Indoor Survival Garden

Keeping your garden safe and out of sight, from hungry looters and refuges after the collapse could mean the difference between life and death for the survivor. Having a traditional garden planted in rows is an open invitation to trouble, as every hungry unprepared person passing by will try to raid your garden, for a easy meal.

Sure you could just shoot them. But like I have said before, don't draw attention to yourself or your location. You want to look just as pathetic and unprepared as everyone else. If you can avoid a confrontation, by laying low and out of sight, you have won the fight already. Why risk a firefight that could lead to a family member being killed or wounded, if it can be avoided? We are not military planners and no one in our group is expendable.

Avoid planting in rows. The Three Sisters Garden works well to conceal your crop if planted in a way as to blend in with a stand of tall weeds. Don't make trails leading to your garden, that could be followed by someone wondering by. Don't leave trash around the site, and cover any exposed dirt after digging with leaves or whatever was covering the site before you started digging. Try to make your garden blend into it's surroundings as much as possible.

Produce can be grown in sunny rooms using natural light. One way would be to take the roof off of an old shed, barn, garage or storage building and replacing it with corrugated fiberglass sheets used to build greenhouses, you can get the fiberglass sheets at any good hardware store. The walls and floor of the building should be painted white or covered with aluminum foil, to reflect sun-light back onto the plants. I like the pant best, but the foil works well.

Any windows should be covered with heavy plastic, to keep anyone from looking in. Window blinds are a good idea. They can be worked in such a way as to let light in, and at the same time make it difficult for a passerby to look in.

The grow room should also have vents covered with screen cut into the walls to let air circulate. The vents should be cut up high next to the roof to keep anyone from looking in. Four 6x12 inch vents, will be fine for a modest size grow room of say 15x30 feet.

You can set the containers with plants on a table, so they can be closer to the source of light, the more light you can give the growing plants the better they will grow. If electricity is available the light can be supplemented by adding Fluorescent light fixtures, above the planting tables. Keep the light fixture about 2-3 inches from the top of the plants, moving the lights up as the plants grow taller, while maintaining the 2-3 inch distance. Remember, the more light the better.

With a little work the secret garden can look like only an old out-building, from the outside, but have a thriving garden hidden inside. Granted, if would be difficult to grow enough produce to feed a family using this method, it works best when used to grow smaller plants like tomatoes and peppers. This plan is best when used as a supplement to other gardening methods.

Original at: http://thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/indoor-survival-garden.html