Getting prepared now, just in case. What are the best crops to select for necessary staples in the future.

[Baitball Blogger]

This is my list, so far:

Lettuce
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Basil
Rosemary
Ginger


Small container gardening and a 2 x 6 tub is what I have to work with.

[LiberalLoner]

1. If you have storage space, rice and dried beans are good to have in storage and have a reasonable shelf life while also

Being not too expensive.

With the bird flu infecting cattle now and more and more birds, there might be a time when rice and beans become a standard meal.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Yes!

Thank you.

[Easterncedar]

3. Potatoes can be grown in a bucket.

For a small space pole beans are good.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I've grown potatoes in a bucket.

Yes, they're incredibly easy.

[MyMission]

4. I've grown green beans in hanging baskets

Bush varieties, not pole varieties.
Saw it done at a garden show many years ago and replicated it!

You might want to add spinach to your list.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. I'll try that one.

Thank you.

[Hope22]

7. Tomatoes

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I have tried the small tomatoes and learned that they are so potent they can

hurt my stomach. After all that work too.

I wonder if there is a beefsteak variety that can grow in a compact container?

[Hope22]

14. There are tomato varieties that are branded low acid.

One of those may help. I’m so sorry about the stomach. After anticipating the delicious treat it takes the fun out of gardening.

[MissB]

15. Dwarf Tomato Project!

DUer NewHendoLib would be a great person to ask, as he has bred a bunch of the varieties.

I personally love Wild Fred and Dwarf Big Green, both beefsteak sized tomatoes on a dwarf plant. I am not sure about the acidity, but I bet our tomato guru knows....

(Victory Seeds is where I've bought most of my dwarf tomato seeds)

[rampartd]

9. beans/peas/lentils. a few beans from a pound of your favorite dried from the grocery work

onions carrots and leafy greens are good winter crops (i have a few coliflowers and a mess of collards in the plastic wal mart tubs (all found in oth er people's trash) ready to pick today

start your tomatoes and peppers and eggplants soon. i use 2-5 gallon containers for those.

potatoes are a good idea i need to start some. carrots are easer than you might think.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Thank you!

[GardenGnome]

11. Leafy Greens

Kale and collard greens are both very nutritious, and one plant of either produces a lot of leaves. They can also be left outside all winter (unless you get rabbits). And while kale needs to be blanched if you decide to harvest and freeze the leaves, collard greens don't require blanching. Their leaves can also be laid flat, one atop the next, which means they don't take up much space in the freezer. Aphids and cabbage whites are both drawn to these plants, so I would suggest covering them with netting. The alternative, for aphids, is to wash them off with water as soon as you see them and repeat daily until they're gone. I've seen videos on YouTube that suggest a mild soap and water solution but don't listen to them. The soap strips the leaves of their natural coating and kills them. Found that out the hard way. Cabbage white caterpillars are ravenous and need to be hunted and squished, but netting will keep the butterflies from laying their eggs on the leaves.

I agree with the pole bean suggestion, especially if you can manage a half dozen plants. They are great producers. I've had shelves of my freezer jammed full of them, but I usually have a 10' row with plants spaced 6" apart.

You need a large container for tomatoes. One site I visit recommends a 5-gallon pot. There are low acid varieties. Roma tomatoes are one, and Ace 55 looks like a good one, although it's not something I've tried.

[Keepthesoulalive]

12. Sweet potatoes

Slips are very easy, from old sweet potatoes. 1 slip per bucket , save 1 sweet potato for next years crop. The vines are supposedly edible.

[MissB]

16. can confirm edibility

I usually start slips for only the leaves. I'll actually be growing the potatoes this year too, but the leaves (and vines) are edible. I mostly use them for scrambled eggs.

[Alliepoo]

13. Bookmarking this!

I’m not much of a gardener but willing to give it a try. I’d have to use containers on my deck as I can’t really dig up my back yard and the soil is hard clay and crappy anyway. Good idea to buy extra rice and beans-I’ll start doing that.

[onethatcares]

17. depends on what zone you're in

Here in central west coast of florida it's getting too late to plant edibles but okra, sweet potatos, (Asian purple), everglades tomatos, kale, collards and small peppers should be good .
The weather and rainfall have been weird the past few years here so plan on irrigation of some type unless you want to use chlorinated city water which also gets pricey.

Tomato Growers Supply is where I've been getting seeds the past 8 years.and they have a good germination rate.

Good luck