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Hey everybody, Rob Greenfield here.

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Today, I'm going to talk to you about

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the survival garden.

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What I mean by that is a garden

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where you don't have to go to the

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grocery stores or the restaurants, and

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you can live off of this. It can

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produce your calories.

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It can produce your nutrients.

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At the very least, it can get you

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through weeks or months

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of not having to go to the grocery store,

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so this is the survival garden.

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Okay, so why would I be the one

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to talk to you about the

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the survival garden?

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Well, I recently finished a year-long

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project of growing and foraging

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100% of my food.

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So, for one year, every single thing

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that I ate either came from my

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gardens or that I foraged from the wild.

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Down to the salt, the oil, all

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my calories, my nutrients,

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my protein, my fat.

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You name it.

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So I have quite a bit of experience

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and this survival garden that I'm

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going to be talking about today is

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specifically going to be for where I did

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this project, which is central Florida.

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This survival garden is more

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for a warmer climate, but

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there's a lot that you'll be able

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to learn from this video,

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no matter where you are,

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and, most importantly, wherever you are,

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you can grow an incredible amount of food.

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It's just a matter of adapting to

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the correct plants that are

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designed to not just survive,

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but thrive in your area.

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So, I'm going to start off

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right away with calories.

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#1, I'm going to share sweet potatoes.

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Sweet potatoes are a truly amazing crop.

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A lot of us know sweet potatoes

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for the potato itself, but what a lot of

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people don't realize

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is that the greens are edible as well.

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Between the nutritious greens

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and the calorie-dense tubers,

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they're one of the most important

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crops that can be grown as far as

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putting out an incredible amount

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of calories and nutrients.

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I probably grew 600 pounds of

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sweet potatoes in my year

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of growing and foraging all my food.

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I'm just blown away at how much

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you can grow.

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Now, a lot of people imagine these

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little orange ones at the grocery store,

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but they come in all shapes and sizes.

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I've seen sweet potatoes that are

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up to 13 pounds

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and I've been blown away

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at how much sweet potatoes

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you can grow in a

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relatively small amount of space.

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In a standard front yard,

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it's possible to grow

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all of your calories.

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Let me say that again.

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It is possible,

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in a standard front yard,

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to grow all the calories you need

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you need with different tuber crops.

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So, the second one

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that I'm going to talk about

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is called cassava or yuca.

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For those of you who still haven't

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heard either of those words,

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it is what tapioca is made out of.

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This is the true survival food.

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Over a billion people around the world

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depend on it for their very survival.

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It's twice as calorie-dense

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as sweet potatoes,

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at about 700 calories per pound,

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is what I've read,

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So, it is truly, truly calorie-dense.

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A couple of pounds of this per day

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meets your calorie needs.

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That said, it doesn't have a lot of

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nutrients, but we'll get into the

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nutrient crops soon.

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So, the beautiful thing about cassava

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is you literally just take a stick of it,

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a branch, you take that branch,

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you stick it into the ground,

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come back 12 months later and you've got

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yourself a whole cassava tree or bush

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or whatever you want to call it,

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with the tuber under the ground.

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You don't plant it like a potato.

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You plant it with a little cutting,

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basically, and you can actually

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eat the leaves as well.

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Now, cassava, or yuca, has cyanide in it,

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but a lot of foods have cyanide in it and

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it's just a matter of cooking it

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the right way.

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Again, a billion people live on this

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around the world.

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You just have to cook it.

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So, that's yuca, or cassava.

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One plant can put out 10, 20 pounds

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of tubers from one plant.

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The average one that I've gotten

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in central Florida is probably

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around 5-10 pounds of tubers.

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So, that is cassava or yuca.

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That's #2.

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#3 is another really great tuber,

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another calorie-dense crop,

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and that is yams.

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The genus and species that I've

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worked with is Dioscorea alata,

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if that's how you pronounce it.

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In Florida, this has actually

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become invasive. It has made

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it out of cultivation.

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I believe it's originally from Asia,

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possibly Africa too,

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and it's a commonly grown crop

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for many people around the world.

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Now, when I say yam, a lot of people

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think of the orange ones

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that you get at the grocery store,

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which we call sweet potatoes and yams,

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interchangeably. No.

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A yam, the largest one that I've ever

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harvested was 150 pounds!

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Imagine, I weigh about 150, 155 pounds.

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The one I harvested, the biggest one

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was 157 pounds, so the size of me.

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They get massive.

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An average one might be

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10, 20, 30 pounds is not abnormal.

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And the beautiful thing about all

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three of these first crops is that,

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most of them, you can largely set them

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and forget them,

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especially yuca or cassava.

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Those are drought-tolerant.

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They don't need a lot of nutrients

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and 12 months later, you come back

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and you can have a whole survival garden.

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You can do your fence around your property

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all with yuca and yams, and just have

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a living fence of serious calories

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to be able to come back to

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when it's needed

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or just when it's desired.

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But, back to the big yam, the average one,

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10, 20, 30 pounds, they're delicious.

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I actually prefer them over potatoes and

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they are a vining species,

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not an edible leaf, unlike the

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yuca and the sweet potato.

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Both of those have edible leaves,

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but this is just another

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beautiful calorie crop.

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Now, another calorie crop

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that I want to mention is potatoes.

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The crops that I'm talking about

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are a little bit more for

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the warmer climates, although

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sweet potato is something that's

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grown throughout, but potatoes

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are a standard that can be grown

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all across many climates.

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It's not one that I have a lot of

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experience with. I have grown it

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in Florida, but that is a really wonderful

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crop that you can grow in huge volumes

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as your calories.

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So, those are four calorie crops.

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The next one I want to get into is,

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indeed, a calorie, but it's also

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a delicious fruit and a favorite food

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of many people around the world,

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and that is bananas, and I'm also

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going to talk about plantains.

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Bananas are a true survival food.

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You can take one --

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bananas, by the way, you don't

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plant them from seeds.

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You plant them from a pup,

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which is basically a small plant.

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How bananas work is they send up

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babies or pups, little shoots

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out the sides. If there's

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a huge stand of bananas, you can just

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dig one of those up with

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part of the corm, plant it,

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and in a few years' time,

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you can have a whole stand of bananas.

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So, bananas in central Florida,

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where I did my year, for example,

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within about 12 months,

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they can be starting to produce.

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Within a few years, you can be

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talking about huge quantities

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of bananas and plantains.

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Now, bananas can be eaten green,

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fried, for example,

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or you can wait until they're ripe

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and you can eat them

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as a delicious banana.

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You can also actually dehydrate the skin

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and the banana, whole,

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dehydrate it and then blend it

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to make a flour.

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Then, of course, plantains

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are a staple of many, many, many

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people all over the world.

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Those can be eaten ripe,

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as a delicious sweeter flavor,

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or they can be eaten savory,

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when they are still green.

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So, that is the banana.

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You can grow hundreds

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and hundreds of pounds of bananas.

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You can start it with something

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that you can get for $10 or $20,

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or for free.

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The next one that I want to

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go into is papaya.

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Papaya is extremely versatile.

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Papaya is a tree,

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but it's not your typical tree.

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They will last, generally, about

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maximum seven years.

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3-5 years might be pretty normal.

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They're a very soft tree.

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You can basically push them over.

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You can cut down the papaya tree

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just with one swipe of a machete,

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but the fruit is a beautiful fruit

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and it's very versatile.

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So, of course, you can wait

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until it's ripe and then it's

0:09:49.416,0:09:51.868
a nice, sweet orange,

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or you can eat it

0:09:53.724,0:09:55.123
while it's green,

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more as a vegetable.

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I make sort of like a sauerkraut

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with it, a papaya kraut

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by fermenting it.

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Then, people all over the world

0:10:04.614,0:10:06.219
use it green, as a vegetable,

0:10:06.219,0:10:10.766
whether pickled or sauteed or raw.

0:10:10.766,0:10:12.892
What's commonly known is

0:10:12.892,0:10:16.168
Thai green papaya salad, for example.

0:10:16.168,0:10:19.467
I love to make a coconut curry

0:10:19.467,0:10:21.750
out of my green papayas.

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If you're dealing with wasps,

0:10:24.770,0:10:28.165
a pest that often comes for the papayas,

0:10:28.165,0:10:30.402
then the best thing to do is not wait

0:10:30.402,0:10:32.513
for them to get ripe and eat them green.

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So, this is a great staple crop,

0:10:34.602,0:10:35.975
not as calorie-dense as the

0:10:35.975,0:10:38.182
earlier calories I mentioned,

0:10:38.182,0:10:42.021
but very filling and very much

0:10:42.021,0:10:43.586
has calories to it.

0:10:43.586,0:10:45.306
Now, in a colder climate,

0:10:45.306,0:10:46.635
something that actually

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somewhat resembles, in my mind,

0:10:49.259,0:10:51.645
the papaya is the zucchini.

0:10:51.645,0:10:54.948
Zucchini, in a colder climate,

0:10:54.948,0:10:57.322
is a true survival crop.

0:10:57.322,0:10:58.998
I hear stories all the time about

0:10:58.998,0:11:00.081
people saying that,

0:11:00.081,0:11:01.557
in the northern climates,

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they have so many zucchinis

0:11:03.647,0:11:05.085
that they have to put them on

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their neighbors' doors

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to try to get rid of them,

0:11:07.790,0:11:09.494
but their neighbors hide from them

0:11:09.494,0:11:10.918
because they don't want them

0:11:10.918,0:11:12.591
because they have so many.

0:11:12.591,0:11:16.479
The reason it reminds me of papaya

0:11:16.479,0:11:18.796
is because they can grow very large

0:11:18.796,0:11:21.001
and in extreme abundance, and

0:11:21.001,0:11:24.862
they can be cooked in a similar manner,

0:11:24.862,0:11:26.461
and they don't, again, have

0:11:26.461,0:11:28.845
an incredible amount of calories,

0:11:28.845,0:11:30.428
but they have a large amount

0:11:30.428,0:11:31.888
of sustenance and can

0:11:31.888,0:11:33.195
really fill you up.

0:11:33.195,0:11:35.016
So, that's the papaya and,

0:11:35.016,0:11:37.332
for some people, the zucchini.

0:11:37.332,0:11:40.458
Speaking of zucchini, what I have

0:11:40.458,0:11:42.465
to mention for the survival garden

0:11:42.465,0:11:45.218
that I'm talking about is a

0:11:45.218,0:11:48.513
heat-loving, heat-tolerant squash.

0:11:48.513,0:11:51.534
For me, that is the Seminole pumpkin.

0:11:51.534,0:11:53.753
It's amazing what you can do

0:11:53.753,0:11:55.128
with one seed.

0:11:55.128,0:11:57.103
Most people, with their pumpkins

0:11:57.103,0:11:58.834
and with their squash, when they

0:11:58.834,0:12:00.289
buy them at the grocery store,

0:12:00.289,0:12:01.249
what do they do?

0:12:01.249,0:12:02.908
They take those seeds out and they

0:12:02.908,0:12:04.222
throw them in the garbage.

0:12:04.222,0:12:05.425
At the very least, you

0:12:05.425,0:12:07.078
could compost them, but what

0:12:07.078,0:12:08.752
you can actually do is plant them

0:12:08.752,0:12:09.992
especially if they're a

0:12:09.992,0:12:11.072
local variety.

0:12:11.072,0:12:13.113
When I had dinner with a friend,

0:12:13.113,0:12:17.554
I took home the pumpkin seeds

0:12:17.554,0:12:19.077
from Seminole pumpkins.

0:12:19.077,0:12:20.606
From two pumpkins,

0:12:20.606,0:12:22.175
the seeds of that turned into

0:12:22.175,0:12:24.325
hundreds of pumpkins,

0:12:24.325,0:12:26.684
many, many, many meals to come.

0:12:26.684,0:12:28.326
The Seminole pumpkin is

0:12:28.326,0:12:30.668
my favorite pumpkin, personally,

0:12:30.668,0:12:31.807
my favorite squash.

0:12:31.807,0:12:33.855
Wherever you are, your survival garden

0:12:33.855,0:12:37.550
can definitely include squashes.

0:12:37.550,0:12:39.744
The next thing that I want to move on to

0:12:39.744,0:12:42.856
is talking about a little bit of protein.

0:12:42.856,0:12:45.013
For me, one of my favorite sources

0:12:45.013,0:12:47.383
in the garden is pigeon pea.

0:12:47.383,0:12:50.542
Now, pigeon pea is a perennial crop.

0:12:50.542,0:12:53.231
It's not a bean that has to be planted

0:12:53.231,0:12:56.941
year after year. It's actually

0:12:56.941,0:12:59.421
a tree that will continue to put out

0:12:59.421,0:13:02.382
pigeon peas and sometimes

0:13:02.382,0:13:04.986
multiple times per year and

0:13:04.986,0:13:06.823
even throughout the year.

0:13:06.823,0:13:08.796
They're a truly delicious --

0:13:08.796,0:13:10.996
they're called gandules.

0:13:10.996,0:13:12.727
They're very popular in Puerto Rico

0:13:12.727,0:13:14.734
and other parts of the Caribbean,

0:13:14.734,0:13:17.209
other parts of Latin America as well.

0:13:17.209,0:13:19.656
They are truly, truly delicious.

0:13:19.656,0:13:23.636
I have eaten a large amount of them

0:13:23.636,0:13:25.407
and have never once got

0:13:25.407,0:13:26.825
sick from them at all.

0:13:26.825,0:13:28.673
In fact, my friend and I actually even

0:13:28.673,0:13:30.488
made tempe from them.

0:13:30.488,0:13:32.013
So, there's a lot that can be

0:13:32.013,0:13:34.709
done with them.

0:13:34.709,0:13:36.655
So, that is pigeon peas and,

0:13:36.655,0:13:38.469
along those lines, the next one

0:13:38.469,0:13:41.272
I want to talk about is ground cover

0:13:41.272,0:13:43.429
beans or peas.

0:13:43.429,0:13:44.927
For me, my favorite one

0:13:44.927,0:13:46.190
is the southern peas.

0:13:46.190,0:13:47.538
Now, there are many types of

0:13:47.538,0:13:48.561
southern peas. You've

0:13:48.561,0:13:49.668
probably heard of

0:13:49.668,0:13:51.263
black-eyed peas, for example.

0:13:51.263,0:13:53.310
There's many different types of these

0:13:53.310,0:13:55.181
and I don't know the names of

0:13:55.181,0:13:56.385
all of them, but

0:13:56.385,0:13:58.498
we're talking about spreading the seed

0:13:58.498,0:14:00.531
on the ground.

0:14:00.531,0:14:02.507
It creates a wonderful ground cover

0:14:02.507,0:14:04.369
and it produces a lot of

0:14:04.369,0:14:05.373
healthy food.

0:14:05.373,0:14:06.922
It can also be used

0:14:06.922,0:14:08.993
as a cover crop

0:14:08.993,0:14:10.738
and as a nitrogen fixer to

0:14:10.738,0:14:13.216
add nitrogen to your garden.

0:14:13.216,0:14:15.936
Now, these can be eaten fresh or they

0:14:15.936,0:14:18.986
can be left to dry on the vines,

0:14:18.986,0:14:20.686
harvested once they're dry,

0:14:20.686,0:14:22.249
and they can be stored.

0:14:22.249,0:14:24.667
The same goes for the pigeon peas as well.

0:14:24.667,0:14:26.637
So, talking about survival,

0:14:26.637,0:14:29.188
these are foods that, when dried,

0:14:29.188,0:14:31.919
you can have these lasting in your pantry

0:14:31.919,0:14:34.670
for years. That's an important part

0:14:34.670,0:14:35.992
about this, storage.

0:14:35.992,0:14:39.050
Now, in the warmer climates,

0:14:39.050,0:14:40.330
like Florida, for example,

0:14:40.330,0:14:42.609
you can grow food year-round.

0:14:42.609,0:14:44.313
In the northern climates,

0:14:44.313,0:14:46.045
the key to success with

0:14:46.045,0:14:49.114
the survival garden is producing

0:14:49.114,0:14:50.849
as much food as you can

0:14:50.849,0:14:53.457
during that window of time that you have

0:14:53.457,0:14:56.215
and then preserving it for the fall.

0:14:56.215,0:14:57.945
Now, for all the people out there

0:14:57.945,0:14:59.721
who are saying, "Oh, you can only

0:14:59.721,0:15:01.196
do this in Florida,"

0:15:01.196,0:15:05.137
I have to say, the most extreme abundance

0:15:05.137,0:15:06.602
that I've ever seen

0:15:06.602,0:15:09.343
was in the fall in places like

0:15:09.343,0:15:11.613
northern Wisconsin, where I'm from.

0:15:11.613,0:15:14.676
The abundance of nuts and different

0:15:14.676,0:15:16.763
fruits, like apples and plums

0:15:16.763,0:15:18.455
and pears and berries,

0:15:18.455,0:15:21.484
is incredible -- so much more

0:15:21.484,0:15:23.945
than I've ever seen in

0:15:23.945,0:15:25.376
some warmer climates,

0:15:25.376,0:15:26.696
so you just have to work

0:15:26.696,0:15:28.461
with your area.

0:15:28.461,0:15:31.008
So, those are a few examples

0:15:31.008,0:15:34.397
of protein. We've covered calories.

0:15:34.397,0:15:37.254
We've covered some protein.

0:15:37.254,0:15:38.965
Now, I want to get into some of

0:15:38.965,0:15:41.690
the very nutrient-dense foods.

0:15:41.690,0:15:43.930
The really good news is that

0:15:43.930,0:15:46.306
a lot of these nutrient-dense foods,

0:15:46.306,0:15:49.512
whether you want to be self-sufficient

0:15:49.512,0:15:52.204
and being able to exist without

0:15:52.204,0:15:54.598
a grocery store or restaurant at all,

0:15:54.598,0:15:56.656
these nutrient-dense foods

0:15:56.656,0:15:58.534
are a no-brainer for everyone

0:15:58.534,0:16:00.693
because they take very little work.

0:16:00.693,0:16:03.026
They can save a lot of money.

0:16:03.026,0:16:04.778
They're some of the healthiest foods

0:16:04.778,0:16:06.920
out there that you can eat and,

0:16:06.920,0:16:08.441
environmentally, they're one of

0:16:08.441,0:16:10.412
the most logical things to grow at home

0:16:10.412,0:16:12.597
because shipping greens is one of the

0:16:12.597,0:16:16.021
least efficient things that we can ship.

0:16:16.021,0:16:17.527
So, I'm going to talk about

0:16:17.527,0:16:20.382
perennial greens and the first one

0:16:20.382,0:16:21.774
that I'm going to talk about

0:16:21.774,0:16:23.789
is moringa. Now, moringa is

0:16:23.789,0:16:25.547
also called the vitamin tree

0:16:25.547,0:16:27.725
or the tree of life, and it is

0:16:27.725,0:16:29.492
truly the tree of life.

0:16:29.492,0:16:31.274
it's one of the most nutrient-dense

0:16:31.274,0:16:32.643
plants on Earth.

0:16:32.643,0:16:36.355
Supposedly, it's about 20% protein

0:16:36.355,0:16:38.373
by weight, as well, so a lot of

0:16:38.373,0:16:41.693
greens and vegetables actually

0:16:41.693,0:16:43.538
do have a lot of protein in them

0:16:43.538,0:16:45.384
as well.

0:16:45.384,0:16:46.626
Moringa is a perennial.

0:16:46.626,0:16:49.042
You can start it either from seed or

0:16:49.042,0:16:50.857
you can take a cutting, stick it in

0:16:50.857,0:16:53.746
the ground and have a moringa tree.

0:16:53.746,0:16:56.976
You can make a wall around your

0:16:56.976,0:16:58.824
property with moringa.

0:16:58.824,0:17:00.549
You can dry moringa leaves,

0:17:00.549,0:17:02.011
turn it into a powder, and

0:17:02.011,0:17:04.520
you have your own multivitamin

0:17:04.520,0:17:05.909
that you can travel with, and

0:17:05.909,0:17:08.151
it's also a really great crop

0:17:08.151,0:17:10.173
that you can trade.

0:17:10.173,0:17:11.657
You can trade others this

0:17:11.657,0:17:13.856
nutrient-dense powder that you make

0:17:13.856,0:17:15.660
for other things that you need,

0:17:15.660,0:17:17.342
or you can actually make a little

0:17:17.342,0:17:19.306
business out of it and sell it.

0:17:19.306,0:17:21.760
The next green that I want to talk about

0:17:21.760,0:17:22.819
is katuk.

0:17:22.819,0:17:25.048
Katuk is another perennial green.

0:17:25.048,0:17:27.403
By perennial, what I mean is you plant it

0:17:27.403,0:17:29.725
and it produces year after year

0:17:29.725,0:17:31.240
after year.

0:17:31.240,0:17:32.913
Up in a northern climate,

0:17:32.913,0:17:34.792
a beautiful perennial is rhubarb.

0:17:34.792,0:17:37.026
An average rhubarb plant can last

0:17:37.026,0:17:38.910
for 25 years!

0:17:38.910,0:17:41.066
Imagine you plant it and 25 years,

0:17:41.066,0:17:43.930
every spring, it just keeps coming back.

0:17:43.930,0:17:45.922
Annuals, you plant once

0:17:45.922,0:17:47.937
(for example, carrots)

0:17:47.937,0:17:49.804
and when you pull it, you eat it,

0:17:49.804,0:17:51.380
and it's dead.

0:17:51.380,0:17:53.450
Then, in between perennials and annuals is

0:17:53.450,0:17:55.372
self-seeding annuals.

0:17:55.372,0:17:57.288
These are ones that you let go to seed

0:17:57.288,0:17:58.948
and they keep spreading their seed

0:17:58.948,0:18:00.439
and they keep coming back.

0:18:00.439,0:18:01.882
Once you've got them going,

0:18:01.882,0:18:03.010
you've got them going.

0:18:03.010,0:18:04.593
So, in the survival garden,

0:18:04.593,0:18:06.157
I highly recommend working with

0:18:06.157,0:18:09.056
perennials and self-seeding annuals

0:18:09.056,0:18:10.799
as much as possible.

0:18:10.799,0:18:13.724
So, I mentioned katuk and the next one

0:18:13.724,0:18:16.676
that I want to talk about is chaya.

0:18:16.676,0:18:18.850
Chaya is an ancient food.

0:18:18.850,0:18:21.281
It's been eaten for thousands of years.

0:18:21.281,0:18:24.480
I don't remember if it's the Mayans

0:18:24.480,0:18:27.097
or the Aztecs, or possibly both,

0:18:27.097,0:18:29.933
that have had it as a staple part

0:18:29.933,0:18:31.043
of their diet.

0:18:31.043,0:18:34.771
It is also called tree spinach.

0:18:34.771,0:18:37.257
Very calorie-dense.

0:18:37.257,0:18:39.193
This one also has to be cooked because

0:18:39.193,0:18:40.918
it has cyanide in it, just like

0:18:40.918,0:18:43.314
I mentioned with the cassava or

0:18:43.314,0:18:45.013
the yuca, but again, it's just

0:18:45.013,0:18:47.879
a matter of preparing food right.

0:18:47.879,0:18:50.340
All things have to be prepared right,

0:18:50.340,0:18:52.107
whether it's coffee or chocolate

0:18:52.107,0:18:54.282
or the way you're producing your

0:18:54.282,0:18:56.997
beverages, like beer and wine.

0:18:56.997,0:18:58.888
Once you start to connect with

0:18:58.888,0:19:01.654
your food, you see there is a process,

0:19:01.654,0:19:03.458
a way of doing things.

0:19:03.458,0:19:05.700
But chaya is a beautiful one.

0:19:05.700,0:19:07.465
This is one where you can literally

0:19:07.465,0:19:09.219
just take a stick of it,

0:19:09.219,0:19:10.997
put it in the ground and,

0:19:10.997,0:19:13.735
after you have a few trees of chaya,

0:19:13.735,0:19:15.913
you can be spreading chaya to your

0:19:15.913,0:19:18.477
entire neighborhood.

0:19:18.477,0:19:20.664
Another one that's very drought-tolerant--

0:19:20.664,0:19:23.826
With the survival garden, the key is

0:19:23.826,0:19:25.847
planting things that are

0:19:25.847,0:19:28.943
very tough, that don't need to be

0:19:28.943,0:19:30.482
consistently watered,

0:19:30.482,0:19:32.418
that don't need a lot of nutrients,

0:19:32.418,0:19:34.613
that don't have too many pests,

0:19:34.613,0:19:37.171
and all of these things apply, generally,

0:19:37.171,0:19:39.765
to perennials over annuals.

0:19:39.765,0:19:41.693
So, the survival garden is one that

0:19:41.693,0:19:43.328
you can walk away from and,

0:19:43.328,0:19:45.384
three months later, you come back

0:19:45.384,0:19:47.333
and your food isn't gone;

0:19:47.333,0:19:50.142
you have more food than when you left.

0:19:50.142,0:19:52.621
So, that is chaya.

0:19:52.621,0:19:54.793
The next thing I want to get into

0:19:54.793,0:19:56.613
is another green and that is

0:19:56.613,0:19:58.525
perennial spinaches.

0:19:58.525,0:20:00.360
So, there are all sorts of

0:20:00.360,0:20:01.694
perennial spinaches.

0:20:01.694,0:20:03.124
There's Brazilian spinach and

0:20:03.124,0:20:04.411
New Zealand spinach,

0:20:04.411,0:20:07.445
Okinawa spinach, longevity spinach,

0:20:07.445,0:20:09.232
just to name a few.

0:20:09.232,0:20:11.793
Malabar spinach is another one.

0:20:11.793,0:20:13.939
There's probably a good dozen or so that

0:20:13.939,0:20:17.030
are grown in the area where I have done

0:20:17.030,0:20:18.745
most of my growing.

0:20:18.745,0:20:20.769
Again, these are perennials that you can

0:20:20.769,0:20:22.318
plant once and they can keep on

0:20:22.318,0:20:23.800
coming back and coming back.

0:20:23.800,0:20:26.767
So, with those perennial spinaches

0:20:26.767,0:20:31.531
and the chaya, the cassava leaves,

0:20:31.531,0:20:33.665
the katuk, and the moringa,

0:20:33.665,0:20:36.428
that right there is quite a bit

0:20:36.428,0:20:38.582
of diversity in itself.

0:20:38.582,0:20:40.846
So, there is a saying and that is,

0:20:40.846,0:20:42.633
"Let thy food be they medicine

0:20:42.633,0:20:45.319
and let thy medicine be thy food."

0:20:45.319,0:20:46.974
Now, in 2020, that is,

0:20:46.974,0:20:48.802
"Let your food be your medicine

0:20:48.802,0:20:50.749
and let your medicine be your food."

0:20:50.749,0:20:52.359
Pretty basic.

0:20:52.359,0:20:54.037
Now, the beautiful thing is that,

0:20:54.037,0:20:56.868
yes, our food is our medicine,

0:20:56.868,0:20:59.682
but there are some especially

0:20:59.682,0:21:02.149
medicinal plants that we can grow

0:21:02.149,0:21:04.298
to really give ourselves

0:21:04.298,0:21:07.600
that important immune boost and to really

0:21:07.600,0:21:09.750
just take care of ourselves.

0:21:09.750,0:21:11.784
I'm talking about holistic medicine,

0:21:11.784,0:21:14.067
holistic healthcare, taking into

0:21:14.067,0:21:16.697
account everything that we're doing --

0:21:16.697,0:21:19.558
our food, our water, the way we move

0:21:19.558,0:21:21.646
our body, the way we live our lives,

0:21:21.646,0:21:23.508
but we can grow

0:21:23.508,0:21:25.142
a lot of our own medicine.

0:21:25.142,0:21:27.275
The #1 that I recommend in

0:21:27.275,0:21:30.113
this survival garden is turmeric

0:21:30.113,0:21:31.759
and ginger.

0:21:31.759,0:21:33.733
Turmeric, you take those little rhizomes,

0:21:33.733,0:21:35.415
you stick them in the ground, and

0:21:35.415,0:21:37.425
7-9 months later, you'll have

0:21:37.425,0:21:38.868
a lot more turmeric.

0:21:38.868,0:21:40.231
Most of my friends' gardens,

0:21:40.231,0:21:41.571
who have turmeric,

0:21:41.571,0:21:42.932
they have more than they

0:21:42.932,0:21:44.267
can deal with.

0:21:44.267,0:21:46.815
Ginger takes a little bit longer.

0:21:46.815,0:21:48.676
It takes more like, I think, about

0:21:48.676,0:21:50.178
a year and a half.

0:21:50.178,0:21:52.446
I've successfully grown ginger,

0:21:52.446,0:21:54.671
but it takes longer to get it

0:21:54.671,0:21:58.516
to be a large amount and to get a lot

0:21:58.516,0:22:02.070
to harvest, but very, very easy to grow.

0:22:02.070,0:22:05.238
So, turmeric and ginger, very easy to grow

0:22:05.238,0:22:09.379
and very, very important medicines.

0:22:09.379,0:22:11.214
There are many different medicines.

0:22:11.214,0:22:13.295
One that I recommend growing

0:22:13.295,0:22:16.163
is elderberry. Along with honey

0:22:16.163,0:22:18.048
that you can get from your bees,

0:22:18.048,0:22:20.017
you can make elderberry syrup and this is

0:22:20.017,0:22:21.691
one of the most incredible

0:22:21.691,0:22:23.446
natural medicines

0:22:23.446,0:22:26.217
that prevents cold and flu.

0:22:26.217,0:22:28.338
I like to take a spoonful of

0:22:28.338,0:22:30.048
my elderberry syrup

0:22:30.048,0:22:31.410
every single day.

0:22:31.410,0:22:33.082
It's one of my favorite things and

0:22:33.082,0:22:35.184
it's also an extremely delicious treat.

0:22:35.184,0:22:37.909
So, I've covered calories,

0:22:37.909,0:22:39.850
I've covered some protein,

0:22:39.850,0:22:42.268
and I've covered greens as nutrients.

0:22:42.268,0:22:43.900
Those three things right there

0:22:43.900,0:22:47.444
can take care of a massive, massive

0:22:47.444,0:22:50.892
amount of your entire needs.

0:22:50.892,0:22:54.857
You could probably live just off of that,

0:22:54.857,0:22:56.654
but there's no need to because

0:22:56.654,0:22:58.438
there's such an abundance

0:22:58.438,0:22:59.639
of other foods.

0:22:59.639,0:23:01.371
I'm going to name a few other things

0:23:01.371,0:23:03.263
right now that are really easy

0:23:03.263,0:23:04.826
and important to have as a part

0:23:04.826,0:23:05.991
of this garden.

0:23:05.991,0:23:07.572
That would be peppers.

0:23:07.572,0:23:08.807
I grew serrano peppers,

0:23:08.807,0:23:10.087
starting from one seed

0:23:10.087,0:23:11.962
from a pepper from my friend's garden.

0:23:11.962,0:23:13.681
I, for a year and a half, had

0:23:13.681,0:23:15.781
a serrano pepper plant that put out

0:23:15.781,0:23:18.111
well over 1,000 peppers.

0:23:18.111,0:23:20.055
Wherever you are, there are peppers

0:23:20.055,0:23:23.112
that will survive and thrive.

0:23:23.112,0:23:26.377
Peppers are a great part of any garden.

0:23:26.377,0:23:28.019
Then, herbs.

0:23:28.019,0:23:31.203
Herbs add flavor to your food.

0:23:31.203,0:23:33.811
Living off of your garden does not

0:23:33.811,0:23:36.587
in any way mean not eating delicious,

0:23:36.587,0:23:38.604
delicious food. In fact, it's often

0:23:38.604,0:23:41.038
far more delicious.

0:23:41.038,0:23:44.258
Some of the absolute survival herbs

0:23:44.258,0:23:47.023
that I've grown would be Cuban oregano.

0:23:47.023,0:23:49.175
Grows like crazy.

0:23:49.175,0:23:51.166
It's a huge oregano leaf.

0:23:51.166,0:23:53.195
Then, there's lots of other ones.

0:23:53.195,0:23:56.563
African blue basil grows into shrubs,

0:23:56.563,0:23:58.956
brings in an incredible amount of

0:23:58.956,0:24:00.790
bees and pollinators.

0:24:00.790,0:24:02.783
So important to have different plants

0:24:02.783,0:24:04.654
that can bring pollinators into

0:24:04.654,0:24:07.083
your garden and herbs are

0:24:07.083,0:24:09.354
one of the easiest things to grow.

0:24:09.354,0:24:12.221
You have cilantro and basil and dill,

0:24:12.221,0:24:14.323
just to name a few.

0:24:14.323,0:24:16.860
Herbs are a very easy beginner plant too.

0:24:16.860,0:24:18.845
If you're just getting started, herbs are

0:24:18.845,0:24:20.731
a really great place to start.

0:24:20.731,0:24:22.427
I'm going to mention just two more,

0:24:22.427,0:24:23.935
even though there are so many

0:24:23.935,0:24:25.227
more plants that I would

0:24:25.227,0:24:26.444
love to talk about, but

0:24:26.444,0:24:27.745
a truly amazing one

0:24:27.745,0:24:29.489
is daikon radish.

0:24:29.489,0:24:31.263
We're talking about a radish that can

0:24:31.263,0:24:33.204
get this big, that can become

0:24:33.204,0:24:34.918
self-seeding, that's coming back,

0:24:34.918,0:24:37.013
that creates a great ground cover,

0:24:37.013,0:24:38.788
that can be chop and dropped,

0:24:38.788,0:24:41.544
and you can ferment this

0:24:41.544,0:24:46.916
and make a wonderful radish kraut

0:24:46.916,0:24:49.048
or mix it in with your different krauts.

0:24:49.048,0:24:53.768
It's delicious, it adds a lot of value

0:24:53.768,0:24:55.768
to meals, and you can produce

0:24:55.768,0:24:58.252
incredible quantities with it.

0:24:58.252,0:24:59.906
That's the daikon radish.

0:24:59.906,0:25:02.464
Wherever you are, radishes can be a

0:25:02.464,0:25:04.468
part of your game and radishes

0:25:04.468,0:25:06.370
are one of the fastest foods to grow.

0:25:06.370,0:25:08.163
You can get them in about 30 days.

0:25:08.163,0:25:10.156
Now, a garden could be complete

0:25:10.156,0:25:12.321
without tomatoes, but tomatoes

0:25:12.321,0:25:15.538
add such an incredible value to life.

0:25:15.538,0:25:17.934
Where I did my survival garden,

0:25:17.934,0:25:20.352
that would be the Everglades tomato.

0:25:20.352,0:25:22.829
In really hot climates, it's often the

0:25:22.829,0:25:24.353
very small tomatoes that you

0:25:24.353,0:25:25.985
want to work with,

0:25:25.985,0:25:27.373
not the really big ones,

0:25:27.373,0:25:28.672
but in northern climates,

0:25:28.672,0:25:30.452
you can produce so much tomatoes that

0:25:30.452,0:25:33.149
you could not possibly eat them.

0:25:33.149,0:25:35.649
So, tomatoes are just a beautiful,

0:25:35.649,0:25:37.615
beautiful thing to have

0:25:37.615,0:25:38.918
in the garden.

0:25:38.918,0:25:40.731
Then, one last thing that I'm

0:25:40.731,0:25:43.329
going to mention is garlic or onions

0:25:43.329,0:25:45.236
really add an incredible

0:25:45.236,0:25:46.731
amount of flavor.

0:25:46.731,0:25:48.522
Garlic is also a great antimicrobial

0:25:48.522,0:25:51.181
and antibacterial, a really important one

0:25:51.181,0:25:53.234
for fighting off sicknesses.

0:25:53.234,0:25:55.158
In central Florida, my big ones

0:25:55.158,0:25:57.828
would be garlic chives and then

0:25:57.828,0:25:59.632
society garlic.

0:25:59.632,0:26:01.229
These are perennials

0:26:01.229,0:26:02.546
that do really well.

0:26:02.546,0:26:03.925
I also grew garlic.

0:26:03.925,0:26:05.978
That's harder in the southern climates,

0:26:05.978,0:26:07.726
but I did it successfully,

0:26:07.726,0:26:09.295
but in the northern climates,

0:26:09.295,0:26:12.211
garlic is an easy one.

0:26:12.211,0:26:14.997
So, that is my survival garden.

0:26:14.997,0:26:17.928
I've covered your calories, your protein,

0:26:17.928,0:26:19.847
your greens.

0:26:19.847,0:26:21.632
There are more things than that;

0:26:21.632,0:26:24.448
however, if you have just this going

0:26:24.448,0:26:26.133
and you work with the perennials

0:26:26.133,0:26:28.008
over the annuals, we're talking about

0:26:28.008,0:26:30.894
almost never having to take a trip

0:26:30.894,0:26:32.660
to the grocery store.

0:26:32.660,0:26:36.533
This is my tips, especially focused on

0:26:36.533,0:26:38.433
a warmer climate.

0:26:38.433,0:26:41.360
In future videos, I will have some

0:26:41.360,0:26:43.896
that are specifically focused on

0:26:43.896,0:26:45.576
colder climates, so make sure

0:26:45.576,0:26:47.045
you come back and

0:26:47.045,0:26:48.510
tune in for that.

0:26:48.510,0:26:51.089
If you got a lot out of this video and

0:26:51.089,0:26:52.828
you found it to be really useful,

0:26:52.828,0:26:54.626
then definitely I encourage you to

0:26:54.626,0:26:56.211
subscribe to this channel.

0:26:56.211,0:26:57.963
If you have questions or comments,

0:26:57.963,0:26:59.552
put them below.

0:26:59.552,0:27:01.358
Hit that Like button to make this

0:27:01.358,0:27:03.247
get out into the world so people can see

0:27:03.247,0:27:07.131
that it is possible to live without

0:27:07.131,0:27:09.060
grocery stores and without

0:27:09.060,0:27:11.193
restaurants, and live in a way where

0:27:11.193,0:27:13.411
we are working with the Earth,

0:27:13.411,0:27:15.208
rather than against it and

0:27:15.208,0:27:17.961
where we can live happily and healthfully

0:27:17.961,0:27:20.677
with food sovereignty

0:27:20.677,0:27:22.341
right in our own communities.

0:27:22.341,0:27:23.875
Love you all very much.

0:27:23.875,0:27:28.208
See you soon.