rabbits for me, because rabbits don't do well in the heat here. Plus, they're great mini-lawnmowers. If we can't get fuel for our lawnmowers anymore, we all need herds of guinea pigs! Kwee-kwee! They literally eat lawn grass, and I also grow cucumbers and bell peppers for them as well. The trick is providing them cover so hawks and owls and such don't get them. 6 inch plastic drain pipe works well as hidey-tunnels on the lawn for them to duck into.
I have both dried food reserves and a collection of seeds I've grown many of these seeds. Carrots & potatoes were very easy. Just remember to check them daily, know how to fight off pests & diseases. Definitely learn about foraging. Portulacas are edible and were used in salads in WW2.
Portulaca grows on driveways, sidewalks, parks, all kinds of places in cities but few know of this nutritious, free green food. Get a book on edible wild plants and there are dozens from clover, to dandelion, to sorrel, and on and on.
I hadn't considered until just now setting up a hidden 'plant cache'. Terrific idea to just plant something off the beaten path and letting nature do it's thing. Potato, radish and sunflower seem to be good options that'll probably do just fine on their own.
I have tried to do that with berries and I've been successful. However many people recognize the plant and the animals love them so the berries don't last long.
Any perrenial native to your area, will probably to the trick, maybe find out what people lived on say 100 years ago?
I would defo consider planting sunflowers given the current situation, - they are very good at taking radiation out of the ground, & they are fully edible - yes every part is edible. Plant of many uses & easy to identify. Could plant them every so often on your trails. I personally would also plant nut trees and fruit trees if you can. Fat is one of the hardest things get from foraging, so a few nut trees help. Just check the pollination types and plant accordingly :) I know of a few places where there are some splendid apple trees, almost like someone threw a core out of a truck window whilst waiting at a junction. Ok these will take a bit of time, - (which may not be on our side,) but worth a go? For the long term.
What a totally awesome and supremely relevant discussion here! Every word is true and shows how we can survive in the long run. Many of these ideas I have tried, such as the tomato seeds on a paper towel, and they definitely work. C'mon people! Get seeds and dig a garden or put one on the condo balcony in planters. But get growing!!
My family has been growing a bean, tomato & squash for over 100 years. I have grown them in pots on my apartment balcony for years (tiny amount of food but I keep the seeds)
I didn't have to mow my front yard at all last year because it's dotted with kiddie pools that we turned into raised beds. Saved money on gas for the mower and produce.
If “land challenged”, micro greens in a closet under a grow light will go a long way in feeding a small family. Thank you Kris for another great video.
No, they really won't. They have minimal calorific value. If your calorific needs are met by bread or potatoes they will add important nutrients but they'll never be more than a marginal % of the food you need to survive.
I took some old potatoes one year and buried them around my front porch/side yard, had tons of potatoes without doing anything else. They are literally the easiest thing I've ever grown 😆
IMO, it's also important to learn how to compost, and stock up on organic and/or known to be clean soil amendements that are available, so in years to come your soil remains fertile; one also needs to know which plants are nitrogen fixing (ie, peas) and know how to rotate, and which plants grow best with other specific plants near them! Last, learn which plants cross-pollinate to create toxic fruits/vegetables (ie. squash varieties), and which cross-pollinate to create a hybrid (ie.corn varieties), and how to avoid that.
I live backed up to a Oregon forrest, 5 acres of my property is heavily wooded and we have wild huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, thimble berries, salmon berry's and of course blackberries lol But I definitely want to learn more about the mushrooms, they're everywhere here! I'm doubling my garden to 2000sf this year and have been getting my compost ready for 2 years to do so, it couldn't have come at a better time! I harvested some plums off of a 100 year old tree and planted the pits just to see what would happen and now I have 30 to 50 plants that started growing so now I'm hustling to find a cut out of the trees to plant them on the trail kind of out of site unless you go back to fish. If anyone knows anything about plum trees about a foot tall, I'm willing to listen to any advice you can offer so I can utilize them and give some away but keep them thriving to produce and keep giving back to others in these hard times.
Sweet! Congratulations on your garden and fruit forest. 👍👍
Idk where in Oregon you are, but the community college in Portland does a mushroom foraging class. I haven't done it since I live farther away than I've been able to justify driving there for that, but it seems cool.
@@sydney6268 no kidding! Maybe ill have to go up there and see what its about! I'm pretty sure I have some good variety that are edible here! Thank you
Plums from seed will have very mixed quality of fruit... Most will be poor, but a few may be good... You can graft good ones onto the bad ones.
@@kf1000 Thank you for this information, I'll start researching and learning more on grafting, I appreciate this!
Excellent! Learning how to grow now is really important! Have failures when you can go to the grocery easily.
Good video! Guerilla Gardening aka covert gardening is a very viable way to have food [and seeds to trade] years ago I would often plant things along my walking route to work. Some of the trees are huge now and bearing fruit. A few years ago was talking with the lady next door and we got on the topic of gardening. I told her about the different kinds of potatoes we were growing and she asked where they were as she had grown up on a potato farm in Idaho. We both had a good laugh when I pointed near her feet and told her what kind that plant was. She was standing less than a foot away from a 2 foot tall potato plant and did not realize what it was.
Nice!
Harvesting Seeds and Regrowing is Paramount! Best video of the year so far!
I am in my third year growing food and every season is a lesson learned.
I add new things to try every year and keep finding more vegetables, fruits, and herbs to love to grow and eat.
I have been studying plants and gardening for about 5 years. A few things to mention..
Hybrid seeds are generally not sterile, so don't toss them if that's all you have. You will get a pepper plant from a seed saved from a hybrid pepper plant. You may get a plant very similar to the one it came from. Or, you will get something kinda different. Look up f1 f2 and f3 vegtable seeds.
The Edible Front Yard by Ivette Soler has beautiful edible plants that in many cases are suitable for stealthy food plants.
If your looking to grow asparagus, if you do it from seed you need an absurd amount patience as it takes 2 to 3 years from seed. To speed this up purchace criwns
Grow asparagus from seed, time never stops, 3 years will be here before you know it.
Sone of my best tomatoes came from volunteer seeds from hybrid plants. I got some interesting squash from volunteer seeds from cross pollination.
@@AlmaVasquezjr - I did both. 😀
The thing is, if you really think that your going to need food in a short period of time, 3 years is too much. Same goes for rhubarb.
Great video,we are in a drought area, garden failed last year. I was haunted by the idea,what if this was 200 years ago or shtf. Scared me almost beyond reason.
Do you have a well or a higher water table where you can put in a shallow well?
Gets some tanks to save your household used water in and use that on your garden. Mulch heavily around your plants, provide some shade if you can, and use those crystals that retains water. Saw a tip yesterday to have a shower while standing in a plastic tub. Guy then watered his plants. The surrounding dirt was so dry. Look at that drought as a learning opportunity.
Catching the rain from your rooftop is an option. It is use ubiquitously in the Rocky Mountain rain shadow. A gutter guard, or leaf screen might keep the bigger stuff out.
Grow edible cactus
200 years ago it would would have been a desert or arid steppe to begin with and not been settled in the first place.
Plan d survival here.
We left los angeles and landed in NC in the mountains. We are planing to start a comunity garden so we can teach each other new plants or methods.
Another option if you absolutely can not garden for whatever reason would be to cultivate skills which might be critical in a grid down scenario and hope to rely on trade
I've been planting heirloom last couple of years, also collecting their seeds, this year I'm also planting perenial veg plants, plant once last year's. Also fruits this time too, rhubarb raspberry strawberry apples plums grapevine. UK here thanks for your vids
Absolutely beautiful. In 18 minutes you covered so much. Couldn't be done better for planning and storage . Thank you.
I follow Charles Dowding on CZcams for gardening. A large area is not necessary to grow a lot of food. My garden is 1500 square feet. We let the grass grow a bit longer before mowing, then rake it up to top off the garden beds. The mulch holds in moisture, cuts down on weeds, and turns into nutrients for the following year’s garden.
I have 23 tubs of composting worms in the basement. The worms double in number every 3 months. Then I divide them into 2 tubs and harvest the castings. I mix the castings with perlite and coconut coir to make potting soil. I use the soil each spring to start seeds for the garden inside under grow lights. The worms eat most raw kitchen scraps as well as shredded paper.
Chickens recycle all other scraps from my kitchen. I don’t have to throw them away and get eggs in return.
I have had seeds for 10 years and still grow beautiful veggies
Me too.
Thought provoking and action inducing video, as always. Thank you, Kris. I absolutely love your content and share it often!
I appreciate that!
Heya City prep, thank you so much for your video .
I've been a nomad for 53 years and have created, resurrected, maintained, and dreampt about MY garden . Alas, as I said, I'm a nomad.Three years max in any location. The fate of the traveller, I guess.
Anyway, your succinct and valuable advice is so "on point", ( particularly the "Johnny Appleseed approach") is so, so, true. I've revisited places I planted seeds in and to see a tree I planted from tube stock in a house plot in a major city in 1969 is quite a remarkable experience, ( It has fortunately avoided lightning strike, neglect and avarice unlike myself...)
Cheers and good health to you and yours.
This is valuable work you are enjoying !!!
I save my tomato seeds on paper towel like you do and place in the freezer. We grew tomatoes last summer from seed saved 7 years ago. Thanks for the great videos.
One other major problem with agriculture as a whole is it is an investment into the future. You must stay by these recourses and if the crop were to fail you would starve. This is why there is no evidence of famine in the archaeological record until agriculture. You must be aware of this fact and be prepared for a failed harvest if you chose to go this route famine has killed millions over the millennia because of factors out side of the farmers control.
Everything went downhill when the nomadic hunter/gathers were replaced with agriculture and cities. Civilization we call it. Deforestation, taxes, politicians, governments, roads, over population, etc etc. The list is long. Looking down from my window seat at 33,000 feet I dream about living long, long ago before any of the scars we’ve made.
@@MountainMariner So true. Look at Varg Vikernes philosophy
I think its an inverse statement; with increased production population grows disproportionately to what is available in the uncultivated or minimally cultivated system. Thus indeed a failure = famine because the population has been supported by agriculture; the more agri, the more potential life loss bc the agri structure has created the 'artificially' dense population size .
Same issue we have today. Industrial monoculture may produce enough food if it was equally distributed (it isnt). But its destroying our water supply, soil stripping and needs GMO, pesticides and chemical fertilizer to produce.
If we want earth friendly sustainable agriculture with less famine potential the key is a much smaller population.
Thats not an easily reconcilable plan. No real reconciliation possible. Though contagion might make that decision for us. Dunno.
@@reg4211 What a real humanitarian. You are proposing the same thing the elite want to do to most of us. :-/
@@LuisC7 ah yes the gentle soul that is Varg! 😂
Gardening has been a real struggle for me. If I had to survive off my garden I’d be starving. I could do everything perfect but pests, weather, and plant diseases keep striking my plants. I’m going to keep trying with different plants and see if I can find the varieties that work best in my area.
You might try getting some grow lights and growing plants indoors. For some reason, coleus LOVES me. It is not a food plant but is edible. Our cockatiels take bites out of it. Getting some successes under your belt will help you feel more confident. Keep trying!
@@QuailHollowCritters I was thinking about growing more microgreens this year. Nature is harsh to my plants. 😄
I have a problem with 🦌
@@cookieschoice4537 Deer hate eggs.
Boil habanero down use it in a spray bottle for pest away
Best video you have EVER done...period. Well done sir.
You really know how to put together a video with so much information. Thank you very much sharing all this with us.
I bought a rural home just so I could garden to my heart's content. My garden provides most of my food and lots of extra which I jar and pickle for healthy prep choices. However I have been well ahead of this topic. I know that a ecological disaster (asteroid, nuclear war, caldera volcano, etc) can cause nuclear winters that last 2-6 years! During these times growing outdoors won't work. So several years ago I decided to see what vegetables I could grow indoors using a low wattage daylight LED (I could keep going with power from my wind and solar generators). I found several vegetables (tomatoes are a good example) that I could grow each plant on a $2 3watt daylight led bulb that I had modified! Fresh tomatoes (cherry tomato works best for indoor) for example would be a good way to prevent the disease scurvy in such a situation while also slowing down usage of prepped stored food. Cabbage and lettuce work well too on a 3 watt daylight LED bulb each. For those who don't want to spend years testing what works with indoor low power (high intensity) LEDs I documented all of my growing research with pictures on my facebook page which is available to the public (look back to last winter I was growing a lot indoors).
I have keep my own seeds for many years in the freezer , amazing how long they keep. Of course with a grid down situation I would store them differently. Also consider making your own sprays and fertilzers , i have learned that rabbit poop will repel other rabbits as they are territorial . And human urine spread around an area repels deer and other wild life .
Interesting, I'll keep that in mind.
When we clean our fish, I save all the guts for fish fertilizer. Kinda stinky for a while, but it mellows!
Yep... using the chicken and rabbit manure as well.
Over the last few years, my wife and I have grown a few vegetables here and there and have been successful with whatever
we have planted. We recently purchased a house during the lockdown which has a little land on which we plan to create
a fairly large vegetable garden. We know it will be a lot more work and I worry about the many animals we have in our area such as
Rabbits, Squirrels, birds etc. With the cost of lumber and materials, it may be a costly creation for the first year but future gardens
will be protected. We are excited. Great video as usual.
Check out construction site dumpsters, you’ll be surprised at the materials they throw away. Also, you might volunteer to remove someone’s old deck or shed, etc. To get some free material that way.…
We have saved seeds from the produce bought at local farm all season, bought some, buying more. We practiced outside but now indoor with lights for winter, transplanting lettuce starts soon, beets doing good. Bought books and going to see what we can do. It's a start :)
Thanks for the tomato seed tip!
(my red tater plants look wonderful, and I'm praying over my sunflowers!)
I mentioned it another message but thought it important to mention here...
Gardening can continue into winter!
I have a book call 'The Year-round Gardener' by Nikki Jabbour that describes the vegetables they grow in Nova Scotia. If they can do it there, I should be able to do it a little closer to the equator!
Thanks for posting this. We did a couple raised beds last season and they worked pretty well. I suggest everyone try gardening. Couple tips:
1. If doing a raised bed fill the bottom with tree trunks and organic debris to save money on quality soil
2. Make sure you know how the sun will hit your plants as they grow. Otherwise some plants with shade others and starve them of light.
Best wishes folks!
Favorite video this week. I have the seeds, but don’t have them stored properly. This is my new weekend project. Thanks for all the practical info.
Seeds are a lifeline for a better life.
Hi Chris, love your channel and agree with most of your content. I do take exception to growing lentils, however. You would need to plant at least 1/4 ac of just lentils to feed a family of four. Dried beans are not a good option either unless you have a huge garden because they take too much space for what you end up with. Other than that, you’re spot on🤗
Just do something and stop worrying about the wrong thing (in my humble opinion). Plant vertically and find trellising bean seeds now. I grew pounds and pounds of green beans, peas, etc in three feet of land, using two large laundry containers, some t-posts, chicken fencing and zipties., alongside melons, squash, tomato's, cucumbers, okra...and medicinal herbs.
For plants that do not trellis, grow a diverse amount of whatever you have, learn to dry store, and cook from stretch (soup and stews don't require acres of beans, just diverse food items).
It may come a time where in order to survive you must think critically and use your creatively.
This is amazing! your whole channel is amazing! thank you for all you do! Keep these treasures coming!
This is awesome - we upped our pantry last year, this is the next thing my wife and I need to do RIGHT AWAY this spring. Very good video, thank you!
After gardening and canning for more years than I care to mention, the biggest help would be know your soil. PH, proper fertilizer and micro nutrients all need to grow healthy plants.
Most of this post contains absolutely great information, but I would really want to urge extreme caution when sowing or planting something in the wild. Many times what seems like a great idea turns into an ecological nightmare, with plant diseases and non-native invasive species wreaking havoc on the natural environment.
Those shrivelled store-bought potatoes are probably a variety that is susceptible to blight and can only thrive when sprayed, planting them and just letting them grow is likely to introduce or spread the blight to other areas. Sunchokes are extremely invasive and can damage the balance of the local ecosystem. The list goes on and on. I'm certainly not saying don't plant anything, but please do your research to make sure you're improving the situation rather than creating a problem.
In an urban or sub-urban setting this is of course less of an issue. The kids and I have great fun planting (organic seeds of) edible flowers and native wildflowers all around our neighbourhood. It brightens the area, cheers people up, and is great for the pollinators and wildlife. We try to involve the people around us too, handing out seeds and giving information when asked. The kids and their friends have a blast, and they're learning some vital lessons at the same time.
Thank you Kris for taking the time and effort to make these excellent video's, they are greatly appreciated!
@@sears381 obviously not, when you're starving I'm pretty sure people will do anything you can to survive. However, most of us watching this are not starving or in immediate danger of doing so. Which means that with a little bit of care and planning we can feed ourselves and not destroy the environment around us in doing so.
@@sears381 This is kind of a moot point lol. Let's be real, most people watching this video aren't starving or dying LMAO, so they can easily act more eco-conscious.
I am amazed and so very glad that you made this video! Thank you!
Bringing up this topic and discussing seed options and cost options in very helpful.
The odds are things are going to get pretty harsh, but having seeds is one way to make a way for life to continue.
We don’t control the larger process, but we can reduce harm and suffering to the best of our ability, and we can trey to make a way for life to survive as much as possible.
It’s time to live the “Serenity Prayer” in a very real way.
The courage to know the difference!
I garden, every year I make jam from my strawberries. Freeze, Broccoli, peas, peppers chillies, Rhubarb, carrots, onions, I make Bolognese sauce from my tomatoes.cabbage.potatoes.
Happy gardening.
I will say it's not a great idea (and sometimes even illegal) to plant non-native plants in certain areas. Some, like mint, are extremely invasive. If you're going to do the plant in random places strategy, I would try to use plants that are already native to the area, or at least ones that aren't likely to spread.
Somehow I doubt in shtf that the powers that be will write you a ticket for planting non native plants LMAO.
@@tinsoldier5621 That is true. With plants such as mint though, there is also the real possibility that years down the line, the root system has become so established that it chokes out the growing space for other plants as well. Best to have pots and planters for anything that will likely get out of control like this, as long-term it could be a nuisance to you, too. If you've ever tried pulling up mint then you'll know how hard it is to truly get rid of it once it's been established!
Agreed. Please don’t plant random mint. Lol
@@tinsoldier5621 I completely agree. In a survival situation it really wouldn't matter. But my point was that, if you're learning how to garden pre-SHTF, probably don't do this.
Planting native is extremely important. Non natives can destroy your whole ecosystem. It affects not only other native plant but also the insects and wildlife that thrives on natives. So yes, include knowledge with your planning.
1 million calories in oats, rice, beans, sugar, and pasta in mylar takes up 4 x 4 x 4 ft in volume and costs about half a grand. So my solution is to not run out of food.
Great video! I have been collecting seeds for many years and find most can be stored for many years in the right conditions. I try to ensure they are in air tight containers, stored in dark, cool places with low humidity. Even ones that I got from a friend dated from 2007 still germinated. Learning companion planting can also help yields. I plant lots of flowers with my veggies for better pollination and it also makes a veggie garden far more beautiful and enjoyable.
Excellent segment
Was researching seeds and seed starting when I got the notification for this video! Great timing!
I just bought vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds for .25 at our local dollar store. I've spent a great deal of money over the years on seeds. This seemed like a good alternative during lean times. Would like to learn more about the potato planting. I've been expanding that every year. Thanks for the info!
Side note, I have collected seeds from vegetables as well. It's just nice to have many alternative sources.
You might be interested in the channel Home Grown Veg. He is very informative about growing potatoes. Ive been growing them for years and he taught me a thing or two!
Roots are the only thing around me that dont die from wind.
Thank you, Kris!
Your channel is the best! Thanks so much for teaching us these valuable skills.
Pro Tip:
Rabbit poop is great in the garden. If you don't have rabbit poop, you don't have enough rabbits.
At about 2.20, you recommend using oxygen absorbers in the seed storage but seeds are alive and need oxygen to be able to grow when they are planted. Oxygen absorbers will kill your seeds! Only use moisture absorbers for long term sees storage.
In the Florida Keys, we grow our own food, year-round. Loads of fish off our coast. During times of food trouble, the Keys are paradise.
Thanks, Kris. This is very thought-provoking!
I collect my own seed every year. I have a huge seed vault
When SHTF you can trade for essentials, especially if paper money is useless.
@@marktwain368 I have lots seed, food that I grow , I have lot on first aid supplies , chickens , rabbits and being a full time homesteader for all most 20 year have lot of skills . been carpenter all my life
I would suggest you collect seed from at least 2-4 different plants of the same type, otherwise if you only collect the seeds from one plant each season, you are narrowing the diversity and strength of DNA in the future. If you only let one plant go to seed and it was not the best plant then you are stuck with seed from one poor plant for your next season. Also ensure you allow the plant to "fully seed" or let the fruit get really ripe before you collect the seed, as in most cases the seed matures with the maturity of the plant/fruit. If you pick the seed too early it can reduce the viability of the seed collected - ie. the probability of the seed sprouting and the length of life you will get from the seed if you store it properly. I keep my seeds in sealed packets in an airtight container in the bottom of the fridge. I have been gardening and collecting seeds for nearly 20 years.
Exactly the content and knowledge we need right now. Thank you.
Digging deep into the basics this week. This week, it’s the flour stores, putting up both buckwheat and dark rye flour for long term storage.
If you have deer locally you will understand why you can't grow any of this anywhere in the wild or your own fenced yard. They eat EVERYTHING! We need 8' fences.
Or two lower fences spaced 3’ apart. Deer can’t tell how wide the span is and won’t make the jump
@@OvcharkaShepherd You're right. We do plan to add another lower fence row this spring around a newer space, but we still need the high fence to discourage the foxes and mountain lions from the patio garden.
I cannot imagine the size of garden that would provide 6000 (3 people x 2000 cal) calories per day.
That’s why livestock is important.
@@doubles1545 I have raised livestock - beef, chicken, pork. I have owned as much as 13 acres and I still needed to supplement there feed with commercial feed (hay & grain).
Excellent presentation and analysis. Always appreciate your views. Thank you sir.
Brilliant stuff as usual Kris!!! A treasure trove of info & well presented 😎😉