The Survival Garden: About Victory Gardens and How to Start a Prepper Garden

Throughout much of history, the survival garden has just been a matter of fact. Before modern grocery stores, if you didn’t grow your own food, or purchase it from a farm nearby, you probably weren’t going to eat.

Now, we are so detached from where our food comes from, with our food shipped into the supermarkets from around the world, neatly packaged and all available in one convenient place. We are definitely spoiled!

But the scary downside to our modern grocery supply chain is how vulnerable it is to any type of crisis. You may have heard on the news, when there is a hurricane or a winter storm, or prolonged power outage, the grocery store can be emptied in hours. And we have definitely seen that more lately with all the supply chain disruptions!

This post is meant to help you be a little more self-sufficient when it comes to food.

 

The History of Survival Gardening

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The survival garden has played an enormous part even in our modern history over the past 100 years.

In WWI, the United States government distributed flyers encouraging its citizens to “Sow the seeds of victory.” With Europe at war, many of its farms became battlefields and its farmers became soldiers. Americans were asked to grow and store as much of their own food as they could, so that more could be sent to our European allies. During this time period, American families grew a large percentage of their own food. And so began the “Victory Garden.”

The Victory Garden campaign was revived during WWII, and during the early 40’s it was estimated that there were 20 million victory gardens in the United States. The United Kingdom followed suit, making 2700 square foot garden allotments freely available to its citizens.

The Victory Garden model was followed even into the 90’s by Cuba. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba gave its citizens 1/3 acre allotments to grow their own food and the family survival garden blossomed.

 

8 Best Foods for Survival Gardening

 

Even if you don’t want to be a full time gardener, it’s smart to have the supplies and know-how to grow your own food, should the need ever arise.

Go ahead try your hand at growing at growing these 8 prepper garden staples now so you know how. Then keep the seeds and tools you need on hand in case you ever have to rely on your survival garden!

These are my top 8 survival foods for every prepper garden!

 

#1 Garlic

 

Although garlic might not have the food value of the other crops on this list, it is number one for me because of its culinary and medicinal values.

When food is scarce, garlic adds a bold boost of flavor to any dish! I especially like to use garlic when I cook with boring dried beans.

And garlic is unmatched in its medicinal value, proven to kill a wide variety of viruses and bacteria! Garlic is the first thing I reach for when someone in our house is sick. In times where medicine is hard to come by, garlic can save your life.

Garlic is easy to grow and doesn’t take much space.

This potent herb is usually planted in the fall, even in the north. To grow garlic, simply break apart a bulb and plant the individual cloves 1″ deep and 6″ apart in all directions. Cover with 2″ of compost or 3-4″ of straw. In early spring the plants will spring to life. Harvest when the leaves are about half dry in midsummer.

Most garlic varieties will last 8-12 months at room temperature if kept dry, making it an excellent choice for the survival garden.

#2 Potatoes

 

I consider potatoes to be the #1 survival food in terms of caloric value. They are easy to grow, provide lots of food value, and you can harvest a large amount from just a small space.

Unlike many survival garden foods, potatoes are high in protein. They are also a great food to grow if your family doesn’t care much for vegetables!

To grow potatoes, simply plant potatoes in the ground 1-2′ apart in mid-spring, covering them completely with dirt. As the plants grow, pull more dirt up around the plants with a hoe to keep the upper potatoes from getting any light. The potatoes are ready when the plants die back.

Potatoes are easy to store, even at room temperature. Although it varies quite a bit by variety, I’ve found that stored out of sunlight at room temperature red potatoes typically last till December 1, golds or yellows till late December, blue potatoes till January, and white or russet potatoes till March. If you have a cool basement or cellar to keep them in, they can last even longer!

 

#3 Berry Bushes

 

 

Berries are a great choice to plant if you aren’t too keen on the whole gardening idea, or if you aren’t a vegetable fan.

They can be planted now, and as long as they get some water, they’ll still be there, ready for picking when you need them. Although your berries will produce better with some TLC, most berries will survive even if left to themselves, making them an excellent choice for a survival garden!

Berries are packed with vitamins and nutrients to keep your family healthy in hard times!

 

#4 Fruit and Nut Trees

 

Like berries, fruit and nut trees are something you can plant now that will provide food for many years to come.

They can be incorporated into a landscape as ornamentals. This makes them great for a hidden prepper garden!

A mature fruit tree can produce hundreds of pounds of food every year, while nut trees are an excellent protein source!

 

#5 Winter Squash

 

Although it’s number 5 on my list, winter squash is probably my favorite survival garden crop to grow. I love the wide variety of shapes, colors and flavors!

Pumpkins are a popular part of the winter squash family. Like potatoes, winter squash last many months at room temperature, with some types lasting 1 year or more!

Although they take a lot of space, some varieties can produce 100lbs or more per plant!

To grow squash, make hills out of dirt or finished compost around 4′ apart. Plant 4 seeds per hill after danger of frost. The fruits should be harvested in the fall before a hard frost. We store ours in the coolest part of our house, or in a heated garage.

 

#6 Parsnips

 

Parsnips are the ultimate vegetable for winter gardening, often surviving temperatures of 20 below out in the garden! In fact, I just harvested some big ones this week in early February here in Montana!

This little known vegetable is similar to a carrot, but is white, with a fairly mild and very sweet flavor wonderful in soups and stews.

In the north, parsnips can be planted from early spring-midsummer. In the far south, they will grow better planted in the fall. This little known vegetable is great for filling the spring hunger gap, and also a great choice for a prepper garden (who’s going to steal your vegetables when they don’t know they are vegetables?).

 

#7 Greens

 

Salad greens are an important nutritional part of a survival garden. They take very little space and many salad greens can be harvested over and over again!

Some easy salad greens to grow include romaine, looseleaf and even crisphead lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach, beet greens, pea shoots and Swiss chard.

Most salad greens are easier to grow in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. Siberian kale can survive temperatures of 20 below or lower out in the garden and will start growing again in early spring, making it our number one green for survival gardening!

 

#8 Beans

 

Beans are an excellent dual purpose vegetable and valuable addition to the survival garden. The pods can be harvested young and tender for “green beans,” or the same pods can be left on the plant till dry to harvest protein rich dry beans.

Although the same plants can be harvested either way, some varieties have been bred for more tender pods, while others have been bred for the best tasting dry beans. Some of the best dual-purpose beans include Dragon’s Tongue, Black Valentine and Jacob’s Cattle.

Bush beans are shorter plants that are usually ripe sooner but have a smaller harvest window. Pole beans are tall plants that require a trellis to climb on. Although they take longer to mature, pole varieties usually produce more beans total over a longer harvest window.

Bean seeds should be planted in rich soil after danger of frost. Bush beans can be planted 4-8″ apart, while pole varieties should be 6-8″ apart.

 

Learn to Garden Now!

 

Finally, if you are planning on survival gardening, it’s important to learn to garden ahead of time. You don’t want to start from scratch trying to figure it out when your life depends on it!

If you aren’t that interested in gardening, just try growing a few things for one year. This will teach you some of the skills you’ll need and you’ll be far more prepared in a survival situation!

Once you learn how to garden, keep some seeds on hand for an emergency survival garden (most seeds last 4-10 years kept dry at room temperature, or 20-100 years in the freezer). You can find an excellent collection of 25 high quality unique seed varieties for $48 here at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Or if you prefer to shop at Amazon, here’s a great choice!

 

 

It’s also smart to keep two or three gardening books on your shelves for reference. I recommend any of these four:

 

 

Happy gardening!

If you’d like to find more low-cost ways to be more prepared for emergencies, be sure to check our our article, 13 Tips for Emergency Preparedness on a Budget.