Emergency preparedness is crucial, especially with the uncertainty of the world that we are living in now. As hard as it is to accept our current circumstances, you cannot deny that the pandemic’s aftereffects are rather alarming.
Inflation rates are at a 40 year high in America, and everything seems to be getting more and more expensive as time goes on. Living in fear of our circumstances is not a solution, but becoming self-sufficient long-term can at least prepare you and your family for tougher times.
One of the major aspects of emergency preparedness is food storage. With rising prices and food shortages seeming more probable than ever, we can see why so many people consider long-term food storage the most essential component of preparedness. Afterall, we cannot live without food and water!
Now, you can surely prepare for emergencies by storing some food items like rice, beans, and pasta in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, but a survival garden is the only way that you can get constant access to fresh produce.
What is a survival garden?
A survival garden is the best way to ensure you have a steady supply of hearty fruits and vegetables, regardless to circumstances that are outside of your control, such as economic downfall, political turmoil, pandemic lockdowns, and more.
Even in tough times, you will be able to count on fresh produce to feed your family if you start growing your own fruits and veggies, and that’s why we recommend that you get started today.
You can create a survival garden in a small space around your house, in a greenhouse, or even inside your house. You just need to buy a few essentials, such as seeds to grow, good quality soil, and fertilizers.
Now, if you have limited space, you need to carefully decide what types of fruits and vegetables are best for you to grow. You should also consider the calories and nutrients your family needs the most.
Below are a few veggies and fruits that you can grow in your survival garden!
15 plants to grow in your survival garden
Note: This is not medical advice.
Garlic
Who doesn’t love a bit of garlic in their food? Garlic is a delicious component to many of our favorite meals, but the vegetable itself offers much more than flavor. Garlic is known to help boost immunity because the sulfur in garlic helps your body absorb the trace element zinc, which is an immunity booster.
Broccoli
This nutrient packed veggie grows well during fall and sunny weather. Broccoli contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, but it is especially high in Vitamin C. In fact, broccoli provides almost 70% daily value of Vitamic C. Broccoli is also unique to other vegetables because it is much higher in protein than most vegetables.
With all of the benefits broccoli offers, growing this veggie will certainly provide you with much-needed nutrition in an emergency.
Sweet Potato
If you are looking for a good source of Vitamin A, make sure to grow some sweet potatoes in your survival garden. Vitamin A is great for your skin and eyesight!
Kale
Kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet! Just a single cup of raw kale contains 206% daily value for Vitamin A, 684% daily value for Vitamin K, and 134% daily value for Vitamin C. Now, that’s pretty unbeatable when it comes to nutrition, so you should definitely consider including a kale plant in your survival garden.
Figs
If you don’t have a large garden space, you might need to grow your survival garden inside. If so, figs will be a great addition to your in home survival garden. You should get the self-pollinating variety as they will grow quickly in smaller spaces.
Figs are still a plant we recommend to anyone, though, as they are an excellent source of calcium and potassium.
Cabbage
If you are low on garden space, another great option is growing the medium-head cabbage variety. Cabbage has a great deal of fiber and is good for heart health.
Spinach
This leafy vegetable has so many benefits. Not only is it rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, such as folate and iron, but it provides antioxidants tied to anti-inflammation and disease protection.
The nutritional benefits of this veggie are something that you and your family definitely don’t want to miss.
Tomatoes
This is a versatile fruit. (Yes, it is technically a fruit!). You can add tomatoes to any dish you want. Whether it is a pasta, stew, or salad, tomatoes can be added for flavor. You can also dehydrate tomatoes easily or sundry them to enhance their flavor profile.
Blueberries
Blueberries are a must-have superfood that can be enjoyed as a snack, or added to any dessert, smoothie, or breakfast meal. You can also prepare blueberry jam or syrups for long-term storage!
Blueberries are ideal for an emergency because they will help you stay healthy in any situation. They have tons of antioxidants that can help you fight free radicals, so you should definitely consider growing them.
We suggest doing some research before you get started with growing these nutritious, delicious berries.
Avocados
If you have the space that growing this fruit requires, we highly encourage you to start growing avocados. This is because, unlike other fruits, avocados are high in healthy monounsaturated fats like oleic acid, which is an omega-9 fatty acid.
Storing foods long-term that are high in fat is very difficult, so having a steady supply of a nutritious, high fat fruit gives you a major advantage in an emergency situation.
Carrots
Carrots usually grow in cooler climates and are an excellent source of vitamin K, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and fiber. You can easily grow this nutrient packed veggie at home or in your backyard, which is why we highly recommend that you look into growing it.
Brussel Sprouts
Now, this vegetable gets a bad rep because it makes some people gassy. However, cooking them thoroughly will make the fibers easier to digest. They might not be best eaten raw for everyone, but they can be a delicious side if you bake them with some extra virgin olive oil or butter.
Growing them will also give you consistent access to a veggie packed with Vitamin C vitamin K, folate, calcium, iron and potassium. So, you shouldn’t skip out on growing this plant if you have the resources to do so.
Cauliflower
The nutrition profile of cauliflower is impressive! Cauliflower is very low in calories yet high in vitamins. In fact, cauliflower contains some amount of almost every vitamin and mineral that you need.
You should highly consider growing this veggie, not just for it’s properties, but for it’s versatility when it comes to cooking. You can easily integrate cauliflower into a variety of different meals. If you have emergency meals already prepared, cauliflower could really help add some flavor as well as improve the nutrient density of your meal.
Red Peppers
Red peppers are another great addition to your survival garden if you are short on space. In fact, this veggie can easily be grown in containers. The only thing that you need to be careful of is insects such as beetles and aphids, but you can use a leaf spray or insecticidal soap to ward off these insects.
This vegetable is a great source of vitamin A, C, and B6, and it is also rich in riboflavin and potassium. So, you definitely don’t want to sleep on red peppers!
They are overall easy to grow, they taste delicious, and they will provide you with nutrition that you might not be able to get from the shelf stable foods you already have in your emergency food supply.
Peas
Last but not least, we have peas. They grow very well in container gardens, and they are a great source of iron, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and Vitamin A, C, and B6.
Bottom Line
A survival garden is an excellent addition to your emergency preparedness plans. With these 15 veggie and fruit suggestions, you can begin your survival garden journey.
Even if you don’t have a large outdoor space, there are plenty of options for plants that you can grow. So, you should do independent research based on your own needs and preferences.
Wallaby is constantly working to provide you with more information surrounding preparedness. So, for more tips and advice on DIY long term food storage, keep reading our Wallaby blogs.SHARE:
