It’s the End Of The Garden As We Know It

I am a child of the eighties. I am also a child of a child of the sixties. What this means is that I grew up with a pretty firm belief that the Russian and communists will kill us all, but not before they had bought all of our jeans and had a love in.

Fortunately, the world has changed. Unfortunately, only the names and faces have changed.

My kids will grow up with a pretty firm belief that someone from the Middle East will accomplish what the Russians failed to do. I wonder if we could interest Islamic fundamentalists in a nice pair of brand name jeans? It worked with the Russians.

On top of this, some doomsdayer in Norway managed to talk some people into investing a few million dollars into creating a seed ark to keep seeds around in case of “plant epidemics, nuclear war, natural disasters or climate change”. Cheery people.

Hmmm… It has occurred to me that, somehow, I don’t think I am at the top of the “Going to get some of our seeds when the world ends” list at The Global Crop Diversity Trust.

In light of this, in addition to my Basic Emergency Supply Kit as recommended by US Homeland Security, I think I had better think about my Basic Gardening Supply Kit. If civilization takes a turn for the worse tomorrow, what seeds should I have ready to start my life in the post-holocaust society?

This is a tough decision. You can’t keep them all. Unless you live in Norway with polar bears and a few million spare dollars. Maybe you have that, but I am pretty sure that there’s not that much spare change in my couch. Polar bears… maybe, but not that much spare change.

So, let’s say I am limited to 5 seeds.

So what do I pack? So many choices…

I need food, so that has to play heavily into the planning.

1) Tomato - Versatile, vitamin rich, easily preserved, easily propagated

2) Carrot - Grows fast, rich in nutrients, stores well over winter, even in the ground

3) Soybeans - Easy to grow, rejuvenates soil, easy to store, relatively fast growing, source of protein.

But you know, food is one thing, but you must have a bit of beauty in life worth living..

4) Snapdragon - Reseeds like a dream, but has the ability to cross breed for a rainbow of color

5) Daylily - Spreads beautifully, blooms fantastically tubers are edible (so I get beauty and nutrition)

So, that’s my five. What’s yours? If you were told that you could only save five plants, and your life depended on it, what would you take?