12 SURVIVAL CROPS to Grow Now for Hard Times

[@kx5462]

Thanks, I also liked the history trivia during the video :)

[@NowGardening]

I love making my nerdier videos. Glad you liked it :)

[@jimrobinson7441]

I tried sweet potatoes on a whim this year and they turned out great! I sprouted a grocery store sweet potato last January and put a couple slips in 30 gal trash bags. I ended up with 16+ lbs out of just the two bags and the biggest one was about 1 1/2 lbs. It's not very often that a crop exceeds your expectations on the first try but this one did considering sweet potatoes aren't really even supposed to flourish in my climate (5b/6a). That was one of the most rewarding things I've done in the garden for years. I love eating them too, I'll definitely be growing sweet potatoes from now on!

[@NowGardening]

What a great story, Jim! I’m going to have to try your trash bag method next year. Did you use potting soil, compost, or something else as the growing medium?

[@jimrobinson7441]

@@NowGardening Hi Valerie! IIRC I used about 50% native soil, 25% compost, and 25% used potting mix mainly for the vermiculite it contained. My native soil is very sandy which apparently sweet potatoes like, although I didn't know that that at the time. :) I've since heard that sweet potatoes don't produce large tubers in a high nitrogen environment (they grow foliage instead) so I think I'll leave the compost out or reduce the amount somewhat next year. That said, I did get some good sized tubers so...? The trash bags were great, it was easy to keep them well watered. They need to have holes punched in the bottoms so they can drain excess water. I'm planning to try a few plants in the ground next year just to see what happens but I think the bags are beneficial from a soil temperature perspective here in my cooler zone. One thing I should note is that I put slips in 2 gal pots about mid-March and grew them in the house for 2 1/2 months before I put them outside in the bags. When I pulled them out of the 2 gal pots there were already some little sweet potatoes forming in the bottoms. I think that had a lot to do with the successful harvest as opposed to just planting rooted slips in the bags in June, they got a significant head start that way.

[@RealBradMiller]

Sweet potatoes enjoy sandy soil and don't like to be waterlogged(though they soak up water with ease!) In North Carolina they are grown in abundance in the sandhills area! Amazinnnnnnnggggg french fry and edible greens!

[@pantameowmeow.s.1149]

Did you cure them? I saw videos on that, I wouldn't be able to do it.

[@jimrobinson7441]

@@pantameowmeow.s.1149 I cured them in a plastic tote with a lid set above my kitchen cupboards. I've seen videos where people just cured them in plastic grocery bags inside an abandoned car that was sitting in the sun. That said, I ate some before I cured them and then I ate some afterwards and TBH I couldn't tell the difference.

[@kevinbell8245]

Just a novice,trying to figure out how and wort to grow, slowly getting better at this, bit late in the day, now 70,years old. Got the time now,👨‍🌾👍

[@NowGardening]

Best of luck to you. It’s never too late to get your hands in the dirt and grow!

[@monginspiredwoman3703]

Awesome and great beautiful garden! 🥦🥒🫛You are really good! Very beautiful and very lovely, amazing and astounding! Peace and joy always. 😀👍👍

[@NowGardening]

Thank you for watching and sharing your comments 😊

[@theswissgardenvlog3189]

Hi Valerie, thanks for this informative video. A great reminder that gardening can actually feed a family and save lives. I can‘t believe how abundant you tomato plants still look in mid october👏🏾👏🏾 thanks for sharing, enjoyed watching💚💚

[@NowGardening]

My pleasure, Germaine. I’m far from being a doomsday person, but I’m a huge believer that we should all know how to grow food. As for the tomatoes, it’s been a wild autumn. We were having temps around 30°C until last weekend! 💚🤍💚

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

We did lentils for sprouts, super cheap, easy, fast, and nutrient dense. Awesome info Val !! Cheers J&C 🌱🤞👍😊

[@NowGardening]

That’s a great one too. I watched a documentary that said they’re one of the most drought-resistant legumes and that they could be a future game changer for agriculture. I haven’t grown them myself other than sprouts (for a school assignment with my son!).

[@Nofretari]

Tomatoes grow well for me. Plus they replant themselves when I plant heirloom varieties.

[@f.b.jeffers0n]

So I guess I'm growing squash next year... I'm surprised garlic wasn't mentioned. I bought 3 heads (~17 cloves) years ago, and now I'm getting upwards of 40 heads a year with 5 or 6 of those being replanted. I mean, maybe it's not nutritious, but I can't get enough!

[@NowGardening]

I grow loads of garlic too, and we eat it in almost every meal. I felt like it can be a bit finicky for inexperienced growers. I’d like to do one of medical crops eventually, and this would definitely be on the list.

[@gardeningwithnanay]

This video is so packed up Valerie!

[@NowGardening]

Thank you. I hope you enjoyed it!

[@chefdepunjab9271]

Mademoiselle you have got to be the most beautiful knowledgeable gardener with superb presenting skills. Learning lots from you. Thanks

[@NowGardening]

Thanks for your kind words.

[@SaphfireStorm]

Woo Hoo!! I had at least 5 of those you listed this year in my garden ❤ plus an unproductive peach tree lol.

[@lanazoolander4165]

haha. I only had 3 of them, plus a failed apple and peach tree 🤪

[@NowGardening]

Awesome, you’re well on your way to self-sufficiency. Hopefully, your peach tree will start producing for soon. Somehow i forgot to include the part where I talked about fruit trees, but mine are essential to my long-term goals for self-sufficiency.

[@quangmientayvlogkenhgiaolu3079]

Thank you for sharing this video. Wish you good health. Full 7:32

[@NowGardening]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@elleanabelle7358]

I like how you included more choices this time over your other video likethis

[@NowGardening]

Thanks, Elle. Hope you’re doing well!

[@carlisleholeman4371]

Excellent! Thank you. Yellow and Red Peppers, Gourmet Lettuces, Spinach, and Arugula were my champions this summer! I am planting a sweet potato rooting this morning!!

[@NowGardening]

Wonderful! Would love to hear how your sweet potatoes turn out!

[@carlisleholeman4371]

@@NowGardening I will try to remember to keep you posted!!

[@piper_lori-williams-tudhope]

Thank you for sharing with us all! I saved this video for future reference. 💝

[@NowGardening]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for saving and feel free to share with friends and family who might want to become more self-sufficient too 🤍

[@taumatarolleston8149]

Thank you for this video. I watch many veg videos but I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation ❤️

[@NowGardening]

Thanks for your kind message.

[@potagermalo]

Coucou 👋🏻 Encore un magnifique partage bravo 😊 A bientôt

[@NowGardening]

Merci beaucoup. Bonne soirée !

[@hopet201]

Thanks for this video and your work

[@NowGardening]

My pleasure. Thank you

[@thepaintingpallette8864]

Very beautiful sharing

[@NowGardening]

Thank you :)

[@cltinturkey]

What a useful video! I grow a bunch of these and they're satisfying and tasty. I'm lucky to have some success growing tomatoes (which I'd hate to live without), but carrots don't work well in our soil. I'm continuing to improve it, so I'll keep trying carrots each year. Sweet potatoes are delicious and can be used so many ways. I'd add garlic to your list. Thanks for reminding us that we can work to help ourselves in tough times.

[@NowGardening]

Thank you! Carrots are tough if the soil isn’t loamy: one stone or lump of clay and you’ll get deformed carrots. I grow mine in my raised beds. Otherwise, they would be a no-go for me. You’re the 2nd vote for garlic, so I’ll have to make sure to add it to the next video I do on this subject!

[@juanisgarden5356]

Great information dear!! Very inspiring and encouraging! This summer was not very good for me 😢, maybe the fall will do better 😊❤❤❤

[@NowGardening]

I hope so too! I believe you didn’t get much rain this summer, which was a lot like us. It’s finally cooling off and we’re receiving occasional rain now. The garden is loving it.!

[@SAUDIBOY99]

Wowww very enteresting clip thanks you po truckdriverksa

[@cliffmays442]

I have little issue with growing carrots. I have clay heavy soil so I found I had to use Danvers and they do well.

[@michignamymichigan]

This video is excellent! Thank you. ❤

[@NowGardening]

Thank you!

[@christianschmidt1556]

Agree, sweet potatoes are very easy and productive. They like hot Texas weather if you just water them. One slip will produce many runners which can be cut and produce more slips.

[@callofeden]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@NowGardening]

Glad it was helpful!

[@charlesdematas3742]

Excellent

[@NowGardening]

Thank you

[@lindag9975]

Thanks!

[@NowGardening]

My pleasure!

[@yellowdog762jb]

Suggestions for fruit trees in the south: figs and Asian persimmons. Both are delicious and nutritious when fresh, but they are also very good when dehydrated as well. And they grow quickly and they are relatively pest free, except for birds (protein, lol). A little farther north, apples would probably be a good choice for the same reasons. But most apples don't do well in the deep south. IMO, for the cost and amount of space they require, blackberries are an extremely good investment. You can buy one plant and easily propagate more if you wish. The only possible downside is that they don't keep well without a freezer. Go with thornless ones to make netting them 10x easier than the thorny ones. But one could go out into the wild and dig some up to plant near ones residence in a pinch.

[@NowGardening]

Great tips. You're exactly right. I get tons of blackberries from foraging--more than from those I actually grow. Also, I grew up with my dad trying to grow apples, and you're right there too: it's hard to do in the South. I'm a huge fan of figs--both those I grow and those I gather in the wild. We have preserves that last us all year. I did not know that Asian persimmons grow well in the South.

[@yellowdog762jb]

@@NowGardening I'm Texas Gulf Coast, literally right on the line of 8b and 9a. We get hundreds of Fuyu persimmons each year from our tree. There is a Pick Your Own orchard not far away, they have at least several dozen trees of many varieties. The two main pests are stink bugs and mocking birds. Persimmons, like tomatoes, ripen beautifully on the counter, so you can pick them before the birds get to them and ripen them indoors. We don't gather as many wild berries as we used to since so many of the accessible ones may have been spayed or exposed to road "stuff". Plus our improved, thornless ones are very productive, and they are larger and sweeter than wild ones. But I grew up gathering loads of wild ones. Plus muscadines and Eastern, wild persimmons. We used to make sassafras tea on cold nights also! Young black berry leaves make an okay tea. But I think in the "old days" standards for good tea were lower. Lol!

[@robinadair8918]

What kind of raised beds are those, please?

[@NowGardening]

They are a German brand called Blumfeldt. They are available in Europe and the UK.

[@fooingokchong4062]

Butternut green...we eat those very young ones

[@nmccutcheon2243]

Don’t overlook sweet potatoe greens. Nutritious and delicious. Also grow when cool weather greens won’t.

[@NowGardening]

Great point. Thanks for the tip!

[@dianes8048]

Malabar spinach.

[@NowGardening]

Great suggestion 👍🏻

[@222mmax]

1 POTATOES 2 SWEET POTATOES 3 WINTER SQUASH - BUTTERNUT , ACORN 4 KALE 5 SPINACH 6 PUMPKIN 7 BEANS 8 CABBAGE 9 ONIONS 10 TURNIPS - EDIBLE GREENS 11 HERBS - ROSEMARY, THYME, OREGANO, CILANTRO, BASIL 12 ARTICHOKES, ASPARAGUS, BERRY BUSHES CARROTS TOMATO

[@michaellockwood4237]

Shout out to the European Farmers!

[@NowGardening]

Yes!

[@marciabaxley1959]

You never mentioned Jerusalem artichokes it never needs alot of care either continues to produce every year

[@NowGardening]

Thanks for adding your suggestion 😊I didn’t mention them because I’ve never grown them. They are on my list for sure, but I didn’t want to recommend something I didn’t have experience with. Thanks again!

[@jennyjohnson5428]

Absolute personal self-sufficiency is a myth. Make friends.

[@jaymccarty3606]

Get a job