Feeding A Community

You’ve survived the disaster that befell your community, and you know there’s no one who will be coming to bail you out. You’re on your own. Security, food, water, first aid, re-building, everything.
Let’s talk about what it will take to feed the community, both short-term and long-term.

First, someone in your group – preferably someone with botanical or agricultural background – needs to take a survey of what’s now available. We’re assuming that you have no stores anymore for buying food, and no banks to get the currency of exchange, and no trucking. So you take a survey of your surroundings in at least a several mile radius – maybe up to an 8 to 10 mile radius, depending on the lay of your landscape.

Make a list of every useful wild and planted tree, shrub, vines, and even weeds that are useful for food or medicine. Make a note of old farmsteads, community gardens, backyard gardens, small and big farms, and such places as golf courses, graveyards, and botanical gardens. Obviously, such a survey requires both a map, and a listing of every plant, and some sort of code or notation so you remember where each plant grew.

THE PLANTS

TREES
Apple and cherry trees are actually very common across North America. Though the wild ones produce smaller fruit, they are still very useful when cooked. If you have these in your area, you should mark your calendar to check for fruit in August and September. All the crab apples can be eaten, but should be cooked, and then strained to remove seeds. All cherry fruit can be eaten raw, or cooked into jams. Native peoples also collected the cherry seeds, cooked them, and made these into cakes. In general, the cherry seed (once cooked) can be added to any pastry item, like pancakes or bread.

For long term food supply, you can take the biggest cherry seeds and grow them in your new farm, and you can take cuttings of the best apples/crab apples and attempt to root them.

Oaks and walnuts are two common trees throughout most of North America which drop their nuts in the fall. The various wild walnuts tend to have a thick shell, but very tasty meat.

Besides wild trees which furnish some food, also look for all the non-native trees that are widely planted as street and park trees everywhere. Many of these are useful for food, such as the widely-planted carob tree in the western and southern states. The brown carob pod is sweet and edible, and can be collected in the fall. It is easily process and can be stored for future use.

Around urban areas, figs, loquats, even peaches and nectarines are widely planted and often go feral. Each of these has different ripening times, and so their locations should be noted so they can be collected at the right time.

Olives are grown for food or as ornamentals throughout much of the warmer parts of North America. These are hardy trees, drought-tolerant, and valuable for food. The fruits are pressed for the oil, and the fruits can also be processed in salt for food. These are a valuable addition to your food supply, and even the seeds can be grown for your long-term food supply.

SHRUBS and VINES
Roses are perhaps one of the most widespread shrub-type plants which can be found nation-wide, either wild or domestic roses. Roses can live 50+ years, and their fruits (“hips”) are edible and high in vitamin C. The rose petals are also edible, generally added to various other dishes.

Blackberries, either domestic or wild, are so widespread in some areas that residents consider them a nuisance. This is partly because they spread all over and are very thorny. But when food is scarce, the sweet blackberries would make an excellent food for deserts, drinks, and as a sugar-source. The fruits can also be dried for later use. When you find a good patch of blackberries, remember that stems can be easily rooted and grown in your new farm.

These are just a few of the common trees and shrubs that might be a part of your food sources. However, keep in mind that these generally produce only once a year.

GREENS
Wild and cultivated edible greens are everywhere, and these will give you food day by day. Learn to recognize the 20 or so common wild edibles that are found nearly everywhere in North America. These are commonly called “weeds,” and yet they are good for soups, salads, spices, and medicines.

These include such plants as lambs quarters, nettle, mallow, chickweed, mustards, purslane, plantain, sow thistle, chicory, burdock, and many others. Get to know the common ones in your area. While these are still today pulled out and discarded by “gardeners,” they will provide you with a reliable source of food when your normal food supply is gone. These wild edibles are mostly annuals, but their lifespans can be increased by carefully pinching off only those parts that you will eat. These plants can be eaten fresh, added to soups, dried or pickled for later use, and, in some cases, made into medicine.

THE LOCATIONS
Old gardens are great places to investigate for plants such as tomatoes, which do well everywhere. Various members of the Nightshade family are good survivors and so you can collect and replant their seeds for your new garden. This includes various tomatoes, egg plants, peppers, and potatoes. In fact, potatoes are remarkably simple to grow, and once you have a good patch, you will have potatoes “forever.” Every survival garden needs some potatoes.

You also might find onions in old gardens. These are easily cultivated by seed or root division, and they are both food and medicine.

In your survey of available foods, check out old farmlands. Often you find the seed of corn, wheat, or rice, which can be collected for your new farm. Each of these seeds can be grown though you should learn the requirements of each for optimum growth. They are traditional grains of civilization, and can be cooked, made into flour, or sprouted.

Also consider graveyards and golf courses for your sources of new foods.

Graveyards tend to be heavily planted in diverse trees, and various wild plants can be found around their little-tended margins. Some of my best mushroom-collecting spots have been graveyards – though, don’t eat any mushrooms until you’ve studied them enough to know how to identify them positively. Otherwise, you might be joining the folks underground at the graveyard.

Golf course are worth investigating because these are big areas, with lots of trees on the margins, and usually wild spots here and there where foods and medicines might be accidentally growing.

Any water location is also a good place to examine for your new food supply, such as along rivers, lakes, springs, and near the ocean. All life needs water and during dry times, the wild food will be growing around the waterways. Of course, near the larger bodies of water you can find cattails (many parts are edible), wapato, watercress, and many wildlife besides fish.

ANIMALS
Animals will ultimately be a part of your food supply. From the wild, there are always an abundant supply of small game, including fish, and these can be taken with a minimum of practice. If the waters are not polluted and overfished, you can usually always find food near the oceans and lakes.
Once you establish a new farm in your post-apocalypse community, you’ll discover that it will be advantageous to raise certain small animals. For example, every small farm keeps chickens, other fowl like ducks or geese, possibly rabbits (very quiet), goats (for milk and hair), and bees.

NOW WHAT?
A well-run community that feeds itself must have some sort of orderly process, such as community meetings where everyone can have a voice in the direction the community is going. There needs to be a leader, some divisions of labor, and special areas set aside for growing, raising animals, etc. There needs to be a plan, and if you’ve ended up with a group of optimistic people who are eager to work to be a part of the new community, you’re likely to do well into the future.

BOOKS by NYERGES
Books by Christopher Nyerges are available on Amazon. But if you want one signed, go to the Store at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.