It’s no secret that this country was built on the back of agriculture. Anybody who has ever read a history book will rely the importance of farming for early colonizers. From the invention of the cotton gin, to the founding of the USDA, farming is inherent to our American culture.
It is for that reason, that while vegetables may be the last thing on your mind in the face of a pandemic or natural disaster, depending on the severity of a crisis, it may make sense to be prepared for potential after-effects. While Coranavirus isn’t likely the crisis to wipe out our food industry, there’s no telling if a future conflict or virus could have a direct effect on some of our food sources, rendering them un-usuable.
Photo via Unsplash
Long term food is a great solution for this issue, but depending on the length of a crisis, long term food can run it.
It’s for this reason that having vegetable seeds on hand to plant, may provide some comfort in having a long-term viable food source. This may sound crazy, but my grandfather keeps and manages a garden year round; and while he frequently plants new vegetables depending on the season, he always keeps a stash of seeds for emergencies purposes (he’s done this for about 30 years).
Whats important to note however, is that most seeds expire after a few short years, meaning that having seeds for the scenarios mentioned above may not be that helpful. Instead, I implore you to consider getting your hands on seeds packaged for long term storage. Not every store has seeds for long term storage however, but if you are interested, Outbreak Provisions an online retailer specializing in survival gear and disaster preparedness has just added long term seeds to their store.
They have seeds for you to grow your own herbs, fruit, and medicinal herbs among more traditional vegetable options:
Photo via Outbreak Provisions
Personally, if I had to choose I would go with the fruit seeds as I am more of a fruit person, but it’s really a matter of preference and having a variety of seeds is never a bad thing!
Photo via Outbreak Provisions
Explore multiple options for seeds and other food sources via Outbreak Provisions.
Finally, keep in mind that if gardening isn’t a skill you have mastered, these kits come with an instructional booklet that will describe the ideal growing conditions, necessary care, and other need to know information, so don’t let that discourage you.