- 1). Double, or even triple, the amount of produce you would plant to provide summertime fresh vegetables when you plot out a garden as a year-round food source. Add extra varieties of vegetables such as tomatoes to allow for making sauces, as well as slicing. Plant enough root crops to include in soups and stews, along with what your family enjoys eating fresh. These vegetables include carrots, turnips and potatoes. Root crops are a great addition to a survival garden because they store very well in their natural state. Carrots, potatoes and turnips can even be left in the ground and harvested all year, even under deep snow cover.
- 2). Plant cabbage, spinach and kale in the cooler months of the spring for summer enjoyment, and again in the early fall to use for the winter. Heads of cabbage can be kept under a plastic sheet in the winter, and unlike most vegetable plants, not only exist in frost and cold if protected by a plastic sheet covering, but are actually sweeter when harvested after a frost.
- 3). Set aside an area of your garden for perennial vegetables. These are a fabulous addition to a year-round survival garden because you only have to plant them once. However, perennial vegetable plants may take one or even two years to mature and become productive. Such plants include artichokes, asparagus, garlic, horseradish and most herbs.
- 4). Plant as many fruit trees and bushes as you have the space for. Berry bushes, and strawberry plants produce heavily and add flavor to your menu as well as giving you the ability to create jams, jellies and pies. Strawberries do not take up a lot of room, but typically need to be planted each year, or every few years, whereas trees including apple, peach and pear -- and berry bushes including blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry -- are perennial and will continue to produce well for many years. For small plots, consider buying dwarf fruit trees. They still produce an abundance of fruit, but take as little as a 10 by 10 space, and usually begin to bear fruit in a year.
- 5). Plant a new crop of perishable vegetables like tomatoes every six months so that you have a fresh supply for the summer, and a fresh supply for winter use.
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