Covid-19 might not be the kind of apocalypse we see in movies, but it is one of those rare modern calamities that let us imagine how bad life can get very fast. A deadly virus, a nuclear attack, another world war and our society as it is might be doomed. The humanity survived many terrible things, some perished, but enough people lived to go on and learn from history.
Coronavirus is neither the most terrible of things nor un-survivable. It is something we have to deal with like our ancestors more recently dealt with Spanish Flu and Polio disease. However, this virus can teach us some valuable lessons and make us less dependable on others and more self-sufficient.
I am no dooms day nut, but this current situation makes me think how we would survive if things were much worse and we would have to deal with more than just closed schools and cancelled vacations. Without going deep into possible scenarios, I would like to share what each one of us can do to be ready to face the music without much preparation if need be.
First, we all can have a garden with a few tomatoes and cucumbers in summer and pumpkins in autumn.
Sure, we don’t all have land by our house, I get it, but we all have access to a city community garden bed.
Tomatoes can grow in the balcony. We all know somebody who has a little piece of land that could let us build a vegetable box there.
Those who live in private house should definitely have a bed or two, plant a couple of fruit trees and possibly a few bushes of raspberries or blackberries. Those grow in just about any climate.
A chicken coop would be an endless supply of eggs.
We have some berry bushes on our property, but I also know a few places on my daily walk where wild blackberries grow. We live in Georgia and have lived in northern California before. Both places have wild blackberries growing everywhere. I imagine all the states in between have them too. Some, like Colorado, should have wild strawberries and raspberries as well. I guess Arizona deserts might be berryless, but there you can gather prickly pear cactus fruit and probably others. There is always something wild growing somewhere, you just have to inquire.
Mushrooms are another thing we all can gather. This one is a bit trickier because while some edible kinds grow everywhere, you have to be 100% sure you know them before heading for the woods. One wrong mushroom can be your last one. Always take somebody who knows mushrooms with you if you have a slightest doubt. I grew up in Eastern Europe picking mushrooms with my parents for 22 years, so I am 100% certain about Georgia wild chanterelles, which grow here all summer.
I just recently found out about it and now have been feeding my family wild mushrooms quite often. Mountainous regions have more edible mushrooms, like boletus family, but not where I live. California is probably the richest state when it comes to mushrooms, but Colorado and states with Appalachian Mountains are great for that too.
Finally, fishing and hunting can keep us alive.
Our family doesn’t hunt, but fishing is always a favorite lake hobby for my husband and son.
If the worst came to being, they would supply fish for cooking from lakes, rivers, and even ocean.
We take fishing polls that we buy at Bass Pro Shops every time we go to any body of water.
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My son practices casting even in our pool!
Overall, a little ingenuity and some luck could keep many of us alive for a while, especially in spring and summer. All you have to do to be ready for anything is research your state’s wild edible plants and fungi, plant a vegetable box, and learn how to fish.