In growing survival foods, one source of seed is wild plants. Many wild plants were brought over from Europe for food, such as the dandelion, carrot and Russian thistle. Many of these plants lend themselves quite well to cultivation. If the ground is good and well prepared, most wild food plants will grow as well as cultivated varieties. Regular watering will increase the yield just as in a domestic garden.
Carrots are especially good at this. Also known as Queen Anne's Lace, wild carrots can be domesticated in a few years. The normal color of a carrot root is white or purple. Yellow and orange are fairly late developments agriculturally. If seed is selected for large roots, wild carrots can be very edible and palatable the very first year. Grow them as you would domestic carrots and you will have plants that are practically immune to pests. Try some wild seeds, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Seed tips
When survival gardening, try to use open pollinated, heirloom seeds. These seeds are more robust and will often self-seed for a persistent crop. Use permanent plantings, like clover, day lilies, Jerusalem artichokes and globe artichokes. There are many more perennial plantings of edible foods possible. Try to choose plantings that compete well with weeds. Even wild blackberries are a good survival plant, yielding tea and fruit. Here is a page from my web site on how to cultivate wild blackberries.
This picture is of a street planting of day lilies in a large concrete planter. Few people know these are edible and I believe I am the only one who harvests any, although many people pass this planter daily. I take only a few here and there.
Here is a picture of the edible day lily flowers and pods.
Here is my web site.
This picture is of a street planting of day lilies in a large concrete planter. Few people know these are edible and I believe I am the only one who harvests any, although many people pass this planter daily. I take only a few here and there.
Here is a picture of the edible day lily flowers and pods.
Here is my web site.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Persistance pays off
Gardening for survival requires a high level of persistence. The growing conditions are usually not optimum and the growing sites may be widely scattered. If you are considering survival gardening, you need to understand that in the beginning stages, it may be a lot of hard work.
Finding good, safe growing spots, selecting plants, doing soil improvements, etc. all take a lot of time and energy. But just like building raised beds, once the initial setup is completed, the work load goes down dramatically.
Hauling soil in small batches and hauling small amounts of water to widely scattered places can be quite time consuming. If at all possible, choose place that are close together or, best, choose one larger plot that can be disguised. You will save a lot of work if the growing places are close together.
Finding good, safe growing spots, selecting plants, doing soil improvements, etc. all take a lot of time and energy. But just like building raised beds, once the initial setup is completed, the work load goes down dramatically.
Hauling soil in small batches and hauling small amounts of water to widely scattered places can be quite time consuming. If at all possible, choose place that are close together or, best, choose one larger plot that can be disguised. You will save a lot of work if the growing places are close together.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Choosing the right plants
When survival gardening, it is important to be choosy about which plant varieties you plant. Some plants need a large amount of care and attention to succeed. Others can be left to grow virtually wild and unattended.
Some things to keep in mind when choosing plants varieties are:
How much water does it need and how regularly?
Does it need nutritional supplements to thrive?
What type of soil does it need?
Does it compete well with weeds?
These issues will tell you whether or not to use a particular plant variety. Survival gardening and especially stealth gardening, both impose restrictions that are not encountered in a normal home garden. There may be water shortages in a stealth garden. Or plenty of water available and no way to water the plant regularly.
If the soil is poor, it will be hard to get a usable crop from heavy feeders, such as some onions or squash varieties. Is you are stealth gardening, you may not be able to attend to the plantings regularly and weeds will be a problem. Growing weed and drought resistant plants will be helpful in these conditions. Choose the plants wisely and you will have a crop.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Some things to keep in mind when choosing plants varieties are:
How much water does it need and how regularly?
Does it need nutritional supplements to thrive?
What type of soil does it need?
Does it compete well with weeds?
These issues will tell you whether or not to use a particular plant variety. Survival gardening and especially stealth gardening, both impose restrictions that are not encountered in a normal home garden. There may be water shortages in a stealth garden. Or plenty of water available and no way to water the plant regularly.
If the soil is poor, it will be hard to get a usable crop from heavy feeders, such as some onions or squash varieties. Is you are stealth gardening, you may not be able to attend to the plantings regularly and weeds will be a problem. Growing weed and drought resistant plants will be helpful in these conditions. Choose the plants wisely and you will have a crop.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Planting in stealth containers
Sometimes a very recognizable food plant can be totally disguised if planted in an unusual container. Container gardening is a very good way to use small spaces to grow food. Any non-toxic container with drain holes will work. At least one foot of soil is required for large plants. Radishes can be grown in four inches of good soil. If you have a hollow spot in a tree stump, it can be used to grow many types of plants. A pile of rocks can hold several plants that can look like a very natural composition. Strangely enough, roof gutters grow plants very well. You can attach some false gutters to the eaves of your house and have a large hanging garden. Just remember to keep the real gutters clear and clean! If you have a flat roof that will bear traffic, it can make a very nice hidden garden spot. Just make sure to space the containers so you do not add too much weight to the roof. Using your imagination, you can come up with some very unique ways to hide a garden in plain sight.
Stealth garden layout
A stealth garden should not look like a garden. In lean times, a home garden invites thieves and vandals. It also attracts the attention of local government officials. In many urban areas, vegetable gardens are banned or severely restricted in size. The main public reason for the bans is usually water crisis. Gardens take water and the authorities restrict water use in droughts. At other times, when there is no crisis, the bans are usually still enforced, leading one to conjecture that there might be hidden reasons for the bans, having nothing to do with water shortages. Other bans are imposed because local politicians don't like the look of gardens. They prefer sterile lawns of a uniform height. Gardens can get messy in the later stages of the growing season, so these politicians ban them to suit their own aesthetic sensibilities.
However, there are usually flower clubs in these urban areas. Many times these clubs wield considerable clout, so flowers are rarely banned. Flower beds can be mixed with all kinds of edibles and the edibles can be hidden in plain sight. Also, many flowers are edible in their own right. By planting the right mixes, a full garden can usually be grown as long as everything looks like flowers.
To avoid scrutiny, do not plant in rows or rigid grids. Plant more like the natural plants would grow, in mixed beds of informal shape. These beds can be made to be quite attractive if a little design thought goes into them. Download a plant companion guide and use it to plan your garden. Remember that many cultivated ornamental plants, such as flowering kale and orange cauliflower, are just as good as the standard varieties. And they make very pleasing gardens. Consider the planting from a hide in plain sight angle and you can stealth garden almost anywhere.
Use underground or drip irrigation that can be hidden among the plants to avoid the wrath of the authorities and their various informants. Water at night. Weed by hand in the early morning. If you follow these suggestions, you should be able to grow most of what you want safely and without local troubles.
http://www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
However, there are usually flower clubs in these urban areas. Many times these clubs wield considerable clout, so flowers are rarely banned. Flower beds can be mixed with all kinds of edibles and the edibles can be hidden in plain sight. Also, many flowers are edible in their own right. By planting the right mixes, a full garden can usually be grown as long as everything looks like flowers.
To avoid scrutiny, do not plant in rows or rigid grids. Plant more like the natural plants would grow, in mixed beds of informal shape. These beds can be made to be quite attractive if a little design thought goes into them. Download a plant companion guide and use it to plan your garden. Remember that many cultivated ornamental plants, such as flowering kale and orange cauliflower, are just as good as the standard varieties. And they make very pleasing gardens. Consider the planting from a hide in plain sight angle and you can stealth garden almost anywhere.
Use underground or drip irrigation that can be hidden among the plants to avoid the wrath of the authorities and their various informants. Water at night. Weed by hand in the early morning. If you follow these suggestions, you should be able to grow most of what you want safely and without local troubles.
http://www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Edible red clover
I posted this entry in another blog. I since realized it should be in the blog also, so I copied it over.
This post is about what I learned in my research of the edible plant, red clover. Red clover is the type of clover that has a large red or reddish-purple flower. I did some experiments with this plant and this is what I found. The leaves are very good as salad material, a little tangy but mild. They also make great tea, with no caffeine. The young stems and leaves can be steamed until tender and used like spinach or other greens. In the winter, early spring and late fall, the bigger roots are good as a starchy food. They can be eaten raw when they are tender. They can be steamed or boiled and treated much like beets or turnips or other root crops. They are very mild and take on the taste of other ingredients in the dish. So try some clover today and enjoy!
E-mail here: researcher@winterlakeresearchcenter.org
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
This post is about what I learned in my research of the edible plant, red clover. Red clover is the type of clover that has a large red or reddish-purple flower. I did some experiments with this plant and this is what I found. The leaves are very good as salad material, a little tangy but mild. They also make great tea, with no caffeine. The young stems and leaves can be steamed until tender and used like spinach or other greens. In the winter, early spring and late fall, the bigger roots are good as a starchy food. They can be eaten raw when they are tender. They can be steamed or boiled and treated much like beets or turnips or other root crops. They are very mild and take on the taste of other ingredients in the dish. So try some clover today and enjoy!
E-mail here: researcher@winterlakeresearchcenter.org
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Stealth plants
There are many plants that are good for food but are not generally recognized by the public. Many of the plants we now consider to be weeds, such as dandelion, were brought to this continent as food from Europe. Naturally, they escaped from cultivation and spread rapidly. As soon as they became naturalized, they began to revert from cultivated to wild forms. Wild forms are usually more bitter and tough than the cultivated forms. They also rarely produce as much food value as cultivated forms.
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types of plants that can be eaten and have good nutritional value.
Just like garden plants, these wild plants have a harvesting season. If harvested out of season, they are usually very poor fare.
A cultivated example is asparagus. If you harvest asparagus in the early spring, when it is short, young and tender, it is good food. But if you harvest it in August, when the plant is fully developed, it is virtually inedible, bitter, tough and fibrous. The same is true of wild foods. They must be harvested at the right time to be good food.
This post will cover two stealth plants that provide food during a large portion of the year.
The first plant is Russian thistle. This is the large thistle with the deep purple flowers. It is also called bull thistle in some areas. This plant has long, wide leaves with sharp stickers on the edges of the leaves. It puts up a flower stock in early to late spring. A purple flower opens and releases a bunch of down when it ripens. The stalk has sharp stickers all over it. This plant is widely despised and is very tenacious. A good way to control it is to eat it!
This plant is edible from late fall to early spring. Although the leaves are edible, they are a real pain to prepare, since all the spines on the edges have to be cut off. The time to eat this plant is when the leaves form a flat rosette, or circle, on the ground. When the plant begins standing up in the spring, preparatory to sending up a flower stalk, it is too late to harvest. The entire plant will taste bitter and soap like if harvested too late.
To harvest, dig the roots intact. Cut off the leaves at the base of the root and clean the root until it is white. If you have harvested the root at the right time, it will be free from fiber and have a mild, slightly sweet taste. The texture will be like carrots. It can be eaten raw or cooked. It readily takes on the flavor of other foods and is good in most dishes that use carrots. It can be sliced thin and used in salad, candied like carrots or used in soup or stews. It is very rich in starch, which gives the body energy.
The second plant is daylillies. These are the yellow or orange lilies that send up a flower that only lasts one day, hence the name day lily. This plant grows like a large clump of grass with wide leaves, about a half inch to an inch wide. The clump can grow to two feet tall, but usually is about eighteen inches. The clump sends up several flower spikes over the course of the summer. The spikes form pod like flower buds, the flowers open and die the next day. When the spike is still small and tender, it can be harvested and cooked like asparagus. The taste of all the above ground edible parts of this plant strongly resembles green beans. When the flowers form pods, before they open, they can be snapped off and cooked like green beans. They have a slightly shorter cooking time than green beans. When the flowers die, they can be harvested and dried. These are the oriental lilies you can buy in Asian food stores. They have a spicy flavor and add a little thickening to soups and stews.
Underneath the plant, just under the ground level, there are little finger shaped tuberish things. These can be up to an inch in diameter and three inches long, but are usually smaller. The young ones are very white and crisp. They are mild flavored and are good raw or cooked. When sliced thin, they make a fine addition to a salad. Cooked, they are mild and slightly sweet. They are full of energy and usually available all year. If you dig around the plant a little, without disturbing the roots much, you can harvest several of these every few months. The plant keeps making new ones to replaced the ones that are harvested. The tuberish things are usually available even in the winter, anytime the ground is thawed enough to dig them.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types of plants that can be eaten and have good nutritional value.
Just like garden plants, these wild plants have a harvesting season. If harvested out of season, they are usually very poor fare.
A cultivated example is asparagus. If you harvest asparagus in the early spring, when it is short, young and tender, it is good food. But if you harvest it in August, when the plant is fully developed, it is virtually inedible, bitter, tough and fibrous. The same is true of wild foods. They must be harvested at the right time to be good food.
This post will cover two stealth plants that provide food during a large portion of the year.
The first plant is Russian thistle. This is the large thistle with the deep purple flowers. It is also called bull thistle in some areas. This plant has long, wide leaves with sharp stickers on the edges of the leaves. It puts up a flower stock in early to late spring. A purple flower opens and releases a bunch of down when it ripens. The stalk has sharp stickers all over it. This plant is widely despised and is very tenacious. A good way to control it is to eat it!
This plant is edible from late fall to early spring. Although the leaves are edible, they are a real pain to prepare, since all the spines on the edges have to be cut off. The time to eat this plant is when the leaves form a flat rosette, or circle, on the ground. When the plant begins standing up in the spring, preparatory to sending up a flower stalk, it is too late to harvest. The entire plant will taste bitter and soap like if harvested too late.
To harvest, dig the roots intact. Cut off the leaves at the base of the root and clean the root until it is white. If you have harvested the root at the right time, it will be free from fiber and have a mild, slightly sweet taste. The texture will be like carrots. It can be eaten raw or cooked. It readily takes on the flavor of other foods and is good in most dishes that use carrots. It can be sliced thin and used in salad, candied like carrots or used in soup or stews. It is very rich in starch, which gives the body energy.
The second plant is daylillies. These are the yellow or orange lilies that send up a flower that only lasts one day, hence the name day lily. This plant grows like a large clump of grass with wide leaves, about a half inch to an inch wide. The clump can grow to two feet tall, but usually is about eighteen inches. The clump sends up several flower spikes over the course of the summer. The spikes form pod like flower buds, the flowers open and die the next day. When the spike is still small and tender, it can be harvested and cooked like asparagus. The taste of all the above ground edible parts of this plant strongly resembles green beans. When the flowers form pods, before they open, they can be snapped off and cooked like green beans. They have a slightly shorter cooking time than green beans. When the flowers die, they can be harvested and dried. These are the oriental lilies you can buy in Asian food stores. They have a spicy flavor and add a little thickening to soups and stews.
Underneath the plant, just under the ground level, there are little finger shaped tuberish things. These can be up to an inch in diameter and three inches long, but are usually smaller. The young ones are very white and crisp. They are mild flavored and are good raw or cooked. When sliced thin, they make a fine addition to a salad. Cooked, they are mild and slightly sweet. They are full of energy and usually available all year. If you dig around the plant a little, without disturbing the roots much, you can harvest several of these every few months. The plant keeps making new ones to replaced the ones that are harvested. The tuberish things are usually available even in the winter, anytime the ground is thawed enough to dig them.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Stealth plants and containers
I have been late getting a post out because I had a little operation done. All is well now and I am back to work. In this post, I will cover container growing and stealth plants.
Many plants, even trees, can sucessfully be grown in containers. The keys to success are to have the right soil, to have enough soil and to have the proper sunlight for each plant.
One of the easiest food plants to grow in a container is radishes. They grow quickly and provide the closest thing to instant gratification there is in the plant world. The small round type can be grown in as little as three inches of soil if it is rich soil.
Other plants need more soil. In general, if you can get at least ten inches of soil depth, you can grow most of the common food plants. Fourteen inches will grow just about everything.
Containers can be made of many different materials. There are a few to avoid, such as treated wood and containers that have held toxic substances. Otherwise, wood, concrete, some plastics and terra cotta are good choices.
Place the container in the proper sun and you will have success. One point to remember is not to overwater. All containers should have drain holes to let exess water out. But they may drain slowly and keep the plants too moist. Overwatering is a common mistake with container gardening. Poke you finger an inch or two into the soil. If it is dry, give it a little water. The best test is to lift the conatiner a little to see how heavy it is. If it is too light, water it. Of course, with large containers, this is impractical.
Use a good, well balanced soil in your container. Remember also that the soil cannot absorb nutrients from the surrounding soil. So you will have to periodically feed the plants to keep them healthy. Any good balanced plant food will work, or organics, such as manure tea.
Stealth plants are plants that are food plants but are not generally recognized as food plants. So you can grow them and not have a big problem with people taking the harvest just as it gets right. Many common ornamental plants have a great deal of food value and are easy to grow. A few good stealth plants to grow are daylillies, nasturniums, roses and some unusual potato plants. There are many more stealth plants that you can research.
The next post, we will cover some stealth plants in depth and how to grow and prepare them for food.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Many plants, even trees, can sucessfully be grown in containers. The keys to success are to have the right soil, to have enough soil and to have the proper sunlight for each plant.
One of the easiest food plants to grow in a container is radishes. They grow quickly and provide the closest thing to instant gratification there is in the plant world. The small round type can be grown in as little as three inches of soil if it is rich soil.
Other plants need more soil. In general, if you can get at least ten inches of soil depth, you can grow most of the common food plants. Fourteen inches will grow just about everything.
Containers can be made of many different materials. There are a few to avoid, such as treated wood and containers that have held toxic substances. Otherwise, wood, concrete, some plastics and terra cotta are good choices.
Place the container in the proper sun and you will have success. One point to remember is not to overwater. All containers should have drain holes to let exess water out. But they may drain slowly and keep the plants too moist. Overwatering is a common mistake with container gardening. Poke you finger an inch or two into the soil. If it is dry, give it a little water. The best test is to lift the conatiner a little to see how heavy it is. If it is too light, water it. Of course, with large containers, this is impractical.
Use a good, well balanced soil in your container. Remember also that the soil cannot absorb nutrients from the surrounding soil. So you will have to periodically feed the plants to keep them healthy. Any good balanced plant food will work, or organics, such as manure tea.
Stealth plants are plants that are food plants but are not generally recognized as food plants. So you can grow them and not have a big problem with people taking the harvest just as it gets right. Many common ornamental plants have a great deal of food value and are easy to grow. A few good stealth plants to grow are daylillies, nasturniums, roses and some unusual potato plants. There are many more stealth plants that you can research.
The next post, we will cover some stealth plants in depth and how to grow and prepare them for food.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Concepts for survival gardening
The world is a troubled place. It always has been, but sometimes it seems worse. We are in one of those seems worse times. Prices for produce of all varieties are rising. Grocery store quality is falling. Many people find they can no longer afford enough fresh fruits and vegetables. Chemical and biological scares are increasing.
So what is the solution to get fresh produce? There are many solutions, such as wild foraging, trading with friends and acquaintances and going to food banks. But if you have a bit of space, even as small as a high rise balcony, you can grow a survival garden.
You say you have a brown thumb? Nonsense! There is one main key and one minor key to convert from a brown thumb to a green thumb. The first key is simple: Check and maintain your plants every day! This means looking for pests, checking for proper watering and looking to the general health of the plant.
If you do this one thing right, your plants will thrive. Now remember, I said it was simple, not easy. It does take some time and dedication, but if done right, it should be no more than an hour a day during the growing season, perhaps much less time.
The second key is also simple, but requires a little study before planting anything. This key is that every plant has a preferred habitat. A habitat is simply the growing conditions the plant likes. These are the type of soil, the temperature range, the amount of sunlight and water and other factors. Plants are just like people, they like to be comfortable. Just as people have a range of comfort, as in heat level, so do plants. Provide the proper habitat and the plant will grow. If you can't provide the proper habitat for a plant, don't grow it.
Next: some ideas for small spaces and a few plant suggestions.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
So what is the solution to get fresh produce? There are many solutions, such as wild foraging, trading with friends and acquaintances and going to food banks. But if you have a bit of space, even as small as a high rise balcony, you can grow a survival garden.
You say you have a brown thumb? Nonsense! There is one main key and one minor key to convert from a brown thumb to a green thumb. The first key is simple: Check and maintain your plants every day! This means looking for pests, checking for proper watering and looking to the general health of the plant.
If you do this one thing right, your plants will thrive. Now remember, I said it was simple, not easy. It does take some time and dedication, but if done right, it should be no more than an hour a day during the growing season, perhaps much less time.
The second key is also simple, but requires a little study before planting anything. This key is that every plant has a preferred habitat. A habitat is simply the growing conditions the plant likes. These are the type of soil, the temperature range, the amount of sunlight and water and other factors. Plants are just like people, they like to be comfortable. Just as people have a range of comfort, as in heat level, so do plants. Provide the proper habitat and the plant will grow. If you can't provide the proper habitat for a plant, don't grow it.
Next: some ideas for small spaces and a few plant suggestions.
www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org
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