In this video we're going to identify Over two dozen plants that you need to Get into the ground this month to grow Some of what you eat and start your own Survival garden with each plant I'll Identify what's essential to get into The ground now and why I selected that Plant over the thousands of others that You could be growing let's see and then Let's get to planning Potatoes Many cultures have survived on little Else but potatoes as a diet staple the Great thing about potatoes is that they Have a long growing season if you can't Get around to harvesting them you'll Simply be creating a perennial Potato Patch depending upon your climate Potatoes left in the ground will either Sprout and grow new plants in the spring Or over winter enjoy the frost safely on The ground and Sprout new plants next Spring if you use our above ground Container technique you may have to Insulate the container or move it into Your garage if your climate gets Bitterly cold as a container will not Insulate from frost and freezing as well As the earth once your soil has dried Out a little and is an average Temperature of 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit you should plant your seed Potatoes in moist heavily composted soil Potatoes don't like floods but they do
Like a steady moisture level the typical White potato has all the essential amino Acids the body requires to build Proteins and repair and maintain cells If you solely ate potatoes you would Develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies It won't sustain you forever however Leaving it in the ground or storing in a Dark cool dry place for months makes This a great survival food Potatoes planted on April 1st will take At least 20 weeks to mature putting your Earliest Harvest opportunity around August 5th if you leave them in the Ground even longer you will get bigger Potatoes we recommend you plant your Seedlings now in a compost rich soil and Nurture the plant for as long as Possible with the harvest date no Earlier than September or October when You harvest leave some behind ninja Potato Patch for next year's crop Sweet potatoes I give these a category of their own First because they are not actually Potatoes second our body's processes Starches at different rates so we don't Get insulin or sugar spikes Nutritionally they're very similar but 100 grams of sweet potato will give you 107 percent of your daily value of Vitamin A in contrast the equivalent Grams of potato will give you a tenth of One percent
The plants are more finicky than potato Plants favoring warmer climates and Longer growing Seasons the pluso is once You have your patch established you can Simply bury the vines after harvest and You'll have another set of sweet Potatoes next year Leave these in the ground and harvest Them as you need them assuming there's No heavy snow on the ground which would Deny you access to them They'll get larger and larger with time The minimum time required to harvest Would be about 90 days if conditions are Perfect but I use the same 20-week time Frame as potatoes before I even consider Taking a look you can Harvest when the Plant dies back and they have a shorter Shelf life than their cousins but they Will still last a long time it can be Dehydrated or freeze-dried easily Garlic onions allium Garlic takes a long eight months to Mature bulb onions a minimum of 100 days In and scallions a little over two Months even before you harvest a bowl You can Harvest a few leaves a flower or The scab to supplement your diet and Flavor your cooking these plants don't Contribute much to your nutritional Intake but they have copious amounts of Several vitamins and minerals the allium Family has interesting health benefits Like reducing inflammation lowering
Cholesterol and possibly protecting Against oxidative stress the other Reason to play an allium is the number Of plants to choose from there are Around 700 species of garlic and a Thousand different types of onions There's probably a variety indigenous to Your area so you have almost a sure to Harvest they can also grow relatively Close together with garlic with just Four inches between plants and some Onion varieties right on top of each Other I start planting after the frost And plant every week for three months to Guarantee a long Harvest Windows Stretching well into fall garlic is Ready for harvesting when the foliage Begins to yellow and fall over Some varieties mature faster than others However if this yellow occurs before Mid-june to August that is probably an Indication of pest damage or a nutrient Deficiency I grow around five dozen Garlic plants elephant garlic potato Onions Egyptian walking onions bunching Onions and a giant onion variety some Varieties like the Egyptian walking Onion will grow as a perennial so I can Plant it once and enjoy it for a Lifetime Onions will prefer moist soil but do Pretty well after flooding in drier Climates and with inconsistent watering They will develop poorly these are also
Excellent indoor windowsill plants Root vegetables Ginger turmeric sunchokes beets turnips Carrots and other root vegetables all Benefit from a long growing season we Featured sunchokes in an earlier video And we have encouraged you to eat your Carrot Tops in other videos the longer These plants are in the ground the Larger and in some cases the more Prolific they become in later Seasons Leaving them in the ground and Harvesting them as needed until the very Last day gives you a natural means to Store them carrots and other root type Vegetables will get Woody if they get Too large but they can still be cooked Down and softened carrots and B will Need at least 50 days I plant carrots Not in a row but throughout my garden I Also have decent results growing them in Five gallon bucket with holes drilled in The bottom sunchoked Ginger and turmeric Are slow Growers and will take a long Time wait to harvest season till the Plant starts to die back all these root Vegetables will last a long time in a Cool damp climate like a root cellar our Ancestors grew them harvested them and Then ate them all winter until they were Gone Lettuces Lettuces make the list of April Plantings because they take such a long
Time to harvest and benefit from the Moist conditions of April Showers you Can also enjoy fresh salads in just a Month or two from the time you sow seeds This plant grows well in containers on Window sills or stackable containers in The garden It's excellent for hydroponic setups I've learned over the years of planning To plan a little each week so I'm Constantly harvesting and not just Harvesting everything at once You will get a little nutrition from Lettuce but it has a decent amount of Vitamins you will get one gram of fiber Per cup of shredded lettuce and lettuces 95 water it can temporarily give you a Feeling of fullness while contributing To your hydration vitamins most Importantly lettuces are easy to grow And quick to a large Harvest plant some In April but also be prepared to plant Some right after any disaster with a Supply chain may break down Peppers most peppers require soil Temperatures between 75 to 85 degrees For germination well over 100 days of Harvest from planting seeds unless you Start them indoors at a germination Station as we showed you in our recent Video you may want to buy ceilings if Your growing season is short fortunately There's been a recent popularity Explosion in gardening and pepper
Varieties you can find everything from Long sweet peppers to scorching hot Peppers there are over 50 000 different Types of peppers that we know about them One word to caution though I never buy a Small pepper plant from the nursery or Ratioing fruit do you want it to start Fruiting in your soil under your Conditions not only can you shock the Plant and stun or kill whatever Peppers Or flowers are on it by transplanting it But it may not yield a large Harvest Because the plant has already entered Its fruiting phase Peppers like warm soil in moist Conditions they prefer to be watered Sparingly they will let you know when They need water by drooping their leaves Peppers also grow as annuals but are in Fact perennial plants so you could Technically bring a pepper plant indoors During the winter months often get a Couple of years out of my pepper plants Because there aren't any extended Periods of frost where I'm at if Frost And freezing temperatures concern you Consider bringing good pepper plants Indoors over winter peppers are Excellent in prolific producers in Containers and pots perfect for balcony Or windowsill Gardens Amarth's sorghum and sunflowers Consider amarth's sorghum and sunflowers If you want a garden that doesn't look
Like your typical Garden but has Excellent nutrition except for the Shorter time to harvest organ the other Two will take 100 days of harvest the Birds will let you know when these are Ready to harvest before that the plant Will die back a bit and dry on when that Happens clip the heads and dry them out By hanging them upside down just four Emirates stops will provide you with More than a thousand calories of a Complete protein Source containing all Nine essential amino acids these Gluten-free seeds and pseudo grains Don't look like your typical garden Plants and they are nutritional Powerhouses plant them in April and Enjoy them year after year soften and Broth mix into salads or dry it in Powdered in the flour These are some of the Ultimate Survivor Foods which belong in a survival Garden Legumes lentils and beans I wrestle with weather to use my Precious Garden space growing beans Every year I usually do it as a Companion plant to fix nitrogen in the Soil in this way they share space with Other plants now the main reason I have This dilemma of whether or not to plant Is that these are all cheap to purchase Dried in bulk at the grocery store the Problem with that is that they like Variety you can only get under 50 types
Of the 16 000 legume species for peanuts To black beans with red lentils or pinto Beans and soybeans the peas and red Lentils there's a seemingly Limitless Range of plants to choose from another Consideration is that commercially grown Legumes often have lots of pesticides And herbicides use on them if you share Any of those concerns consider planting Legumes with other plants throughout Your garden or dedicating a patch to Them these are staple plant-based food Sources that keep millions of people Around the world alive it will take at Least 50 days until Harvest so put them In the ground now when you harvest you Can dry them easily and store them for a Year longer in some cases they're a Great source of nutrition fiber and Protein Squash Squash requires space and time but April Is a good time to plant it over 100 Types of squash are categorized into Both summer and winter varieties you can Play in either a category in April if Space is a concern consider a bush Variety like zucchini if you can keep Bugs away you can grow massive two foot Long zucchini but it will start to get Woody at that size still it can be Easily cooked grilled or Blended in the Soups squash with a harder outer skin Will keep longer than your root
Vegetables which is why squash is Considered a survival food one two pound Squash can be easily stored transported Cooked in various ways and is loaded With carbs and protein it can also feed A small family if pests are a problem Consider hard skin varieties and put Strong or grass clipping under the fruit As it matures consider trellising Vineyard varieties finally if you want Juicy watermelon in the summer that is Free of pesticides and homegrown get Your plants in the ground now as they Will take about 100 days to give you Fruit that will get you to a Target date Or right around the 4th of July Tomatoes if you like tomatoes April's a Great time to get them in the ground Like Peppers many four inch or larger Plants and wide varieties are available At many nurseries if you don't want to Start them from seed when you plant them In good compost rich soil plant them Deep and bury them all but the top two Sets of leaves if you've ever examined a Tomato leaf some are fuzzy those tiny Hairs when covered in moist dirt change Into Roots this method is a quick means To develop a more extensive root system The better your roots in the early days Of the plant the better the fruit when It is time to pick it Never get the leaves wet when watering And always water at the base Tomatoes
Only need about an inch to an inch and a Half of water per week so never soak Them I include Tomatoes here because They are sprawling indeterminate and Short compacted Bush varieties with 10 000 known types one suits you and your Space and time constraints These are excellent sources of potassium Vitamin C and folate Tomatoes can be Temperamental and frustrating at times Grow Watch for a caterpillar or tomato worm Infestations and treat it the first Signs of infestation there are other Plants that you could be playing right Now and I encourage you to download our Growing guide and review our gardening Playlist to get a full range of options These are the ones that we recommend you Get into the ground this month as soon As your last frost day of winter use Good Rich well composted amended soil From the start and your plants will Establish good roots first then leaves And fruit with careful and consistent Attention and watering you will have a Massive Harvest spanning 30 days to 9 Months a garden is the best way to Supplement your food sources insulate Yourself from rising costs like we're Going to see with lettuce in the next Few months and begin to understand what You're consuming and how it has grown Pick all or a few of those plants
Detailed in this video then start your Journey to self-sufficiency today as Always stay safe out there
