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What Knockout Roses Teach Us About Survival

June 19, 2013 by admin

KnockoutRoseDetailAre you relying on a single plant to get you through? You might be amazing at growing sweet potatoes… a whiz at corn… or a master of beans… but are you diversifying your garden enough?
The Irish learned what happens when you count on one crop. They had gained the potato from the New World, and in the early 1700s, it became their main staple, particularly among the poor. For well over 100 years it served them well… until the mid 1800s, when the blight arrived. In 1845-49, the potato crop in Ireland failed year after year, causing mass starvation and epidemics among the weakened population. Because potatoes were a large portion of the average diet, their absence was devastating.
Cycles of failure happen again and again throughout history. Consider the current plight of the very popular “Knockout” rose:
“(‘Knockout’ rose) owes its uber-popularity to the belief that it’s the first “no maintenance” rose — perfect for the lazy gardener in all of us. People think it needs no watering, spraying, pruning, or fertilizing — EVER. It’s like an actual living plastic plant. You just stick it in the ground and it will bloom, bloom, bloom with zero care from you. How marvelous. Unfortunately, this belief is dead wrong. ‘Knockout’ does need water, fertilizer, and pruning. And now it’s facing a disease so serious that its very survival is in question. Rose rosette disease. (keep reading)”
Even the most reliable plants can fail. Granted, the “Knockout” rose isn’t much good for eating, but it points to a truth about prepping. Redundancy is vital to long-term survival. Don’t just plant peaches – plant apples too. Plant blueberries. Plant mulberries. Plant sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, turnips, etc. Plant trees from above your growing zone and from below it.
If you’re relying on a limited assortment of crops, stop it. Late frosts might wipe one thing out while another lives; a disease may take one tree while another thrives. Bean beetles may reach plague proportions one year… and in another year, caterpillars might devour your cabbages. Keep your options open, plant more than you think you need, and don’t rely on one staple. Guard yourself against disease, pests, frost, theft, rain and drought… and you’re more likely to come out smelling like a disease-free rose.

Filed Under: Permaculture Food Forest, Subsistence Farming Tagged With: knockout roses

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