I know there's a farming thread, but I figured this could be used for small scale gardening used to get you and your family the calories and protein needed to survive the next few years. Most of this knowledge comes from David the Good, who runs a survival gardening blog, and has published many books on the topic which I have read and implemented over the past two years. My first recommendation if you're new is his book "Grow or Die."
What to Grow
This depends on your climate, but in general terms you will want high calorie crops. From cold to warm climates the best things you can grow are potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. They grow reliably and provide plenty of calories. Things like wheat and other grains are going to be too time consuming to process for the average home gardener, and you cannot grow as many calories in a given area, although they may be good to give to chickens.
Another thing to look into is what did native farmers and pre industrial revolution farmers grow in your area? In much of America, the Indians were growing a rotation of corn, squash, and beans. Corn is extremely high calorie and there are varieties suited to almost wherever you may be. Many squash varieties store very well, several months, enough to last through a winter. Beans are high protein and fertilize their own soil, as they have a symbiotic relationship with a nitrogen producing soil bacteria. Beans are also the single easiest thing to grow in my experience.
When to Grow it
It is difficult to answer this in blanket terms but consider several plants you would like to grow, and figure out if they prefer hot or cool weather. Carrots and potatoes prefer cool temperatures, meaning early and late plantings. Potatoes can be planted even before the last frost in the late winter or early spring. Some things like beans, peppers, and tomatoes prefer hotter temperatures, although the last two do not provide a good amount of calories. Also, try to find local heirloom varieties which are adapted to your climate, but don't panic if you can't get the perfect variety.
Fertilizing
Fertilizer prices are skyrocketing, which will result in skyrocketing food prices in 2022 that will make 2021 look like a time of plenty. Fortunately, you have everything you need to fertilize enough food to feed yourself already. Urine is very high in nitrogen, and also has some phosphorous and potassium, essentially everything plants need to survive. If you dilute 1 part of urine in 5-10 parts of water, you will fertilize your plants as you water them. Of course you want to avoid getting it on anything you will eat, but at the same time, leaves absorb nutrients well, so keep this in mind. Depending on the soil you could use a high concentration every week or two or even less frequently, or you can dilute it more and use it with every watering.
Worm Compost & Compost Tea
Worms produce essentially an extremely dense fertilizer that will not burn your plants like chicken manure would. It has several benefits over normal manure - it deters plants by containing a chemical which dissolves chitin, it has a natural plant growth hormone, and it is a probiotic which overwhelms disease causing microbes. Cultivating worms is more complicated than using your urine but it can be used to turn even sick and dying plants into thriving plants in my experience. I've written more on this topic here on the farming thread, with more posts underneath it.
Fetid "Swamp" Water
In a pinch you can fill a barrel or a large bucket with any sort of organic matter - weeds before they go to seed, tree bark, intestines/meat trimmings, fish bones & heads, get creative. Then fill it up with water. It's going to smell awful either way, so anaerobic might be the way to go, just put a lid on it and wait a few weeks. Then scoop some of that water into a watering pail and fertilize your plants with it. May need to be diluted. You can also literally use swamp water.
Traditional Composting
Less complicated than you think, and you don't necessarily need to hot compost it or turn it regularly, although that helps. Just try to avoid putting weed seeds in it especially if you're cold composting. Try to alternate between brown (wood, dead leaves, sticks, cardboard, paper, i.e. low nitrogen materials) and green layers (plant trimmings, manure, green leaves, etc.). David the Good has written a book on this which I am essentially summarizing here.
Humanure
This is the one method I have not tried which David the Good has written about. I pray it never gets to that point.
Irrigation/ Watering
In a total collapse scenario you don't want to be watering your crops constantly, and that's not what humans did before the industrial revolution anyways. If you simply space your plants out more, the roots will be able to spread out farther to cover more soil volume. In the northeast I've had squash, potatoes, carrots, beets, and more grow with only infrequent watering during droughts, or even not at all because they had plenty of space. This has the added advantage of producing plants with more nutrition - if their roots can cover more area, they can soak up more nutrients in the soil.
Don't let that discourage you from high density gardening however, with high density you will just need to water and fertilize more. There's nothing wrong with it besides that, and it may allow you to enclose your garden more easily if pests are a concern. A raised bed may also help save your back and allow you to totally determine your soil composition. Look into rainwater catchment systems, your roof probably covers 800+sqft, if you do the math, that's almost certainly enough water to irrigate all of the crops you need to feed you and your family as long as you can catch it.
___
I'm interested to hear about your survival gardening experiences and whatever tips you may have, and I'm especially interested to hear how people may have incorporated chickens and other animals in their garden, as that is something I don't have experience with. Every bit of food produced relieves some strain on the supply chain and there is nothing wrong with making mistakes.
What to Grow
This depends on your climate, but in general terms you will want high calorie crops. From cold to warm climates the best things you can grow are potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. They grow reliably and provide plenty of calories. Things like wheat and other grains are going to be too time consuming to process for the average home gardener, and you cannot grow as many calories in a given area, although they may be good to give to chickens.
Another thing to look into is what did native farmers and pre industrial revolution farmers grow in your area? In much of America, the Indians were growing a rotation of corn, squash, and beans. Corn is extremely high calorie and there are varieties suited to almost wherever you may be. Many squash varieties store very well, several months, enough to last through a winter. Beans are high protein and fertilize their own soil, as they have a symbiotic relationship with a nitrogen producing soil bacteria. Beans are also the single easiest thing to grow in my experience.
When to Grow it
It is difficult to answer this in blanket terms but consider several plants you would like to grow, and figure out if they prefer hot or cool weather. Carrots and potatoes prefer cool temperatures, meaning early and late plantings. Potatoes can be planted even before the last frost in the late winter or early spring. Some things like beans, peppers, and tomatoes prefer hotter temperatures, although the last two do not provide a good amount of calories. Also, try to find local heirloom varieties which are adapted to your climate, but don't panic if you can't get the perfect variety.
Fertilizing
Fertilizer prices are skyrocketing, which will result in skyrocketing food prices in 2022 that will make 2021 look like a time of plenty. Fortunately, you have everything you need to fertilize enough food to feed yourself already. Urine is very high in nitrogen, and also has some phosphorous and potassium, essentially everything plants need to survive. If you dilute 1 part of urine in 5-10 parts of water, you will fertilize your plants as you water them. Of course you want to avoid getting it on anything you will eat, but at the same time, leaves absorb nutrients well, so keep this in mind. Depending on the soil you could use a high concentration every week or two or even less frequently, or you can dilute it more and use it with every watering.
Worm Compost & Compost Tea
Worms produce essentially an extremely dense fertilizer that will not burn your plants like chicken manure would. It has several benefits over normal manure - it deters plants by containing a chemical which dissolves chitin, it has a natural plant growth hormone, and it is a probiotic which overwhelms disease causing microbes. Cultivating worms is more complicated than using your urine but it can be used to turn even sick and dying plants into thriving plants in my experience. I've written more on this topic here on the farming thread, with more posts underneath it.
Fetid "Swamp" Water
In a pinch you can fill a barrel or a large bucket with any sort of organic matter - weeds before they go to seed, tree bark, intestines/meat trimmings, fish bones & heads, get creative. Then fill it up with water. It's going to smell awful either way, so anaerobic might be the way to go, just put a lid on it and wait a few weeks. Then scoop some of that water into a watering pail and fertilize your plants with it. May need to be diluted. You can also literally use swamp water.
Traditional Composting
Less complicated than you think, and you don't necessarily need to hot compost it or turn it regularly, although that helps. Just try to avoid putting weed seeds in it especially if you're cold composting. Try to alternate between brown (wood, dead leaves, sticks, cardboard, paper, i.e. low nitrogen materials) and green layers (plant trimmings, manure, green leaves, etc.). David the Good has written a book on this which I am essentially summarizing here.
Humanure
This is the one method I have not tried which David the Good has written about. I pray it never gets to that point.
Irrigation/ Watering
In a total collapse scenario you don't want to be watering your crops constantly, and that's not what humans did before the industrial revolution anyways. If you simply space your plants out more, the roots will be able to spread out farther to cover more soil volume. In the northeast I've had squash, potatoes, carrots, beets, and more grow with only infrequent watering during droughts, or even not at all because they had plenty of space. This has the added advantage of producing plants with more nutrition - if their roots can cover more area, they can soak up more nutrients in the soil.
Don't let that discourage you from high density gardening however, with high density you will just need to water and fertilize more. There's nothing wrong with it besides that, and it may allow you to enclose your garden more easily if pests are a concern. A raised bed may also help save your back and allow you to totally determine your soil composition. Look into rainwater catchment systems, your roof probably covers 800+sqft, if you do the math, that's almost certainly enough water to irrigate all of the crops you need to feed you and your family as long as you can catch it.
___
I'm interested to hear about your survival gardening experiences and whatever tips you may have, and I'm especially interested to hear how people may have incorporated chickens and other animals in their garden, as that is something I don't have experience with. Every bit of food produced relieves some strain on the supply chain and there is nothing wrong with making mistakes.
