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If at any given moment, an emergency situation unfolds, and you are forced to somehow survive off of your own resources for quite some time, you’re going to need a few essentials. And amongst them: food. And not just any food, you’re going to need some fresh food, that is full of nutritional value, that can keep you going. Along with some food that can be shelved and stored for long periods of time.
And what is the best way to have a good supply of food in this sort of survival situation? Growing your own food at home, of course! Having your own garden of vegetables and fruits is the best source of fresh food you can have, and if you do it the right way, it shouldn’t actually be that hard to upkeep. In fact, you could simply have it regardless of survival situations or not, as a way to save money, and eat food grown by you, so that you know exactly what goes into it.
But…how do you grow an indoor survival garden? What are the basic rules you should follow? And what are the main pros and cons? We can tell you everything you need to know, and more. So let’s get right into it!
If at any given moment, an emergency situation unfolds, and you are forced to somehow survive off of your own resources for quite some time, you’re going to need a few essentials. And amongst them: food. And not just any food, you’re going to need some fresh food, that is full of nutritional value, that can keep you going. Along with some food that can be shelved and stored for long periods of time.
And what is the best way to have a good supply of food in this sort of survival situation? Growing your own food at home, of course! Having your own garden of vegetables and fruits is the best source of fresh food you can have, and if you do it the right way, it shouldn’t actually be that hard to upkeep. In fact, you could simply have it regardless of survival situations or not, as a way to save money, and eat food grown by you, so that you know exactly what goes into it.
But…how do you grow an indoor survival garden? What are the basic rules you should follow? And what are the main pros and cons? We can tell you everything you need to know, and more. So let’s get right into it!
Basic Rules of Growing an Indoor Garden
If you’re going to grow an indoor garden, then you should know the basics of growing food, and taking care of plants. However, these are things that are easily learned, it just requires consistency and dedication.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of all of the basic rules that we consider essential, which will absolutely help you make the most of your indoor garden so that it can thrive and provide you with food for survival.
You’re going to need light
Plants cannot grow in the dark, most people are aware of this. If you want your indoor garden to thrive, you are going to need a source of light. Now, the source of light can be one of two: artificial, or natural.
If you prefer to use natural light, then you will have to make sure that your indoor garden has plenty of windows, and that the natural light can reach every corner of the room so that every plant gets sufficient light. The problem is, that light will not be consistent throughout the year, especially during the winter season, when it gets quite dark, so it might not be the best idea survival-wise!
Artificial lights are great for providing consistent lighting to every single plant in the indoor garden, all year round, regardless of the season or the weather conditions. The problem is, that you need the right type of bulbs so that the light is appropriate and safe for growing food. You should look into getting some specific grow lights, which are designed for indoor plantations and food-growing.
Allow for roots to have room for growth
When you first plant something, it starts out as a tiny seed. But here is the thing with plants: they grow. Or at the very least, that’s the aim! So as your plants grow, you have to ensure you transplant them to larger pots so that their roots have plenty of room to keep on growing!
This means that you need to plan ahead, by having bigger pots ready, and laying out plants so that you allow for growth within the space allocated to them each individually. If you start out by having them all cramped, they will not be able to grow, and some of them will eventually die.
Prevent the rotting of roots with a good drainage system
In order for your plants to thrive and be healthy so that they can produce the necessary food for you, you have to make sure that the soil is healthy. And something that is essential to healthy soil, is moisture regulation. Depending on the type of plant, some like to have more moist soil, and some like it drier. You have to find a good balance, and you have to ensure that the plant’s roots can breathe.
A good drainage system can be as simple as the pot having holes at the bottom, with something underneath to catch all of the excess water. There are, of course, more advanced methods, but it doesn’t have to be too fancy. It’s a survival garden, as long as it gets the job done, it’s more than enough!
Maintain the right temperature
Usually, as long as plants have the essentials like water and light, they are pretty resilient and can withstand temperature changes. However, it is very important that you ensure your indoor survival garden has a set temperature range, with some specific parameters that are determined by what the plants need.
As a general rule, the ideal temperature for growing most vegetables is between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is too cold, plants will not grow, and might even die. If the temperature is too hot, the plant will wither and die. So make sure you are finding the right balance and keeping up the right temperature, through the use of different materials and tools.
Ensure there is air movement
Outdoor plants tend to grow a lot healthier and faster, and one of the reasons is that they are being moved by air, which stimulates them. However, you can actually mimic the moving air in an indoor garden, through the use of carefully placed windows and openings, or through something far more simple such as fans. This will create a natural-feeling breeze that will stimulate the plants. Just make sure that the air movement complies with the ideal temperature for plant growth, you want the air to be neither cold nor hot.
Use fertilizer regularly
Out in the natural world, the soil is full of nutrients that mother earth provides. Indoor plants, however, can only feed off of whatever you are giving them. Since you want your indoor garden to be a healthy supply of food, with good nutritional value to help you survive, it is important that you feed nutrients to the plants.
To do so, you should use fertilizer regularly. There are plenty of different brands and types of fertilizers, so make sure to choose the best option for you and your plants, and make sure it’s a fertilizer for growing food.
Harvest your plants every day
It might seem counterproductive, but the more that you harvest a plant, the more the plant will produce, and the better it will grow. Kind of like how you cut the ends of your hair so that your hair grows better, you know?
You should be harvesting your plant every single day, at the very least, cutting off certain leaves, so that there is room for newer fresher ones.
Regular maintenance and care is the golden rule for having your plants produce as much food as possible, for a steady supply that will help you survive without issues.
Plant new things all year round
In an indoor survival garden, you do not have to worry about the seasons, or weather conditions, or what fruits or vegetables are right for the time of year. You can plant anything, as long as you have created the right conditions. We highly recommend that you continuously plant new things, all year round, so that you make sure that there is always some food to harvest, keeping you fed every single day without having to wait for certain months of the year.
How to Make Your Indoor Survival Garden Sustainable
One of the main issues of an indoor survival garden is that you are creating very specific conditions in which the plants can grow and produce food, and the way in which you create these conditions requires certain elements or resources. For example, if you are using artificial lights, then you need electricity to power them.
But what if there is an emergency situation, such as a power outage, and you can no longer operate the indoor garden? This would be a disaster, as your carefully created source of food would be left unable to function, and you would then pretty much starve.
Of course, there is a solution: make your indoor survival garden sustainable. Or in other words, find ways of allowing your indoor garden to operate, even when certain sources such as electricity, fail.
When we talk about making your indoor survival garden sustainable, we’re talking about making it capable of running for long periods of time, even when you do not have access to new resources. The main three things we will talk about are the light, the soil, and the seeds needed to plant food.
Light
If you use artificial light, and there is a power outage of any kind, your plants are going to be left in the dark. Now, if it’s for a few days, this shouldn’t be a problem, as your plants can endure a few days of darkness, and once the lights are back up and running, they should recover.
However, if the power is out for quite some time, your plants will die without light. And so, you have two options.
The first is to have natural light within your indoor survival garden. You can also have artificial light, but having a few windows, so that at least some of the plants are able to get light during a power outage, is a smart move.
The second option is to ensure that you have a backup power supply for your artificial lighting. This could be, for example, a backup generator, or a secondary way of producing electricity. You might want to think about installing some solar panels, which are sustainable!
Soil
Having the right kind of soil is one of the most important factors of growing food and healthy plants. But what happens if you run out of soil? Can you reuse old soil from other plants? This is kind of tricky because as a general rule, it is best not to reuse potting soil. Instead, old potting soil should be used in a compost bin.
However, in a survival situation, you can’t exactly afford the luxury of not reusing potting soil, because if you run out, you will be left without the means of growing more food to survive. What you have to do is make sure the soil is sterilized, before it is reused. It is necessary to kill off any insects and bacteria living in the soil before it can be used in a new pot for a new plant.
Seeds
When you first start growing your indoor survival garden, the best way to go about it is to buy a good selection of seeds, that are pure and strong, and to use them as the first set of plants. Eventually, you will run out of the seeds that you bought, and yet you somehow have to continue planting food, so that you can continue to harvest it, to survive. Especially if the survival situation is a question of months or even years!
But here are the good news: all of the food that the plants produce will have seeds in them. You can gather the seeds from the food, and plant them to grow more food. It is a never ending cycle that will keep you fed, so long as the plants are healthy, and the seeds are therefore also viable.
You have to remember that nature is very resilient, and as long as you provide the right conditions, life will flourish.
Benefits of Growing an Indoor Survival Garden
Growing an indoor survival garden is going to take some effort, and at the very least, it is going to require dedication and daily work. You need to tend to the garden regularly, in order to maintain it and harvest the food. If not, the plants are likely to die, and the whole thing will be a waste of time and space.
So…is it actually worth going through with it? If the garden is going to take so much daily effort, is it actually a good idea to have one? Or rather, what are the benefits of having an indoor survival garden?
Truthfully, there are many benefits to having an indoor survival garden. So many, that if you have the means, the time, and the interest, we 100% recommend having one, regardless of any survival threats.
But just so that we can convince you better, here are the main advantages of having an indoor garden:
High production of food in a small space
Indoor gardens do not have to take that much space. In fact, you could easily convert a small spare room or attic into a sort of greenhouse indoor garden space, and you will be surprised at the number of plants that can fit in there! And more importantly, the amount of food that the plants will produce will be absolutely worth it tenfold.
If the plants are well taken care of, and all their requirements are met, you will be able to harvest good amounts of food all year round!
Grow food all throughout the year
With an indoor garden, one of the main advantages is that you do not have to worry about weather conditions or the time of year. You are not limited by the seasons in regards to what you grow, and therefore, you can have food growing all year round! Which in terms of survival, is a huge advantage.
No weeding required
Outdoor gardens are a lot more work, mainly because you have to deal with weeding, and unwanted plants growing and taking over. In an indoor garden, the environment is artificial and controlled, so you do not have to worry about the wrong type of life flourishing unless you allow it to.
Minimal bug and insect problems
Once again, an indoor garden is an enclosed and controlled environment, and therefore, you shouldn’t really have to worry about infestations or pests, because only what you allow to enter or grow will be present.
And even if you do get the occasional insect, they are a lot easier to deal with in an enclosed space, than out in the open world where all insects can make an appearance!
It is a protected environment
As an indoor enclosed space, your garden will become a protected environment. You can monitor essential things such as the light, the water, the temperature, and more, meaning you can create the perfect conditions in which the plants can thrive and grow, producing high-quality food.
High convenience
Having an indoor garden is incredibly convenient. You have a steady supply of fresh food, within your house, and you don’t have to brave the weather to take care or maintain it. Not to mention that you could have it adjacent to the kitchen, so you harvest the food and it goes straight to the plate!
Challenges and Cons of Growing an Indoor Survival Garden
We absolutely recommend having an indoor survival garden, for many reasons, and of course, because it will be an invaluable source of food if it is ever needed, and a good way to grow your own stuff and save money when not.
However, like everything else in life, it does not come without its disadvantages and cons.
So here are the main challenges or problems that come with having an indoor survival garden:
Limited space
One of the main issues of an indoor garden is that the space is a lot more limited than if it was outdoors, out in the open. You are limited to the room you have chosen for the endeavor, and there is no way of expanding that space, so you have to make do.
That being said, not that much room is needed in order to get a good amount of food all year through, you just have to organize it right!
Maintenance is required every single day
Indoor gardens and plants require constant human intervention in order to stay alive. They depend on your maintenance and care in order to receive the right light, the necessary water, and be exposed to the right temperature and humidity. Without human intervention, the plants are likely to die, because they do not have access to the natural resources needed by themselves, from where they are.
So basically, you need to be committed to maintaining the garden if you want it to work.
The environment is artificial
As the environment needed for the plants to thrive is artificially created by you, through electricity, fans, and more, you end up relying on these to make it work. For example, if you use artificial light, there could be a power outage, and the plants are then left in the dark.
Or if you run out of water, or soil, or fertilizer, the plants are left with insufficient nutrients and care, and are likely to die. With outdoor gardens, the plants have everything they need, and you don’t have to worry about sourcing the essentials like light or water.
Setting a goal and size for your indoor survival garden
If you are serious about using your indoor garden in a survival situation, in which you might have to live off of your own food for months, or even years, then you have to take a lot more care in planning it.
For starters, you have to make sure that the size of your garden is big enough to produce the necessary amount of food that you are going to consume throughout the year. For this, we would recommend taking note of the number of fresh vegetables and fruits you consume, in your everyday life, so that you can start calculating how much of it you would need to harvest every day, and therefore, how much you need to be planting.
This will also determine the amount of space that you need, the variety of plants that you want to grow, and the resources necessary to keep them going.
Final Thoughts
Growing an indoor survival garden is an excellent idea, and a lifesaving resource and supply of food if you ever find yourself trapped in an emergency situation, without access to outside food.
In order to grow your indoor survival garden, you first have to determine how big you need or want it to be, and you need to get the essentials in place, such as light, water, soil, and seeds.
Once you have everything needed, it is all about planting the food and then watching it grow while you maintain and care for it. You need to ensure that all the right conditions are met, to create the perfect environment in which the plants can thrive!
