3 Reasons to Grow a Preparedness Garden
A few days ago, as we turned over a new month, my mind turned to gardening.
I know it's only February and many of us - including myself - can barely see the ground through the snow. But when I look out on my property, I only see potential.
In fact, I'm already planning to set up some cold-frames and another greenhouse to increase my food production during next winter. Yes, even in the mountains of northern Idaho, it's possible to grow food year round.
So, how's your garden coming along?
It might be too soon to plant an outdoor garden, but just like practicing preparedness, growing your own food takes some real planning. It's never too early to start.
In a lot of ways, gardening and preparedness go hand-in-hand, they complement each other. Essentially, doing both makes you better at both.
Not only is gardening an important part of any long-term preparedness plan (more on that later), but gardening can teach us a lot about how to approach preparedness as well. Here are three reasons to start planning your preparedness garden today:
1. Both preparedness and gardening are processes.
You determine your goals and needs. You make a plan. You put it in action. You succeed. You fail. You find ways to improve. Then you do it all over again.
When it comes to your survival garden, you have a lot to consider. What do you need to grow? How much space do you need? Should you use the same plot as last year? Put in raised beds, do square-foot gardening, or try vertical gardening?
These are the questions you should be asking yourself right now, so you can have it all figured out when the time is right to plant. The same goes for emergency planning; you want to have it all figured out before a crisis strikes. So put your preparedness skills to use in planning your garden.
2. They're both essential aspects of a self-reliant lifestyle.
Growing your own food and having your own emergency plan reduces your dependence on others to get what you and your family need. Many people consider gardening a hobby, but if you're serious about self-reliance, gardening should be a part of your daily life. The same goes for preparedness. You need to always keep your short-term and long-term goals in mind and always work toward them.
By the way, if you're truly gardening for preparedness and self-reliance, you'll also want to think about preserving your harvest, but that's a topic for another day. Remember, this is a process, and you have to stay committed to the lifestyle in order to see the biggest benefit.
3. Gardening is the only true long-term preparedness solution.
When it comes to preparing for long-term emergencies, you need to have a plan to grow your own food. If things really go sideways, your emergency food supply will eventually run out. Trust me, I'd be happy to sell you enough emergency food to last through a 20-year long crisis, but it's just not practical.
That's why we developed our Survival Seed Vault. It's designed to give you the ability to grow your own healthy food this summer, or years down the road in an emergency. We hand-selected 20 hardy varieties designed to thrive in every area of the US. Then we packed and sealed them to last 5 years, even longer at lower temperatures.
The critical aspect of seeds and long-term preparedness, though, is heirlooms. If you're going to be completely self-reliant on the food you grow, you'll need to harvest the seeds from your crops for the next season. Heirloom seeds practically guarantee your ability to harvest and reuse seeds indefinitely. Many hybrids and GMO seeds are designed to self-terminate, meaning you have to buy new seeds every year. But heirlooms, as their name implies, have been handed down for generations, and will continue to be viable for generations to come.
Many heirloom seed suppliers charge a premium for their product, because they know they won't get repeat business. At My Patriot Supply, there are more important things than repeat business, especially when it comes to helping you get prepared. We priced our Survival Seed Vault at about a third of our competitors, so you can get the seeds you need for this season, and store them for your long-term emergency plan.
It's time to start planning your Patriot Garden. We can help.
Get started with 3 Survival Seed Vaults for just $79.95!
In liberty,
Grant Miller
Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply