The family garden is a nearly lost tradition in America. Since the rise of the mega-farm and supermarket - we have lost the desire, even the perceived need to grow and harvest our own food. Gardening doesn't require you to tear your yard apart. You can even garden on a balcony, in a zero-lot line yard, even on a concrete pad. There are many books and methods out there. I personally like "The All New Square Foot Gardening" - this is raised bed gardening at it's easiest. Even root crops like carrots, that put down deep roots, can be grown using this method - you just build a taller box or buy a commercially available tall planter. For a prepper, it is important to be able to sustain your garden from year to year. Seed saving is the way to go. Now, seed saving does not work with the commercially and readily available seed packs you will find at the Super Hardware Store Cube or Wally-World's gardening section. You need to get heirloom seeds. These are seeds of open pollinated plants that will produce seeds years after year that, if carefully harvested, will ensure you have seeds to plant next year. DO NOT BUY A "SEED BANK" - unless you want to waste money. This is my recommendation: use a seed exchange like Seed Savers Exchange and buy the seeds of vegetables and fruits that you and your family will eat. Create your own "seed bank" from a nice tube of PVC, seal it and bury it if that is what floats your boat. Seeds, if kept in a cool dry place can last THOUSANDS of years. Seeds gathered from the tombs of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs have been sprouted and found to be viable! A "new" variety of bean - Anasazi Beans - if you believe the popular myth - are from plants grown from beans stored in a sealed container that was approximately 1500 years old!
This is my first year to let my garden go to seed so I can save them for next year. I'll have to buy carrots though--deer keep eating the tops.
I'd love to, but I live on base. I think they might actually hang me if I poached on the king's land.
Ah, but there in lies the excitement and challenge. Silence obviously the key. I used to harvest my canadian geese at the state fish hatchery very early in the morning on foggy days with a pellet pistol and a kayak for egress. They tasted so good!