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9 Crops to Grow in a Crisis

in Gardening Tips & How-to's· In the Garden· Spring Garden· The Beginner's Garden Podcast

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What crops should you grow in a crisis or simply to prepare for uncertain times?

The events surrounding the worldwide pandemic in 2020 have motivated many to either start a garden or get more strategic about what they plant. Even those of us who have gardened on a larger scale for years are beginning to re-think what we grow in case a time comes when we don’t have grocery stores as a back-up.

Whether you are beginning your first garden or are scaling up your gardening efforts, you may be asking yourself, what ARE the best crops to grow in a crisis situation (or to prepare in the event of one).

To help guide you on this question that many of us are asking for the first time, I spoke to two of my favorite gardening and homesteading experts — Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening and Melissa K. Norris of Pioneering Today.

In this episode of the Beginner’s Garden Podcast, Kevin, Melissa, and I talk about how to garden in a preparedness or crisis situation. You can listen to our conversation below.

Top Vegetables to Grow in a Preparedness Garden

One topic Kevin, Melissa, and I discussed was which crops each of us would grow if we only could grow three and our food supply depended on these crops. Each of us chose three without talking about it before our conversation, and surprisingly, we ended up with nine different crops!

As we discussed these nine crops, three themes emerged that I think are important for everyone to understand:

  1. Grow what YOU and your family will eat.
  2. Grow what grows best in YOUR climate.
  3. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to what will work best for you.

(Learn more about what you should consider when choosing what to plant in your garden here.)

With these ideas in mind, let’s discover which nine crops Kevin, Melissa, and I believe are perfect crops to grow in a crisis for the ultimate preparedness garden.

Potatoes

Kevin’s number one pick was potatoes. Easy to grow and quick to harvest, potatoes also boast a high caloric density — an important consideration for a preparedness situation. Plus, for the amount of space required to grow potatoes (which can grow in raised beds, containers, or in the ground), the potential yield per square foot is higher than many other vegetables.

Learn how to grow potatoes here. (And learn how to store them here.)

Watch how Kevin grew his EPIC potato harvest on his video here.

Beans

Melissa’s number one pick was beans. They are easy to grow and are a versatile crop. They can be grown as snap beans or shelling beans — or both. Melissa and I both prefer pole beans for the increased yield they provide, and they can be productive in a small space.

Visit Melissa’s guide to growing and picking pole beans here.

Bush or pole beans? Learn more about which type of bean is right for you here.

Sweet Potatoes

My number one pick was sweet potatoes, and I chose this for several reasons. First, I live in the southern US, where sweet potatoes thrive. Second, the potential yield per square foot is very high, and you can eat both the greens and the tubers for an all-around nutritious food. Sweet potatoes also keep well, giving you a food supply for most if not all of the winter after your fall harvest.

growing sweet potato in a crisis
Sweet potatoes are the perfect crop for gardeners in warm climates to grow in a crisis — or anytime!

Corn

For Kevin’s number two pick, he chose corn. Corn is another calorically-dense crop, helpful during a crisis situation. Plus, you can choose to grow sweet corn for corn on the cob, canned corn, or frozen corn. Or, you can grow dent corn for the purpose of drying it and turning it into cornmeal.

Learn more about growing corn here.

Tomatoes

For Melissa’s number two pick, she chose the most popular vegetable in the home garden — the tomato. But she specified not just any tomato; she recommends the paste tomato. Paste tomatoes such as San Marzano Lungo #2 (her favorite), Romas (my favorite), or Amish Paste (another popular choice) are best for preserving in sauces, salsas, and other means. Paste tomatoes can also be eaten fresh, giving you the versatility for year-round use.

Learn more about growing tomatoes here.

Melissa chose tomatoes to grow in a crisis because of their versatility in canning. Learn more about home canning from Melissa here.

Lettuce/Greens

My number two pick was lettuce or other greens. While lettuce and greens will not grow in the summer in my area, they are still my choice if you’re able to plant in the early spring or fall. Because they are a quick-growing crop, you can expect to harvest sooner and begin eating faster than some of the other crops we’ve chosen. Plus, lettuce is an easy-to-grow crop that is happy in containers, raised beds, or ground beds alike.

lettuce harvest

Herbs

Kevin rounded out his top three with an unlikely (but wise) choice — herbs. Herbs amp up the flavor profile of the other veggies you’re growing, and in a crisis situation, you don’t want to discount the value of a delicious (as well as nutritious) meal. Both annual herbs like (basil and cilantro) and perennial herbs (like rosemary and thyme) deserve a place in your garden.

Learn more about growing annual herbs here. Learn more about growing perennial herbs here.

Onions

Melissa’s third choice didn’t come easy for her, but she settled on onions. Onions are a vegetable she uses almost daily in her cooking, and as such, she wants to make sure she has plenty of them. This is another example of growing what your family already eats. Melissa recommends yellow onions since they store longer than white or red onions.

Learn more about growing onions here.

Squash/Winter Squash

I rounded out my top three with squash and/or winter squash. Summer squash and zucchini grow fast in the early spring and summer, and they can provide you with food fairly quickly. Not only will you enjoy eating these fresh summer staples, but you can also shred and freeze them for zucchini bread and other uses in the off-season. Winter squash like spaghetti squash or butternut squash are also good choices because of their long-term storage capacity, lasting through the winter months.


Though none of us wants to think about gardening in a crisis situation — where we are completely dependent on our gardens for food — Kevin, Melissa, and I would all agree that it’s a smart move to prepare.

When grocery store shelves emptied of many common canned goods in March 2020, I wasn’t concerned because I can enough green beans to last all year, and I knew I would have a pea, tomato, and corn harvest coming up in a few months. Though I’m still dependent on others for a good amount of my food, I know I can depend a fair amount on my garden.

Our hope is that with each season you can grow more and more of your own food, and if a crisis situation comes, you will have crops coming, harvested, or preserved to feed your family and set your mind at ease.


Want to know more? Check out these books Kevin, Melissa, and I wrote to help you in your garden — whether gardening in a crisis or not. *links below are affiliate links

Kevin’s book, Urban Gardening

urban gardening book with kevin espiritu

Melissa’s book, The Family Garden Plan

My book, Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

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Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings on the left and the ones on the right?
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I just love testing different things in my garden, and for these seedlings I tested two treatments I’ve never tried before: foliage feeding and a “root dip” using the plant growth product, Organic REV.
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The plants on the left were untreated; the ones on the right were treated.
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A few weeks ago I filled a spray bottle with a diluted Organic REV mixture (per their instructions) and I sprayed the young seedlings on the right. They responded well and began to outpace the untreated group slightly — it was small but definitely noticeable.
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Then last Friday I transferred the seedlings into these larger pots, but before I did it, for the plants on the right, I dipped the root ball in a 50/50 REV/water mixture, saturating the soil and roots before transplanting. Again, the plants on the right were the only ones that got this root dip.
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The soil all plants are growing in is the same: a potting mix plus some Plant Tone organic fertilizer.
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It was after this root dip and transplant that the seedlings on the right started pacing much more ahead of the ones in the untreated group.
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While all the seedlings (treated and untreated) are growing in this fertile soil medium, what Organic REV is supposed to do is appearing to prove true — at least in this test. It helps plants more efficiently take up and use the nutrients that are present in the soil.
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Organic REV is now a brand partner of the Beginner’s Garden. They sent me their product to try first, and I’m continuing to test it in different ways.
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But what I’m sharing with you is my own experience and results. If you’re interested in their product, look them up here: @buyorganicrev Use my affiliate code JILL10 to get 10% off if you want to try it for yourself.
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I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesti I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesting from my garden in the winter. It snowed today, even! (Okay, just a dusting, and it already melted, but in central Arkansas, any snow is worth celebrating! 😂)
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Although I’ve grown cabbage in the spring before, this is my first time harvesting a fall crop. (My last two attempts were thwarted by hungry rabbits or rogue hens 😡.)
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I have several more plants that I’m hoping to harvest from now that the days are getting longer and maybe the heads will start growing again. And I also have a new crop started in my grow room.
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Four-season gardening may sound daunting but I assure you, fall and winter gardening is almost a hands-off endeavor. The only thing it really takes is a little planning (and some nurturing in the beginning).
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And the reward of picking from your garden in the winter (when your climate allows) can’t be overstated. It’s fabulous!!
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If you’re interested in learning how to incorporate more seasons in your garden growing, I have several exciting new resources coming up, starting with tomorrow’s first podcast of the new year on deciding if indoor seed starting is right for you!
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As much as I’m enjoying this winter harvest, I’ve already got one eye in spring! You, too? 😊
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#cabbage #growingcabbage #wintergarden #winterharvest #zone7b #arkansasgarden #zone7gardening #gardenplanning
This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really wel This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really well in my Greenstalk Vertical planter. I recently harvested the lower leaves and dried them for use in the kitchen. But the rest of the plant is still growing well, and I expect to harvest from it for months to come.
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I planted the parsley along with other plants in the Greenstalk planter in September. Although the lettuce is done and I harvested the celery, the herbs like parsley, cilantro, chives, and oregano are going strong!
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I LOVE that I don’t have to buy almost all herbs from the store, even in the winter.
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#herbs #parsley #herbgardening #greenstalkplanter #greenstalkverticalplanter #containergarden #containergardening #containerherbgardening #wintergarden #winterharvest #winterherbs #zone7b #zone7gardening
I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting and ordering seeds for this year. My husband thinks my intensive research is a bit over the top. Maybe.... 🤔
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But here’s what I do:
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1️⃣ Select the seed companies I’ll purchase from. Most of my orders were from @southernexposureseed because I’m in the SE US and the varieties there fit my climate well. Next, I placed a large order from @territorialseedcompany (great selection, informative catalog, and some of the best prices). From there, I supplemented with seeds from @bakercreekseeds (high quality heirloom seeds, highly dependable, free shipping), @johnnys_seeds (unique varieties for different needs than I can get elsewhere), and @seed_savers_exchange (heirloom seeds with a great mission).
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2️⃣ I went through my top 3 catalogs, circling varieties I was interested in.
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3️⃣ I entered each variety in my Seed & Plant Research sheet from my Complete Garden Planner, noting unique characteristics, days to maturity, and price. (Not all seed packets are equal in quantity so it pays to be a savvy shopper.)
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4️⃣ I chose which seeds to purchase.
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I usually plan my entire garden before ordering seeds, but I was a bit nervous about the seed supply (thankfully only a few varieties were sold out), so I did my best in choosing what I’d need.
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The process was LONG but a great way to spend the last two days of 2020 — with HOPE for the 2021 garden season! 💕
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Have you ordered seeds yet? Where do you like to order from?
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(My printable Complete Garden Planner is available in my shop, link in profile.)
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My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expe My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expect now that the day length ☀️ will be increasing, the growth will accelerate in the next couple of months.
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I think I planted these in early October, so you can see how slow they grow this time of year, even in the warmth of the greenhouse. But it’s so nice to see signs of growth and hope for future lettuce harvests! 🥬
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I’m almost to the end of my main fall lettuce, so I’ll be glad when these are ready to eat!
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Would love to hear your personal experience using Would love to hear your personal experience using shredded leaves as mulch! 🍂
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🌲 The trees on my property are mainly pine trees, so I’ve never had fallen leaves to collect and use as mulch. (That’s mainly why I use wood chips.) But when my dad offered to collect and bag up his leaves and give them to me, of course I said yes!
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Twenty-five bags later I realized I needed to figure out how to best use them. I knew they’d blow away if I just dumped them on the garden and they’d take forever to break down if I threw them in the compost pile. So I watched a few YouTube videos and settled on a leaf shredder.
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(A lot of people use lawn mowers to mulch their leaves but we don’t have a mower like that. I also tried the weed-eater as an immersion blender in a trash can idea once and it was a disaster.)
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I LOVED this leaf shredder! It was really easy to use and I shredded 25 bags in just a couple of hours. Most people shred the leaves into bags but I created a simple wired bin to collect mine, and I shredded the leaves directly into it. I applied the leaves to several beds already but I have half of them still in the bin to use later.
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How do you use fall leaves in your garden? I’m excited to try this method that I have enviously watched so many gardeners use over the years!
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