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Emergency Preparations – Spring Plantings & More [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-04-23

Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum)

From the Left: Coffee, Meiwa Kumquat on Chinese Bitter Orange Rootstock, Goji Berries

Well everyone, frost is no longer an issue for most parts of the US and people are beginning their Summer vegetable gardens. The political situation in the US is such that even the MSM is beginning to use the word ‘DEPRESSION’ in talking about the potential near future economic environment. I am sure that many of you have not only started a garden but are doing more planting than previously.

Maybe some of this information will be useful.

Starches –

Potatoes –The easiest starch both to grow and produce in high volumes in a small space are potatoes. You can buy any number of varieties at grocery stores and use them to seed your garden. What makes potatoes particularly useful is that they can be planted in boxes/containers that you can then stack on top of each other to increase your yields per square foot because you’ve moved to the 3rd dimension. If worse came to worse, you could grow a decent amount of potatoes indoors using 5 gallon pots with proper grow lights.

21 Genius Ideas For Growing Sacks Of Potatoes In Tiny Spaces

https://www.ruralsprout.com/grow-potatoes-small-spaces/

Build Your Own Potato Growing Box

https://www.finegardening.com/project-guides/fruits-and-vegetables/build-your-own-potato-growing-box

Rice – This is the most commonly eaten starch throughout the world. But there are just so many specific requirements to grow it successfully that it can be discounted as a backyard garden planting.

Wheat and other Grains – Pretty much all grains grow throughout the contiguous 48 states. However, you would probably still need an acre or two for total plantings to make any grains worthwhile. On top of that are the issues of harvesting. Yes, harvesting can be done by hand.



Other grains to consider: Buckwheat (Japanese has a slightly softer hull), Farro (Ancient wheat varieties: Einkorn, Spelt and Emmer), Sorghum, Rye, Barley, Oats, Amaranth, Millet and Quinoa.

Corn – While corn is reasonably easy to grow, it has an issue with Inbreeding Depression.What this means is that if your plantings and yields are too small then you inbreeding will result in an abundance of progeny with 2 copies of defective or lethal genes. In corn a minimum of 100 parents or 100 ears of corn is recommended for saving seeds for the next generation.

In urban and suburban areas you also have to watch out for the squirrels. They’ll eat and/or destroy everything, the squirrelly little bastards.

Hey, you could even plant popcorn. Say… Orville Redenbacher’s. Keep in mind that popcorn was developed to have a thicker and stronger hull. This affects germination.

Oilseed –

You might consider planting some of these if you think things are TRULY going to get FUBARed. While you could eat these directly as part of your diet, they are particularly useful for processing and then pressing for oils.

Possibilities here include: Peanuts (OK, officially a legume), Sunflower Seed (Peredovik specifically), Sesame Seed and Safflower Seed.

FWIW, Safflower seed looks very similar to sunflower seed. You may not be able to get this in a human consumable fashion but it should be readily available in the bird food section of appropriate stores. I’m sure that if you were to wash seed gotten this way that it would be safe to eat.

Legumes and Pulses – These are valuable as secondary sources of protein and can add both texture and flavor to meals. Plus, don’t forget the fiber they provide.

At the beginning of the COVID Pandemic in 2020 I did a test to see if I could germinate legumes and pulses from store-bought bags. I was successful. I was able to germinate from every type of legume (beans) and pulse that I tried.

So, the grocery store is a suitable source of seed for any kind of pea, bean, lentil or chickpea.

Some cool info on Chickpeas:

Bread made from anew type of flour keeps you fuller for longer

https://phys.org/news/2023-02-bread-flour-fuller-longer.html

Basically, replacing 30% of your wheat flour with Chickpea Flour by volume to your bread recipe increases the protein content of the bread making you feel fuller longer and does not affect flavor. I’ve made my Chick Pea Flour but haven’t yet baked any loaves of bread.

Vegetables –Many people will want different things based on their personaltastes. One group that is universally eaten are the Brassicas. These used to be referred to as Cruciferous vegetables. They include the Broccolis, Kales, Cabbages, Arugulas and SO many more.

I am a strong proponent of multi-use. You can buy packets of different vegetables.But some are also packaged in much larger quantities for Sprouting. Ijust got these in yesterday:

Broccoli Trio Sprouting & Microgreen Mix – https://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Seed-Microgreens-Rainbow-Co/dp/B08RS8GSGR?refinements=p_72%3A2661618011&rnid=2661617011&xpid=NHaGD3KQM1mfk Arugula Microgreen Seeds Bulk 1 LB https://www.amazon.com/Microgreen-Heirloom-Rainbow-Seed-Co/dp/B07ZMKQRRB?refinements=p_72%3A2661618011&rnid=2661617011&xpid=sR-UIwNkOnbHB Kale Trio Sprouting & Microgreen Mix https://www.amazon.com/Sprouting-Microgreen-Microgreens-Heirloom-Resealable/dp/B07ZMT41DG/138-0607616-6279817

These are not the first of these that I’ve gotten even just this year. I first started doing my own Sprouts in 2020 during COVID. The reason these are great is that you can sprout them specifically for that purpose AND/OR use the seed to fully grow the plants and harvest that way.

I’ve also gotten Chinese Cabbage (Michihili AKA Napa) Sprouts, Radish Sprout combos and some others too.

Yes, I bought these through Amazon and have no problem with that. I needed these and this was the best source. I have bought different things from other companies’ sites directly or locally when possible. But beggars can’t be choosers.

Specialty Plants – I am assuming that things are going to get bad and potentially horrific economically. With this in mind, I decided that I would ensure that I would grow certain plants that produced things that might be difficult to get or prohibitively expensive in the future.

I’ve attached photos of these above.

Black Pepper(Piper Nigrum) – I expect that I’ll start getting peppercorns later this year based on the growth of the plant. I need to replace the lamp I’m using for it with something else. I’ll build that new lamp sometime this Summer.

Goji Berries –I started the larger of them last year. I’ll be putting them out very soon. The smaller ones were started on 04/08. I need tore-pot them and they’ll be put out at the end of Summer. When I say ‘Put Out’ I’m talking about Guerrilla Gardening. This is something that I’ve been doing for years.

Coffea Arabica – You may have noticed that I have two coffee plants. If I had the room I’d get more. Coffee isn’t just my favorite food group but I think that it has begun to successfully replace my blood. This brings happy thoughts.

Kumquat – I’ve gotten a LOT of new growth on the Meiwa Kumquat (FortunellaCrassifolia). The largest new growth in the front of the plant is actually from the dwarfing rootstock used: Chinese Bitter Orange.Once this new shoot matures I’ll air-layer it into a new plant and use it as a rootstock for a different citrus. I’ll be playing with this process for a number of years and give away the plants.

I also have some Chinese Bitter Orange seed which I’ll be planting in the next two weeks. Other citrus seed that I’ve collected and will plant for later grafting are:

Meyer Lemon

Blood Orange (Citrus Sinensis)

Mandarin Orange

Lime

Nagami Kumquat (Fortunella Margarita)

This dwarfing rootstock is widely used for different citrus.

I also potted some Ginger plants last night. I’d also gotten some Turmeric but the rhizomes were too old to bud. I’ll pick up some more next week at my favorite Asian market.

Some other things that I will be planting around in my area are:

Hyacinth Bean (Dolichos Lablab) This Plant-Based Gum Neutralizes 95% of Flu and Herpes Viruses – And Could Curb the Next Pandemic – https://scitechdaily.com/this-plant-based-gum-neutralizes-95-of-flu-and-herpes-viruses-and-could-curb-the-next-pandemic/ A Carbohydrate-Binding Protein from the Edible Lablab Beans Effectively Blocks the Infections of Influenza Viruses and SARS-CoV-2 – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124720310019?via%3Dihub Two kinds of Jujubes, Suanzaoren (Ziziphi Spinosae Semen) and Ziziphi Spinosae Li. Jujube produces better when there is cross-fertilization. Natural Remedy Reverses Alzheimer’s Symptoms in New Study – https://scitechdaily.com/natural-remedy-reverses-alzheimers-symptoms-in-new-study/

Long-Term Food Storage – There are three main ways to store food for the

future:

Dehydrating – I’ve used this extensively for vegetables. I’ve done everything from onions, potatoes, cabbages, carrots and more. Dehydrating and sometimes also grinding to powder has been the most space saving method of preparing food for long-term storage I have found. This method also retains the nutrients. COSORI Food Dehydrator Machine https://www.amazon.com/COSORI-Dehydrator-Temperature-Overheat-Protection/dp/B09GFVL7QX I also have an older COSORI that is larger than the one above. For January and part of February I was pretty much running these things 24/7. I dehydrated enough for both my own purposes and for others too. For my next trick with these, I’ll be making Pemmican. Freezing – My freezers are primarily full of meats and cheeses. For instance, Cheddar freezes extremely well. Within a week of Trump getting re-elected I had started making my list of preparations. One of the first things I did was to get a standalone freezer. And then I got one more. I bought these DEMULLERs through Amazon: Chest Freezer, Small Deep 4.0 Cubic - https://www.amazon.com/Freezer-Freezers-Compact-Electronic-12-50%E2%84%89/dp/B0CQ4DP3RZ/136-5524435-5804648 Chest Freezer 5.0 CU.FT - https://www.amazon.com/Freezer-Freezers-Compact-Electronic-12-50%E2%84%89/dp/B0C5R5HM5T/136-5524435-5804648 These have been working great for me. They are not frost-free but they have been doing the job well and not loud at all. Canning – I have stored some things in mason jars but not proper canning. Canning takes up a lot of space that I simply do not have in my place.

Vacuum Sealing –This is something I’ve done in conjunction with the methods above. I’ve done this using vacuum bags for all the different seed I bought. I also sealed meats in vacuum bags after having portioned them to my preferences before freezing them to keep them from getting freezer burn.

I have also vacuum sealed some things in mason jars. But this required different equipment.

Grow Lights –With the tariffs coming you can expect the cost of these to increase greatly. I’ve been stocking up on ALL types of LED bulbs. The truth is that about 90% of all LED general lighting is produced in China.

The everyday electronics that won’t survive Trump’s trade war

https://www.vox.com/technology/409105/trump-tariffs-smartphones-laptops-appliances-electronics

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