The Survival Gardener
Uploaded by
Eve AthanasekouThe Survival Gardener
Uploaded by
Eve AthanasekouThe SURVIVAL GARDENER:
About Carolyn Hansen
Carolyn Hansen is a noted Holistic Health and
Wellness Coach who hails from Whangarei,
New Zealand where she owns an Anytime
Fitness Gym. She has gained a reputation
online as an authority on health, exercise
and weight loss matters and is the author of
several thousand health and fitness articles
along with eBooks and programs that can be
found here.
She has devoted more than three decades
to the fitness industry, both offline and
online, teaching people the simple secrets to
getting into better shape, losing weight, and
improving health.
Her main goal is to change the paradigm of health care from sickness care
to wellness care and will be showing people how to live longer, healthier
lives while avoiding the many mistaken beliefs and practices that diminish
health and longevity.
She will encourage you to become stronger and stay that way through each
decade of your life, maintain your health, wellness and vitality and to ensure
your “health span” matches your “life span”.
Click Here To Discover The Carolyn Hansen Catalogue
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 2
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Table of Contents
About Carolyn Hansen ..... 2
Introduction ..... 4
Chapter One ..... 8
Feeding Ourselves Sustainably Is A Priority
Chapter Two ..... 11
The Many Benefits Of Growing Your Own Food
Chapter Three ..... 16
Gardening Could Be The Hobby That Helps You Live
To 100+ Years
Chapter Four ..... 23
Challenges to Consider When Growing a Survival Garden
Chapter Five ..... 32
Something For The Non Gardener
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 3
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Introduction
It may sound a little old fashioned, popping out to the garden to grab a fresh
broccoli or a handful of baby carrots for dinner. This is something that retirees do
in their spare time, isn’t it? Not so much, you might think, a pastime for young
city dwellers...
The idea of growing your own food may sound daunting, but actually it makes
a lot of sense. Gardening is an incredibly valuable skill, and one which provides
rich rewards. You will enjoy fresh organic food. You will see reduced spend on
your weekly grocery bill. And of course, there are the health and stress reduction
benefits that come with it.
Getting a couple of veges planted in the back yard, in container pots on your
deck, or even on your kitchen windowsill, can offer incredible benefits for both
your physical and mental health.
An entire generation has largely lost the art of growing their own food. This skill
has been swapped for the convenience of fast food, frozen meals, online grocery
shopping, and dinner meal bags and kits delivered straight to our door - a helpful
innovation in our now hectic lifestyles.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 4
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Yet urban gardening is a growing trend which is gaining momentum.
As a society we are getting more savvy about things like reducing plastic waste
and food waste, pollution, climate change, the plight of bees, and the necessity
to keep our ecosystem thriving. There’s a wider shift towards more wholesome
living, fitness and health.
Some of this trend has been accelerated by recent events.
If you tried to buy any gardening tools or plants during the pandemic, you would
likely have encountered shortages of stock as everyone rushed to learn how to
grow their own veg.
The pandemic took the world unaware with panicked shoppers buying foodstuffs
in bulk from supermarkets and grocery stores. Some groceries were in severe
shortage at certain locations.
But we can take the opportunity now to learn a bit more about growing your own
food in case you ever have the need to do so in the future.
Although food shortages have so far been relatively rare in the western world,
they are likely to become much more common as we head into an uncertain
future driven by a predictable rise in global temperature. In short, the world is
heating up and the supply chain for food items is likely to become much less
reliable going forward.
Because of this it makes a lot of sense to learn some of the basic techniques for
growing your own food at home. By getting some things growing in your garden
/ window box, or even indoors, you are in a very real sense adding another string
to your prepping bow.
With feelings of food insecurity on the rise throughout the world, the idea of
growing food for yourself and your family might well have already crossed your
mind.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 5
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
If this increasingly uncertain world has taught us anything, it’s that we should
learn how to be more self-sufficient. Growing your own food is one way of
preparing for unanticipated emergencies.
Even though enough food is generally being produced and sold every day, the
global pandemic has reminded most of us about the possibility that the shelves at
our local grocery store may one day become empty. Recent events reminded us
about just how quickly this can happen, and how we may not get much warning.
As we put the pandemic in the rear view mirror, some of us are feeling incredibly
alone. Some of us have lost loved ones, some of us are struggling financially, and
others are scared about their health.
It’s an incredibly destabilising and worrying time for humanity.
But there is a silver lining. This uncertainty has resulted in a boom for gardening.
Even millennials are into it, buying more plants and seeds today than their
parents’ generation. In an age where bad news streams constantly into our
phones and televisions, the simple, rhythmic joy of gardening offers an escape.
The garden is a steady, regular pulse to a world gone a little haywire where
nothing ever stops happening and the twenty-four hour news cycle rolls out
all night - and every morning you wake up to something else worse happening
somewhere.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 6
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Gardens have long been considered as refuges and have functioned as
therapeutic landscapes into which we retreat to escape various struggles and
challenges.
Research around this topic has found that people experience a sense of joy,
beauty, and reassurance along with greater attunement to the natural world. They
also experience an increased sense of connection to nature.
These heightened sensory and emotional experiences have been found to have
therapeutic benefits, across age and geographical spectrums, during these recent
difficult times. This research improves our understandings of the positive potential
of non-material aspects of gardens in the creation of therapeutic landscapes in
and beyond the pandemic. In short, gardens provide more than just a location to
grow food, they also represent a place of healing.
Today gardens are being recognized as health-bestowing havens from the chaos
and noise of the world. The calm that gardens induce, the way they fill us with
vigor, these are qualities indispensable to our personal and collective health.
In my opinion there is nothing more nourishing to our psyche than interacting
with nature, be it in our garden or other landscapes. Humankind is beneficially
connected to plants in many ways, most of which as yet we do not fully
understand.
But in times of stress and uncertainty our relationship with the natural world
should be nurtured and encouraged. Tending the soil, growing plants, and tuning
into the unceasing rhythms of nature can help us live with uncertainty and bring a
sense of coming home, of feeling grounded, and ultimately of finding one’s time-
bound place here on Earth.
Nature can be a great healer, a great teacher and a great source of comfort when
things are difficult for us, both mentally and physically. Plants can be a source of
soothing and comfort during these challenging times...
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 7
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Chapter One:
Feeding Ourselves Sustainably Is A Priority
In an uncertain world and with many families struggling to afford to buy food,
learning how to create a year-round supply from the garden is a practical way to
take charge of your own wellbeing.
In the garden, things happen at their own speed. Or rather, at a speed the mind
can process. One day this, another day that. A seed, a shoot, a bud, a flower. You
watch it happen: cause and effect. One day this, another day that.
Clearly, nature calls to something very deep inside us. Biophilia, the love of
nature and living things, is an essential part of the human condition. Hortophilia,
the desire to interact with, manage, and tend nature, is also deeply instilled
within us.
With or without a pandemic to spur us on, the role that nature plays in health and
healing becomes even more critical. Especially for people working long days in
windowless offices, for those living in city neighborhoods without access to green
spaces, for children in city schools, or for those in institutional settings such as
nursing homes.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 8
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
The effects of nature’s qualities on health are not only spiritual and emotional but
physical and neurological. I have no doubt that they reflect deep changes in the
brain’s physiology, and perhaps even its structure.
They can teach us about being slow
In a fast paced society, nature can teach us about our natural pace of living.
When we slow down to match the pace of nature, we can learn that slow growth
can perhaps be even more enjoyable than fast growth.
They can allow us to appreciate beauty
Natural beauty is so healing and energising for a lot of us, and many people like
to surround themselves with plants and flowers, especially when they are sick.
Plants and flowers provide a source of beauty that we can appreciate when it
seems like the world feels a bit chaotic.
They can help us take our mind off things
When the news is crazy and we don’t know what comes next, gardening can be
a practice in mindfulness and allow us to live in the present moment. Digging in
soil, planting up and watering our plant babies allow us to digitally detox and take
our minds off what can feel like a relentless wave of panic.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 9
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
They can show us how to let go
Plants and flowers are forever changing. They gracefully let go of their petals and
leaves when the time is right, and are effortless in their surrender to changes in
their nature. We can use them as examples to let go of our habits and processes
that aren’t working for us, and might be hindering our growth or wellbeing.
They can demonstrate the cycles of rest and renewal
Have you ever looked at a plant and thought it was dying, but then once you had
pruned it or gave it some care and attention, it comes back stronger and healthier
than ever? We can be like that.
We go through cycles of change, and there are times we fall into despair, but then
we can often look back and see that it was a valuable time for growth. Plants can
remind us to have cycles of rest and renewal as well as growth.
They can remind us that we need care, too
Cultivating a beautiful garden or caring for a houseplant reminds us to be good
gardeners to ourselves, too. When we notice a withered leaf or some dry soil, we
take the necessary steps to restore our plants to health.
We can do the same for ourselves too - noticing when we are tired or depleted
and giving ourselves that love and care to feel like we are thriving again.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 10
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Chapter Two:
The Many Benefits Of Growing Your Own Food
An important aspect of becoming self-reliant is to grow at least some of your
own food. Today, you can choose to grow your own or pick it up at the market.
Tomorrow you may have to depend on what you can produce in your own
backyard to feed your family.
Why should everyone grow a survival garden? Food is absolutely essential to life
and it is important to have basic food stores in your home to provide for your
family in times of need.
Everyone should grow a garden because...
Perhaps the most obvious reason is that it provides health benefits. Growing food
yourself allows you to avoid using any pesticides and eliminates other unknowns.
When you grow at home, you always know where your food comes from.
Better Food Equals Better Health
It’s pretty simple really, growing your own vegetables gets more veges on your
dinner plate; having a vast selection at your doorstep makes cooking with them
so much easier.
Eat Garden-Fresh Every Day
Growing your own food is an incredibly rewarding task. Imagine the joy that
comes from cooking and eating only the absolute freshest ingredients that were
grown and harvested by your own love and labor.
Each and every meal can be healthy, nourishing, and absolutely delicious – not
to mention, you won’t have to worry about pesticide residue or other unknown
chemicals in your food.
It Gets You Outside
So much of our time is spent in the car, in the office, in the house. Being in nature
is like food for the soul and gardening has been proven to reduce stress.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 11
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Here are some more benefits:
• Garden-fresh produce provides necessary nutrients that stored foods are
missing
• Fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs add variety and make all of your cooked
dishes taste better
• Growing produce will supplement and stretch your food supply
• It provides year-round nourishing sustenance, while also supporting
pollinators, and building a connection to your food source
• Gardening provides exercise, sunshine, and reduces stress
It’s Physical Activity
Look, I know it isn’t a hard out gym workout, but getting out in the garden to
water, to weed or harvest food gives some valuable light exercise - think bending,
squatting, pulling - it keeps the body moving.
For example: Hoeing For Health
Set aside a few minutes every fine day to hoe around your crops. Hoeing
promotes air circulation, preventing the ground from becoming hard and less able
to take in water when it rains.
You may not realize it, but squatting and bending to pull weeds burns about 230
calories per hour. Plus you are getting a good workout in your legs and back.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 12
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Digging holes with a shovel can burn over 500 calories per hour! If you have ever
had the pleasure of shoveling dirt, then I’m sure you are not surprised. Even
grabbing and pulling weeds can improve your grip and tone your arms.
I can’t think of a more rewarding exercise activity than gardening!
Saving Money
Today, fruit and vegetables are expensive, especially if you opt for organic. You
can save considerably on your monthly food bill by growing your own, and at a
fraction of the cost (seed packets can cost as little as $1).
Reduce Your Environmental Footprint
Growing your own food helps the environment in a number or ways. It supports
pollinators and other wildlife, reduces erosion, builds healthy soil, reduces waste,
and decreases carbon emissions.
Connect Your Children To Their Food Source
This is also a wonderful learning tool for families. Growing your own food is an
excellent hands-on way to teach your kids where it all comes from.
Creating a survival garden together as a family can help you to create a powerful
and deep connection to your food source and the earth. Your children benefit as
they learn where their food comes from, how and why plants grow. There has
been a lot of research that shows children eat more vegetables when they are
involved in growing them.
The most important benefit that can come from growing your own food is to
our mental health. There is something so ancestral, so innately human about
gardening and getting your hands dirty and connecting with the land – something
so miraculous and wondrous, seeing a small seed turn into a large watermelon.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 13
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
It’s true that more people have turned to activities such as growing their own
fruits and vegetables and the like in response to the recent pandemic, as people
spent more time at home, and are looking for alternatives to shopping at busy
grocery stores.
But for those with limited access to fresh food, it can certainly help reduce the
pressure on families, even if growing one’s own produce isn’t a total replacement
for the grocery store.
As urban populations increase, economic inequalities worsen, viruses and
pandemics look to linger for the foreseeable future, people wishing to access
fresh and healthy food is far more than just a trend.
Now is the perfect time to become a little more self-sufficient and plant a
vegetable garden that feeds you and your family. Starting a garden can be a
wonderful way to get the family outdoors more often, and can give you the peace
of mind of knowing where your next meal is coming from.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 14
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Possible scenarios that make a survival garden critical may include;
• Unemployment (loss of job, underemployment)
• Hyperinflation (cost of goods skyrocket out of control)
• Economic Downturn (collapse, recession, depression)
• Crop Failure (flooding, drought, frost, pests)
• Transportation Crisis (trucker strike, fuel costs, regulation)
• Long Term Grid Down (electromagnetic pulse, solar flare, cyber attack)
• Supply Shortage (war, increased demand, embargo)
It is impossible to know exactly what the future may hold, but if you want to be
as ready as possible for any potential emergency, growing your own food is one of
the most useful things you can do.
Whatever the size of your garden - whether it’s a tiny patio or even if you only
have a window box available – you can grow fresh tomatoes, spinach, bell
peppers, Swiss chard, cucumbers, strawberries, runner beans and much more to
provide delicious food for your table.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 15
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Chapter Three:
Gardening Could Be The Hobby That Helps You Live
To 100+ Years
Many of the world’s centenarians share one common hobby: gardening.
There is a lot of evidence, most anecdotal, some scientific, about how gardeners
live up to 14 years longer than non-gardeners. That’s a pretty impressive life
extension.
The connection between gardening and longevity goes on and on. People who
grow more fruits and vegetables themselves, for example, are more likely to have
diets containing more plants than animals or processed foods.
Then there’s the fact that simply spending time in nature can carry health
benefits. Doctors are literally prescribing regular outdoor time to encourage
wellness.
But really. Do you need more research findings to convince yourself that tending
a small patch of the planet - cultivating its most positive potential, thinking about
its future, nourishing yourself from its bounty - can help you live a longer and
more meaningful life?
I don’t need such convincing. I know gardeners to be creative, patient, flexible
and curious - qualities that define the positive path I try to walk each day. The
idea that continuing my garden habit could contribute to a longer life is inspiring,
but not as profoundly so as the simple joy that I feel each time I clear a patch
of weeds, pluck a ripe tomato from the vine, or sit in the quiet presence of my
flowering containers.
That pleasure is an end in itself. That research continues to confirm its validity is
encouraging. But the seeds of a lifetime of gardening have already been planted
in me.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 16
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Could you extend your life and drop your stress by taking up the pursuit, too?
Whether it is a zest for more adventurous living or just added quality time to
spend with the family or grandkids, experiencing healthy longevity, is an ideal
that most all of us hold near and dear to heart.
To help us reach this end, medical science continues to study residents in
different areas of the globe, where achieving centenarian (100 plus years) status
is a shared commonality rather than a rare occurrence.
Loma Linda, California; Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan (currently holding honors
for the highest ratio on the globe, boasting 50 centenarians per every 100,000
people); Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece, are considered “Blue-Zones”
by scientists because they share specific lifestyle habits and live the longest
healthiest lives. They get plenty of quality sleep, drink alcohol moderately if at all,
enjoy networks that support them spiritually and emotionally, exercise daily and
enjoy plant-based diets, those offering plenty of nutrient rich greens.
These factors, practiced consistently, are enough to boost health levels for
anyone. However, another powerful commonality/factor weaves its threads
through these communities.
Okinawa in Japan has one of the world’s highest concentration of centenarians
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 17
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
That factor is gardening. It seems, people living in these “Blue-Zones” love tilling
the soil/gardening and growing their own food, and they do this well into their
late senior years.
Other studies confirm these findings. Participants in a recent Dutch study were
asked to complete a task that stressed them out. After completing this stressful
task, the group was split into two. One group read indoors for 30 minutes while
the other group gardened outside for the same amount of time. The results were
not surprising. The indoor readers experienced a decline in mood from their
already stressed levels, while the outdoor gardeners stressed moods were lifted
and restored to a happier place.
Another study completed by Australian researchers that included both men and
women in their 60’s, revealed a startling statistic. It seems participants that
gardened experienced a 36 percent lowered risk of dementia than the non-
gardeners.
Gardening is mentally and physically rewarding. We are less stressed, live longer
and get the opportunity to enjoy and share with others the fruits of our labor.
Whether it is vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices, or even sprouts grown on a
windowsill, anyone who has tilled the soil for food, knows the difference in taste
that home-grown produces opposed to store bought.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 18
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Home-grown tastes leaps and bounds better for a few reasons.
Commercial growers, even organic growers might use the same fertilizer and till
similar land. But every vegetable or fruit plucked from a home garden is infused
with tender, loving care. Not only that, but because we personally grew it, tended
it, and picked it, we are assured it has not been contaminated with chemicals or
negative thoughts along the way.
Home-grown also offers the opportunity to pick in season at the perfect ripeness
- no need to pick early for shipping. When foods can ripen on their vines before
being picked, both flavor and nutrients get a boost giving us the biggest bang for
our buck.
A few dollars spent on seeds and fertilizer, mixed with love and nurturing, yields
pounds of produce and heaps of happiness. Our health gets a boost while our
wallet gets a rest. Although people with backyards might have an edge when it
comes to garden size, even apartment dwellers can employ the use of window
boxes and hanging baskets for planting.
Beyond the physical and mental rewards that home gardening provides, our
spirituality deepens as well. From seedling to established roots, bud leaf and
blossoms, green leaves and finally fruit/veggies providing next seasons seeds,
it is gardening that connects us to our authentic mother, that of Nature, to her
rhythms, to our creative powers and creation itself.
It is gardening that reminds us of the parallel meaning/metaphor of our outer and
inner gardens – that we are each a plant in the “garden of life” requiring special
attention and nurturing with positive thoughts (fertilizer), along with tender loving
care to foster healthy growth.
It is this activity - our hands tilling and tending the soil, that quickly reminds
us of our own inner-tree-of-life/garden and how it grows stronger and stronger,
providing more flavor/nutrients to our lives when we tend to its needs as well.
In the end, tending our garden and growing our own food is a mental, physical,
and spiritual experience that connects us to the Mother Earth. It fills our hearts
and minds with peace and our tummies with healthy, life extending nutrients.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 19
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Fresh air, sunshine (we need the sun’s nutrients, especially for the formation
of vitamin D), physical activity, plant-based diets, and a healthy social life, all
contribute to our extended years/healthy longevity.
Gardening is the all-inclusive activity that bundles them into one powerful action/
force. It is the “pot to plate” activity empowered to heal both our mind and body.
There is a wise old saying in Okinawa that states anyone growing older needs
a “ikigai” or reason for living. Gardening and growing our own food are the
“holy-grail” that not only provides it but blesses us with our greatest return-on-
investment – more years to enjoy life.
Grounding During Times of Uncertainty
With the unique stressors that humanity is facing with the world experiencing
ongoing turmoil with the pandemic, war, conflict between countries and global
warming, it’s important to have an arsenal of tools that can be accessed anytime,
anywhere - including at home - to support our health.
One of the most easily accessible, most powerful sources of health and healing
is quite literally, the ground beneath our feet. Yet this source of healing support
is almost always cut off from reaching our body, because we have rubber-soled
shoes on or synthetic-fibered clothing covering our body, or we are traveling
in cars that have rubber tires that separate us from the ground, or are inside
insulated homes with no possibility of directly touching the earth outside.
The result of being cut off from the healing energy of the earth over the long
term is an increase in inflammation throughout the body, an increase in the
amount of stress and tension we carry, a decrease in sleep quality, and a dip in
our mood. These are all things that can be readily reversed just by taking an
intentional moment to connect with the earth outside - a healing practice known
as grounding.
What energy does the earth provide?
While most people innately understand that the earth provides all the conditions
that are essential to support a healthy lifestyle - like air, water, and food - many
do not know that the earth itself is directly healing.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 20
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
The earth actually pulses with a measurable electromagnetic field, known as the
Schumann resonance - referred to as the ‘heartbeat’ of the earth. This energy
pulse acts as a giant recharging base for everything that lives on the planet,
always available to rejuvenate our body if we will plug into this reservoir of
healing.
What happens to our body when we get grounded to the earth’s energy?
Our entire body - and every cell in it (and even the fluid inside every cell) - is
conductive. The very second that one single cell on your body touches the earth,
your entire body becomes grounded to the earth, like flipping on a light switch.
The result is a discharge of inflammation throughout the entire body, from head
to toe. Stress and tension lift as your body becomes stabilized and neutralized
by the earth. This often can feel like an immediate relief as your tissues, organs,
blood, brain, bones - literally everything your body is composed of - becomes
grounded.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 21
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Sustaining a grounded state over time has been shown in medical studies to
improve the health of the human body in many ways - from allowing blood
to move more freely, increasing circulation, protecting muscles and bones,
boosting heart rate variability, supporting proper digestion, stabilizing hormones,
increasing metabolism, lifting mood, and even deepening sleep. And, important
to note while we face ongoing threats of virus mutations, it even boosts immune
function.
Grounding is something you can do anytime, anywhere. It’s immediately
accessible and immediately supportive. And incredibly simple. All you need to do
is touch your wonderful, conductive body directly to any part of the earth’s crust
(dirt, sand, rocks, water) or anything living on the earth’s crust (trees, bushes,
flowers, even a single blade of grass) to ground your entire body the moment you
touch it.
If you think about it, you already know the feeling of being grounded - can you
remember a time when you were at the beach, walking on sand, or floating in
the ocean, and how relaxing it was? Or if you like to garden, how centered and
present you felt with your hands in the dirt?
You can reach for this same boost of wellness any time by intentionally making a
connection to the earth outside a part of your daily healing plan. Try it today.
Use a fingertip to touch a tree, or dip a toe into a river or lake. Even cement and
concrete is conductive and grounded, so simply standing barefoot on the sidewalk
will ground you instantly. Aim for ten minutes or more daily, and watch every
aspect of your health improve over time.
And of course when you get out in your garden you have the added bonus of this
grounding time.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 22
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Chapter Four:
Challenges to Consider When Growing a Survival Garden
Let’s talk about the best strategies for growing a reliable survival garden that will
make sure your family gets fed when times are tough.
A survival garden is different than a hobby garden. It is not about growing your
favorite vegetables for fun. It is about producing everything that you need to
keep your family healthy and well-fed in a time of scarcity.
Limited Resources
Establish your survival garden and the infrastructure now while you have the
resources to do so. My “kitchen garden” is a series of raised beds that I do
not have to till and that are designed to take advantage of vertical space to
significantly increase production. Each year in the spring I add a fresh layer of
compost. The soil gets better and better every year.
These raised beds produce a huge amount of food in a small amount of space and
are perfect for a survival garden. I also have a traditional garden where I raise
large crops like cabbages, corn, pumpkin, potatoes and other produce that takes
up a lot of room. Any vegetables or herbs that I routinely use for dinner are in my
“kitchen garden” that is right out my back door.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 23
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
It is handy to stock additional gardening supplies such as shovels, rakes, pruners,
hand trowels, gloves, seeds, containers to grow seedlings in, potting mix and
compost so that you have everything you need when you need it.
Making Your Own Compost
Making your own compost is a fun project. It also contributes to a nutrient-rich
soil in a very cost effective manner.
Compost is nature’s way of recycling. Made from waste garden material, compost
is an essential ingredient for creating rich, friable soil and therefore healthy
plants.
Food scraps from the kitchen, weeds, spent plants, lawn clippings, old leaves and
so on go into a compost bin so there is a constant supply of high quality compost.
Making compost will allow you to feed your plants essential nutrients and make
your soil more fertile, all while using items that would otherwise go into your
trash.
Some more benefits of composting:
• Promotes recycling. As mentioned above, composting ensures that up to 30
percent of household waste doesn’t end up in landfills...
• Produces nutrient-rich soil...
• Develops precious microorganisms...
• Reduces dependency on chemicals...
• Reduces methane emissions in landfills.
Compost replaces nutrients that have been removed during a growing season,
improves soil structure and increases the amount of oxygen available to plants.
Compost also conditions soil, improves moisture retention, increases earthworm
activity and improves fertiliser use by plants.
For best results compost should be dug into the soil. Don’t plant directly into
compost as this can burn plant roots.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 24
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Growing Season
The eating season lasts all year long, but unfortunately the growing season most
often does not. How can you produce food to harvest throughout the growing
season and beyond?
I plant crops intentionally with the goal of being able to harvest throughout the
entire growing season. Many vegetables grow happily all year round in moderate
climates. For instance; Swiss chard, spinach, carrots, beetroot, parsley and
others. I can mostly pick something for the family to eat every day.
I also have a small hot house which enables me to extend the growing season
into the winter and also grow seedings ready to plant out in the spring. The hot
house has been a valuable investment as year after year it produces lots of veges
that would struggle in the outside garden during the winter months.
You can also continue growing cold hardy crops throughout the winter months in
low tunnels. These tunnels cover the crops and protect them from extreme winter
temperatures. Crops that will grow well in low tunnels include; beets, broccoli,
cabbage, carrots, lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, onions, peas, Swiss chard, scallions, and
spinach.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 25
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
The perfect survival garden is one that is tailored to meet the needs of your
family. What you choose to grow may be different than your neighbor depending
on your individual needs and preferences. If no one likes Swiss chard, don’t grow
it. Grow the foods that your family will eat and enjoy. Berries are always a hit
with everyone at our home.
Design your garden to meet your unique needs, and to supplement the foods that
you have purchase or stored.
Choose Crops Wisely
Best picks for a calorie dense garden include: potatoes, avocadoes (if the climate
is right), nuts, dried beans, green beans, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, peas,
corn, carrots, and beets.
Grow as many other fruits and vegetables as possible but make sure that you
grow a significant amount of high calorie produce. A garden bed of lettuce will not
provide anywhere near the calories that a bed of potatoes will.
Winter Storage – Food Preservation
It is also important to grow crops that will store well through the winter. Winter
squash, beets, turnips, carrots, onions, parsnips, sweet potatoes, peanuts,
potatoes, and apples are good example of crops that will store fresh for months.
Include grain crops that can be dried and stored such as corn, peas, amaranth,
and dry beans. Most vegetables can be dehydrated and stored.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 26
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Consider your unique circumstances including space, time and resources and
come up with a realistic plan to turn your backyard, front yard, patio or deck into
a productive space.
Be creative and make good use of edges. Line your fence line with appropriately
sized fruit and/or nut trees and berry bushes. Plant a nut tree for shade. Build a
few grow boxes and faithfully grow something in them each year to build the soil,
and your skill level. Learn how to use your garden bounty.
If you can only grow a tomato plant in a pot on your porch, do it! Grow some
herbs in your kitchen window. Focus on the possibilities and overcome obstacles.
Whether you are planting a survival garden out of necessity, preparedness, or
simply to become more self-reliant, you will appreciate the feeling of security it
provides! Homegrown produce is far superior in flavor and nutrition to grocery
store fruits and vegetables that were harvested days or weeks before they make
it to the shelves.
Historically, people have planted survival gardens or “victory gardens” in times of
war, famine or economic uncertainty. It is reassuring to know you and your family
can make it through hard times if need be.
Without a crystal ball, nobody can say whether the economic situation in the
world will deteriorate to the point that you and your family will need a survival
garden to survive.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 27
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
However, like putting plans together in case of an earthquake/weather or other
natural disaster, war, economic collapse or smaller events like power outages,
money problems or personal tragedy prevents you from being able to get to the
market, this type of garden will keep your family fed in troubling times.
No matter the reason for getting prepared, one thing is sure. Food is key to
keeping your family nourished and well fed when you can’t get a meal elsewhere.
That’s where a survival garden comes in and will give peace of mind that comes
with having food that’s always available in case of emergencies that may hinder
access to outside food.
The idea of a survival garden has been gaining a lot of traction among people
looking for a way to develop a self-sufficient source of long-term nutrition for
their family. By growing your own fruits and vegetables, you can guarantee that
you and your loved ones will have enough sustenance to survive a situation of
food scarcity.
But even if you don’t want to be bothered with preparing for the worst, there
are still many reasons and benefits as already discussed why growing a garden
(survival or otherwise) is a good idea.
If planned correctly, and enough effort is placed into it, a survival garden can
provide a majority of the calories, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and even
the protein needed to keep you healthy.
It’s important to realize that it’s too late to start growing food once an emergency
strikes.
Not only will it take a few weeks to a few months before your plants are
producing a sustainable food source, but not all varieties of a fruit or vegetable
will do well in your climate.
It can take years of trial and error before you discover which plants will thrive
in your area. For survival gardening to realistically work, you will have to start
growing your garden now.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 28
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
If you want to create a survival garden, planning is essential. From what you
plant to how you plant it, careful preparation will pay off huge dividends if you
need to tap into your survival garden. The good news is that even during good
times, your garden will be a source of tasty meals that can ease your monthly
food budget.
The most important factors to consider when creating a survival garden are the
nutrients you need to survive, your ability to save seeds so that you can replenish
your garden, the best plants for storage, and plants that give you the most bang
for your buck.
Your best bet is to start by working a plot of land and learning hands-on. The
garden plot can be small, or you can even use containers if need be. The most
important thing is to start getting practice in growing crops.
And cultivating a survival garden is not just about preparing for the worst.
Growing enough food for your family has many wonderful benefits.
Survival gardening provides healthy, readily-available food at rock-bottom prices.
It’s good exercise, good for morale, and it’s fun. And if you have time to burn, it’s
a great way to take your mind off of the stresses worldwide. Even if you live in an
apartment, you can have an urban food garden.
Set Attainable Goals
Before you start digging up your yard, there are some initial steps you should
take to ensure success.
Plan for Each Season
Before grocery stores were plentiful, people had to strategize how to provide
a steady food supply through the winter. There are 3 methods for securing
produce for the winter months – winter harvesting, root cellar/cold storage, and
preservation. Utilizing all of these methods together will provide the most diverse
diet when fresh fruits and veggies are not in season.
First, it is important to determine your goals. Do you want 100 percent of your
produce to come from your land, or are you aiming for closer to 50 or 20 percent?
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 29
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
It is best to set attainable goals and then work upward. If you are a beginning
gardener, it might be unrealistic to try to grow most or all of your food in the first
year.
When setting goals, also consider how much time you have to devote to the
project, and what resources you can allocate.
Determine Size and Location
Now it’s time to get to work on designing and laying out your garden. The exact
amount of space you need will vary depending on your family size, caloric needs,
and food preferences.
Other factors like the amount of time you have to commit, the types of crops you
plan to grow, and the length of your growing season can impact the amount of
space you need. Start by talking with your family about their daily food intake
and preferences. What do you enjoy cooking and eating? What type and quantity
of produce do you typically buy and consume each week?
Next, consider how much time you have to devote to growing your food. It is easy
to get carried away, but don’t forget that growing food takes effort!
Take into account time allotted for planning, planting, weeding, harvesting, and
preserving your homegrown food. It doesn’t make sense to plan a two-acre
garden if you only have a couple hours a week to spare. Start with what you can
realistically do. You can always expand your operation later on.
Of course, you also need to take into account the conditions within the space you
have available. Ideally, you will need a large enough location that also has well-
draining soil, in an area that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.
If you don’t have much open space in your yard, don’t give up. While it may
require a bit more creativity, it is certainly possible to grow a lot of produce in
compact spaces.
Drawing up a sketch of your layout can also be a great way to visualize your
space, and think about what you might grow where.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 30
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
And remember, no matter how much you plan, it may take a few seasons of
trial and error to figure out what works best for your family. Be prepared to be
adaptable!
Decide What to Grow
The first step in determining what to grow is to make a list of what fresh foods
your family enjoys.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 31
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Chapter Five:
Something For The Non Gardener
If you have never grown vegetables before and always wanted to grow your own
food, but don’t have the time or space for a full-size outdoor garden – container
gardening is a good place to get started. You don’t need a lot of space, and it
requires a relatively low level of commitment: You can grow your own greens in a
window box, on a deck or right on your countertop – no weeding required!
Grow Your Own Super Simple Salad Box
If you have ever looked at a garden and thought, “Oh, that’s not for me,” or “That
looks like too much work,” or “I don’t have space for that,” I’d like to introduce
you to the salad box. It requires nothing more than a super simple setup in your
outdoor space, and once you have got your seeds planted, you just water them
enough to keep the bed from drying out. A salad box is proof of how much edible
goodness you can actually grow with very little space, very little effort, and very
little time.
If you are looking for an ideal way to plant lettuce, kale, spinach, or other greens,
then this will be the perfect solution for you. Choose small salad leaf plants and
perhaps some small herbs to plant up the box. Greens are one of the easiest
crops to grow indoors. Grow spinach, lettuce, mesclun mix, mustard or kale and
you can begin to harvest micro-greens within a month!
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 32
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Cut-and-come-again crops are a good choice as you can pick just a few leaves
at a time and they don’t require a huge amount of patience from the budding
gardener. Grown from seed they germinate quickly and are ready to harvest in a
few weeks.
For the really impatient, garden centres often sell cut-and-come-again salad
leaves in small, inexpensive multi packs for a satisfying, instant garden or for
absolute beginners that want to have a go but don’t want to grow from seed.
With the right materials and a little know-how, you are just weeks away from
fresh, homegrown salad greens at your fingertips. It’s very easy to learn how to
grow salad greens in a container garden - both indoors and out. It is not difficult
to learn how to care for your salad container garden.
Tiny But Mighty
Microgreens are the seedlings of leafy greens, vegetables and herbs. They can
have up to 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts, and the vivid
colours, intense flavours and array of textures can bring any dish to life.
A small portion of microgreens can provide you and your family with a sufficient
source of essential nutrients and vitamins!
Nutritious and easy to grow, microgreens are a garden goer. When your salad
greens are covered in winter frost, microgreens add home-grown colour, texture,
flavour, crunch and class to salads, soups, sandwiches, stir-fries, pizzas, pies and
dips.
They are also very healthy, containing on average, five times the level of vitamins
and carotenoids than their mature plant counterparts. Second only to sprouts,
microgreens are the quickest food crop that urban gardeners can grow.
If you are limited on time, space, or lack gardening skills, microgreens are the
perfect solution as they are cheap and easy to grow, take up little space and are
usually ready in 1–2 weeks from sowing.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 33
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
So, if you have been thinking about growing more greens or even starting
your first garden, a salad box or growing micro greens would be the perfect
introduction to kitchen gardening.
Once the leaves on the greens are a few inches tall, it’s time to start harvesting.
You won’t be growing full heads of lettuce like the ones you buy at the store. The
idea is to harvest a few leaves at a time from each plant and then let them grow
again.
That way, the plants won’t take up too much space and you will get multiple
harvests. Harvesting is easy. Using scissors simply cut the greens 1 inch above
the soil line, leaving a few larger leaves in the center to keep plants healthy.
Lettuce, spinach and mesclun greens will grow back to yield another harvest in
a couple of weeks. After a few harvests the plant stems may get thick and the
leaves may remain small. This indicates it’s time to compost the potting mix and
roots, and start over.
Depending on the size and number of containers planted, your harvest may
continue for many weeks.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 34
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
You will never have an excuse again not to have a fresh green salad if you grow
a salad in a pot. It’s super easy, fast, and economical. Plus, growing greens in
containers allows you to select the types of greens you favor rather than settling
for one of those supermarket mixes.
Container grown salad greens are also less expensive than purchasing those
boutique baby greens. A salad bowl or micro greens garden is really a win/win.
Plus, it’s easy to grow your own microgreens at a fraction of the cost. Greens can
also be harvested by just plucking the leaves instead of the whole plant.
That means that you have a continual supply of fresh greens when growing
greens in containers. You should be able to enjoy 3-4 harvests from each plant,
but you can also succession plant so that in another few weeks, you have another
entirely new plant to harvest from.
Container grown salad greens don’t require much space or even much effort. And,
with a rapid return, most lettuces mature from seeding in about three weeks. This
also makes it the perfect fun and educational project to work on with your less
than patient kids.
These same salad greens can be grown in either garden beds or containers, with
the majority thriving in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, although there
are also plenty of heat-tolerant greens for summer harvesting. And, there is no
shortage of variety when it comes to leafy greens, with trendy mustards and
mizuna as popular as the more traditional lettuce and spinach.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 35
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
Likewise, you may choose to plant a “mesclun” mix, which usually includes
arugula, lettuce, chervil and endive.
Four Tips For Growing A Salad Garden
1. Feed the soil. Salad greens grow best in fertile, moisture-retentive soil, so
dig in some compost or well-rotted manure before planting. This is also a
good time to add a granular organic fertilizer if necessary.
2. Seeds versus seedlings. With greens like arugula, leaf lettuce, and baby
kale ready to harvest just 30 to 40 days from seeding, direct sowing is the
way to go. Plus, direct seeding allows dense planting if you are aiming for
a crop of tender baby greens. For larger plants or mature heads of lettuce,
direct sow, thinning as plants size up, or start seeds indoors under grow-
lights. The seedlings should be transplanted into the garden after 3 to 4
weeks of indoor growth.
3. Steady moisture. Because most types of salad crops are shallow-rooted and
fast-growing, they require an even supply of moisture. If the soil is dry for
an extended period of time, the plants may bolt or the leaves will become
bitter.
4. Succession plant. Succession planting is simply following one crop with
another to ensure a non-stop harvest. For a long season of high-quality
greens, sow fresh seed every 2 to 3 weeks, or use your grow-lights to
produce seedlings to plug into empty areas of the garden. Even container
gardeners should succession plant. The same rules apply; pot up a new
container with a lightweight potting soil and fresh seeds every few weeks to
replace spent greens.
Jumpstart Your Survival Gardening - With A Garden Tower
Now it is time to put your survival gardening knowledge to use. Of course, getting
started with any new hobby - which is what this will be - is often challenging. You
are not sure where to start to ensure you make some progress and do not get
stalled.
That’s why I wanted to end this guide with a recommendation for what I think is
a fantastic starter project that involves a vertical survival garden. You build the
thing with a series of specially-designed “pots” that stack!
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 36
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
This is an example of what it can look like:
Click to discover the secrets of the Garden Tower
You can start small, but if your ambition grows, so does the tower - until you are
maintaining up to a whopping 50 separate plants. And the really nice thing about
this approach is that a garden tower takes up very little space.
Even if you have an outside garden the addition of a tower would be really handy,
allowing you to grow salad greens and other “small crop” really close to your
kitchen so that you can easily grab a few leaves to add to a dish when needed.
By Carolyn Hansen© Adding Food Preparedness In An Uncertain World 37
The SURVIVAL GARDENER:
The main point I want to leave you with is that you should never feel deterred
by the amount of work or knowledge it takes to get going as a survival gardener.
Because it’s certainly not all work if you get to take pleasure and joy from being
able to provide wholesome food for your family.
And once you get going with it I am sure you’ll begin to experience the same
proud sense of self-reliance I do, which - once it sets in - becomes a huge source
of motivation to keep gardening this way.
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your
goals and achieving the success you desire in life, please visit:
