It does not matter what you grow when you have unlimited resources and enough space to fling in a truck. Even if you are trying to remain self-sustainable and escape the supermarkets, unlimited resources allows you to be frivolous with your choices and grow any plant you like. Having said that, the options become very limited when it comes to confining you in a suburban backyard. The situation will no longer be able to make you grow every exotic fruit or experiment with boutique vegetables. What you need to find are the most appropriate plants that will supply your needs throughout the year and imitating your choices to just those ones. So what will it be when you are given the task of restricting your choice to just 10 plants? Here are 10 must-grow plants for a self-sustainable garden:
- Apple tree
This is the source of winter fruit. If you are not an apple lover, you could always grow pears or even mandarins. The beauty of an apple tree is that it produces abundantly and can easily be espaliered against a boundary fence to a minimize space.
- Lemon/ lime tree
Acidic limes are one of the best options you can grow if you love to flavor and preserve other foods. You could always make lemonade or churn out the lemon for your own marmalade if you have the surplus.
- Cabbages
This is a winter-growing vegetable. Cabbages have a great shelf life and great storing vegetable. Abundance of cabbage stock can be pickled and stored as sauerkraut.
- Peach/ Nectarine tree
This is a summer fruit to consider. You could choose for a berry vine instead but for the sheer amount of the fruit that glupe producers offer it would be hard not to choose at least one. If you are not into peaches or nectarines, then you can grow apricots, loquats or even plums.
- Potatoes
This is the ultimate carbohydrate source of vegetable that can be grown for at least nine months of the year and produce brilliant harvests. Potatoes have a great shelf life and provided they are kept in a cool, dry yet dark location should be able to keep you in stock for most of the year.
- Tomatoes
Tomatoes taste great during the summer months. If you produce enough, you can bottle, can or freeze them for the cooler months.
- Carrots
This is an ultimate all rounder vegetable that will grow as continual crop. You can grow carrots at any time but if your area is too cold to support them during the winter, they can be blanched and frozen like beans.
- Beans
There is a lot of beans variety that will let you them growing for almost six months of the year as well, depending on your climate. You can blanch and froze the beans for storage during the winter.
- Onions
This vegetable is a great option for the home self-sustainable garden. Onions are also great as flavoring for many dishes and are useful in picking and preserving other vegetables.
- Lettuce
Lettuce as a summer vegetable can be grown indoors in a small hydroponic setup that gives you a year round supply.
Additional Reading:
http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2009/02/10_must_grow_plants_for_the_self_sustainable_garden.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/heydrienne/22080973/
