Last week, I went through my pantry, trying to get an idea of how much food storage I have. By the time the organizing session was complete, a dozen or so “expired” items sat on my kitchen counter.
In the past, I didn’t hesitate to throw a can in the trash if it was expired, and it looks like I’m not the only one tossing the goods. More than 75% (and some studies claim it’s as high as 90%) of us believe that food is unsafe to eat after the expiration date. This time, though, I’ve decided to change my ways and put the expired items back on the shelf.
Why?
Because it turns out that none of those dates stamped on canned goods have to do with safety. A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic claims that expiration dates aren’t regulated as we would believe. There is no standardized system for expiration dates.
THE STUDY FOUND MANUFACTURERS DETERMINE FOR THEMSELVES HOW TO SET DATES, IF THEY WANT TO PUT A DATE ON PACKAGING, WHAT KIND OF DATE THEY WILL USE, AND WHAT THAT DATE MEANS.
So what do those dates mean?
Well, it gets confusing because there are several different types of dates used on packages—like “sell-by”, “best if used by”, “best before”, and “use-by”. Here’s how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines each of these dates:
Types of Dates
A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires. A “Best if Used By (or Before)” date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product. “Closed or coded dates” are packing numbers for use by the manufacturer.
And here’s what the USDA has to say about expiration date safety:
Safety After Date Expires: Except for “use-by” dates; product dates don’t always pertain to home storage and use after purchase. “Use-by” dates usually refer to the best quality and are not safety dates. Even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality, if handled properly.
The only exception to this is the “use-by” date on infant formula; which is mandated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The bottom line is after the expiration date, the food may not be as fresh and it may have lost some of its nutritional value, but generally, it is safe to eat.
Yes; I know what you’re thinking—if you can’t rely on the date; how do you know when the food is unsafe to eat?
The simple answer is to open it and inspect it. If it smells bad; looks off-color or has a funny taste, get rid of it. And don’t eat the food from rusty, bulging, dented, or otherwise damaged cans.
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Last week, I went through my pantry, trying to get an idea of how much food storage I have. By the time the organizing session was complete, a dozen or
I have it on good authority that some people actually bake with baking soda. That’s not why it’s stocked like a mighty brick in my house. Baking soda is one of those items that has about a hundred and one uses, only some of them limited to the kitchen. It’s nice and cheap, and while I don’t think it’s one of the things that runs off the shelves in any crisis – snow storm, hurricane, or larger – it’s hugely beneficial to have plenty of it on hand.
To me, the price and the usefulness put it way up on any must-have list for preppers (or pretty much any adult).
First we want to be sure of what we’re talking about. On store shelves, baking soda is most usually going to be a box, although it can be found in big bags for those of us who use it a lot. It’s the one with sodium bicarbonate listed as the active ingredient, not cornstarch and 4-6 other things in a little round carton. That other one is what you use for bannock bread and microwaved mug brownies – baking powder.
Shoe satchels
Stomping out smells in your shoes is one of baking sodas great claims to fame.
Those of us who have ever had a fridge or dishwasher that’s been turned off for a while have probably heard of sticking an opened box of baking soda in there. Arm & Hammer even creates packages with a mesh-lined side flap for just that purpose. That same deodorizing capability combines with a low-level desiccant, and can be used to dry out and kill the sweat or swamp funk in our boots and shoes. This is the stuff that gets added to kitty litter boxes, after all. Stomping out smells is one of its great claims to fame.
The satchels can be made out of cloth, old socks whose mates have gone missing, coffee filters, or used dryer sheets. The imagination is really the only limiting factor here. As long as it allows easy airflow between the footwear and the baking soda inside, it’ll work. Add at least a tablespoon and a half of baking soda, tie up, and drop inside.
If you want to jazz up the shoe satchels further you can add all kinds of things from dried flowers and herbs (lavender, rose, rosemary, mints, eucalyptus) to bath crystals or salts.
This one works not only on shoes, but also on things like old gym bags, the lunch bag from two years ago, a small cooler, a tool bucket or box that has a case of the funk, or a softball bag that’s being repurposed.
Foot Soak
If the smell from shoes is originating because of the feet in them, you can combine baking soda with any number of things to create a foot soak.
Mouthwash, herbal teas, various oils like lavender or eucalyptus or rosemary, lemon slices or juice, Epsom salts (excellent addition), apple cider vinegar, and dried herbs like rosemary, mints, or plantain all get added. A simple soak of 1-2 cups in a gallon or two of warm water for 15-30 minutes can soften and rejuvenate feet, and help control various fungus that want to live in warm, sweaty environments.
Surface Cleaner
We know that baking soda is one of the things we can stock to use as a toothpaste alternate, or to concoct our own toothpaste. It cleans more than mouths, though.
Just sprinkling it on carpets and wooden decks or porches, letting it sit, and then sweeping or vacuuming it up works wonders for some odors and fungi. We can also clean our cutting boards by rubbing with baking soda and-or salt and a lemon, or just scrubbing with a brush and the dry ingredients and then letting it sit for a bit. The powders create a habitat that discourages many microbes, like the kind that live in tiny scratched crevices and outlive even dish soap and the dishwasher.
We can use that trick on dog bowls, sinks and counters, as well, using fresh lemons or limes or bottled lemon juice, or just scrubbing and allowing it to sit, then sweeping it and wiping it up.
Pipe & Drain Cleaner
Getting rid of shower and tub mildew and *that* smell in any pipe uses basically the same ingredients as above: baking soda, salt in some cases, and lemon. Vinegar of pretty much any kind can be substituted for lemon juice if somebody likes that price enough for a different smell, or wants to go with apple cider vinegar.
I like the method where you boil 2-8 cups of water to pour down the drain, then throw a cup of baking soda in and let that sit for 5-60 minutes, and follow it up with 1 cup of vinegar or lemon juice mixed with a cup of water.
There are a few variations, so poke around a bit. Some say to cover it to direct the reaction downward (not so sure about that), and some to limit the fumes in the air (just don’t use white vinegar). Some say to give it 6-8 hours, and some say to just wait until the bubbles stop. Some suggest just rinsing with tap water, and some suggest boiling more water to flush the remnants away. Up to you.
It doesn’t always work, especially in the bathroom where *somebody* sheds 2’ hair with every shower. Sometimes a repeat or upgrade to/of vinegar to the stronger cousins works. Every once in a while, you have to go to a snake or “real” drain cleaner, but a lot of the time, whether it’s a slow drain, a for-real clog, or a smell, the baking soda does the trick.
There are apparently schools of thought where this is bad and degrades things, so research that too.
Fungicide (Outdoor)
We can add one tablespoon of baking soda to one quart of water (4 tablespoons/1 quarter-cup per gallon) and use it to treat black spots in the yard, roses, and berry brambles suffering from the various black fungus illnesses.
One of the things that helps baking soda kill smells is that the sodium bicarbonate is an antacid, a highly reactive one. A lot of growing things prefer an acidic environment. Fungi – from mold to mildew – is one of those things. The beauty is that baking soda is a stabilizing antacid. It’ll react with anything in an extreme, and go through a severe reaction initially (which can also kill bad stuff) but then it’ll self-regulate and return its surroundings to a near-neutral state.
No wonder this stuff is called miracle powder, right?
That miracle powder can help us in a big way with some common crop and garden pests – mildews.
We can add one tablespoon of baking soda to one quart of water (4 tablespoons/1 quarter-cup per gallon) and use it to treat black spots in the yard, roses, and berry brambles suffering from the various black fungus illnesses.
Powdery mildew on any plants can be prevented and treated with the same, however, the addition of a teaspoon of dish detergent and a teaspoon of vegetable oil per half gallon will help it stick better. Once powdery mildew gets started, it’s a constant battle, so having the spray last longer on the plants can save us a lot of time and heartache.
Creepy-Crawly Pests
Fungus gnats aren’t usually harmful, but they are annoying, and there are times there are so many that the soil-dwelling larvae stage start stunting plant growth because they’re consuming the tiny root hairs of plants. A teaspoon of baking soda with a teaspoon of dish detergent in a full gallon of water can also help remove or reduce the populations, without changing soil pH so much that acid-loving veggie plants and perennials can’t handle it and die, too. As with mildews, all soils in the area need treated and the treatment will have to be repeated to break the infestation completely since there are multiple stages and locations in the gnats’ life cycles.
Mixing baking soda 1:1 with powdered sugar and surrounding an ant hill with a 1”x1” wall of the stuff can help reduce those garden pests, too. I’ve had it decrease the visible numbers, but they seem to pop back up. Still, it’s nicer working in beds and playing fetch or weed-eating with a few less ants getting aggravated with you. A ring of baking soda will also help deter slugs. (Grits and cornmeal help with ants and slugs, too.)
Pest Sting & Itch Relief
Baking soda recently got crowned the Most Prized Possession in my house. I was attacked by some sort of not-bee striped flyer, and ended up with welts roughly the sizes of eggs, from dainty little quail all the way up to jumbos, with 3-6” red raised areas around the big welts. Yay! A poultice of just baking soda and water reduced the swelling and pain.
That poultice is best applied with large Band-Aids already open and waiting, especially if you’re trying to doctor your own elbow and thigh.
If the poultice is allowed to dry, it will come off in big flakes or shingles, and can actually help extract a broken-off stinger, fang or tick head.
Like the satchels, the poultice can be improved on. Chamomile tea is awesome, but any kind of tea contains fabulous stuff that helps reduce swelling and pain more and faster. Let it cool and add it to the poultice, open a bag to mix in before the water, or open a used bag to add to the paste. Aloe can be stripped and chopped and added, as can commercially available gel. So can witch hazel, chamomile flowers, lavender oil or flowers, fresh or dried plantain, Echinacea (purple cone flower), chickweed or jewelweed, and lemon balm.
Some people also apparently make their poultice with milk. Not my thing. Likewise, I’m not adding to the mess or pains by using honey or honey crystals in there, but there are proponents of honey as well.
Go as crazy as you like with that one.
Maybe the sting or bite isn’t making you crazy enough to coat your wounds with paste and Band-Aids. Sometimes we’re just hot and itchy and can’t really identify a single place to treat, and a shower or bath isn’t really cutting it.
Baking soda in a tub with or without soothing additives like oatmeal can help.
You can also make a satchel similar to the first use listed, although you’ll want it to be bigger. Again, alone or with things like chipped aloe, oatmeal, chamomile flowers or oil, or tea leaves from a regular grocery-store brewing bag (Camellia sinensis species) can be added. You use the satchel to dab yourself while you’re in the shower.
Baking Soda
There are just so many uses for baking soda, with these the very tip of the iceberg. Run any google search for uses, and you’ll find dozens more, from killing weeds to repelling rabbits and silverfish. It goes in laundry and it gets used for facial masks. Use it to deodorize dogs, make Play Dough, or get gum/caulk out of your hair. The stuff is so cheap, so easy to find, and does so much, it’s worth filling a box or drawer and keeping handy, especially if we live well outside shopping areas.
It’s not one that I expect there to ever be massive runs on, not like generators, snow shovels, tarps and plywood, peanut butter, and toilet paper. However, in a long-term disaster, we could potentially run out. For me, it doesn’t replace a fire alarm and fire extinguisher, some extra batteries that fit that alarm, or having spare oil and coolant in the truck, but it’s right up there with the food and water supplies as a must-have item.
Hopefully you’ll explore its uses a little more, print out some of the many 11, 30, and 50+ uses lists, and stock up at least a little.
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A Prepper Must-Have – Baking Soda
I have it on good authority that some people actually bake with baking soda. That’s not why it’s stocked like a mighty brick in
There is a mantra within the hallowed halls of prepper knowledge, lore, and opinion that goes something like this. The only way to survive TEOTWAWKI is to find a hidden retreat far away from any city of significant size and live there as self-sustainably as possible year-round. This idea of the survival retreat has been around for years and it is actually a lifestyle I aspire to for myself and my family. I dream of a fortified home in the woods, streams rolling through my mountain location, solar arrays, livestock in fences, wild game aplenty, and wood-burning stove goodness all around me. There is one major problem with this mantra though and that is the prospect of moving everything we have and living in a cabin in the woods is nearly impossible for the large majority of us.
If you accept the argument that the hinter boonies are your best chance of survival, then the flip-side of the mantra and conventional wisdom is that everyone living in or near the cities will die. It can give you the idea that you are doomed unless you are living in Northern Idaho, chopping wood for your stove and tending to your garden every day of your life. Is that the only choice we have? Does ultimate survival come down to either living in a small handful of states or you are screwed – no matter what? Is Urban Survival an oxymoron? If you aren’t one of the lucky ones who lives 2 hours away from the nearest Walmart are you doomed to die a horrible death? The real question for the majority of preppers is this; is Urban Survival possible?
The problem with surviving in urban environments
I will readily concede that you have problems living in urban environments that will make survival tougher. Larger cities have a higher population of people living in closer confines. This makes any available resources like food and fuel deplete much faster in times of crisis just because there is greater demand for these resources. Sheer numbers overwhelm the system more quickly and the panic associated with a larger mass of people spreads faster, it is more chaotic and violent. It would be like a swarm of locusts.
Urban survival skills are different but can save your life just the same.
Urban environments are a larger risk for terrorist attacks because of the higher concentration of people and media attention. If you blow up a few buildings in New York you will cause a much bigger stir (and kill more people most likely) than blowing up the same number of buildings in Steamboat Springs CO. It is the same with virus or disease in that it spreads much faster in higher concentrations of people. Larger cities pose a larger risk to a numerically higher number of lives so the risk to your life is higher.
Additionally, urban environments for the most part have limited natural resources unless you consider buildings, parking lots, and concrete or asphalt natural resources. Sure, there are trees in cities, even New York has Central Park, but can you imagine how long it would take for Central Park to have every single one of its trees chopped down if some catastrophe happened and people needed wood fires to keep their families alive? Some major cities are built along rivers, but the water is usually so polluted you wouldn’t want to bathe in it much less try to eat anything that lived in there. Along with that lack of natural resources, there is not an abundance of good soil for growing food, at least not in quantities sufficient to support the populations of those cities.
I am not saying that you have a better chance for survival in cities, but I think we should be looking for options in every prepping scenario.
Are there any advantages to urban environments?
Yes, there are definite problems with urban survival chances, but do cities offer any advantages at all? I think you could find some benefits if you know what you are looking for. For starters, cities offer much more secure buildings than rural environments. Large concrete buildings are much better at stopping bullets than the walls of any suburban home. I think cities would offer you a greater supply of materials to use in a worst-case scenario as well. If things got so bad you had to outfit your vehicle, Ala Mad Max, all of those spikes and metal would be much easier to find in cities.
There are places to grow food in cities.
Scrap metal, fencing, chains, wires, and building materials as well as spare auto parts (batteries and tires) would be much easier scavenged in a city. Try building a fence out of trees or a coconut battery… Yes, this is a worst-case scenario but I wanted to at least discuss some of the potential upsides as opposed to simply saying if you live in the cities you will die. Cities offer a lot of advantages in the form of security and observation simply because you have tall, semi-hardened structures. You can position lookouts on 4 buildings a few blocks apart and using simple FRS radios, command a huge area.
What do you need for urban survival?
So now we have discussed some of the drawbacks and possible resources you could take advantage of, what is really needed for urban survival? The simple fact is that you need the same things for survival in the cities as you do in the suburbs. The difference is finding some opportunities you might be able to use to your advantage if you find yourself stuck in the city after a disaster.
Food
Food is a constant survival need and I recommend stocking up as much food that you normally eat as possible and augmenting that with some amounts of long-term storable food like freeze-dried food or MRE’s. What will you do when your food supplies are gone? You will need to do what the people in the burbs are doing and that is bust up some ground and get your food growing as soon as possible. As a backup, I recommend having a supply of Heirloom seeds with which to do this, but starting now will give you the best chance of long-term urban survival. That is assuming your city wasn’t nuked of course.
In a grid-down scenario, rooftop gardens may be necessary for urban survival.
Urban survival requires many of the same resources as survival in the country.
Food co-ops are a great idea, but you will have to rely on yourself for food in a survival situation. Roof gardens would be one way to grow vegetables. Could this feed a whole building? I don’t know but it is an option you have in the city that could allow for food production within the safety of your higher vantage point. Another option that the city affords is a high number of homes in a relatively small area. Each of these homes may have food or supplies after a collapse (assuming of course nobody is living in there) that could be available for scavenging. Scavenging is a polarizing subject I understand but would be a possibility in a worst-case scenario.
Water
Rainwater collection might be a little harder in the city as most buildings have flat roofs that house equipment, but if you have a flat surface that collects water that can be diverted into tanks, it should work the same as anywhere else. Another aspect of city living is that almost every building has water sprinkler systems and these can hold many thousands of gallons of water that should be safe for drinking or can be filtered with a good gravity filter. The trick would be to find the main drain valve which is commonly found in a stairwell on the same floor as the fire sprinkler heads that it supplies. The water may be draining outside so don’t turn that knob unless you know where the water will be coming out. Optionally, some buildings have water tanks right on the roof.
Fire hydrants also are a good source of water and if you find a low hydrant (lower elevation) you may be able to get millions of gallons from that source alone.
Shelter
This to me seems to be one of the benefits of urban environments that of course is weighed against the risks. There should be an abundance of shelter options for you but safety will be an issue here. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, many people will leave, many could die. There should be an available shelter that you can find. I would try to get up as high as possible and work on fortifying my entryway so that I could really make it difficult for anyone to get in. I would look for warehouses with heavy metal doors before shops with glass windows, but you may have to look at several places before you find a suitable location.
It ain’t pretty, but it could keep you alive.
Shelter in this regard is primarily going to be focused on keeping you out of the elements initially. For something more permanent, I would be looking to live with a larger group of people for common defense and shared work duties. Could these be the people currently living in your building? Could you control access to your building now or after some fairly simple fortifications?
Security
Safety of the people in your group will be extremely important and this will rely on having observation at all times, a good communication system, and a plan to deter threats. Solar panels situated on the roof of buildings could keep your power supply from being noticed (unless there is someone in a higher building) from the ground and reduce the risk of theft.
Solar panels mounted to the roof will reduce the risk of detection or theft.
Access control to stairwells could prevent attackers from sneaking up unannounced. Barricades could be easily constructed from old furniture or equipment, even sections of fence. The height of the buildings will give you vantage points and could allow you to funnel any traffic into one location that could be manned by a couple of people with radio access to a spotter on the roof.
Would all of this be possible? It would depend on the disaster, where you are, what you have with you, and a lot of other things. Would urban survival be more difficult? Maybe, but I don’t think it is hopeless. Unless there was some serious issue driving you out of the city, it may be safer to stay while everyone leaves and tries to survive on the road or in the woods.
I don’t think cities will be completely devoid of people in an SHTF event. I think some will find a way to survive as humans have for a long time.
There is a mantra within the hallowed halls of prepper knowledge, lore, and opinion that goes something like this. The only way to survive TEOTWAWKI is to find a hidden
If the collapse happens and you are in survival mode, your long-term food requirements must be taken into consideration. Finally, whatever food you have packed away will run out and then you will have none in your cupboard. For this reason, you need to use the time that you consume to grow your own food in your food stores, food that will be ready when your stores are gone.
Perhaps the most important thing to consider when it comes to increasing food for survival is that when it comes to ease of growth certain foods are better than others, nutritional content, caloric content, and ease of storage. That is why, you need to have good knowledge of the best foods to grow for survival, particularly if you have limited space or are trying to decide which kinds of seeds to stockpile.
How Native Cultures Did It
Thousands of years ago, native communities around the world learned that agriculture was an important part of survival. Hunting and foraging could only take us so far and it gave us a more reliable source of food being able to plant crops. In North America, several tribes had subsisted on what they called the three sisters most of the year, which were corn, squash, and beans. Similarly, South America relied on corn and beans; and potatoes. People in China have raised enough food on a few acres of land for thousands of years to feed their families, and still have enough to barter for other products. Such ancient cultures are strong examples of how to survive farming.
The Hardy Foods
First, growing your own food, nothing is off limits. You can grow anything you want to include in your diet and you will have a great abundance of food during the summer months. Things like tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and broccoli are all great foods to grow, vitamin-rich and mineral-rich. But, these aren’t the hardy foods that will get you through the winter, especially when your preservation methods are limited. Ideally, you want food that once it has been harvested, it can be stored as is or dried and prepared for winter use. For this reason, the suggested staples to plant and grow for year-round sustenance are as follows, starting with the three sisters.
Beans
For so many reasons, beans are one of the very best staples. First, they are very high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, and they are also very high in calories, providing most of the survival energy needed. But beans are very flexible, too. They can be freshly eaten off the plant or dried on the vine, harvested, and processed. When dried, beans have an incredibly long shelf-life. They can be prepared in a wide variety of ways, for instance in soups, baked and eaten with breads, or simply eaten alone. Its versatility as a meal is almost infinite. Finally, beans give back nitrogen to soil, other crops need something else. It makes them a good crop for rotation.
Corn
The first thing you need to know about growing corn for survival is you won’t raise your usual sweet corn. Instead, Native Americans grew grain corn, which was traditionally grown and dried on the stalk for harvesting and stockpiling. Corn is extremely easy to grow. It can be ground and processed into a variety of breads, and used as a soup thickener. Corn and beans can be combined to form a complete protein.
Winter Squash
During the winter months winter squash is very hardy and easy to store. There are several varieties, for instance acorn, butternut, spaghetti, and Hubbard. Pumpkins fall under that group as well. Store them in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months and you’ll enjoy this nutritious staple together with your corn and beans.
Potatoes
The humble potato might be associated with Ireland in the minds of many people (think the Great Irish Famine), but it is actually native to South America and was not known anywhere else in the world until after Columbus sailed. Potatoes are so easy to grow in a variety of climates and types of soils and their use has spread throughout the world. They will also sustain you when you have no other food available for an extended period of time.
Carrots
Also, carrots are a very good root vegetable that will store well during the winter months and provide essential nutrients and variety in your diet. You can grow carrots as long as you have sandy, well-draining soil. When you’re not in an area that’s going through difficult winters. you can cover your carrots with a thick mulch layer to shield them and just leave them to the ground. You can store them in a refrigerator or root cellar if you have to harvest them.
Cabbage
Cabbage is a worldwide staple and for good reason. It is easy to grow, easy to store, and high in nutrition, even when cooked. Cook it with other staples, like potatoes, make it into a soup for tasty meals, or ferment it to make Sauerkraut. Once fermented, cabbage will last even longer and provide the body and the digestive tract with a wealth of nutritional benefits.
Kale
Kale is part of the same family of plants as cabbage and although it is not normally thought of as a staple of survival, it is a great crop to grow. Kale is so filled with nutrition, it helps keep your family from nutritional deficiencies that may weaken them and make them more susceptible to disease. It can be easily grown and it is cold-hardy, meaning you can grow it well into late fall or early winter. If you’ve got a cold frame, it can grow through the winter. You can add Kale to any food you cook, including soups, stews, and potato dishes. It can also be dried into kale chips, something that has become a common health food, but will store well throughout the year and keep you eating healthy greens.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes add fabulously to your staple foods. These are similar to potatoes, but they are better as they contain more nutrients and are edible for their greens. One plant can give you tubers, as well as greens. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow too. Though tropical and subtropical, they can be grown in the north. They’re a vine than runner roots swelling into the delicious tubers.
The sweet potatoes can be stored for a long time at room temperature. They’re going to keep at least a month or two, but if they’re healed, they ‘re going to keep for many months. Curing them means simply holding them at 85-90 degrees for the first five days after harvest, during which time a second skin will effectively develop.
Garlic
Garlic is a wonderful addition to any garden which survives. It’s delicious and will add flavor to anything you’re cooking, but it’s so much more. It can be used as a medicinal plant aside from being highly nutritious food. Garlic is a potent antibiotic and antiviral agent. This also helps improve the immune system, is a potent antioxidant, and reduces high blood pressure and cholesterol. Garlic grows easily and when harvested, it can be stored and used in the winter months while waiting for a new crop to grow.
Herbs
Herbs are highly flexible, and they are very easy to store. Anything you might think of, such as rosemary, thyme, basil, bay leaves, parsley, and oregano, can be cultivated in the summer months, harvested and dried for use in the winter. Simply cut the plants, wash them, hang them upside down until they dry, then put them in a glass jar in a cool, dry place. Plus, many of the herbs that you use every day are perennials, meaning that once you plant them, they come back every year, giving you an ongoing annual herbal supply. Herbs will also provide you with the nutrients you need from vegetables, and added flavor to your food, something that will save you from a survival diet’s blandness.
Start Now
The list above includes the best survival foods to grow, but you shouldn’t wait until the collapse to get started. The key is to practice now, before growing this food is a matter of survival. Make mistakes now (while you can still go to the grocery store and buy food).
Even if you choose to begin with only one or two of the foods listed above, get started and learn how to grow food that will keep you and your family alive and healthy no matter how tough times get…
…because tough times never last; but tough people do!
If the collapse happens and you are in survival mode, your long-term food requirements must be taken into consideration. Finally, whatever food you have packed away will run out and
