It’s a scary thought to think about, but if you’re ever in a survival situation where food is scarce and there are no grocery stores to scavenge from, it can be difficult. It is imperative to know how to scavenge food for survival because without it you’ll eventually starve. This post will provide five of the most effective ways that people have found to scavenge for food when they find themselves in this type of scenario.
If you’re ever in a situation where you’re fighting for survival, knowing how to scavenge food you can eat is a must. If you don’t know how to find food or where to get it, you could end up suffering from starvation, which can ultimately lead to death.
Top 5 Ways to Scavenge for Food in Survival Situations
Instead of dealing with that possibility, check out these top five ways to scavenge food for survival and have the most success with it. You’ll learn how to find plenty of food in areas that you’ve probably never thought of before.
1. Hunting Can Be Valuable
Whether you have hunting experience or not, it’s valuable to know how to do it. Whether you’re willing to try to hunt small game or big game, you’ll end up with enough meat to last for several days, especially when rationed correctly.
Scavenge Food for Survival: Consider Hunting
Hunting a large animal could leave you with enough food to feed your family for several weeks, but you’d need to know how to properly store the meat that you’ve managed to get to keep it fresh. You don’t want to eat spoiled meat because that could cause you to end up with food poisoning and other serious problems.
Use Different Tools
Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of hunting. Even if you don’t like the idea of it, keep in mind that it might be necessary in dire times. So, try to get familiar with using different tools that can help you capture your prey when necessary. You’ll also need to know how to safely take your game apart and separate the meat into sections based on what you can cook with it each day to make meals.
2. Scavenging for Fruits
Be prepared to scavenge for fruits in different spots. You’ll notice that trees are often a hot spot for fruits. While it’s good to have access to these trees’ fruits, you need to know what you can safely eat and what you need to avoid.
Some berries look sweet and delicious, but they’re poisonous and shouldn’t be consumed. You don’t want to make the mistake of eating the wrong thing or giving something harmful to someone in your family.
Scavenge Food for Survival: Search for Fruit Trees
Search for a fruit-bearing tree that has fruits growing from it that you can safely eat. If you can find that kind of tree where you’re at, it’ll become an excellent source of carbs for you and your family. You can continue picking the fruit and safely storing it to keep it fresh until you’re ready to eat it.
3. Don’t Discount Bugs
While it may sound gross, sometimes it’s necessary to eat bugs for survival. It doesn’t mean that you need to eat these insects raw because that’s difficult for most people to do. However, you can collect crickets and grasshoppers, cook them over the campfire to roast them, and then eat them.
Not only will they taste better when you’ve cooked them, but they’ll also provide you with the protein you’ll need to stay energized. The right types of bugs consist of lots of protein that your body needs, especially during difficult times when all you’re trying to do is survive.
Bring Seasoning and Spices
If you have any seasonings or spices with you, it’s possible to make the bugs more appealing by covering them in some of these seasonings. When you’re out in the wilderness, starving, and in desperate need of food, eating the readily available insects no longer seems nearly as gross as it might sound to you right now.
4. Scavenging in an Urban Area
Being in the wilderness is one thing. However, if you’re fighting for survival in an urban area, you’re probably not surrounded by a bunch of trees and plants with fruits and vegetables that you can consume. However, you may have easy access to markets and grocery stores.
You can head over to these places to look for canned foods. It’s best to choose canned foods and other non-perishable items that won’t go bad quickly. You want the food to last a long time because you don’t know when you’ll find another food source during a crisis.
Seek Out Non-perishable Foods and other Proteins
If you’re not sure what to grab, look for canned meats, canned vegetables, and containers of peanut butter. The canned meats, such as chicken and tuna, will come in handy as a protein source for you. The canned vegetables contain vitamins and nutrients.
They’ll also taste great when prepared with the canned meats to give you a bit of variety with each meal. It’s also helpful to have peanut butter because it tastes good, tends to last longer, is a versatile ingredient to use, and is an excellent protein source.
5. Observe the Wildlife Around You
Start observing the wildlife around you each day to get an idea of how they survive in the wilderness. You can keep an eye on how some of the other animals get their food and what they tend to go for when trying to find something to eat. If you see what they’re going for, it can help you decide what you’ll go for in the wild if it comes down to that.
You may start to observe bears in the water grabbing fish to eat. If it’s something you notice, you’ll know that the specific body of water has fish swimming inside it, and that means you can go in there and get your own fish, too. Use the wildlife observations that you make to your advantage to help you find food in all the right places.
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There is a lot of good food out there. Yes, you can take some with you to survive. Keep reading this to learn how to make good tasting survival food!
Are you trying to build a stockpile of survival food? You probably want to make sure you have plenty of food to eat in case of an emergency that would prevent you from getting more food from the grocery store.
How to Make Good Tasting Survival Food
If you’re fully prepared with a pantry full of items that don’t expire quickly, you won’t have to worry about you or your loved ones starving for food at any point. Before you start prepping any food, follow these tips to learn how to make good tasting survival food that your family can eat and enjoy.
1. Choose the Right Ingredients
The first thing you’ll need to do to make good-tasting survival food is to choose the right ingredients to use. Don’t use bland ingredients that aren’t going to give your food a great taste. If the food doesn’t taste good, you’re not going to enjoy it, even if you need to eat it to survive. The least you can do is make food that will taste good to you and your loved ones during difficult times.
So, which ingredients are the right ones to use? With plenty of ingredients to use to make meals, you might not know which ones are best to buy and use. Consider these important things when buying the ingredients for your survival food:
Can you enjoy them at any temperature? Choose ingredients that will taste good at any temperature, whether hot, cold, or room temperature.
Do you have to cook them? It’s better to choose ingredients that you don’t necessarily need to cook. While these ingredients may taste better when cooked, it’s not about preference during difficult times. As long as the ingredients will still taste good, that’s all that matters.
Will the ingredients last long? Always choose ingredients with an extended shelf life. Don’t choose anything that can spoil quickly. If it can spoil too soon, it’s not good to use for survival food because you might need it weeks, months, or even years later.
You can choose the ingredients after asking yourself these critical questions. Choosing long-lasting ingredients that taste good is more important than anything else.
2. Add Some Variety to Your Survival Food
Always add some variety to what you’re going to prepare and store as survival food. Even in an emergency, you won’t want to eat the same thing all the time. It gets boring and bland. Try to mix things up by using various ingredients to prepare different meals that you and your family can consume throughout the day.
Change things up from time to time
If you’re switching it up with multiple ingredients and different meals made using those ingredients, you won’t get tired of what you’re eating. It’s also good to have a variety for your loved ones. Not everyone has the same taste buds. You want to make sure you have a variety to satisfy each person’s preferences in your household.
3. Seasoning Can Make a Big Difference
Unseasoned foods are bland and boring. You’ll get tired of them fast. If you don’t want to eat unseasoned chicken and other meats all the time during an emergency, use seasonings because they can make such a massive difference.
Seasoning food will make it more enjoyable
The seasonings that you decide to use will depend on your preferences. However, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt, lemon pepper, and garlic salt are a few of the seasonings that will give your food more flavor. Look up recipes for different meals that you can prepare, season, and store to eat during emergencies.
4. Store the Survival Food Properly
If you don’t intend to eat everything you’re making at once, you need to know how to store the food you’re preparing correctly. Sealing and storing food correctly is a must. If it doesn’t get done correctly, dust, dirt, and germs can get into the containers full of food and cause them to spoil, making them unusable. You don’t want to waste your time prepping only to realize that you can’t eat anything you made because it’s gone bad.
Know how to store your food properly
Use different methods to store and save your survival food. Canning is just one method that most people use. You can follow the simple canning process to begin preserving different foods, including meats, fruits, and vegetables, that will come in handy in an emergency. Once you’ve sealed those foods in their jars with airtight lids, you can place them on shelves or in the pantry and save them until you’re ready to use them.
5. Utilize Some Store Bought Items
While making food from scratch is always a good idea, you don’t need to make everything from scratch. You can still head over to the store and buy different items that will get put to good use in an emergency. You might want to buy canned goods from the grocery store instead of canning vegetables, fruits, and meats. It’s even better to find these items at discounted rates when the stores offer special deals and discounts.
Stock up on canned goods
So, if you see a sale, it won’t hurt to stock up on those canned goods. You can get the canned goods and put them on shelving units in your basement to save them. Canned goods tend to have such a long shelf life, making them worth every penny spent on them. Of course, you can still complete the canning process for anything that you’d prefer to make from scratch. Buying canned goods is a simple way to make things even easier for you.
Purchase bags of candy
One thing you can buy at the store that not a lot of people think of is bagged candy. Those bags of candy will last a long time, even beyond their expiration date.
Make Survival Food That Tastes Great
If you want to prepare for an emergency by having plenty of survival food available for each person in your household, follow these simple yet practical tips. While you want to have an impressive inventory of food to eat in an emergency, you’re also going to want to make sure that food tastes good.
If it’s practically inedible, it’ll be hard for you and your loved ones to eat the food, even if it’s all you have available. Now that you know what steps you’ll need to take to make good tasting survival food, what do you plan on doing first?
What good-tasting survival food would you add to this list? Learning how to make good food, no matter what, it is a great life skill to have. These tips should help get you on the right path!
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While this might seem like a post we should have on our garden site, it really belongs on THIS site as a permaculture garden helps you create a sustainable food source when grocery stores are not an option. It is a long-term emergency food source.
It is necessary to know how to feed yourself – and your family in a SHTF situation. It doesn’t matter if you are planning to can food for storage, or eat as you go, but the concept of a permaculture garden is great to wrap your head around
What Is Permaculture?
We live in an increasingly industrially reliant culture. A culture that relies on fast food, disposable goods, and cheap gasoline. A culture that is fast eating itself up. Enter Permaculture.
Permaculture is another way to look at the world and its resources. We’ll look at just what is meant by permaculture, the history of this conservation movement, and meet some of its originators and the future of Permaculture. You may find that you are already applying some of the basic tenants of this small but growing movement.
Permaculture, as you may have guessed, is a contraction of the words permanent culture. The idea is that we rely more on sustainable agriculture not dependant on fossil fuels.
What does permaculture use?
It will use local resources, smaller more diverse crop planning, non-chemically dependant fertilizing, for example. Permaculture is a movement away from anything big and industrial to the smaller and sustainable farms, encouraging more interdependence with community members.
It all began in the ‘70s by a wildlife biologist and ecologist named Bill Mollison of Australia. He saw the growing monster of the Industrial Revolution and its impact on our culture.
How this kind of culture was bound to eventually cave in due to its monstrous appetite. Rather than reacting in a negative way to this, he instead decided to take a more positive approach.
By studying nature, he came to several conclusions about how nature goes through sustainable cycles without the benefit of man. Bill began to live and then to teach his philosophy.
Another man who has silently built up a following in this movement is Masanobu Fukuoka. He believes that you should disturb the soil to an absolute minimum. Seeds are planted right on the soil’s surface and then lightly covered with straw or other light mulch.
Weeds are trimmed before the flowering stage and allowed to become part of the mulch. This kills unwanted vegetation without poison and gives a favorable soil in which to plant. In time the soil becomes healthy and weeds and pests become less of a concern.
Ruth Stout is another voice in this community. Her ideas about “no-till” gardening have caused many to change their views about weeds and weeding. Similar to Fukuoka, she purported to never need to weed but allowed plants to grow together.
All vegetation, both “good” and “bad,” builds the soil which leads to healthy crops which means fewer pests. Once the soil is built weeding becomes as simple as flicking out the weed. All without chemicals and pesticides.
A practical example, of permaculture design, in use. The sheep graze around the bee boxes, and the chickens break up the pest cycle.
From its small, quiet revolutionary beginnings, it is apparent that permaculture will have to be embraced to a greater or lesser degree. Pollution due to industrial waste and mass transportation systems are on their way down memory lane. It will cost too much to ship in food from across the country so it makes more and more sense to buy food grown locally or grow it yourself.
Permaculture as a basic philosophy has grown and spread its less intrusive approach to living on and using the earth. While nowadays it seems to be associated with second and third generation “hippies,” even Urbanites practice it by growing a garden for vegetables and tossing the trimmings back on the beds. Yes, permaculture, in all its varied philosophies will impact our lives – for the good.
The Core Concepts of Permaculture Garden Design
Understanding any subject that’s new to us, helps to dig into its key concepts. Understanding permaculture in its basic sense will help people to perhaps see how some of its elements can be applied in their own life.
Specifically, we will deal with, sustainability, minimal disruption of soil conditions, and interdependence with our neighbors. Let’s begin by talking about how permaculture contributes to the sustainability of the earth’s ecosystems.
David Holmgren’s 12 principle version which are used to help guide every Permaculture design.
It isn’t by accident that permanent is part of the term permaculture. Here we have a way to work with the way nature works not in a forced, mechanized way of modern times. When you use hand tools and human labor, you don’t need to depend on fossil fuels.
Naturally built-up soils don’t support disease and pests so you don’t need petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers. When you don’t remove the unused part of the plant but just lay it back down on the soil to mulch you reduce labor and eliminate the need to amend the soil. Mulching aids water retention and thus reduces the need for water.
The ultimate in sustainability is when the end of year harvest comes, you allow several plants to go to seed. Then you can cut down the dying foliage and seed heads and lay this on the ground with the mulch which will go on to seed for next year’s crops. This like the other core concepts is the hallmark of permaculture – giving back to the land everything but the fruits you consume.
Another core concept of a permaculture garden is the idea of soil conservation and minimally disturbing the soils in which we plant. Permaculturists will use hand tools rather than tillers and tractors, which does several things to harm the soil. Heavier equipment compacts the soil, which makes the ground more difficult to use.
It is a fact that intensive gardening increases crop production 10 fold when soil is not compacted and the soil is left loose and friable. This way we can get 10 times more production out of the same amount of land – which translates to 10 times more food available to feed the population of the world. No more food shortages. It may be hard to believe that we can get more production out of less land by eliminating machinery, but permaculture has proved this time and again.
A final key concept of permaculture is rebuilding the community. Because of our industrialized society, we have become detached from each other not just as a family but also as a community.
This causes us to turn to government and corporations to fill our needs, which causes lower quality food because of the need for mass production, as well as diminishing the local job base, and creating more of a need for outside energy input.
If you buy raw milk from the dairy down the road, beef from your neighbor, and vegetables from the local organic farmer, you not only provide work for them, you also get higher quality food, with less fossil fuel input. This creates a sustainable loop of profitable work, quality products that we actually need, and utilizes local sources.
In an increasingly global economy suffering from constant disruptions in the job market and food chain, this is the future we must work toward for our children and grandchildren. To create a “permanent” culture, we must strive for sustainability, minimal disruption of the soil, and interdependence, and shared resources.
How to Grow a Permaculture Garden
While we may not be able to make large changes, a whole lot of little changes can add up to a revolution. A small way to make a big change is to grow a garden using permaculture techniques.
What makes a garden small permaculture? You can learn about garden preparation tools and techniques, how to plant and tend to a garden that is raised sustainably. It takes far less time to garden in this way than you may think.
The idea behind permaculture gardening is to use only hand tools and minimal human labor. The only tools you’ll need are a shovel, rake, and small trowel. The idea here is to not disturb the soil any more than necessary.
Tilling the soil will introduce too much oxygen, which acts to kill the soil organisms that live on and around plant roots. This allows for weeds, which are less “picky” about the soil in which they grow.
Plot preparation can be as simple as layering a mat of cardboard or thick layers of newsprint where you plan to plant. If the weeds are well established, cut them down before you layer the cardboard.
There’s no concern here about existing vegetation as the thick cardboard mulch will kill the weeds. So, we have eliminated dubious chemicals and poisons from your garden shed.
On top of this, you will layer 6 to 12 inches of straw laid out in rows so you can walk between hills. Here the idea is to keep the rows no wider than you can comfortably reach from both sides. Notice we didn’t till, dig or poison the garden plot. It is so much simpler to use permaculture garden techniques in your garden.
To plant seeds, you can sprinkle them right on the soil’s surface in most cases. Then pull any mulch over this. The mulch acts to help the soil retain moisture so you don’t have to water as often. The mulch gradually breaks down and adds to the soil, as the seeds germinate and grow.
Planting starts like lettuce is easy as pulling back the straw, poking a hole in the cardboard, placing the little plant in, and pushing back the straw. This works even in heavy soils. Allow the greenery of the plant starts to barely come above the mulch, even gently pulling off an older leaf to stimulate growth.
When it comes to weeding, it is a simple matter of snipping the emerging greenery and leaving it to add to the mulch. The idea is to not let the weeds go to the flowering stage where they would quickly go to seed.
At the time of harvest, you take a head of lettuce, for example, and would just cut the head off and leave the roots. The lettuce will continue to produce some leaves till the first frost that you may continue to harvest and use.
Over winter the roots will die and add to the soil. When harvesting beans or tomatoes, you take the fruit; pull the greens and leave to break down with the mulch. No composting this way and no waste.
Learning permaculture is possibly one of the most responsible skills any homeowner and gardener could learn and as you can see it isn’t like learning rocket science. Take a strong back and a rake to the garden next spring.
Increase Your Insight With Permaculture Courses
Anyone desiring to educate themselves in skills in how to “go green” would want to add one more course to their roster: permaculture. Here you will learn the world-altering techniques of how we can change the course of mankind just by a few simple changes in how we work in the landscape.
By taking classes on permaculture you would benefit from lessons learned from nature, the ecosystem, and how we humans act to work with it all. You can avail yourself of books, community college courses, and on-site laboratory type classes. Any way you look at it, you can learn just how you can become part of the solution.
Starting a garden that is efficient and uses no artificial inputs and chemicals can be challenging. We speak to those challenges here.
Many books have been written on the subject of permaculture and its variations. “The One-Straw Revolution” by Masanobu Fukuoka, is a “bible” to many students of permaculture. This man, like his peers, quietly went about doing or mimicking what he saw in nature.
Ruth Stout wrote the “No-work Garden Book” an amazing look at how one woman proved how simple and sensible permaculture gardening is. While her neighbor’s plants died of frosts, hers survived due to the insulated type of mulching she practiced in her garden.
From time to time, local colleges offer non-credit courses on topics of interest to the members of the community. Permaculture is fast becoming a popular evening and weekend course offering. Just check your local community college to see if yours has anything along those lines.
Yet another choice for the more “physically inclined” is to participate in a hands-on internship type program sponsored by one of many eco-village type co-ops. Here you are instructed by those knowledgeable in their field and you get to get practical, hands-on experience.
You can choose to stay a week or a month or more as you volunteer on the land. Often you will work side by side with veterans and activists from all over the world. Here, you will be part of whatever process is going on at the time you participate – from plot planning, soil prep, and planting, to ongoing garden maintenance and harvest.
It’s very likely you’ll eat of the produce of your labors and even participate in its preparation. You will be part of a group that has the satisfaction of knowing they’re keeping the seeds of change alive. Take a look on the Internet for permaculture communities and co-ops to see what choices are available to you.
The Benefits of Being a Permaculture Activist
When you know something is a good thing to do, it’s hard not to take an active part in the process and promotion of it. Permaculture, while a very quiet and rather peaceful group of people, has its voice too. Take a look through the following list to get an idea of what benefits there are to participating as a permaculture activist:
Knowing that you are part of important work – something bigger than yourself. Taking care to work with the intelligence of nature and the built-in wisdom of the earth, we can affect positive changes a little at a time.
Knowing you are providing a sustainable future for your children and grandchildren—instead of living in a short-sighted way for today and now, we can be a part of our children’s future by low impact living, gardening, and responsible use of resources.
Being part of a group that stands for less dependence on foreign oil and using domestic oil in a more responsible way—no need for the expensive fossil fuel-guzzling trucks and machinery when you use permaculture garden techniques.
Encourages less pollution due to less dependence on trucks used in the transportation of food as well as equipment that uses fuel.
Being a voice in your community and eventually, your state government can have a ripple effect once people realize it is not just an odd movement by “earth muffins” but a true and sensible way to live.
Allows you to participate in a true revolution that positively affects the community and the world —growing your own food is a satisfying pursuit and gives real power into your hand knowing that you can look out your back window and see your family’s food source right in your own yard.
Actively striving for better quality food—it makes sense that the food you grow on your own land will have better quality nutrition not to mention taste. You have more control over what goes on and in your soil.
Being ready to take a lead in your community when difficult times do come. Your knowledge of permaculture will be at the very core of the survival of whole neighborhoods and surrounding communities.
While permaculture won’t rock the world, it can quietly infuse and give hope to those who have so long lived in a selfish, push-button, disposable world. You can be part of the biggest little movement in modern times. And when the time comes, you and your children will be part of raising human awareness and education of men and women that survive the fall of the Industrial Era.
Prepper Checklist for Cooking and Canning? Cooking and canning foods at home is so easy that even a beginner can quickly learn how to master it. Making and canning foods at home is also an inexpensive and healthy way to provide food for your family.
It’s a method where you can set aside provisions in the event of a disaster. But if you’re going to use canned foods, you’ll want to follow this checklist to ensure that you have the right supplies and follow the important safety guidelines.
Prepper Checklist for Cooking and Canning at Home
The first items that you’ll need to line up are enough jars to hold the foods you want to store. How will you know how many jars you need? One way is by checking out what the recipe says. Home canning recipes will usually tell you how many batches of food the recipe will produce.
You can find jars that are specific for home canning. When you have the jars you need, you’ll want to wash the jars along with their lids and bands like you would hand wash dishes. This is done to remove germs and sterilize the jars.
The next thing you’ll need is utensils. You’ll need spoons and a spatula. You’ll also want to make sure that you sterilize the utensils you use. When you’re canning foods, you don’t have to have many items, but you do want to make sure you have a sturdy stockpot.
You might find it helpful to have a funnel, labels, and a canning jar holder. If you’re canning fruits or jellies, you may also want – pectin, but some people can foods without it – it’s a personal preference.
Once the water has simmered in the pot, you’ll want to fill the jar to the level that the recipe calls for. Don’t put warm foods in cool jars because this will cause the jars to shatter. The jars need to be at least room temperature.
To get out the air bubbles, make sure you don’t stir – just run a flat utensil around the inside of the jar. Put on the lid toppers and the rings, then place the jars in the jar lifter. If you don’t have a jar lifter, you can use tongs in a pinch, but it’s easier for the jar to slip with tongs.
Using a jar lifter, you would lower it by the handle into the stockpot until the jars’ tops are completely covered by water. Let the water boil however long the recipe says to let it boil.
You don’t want to count the time before the water boils. Once the jars are cool, some people put labels that are dated on the outside of the jars so that they can rotate the foods while they’re in storage.
Which Prepper Recipes Should You Compile?
What Prepper Checklist for Cooking and Canning would be complete without talking about recipes? When it comes time to live off of your survivalist food stores, life might make a chance for you and your family at mealtime. You can no longer run up to the corner store for foods to go in a recipe – you have to have it on hand or make do with what you do have.
You’ll want to look for certain types of recipes that work with the kinds of foods most preppers store – but also locate recipes for your files that create meals your family loves.
The primary focus for many preppers is on beans, bread, and canning recipes. But that’s not your only option. You will probably be storing lots of rice, freeze-dried or dehydrated foods.
You want to be able to turn those staples that your family has worked hard to store into an almost gourmet meal that you’d be proud to serve to dinner guests during a typical celebration.
Start organizing your recipes offline. Many people have them stored on sites like Pinterest, but if there’s no electricity, you won’t be able to access those recipes at all. It’s better to print them out and save them in a small filing storage container.
Organize your recipes according to what staples your family has on hand. If you find a recipe that calls for something you don’t yet have, add that item to your checklist of food storage items to get. We like this list we found here: 45 Pantry Meals for Tough Times or Tight Budgets.
Put the recipes in categories for entrees, side dishes, bread, and desserts. You might even want to have one for beverages if you’re able to store different types of ingredients to make delicious drinks.
Too many preppers who are just starting out think that emergency food stores would mean you have to live on meals ready to eat or plan meals that offer no sense of enjoyment.
During a crisis, you want to provide your family with the most normal routine possible. Sometimes that means being able to serve up favorite family meals. You may have to create substitutions for certain things, but it’s better than living on a protein bar day after day.
Using your prepper food stores means rotating items out of commission, and you can invest in survival cookbooks and test out your prepper culinary skills using a variety of methods – including solar ovens and other forms of cooking without electricity.
If you have children, make sure you have them help you compile a list of their favorites, too. They can even help you make a test batch to see if it passes muster with the whole family and earns its spot in the recipe container!
Setting Up Your Survival Seed Bank? Some people avoid reading or watching the news because they don’t like what’s going on globally. But avoidance can’t stop what’s coming because you can’t control the things that affect the world’s food supply.
There’s an impending sense that a major food crisis is on the way, and the government is trying to prepare right now for that crisis.
Setting Up Your Survival Seed Bank
But if you know anything about how the world is run, then you know that if you’re not the one in charge of your family’s food supply, you and your loved ones could very well end up standing in a ration line or worse – going hungry.
Why You Need to Have a Survival Seed Bank
Far too many people have the mistaken belief that if something terrible does happen that interrupts their access to food supplies, the government will have a backup plan to save their family.
When millions upon millions of people rely on the same belief that there will be enough to go around, they’re going to end up disillusioned. There won’t be. The government isn’t going to be prepared for any major food crisis.
Why? Because they can’t stockpile enough food to feed millions of people for a long-term situation. You might think that the hope for relief from a food crisis lies at the base of Mount Plateau in the depths of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which houses the world’s biggest seed storage.
But the seeds in this vault aren’t coming to your rescue, and you won’t be able to get to those seeds. Take a look in the mirror. You’re looking at the person who’s your best chance of survival.
It’s up to you to know what to do and to be prepared for any food emergency. That means that you’re going to need to understand how you can live off the grid. When every method of getting food is suddenly stripped away from you, it can’t be the catalyst that rocks your world.
You have to have a way to replenish your food supply long term. Even if you have some canned goods socked away in the event of a flood catastrophe, having goods that will last you a few years isn’t enough.
You have to be able to bring food back in. And if there’s no way to get food from a grocery store and the government’s hands are tied, then what are you going to do? You need to be able to have a survival garden that will take care of you and your family’s nutritional needs for many years to come.
You start this by having the seeds that you need to raise a survival garden – and you need to have enough of them to plant a few acres’ worth of food. This means that you need to have the kinds of seeds that can reproduce themselves.
They’ll keep on producing for you. And you also want to look for seeds that haven’t been modified. When you plant seeds from a seed bank, you can guarantee that you’ll have food year after year – regardless of what’s going on in the rest of the world.
Using seeds from the foods you grow (and replanting those once your crops come in), you’ll ensure that your food supply will continually produce. You want to make sure that you look for seeds that offer a lot of produce return and ones that are high in nutrition and are long-lasting.
What Seeds You Need to Have in Your Survival Seed Bank
To sustain life, certain seeds are a must-have, so the seeds you buy for your survival seed bank need to have these seeds in the container. It would be best if you had a variety of beans.
Some of the better varieties are bountiful beans, October beans, and stringless black Valentine beans. Beans can produce a crop in a time frame of 47 to 90 days, depending on the type of bean seed you choose to plant.
Beans are staples that provide you with protein as well as fiber. Beans are also very sturdy crops and can produce an abundant supply of food. Because of their protein and fiber content, they can give you plenty of energy.
Corn seeds are something that you also need in your survival seed bank. Corn is a staple food that can keep your family sustained for long term food survival. You’ll want corn that can grow quickly, in less than three months.
For that, look for seeds like Reid’s Yellow Dent Corn or Stowell’s Evergreen Corn. These usually grow in twin ears with an average length of between 8-10 inches, so they’re very hearty.
Cabbage seeds – like the Copenhagen Market ones – need to be in your seed bank. These heads usually grow to be a decent size and offer gardeners a little over 3 pounds of cabbage per head. They can reach maturity in just over two months.
When considering which seeds to get for your seed bank, you want to take a look at how those foods will help you maintain good health. You’ll want to look at whether they offer anti-inflammatory properties and other benefits.
If you choose beet seeds like Detroit Dark Red Beets, these are a food loaded with anti-inflammatory assistance for you. Plus, they promote some internal organ benefits, too. These seeds can reach maturity in about two months.
Remember when your mom told you to eat your greens because they’re good for you? She was right – especially when it comes to spinach grown from Bloomsdale spinach seed.
These will grow into tasty plants that are packed with nutrients, including the A and K vitamins. Plus, they’re rich in Vitamin C and folate. These seeds produce a fast crop, and you can usually have viable plants in about six weeks.
You’ll also want to get loose leaf lettuce such as Oakleaf or Red Salad Bowl for greens. Both of these seeds can reach maturity in less than two months. Other greens you’ll want to include in your diet are Green Arrow Peas. These can be harvested in about two months and produce an abundant crop.
Cucumbers like Bushy Cucumbers are also a great addition to your survival seed bank. These can be ready for harvest in about six weeks. Carrots are also part of a healthy diet. Seeds that produce Scarlet Nantes Carrots can be ready to eat in a little over two months. This kind can usually grow carrots of about 7″ in length.
Tomatoes can be eaten fresh, canned, or juiced, and ones that come from seeds like Brandywine Tomato. Not only will you get plenty of antioxidants, but these are loaded with vitamins as well.
Squash and Eggplant also add much-needed vitamins to your diet. Look for ones like Waltham Butternut Squash and Rossa Bianca Eggplant. Don’t forget to bank plenty of fruit seeds like cantaloupes and melons and other varieties.
You’re going to want to make sure that you have a wide selection of good choices to grow, not just for the vitamin and mineral content but also for each family member’s taste and preferences.
If you’re wondering where you can get the seeds, you can find them online at specialty companies or online shops. You can find significant savings by buying the seeds in bulk, as well.
How to Store Your Survival Seed Bank
It would help if you had your survival seeds to start the garden that’s going to keep you and your family sustained for however long it takes. Right now, with food still being plentiful and most people able to get whatever they need from the grocery store, seeds aren’t considered all that valuable.
But when a crisis hits and gets food becomes a free-for-all frenzy, the seeds you have will have a high value. Think of these as your currency and amass as many of them as you possibly can because once the crisis is here, it’s too late, and there will be a run on survival seeds.
When you have these in your possession, you don’t want to go around talking about the fact that you have them. Keep your survival seed bank hidden away, out of sight from prying eyes, to keep the seeds from getting stolen.
Most survival seeds are shipped to you in packaging that makes them able to be kept viable in storage for a long time. Some of these are stored in such a way that you can even bury them to keep them safe.
Seeds need to be protected from bacteria, fungi, pests, fluctuating temperatures, and moisture. The most critical issue you need to know about storing seeds is that humidity is not your friend.
If moisture seeps into your seed storage, it can ruin it. And moisture isn’t the only culprit that can harm your seeds. If you keep the seeds stored in an area where the temperature is too high, it can cause some damage to the seeds.
You want to make sure that the moisture percentage is kept as low as possible. If you can get it to less than 4 percent, that’s considered a safe moisture percentage for the seeds.
The storage temperature needs to be kept around 40 degrees. By taking care of how you store the seeds, you can ensure their longevity. You also want to make sure that you don’t keep your seeds anywhere in the sun.
The sun’s heat can change the storage temperature, raising it above healthy seeds. If moisture and heat combined get to the seed, it kills the seed’s ability to grow plants.
When you get the seeds, if they’re not in containers that are said to be moisture-proof, then you need to be put them in ones that are. When you harvest the crops that you grow from your original survival seeds, you’ll want to save those seeds as well.
This is an essential step in banking seeds because you don’t know if you’ll have access to them anymore once your original supply has been planted. You’ll want to air dry the seeds from the crops you harvest and then securely store them in water-proof containers in a cool, dark place until it’s time for you to use them.
When and How to Use Your Survival Seed Bank
As you know, timing is everything. That includes learning when to use your survival seed bank. You don’t want to rush and use the seeds too early – but you don’t want to wait so long that you miss out on the right time.
You need to be aware of which climate zone you live in because you can’t just plant seeds and expect them to grow if the season that you’re currently in would only end up derailing your plans.
All of the seeds should be planted according to the hardiness zone of your state. This means that your area will have a certain level of temperatures that make growing a garden with your survival seeds a viable option.
Planting too soon or too late could not only diminish your crop yield, but you could end up not getting any produce at all – and you don’t want that kind of waste. Plus, counting on having a food supply and ending up not getting it could be a significant stressor for you.
Plant your garden during your climate zone using your survival seeds when you begin to notice that a food crisis is imminent. And make sure you plant it before the time is at hand to need it.
You can feasibly plant with your survival seeds and keep the garden producing for years. Remember to always aim for a garden that’s as carefree as you can make it. You’ll want to use your survival seeds to plant a garden that will sustain you and your family with as little fuss as possible.
This way, you won’t be using any physical labor or any other means, such as bringing in water or setting up a water system. You also want to make sure that you plant your seeds so that you won’t draw attention to whatever it is that you have grown.
If others see it, your garden could be a target. This means that you can forget about the kind of gardens you see that have perfectly uniform rows. Instead, plant a garden using your banked survival seeds and let nature help you grow that garden.
Nature is perfectly capable of maintaining crop growth with a minimal amount of effort from you. Layout the garden so that you’re using the ground wisely. This means that you’ll want to plant seeds where the crops can grow together in companionship.
You’ll also want to plant your seeds according to the height and sun ratio. That means that you need to plan out your garden so that each plant has access to the sun and the right amount of moisture.
Some seeds offer natural pesticide control. For example, marigold and lavender are both natural pest repellents. Put the taller plants around in a perimeter to help shade crops that need less sun than other plants.
Usually, this means you plant your bush-type crops. If you use crops that can benefit your pollination purposes, this can help your crops grow. Plants that are used for pollination purposes are seeds that produce fruit – like blueberries.
If you’re someone who doesn’t have any experience with growing food, then you’re going to want to know how to do it before the time arrives that you must have the knowledge, or else it puts your survival at risk.
Remember, in an emergency; you may not be able to log onto the Internet to find the answers you need. The best way to learn how to have a successful garden using survival seeds is by going ahead and getting some seeds and planting a garden.
This way, you’ll already know what to watch for, what didn’t work, and what does work in preparation for the time you need to have the food supply ready. You can also plant other vegetation to help you hide your crops.
There is a large problem for city preppers; they can’t plant gardens because their home owner’s association prohibits it. We found a way around it that lets you have your Prepper Garden, and eat it too!
Creating a mini forest in your garden or at the back of your home is not a bad idea, and it allows you to plant everything you need. Interestingly, you don’t need a lot of land space to plant most of these perennials as all you need is a little creativity, and you are good to go.
Perennials For Prepper Gardens
However, you may want to check some of the seeds you throw out as it is best to sprinkle edible weeds and trees so you can enjoy them when the time is right. A lot of them do not only taste great, but they do have health benefits when consumed or used otherwise. So, not sure which plants to add to your garden? Here are a few ideas you can consider…
Great For Consumption
These plants are great for adding to your favorite dishes, or you can use them to create some delicious servings for yourself and your family. A lot of these also have health benefits:
Artichokes – When steamed, Artichoke petals, as well as the hearts, can be used to create a delicious dip or sauce for your salads and other meals.
Asparagus – There are so many ways to eat Asparagus, thus, planting them is a great choice as they can even serve you for a long time. Doesn’t it sound like it can eat as is? Well, yes, it can. Eating the plant raw is one of the best ways of getting the most of the nutrients compared to when heated. You can even add to your salads.
Dandelions – Dandelions serve a lot of purposes to include complementing your dishes and granting amazing health benefits. The leaves can be used to make a sumptuous salad, while the blossoms can be used for making wines or jelly. I know it seems like a strange item for a prepper garden, but the French brought them over to us for a reason – they are almost a superfood!
Hosta – All varieties of Hostas are edible, but the most common is the Montanas. After harvesting, cooking over low flames in a little honey and soy sauce, or virgin oil will leave your tastebuds desiring more. You can also cut and add it to your salads.
Rosemary – Rosemary has a satisfying flavor and is great to add to any meal you are preparing. Whether you want to let the leaves remain whole or you want to grind, you can use them to marinate your meats or add to your pot while cooking. It helps to lift the flavor of your dish.
Scallions – Scallions can be eaten raw or slightly cooked and help to bring out a great aroma in your meals. When cooking, add Scallions whole or chopped as a last-minute ingredient for your sauce. You can also add it to your salads fresh after harvesting.
Parsley – Parsley is great for cooking or even to use as a garnish. You can add it to your eggs, soups, frittatas, pizza, or bread. Interestingly, you can also add Parsley to your smoothies for flavor in addition to the nutrients it provides (rich in vitamins A & C).
Thyme – Thyme is great for cooking, especially when freshly harvested. It helps to bring a great taste and aroma to your dish, whether meat, soup, or sauce (both leaves and stem can be used). Also, you can use dried thyme to make tea or infused water.
Lavender – This flower not only has a great aroma and beautifies your space, but it tastes great and is a great choice to add to your salad. You can eat it raw or have it slightly heated. The plant also has a lot of health benefits and should be a staple in your prepper garden.
Chives – Chives are a great vegetable to add to your dish, also, to be used as a decorative or garnish element. It helps to provide a fresh taste to your meal, whether soups, sauces, salads, stir-fries, or mashed potatoes. If you are looking to add a taste of onion to your dish, Chives are a great substitute.
Great For Medicinal Benefits
These backyard garden plants are all edible, but not only do they taste great, but they are also rich in medicinal benefits. When considering a plant-rich background, here are a few plants you can add…
Comfrey – If you have sore muscles, especially after working out, you can apply a comfrey-infused salve to the area. It has also been given the nickname “knit bone” as it is great in providing fast healing benefits to wounds.
Raspberry – Raspberries are rich in multi-functional antioxidants and are known as antioxidant powerhouses. They have been proven to provide anti-aging elements as well as reduce the chances of developing cancer, inflammation, heart disease, and diabetes. It is also great with weight loss and reducing the risks of obesity.
Blueberry – Not all fruits are low in calories, but Blueberries are an exception and, besides, are high in nutrients. It also possesses lots of antioxidants that help to reduce DNA damage, prevent aging and cancer, lowers blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in your blood.
Strawberry – Strawberries have a lot of antioxidant benefits that help to reduce stress, inflammation, and harmful cholesterol levels (LDL – bad). Eating Strawberries will help to improve vascular function and blood lipid profile. You can also consume this plant in a variety of ways.
Horehound – Horehounds are edible plants that are great for improving digestion and appetite. It also helps with bloating, diarrhea, gas, constipation, indigestion, liver, and gall bladder complaints. Horehound is also beneficial and helpful in treating asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and other breathing problems.
Mint – Mint is rich in nutrients, and aside from tasting great, it helps to improve brain function, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and your immune system against colds and touches of flu. Adding Mint to your diet will also help to relieve indigestion, breastfeeding pains, and is a great substitute to lower the chances of bad breath.
Oregano – Oregano is a known natural antibiotic that may help in reducing cholesterol levels, treating yeast infections, inflammation, and pain. It also possesses properties that may help with preventing cancer and is said to have high antioxidant levels.
Mullein – Do you have a terrible cough or whooping cough? Consuming some Mullein will help a lot. It is also great for treating bronchitis, hoarseness, colds, allergies, tuberculosis, and sore throat. Mullein can also help with migraines, colic, joint pains, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Bee Balm – Sipping on Bee Balm will help to treat colds and flu, improve your digestive tract as well as treat indigestion. The plant possesses soothing properties that may help with eliminating nausea, bloating, anxiety, and help to relax you.
Chinese Chives – This plant has a lot of health benefits and is said to possess anticancer effects to help prevent and treat various types of cancer. It also has beneficial elements to help against heart defects, depression, preterm birth, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other congenital heart defects. Chinese Chives are also great for improving cognitive function.
Yarrow – Yarrow is great for reducing bleeding caused by wounds as well as help to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding. Consuming this plant will also help to lower high blood pressure, tone varicose veins, and relieve GI ailments for cerebral and coronary thrombosis. You can also use Yarrow to help induce sweating.
Sage – Sage has a lot of antioxidants, which is great for lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, improving oral health, brain, and memory function. The plant is also great for easing menopause symptoms.
Echinacea – When steeped, Echinacea is great for fighting flu and colds, improving blood sugar and blood pressure levels, managing anxiety, reducing inflammation, and improving healthy cell growth. This is important for your prepper garden as we saw with the coronavirus and how these kinds of meds were wiped off the shelves!
Lemon Balm – If you are looking for an effective way to relieve stress, anxiety, indigestion, and nausea, then consuming some Lemon Balm is a great choice. The plant has properties to help you boost cognitive function, improve sleep apnea, and treat common health issues like colds and flu.
Motherwort – Motherwort could be considered the healing element of the heart as it is great for most heart conditions to include irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and other conditions affecting the heart. It is also great for relieving menstrual cramps, treating intestinal gas, and hyperthyroidism.
Arnica – For those who work out a lot, you may want to have this plant at your disposal. It is great for treating sprains, wounds, joint pain, bruises, and muscle aches. The plant can also be used to treat inflammation caused by swelling (from broken bones) and insect bites.
Skullcap – Take a few sips of Skullcap tea, and your insomnia will be gone. That is what makes it perfect for a prepper garden. Aside from helping with sleeping problems, it is also great for reducing and treating anxiety, risk of strokes, and paralysis caused by stroke. It is great for treating colds and flu, reducing high cholesterol, reducing artery-hardening, and much more. Other known benefits include helping with skin infection, allergies, rabies, and nervous tension.
Hyssop – Hyssop is great for reducing or treating digestive and intestinal problems like gallbladder and liver conditions, intestinal pain, and gas, as well as colic and loss of appetite. You can also consume Hyssop to treat respiratory problems like colds, infections, sore throat, and asthma.
If this list seems overwhelming, think about this; plant a few each year. I use my dehydrator to help me preserve my herbs for future use and you can too! Blend the edible with the flowering herbs and you will build your prepper garden in no time! If you need to know more about gardening, check out our sister site: Try To Garden.
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