The world is full of uncertainty. Yes, there are the larger, more philosophical uncertainties, but there are uncertainties in the here and now. One of the biggest sources of concern for families today is the uncertainty of food. 

With world supply chains facing unprecedented strains, people are beginning to wonder what the next steps might be. How can we continue to provide for ourselves and our families when food isn’t as easy to get down the street at the grocery store?

One answer growing rapidly in popularity is the survival garden. People have grown their own foods for hundreds of years, it’s how most people got their everyday produce. That’s not the case so much anymore, but more and more people are searching for ways to take their survival and food production back into their own hands. 

What is a survival garden?

A survival garden, in simplest terms, is a garden that produces enough food to feed your family. But it’s not just picking up a few of your favorite vegetable seeds and sticking them in the ground. Gardening for survival means you need to grow foods that will provide enough calories, nutrients, not just enough of whatever you like.  

It’s also important to keep any eye on food preservation and reproduction of the plants in your garden. This will help ensure your garden keeps producing year after year – even if the apocalypse is a few more years off.

What should you grow in a survival garden?

The name of the game is diversity and sustainability. You want your survival garden to be full of different types of fruits and vegetables to ensure nutrients and simple excitement. Think about it. If you aren’t able to freely go get food from the store, you won’t be too happy eating only squash and cabbage, right?

You also need to consider how you’ll store the vegetables and things you grow in your garden. Just because you can grow it, doesn’t mean you’ll have a way to save it for later – and that’s the ultimate goal, a lasting and productive food source.

With all that in mind, here a few of the best foods to grow in your survival garden.

Corn

Corn is a staple for the survival garden. The sheer variety of available corn makes it great for so many things. You can grow flour corn to be harvested and ground into a corn flour. It stores well, lasts a long time, and can be used to make other foods – tortillas, breads, even cake and biscuits. 

Moreover, corn is useful inside the garden as well. The stalks of corn make great stabilizers for other plants. If you’re considering corn in your survival garden, plant the corn first. Once the stalks have grown a few inches, plant beans or other viney plants so the young sprouts have something to hold on to.

Carrots

Carrots offer color, crunch, and a punch of necessary dietary vitamins. You can grow a wide variety of carrots that can be added to tons of different recipes or grabbed for a tasty snack. 

Berries

One of the best choices for survival garden fruits is berries. Any berry can be used really – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries – and they each offer that sugar kick your sweet tooth will be craving. 

Outside of the tasty treat, berries are full of vitamins and antioxidants to keep you healthy. Plus, they are easy to store once they are ready to be harvested. You can easily freeze them or make a nice berry jam to spread on toast in the morning. 

Garlic and Herbs

Survival gardens can also be places for healing and medicine. Take garlic for example. Garlic can be used for everything from flavoring food to clearing up a stuffy nose or a bad headache. 

Many herbs can be used in the same way. Not only will they add flavor and profile to a daily meal, but they can be dried and used in different salves or tinctures for various alignments or sicknesses. These plants are easy to grow and maintain, so they are the perfect addition to your garden. 

How do you get started?

The most important element when starting any garden is patience. Nobody starts a garden one day, and it goes off without a hitch. It just doesn’t happen. Growing things takes, not only time but also a little trial and error. That’s okay. 

The best way to be successful is to start small, have a plan, and be flexible. Crops will fail, things will set you back, but each of these experiences is the change to learn and adapt. Survival gardens are the change to provide for you and your family no matter the global circumstances, so take the chance and see what grows.  

Of course, gardening takes practice, care and most importantly, patience! While you hone your craft and await for the fruits of your labor, you can still take care to stock up on emergency food rations like canned goods or those offered by SOS Food Lab. We carry a variety of food supplies perfect for your survival kits because they are packaged to last 5 years. Learn more about our energy bars and survival food and water rations here.