Guerrilla Gardening – Part I

Last week on the blog, we discussed Bugging In.  During that discussion, we mentioned a rarely discussed topic  Guerrilla Gardening.

If we would ever live during a SHTF situation or through TEOTWAWKI, one of the problems that always comes to mind is how do I keep people from stealing food from my garden?  If my garden is potentially my sole source for providing food for my family, what keeps people from jumping fences and stealing the produce from my seven tomato plants, my pepper plants, my onions, garlic, or corn?  During the time that I thought through the problem, I came across a concept called Guerrilla Gardening.

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Guerrilla Gardening

According to Wikihow: “Guerrilla gardening is a term used to describe the unauthorized cultivation of plants or crops on vacant public or private land.”  People can use it as a political statement and plant items at night.  I took the thought one step further.  Guerrilla warfare is where people attempt to hide in plain sight in order to ambush their enemies.

Well, I think as preppers, one way to protect our gardens is to plant a guerrilla garden.  Let’s hide our food in plain sight!  How do we do this?  We can develop an edible landscape that is both delicious and beautiful and, well………hidden right beneath everyone’s noses!

Developing a guerrilla garden doesn’t have to be hard if you start by asking yourself three questions.

Guerrilla Gardening Principle #1 What do you want vs. what do you need?

Start by considering your wants and needs.  As with every garden, please don’t plant foods which your family will refuse to eat!  I will never plant cabbage – even decorative cabbage.  It’s one food that my family universally HATES.

Wants

The next time you go to the grocery store, which fruits and veggies do you pick up?  Do you pick those up regularly?  Start keeping a running list.  Are there fruits that you LOVE, but you won’t buy them because they tend to be too costly – like blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries?  Put those on your list.

Do you eat a lot of apples?  If the tree is set back from the road at all, hardly anyone would notice the difference between fruit trees and other trees.  Fruit bushes and trees give you such a high yield for so little space, they are definitely items which to keep in mind as you start dreaming about your guerrilla garden.

Needs

While most people do not NEED certain foods, when it comes to needs you should consider which herbs you may need.  In The Survival Medicine Handbook, Joseph Alton, M.D. has a section on a medicinal garden.  Cat Ellis has an entire book called Prepper’s Natural Medicine:  Life-saving Herbs, Essential Oils, and Natural Remedies for When There Is No Doctor.

Have you ever watched Revolution?  In the first episode, a teenage girl who has asthma starts to have an asthma attack.  Her brother tries to calm her down.  At one point during the episode, he finds an herb and crushes it with his hands, and holds it under her nose to breathe the scent in.

This is why you should consider which herbs (especially) you need to plant.  Does someone in your family suffer from asthma attacks?  Is someone currently taking prescription medicine?  Which herbs should you consider planting to help them with their condition if anything were to happen?  Add that to your list.

So far, you’ve listed the fruits and veggies that you buy regularly.  You’ve added fruits and veggies that you would buy, but they are too expensive.  You’ve also added herbs that you know your family will need if a true emergency occurs.  What’s next?

Guerrilla Gardening Principle #2 Which perennials should you include? 

While guerrilla gardening should major on perennials, annuals should have a place too.  Put a second column on your list and as you work through this step, list perennials and annuals that you want to grow.  The items in this list can overlap with the items from the first column.  The difference is that with this list, you want to grow these BECAUSE they are perennials.

There are several upsides to majoring on perennials.  Fruit trees and berry bushes, once established, will go on producing great quantities if you take care of them.  Honestly, most berry bushes will do great if, once they are established, you leave them alone!  This is huge from a work standpoint.  If you are living during a SHTF or a TEOTWAWKI situation, you want low-maintenance foods.  They will definitely fit the bill.

There are perennial veggies too though.  Does your family like asparagus?  What about garlic?  There are types of self-propagating garlic. How about rhubarb?  It’s another perennial, as is horseradish, watercress, walking onions, leeks, kale, globe artichokes, and many others.

Another thing in favor of perennials is that many, many herbs are perennials!  I have kept a thyme plant going in zone 5b and it kept coming back year after year.  Mint plants are almost indestructible.  They will not only keep coming back every year, but they’ll grow year over year unless you contain them in some way.  Other perennial herbs include rosemary, oregano, sage, tarragon, chives, lavender, wintergreen, echinacea, lemon balm, and many others.

Guerrilla Gardening Principle #3  Which annuals present themselves well?

While we do need to ask this question of the perennials since we don’t want to attract attention while we are guerrilla gardening, the annuals that we grow really do need to be something at least slightly ornamental and not easily recognized.

Options for plants that would fit within the scope of a guerrilla garden would include various types of greens or lettuce – if you have some sort of a barrier up so that rabbits can’t get into them.  If you aren’t like our family and you enjoy cabbage, there are some beautiful versions of ornamental cabbage.  Other ornamental vegetables include beetroot, borlotti beans, globe artichokes, purple kale, sweet or chili peppers almost look like flowers if they are scattered throughout them.

Take some time looking at some ornamentals and thinking through any of these which your family might enjoy eating, and add them to the third column that you create on your list.

Next week, we’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of what you do once you have your list.  How do you use it to guide you as you work through this idea of guerrilla gardening?

What About You?

Have you ever wondered how you were going to keep your food safe from thieves during a disruptive event – especially if you live in the city or the ‘burbs?  What options had you considered to this point?  What plants do you want to grow in your guerrilla garden?  Comment below and share your thoughts with us so that we can all be better prepared!

And as you plan for your Guerrilla Gardening contingencies, remember …

You’ve got this, Mama!