Survival Gardening

Survival Gardening

Have you looked at the world lately? Have you asked yourself? “Does the government have my best interest at heart?” On New Year’s Eve December 31st, 2019 did you envision what would end up happening to the entire world in 2020?

2020 saw supply chain shortages all over the U.S. and people were told to stay inside their homes. Now you might say, “Well Nate, it wasn’t so bad. The grocery stores were still open. The government gave us stimulus checks and unemployment benefits.” Yes, that’s true but what if next time the grocery store shelves go empty? We are already seeing inflation rising at record levels from the money printing by the federal government.

Economist Steve Hanke says: “It’s the money supply stupid!” meaning that the federal reserve and the federal government along with the banking system are pumping more cheap money into the economy. The increase in currency units, by definition, causes inflation of the money supply.

Inflation of the money supply causes higher prices for consumers. Maybe we are not headed for hyperinflation right now. Maybe we are not heading towards a global economic depression right now but don’t think it couldn’t ever happen.

The Twentieth Century that just preceded our current century was the bloodiest, most turbulent one in existence. Wars have caused famine and supply chain issues all over the world at times. Now with technology making our lives easier many of us have forgotten how to do basic things that humans have done for ages for survival. Food doesn’t just magically come from a grocery store.

“Survival Gardening” is about being one more step towards being independent. During the great depression, people who lived in rural areas had it a little better than those in major cities, simply because they had gardens and livestock to feed themselves.

We don’t want to sugar coat it; it’s better to have your own land with space and your own water supply. But — in this book, we will give you ideas to build your survival garden with minimal space. Still, all things being equal, if you have resources or can get resources to have land in the country or to get it,  it’s advisable to do so.

There are three things I have decided to focus on in all my writings and my new books, blog posts, and podcasts: “Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness”.

You can’t have “life” if you do not have food. Food is fuel for your body and nourishment and comfort. How free are you if you are worried about how you are going to feed your kids? Survival gardening is about creating your own food sources. Now you may not be able to replace all your food supply in a week. But you could start to build a safety net of storable food from your survival garden. In this book, I will show you how to make two-year shelf-stable food from your “own” garden. I emphasize your “own” garden, because ownership of your food supply reminds me of the old adage. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, and feed him for life. The same can be said: “Give a man a vegetable and you can feed him for a day but teach a man to grow his food and feed him for life!”

I think when we are talking about gardens we do not think about them as a food supply. We think in terms of a hobby, healthy eating alternatives. But I challenge you to think of your garden in terms of creating a new source of food supply.

If I have an independent food supply I am freer. Free from depending on the grocery store 100% for my food supply. I don’t know about you but this thought of having ownership over the source of food for my family makes me happy. And we haven’t even talked about the health reasons for growing your vegetables and fruit yourself or the money you can save from not paying high prices for organic fruits and veggies at the store or farmers’ markets.

But after the pandemic, it should be clear why there are real reasons to have your own “Survival Garden.” Many of my friends who have taken the plunge into gardening have also experienced another added benefit. For most people working in their garden, in nature, lowers their stress. For a whole bunch of people during the pandemic just turning off the news and working in their micro-farm or urban-gardening in their backyard gave them back their sanity.

Feeding your family healthy organic food is the obvious first benefit of a “Survival Garden” but have you thought about other benefits? What if you have more food than you can eat yourself? You could: can, and sell or barter your produce with other Micro-Farmers locally.

I am working on a book and this is what we are going to cover in this book?

• What you will need to get started with your survival garden.
• Getting Started.
• What to do if you are short on space.
• Cost-saving advice for growing and scaling your micro-farm.
• Food Storage, how to create a store of value from your garden.
• Seasonal garden planning.

This is an ongoing series so we will go in-depth in all things Micro-Farming and Urban Gardening.