Growing Your Own Food

When land is available, one of the best ways of keeping fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet is by growing them in your own garden. A garden is a great way to add nutrition and variety to your food storage. Storing a year’s supply of garden seeds in addition to keeping and maintaining a garden is a great way to ensure that, even in an emergency situation, growing a garden is a viable option.

Planning Your Garden

When planning a garden plot, remember:

• Draw a garden plan. This is helpful in deciding what to plant where and can serve as a reminder to rotate the next year.
• Every yard has some space available. You can even use part of your lawn, play area, or flower garden, or if a yard is not available, window boxes and planters are a great option.
• The area where you want to plant your garden should have at least four to six hours of direct sunshine every day.
• The soil should be able to drain well. (Holes in the bottom of planters or window boxes are useful). Fertilize the soil by adding fertilizer before tilling the soil. Continue to fertilize your garden throughout the growing season. Fertilizer can be made from any available organic materials or a commercial concentrate may be used.
• Plant a variety of fruits and vegetables. Dark green and orange vegetables are rich in vitamin A while tomatoes, green peppers, and citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C.

Gardening in Small Spaces

If you don’t have a lot of space available, or the soil in your area is poor, you may want to consider growing your garden in containers as an alternative form of gardening. Any room in the house can be used to grow plants. Some alternative spaces are:

• Hanging baskets (indoors or out)
• Pots, baskets, buckets
• Boxes, egg cartons
• Barrels, wheelbarrows, oil drums
• Window boxes
• Greenhouses
• Shared neighborhood lot

In an emergency situation, seeds can be grown in even more unusual areas:

• Open sections between bricks and concrete
• Along fences or river banks
• Around storage sheds or boulders

Be creative. The same places that weeds and other unwanted plants grow can be used to grow vegetables, fruits, or even herbs.

Saving Seeds

Saving your own seeds can be time consuming. However, when you replant from seeds that you save, it usually yields plants that are better suited to your particular soil and climate.

Seeds that you have collected can be stored in coin envelopes, small pill bottles, empty film canisters, or other small envelopes and containers. Label each container or packet with seed type and any other relevant information. Then store in a dry, cool place. If you use envelopes to store the seeds you may also want to place them in a jar with an airtight seal to keep out moisture.

Fresh vegetables, greens, and fruits are an important part of your family’s diet. With a little planning, storage, and hard work, you can grow part of your own food storage.