SHTF / Survival at Home: Growing Your Food #1 (Potatoes)

Learning how to be self sufficient in Food Supply is highly important in learning true survival, practicing this at home weather you are an actual Prepper, or just an individual needing to save some money is good training in case of an actual event.

Many people are put off of vegetable or fruit growing due to lack of time (watering and taking care of their plants). Regular watering is really only necessary if you plant mostly in pots as pots dry out far quicker than a vegetable bed / patch, plus with the use of Mulch, you can help retain the moisture in your pots for longer but the truth is, like most of you, I myself was also put off of constant watering and taking care of the plants, until I started growing them, as it is a step by step process you really do become a lot more interested and at some point you start spending loads of time doing the general work on your crops. It became a new interest but for those who are already living the busy life just watering, harvesting and feeding can be done with minimal time as long as you stick to a schedule.

Potatoes

What's Needed: 

1. Large Pot/s or Bucket/s,
2. A few Non GMO Potatoes that are starting to sprout (refer to below picture),
3. Compost, Soil or a 50/50 mixture of both,
4. A Liquid Vegetable plant feed (Preferably non chemical)

I really had no intention on planting potatoes this year but noticed some growth sprouts on one of my potatoes which was due to be turned into mash and quickly remembered my aunt claiming that you can grow from skins - so I decided to do a little internet surfing and confirmed it to be true. 

I then went and sliced the piece off just under the growth in the three places on the potato where the eyes were sprouting (cut off a little more, not right under the spurt / eye).

Survival / SHTF Growing your own food: Potatoes

Let the pieces dry out for about 12 hours, take a large plastic pot and fill it 1/6 with compost or soil or a mixture of both. plant 2 - 3 of them in the bottom and cover with an inch or two of the soil / compost, water regularly and be patient while the root system establishes! If you have a greenhouse it can remain in there until the plant really takes off. When the stems grow you pour enough soil / compost in to cover the bottom of the new stem but make sure to keep the top leaves open (You may cover leaves that are further down the stem) Keep adding soil / compost as the plants grow taller and until the pot / bucket is full! If you are content with the size of the bucket or pot then just wait until the flowers die off and the plants wilt, that is the sign that you can tip the pot and dig out the potatoes.

This can be done in those large 220LTR (55 Gallon) Oil Barrels as shown in the below youtube video:

Liquid feed is important as well, I can recommend using a liquid feed at least once a week on your plants.

Did you know that it is recommended to first initiate a vegetable patch in your garden with potatoes? You grow potatoes in that patch the first year then the next you can plant various different crops, this however is just a recommendation, not a must.

Growing Your Food #2 coming soon ...