Your Prepper Stockpile: How To Add More Fruits And Veggies To Your Inventory

Building a usable supply of fruits and vegetable is difficult for some preppers. Many of us struggle with this aspect of prepping, but there are a few simple steps you can take if you’re looking to add fruit or vegetables to your prepper stockpile.

It is difficult in a SHTF situation to get the fruit and vegetables the human body needs, but without them, you and your family can be at risk for a nutritional deficiency disease such as scurvy (which results from a lack of vitamin C) and immune systems will be compromised.

According to Before It’s News, one of the first things you should actually do, is avoid certain produce.  Whenever possible, focus on organic produce for your stockpile.  The use of pesticides in conventional farming is rampant.  Even the Environmental Protection Agency has been forced to admit that the ingestion of pesticides can cause health problems.  The government agency warns of the risk of “birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.”  Especially at risk of harm from pesticides are prepubescent children and the unborn. It is also a good idea to just avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms) if you can.  Particularly avoid anything non-organic that contains corn or soy ingredients. There are questions about health risks and GMOs are engineered to withstand even higher dousing of pesticides than other conventional fruits and veggies.

Now that it’s understood what to avoid, you can begin to build your stockpile of fruits and vegetables. Go here to find a list of the produce that will help protect your body against radiation in the event of nuclear war.

There are many effective ways to preserve fruits and vegetables that you acquire fresh.  Whether you harvest them from your own property, buy them at the farmer’s market or a local orchard, or even make a bulk purchase from the discount bin at the grocery store, having the supplies and skills to quickly preserve them can allow you to make the most of your windfall. Dehydrating is probably the easiest way to create a stockpile of small, already individual serving sized chunks of produce. This can be done without a dehydrator, and right in your oven.   Canning is always another alternative but be sure to store your items carefully, as glass jars break more easily. (Think Earthquakes)  You could also try root cellaring for things like onions, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, apples, and winter squash in a cold room.

When purchasing fruits or vegetables already in a state you can store them in, look for the following:

Dried:  Dried fruits such as raisins, banana chips (without sugar), and dried cranberries can pack a lot of nutritional punch into a tiny serving size.  Think of them as concentrated vitamins. An adult serving of raisins is only 1/4 cup, which means that you can pack a lot of nutrition into a small amount of space with dried fruits.

Canned:  Canned goods such as tomatoes, green beans, and peas can go a long way towards providing nutrition. The benefit to those rows of tin cans is that you don’t require power to store them safely, and they are fully cooked so you don’t even have to heat them up in a grid down situation.  You can also find many varieties of canned fruit but beware of heavy syrups. Opt for fruit canned in juice if possible. Plus, the containers they already come in aren’t easily broken.

Frozen:  Frozen fruits and vegetables are the closest to fresh that you can get.  This is a great way to build a stockpile for times when money is tight, but don’t put all of your produce in the freezer.  During an extended power outage, you stand to lose a large portion of your deep freeze contents. If you do purchase a large amount of produce for the freezer, have canning jars, lids, and an off-grid method for canning them if the electricity goes down for the long-term. Frozen fruits and vegetables can also be dehydrated right in your oven and saved for your stockpile.

Freeze-dried:  This is a more expensive option, but freeze-dried fruits and vegetables maintain their nutrients, require little storage space, and need no special storage conditions.  You can add a great deal of variety to your pantry with a selection of freeze dried ingredients and the foods, if sealed correctly, can last up to 25 years.  You can find a wide variety of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables HERE.

Other useful information can be found here, in the book The Prepper’s Blueprint. Hopefully, these few (and by all means, there are many more) ideas can get you on track to having a surplus of nutrient-rich produce in your prepper stockpile.

H/T Before It’s News

The Tougher-Than-Nails Cold-Weather Vegetable That Can Survive SNOW

Image source: Pixabay.com

Kale is a tough, cold-hardy member of the cabbage family, but kale grown in cool, frosty weather is amazingly sweet. If you already harvested a crop of kale you planted during spring (or even if you didn’t!), you can plant a fresh crop in late summer or early autumn. If you live in a warm climate, you can plant kale as late as October.

Although kale tolerates frosty weather, it grows best where temperatures don’t drop into the teens. If this is a possibility, then plant kale in a cold frame, or protect the plants with row covers. Consider planting fast-growing cultivars such as Red Russian or White Russian, cold-hardy varieties ready as soon as 40 days. The plants may stall if days are hot, but the kale will take off and grow like crazy when the temperatures drop.

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Seeds are slow to germinate outdoors when days are still warm, so pick up a few seedlings at your local garden center, or start seeds indoors four to six weeks ahead of planting time.

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Kale isn’t difficult to grow. Here’s a few tips to get started.

• Although kale prefers at least six hours of sun, the plant will tolerate partial shade, especially in hot climates.


• Soil for kale should be moist and well-drained but never soggy.


• Enrich the soil with an inch or two or compost, well-rotted manure or other organic material.


• Plant the seedlings at about the same depth they’re situated in the nursery container, but definitely no higher than the lowest set of leaves.


• Allow 12 to 15 inches between each plant and 18 to 24 inches between rows. You can also stagger the plants, which saves space in a small garden


• Mulch the kale plants lightly when the plants are about 6 inches tall to keep the soil moist and maintain an even soil temperature. Mulch also keeps weeds in check and prevents mud from sticking to the leaves.


• Provide 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week, unless it rains.


• Feed the plants about halfway through the growing season, using a balanced commercial fertilizer, diluted solution of fish emulsion, or manure tea.


• Control aphids or flea beetles with an insecticidal soap spray. Never spray plants on hot, sunny days, or if you notice bees, ladybugs or other beneficial insects on the plant.


• Hand-pick larger pests such as cabbage worms, cutworms or cabbage loopers. You can also spray the pests with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a natural, bacterial pesticide that kills pests without harming beneficial insects.


• Harvest kale after one or two light frosts, as kale needs frosty nights to convert the starches into natural sugar. You can even harvest kale when the plants are covered with snow!


• Pick leaves around the outer edge of the plant. Leave the terminal bud at the top, center of the plant if you intend to continue harvesting. Be sure to pick kale before the leaves get old and tough. If this happens, toss them on the compost heap.

Kale is a vegetable that gardeners even in the harshest climates enjoy. Get planting!

What advice would you add for growing kale? Share it in the section below:

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