Growing your own food is one of the most satisfying aspects of self-reliance. There is nothing quite as rewarding as serving up a meal comprised of home-grown ingredients. Growing your own food saves money, and it provides your family with fresh, nutrition-packed produce. Plus, you get the added benefit of knowing exactly what chemicals have – and have … [Read more...]
Survival Gardening: 18 Plants & Trees That Can Survive a Drought
Planting a survival garden requires you to foresee and prepare for a number of possible scenarios that could kill your plants and leave you without a source of food. One of the most dreaded of these scenarios is an extended drought. Many plants are unable to survive more than a few days without water. In a survival scenario where no rain is falling, … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Potatoes Are The Best Survival Food To Grow
In the Andy Weir novel, The Martian -- which was made into the movie of the same name starring Matt Damon -- the main character, Mark Watney, is stranded on Mars for months. When his supply of packaged food runs out, he grows and eats only potatoes for several weeks and is able to survive until his rescue. Potatoes may be the ultimate urban survival crop. … [Read more...]
Urban Survival Gardening: A Guide for Beginners
According to a 2015 survey, 62.7 percent of people in the United States live in the city, despite US cities taking up just 3.5 percent of the total land area. No doubt, living in a city provides plenty of advantages, from dining and entertainment options to proximity to your place of employment. One advantage that it does not provide, however, is easy … [Read more...]
11 Highest Calorie Crops for Your Survival Garden
Right now, most of us live in a world where the fewer calories a food has, the better. Should the day ever come when food is in short supply, though, that trend will reverse. When preparing to grow a survival garden, the number of calories a crop offers is an important consideration. Although veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers are nutritious and easy to … [Read more...]
23 Herbs and Veggies You Can Grow on Your Porch
Urban gardening is all about making the most out of the space you’ve got. All it takes to turn your outdoor balcony or back porch into a full-on garden is a pinch of creativity and a dash of strategy. Rather than planting one crop in one small pot, we are going to focus on planting multiple crops in one sizeable pot. This method makes the most of your … [Read more...]
5 Everyday Items You Can Use to Fertilize Your Garden
Your options for garden fertilizer are either Miracle Grow Plant Food (whose Amazon page includes a legal disclaimer that their phosphorus-containing fertilizer may cause harmful water runoff), or organic fertilizer. Easy choice. If you’re reading this, then organic is probably very important to you. You aren’t okay with a little pesticide on your salad … [Read more...]
10 Healthy Veggies You Can Grow in Water
Store-bought or homegrown, you can reuse those veggie scraps to grow an endless supply of food starting with just a container of water at home. DIY water gardens are ideal for anyone who wants to minimize waste, grow organic, save money, and make fewer trips to the market. Homesteaders and city dwellers--this one’s for you. What you’re going to need: … [Read more...]
Composting Guerrilla Style
This is an entertaining video from The Urban Farming Guys who are doing their best to make urban farming exciting. There is no shortage of talent and resource in most urban areas, but there is a serious shortage of fresh foods. This is a giant problem in America today. This food shortage would only be compounded by a serious disaster. The effort of urban … [Read more...]
10 Healthy Herbs You Can Grow in Water
No garden? No Problem! You can grow your own indoor herb garden without a pinch of soil. Even if you live in an apartment with nothing more than a tiny back porch or balcony, there is still room to grow some fragrant herbs. All you need is water, sunlight, and a place for your plants to spread their roots. Add a burst of flavor to your meals with Basil … [Read more...]
15 Most Nutritious Plants To Grow In Your Garden
When planning a survival garden, you can't just focus on the number of plants you can grow--you also have to think about the nutritional value of those plants. Most survival food isn't very nutritious due to all the processing and preservatives, so it's a good idea to supplement your stockpile with healthy produce from your garden. Not celery, cucumbers, and … [Read more...]
9 Best Edible Plants You Can Grow Indoors
Yes, we’d all love to have a sprawling garden full of fruits, veggies and magical beans that lead us up to a castle in the sky--but life’s not fair. Maybe you are working with a small space, or perhaps winter is coming and you want to actually give your crops a fighting chance. Regardless, it’s no big deal. Setting up a home garden where you can grow … [Read more...]
12 Gardening Hacks for New Gardeners
With spring coming up in just a few weeks, it’s a great time to begin planning your garden. If you’re new to gardening, you’ll be glad to hear that there are many tips that can help make the process cheaper, easier, and more efficient. The great thing about the hacks in this article is that they involve items that you probably already have in your house. … [Read more...]
7 Vegetables You Should Be Starting Indoors Right NOW!
Believe it or not, there's only one week left in February. Spring is upon us, so if you haven't started thinking about your spring garden, what are you waiting for? Every great garden needs planning, and planning takes time. If you don't get started soon, you'll miss out on lots of healthy homegrown veggies. Kristen Duever from Off The Grid News made … [Read more...]
12 Seed Starting Tips to Start Your Garden Right
Gardening is a very productive and enjoyable experience, and when done well, it will produce not only a pleasing array of plants, but also useful herbs, spices, and veggies. Gardening is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to start becoming self-sufficient, and as such it is a skill every prepper should acquire. As your skills as a gardener improve, so … [Read more...]
8 Best Vegetables for Small Space Gardening
Most of us are forced to dwell in an very small space (which we call home) at one stage or another in our lives. The problem is that most of us also adore the idea of having our own little patch of land, or at least a small garden in some form, especially one from which we can harvest fresh food. A lack of adequate space makes that difficult, though, but … [Read more...]
5 Fast Indoor Vegetables You Can Grow in a Month
Most gardeners call it quits in the winter. After all, how are you supposed to have a garden when there's several inches of snow covering your backyard? Simple. You start an indoor container garden. Even in the winter, you can grow plenty of vegetables as long as you park them in front of a south-facing window (or help them out with a grow light). If … [Read more...]
