Essential Crops to Grow For a Survival Garden

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Some crops offer more benefits for you and your family and if you’re a beginning gardener, you might not know where to start. Here are some of the most essential crops to grow for a survival garden.

Survival gardening

When it comes to deciding what to grow in your garden when you are trying to feed your family and lower the cost of your food you have to figure out what you should grow in your survival garden. And see here for how to start your survival garden.

And check out my favorite family run seed company here!

To feed your family even in the toughest of times right out of your garden the most important thing to consider when choosing crops is the nutrition they can provide and the variety of ways you can use them. Nutrient dense foods like spinach and potatoes are great crops to grow at home because they can provide your family with a lot of the nutrition they need to be healthy

How much food the crop can produce should be considered as well. While some less nutrient-dense foods like green beans and peas have fewer nutrients, they help more dense foods like potatoes grow while producing a large crop. When planted in succession you should be able to get enough food to eat fresh as well as preserve your green beans for feeding your family over the winter.

Essential crops to grow

Potatoes – When it comes to filling and nutrient-dense foods you can grow at home potatoes are at the top of the list. This goes for all varieties from the traditional baking potato to sweet potatoes. These are packed with nutrition, fiber, and the carbohydrates your family needs for energy. They store well in a cool dark place making them perfect for storing to help get through the winter. Potatoes are perfect for the survival garden.

Tomatoes – If you are looking for food packed with nutrients that can be used in a variety of ways you can not go wrong with tomatoes. These fruits are great for growing in your garden and can be dehydrated, frozen, or canned for the winter. When given fertile soil and plenty of water your tomatoes can yield a large harvest that goes a long way in feeding your family.

Berries – If you are looking for an easy-to-grow perennial that will keep producing more and more food year after year that is packed with antioxidants and other nutrients to help keep your family healthy you can not go wrong with growing your own berries. Berry bushes are great for working along fence lines to provide you with privacy as well as food and they can be frozen, dehydrated, or canned allowing your family to have these wonderfully immune-boosting fruits over the long cold winter.

Green beans – Green beans are a favorite vegetable of many people, even picky eaters. They can be stored by freezing or canning and they are an amazing addition to your garden. As nitrogen fixers, you can place these in with your tomatoes and potatoes and trust that they will help to nourish these plants to increase your garden’s yield. Succession planting is the best way to make use of this vegetable in your garden unless you plant to process a large amount at one time.

Spinach – Spinach is one of the best crops to grow for feeding your family. It is packed with calcium and iron to help keep your family healthy. This cool-weather vegetable is best harvested as young tender leaves and can be used anywhere you would use lettuce or salad greens. While many people do not like cooked spinach, many people discover that raw baby spinach tastes great.

Radishes – If you need quick-to-produce food to help cut your grocery bill as quickly as possible from your garden radishes are a great place to start. These tiny nutrient-dense root vegetables can be used to add a hint of spice to salads, and cold dishes blending perfectly right out of the garden within just a few short weeks. Rashies are quick food to grow in the survival garden.

Zucchini – If you want a food that can provide plenty of nutrition for your body and tends to be easy to grow while producing a large crop you want to grow zucchini. This vegetable, if left to its own devices, will grow a large and plentiful crop. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure you provide it with enough water to thrive. This vegetable can be used in everything from baking to a Keto-friendly noodle substitute.

Garlic – If you want to grow a crop that can help keep your family healthy and even makes your food more appealing you can not go wrong with garlic. Growing your own garlic is easy and it can even be used to help repel pests in your garden.

Crops in Oklahoma

There are lots of crops that grow great in Oklahoma for your survival garden. We have a long growing season, so the growing time is plentiful. There are only a few growing zones in Oklahoma, check them out here.

Check out what perennial crops you can grow that come back year after year once you make the initial investment.

Check out what you can grow in winter in Oklahoma too. Make more of your gardening by growing year round.

This month by month garden planting guide will help you find out what to plant when.