The purpose of a survival garden is to provide enough crops to allow you and your family to be self-sufficient for food. Having a survival garden allows you to be in control of your food security, which is a basic requirement for survival. It is going to take considerable effort to grow a survival garden, but the value it provides in a survival situation makes it worth the effort. Not only does a survival garden provide self-sustenance, but you get to eat pure and organic food that is healthier than most processed foods common in the modern diet.
The survival garden should provide enough calories to meet the nutritional needs of you and your family. You can calculate the daily calories required by your family to get an idea of what size and type of survival garden you would need. Whether you have limited space for the survival garden or not, you should optimize the calorie output of the survival garden by looking to plant calorie crops.
A calorie crop is defined as a calorie-efficient crop that provides a high amount of calories per garden space. With more calorie crops you have in your survival garden, the more calories you will have at your disposal. Keep in mind that growing a survival garden takes time, so if you want to be in control of food security, you should get started right away in growing a survival garden. Here are 6 calorie crops that you can grow in your survival garden.
6 Calorie Crops to Have in Your Survival Garden
Corn
Not only does corn taste good, but it offers around 365 calories for every 100 grams. Corn crops are also easier to grow compared to other crops provided they are grown in the right conditions. It takes corn about 4 months before you can harvest it for eating. If you live in a cold climate, make sure the type of corn crops you get are suitable as generally, corn crops thrive in warm and sunny conditions.
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Another key advantage of corn is that it offers flexibility in how you can eat it. You can boil it, grill it, eat it raw, add it to a soup, grind it into corn flour, and mix it with other types of food. The shelf life of corn is also good and it can also be frozen for long-term use. This makes it an ideal choice for survivalists or preppers.
Beans
Beans are a popular calorie crop as they offer around 300 calories for each serving depending on the type of beans. Dry beans offer the most amount of calories and have a long shelf life. There are also other types of beans such as kidney beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, and more.
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There is also versatility when it comes to cooking and eating any type of beans. You can add them to rice, vegetables, meat, and other types of food. The ideal environment for bean crops is warm and humid, so if you live in a cold or dry area, bean crops are going to require extra care.
Peanuts
Peanuts offer high nutritional value including plenty of healthy fats and protein required by the body. A lot of other calorie crops are rich in carbs, which makes peanut crops an exception. Peanut crops require light sandy soil.
There is no fertilizer required to grow peanut crops but they do require plenty of water and some heat. Once you have harvested the peanuts, they offer excellent shelf life so you can store them for long-term use. They can be added to other food items, roasted, or eaten raw.
Potatoes
Potatoes can be grown in many types of climates, making them one of the most versatile calories crops to grow. It doesn’t hurt that they can taste good and be cooked in a variety of ways.
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The harvest time for potatoes can be up to 3 months from the time of planting. You can plant any type of potatoes you like including red, yellow, white, or blue potatoes. You can also plant sweet potatoes as they are also an excellent source of calories.
Rice
Rice is the staple food in several regions of the world. It has become so popular due to its good nutritional value and versatility in use. A cup of steamed white rice offers more than 200 calories. It can be a bit challenging to successfully grow rice as it requires plenty of water and soil that holds moisture.
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If your environmental conditions allow you to grow rice, you are lucky as you can grow buckets of rice. Brown rice is considered healthier than white rice as it offers more complex carbs. A meal with more complex carbs allows for slower digestion allowing you to feel satiated for longer.
Winter Squash
Winter squash offers excellent calories to garden space ratio. They grow vertically, reducing the space required to grow winter squash. Another advantage of winter squash is that it can grow in most climates, making it a good choice of calorie crop for hot and cold regions.
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A serving of winter squash offers fiber and several essential nutrients and vitamins including vitamin A and magnesium. Winter squash can last up to 12 months if stored in a cool and dry place. There is no need to freeze or refrigerate winter squash. For eating winter squash, you can eat it raw, or mix it with other food items. It can also make a healthy alternative to pasta.
Other Things to Consider
- Make sure you get high-quality seeds from a reputed brand. Here is a collection of seeds sold on Amazon that have received favorable reviews from customers. The high-quality seeds will offer the best chance of getting a good yield from the calorie crops.
- You need to make sure the crops that you plan on growing will be conducive to the environment. Some crops might require a certain temperature or type of soil for them to grow.
- You should also consider crops that you and your family enjoy eating. The last thing you want in a survival situation is to be stuck with food that you or your family doesn't like to eat.
- You should get good quality tools for planting and maintaining the survival garden. Depending on the type of garden, you are going to need a variety of tools. Consider buying the garden toolset from Amazon.
