Really good information is contained in this book. The author provides real world experience, solutions and realistic time tables. I would definitely recommend getting this book in a paper format so it's easily accessible, especially if you are around plants and water.

I received an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Good topic and ideas, but more of an overview than a thorough reference. I wanted more details, enough so that this could be the only book you need on the topic, at least to start with. What was there was decent, though.

Although this book markets itself as being for survival situations, it is just as valuable for anyone who is interested in growing their food outside of disaster situations. Maybe even more so given the learning curve and despite what the blurb suggests equipment needed for many of the methods. At times methods and provided recipes also seem to rely on electricity (which you aren't guaranteed), although he does go into some electricity free methods as well.

The author goes through a variety of growing techniques and crop types (from sprouts and microgreens to species that take longer to grow an even animals), giving suggestions as to how to best grow them in a broad sense as well as giving species suggestions with growing time and some nutritional information, information which I think many new food gardeners would appreciate. This book provides many photos and illustrations and provides a good place to start. Most of this book also doesn't get too region specific, which I appreciate as someone who is not from the US as it means I can apply many of the methods as well. Although some parts require much land, especially if looking at self sufficiency, some can be applied to smaller spaces for those who wish to supplement their food with things they grow themselves.

Overall, an interesting read and easy to follow guide and one I'd be happy to point people to should they want to start growing their own food - a market I think should be more emphasised in the blurb. Just be aware that the actual survivalist garden is something that probably won't be achievable to many.

Honestly a very helpful informative book. Tons of information for beginners that you can start now. I know this will be helpful for me soon as I start this summer.

I am not a prepper. If there is an apocalypse, I don’t want to survive, as I am too old and disabled and could not live if no electricity. But, this book really caught my eye. Though I can no longer do any gardening myself (or even get into our garden), I do get to decide what is planted there, and love eating the produce grown. And this book gave plenty of suggestions.
The book would be ideal for people starting a new garden or allotment – what to grow (for immediate and long-haul food), tools needed, types of bed, crop rotation, type of plot, water availability, sun, shade, temperatures … the list goes on. There is also a run down on the nutrition we need to survive, and some animals that could be raised for food as well as the plants (i.e. rabbits and chickens), and what they would need. Storage of produce is dealt with.
You probably won’t need everything in this book – but then you never know. Survival gardening needs planning – you can’t wait until the bombs drop or the Zombies appear. Even a few suggestions from this book will make for a more productive, efficient garden – whatever the state of the world.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst:
“However, a key difference between survival gardening and typical gardening is that we are growing our food because we might starve if we do not, and we need to approach the task of gardening as though our lives depend on it.”
Definitely recommended to all gardeners – preppers or not

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I quite like this book. It has slightly wider appeal than one would think from the blurb - it's an interesting read for the novice gardener as well as a hardcore survivalist.

I look forward to trying out the techniques for growing sprouts, micro greens and a couple of other species.

The inclusion of recipes for each plant is quite good and many of them look healthy and appetising.

I would have appreciated more detailed step by step instructions with pictures. Some gardening knowledge would be a prerequisite to this book.

As a homesteader this is my favorite book I have ever received the privilege to review. This book goes into every detail and value a homesteader or anyone for that matter who wants to have a more sustainable and healthy life needs to know. A quote I loved was "we need to approach the task of gardening as though our lives depend on it". How true of a statement that is. In just 2 short generations, we have become so dependent on the grocery store and government to provide our every meal. We need to go back to these roots and become healthy again. 5 stars isn't enough for Sam Coffman. As owner of a homesteader blog with a large audience I will be sharing this book with our readers who I know will find it just as useful and amazing as I did!

Survival Gardening is a no-nonsense, well written, accessible guide to getting started with food production, readiness, self sufficiency, and improving personal and community food security written and curated by Sam Coffman. Released 1st Nov 2022 by Hachette on their Storey imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formast.

Food security and transportation costs and availability are real and immediate concerns for the vast majority of people worldwide. We only have to look at the supply issues of the last few years to see how vulnerable we are to interruptions and resource scarcity. It's not possible to be self-sufficient with toilet paper and toothpaste (well, not really), but providing for part of our food needs ourselves is a great way to reduce some stress, gain valuable skills, and gain a fun and relaxing hobby.

The author has a great encouraging writing style and is willing to share his experience to help other would-be gardeners improve their outcomes. The book contains tangible advice for starting, sourcing materials, planning, seed starting, growing, harvesting, troubleshooting and compensating for less than ideal results, but it -also- contains a lot of useful and thought provoking philosophy and interesting info for ruminating about our consumerist lifestyle, our definition of community, and how we can be less dependent on unstable supply chains for our daily nutrition.

Four and a half stars. This would be a superlative choice for public or school library acquisition, activity groups, community garden collections, and home use. There is an emphasis on urban and to a lesser degree suburban gardeners, but there are valuable takeaways for gardeners in all situations. It's especially worthwhile to think about doing something about our self sufficiency and preparedness *before* the proverbial sh*t hits the fan.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I don’t consider myself a survivalist, but this is absolutely a book I’m adding to my gardening library. It’s full of diagrams, photos and covers a broad spectrum of information. Included is the caloric breakdown of veggies/seeds/greens, etc, growing info and recipes.
It’ll be a great resource if you are growing because your life depends on it and it’s perfect if you’re an avid gardener who loves learning from different people.

4 stars!

I found this book very inspiring. As a life long gardener I was intrigued by the idea of gardening for survival. Could I do it? Would I need to spend buckets of money? I now think I could. I’ve already started some micro greens from the instructions in this book. I didn’t realize how nutritious and easy they were to grow. This book would make a great gift for your preparation minded friend even if they are an experienced gardener. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

An interesting concept and a well-thought out overall book. Not only discussing survival gardening skills, but homesteading as well. More than just a gardening book, a thought-provoking book on how a hobby like gardening and homesteading might look in a survival situation. A good book for those interested in survival/disaster planning and also those who want to be frugal and economize and look at problems in new ways. Covering composting, animals, basic gardening, short-term and long-term planning this would be a good resource.

An interesting take on gardening as a vessel for nutrition and emergency preparedness. This book provides very helpful tips on how to grow certain things as many other gardening books do, but what makes this one special is the way they lay out what to grow first. They prioritize growing the most nutrient dense, fast growing crops while you collect materials and prepare for the larger crops. Recommended for any library where gardening, homesteading or emergency preparedness are circulated.

I read an advanced reader copy provided digitally by Netgalley.
Covering a huge amount on concepts and information on producing food in a survival situation.
The information in the book is enough to get you started on many projects. This book is heavier on the survival guide than the gardening guide. I would suggest pairing this with a gardening guide focused on how to grow edible plants for a more rounded idea of how to bring these ideas to fruition.
It gave me a lot of ideas for how to increase my food output and I would buy the book or give it as a gift to a survivalist also interested in growing food.
Sprouting, growing for highest and quickest calories, composting, guerilla gardening, straw bale gardening, edible insects, and many more topics are covered.

If you're looking to grow your own food and be ready for whatever life throws at you, Sam Coffman’s guide has you covered! From fast-growing crops to long-term solutions like perennials and mushrooms, this book is packed with practical tips for maximizing your space and minimizing reliance on store-bought supplies. Whether you're prepping for emergencies or just want a more self-sufficient lifestyle, this is your go-to guide for resilience and delicious homegrown eats. 🌱

This book has everything you could possibly want to know about growing your own food, from composting to micro greens to foraging and so much more. It’s written in an easy to follow format and is laid out well with plenty of photos. I’m excited to get started growing my own food and am definitely going to purchase a hard copy of this book!

An excellent introduction to survival gardening and the importance of being prepared. Looks at what to do in the first five days after a disaster, the next five weeks and long-term preparation for survival.

This is a very detailed guide to growing a garden in an emergency situation. It covers lots of topics like quick crops, humanure (it’s what it sounds like), seed saving and much more. The one thought I had a lot was that you had better have this stuff in place ahead of time though, since he calls for buying a lot of stuff. A lot of times his recommendations call for things like electricity that I don’t know would be available in many real catastrophes. The final page covers radiation in one page and says once you know the level of radiation then here’s some crops that help remediate, and then to test the soil for pH and quality, but not how you know the radiation level or how you test your soil quality after a nuclear disaster or how long it would take or really what to do. There’s often quite a lot of equipment and supplies called for, so this is best suited for creating your garden ahead of an emergency. I would also like suggestions for where to buy all these supplies and seeds in the event of an emergency of this magnitude, if you have to stockpile seeds ahead of time then how to store them, how to water and such without running water (he talks about irrigation systems, another thing you may not be able to do in a real emergency). Thorough, good information though.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

I like this book. It had a lot of good tips and information on gardening and what crops would matter most. There were lots of tips and tricks that I never would’ve thought about. This book was of course, a survivalist book which was a bit eerie, but other than that it was good.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

I rated this at its level due to the requirement of the nature of this book. As someone who lives in an urban space and without access to a plot of land, this is highly difficult. It is currently also difficult to acquire that even with the means. This book does not feel accessible to a large amount of the population. Most of the materials, time and effort required are large . It just does not seem feasible, but the goal and a message is present

"Survival Gardening: Grow Your Own Emergency Food Supply, from Seed to Root Cellar" by Sam Coffman is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in learning sustainable gardening without the intense "prepper" mindset. Coffman provides clear, practical advice on growing your own food for resilience and self-sufficiency, focusing on essential techniques like seed saving, soil health, and storage methods. What I loved most is how it empowers readers to garden for both everyday use and emergency preparedness, all while maintaining a balanced, down-to-earth tone. A solid 5-star guide for those wanting to build a garden with purpose!


***Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for gifting me an eARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.