Let’s face it, some crops are better than others to grow when you are focusing on providing your own food. Here’s my list of The 5 Best Crops for Self Sufficient Gardeners.


Here are the 5 best crops for self-sufficient gardeners:
1. Potatoes

Here are a few links to articles on how to grow and store potatoes:
2. Tomatoes

Everyone loves homegrown tomatoes, they are a garden favorite. But they are also a very important part of becoming self-sufficient.
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile and productive plants you can grow in the garden. They grow very well in all but the coldest climates. A small patch of tomatoes, say only 4 feet by 16 feet with around 16 plants can produce upwards of 200 pounds of tomatoes in a good year!
Tomatoes can be dried, frozen or canned. They can be made into soups, sauces, pastes and more. They then become the base ingredient in hundreds of kitchen recipes. Tomatoes are one of the easiest veggies to can because they are a high acid veggie and as such, they can be water bath canned instead of needing a pressure canner.
I have an online video course on growing tomatoes as well.
Follow this link to buy this 90-minute course for only $10!!
3. Popcorn

4. Squash

Next on the list of The 5 Best Crops for Self Sufficient Gardeners is a squash. Love it or hate it, squash, especially winter squash is an important crop to grow and learn to eat for someone wanting to be self-sufficient.
Keep in mind that there are two types of squash, summer, and winter. Summer squash, are plants like zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pans. These are very productive plants but have a very short shelf life and very few storage options. Freezing is really the only way to preserve summer squash. Please grow these great squashes but don’t plan on them being a big part of your winter storage.
Winter squashes are plants like butternut, spaghetti, banana and acorn squash and also include pumpkins. These squashes are very productive and when stored properly they can last through the winter. A big banana squash can feed you for several meals!!
You will need a larger garden to grow these winter squash. These vining plants take up a lot of room so plan on them sprawling all over the garden. Most winter squashes are good candidates for vertical growing. So try growing them on some type of trellis or other structure to save space.
5. Kale

September is National Preparedness Month and The Prepared Bloggers are at it again!

It’s safe to say that our ultimate goal is to help you have an emergency kit, a family plan, and the knowledge to garden, preserve your harvest and use useful herbs every day – without spending a ton of money to do it. Luckily that’s obtainable for every family and a journey we would love to help you with.
This year we have posts about food storage, 72-hour Kits & Bug Out Bags, and every aspect of preparedness, from water storage to cooking off the grid. You’ll also find many ideas to help you be more self-reliant. Look for information on the big giveaway we’ve put together for later in the month.
Be sure to visit our sites and learn as much as you can about being prepared. We’ll be using the hashtag #30DaysOfPrep for these and many other ideas throughout the month of September, so join in the conversation and make 2015 the year you become prepared.
Food Storage
The Prepared Pantry: A 3 Month Food Supply | PreparednessMama
How to Wax Cheese for Long-Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Dispelling the Canned Food Expiration Date Myth | Self Sufficient Man
6 Canning Myths You Must Know | Melissa K. Norris
How to Dehydrate Cherries | Mom With a PREP
How to Dehydrate Milk for Long-Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Self-Reliance
Survival Tips from the Great Depression | Self Sufficient Man
The 5 best crops for Self Sufficient Gardeners | Our Stoney Acres
Butchering a chicken | The Homesteading Hippy
Self-Sufficiency Simplified | Blue Jean Mama
3 Small Livestock Preparedness Tips | Timber Creek Farm
Essential Oils for Preparedness | Mama Kautz
Farm First Aid Preparedness | Timber Creek Farm
72-Hour Kits or Bug Out Bags
How to Build a 72-hour Go Bag | Blue Yonder Urban Farm
Build Your Dollar Store B.O.B. for your Car in minutes! | Simply Living Simply
10 Essential Oils You Need in Your B.O.B. and at Home | Blue Jean Mama
10 Must-Have Herbs for Your B.O.B | Simply Living Simply
Preparedness
5 Things New Moms Can Do to Prepare for Disasters | PreparednessMama
Trauma Essentials for the Prepper | The Prepared Ninja
Emergency Preparation for Those Who Are Disabled or Elderly | A Matter of Preparedness
10 Most Important Items a Female Prepper Should Have | Living Life in Rural Iowa
How to Prepare Your Car for Winter | Frugal Mama and the Sprout
How to Prepare For a Power Outage | Blue Yonder Urban Farm
Why Natural Health, Exercise and Whole Foods Play a Role in Survival | Trayer Wilderness
Getting Started With Water Storage | The Backyard Pioneer
10 Totally Free Prepping Things to Do | Living Life in Rural Iowa
21 Prepper Tips I Wish I’d Heard Before I Started Prepping | Urban Survival Site
Is Homesteading Like Prepping? | The Homesteading Hippy
What You Should Consider When Fire Is A Threat | Trayer Wilderness
11 Ways to Cook Off-Grid | Melissa K. Norris
How to Make a 72 Hour Emergency Kit | Mom with a PREP

Great post. Had no idea you can’t plant popcorn and sweet corn together
Thanks! Yep if you plant them together they will cross pollinate and it ruins the popcorn.
This post makes a great resource for beginning gardeners like myself. Thanks
I loved when I lived in a warm enough area to grow my own popcorn. It’s probably the crop I miss the most since moving to a zone 4.
Since I can no longer grow popcorn, I’d have to replace it with beets or cabbage. Neither are my favorite, but putting up a year’s worth a produce all at once makes these two a must. They go directly into the cold cellar with minimal prep and are a few of the things that will last til next year.
Great post 🙂
I just wanted to mention that zucchini is worth growing to preserve by freezing. I grate the monster zuccs and freeze in 1 cup portions. These are perfect for thawing and using to make zucchini bread, zucchini nut muffins, or chocolate zucchini cake all winter.
Cynthia, I absolutely agree with you on this. We grow and freeze a lot of zucchini, most years more than 50 pounds from just a few plants. As it is National Preparedness month and I only could choose 5 crops for this post I went with the 5 I felt meant the most to an over all food storage plan for an emergency situation. If I were to do a top 10 list zucchini would be number 7 or 8.
I wasn’t aware that it was a month long celebration! Great post! We planted popcorn at a local community garden. Thanks for all the info!!
This is wonderful! I really need veggies like these since I start out all enthusiastic and then end up saying, “Garden? Oh yeah!” I’ve never tried growing popcorn, but we use so much of it I think it would be fun!
Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop. I hope we see you again tomorrow. Pinning! 🙂
I think beets and turnips are good garden crops because you can eat the whole plant,roots and leaves. Frozen,canned, and cold storage are all possible for the dual use plants.
I’ve been growing storage food for almost 60 yrs, I agree with your list only I would include pole beans,you can use them fresh can them ,dry them
Yep, If I had made the list longer, beans would have been #6!
Couldn’t find regular place to reply. Anything that doesn’t need any canning or freezing has to come first as well as calories.That means potatoes, squash, Beets ,carrots, turnips,Beans. corn or popcorn .All can be stored as is in root cellar or in house .Then tomatoes and a biggie you missed cabbages.If you can actually grow Kale all year to eat fresh then by all means. Add to that Brussel sprouts the late fall veg that will give you vitamins into LATE fall. The communist countries grew those cabbages as a staple for vitamins.They get huge and can be water bathed canned into coleslaw that is amazing.They also can be stored successfully in root cellar longer than you think . and can be pressure canned and or used for sour kraut.So no canning by root cellar storing or making sour kraut that can be eaten all winter. I am going to try the kale idea and the popcorn idea thanks for your great articles! JR
I agree that that potatoes, tomatoes, and kale are needed to be self sufficient. Not only just pumpkins but a variety of squashes, bell peppers and a variety of fruit. I grow all the above plus blueberries, black berries and raspberries plus cactus fruit, I make jellies, freeze, dehydrate and can my produce. That makes you self sufficient.
I grew spaghetti squash on my pea fence as they waned as summer came. Biggest crop of squash ever! Took up no room in my garden. That leaves more room to grow carrots or other root veggies I would add to your longer list. Easy to grow and store.