Self-Seeding Crops to have when TSHTF

So I'm sitting here looking at the seed catalogs and I got to thinking about how much this is all gonna cost and how there has to be a better way... well there is...if I only buy Self-Seeding Crops...
in this day and age you see a lot of what they call seedless verities and they are no good! just like they did back in the old days... you need to pick crops that seed or grow replantable runners!

Herbs:
basil, chamomile, cilantro, cutting celery, dill, parsley

Vegetables:
amaranth, arugula, beets, broccoli raab, carrots, collards, kale, lettuce, orach, mustards, New Zealand spinach, parsnips, pumpkin, radish, rutabaga, tomatillo, tomato, turnips, winter squash

There's no real trick to this... you simply leave a few plants to go to seed. Oh I know how hard it is to leave a big red ripe tomato stay on the vine, especially those tasty little cherry tomatoes! but if you leave a few... they will fall, rot where they lie, and come spring pop right back up...

Okay so that's my short list of easy to grow self seeders for more insight you might want to go read this Crops you never need replant
... feel free to add your own to the list... who knows... maybe I'll give them a try in next springs planting???

i live at n 64.5 and still have my chili peppers growing outside,
with luck they wont have to be taken in untill october.

second year in a row and they thrive.

I think its time I learn some stuff about gardening. I have no idea how to plant and maintain any type of vegetable and it is truly a great skill to have. Over this next winter I am going to read up about planting and maintaining vegetables, and which would be the best to do so with. The internet will be a perfect tool for this little project.

reply to post by zerbot565


Ya know coming from New Mexico I'm a huge chili lover... but when I moved the family here to Kansas my poor little chili's got some kind of fungus and died off... I got to go talk to the county extension agent and see if they got an answer for me??? maybe I need a different verity??? they would know and for you folks new to this... your county extension agents will be more than happy to give you all the answers you need too!

Trust me, when it comes to being a gentlemen farmer I need all the help I can get

reply to post by DaddyBare


i have
1 x sudden death habanero (2 years old), 1 x naga morich (had a bit of a ruff time), 1 x bubba (early and massive yield) , 2 x lemon drop, 1 x starfish , 1 x number serial i dont recall (cne56789 type) and basic bell peppers in all colors but they seam to need a green house , we had a bit of a ruff begining of spring so they took their time to grow but ive put em out in april/may and they seam to like the climate here even thou the arctic circle is just near by ,

largest one´s are about 4 and a 1/2 ft tall and everyone has a 2 gallon bucket for comfort.

People should also have an abundance of fruit trees and berry crops. For those living in the colder climates, there are fruits and berries that grow well in the cold, such as sea buckthorn berry, blueberries, haskap berries, and raspberries. There are even certain grapes that grow in the cold.

Nut trees take a long time to get to the point of growing nuts, but they would be good to get started with also.

reply to post by snowspirit


Good suggestions. Hazelnuts and pawpaw grow quickly and reseed themselves easily. Both grow well along bottomlands.
Plantain, dandelion and lamb's quarters are also self-seeding edible weeds with medicinal properties as well.
We're buying a house with a large chestnut tree on the property. I can't wait to fill a big sack with those.

Any kind of mint, can be used for medicinal purposes as well. Any cruciferous veggies. Root veggies, carrots, parsnips. You can separate potatoes and onions, u may need to store them in a 'root cellar'. Sunflowers, snap dragons, all annuals reseed. Deer love hollyhock which can be important if u want to lure them in for hunting. Tobacco will reseed if ur climate allows it. Eventually the self seeders will become 1/2 wild, adapting to ur grow zone. Make sure ur 1st purchase of seeds is organic and not the with the 'suicide gene' where the seeds produced from the plant aren't viable. I think that these seeds if collected could possibly be used as currency when shtf, not everyone will have access to them.

Kim

Strawberries grow like crazy.

I planted one about 8 years ago... and it's pretty much taken over the area around it, and then some. It could have easily grown the whole yard but we tear some of the plants out every year.

Asparagus and Jerusalem artichoke are also good. Apparently, the artichoke tubers are good food for diabetics, though I am unsure as to the exact reason why. Asparagus beds take several years to mature but once they do you can have all you can eat throughout the growing season.

On the topic of trees I want to point out that many nursery bought trees are grafted to a different root stock...
they do this for less hardy trees so while the nursery tree might thrive its seedlings might not... Also the suckers coming up below the graft point will be a different verity of said fruit or nut...

not saying this pratice is good or bad, just something you should know and be aware of...

Originally posted by snowspirit
People should also have an abundance of fruit trees and berry crops. For those living in the colder climates, there are fruits and berries that grow well in the cold, such as sea buckthorn berry, blueberries, haskap berries, and raspberries. There are even certain grapes that grow in the cold.

Nut trees take a long time to get to the point of growing nuts, but they would be good to get started with also.

I was also thinking about the need for fruit.

I planted blackberries and raspberries this year. Blackberries produced a little (maybe 5? berries). Raspberries, nada. Planted two blueberry bushes two years before. They've done okay, but not the best. I was hoping for a fast growing bush, not the slow growing things I have.

Those of you who have blackberries or raspberries, did you experience the same thing the first year you planted?

As for herbs, they've been fantastic. I mixed them in with other plants so they don't look as obvious. I purposely picked perennials, expecially exotic ones. I figured even if I don't eat them now, I'll want some variety in my diet later on.

Over the winter, what do I do to the herbs? Since most of them are self-seeding, I know I should just let them go to seed and die. I've collected some of the seeds already for things like dill. What do I do about the other plants that don't have obvious seeds? Do I cut the stalks down when they are dead? Do I just leave them? I have no idea and I want to make sure they come back next year.

reply to post by Waiting2


Most fruit type brambles take a couple of years to get going, trees often longer. I've heard as long as 10 for pears or walnuts, most other fruit trees only take about 3 years I think....Not sure about the rest of the nut trees.

For the herbs, if they are perennials and your zone 4 or better, most will winter over well. Some will die, and come back next year, some will keep going all through winter. When I lived in Vancouver on the west coast, I just had to brush off the snow and pick when needed. That only works if it snows before it frosts too cold.

If you leave the excess dead leaves over winter for asparagus, and some flowers, they collect energy for the bulb or roots below. Then clean them up in the spring. I do all the clean up in the spring, here it gets covered in snow. If not enough snow, and you don't want them to looking messy, cover them lightly with a straw mulch, and that'll protect from cold too if that type of climate.

I grew my herbs in pots this year, because it didn't stop raining all summer. Now they're in the house. If you want to bring some in the house, just dig them up, stick them in pots in a sunny window. Watch for bugs though. Insecticidal soap is OK as long as you don't eat them for a while after. I have a bay tree I've been growing in a big pot for 20 years. It only goes out in the summer. I have to keep chopping it back to keep it contained, they can grow huge. I give away tons of bay leaves on branches to friends and neighbours.

Keep your eyes open for various herb books so you know which ones can be used medicinally, and various other uses. There are some herbs we think of as weeds that have surprising uses. Handy to have.

www.richters.com...
I think they are out of Ontario. Books are at the bottom of the page.

reply to post by DaddyBare


i love living in the Seattle Puget Sound area.. we can grow anything here..

I'm growing a avocado tree.. [ just bragging]

great post!!!

my wife made me print out the list...LOL

D