Gardening

Ok, so gardening is obviously going to be of utmost importance when the crash comes. So how do we do it? I am only on my second year (2012) of any sort of serious gardening and certainly do not consider myself an expert. However, I have learned something from my efforts thus far.

1. I believe square foot gardening to be the best approach for general gardening. Mel Bartholomew is the founder of it. I suspect he is LDS. The gist of it is:
1. Lay down a weed blocking landscape fabric.
2. Build a 4'x4' box at least 8" tall. Use wood or whatever you want.
3. Fill it at least 6" high with Mel's Mix (by volume: 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, 1/3 compost [preferably from 5 different materials]) Cook's greenhouse on 16th North just West of I-15 in Orem had the best price on Vermiculite, it is a bit pricey. Consider it an investment, that few hundred bucks spent now just may provide you with life-sustaining food later at an extremely high personal value. I also got the peat moss there, although Home Depot has it at the same price. For compost I used the bio waste 'black gold' from the old dump in Provo. It has at least two sources, bio waste and green waste.
4. Plant it! You can get fancy here and put in 1'x1' grids-they are used for planning and aesthetics, but the seeds will grow without them. for self-reliance use only non-hybrid seeds. That way you can produce your own seeds in the future. Many plants require two growing seasons to produce seeds. An easy way to get a variety of non-hybrid seeds is to buy an emergency seed kit that includes only non-hybrid seeds. I opened one of my kits this year (2012) that was packaged in 2002. The germination test showed very good results, 100% in many cases. I have stored it mostly in a cool and dry location. USU also has some recommendations.
5. Water it regularly. Almost no weeding is necessary. 
6. Harvest it and/or start figuring out how to store/preserve it. 
2. Plant as many fruit trees and perennial edible plants as you can. My favorite fruit trees are peaches and nectarines. We have had excellent results with no insecticides, although they do have to be pruned and thinned-they grow like a weed. As I recall, our six dwarf and one semi-dwarf trees started producing fruit within only a couple of years, and after three or four years were producing enough fruit to bottle. Other perennials we have had success with include: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb, horseradish, chives, oregano, tarragon, parsley, elderberries (although we have yet to actually use the fruit), and mint (haven't actually tried in our yard yet, but have experience as a kid). Other fruit trees we have enjoyed include apricots, plums, and apples. We also have pears, but they have yet to produce. Get planting!
3. Knowing how I operate, automatic sprinklers are a must. I like the 1/2" drip lines for the berries, trees etc. with emitters every 12" (as opposed to 18"), closer would be even better. I have my trees on a different valve than the berries as they need less frequent watering. For the square food gardens, I am trying the 1/4" drip line soaker hose. So far so good, although there are a few spots that squirt out a bit much. The 1/4" drip line with holes every so often may also work. 

Love,

Ben