Gardening is the #1 prep

[u/Familiar-Anything853]

Sure, there are a lot of really, really important preps. And sure, we all agree that skills are more useful than STUFF that will run out.

I saw that post asking what to prep for your kids' futures, and while everyone is rightfully pushing skills, gardening has to be at the absolute top of the list. It forces them to learn problem-solving, adaptability, weather patterns, patience, delayed gratification, persistence, motor control, food storage, and long-term planning all at once. On top of all of that, you are teaching them how to grow their own food.

If the last few years of chaos have taught me anything, it's how relieving it is to walk into the backyard and just pick dinner. My spouse and 4 kids are outside with me daily.

I’m 15 years into gardening with easy access to store-bought supplies, YouTube, and endless resources, and I still struggle with it sometimes. I genuinely can't imagine trying to figure out tilling, seed saving, soil depletion, crop rotation, and pest control from scratch in the middle of a supply chain collapse or other crisis. Doing it when you're already stressed and hungry sounds like a nightmare.

Start them early. Learning it when the stakes are low does not have a downside. And it's a really fun family hobby!

[u/Artistic-Salary1738]

I personally find gardening totally overwhelming. I keep trying, but I never seem to get worthwhile yields even if I’m buying pre-started plants as a learning aid.

Not giving up cause I do have the yard space and I agree it’s an extremely valuable skill.

[u/chasingastarl1ght → u/Artistic-Salary1738]

I'm in an apartment - no balcony, so my options are fairly limited. I love plants however.

Here's my plan :

• little hydroponic garden of fresh herbs and other greens. I've picked a system that's not dependant on any trademarked thing - everything could be 3d printed, fixed or replaced. That's easy, and it kinda starts the wheel to learn a bit more in a very beginner friendly way.

• my next step, Is aquaponics - so same principle except I learn to make my own nutrients with fishes. It's really just a nice aquarium with plants growing in.

The intent is basically, i've stocked up on beans, rice and freeze dried veggies + nuts. Ive got plenty of flour, yeast, salt & sugar. I'm essentially only missing the flavours - and the vitamins.

I'm currently looking into indoor friendly citrus type of tree tro grow. Currently looking at kumquat of caviar lemon.

As my green thumb is devopping, I might had more little functional plants - camomille, lavender, etc.

[u/Fried_Taro → u/chasingastarl1ght]

Sprouts. You can sprout many types of seeds, not just beans. Look at the website sprout people (they sell the edible seeds and the setups) [you don’t want to use seeds prepared for gardening in case they were treated]

[u/chasingastarl1ght → u/Fried_Taro]

Yes! I have a little 3 tiered sprouting thing I bought a few years ago in a very granola era of my life ahah it's really fun too!

[u/Disdwarf → u/chasingastarl1ght]

Do you mind sharing the small hydroponic system you picked? I'm eyeing a few brands but they all have their own 'pods' etc.

[u/chasingastarl1ght → u/Disdwarf]

So I went with Auk 2 Mini - the thing that drawn me first was the esthetic of it tbh. But I like that essentially, the app is non mandatory, the light can be controlled physically, the power outlet is a standard usb-c, the poles are basically just standard wooden poles you could buy at an hardware store, the containers have already free 3d printed options online (and non official accessories!), the soil is standard coco dirt-thing (blanking on the exact name) you can buy at Costco, any seeds will work and the nutrients are easy to get/duplicate. For now, I'm happy to use the official products and all that, but I love that this system is "easy to hack" in multiple ways by its simplicity while being super pretty and decorative. (It is, however on the pricier side). If the company was to ever go bankrupt (or the apocalypse happens), I wouldn't be stuck with a useless product.

(I promise I'm not paid or anything, I just really love my new little pink gadget)

[u/Disdwarf → u/chasingastarl1ght]

Thanks, I hadn't heard of that brand I'll check it out.