An anonymous commenter on a recent post said that land was $40,000 an acre in California... therefore he/she could not have livestock... his/her garden would have to suffice.
There has been a great deal of debate around the web... "adapt in place" or migrate? I chose to migrate. The Universe does not give a good fart about what is convenient for you. I want to say this very nicely... If you think there is going to be challenges and troubles and you think you are "prepping" because you bought some silver bars and a gun... well, my sense is is that your analysis is all f*&^ed up.
I tend to look at things in terms of return on investment, if you will. I think things are going to be very, very different 10, 15, 20 years from now. Where should my children come of age? What experiences will they have that will help them? What will hold value? What provides security? Each of us has to make our own judgement call about what the future will bring and how best to meet that future. For me, it was life in a small town on a family farm (near a hospital, university, and train station) with enough land, fencing, and barns to grow substantial food stuffs, and enough advance time so that I could learn what I needed to learn. I did this because I don't think you can prep in L.A. Or San Fran. Or New York City. Irrespective of how much silver you have or what guns or how many cans of Dinty Moore's beef stew. The Amish are prepped. Very few others are.
Gardens are for growing vegetables. Tomorrow morning, when you are eating breakfast, do a quick count of the vegetable matter you are consuming. Not much, huh? Oatmeal? You ain't growing that in your garden. Bacon & eggs, coffee with cream and sugar? Nope, not from the garden. How about lunch? Take a hard look at how much vegetable matter you are consuming at lunch... my bet is it just ain't that much. Same with dinner. Fact is, most of the plant matter we consume is not "garden" material. Corn? In volumes that matter corn, like other grains, is grown in large fields. Potatoes? Same drill. Pasta? From wheat (in fields). Dairy? Eggs? Meats? Poultry? These require animals, and animals require pasture, fencing, care, feed...
Take stock of what you eat. That's what you have to prep for... "by any mean necessary".
It takes money, it takes time, and it takes effort. That's why few people actually do it. Carrying capacity is carrying capacity, not a lick more... nor a lick less. The markets are telling us that something is incredibly f***ed up. How it all gets reconciled is anybody's guess. One thing for sure, life will go on and meals will need to be served... preferably hot, plentiful, and on time.
To paraphrase Vince Lombardi: Prepped is not a sometime thing. Prepped is an all the time thing. You can't get a little bit pregnant... and you can't be a little bit prepped.