Grow calorie crops in a small yard
At the bare minimum, one bed of potatoes. Start small and see what grows for you.
Lettuce is nice, but it won't feed a family. If you want your garden to back up your pantry, grow crops that are calorie-dense: potatoes, winter squash, dry beans and corn.
A 3 × 6 m patch can give you dozens of meals and some practice for when it matters.
YOU'LL NEED
- A sunny spot (6+ hours of sun)
- Compost
- Seed potatoes, squash, dry bean and corn seed
- A hose or rain barrel
Instructions
- Plan your beds. Make 2 raised beds or rows: one for potatoes, one for the "three sisters" (corn, beans and squash grown together).
- Plant potatoes early. Plant 2–3 weeks before your last frost. Put pieces 10 cm deep and 30 cm apart. Pile soil around the stems as they grow.
- Plant three sisters after frost. Plant corn in small hills. When it's 15 cm tall, plant pole beans around it and squash between the hills.
- Water deep, not often. Give about 2.5 cm of water a week, soaked deep into the soil. Mulch to hold moisture.
- Harvest and cure. Dig potatoes when the vines die back and dry them in shade for a week. Cure squash 2 weeks somewhere warm. Let beans dry on the vine, then shell them.
- Save seed. Keep the best beans and squash seeds for next year, so the garden reseeds itself.
TIPS
- Potatoes give the most calories per square metre of anything you can grow at home.
- Cured winter squash keeps 3–6 months on a shelf.
Products to consider
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