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What types of natural disasters are you preparing for? Most lists would include those that would occur in your vicinity. These may include tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and/or earthquakes. How about a volcano erupting and the resulting volcanic ash? This one probably didn't cross your mind unless you live near a volcano. I spent some time in southern Chile under the shadows of some very large volcanoes. (See Mt. Osorno pictured above). I also lived in North Bend, Washington when Mount St. Helens erupted. I remember waking up and seeing ash everywhere—I had never seen anything like it before. It took substantial work for us to eventually get everything cleaned up.
Stockpiling or building a usable food storage supply is important for me and my family. I like to have several months of food on hand that we eat on a regular basis. When an emergency arises I know we will be fine for many of the basic necessities. I do this by combining sales with coupons (when available) to get rock-bottom prices. I stock up when the price is the lowest! However, in my eleven years of marriage and avidly doing this, I have found there are some mistakes you don't want to make!
This is the seventh installment of our new weekly feature entitled the "Emergency Preparedness Guide." Remember that we will post a new article each Wednesday from this guide.
Sowing the Seeds of Survival
Storing and planting garden seeds is a great way to reap the benefits of gardening now, and in the future!
I decided we would take a small detour on our journey to preparedness to talk about something that is probably on many minds this time of year, gardening. I know what you are thinking-what does gardening have to do with preparedness? When land is available, one of the best ways to keep fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet during an emergency is by growing them in your own garden. A garden adds nutrition and variety to your food storage.
Let’s talk a little about storing and planting garden seeds and you’ll see!
Storing Garden Seeds
Non-hybrid, open pollinating seeds are the best type to store when purchasing storage seeds. These types of seeds can be planted and their seeds can be collected at the end of the season for a future garden. Most seeds purchased today are hybrid seeds and cannot produce more plants. That is why choosing “non-hybrid” seed is so important. Remember the old adage, “You can count the seeds in an apple, but you cannot count the apples in a seed”.
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Hurricane Ivan struck our city in September 2004. 
You want to store a lot of paper plates, plastic utensils, plastic cups and trash bags to dispose of them. Even if you have bleach and a lot of water stored, you don't "feel" clean when so much yuckiness is around you. You will definitely appreciate the disposable items to feed your family with. Without power, spills are very common at night. Store a few $1 shower curtains (away from food because they have a strong scent) to put around your dining area to protect your carpet. 
BEANS:
Beans are high in fiber. Best of all, they are very low in fat, which means you can eat more delicious meals without having to count as many calories. Most bean varieties contain only 2 to 3% fat. By using beans that have been ground to a flour (small white navy beans work best) to thicken gravies and sauces, you increase the nutritional value of your meals, and your recipes will be virtually fat-free.
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