Winter is perfect to start planning your garden and if you’re planning a garden for food security then make sure you plant these food crops!
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Crops for Food Security
Growing a garden is a very rewarding hobby but more and more people are returning back to growing food in their backyard to take control of their food supply. In this post we’re going to discuss some crops you want to make space for in your garden this season!
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What Crops Should I Grow For Food Security?
Gardening for food security means you should be thinking of both calories as well as vitamins and minerals. Many of these crops are perfect for traditional winter storage (think root cellar) meaning you don’t need to go canning crazy which is helpful if you are busy.
When planning your garden for food security take some time to think how to grow both calories and nutrients. Many nutrient dense foods like Swiss chard, kale, komatsuma, lettuce, and spinach can be grown in pots or garden towers to make use of space. This means your in ground garden beds can be used for growing calorie crops like corn or grains like quinoa and sorghum.
Take advantage of winter and start planning your garden now to include some of these crops to enjoy throughout the next fall and winter.
1. Garlic
Easy to grow and relatively trouble-free! Make room in your garden bed for garlic! Plant individual cloves in fall and leave in the ground over winter or plant early spring and harvest in early July. Garlic really is pretty easy to plant and you can see how to do it step by step in this video:
In summer, pull your garlic and let it dry or cure in a cool dry location to help the protective papery layers form. Cut the leaves and roots or braid and hang up in a cool dry location. We keep ours in a basket in the basement and have enough garlic to never have to buy it from the grocery store!
2. Onions
Onions need a long growing season to reach maturity to make sure you choose a variety that suits your climate. Long day onions tend to do best in northern climates whilst short day onion types do better in southern climates.
Cure your onions after lifting them then braid and hang or cut the leaves and store in net or mesh bags.
3. Shallots
Highly sought after by gourmet chefs and foodies alike, the shallot is grown and stored like an onion. Shallots are smaller, more tapered than onions and grow in clumps but don’t let their small size put you off growing these beauties! They make the best-ever pickled onions in malt vinegar!
4. Celeriac
Also known as celery root, the humble celeriac is a popular vegetable in Europe but not widely known here in the US. Celeriac tastes like celery and despite its rather ugly appearance, celeriac is very versatile in the kitchen and stores well in a cool, moist location.
Lift celeriac in fall before the first hard frost. Trim the leafy tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) and store with soil and roots intact. Place in perforated bags in the fridge or pack in damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
5. Rutabaga (Swede)
A member of the cabbage family, rutabagas are not often found in grocery stores here in America but are seen in every supermarket in England! Also known as swedes, us Brits mash them with carrots as a side for a Sunday roast but there are other ways to eat them!
Rutabagas are a long season crop needing more than 90 days to reach full maturity and a good size. Often started in summer and transplanted out to harvest in fall, rutabagas can take a light frost or two but don’t take hard freezes as we get here in the US very well.
6. Potatoes
It would not be a post about crops for food security if we didn’t mention potatoes!
Easy to grow in small spaces in bags or containers as well as in the ground. Different varieties last longer in storage than others. For storage over winter, main-crop or late season spuds like russets last longer.
Keep potato tubers in the ground at least 2 weeks after foliage has died back to allow the skins to set. Protect the ground from freezing. Dig up the potatoes and allow skins to air dry for a day somewhere protected and out of the rain. Don’t wash the dirt off potatoes or put wet tubers into storage – they will go bad quickly!
Store potatoes in mesh bags, crates, vented boxes or paper sacks. Keep them somewhere cool, dark and moist.
7. Beets
Beets are one of those crops that help bridge the hungry gap between winter and late spring. They grow quickly in the right conditions and are ready to harvest in 55 to 65 days.
8. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes need a long, warm growing season but provide both edible tubers underground and edible leaves. They are grown from slips which are little plant shoots which come off the sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins as well as a great source of calories. They also store well over winter. The tubers need to be dug out of the ground, taking care not to skewer them with a garden fork. Harvest the sweet potatoes on a dry day and let them air dry for about 2 weeks indoors in an area with good ventilation and relatively high humidity to cure the skins. After the curing, carefully brush off any dirt then store the tubers in paper bags, boxes or mesh bags in temperatures of 55 – 60°F (12 -15°C).
9. Turnips
Another victory garden staple, and children’s book classic (seriously, The Enormous Turnip
Store in cool, moist conditions such as packed in damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
10. Parsnips
The large sweet roots of parsnips are better after a frost where they become super sweet and perfect for roasting as a side dish. Parsnips must be planted early spring and need a long growing season before harvesting in fall, or if you live in a mild climate, leave in the ground over winter. Row quick growing radishes with your parsnips so you know where you sowed them! Parsnips can take as much as 3 weeks to germinate!
11. Carrots
Larger carrots last longer in storage and are usually planted later in the season and lifted in fall before the first hard freeze. In mind areas, carrots can be grown over winter and are oh-so-sweet they are like candy!
To store carrots, they need cool, moist conditions so trim tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) then pack into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
12. Winter Squash
There are a few types of winter squash available and many are absolutely delicious! The pepos which include acorn squash, Halloween pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, delicatas and spaghetti squash store for the least amount of time, the maximas family that include hubbards, buttercups and turban squashes which keep for 3-4 months then there is the argyrosperma family that has the long-lasting cushaw squashes that can keep for 6 months and finally the moschatas family of squashes that can keep for around 4-6 months depending on the variety.
13. Salsify & Scorzonera
Two different crops but very similar in growing and storage! In mild climates, these can be perennial crops coming back year after year and are better harvested after a frost and kept in the ground under plenty of mulch. Salsify has edible leaves which appear early in spring making it a great hungry gap vegetable!
14. Cabbage
Many late-season cabbages can be kept in the ground over winter. It is the late-season cabbages which also store better whilst early varieties can be made into sauerkraut.
To store cabbages, harvest firm heads and store with some of the tougher outer leaves. Keep cool and moist. Check the heads regularly and remove spoiling leaves.
15. Drying Beans
Soup beans or drying beans can be climbing or pole beans or compact bushes. Sow beans after all risk of frost have passed. Sow a number of beans because you need to leave the pods on the plant until they become dry to harvest as soup beans. Make sure you pull the beans before the frost otherwise the go bad in storage.
14. Apples
There are many different varieties of apples and some have longer storage than others. If you can stock up on varieties known to store from a local orchard or grow your own on a fruit tree in your backyard then adding fresh fruit to the winter storage crops is a smart move.
Store unbruised fruit by wrapping in newspaper in shallow boxes or crates somewhere cool and moist. Check them often and remove any beginning to spoil. Try to keep apples away from other produce you are storing. Apples give off ethylene gas which makes other vegetables and fruits ripen faster, decreasing their shelf life.
15. Pears
Just like apples, there are many different varieties of pears and some have longer storage than others. If you can stock up on winter varieties of pear from a local orchard or try growing your own on a fruit tree in your backyard.
Store unbruised fruit by wrapping in newspaper in shallow boxes or crates somewhere cool and moist. Check them often and remove any beginning to spoil. Try to keep pears away from other produce you are storing. Pears give off ethylene gas which makes other vegetables and fruits ripen faster, decreasing their shelf life.
16. Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)
A native perennial of North America, sunchokes are really easy to grow. In mild areas, they can stay in the ground over winter and harvest in early spring! It can’t get easier than that!
For harsh winter areas, lift the tubers in fall and store in cool, moist conditions by packing into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
17. Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
Chickpeas are a staple in many parts of the world, particularly in India and the Middle East. They lend themselves well in the kitchen to so much more than just added to salads.
Chickpeas tolerate cooler soil temperatures and can be started earlier than traditional beans. Leaves contain skin irritants so be sure to wear gloves. For the harvest, pull the entire plants and allow the beans to ripen before processing. Collect beans that are fully dry. Shell by hand and allow them to dry more indoors.
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