Farm & Garden

The basic idea of SHTF farming and gardening is to set things up in a way that doesn't need outside inputs to keep things running indefinitely.

Think of the series of things you need to have and do to start a garden:

Heirloom seeds. Hybrids usually produce much better fruit and vegetables, but you can't store the seeds for next year.

Starting Seeds: Living in Canada we need to start many plants early for a full harvest. Do you have access to good soil when the ground is frozen?

Fertile Soil: No more running to the big box store for fertilizer. How do we ensure our plants are getting their proper nutrients?

Water. City water was never good for our plants, but if it's not available we need to set up a system to ensure they get enough. Preferably without intervention.


** We need to consider how many square feet we need to plant: There is a huge range in people's thoughts on how many square feet of garden space you need to feed yourself. I have seen numbers as low as 32 feet for the square foot gardening method, through 200 for normal row cropping method. Some people suggest you will need 4000 feet per person to supply all of your needs. This is a huge range and needs to be narrowed down with hands on experience.

level 1 (3 weeks)
Gardening is not something you pick up instantly, but more of a slow incremental learning subject. You make still be working on 3 weeks of food but now would be a great time to get a jump on level 2 if so inclined.

Many people store rice and beans in mylar bags as their 'forever food'. It's a great idea but it's going to get really old really fast. Start planting some herbs and spices now to vary your diet, and supplement your vitamins. Planting a new crop ever few weeks will ensure you have a constant supply.

Level 2 (3 months)