Potatoes
The king of self-sufficiency — huge calories per square foot, easy to grow, and they store for months.
Salad greens won't feed you through winter. The high-calorie, store-well crops that actually build food independence.
The king of self-sufficiency — huge calories per square foot, easy to grow, and they store for months.
Pumpkins and butternut yield heavily and keep for months in a cool room with zero processing.
Protein you can store dry for years, and they feed the soil with nitrogen while they grow.
Flavor that makes stored food worth eating, and both cure and keep for many months.
For the full grow-store-and-live plan, The most complete beginner's manual we've found is The Self-Sufficient Backyard — Ron & Johanna Melchiore's 40 years off-grid distilled into food, water, power and 75+ DIY projects. Our honest take:
Garden beds, rainwater sizing, pantry days-of-supply and the weekly rhythm — free spreadsheet, straight to your inbox.