A secret garden? What does that mean? Why start one?
A secret garden in today’s terms means a garden that is started and maintained in the wilderness, one that most people wouldn’t recognize if they came across it, nor is it found from the sky with a helicopter or drone (in other words, there aren’t rows of vegetables).
The process usually entails going into the wilderness with heirloom seeds to plant in a place where water is close by, such as next or near a river or stream, so the plants can be self-watered. The plants are planted scattered and not in a pattern recognized from the sky. The vegetables blend in with the other plants that are just growing wild, and don’t look like a garden at all.
Be sure you use heirloom seeds instead of just cheap seeds from the store. Hybrid seeds (which most inexpensive seeds are) may grow fine the first year, but they will not produce a crop after that. This is because they have been bred to only produce one year (so that you have to buy new seeds the next year). So you must use heirloom seeds (non-GMO, non-hybrid) when you plant your secret garden.
Why should we do this?
The future of our food supply in this country is uncertain. Whether it’s a foreign country, domestic force, or even fellow citizens that comes and seizes our food storage and/or seeds, it might just save your life to have another place where you have a secret garden where you can gather food and replenish your food stocks.
I pick a new river each year so now I have several gardens on river banks. If others need the food and find it, I am happy I helped keep people alive. If the animals eat it, I am happy I fed the animals. If they are still there for my family when we need it, I am grateful for my secret garden that will keep us alive.
Remember Johnny Appleseed, the legendary folk hero who planted apples all over Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Ohio? He died 170 years ago, but his example lives on. I have a friend who has planted over 350 fruit trees in the forest. His goal is to be able to feed hundreds when the economy fails.
What if even 10% of Americans did this sort of thing? We’d have enough food to feed everyone. Let’s turn our river banks into a source for feeding American and make it our insurance policy for any troubled times ahead. It’s best if you pick a new river (or section of a river) each year so there aren’t beaten tracks leading straight to your secret gardens, and use new paths every time you visit your garden as to not create a path.
Let’s all look beyond ourselves so we can feed our country when the troubles that lurk around the corner come after us, may we save our beloved people by having food to feed the masses.
