Survival Gardening

A bright spring like ours may not lend itself to thoughts of dark events in Vashon’s future, but spring may be the best time to have such thoughts.

That’s because, this time of year, you might be considering growing some of your own food and (the dark part) you might rightly wonder if you would have enough in general to eat, should an Island-wide emergency ever occur.  You wouldn’t be alone if you had doubts.  Several organizations and agencies, on-Island and off-, are urging us to bolster our food security to prepare for disaster times.

Begin, they advise, by assuming that disaster relief from off-Island won’t come to the Island for three weeks or more after a major event.  A sizable earthquake, wildfire, civil unrest, or terrorism could cut off Vashon from the mainland, leaving the community to fend for itself.  Medical response, fire suppression, temporary shelter, and energy—all would need to be “homegrown” by Islanders.

So would food.  Island grocery stores and markets would run out of food in an extended emergency, and, as bountiful as Island farms have been, they couldn’t supply the Island’s caloric needs for weeks on end.  Households would need to share the burden of feeding themselves.

Every household, then, should have on hand food enough to last these three weeks of potential isolation.  Much of it would need to be stored in imperishable form.  Canned (not refrigerated) goods are therefore essential.  Dried beans and rice in air-tight containers are perhaps the easiest-to-store, highest-calorie, and most nutritious foodstuffs to have ready.

A food garden is an essential addition to these emergency supplies.  In the Island’s maritime climate, a home grower can produce fruit and vegetables nearly year-round, guaranteeing the grower has something fresh to add to stored goods almost anytime.

One strategy for growing year-round emergency food involves a staged planting schedule.  Begin in early spring with fast-growing leafy greens like arugula and micro-lettuce varieties.  In mid-spring, plant kale and chard, as well as root crops like carrots, beets, and potatoes.  With this strategy, you’ll have greens to eat relatively quickly, some root crops to eat soon thereafter, and, if you leave potatoes in the ground, a nearly year-round staple.

When early summer arrives, plant beans (for eating fresh and drying), summer squash (zucchini, cucumber), and winter squash like butternut and pumpkin.  Note that the winter squash, when stored, can feed you through the following winter.

In late summer/early fall, plant another round of root crops and hardy greens like kale.  These you can eat soon (kale) or leave in the ground all winter to harvest as needed.

As for growing fruit for prolonged emergencies, berries start early and can run through late summer—just in time for an apple harvest that can continue, if you plant varieties with differing ripening times, into early winter.  Look also for varieties that store well, to extend the supply.