Gardening just got real.
It's time to GARDEN!!!!
Now we don't mean to poke fun of the
seriousness of the situation that we're all in right now.
But I do know that I need a little something light-hearted and I'm thinking
that a lot of you probably do too. So we thought it would be fun to do a video
about the top survival crops. Now first there are the most obvious types of
crops that folks will talk about in this type of situation where it's a garden
that you're really depending on to provide the bulk of your calories. And
those are great crops, those are things like potatoes, sweet potatoes,
winter squash, corn, beans, and I'm not discounting those. Those definitely have
a great place in the survival garden. But I want to talk about a few things that
you may not have considered adding to your survival garden. So what's the first
one? Do we know what the first one, the first thing is well, it's not really a
thing, it's more of a category and you know what that is? It's really important.
It is seed- but specifically open pollinated seed? Do you know why we want
open pollinated seed? I'm not sure. You're not sure? Well you want specifically open
pollinated seed because you can save the seed from your crops indefinitely. You
can't do that with hybrids. And if you're planning on saving your own seed the
easiest crops to start with are corn, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce.
And you'll want to brush up a little on seed saving techniques. So on to the
specific crops. The first plant that you may want to consider in your survival
garden is the hot pepper
So hot peppers are relatively easy to grow, they're super productive, and they
have incredible health benefits. They can help boost immunity, clear up congestion,
and capsaicin the substance that gives hot peppers their heat can actually act
as a natural pain reliever. And you can use hot peppers to make a natural pest
repellent to protect the other crops in your garden. The next very important crop
for any survival garden is garlic. Garlic is great for long-term storage and it
can be grown in the off season. Garlic has long been touted for its multiple
health benefits including its immune boosting properties, its
anti-inflammatory properties, and antibacterial properties which can
actually be used to prevent some of the bacteria that causes things like food
poisoning. Not to mention it's really darn tasty. The next crops to consider
are the unloved root crops. When people talk about root crops
I feel like carrots and potatoes get all the love and for whatever reason folks
tend to forget about things like the lowly parsnip and the beet. Let me see
that beet my dear. So beets are a hardy root crop, they store really well and are
highly nutritious. Both the roots and the greens are edible-- so you're getting two
for the price of one. Beets have historically been used as a blood tonic
and to support detoxification. OK let's take a look at that parsnip. So parsnip I
feel like is the ultimate underrated root vegetable and is a favorite of mine.
Parsnips are incredible roasted and they're delicious riced or you could take
a cue from a 1940's British wartime recipe for mock bananas. Folks would use
boiled or roasted parsnips, sugar and banana essence to make a mock banana
when there was a ban on bananas in the country. Whaaaaat? And finally turnips and
rutabagas are two more great root crops that deserve some consideration. They
are a dense source of carbohydrates, they store really well and the roots and the
greens of those are also both edible. ALL THE HERBS! Seriously stick as many herbs
in as many places as you can all over your garden, in pots, wherever you can
put them! You'll be thankful for the seasoning and most herbs are packed full
of incredible nutrients. A few specifics are oregano. Oregano is a perennial herb
which is easy to grow and can be easily used fresh or dried. It has antibacterial,
anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties and is delicious. Historically
it's also been used as a food preservative. Cilantro or coriander as
you'll sometimes see it called is an incredibly cold hardy, easy to grow herb.
You can use it fresh or frozen and the leaves, seeds and stems are all edible.
Cilantro is well known for its ability to pull toxic heavy metals from the body
and is overall a nutritional powerhouse. I highly recommend this one unless
you're part of the 10% of the population to whom cilantro tastes like soap then
maybe skip it. Basil is another easy to grow annual
herb that is full of intense flavor and an excellent source of vitamin K--
essential for blood clotting. Another herbal source of vitamin K is parsley.
You want to show the parsley? Now this is dried. Parsley is very easy to dry and
store and you can pack a lot into a single jar. It's also high in vitamins A
and C and everyone knows how important vitamin C is in boosting immunity. But
just look at that beautiful bright green color even dried. That's how you know
it's healthy! We also have thyme which is another super easy perennial herb to
grow in the garden. It kind of has a lovely low creeping habit. But thyme is
delicious and can be used in many many recipes. It also is a powerful medicinal herb and
thyme makes an excellent herbal cold remedy. And you can make a disinfecting
spray using an infusion of thyme. And finally while it's not a culinary herb
echinacea is a very important herb to consider putting in your survival garden.
Echinacea is incredibly effective at boosting the body's immune system and as
an added bonus it has beautiful flowers which help attract pollinators to your
garden. Another plant to consider which will add
beauty to your garden and provide additional benefits is the sunflower.
Specifically I would recommend giant sunflowers as the sheer mass of seed
that one head produces is unbeatable. The seeds will come in handy if salty snacks
are in shortage, they can be pressed to make a valuable oil, and the large stalks
leftover at the end of the season can be dried and used as tinder for
fire-starting. And finally I know I said I wasn't going to talk about corn but I
have to mention one specific variety because it is a survivalist dream!
Painted Mountain corn is the ultimate multi-use variety of corn. It was bred
specifically for growers in harsh climates on marginal land and it is a
very early, very rugged open pollinated corn. It can be picked early when the
kernels are still in milk stage to be eaten as a sweet corn or left to dry to
be used for corn meal, hominy, grits or other dishes. It's an excellent source of
calories and carbohydrates and it's beautiful to boot. So go out and plant
your survival garden today! I don't think you actually need it... but in case there's an
apocalypse. But we really do think it's a good idea to plan a garden no matter the
circumstances and all of the crops that I've suggested today are great in any
garden at any time. So plant a garden today! Well thanks for watching and we'll
see you next time!