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Posted: 2/19/2020 2:55:41 PM EDT
[#1]
I believe potatoes but don't quote me
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Posted: 2/19/2020 3:06:32 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I believe potatoes but don't quote me Also, just curious if the the yield would be greater for seasonal crops that are canned/cellared vs year round growth for same garden size/work input. |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 4:11:08 PM EDT
[#3]
This year there's a road median I'm thinking of using. Car exhaust and an assortment of other nasties near road sides. Also why you don't seek edibles there. May a year or two AFTER the pockey'lips.. |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 4:14:22 PM EDT
[#4]
Potatoes are a great one to "hide" as most city dwellers have no frickin idea what the hell the top side of a potato plant looks like.
I've had city folks think asparagus grew in clumps with the little rubber bands on them and those Vidalia onions you see in the field in bags (after harvesting) grew IN THE BAGS  Potatoes like acidic soil, so that's a plus if you have low ph soil. Rake some pine straw over them (or hay) after you plant them and few people will notice. |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 4:36:12 PM EDT
[#5]
If you stockpiled rice, beans, wheat, FD foods, and grew squash and potatoes your diet will taste very bland. You should also grow onions, garlic, and peppers for flavor and for barter.
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Posted: 2/19/2020 5:45:22 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
If you stockpiled rice, beans, wheat, FD foods, and grew squash and potatoes your diet will taste very bland. You should also grow onions, garlic, and peppers for flavor and for barter. |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 6:22:15 PM EDT
[#7]
And whatever you do, start doing it NOW. There is quite the learning curve, unlike what Mr Bloomberg said. Gardening is NOT "just dig a hole, drop in seed, put dirt, add water, and pick corn".
Not even close. Doc |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 7:06:02 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I believe potatoes but don't quote me |
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Posted: 2/19/2020 9:38:06 PM EDT
[#9]
It is very area specific. Potatoes don't like it too cold or too hot. Neither do beets. Carrots on the other hand can deal with a cold snap quite well. In our area where we get random cold snaps in the spring and a hot summer you are looking at dry beans, winter squash, sweet potatoes and peanuts in the summer for things you can grow easy and don't have to process to store. Onions if you don't count getting them started and the fact that onions are day-length specific. For fall carrots and turnips or rutabagas. Somewhere the summer is milder your list would be different. Honestly though if you just want something that will produce and be less work and are willing to invest time go the permaculture route and add some nut trees, asparagus, or rhubarb.
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Posted: 2/19/2020 9:45:01 PM EDT
[#10]
you might try sprouting beans from your storage.... great northern sprouts taste better to me than pinto YMMV
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:31:00 AM EDT
[#11]
Your Butternut squash is an excellent suggestion. Easy to grow, easy to process, easy to store, and fairly nutritious.
I've grown potatoes and don't well. But there are problems. Potatoes are easy to grow, until they aren't... They are very susceptible to blights, fungi, etc and prone to utter failure (Irish potatoes famine anyone???). They are considerable more intense with regards to labor and technique too. They aren't 'fire and forget" crops. They do store fairly well with correct technique. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:53:53 AM EDT
[#12]
Sweet potato
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:37:47 AM EDT
[#13]
Some random thoughts ...
Horseradish -- plant and forget. It will spread. Fruit and nut trees Berries. Raspberries are my best performer in terms of effort and production. Peas are a nice early-season crop. Some varieties have edible pods, which gives you more edible product. Turnips -- you can eat the tops too. Carrots are pretty reliable. I don't plant in rows but pick a bed and broadcast sow. Onions are easy. Just buy a cheap bag of the small bulbs at Wal-Mart and stick them in the ground an inch apart. You thin when you want scallions. Pole beans keep producing, but bush beans generally ripen at the same time if you want to can them. Don't forget things like parsley, thyme, oregano, mint, sage, ... I planted some Hopi red amaranth once almost 20 years ago, and it's still reseeding itself. You can steam and eat the big flower bracts like broccoli. If you want to collect seeds from your crops for next year, not all seeds are equally good for that. It might affect what variety you want to purchase. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 4:14:20 AM EDT
[#14]
Corn is pretty high on the calorie totem pole - around 100 calories for a medium-sized ear.
Pretty versatile, too - Can be dried for long-term storage, converted to hominy for more complete digestion or making flour, fermented and distilled for booze or fuel... |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 5:17:34 AM EDT
[#15]
Garlic. Plant in the Fall and harvest in the late Spring. Very easy to plant, grow and harvest. Would really help spice up your diet.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 6:08:34 AM EDT
[#16]
Asparagus. Perennial, so it'll come back every year on its own. Plus it's one of the earliest veggies to pop up in the garden in the spring, after a long winter of eating stored stuff.
Spinach and lettuce are dead easy to grow, and also come up quick. Can be grown indoors under lights with a little practice. Some lettuces are better than others nutrient-wise, though, so do some research. Blackberries, raspberries... also perennials, and need even less maintenance than asparagus. Stored wheat berries can be sprouted to grow wheat grass. Pretty good nutrition, though nothing to write home about from a taste/texture standpoint. A few handfuls grown somewhere that chickens can get at them makes a nice green fodder. A root cellar is another thing to think about for someone serious about growing and storing your own food. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 8:11:50 AM EDT
[#17]
Knowing what you can grow, where you need to grow it, is critical.
It takes some trial and error, but I am always amazed at the difference in pest/disease resistant different varieties of the same type of plant are. I can't grow nearly any variety of asian greens outdoors (without chemically nuking it) due to heavy flea beetle pressure... but I can grow black seeded simpson and most varieties of chard in the same beds, with zero protection, and they grow to maturity untouched. Poster above it spot on about moving some produce production indoors. I have a few grow racks indoors under LED where I grow a ton of asian and mixed greens using the Kratky method. I also have a tent where I grow tomatoes and cukes under LED. The power draw with LED is near trivial compared to traditional bulbs. I recently picked up some 395W solar panels with the intent to rig a rack to run on pure solar. May sound silly, but the advantage of growing indoors more than makes up (to me) for the cost and lost efficiency. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 9:15:08 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm not an enthusiastic gardener. I just want lots of staple food and trading stock with a minimum of effort. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
If you stockpiled rice, beans, wheat, FD foods, and grew squash and potatoes your diet will taste very bland. You should also grow onions, garlic, and peppers for flavor and for barter. Same with- Oregano, lemon grass, chives. Beans are super easy. Sweet potatoes are as well. Just get them going and walk away. Sqaush,zucchini easy choices Okra to. In Florida im not held back by snow, extreme cold. So i can plant lots of odd ball shit. Pineapple plants line my drive way. Grapes on my fences. Black and blueberry bushes Avocado trees etc. Those are long term though and not constant peoducers for me. But they are there. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 9:24:24 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Garlic. Plant in the Fall and harvest in the late Spring. Very easy to plant, grow and harvest. Would really help spice up your diet. Are you limiting yourself to vegetables? Fruits are a good source of calories and can usually be canned for storage. Easier to do if it’s native to the area. A few fruit trees could provide a lot of food. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 12:33:01 PM EDT
[#20]
We did a lot of figs at the old place and have new trees started at the current location. If canning preserves is out of the question, figs will dry well in a hot attic and keep for a long while. We have some unknown variety which only needs water and little else in the way of care.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 1:47:42 PM EDT
[#21]
Shiitake mushrooms are pretty easy if you've got access to a few oak logs. Not a nutritional powerhouse, but they add some valuable variety, and are a pretty high-dollar market crop when you're between catastrophes.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:03:55 PM EDT
[#22]
when you're between catastrophes. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:04:36 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
And whatever you do, start doing it NOW. There is quite the learning curve, unlike what Mr Bloomberg said. Gardening is NOT "just dig a hole, drop in seed, put dirt, add water, and pick corn". Not even close. Doc If you don't have knowledge and an established bed (and tools) to be doing it now, you sure as hell won't after any SHTF. You will be trading all your gold and bullets to attend and old gardener's post-apocalyptic gardening seminars. Trade secret: Your potatoes will FAIL the first 2-3 years on a fresh garden bed. Grubs will eat your crops before they have a chance. You can't let a potato bed get weedy, or any bed for that matter. June bugs lay their eggs in weedy/grass covered soil, and the grubs spend 2-3 years in the soil eating tubers, and they LOVE potatoes. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:24:47 PM EDT
[#24]
So, I've done this as a lifestyle for about a decade. I don't do it anymore, but I plan to get back into it.
What you plant is almost secondary to "how" you plant it. Row crops are terrible for maintenance. Bugs will decimate them and they're impossible to irrigate and maintain through questionable weather. Additionally, they require a huge amount of space to get any effective yield from. Farmers get away with it because they plant enough to absorb losses and they can irrigate with expensive equipment. They also have commercial fertilizer and pest spray. The weeds, rodents, birds and bugs will destroy your row crops before you ever get a bite. "square foot" or "raised bed" is absolutely the way to go. I was able to get more from a single tomato plant than I was from an entire row a half of an acre long. Not even kidding. Also, consider greens that have a longer growing season in your AO. Kale, for example, grows here deep into winter. The black weed mat is also a must have. It all but eliminates weeds. Also, off topic - we've found that NZ White rabbits are your best bang for the buck behind eggs for protein production. They're cheap and easy to feed and reproduce fast.  The old way - with terrible yeild:  More betterer: 
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:25:29 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Came here to post this. If you don't have knowledge and an established bed (and tools) to be doing it now, you sure as hell won't after any SHTF. You will be trading all your gold and bullets to attend and old gardener's post-apocalyptic gardening seminars. Took me probably 3 or 4 years to get it figured out where I can reliably produce enough to eat. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:42:25 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Corn is pretty high on the calorie totem pole - around 100 calories for a medium-sized ear. Pretty versatile, too - Can be dried for long-term storage, converted to hominy for more complete digestion or making flour, fermented and distilled for booze or fuel... Unless you have access to artificial nitrogen (or large amounts of free-range chicken manure), forget about it. I can't even put legumes in a bed for 2 years and get decent yield out of corn on year 3 w/o heavy chicken manure. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:44:23 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Corn is resource intensive. Unless you have access to artificial nitrogen (or large amounts of free-range chicken manure), forget about it. I can't even put legumes in a bed for 2 years and get decent yield out of corn on year 3 w/o heavy chicken manure. Corn is a no-go. It's also susceptible to pests more than other options. Additionally, it's not nutrient-dense. It's a lot like wheat in that respect. It must be processed in large amounts to be useful. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 2:56:42 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
So, I've done this as a lifestyle for about a decade. I don't do it anymore, but I plan to get back into it. What you plant is almost secondary to "how" you plant it. Row crops are terrible for maintenance. Bugs will decimate them and they're impossible to irrigate and maintain through questionable weather. Additionally, they require a huge amount of space to get any effective yield from. Farmers get away with it because they plant enough to absorb losses and they can irrigate with expensive equipment. They also have commercial fertilizer and pest spray. The weeds, rodents, birds and bugs will destroy your row crops before you ever get a bite. "square foot" or "raised bed" is absolutely the way to go. I was able to get more from a single tomato plant than I was from an entire row a half of an acre long. Not even kidding. Also, consider greens that have a longer growing season in your AO. Kale, for example, grows here deep into winter. The black weed mat is also a must have. It all but eliminates weeds. Also, off topic - we've found that NZ White rabbits are your best bang for the buck behind eggs for protein production. They're cheap and easy to feed and reproduce fast. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/221816/IMG_0246_JPG-1283964.jpg The old way - with terrible yeild: https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/221816/IMG_0008_JPG-1283960.jpg More betterer: https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/221816/IMG_0236_zpsa73ca25f-1283961.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/221816/IMG_0237_zps90cb5a3d-1283962.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/221816/IMG_0238_zps1d847468-1283963.jpg A good compromise is double rowing. It's like half way between a field crop row set up and full blown raised beds. You have a mound row with a double row planted and paths packed down in between. So, your not plowing ground that isn't used (pathway) and not walking on parts that are (the 'raised' double row which is where you dump your loam, fert, mulch, etc). As for selection, be aware of what takes two years to produce seed. Carrot, beet, turnip, onion/garlic, etc etc. Potatoes and yams take lots of cellar room and careful handling if you want next year's crop. It's hard to go wrong with what has worked here for thousands of years. Three sisters. Corn, beans, squash. Granted, corn is an inefficient and quite recognizable standout. So from a clandestine perspective, not great. Beans fix nitrogen. Pick the type that are disease and drought resistant and they're damn near perfect. Can be eaten as soon as there are pods. Easy to preserve by drying including drying snapped green beans (shucked beans or leather breeches for the southern folks). Easy to save seeds. Purple pods are my favorite. Squash is damn good. Don't forget pumpkins. To ensure preservation until spring, cut half of them into rings and dry. Careful to inspect for vine borer for any whole fruit you try to keep. Don't forget grains. Wheat and oats look like grass to anyone who don't know better. Wheat can take the place of corn, with beans to create complete protein, iirc. (don't quote me though. been a while since I researched that end of it) Southern Exposure Seed Exhange is a good resource for heirloom and info. There's more to saving seed than just drying what comes out of your food. You'll be surprised what can cross and from how far. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:00:50 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You'll be surprised what can cross and from how far. 
I had some funky shit my first year. Great post as always.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:01:12 PM EDT
[#30]
The corn of today is not the corn of 3 Sisters.
Neither is wheat of today what wheat was 100 years ago for that matter.... If you really want to grow corn, find OLD varieties from specialty growers. In 3 Sisters arrangements, the corn primarily gives the beans something to walk up. A stick does that too. IMHO your better off growing potatoes in a climbing ring arrangement (aka "ring stacking" et al.)for any starch needs. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:04:49 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Correct. Corn is a no-go. It's also susceptible to pests more than other options. Additionally, it's not nutrient-dense. It's a lot like wheat in that respect. It must be processed in large amounts to be useful. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Corn is resource intensive. Unless you have access to artificial nitrogen (or large amounts of free-range chicken manure), forget about it. I can't even put legumes in a bed for 2 years and get decent yield out of corn on year 3 w/o heavy chicken manure. Corn is a no-go. It's also susceptible to pests more than other options. Additionally, it's not nutrient-dense. It's a lot like wheat in that respect. It must be processed in large amounts to be useful.  The corn will support runner beans (pole beans). The beans will fix nitrogen in the soil for the corn.
The (summer)squash leaves shade the soil around the base and preserve moisture. Plant the corn first. Tradition was plant it in a hill with a fish or other dead animal or good amount of rich compost. Wait before planting the beans or they'll drag your baby corn down. From that perspective, the corn pays for itself because it helps the beans to not rot on the ground without bothering with stakes, it keeps exceptionally well, it draws food animals in to harvest, it creates fodder for livestock. There's a reason the folks who lived off of what they could grow, here, long before use civilized types came along, grew corn. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:05:15 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's true. Took me probably 3 or 4 years to get it figured out where I can reliably produce enough to eat. What you grow and when is super regionally dependent. What kind of soil do you have? What kind of bugs? Weather? Can you handle the nitrogen issue with beans or something? Your fall crops and your spring crops will be different too. Potatoes can be easy to grow - I’ve seen them grown in a stack of old tires, but they’re difficult to keep pest free and appear to catch every blight or sickness known to plantkind. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:07:24 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Good points. Get old style, short stalk, fast yielding, drought resistant, field corn. Not Silver Queen. The corn will support runner beans (pole beans). The beans will fix nitrogen in the soil for the corn.
The (summer)squash leaves shade the soil around the base and preserve moisture. Plant the corn first. Tradition was plant it in a hill with a fish or other dead animal or good amount of rich compost. Wait before planting the beans or they'll drag your baby corn down. From that perspective, the corn pays for itself because it helps the beans to not rot on the ground without bothering with stakes, it keeps exceptionally well, it draws food animals in to harvest, it creates fodder for livestock. There's a reason the folks who lived off of what they could grow, here, long before use civilized types came along, grew corn. other than my failed attempts. I'm certain it can be done reliably, but I gave up after a few years.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:23:38 PM EDT
[#34]
Your best bet after researching is to try things in your yard. I put in granny smith and golden delicious apples, 3 varieties of almonds, a whole hedge of hazelnut/filbert crosses and about 5 years later 2 persimmons. In that 7 year run:
The apples got rust repeatedly requiring spraying and only produced about 5 pieces of fruit, all moldy and misshapen. The hazelnut/filberts were repeatedly swarmed by Japanese beetles and all the nuts I found were empty shells. The almonds never fruited even once. The 2 persimmons fruited heavy enough both years I had to thin/stake them, and I never had to do anything else but pick the fruit. I keep seeing apples on the list of easy yard fruit. Not in my yard it isn't. Easy yard fruit to me is something I don't have to spray, or cover every fruit with nylons to save them from bugs. I am willing to net but would rather not have to. I could probably have gotten a more aggressive spraying on the apples, or called a horiticulturalist, but I wanted things that would thrive without me being an expert. I also had great luck with blueberries, asparagus, and blackberries. No spraying, no weeding, no pest issues, lots of produce. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:24:23 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The corn of today is not the corn of 3 Sisters. Neither is wheat of today what wheat was 100 years ago for that matter.... If you really want to grow corn, find OLD varieties from specialty growers. In 3 Sisters arrangements, the corn primarily gives the beans something to walk up. A stick does that too. IMHO your better off growing potatoes in a climbing ring arrangement (aka "ring stacking" et al.)for any starch needs. When you get two or three posters saying basically the same things, I think it should be noticed by anyone who's interested in the subject. 
I got into gardening because of sustainability and recreating the resources of the revolutionary war period. SESE (mentioned) is a group affiliated with Monticello and T.J.'s botanical endeavors. So, for years, I was growing several crops that Jefferson himself had on his estate. I've always tried to make a habit of learning from the people who do XYZ for a living if I want to know the best way for anything. In my AO, pre-white contact, Eastern Woodland indians are my go to. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:25:11 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Your best bet after researching is to try things in your yard. I put in granny smith and golden delicious apples, 3 varieties of almonds, a whole hedge of hazelnut/filbert crosses and about 5 years later 2 persimmons. In that 7 year run: The apples got rust repeatedly requiring spraying and only produced about 5 pieces of fruit, all moldy and misshapen. The hazelnut/filberts were repeatedly swarmed by Japanese beetles and all the nuts I found were empty shells. The almonds never fruited even once. The 2 persimmons fruited heavy enough both years I had to thin/stake them, and I never had to do anything else but pick the fruit. I keep seeing apples on the list of easy yard fruit. Not in my yard it isn't. Easy yard fruit to me is something I don't have to spray, or cover every fruit with nylons to save them from bugs. I am willing to net but would rather not have to. I could probably have gotten a more aggressive spraying on the apples, or called a horiticulturalist, but I wanted things that would thrive without me being an expert. I also had great luck with blueberries, asparagus, and blackberries. No spraying, no weeding, no pest issues, lots of produce. We cut down the plum trees, they were so eaten up with pests. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:40:36 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Apples were and are a continuous failure here. I have 4 pear trees in the same orchard that produce truck loads of pears. I think we've had literally one edible apple. We cut down the plum trees, they were so eaten up with pests. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:49:06 PM EDT
[#38]
Traditionally, potatoes and peanuts would be the staples grown around here.
Figs for fruit here, Apples up more near the mountains. Best advice is to have a garden every year, that way it won't be a big change to have one when you need it. Do those little things, like figuring out how you will water it when the season is dry, what compose works best for your stuff, how to store it to make it last longer, how to stagger the crops, how to mix in what you grow with your other stored food such as rice/beans. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 3:50:38 PM EDT
[#39]
re: growing stuff indoors
Here's one of our indoor garden/seed starting setups. The stuff in there right now is mainly a couple different varieties of lettuce and spinach, a couple weeks old at this point. Another couple weeks and it'll be about ready to start plucking a salad or two every few days. Not a hard setup to build... slap together a frame to hold a few LED shop lights (the ones pictured are from Sam's Club, about $20/ea when on sale), a small fan (critical!), and a timer to turn everything on and off automatically. I grew quite a few greens with one of these last winter; this is the first batch this winter due mainly to laziness on my part  . Fired it back up when the coronavirus stuff kicked in.
Another month or so and we'll move this stuff to the greenhouse, and break out the second one (basically a dupe of this setup) and switch over to starting bedding plants for the garden.  
These are the timers I use... nice because each of the two outlets is independently programmable, so I can have the lights on for 12 hours straight but the fan only runs for 15 minutes every couple of hours:  
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Posted: 2/20/2020 4:26:21 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Apples were and are a continuous failure here. I have 4 pear trees in the same orchard that produce truck loads of pears. I think we've had literally one edible apple. We cut down the plum trees, they were so eaten up with pests. Tons of work. Lots of time, money, chemicals, netting, pruning, books, videos, etc yielded pitiful results for the most part. There's something to it that I just couldn't get a handle on and I got tired of mowing around all the fuckers. Berry patches and asparagus are nice. Still work, though, if you want decent production. Asparagus needs attention a couple times a year but can be pretty much mulched in and ignored the rest of the time. Berries....everybody and their brother will be in your berry patch, munching away.  But, the vines don't mind. They just keep on making berries.  They are dependent on the right amount of water at the right time for good results.If you have time, the right place, and the inclination, don't forget about cash crops. No, not pot. Ginseng and hops bring bucks.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 4:43:20 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
re: growing stuff indoors Here's one of our indoor garden/seed starting setups. The stuff in there right now is mainly a couple different varieties of lettuce and spinach, a couple weeks old at this point. Another couple weeks and it'll be about ready to start plucking a salad or two every few days. Not a hard setup to build... slap together a frame to hold a few LED shop lights (the ones pictured are from Sam's Club, about $20/ea when on sale), a small fan (critical!), and a timer to turn everything on and off automatically. I grew quite a few greens with one of these last winter; this is the first batch this winter due mainly to laziness on my part . Fired it back up when the coronavirus stuff kicked in.
Another month or so and we'll move this stuff to the greenhouse, and break out the second one (basically a dupe of this setup) and switch over to starting bedding plants for the garden. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0303_00001-1284034.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0306_00001-1284060.jpg These are the timers I use... nice because each of the two outlets is independently programmable, so I can have the lights on for 12 hours straight but the fan only runs for 15 minutes every couple of hours: www.amazon.com/dp/B071KXV73N Nearly the same setup, just no soil - zero touch after seeding until harvest. 
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Posted: 2/20/2020 5:07:27 PM EDT
[#42]
Of the 4-5 climate zones Ive lived in legumes and cucurbits are the easiest.
Potatoes and root veggoes are pretty easy as well but need specific temps. Corn and tomatoes are the hardest. Ive tried to grow stuff from AK to the deep south and in a high desert. Different techniques for all |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 5:20:55 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Why take it outside at all :) Nearly the same setup, just no soil - zero touch after seeding until harvest. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/60523/IMG_20170112_105718-1284167.jpg
Although I know the question was mostly rhetorical, we move outside because we've usually got almost an acre of cultivated gardens in a regular year. We grow a bunch of stuff for FTF sales and farmer's markets, plus wheat and forage for the chickens, lots of extra for canning/freezing/dehydrating, and some for the bugs because we don't use chemical fertilizers or insecticides. The main goal has always been the having the ability to be self-reliant as possible though, and an acre dedicated to growing food crops is not overly generous for that. It'd actually probably get a lot bigger in a sure 'nuff worst-case scenario (extended grid outage or whatever). We've got another 1+ acres in grass that we cut just for mulch. That's really the only way to raise that much stuff without herbicides/pesticides. Ain't enough hours in a day to keep weeds from taking over otherwise. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 6:32:19 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Correct. Corn is a no-go. It's also susceptible to pests more than other options. Additionally, it's not nutrient-dense. It's a lot like wheat in that respect. It must be processed in large amounts to be useful. One year we put EVERY bit of manure we got from dozen rabbits, goats, 2 dozen chickens, etc. into a 40X40'ish plot of already well producing soil that had sweet corn planted on it. It took EVERY bit of manure (and keep in mind the soil had already been in production for several years) and of course tons of WATER to produce a decent crop. This idea that your going to grow a ton of corn without a bunch of outside inputs is BS. We started on the land in the mid 90's, then moved here full time in 1999. It took us about 4-5 years to truly start producing food in quantity. You HAVE to get experience with this ahead of time. With nothing but A #10 can of seeds and a square foot gardening book your going to flipping starve.... Hope you have YEARS of storage food. Our BEST years with everything in full production we produced 90% or more of our meat consumption and probably 60-70% of our fruit and veg consumption. The time we grew wheat mainly to get experience growing grains, was the times we ended up adding more grains to our LTS. |
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Posted: 2/20/2020 7:57:15 PM EDT
[#45]
Surprised to hear everyone struggling with corn so much. Around East tn awful lot of subsistence farmers do it. My grandfather did it til he died in the 1980s. When i was a kid I remember helping him plow with mules. I think he got a tractor when he was in his 70s. There were piles of manure involved but I sure remember shucking a lot of corn and helping my grandmother can it.
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Posted: 2/20/2020 8:07:42 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Surprised to hear everyone struggling with corn so much. Around East tn awful lot of subsistence farmers do it. My grandfather did it til he died in the 1980s. When i was a kid I remember helping him plow with mules. I think he got a tractor when he was in his 70s. There were piles of manure involved but I sure remember shucking a lot of corn and helping my grandmother can it. I do remember a ton of prep work going into canning and freezing though, but it was amazing to have fresh tasting peas and tomatoes in the middle of winter. |
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Posted: 2/21/2020 10:17:00 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Surprised to hear everyone struggling with corn so much. Around East tn awful lot of subsistence farmers do it. My grandfather did it til he died in the 1980s. When i was a kid I remember helping him plow with mules. I think he got a tractor when he was in his 70s. There were piles of manure involved but I sure remember shucking a lot of corn and helping my grandmother can it. My point in posting that was that the small section of corn required ALL of the on the land "fertilizer" we had for that time period. In other words too much input for such little output. The title of the OP was "long term survival crops" which to me means what you can grow with no outside inputs- i.e, a trip to Tractor supply to buy some bags of 34-0-0 to get your corn really kicking. And from a non TSHTF standpoint, corn (in season) is dirt cheap and if your doing the cute little 4X4 beds or only have a limited space, your space is better used with plants that produce more produce that is worth more $$ like broccoli which also I'm sure has more nutrition than corn. |
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Posted: 2/21/2020 1:18:39 PM EDT
[#48]
What's a good crop or two for someone living in the high desert southwest, who's never grown anything before and isn't really "into" gardening? Water consumption is the primary concern, and then the temperature swings from single-digit lows in the winter to 105-110 highs in the summer.
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Posted: 2/21/2020 1:25:14 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What's a good crop or two for someone living in the high desert southwest, who's never grown anything before and isn't really "into" gardening? Water consumption is the primary concern, and then the temperature swings from single-digit lows in the winter to 105-110 highs in the summer. j/k click here Just click on the month you want to plant. |
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Posted: 2/21/2020 1:27:54 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What's a good crop or two for someone living in the high desert southwest, who's never grown anything before and isn't really "into" gardening? Water consumption is the primary concern, and then the temperature swings from single-digit lows in the winter to 105-110 highs in the summer. |
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