Water and Seeds
 

How do you prepare for having enough water and seeds?

I have reverse osmosis on the tap, which does great at bringing the TDS from 300+ to in the range of 12 - 20. However, if the water was off then there would be no pressure for it to keep working. There is no stream around here except the river (usually a trickle) a mile away. The dam is 12 miles from here, with a lot of cattle around it, and might be guarded in the case of a shtf event. Water would be the biggest problem in a crisis.

As to storage, I have a few gallons here and there and that's it. What kind of containers do you use for storing the water?

I have quite a few packets of seeds but want to get a lot more. Usually I get them online as open pollinated is hard to find in the stores, and also I don't trust what they have done to the seeds. The online places usually only sell small packets of seeds though, and I'd like to get larger quantities. What quantities of seeds do you like to get and what places do you like for getting them?

What are your favorite seeds to stock up on in case of emergencies?

Is alfalfa of any use? It grows here abundantly without watering, but is quite tough to chew and not much water in it.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

The problem with seeds is that they have a limited shelf life. Onion seeds, for instance, are good for only about one year. Alfalfa seeds are good for sprouting. In the dead of winter, they might be the only fresh veggies on your menu. And Alfalfa seeds remain viable for around 8 years -- that is a big deal.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

Look into collecting rainwater and cisterns. Also check into dew utilization and if you own some land have a good sized pond dug. If you don't own a lot of land you can still have a three hundred or so gallon koi type pond as part of your landscaping which can act as a sort of rainbarrel. Even when my pond went dry just before the drought broke this year I could still dig down a foot and get all the water I wanted, provided it could be distilled or filtered.

I found a beer keg in the woods, it'll hold a little over 15 gallons of water and is easy to tap.

In Africa an ancestral form of watermelon is used as a water source by the natives and the common cultivars can be used as such, too. They of course need water to grow but they will store water and energy for you for quite a while. Desert King is one of the most drought hardy cultivars available.

Are you planning on growing any of this seed or just storing it? The safest and best way to keep seed for long periods of time is to grow new seed every year.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

Both growing and storing.

Hopefully I will move to land with good water and then can grow more.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

personally I like pumpkins whatever grows best in your area I dont go for very
large pumpkins rather smaller ones with hard skins, pumpkin flesh
pumpkinseeds, pumpkin stalk greens taste just like beans but need to be peeled of thier hairy stalks.
they cross polinate readily so if you keep your own seeds year after year
you could be in for some surprises.also pumpkins are easily stored and provide
good forage for bees.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

I'm new to gardening this year, but even though I had never watered a seed, in 2002 I bought some and put them in the freezer. The open pollinated yellow string beans I planted this year had a 100% germination rate; and are almost ready to produce fruit.

Next year I will use more of my frozen seeds to see what works and what doesn't.

I'm not sure I buy into the shelf lives put on seed packets. Seeds found buried in very old Egyptian tombs have been shown to germinate.

P.S. My seeds were just sealed in zip lock bags (still in their original packages) and then placed in tupperware containers and frozen.

Re: Water and Seeds
 

as far as water we have great well water the problem is in an emergency
the amount of fuel required to pump all that i use for garden and house
is prohibitive.for that reason when we reroof the house next year i want
to change to an iron/sheetmetel roof instead of comp roof to be able to utilise the rain water with a fairly large rainwater tank.
also developing ponds,tanks and hopefully another low tech well
you cant have to much water

a simple idea i used to use to have water in some remote locations was a 44/55 gallon drum with top removed which caught rainwater from an old piece of corrugated iron about 5 feet long suspended on 1 end by 2 fence posts if my math is correct you should need only about 6 inches of rain per year to fill it

pumpkins and cassava
 

That's a great idea about pumpkins. I looked them up on the net and the fresh runners can be cut up and used similarly to celery. I think they have to be cooked. The leaves are edible too. There are many links on google about pumpkin leaves, such as this one.

"Pumpkins and their leaves, rape leaves, radish and its leaves, potatoes and taro (a kind of yam) as well as snake gourds, sponge gourds and bitter gourds were the main vegetables consumed."

"Some leaves, such as taro or cassava, are very bitter or cause the mouth to itch or burn. They need to be prepared in a special way: 1. Wash leaves and place in a pot with enough water to cover. 2. Bring to the boil and boil for 5-10 minutes with the lid off. 3. Drain the water off and throw it away. 4. Add enough fresh water to cover the leaves again, add a little salt and spices as desired, put a lid on and steam gently until tender (15-20 minutes)."

http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publication...vegetables.htm

Radish leaves are good, though it depends on the type of radish. Some groups in New Guinea have lived for a long time primarily on varieties of sweet potatoes and their leaves. I have long wanted to grow them and try this but haven't as of yet.

Thanks for the ideas about pumpkins.