START, start now, you will fail many times. I say this from experience. Growing up in the city I had zero experience growing a garden. Spent some money got a truck of dirt planted a bunch of stuff and grew a mountain of weeds lol. Failure is part of the process. I am happy to say that after a few years of effort I can grow a few things. Buying a bunch of seeds and having a plan is not growing food, that is only a dream. Get dirty and practice you will have success and failure but you will learn. YouTube is a great source for anything you are trying to grow. Look for a grower in your grow zone. MIgardner is a great source for upper Midwest info. Deep south homestead is great if your down south near the coast. There are many great sources on youtube, use them practice and learn. Make notes on everything you plant and when you plant it. I was amazed to find out that I could grow a great crop of onions, garlic and carrots over the winter. Good luck and plz just start do something if you wait till you have to feed your family it may be to late to learn.
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... and don't buy those useless "survival seed caches" ... yep they are cool, but useless. Just our two cents. Btw. We LOVE MIgardener seeds! Best germination rate and friendliest true customer service!!! Oh and they are only 0.99 cents a pack . Cant get them cheaper anywhere else, unless we are talking end of season sales and then they are still not as good as MIgardener seeds. 😎👍
Micro climates - every piece of ground is different and it affects your ability to grow a variety of plants, fruit bushes and trees. Where you place your garden on your property will yield different results. Morning sun, evening sun, the amount of shade on your property, soil conditions, drainage, air circulation, plant spacing all play a part in how well your plants are going to do. Some plants are going to do better than others - I can't grow a cucumber on my property to save my life(powdery mildew issues), but my brother in law, 5 miles away, grows them by the bushel. It's critical to learn your property, the types of pests and diseases that are going to present themselves now, and the only way to learn these things is by doing. If you're planning on having a garden come some type of shtf event, it is far easier to spin up large food production if you are already gardening and know your property. Not doing so introduces significant risk of crop failure and you should be looking for ways to optimize your success.