If you are storing a year’s supply of food you may want to consider storing seeds in your food storage. This can save you space, room and money. Gardens allow you to grow plenty of fresh vegetables for your family to eat. If you have a large enough area you can also market the excess food you grow and make a little extra money in a difficult time. Some people enjoy gardening and others do not. You will need to decide if this is a good option for your family. Here are things that you should consider when planning to store seeds in your food storage.
1) Plant fruit and vegetables that your family will eat. My husband loves okra. He grew up in the South. I don’t care for it, so I wouldn’t want to spend time growing it. If we did we would only plant one or two plants. However we would plant a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers.
2) Consider the climate that you are in. Certain types of food grow better than others in different climates. You may need to research to see which variety of tomatoes will grow best in your climate and soil type. You can visit your local nursery and ask them to recommend varieties to you.
3) Certain plants do better if you start them in the house and then transplant them outside once the weather is warm. I know that tomatoes and peppers are examples of this. In fact many plants can benefit from this. You will want to start the sprouts several weeks before you actually plant your garden.
4) Consider the extra items that you will need to plant a successful garden. This could include potting soil for your starters, and fertilizer. You may want to set aside money so that you can rent a tiller to break up the ground so that you can plant a garden. You may also want to consider watering options. In the South you rarely need to water your garden, while in the Southwest you will need to water your garden at least daily.
Seeds do need to be rotated, and the best way to do that is to have a garden every year. This can be an enjoyable hobby for your family. You can have a smaller garden and then expand it if you find yourself in a situation where you need to. Gardening can teach children about the wonder of nature as well as the discipline of hard work.