Do you want to live a more home-centered lifestyle where family truly comes first? Whether you are continuing planting from the spring or starting a new fall garden, growing your food supply is an investment in your home and health. The potential money savings are an obvious benefit, but increasing your self-sufficiency provides a sense of security, even on a low income. Keep reading for a list of 12 container crops you can start planting in July for a fall harvest.
Benefits of Growing Your Food Supply
The impact of the COVID lockdowns made it very clear how dependent we are on outside systems to provide for our families. What happens the next time you can’t physically make it to the grocery store? The reality would be grim if you did not already have a stocked pantry. The subsequent economic impact seen through grocery store inflation has made it clear it’s time to put your food supply back in your own hands. Growing your food supply will provide fresher, possibly more nutritious food for your family, and best of all you know exactly what chemicals (if any) and substances your food comes into contact with. This can also be seen as an opportunity to try new foods or varieties of your favorite foods you won’t otherwise find in a grocery store.
How to Start Growing Your Food Supply
To get started with growing your own food supply, get good at growing one or two crops that you already know you will use. You will build up your supply and crop variety as your skill increases. In addition to having an abundance of fresh food, you will also have the opportunity to learn different food preservation techniques. Some methods of food preservation include fermenting, freezing, water bath or pressure canning, dehydration, drying, and curing. Keep detailed records of how much you grow, and how long it lasts so you can be more efficient with your planting year after year.
Best Crops for Fall Planting in Containers
Fall planting is a great method to extend your growing season and maximize harvests. If you are growing your food supply, it’s important to know the limits of your growing season. The types of crops you can plant, and when will depend on your USDA growing zone so be sure to research. Crops ideal for fall planting prefer cooler weather, require less sunlight hours, have a short seed-to-harvest length, and can tolerate some frost. In Zone 7a, if you plant midsummer (June-July), you can expect to harvest around October or even as late as the beginning of December if the winter is mild or starts late. The crops on this list are also container-friendly, a bonus for small-space gardeners!
- Carrots
- Collard Greens
- Beets
- Turnips
- Radishes
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Bunching Onions
- Bush Cucumbers
- Squash
The Takeaway
Growing your food supply, you will find the impact spreads to your friends, family, and community as you inevitably find yourself with more crops than you can eat or preserve in a season. The extra crop can even be an opportunity to make a little extra money to help fund your homestead. Even with a small space you can build up an impressive stockpile of food by implementing techniques such as vertical growing and succession planting. Take control of your food supply today and provide your family with a greater level of resiliency against the ever-changing economic scene.
