Why Garden?
A home garden — even a small one — can supplement your food storage with fresh produce, reduce grocery expenses, and provide proven mental and physical health benefits. In a self-sufficiency context, a well-planned garden can contribute meaningfully to your Level II food storage goals (fruits and vegetables).
Starting small is fine. Even a few raised beds or containers on a patio or balcony can produce a surprising amount of food. The best gardening education is hands-on: plan a small plot, plant it, and learn from each growing season.
Free Learning Resources
BYU offers high-quality, free online courses covering all aspects of home gardening. These are ideal for beginners and intermediate gardeners alike:
Planning & Preparing Your Garden
Learn how to assess your space, plan garden beds for maximum yield, prepare soil, and decide what to grow based on your climate and family preferences. Available free from BYU Independent Study.
Find the Course →Growing Vegetables, Fruits & Nuts
A comprehensive course covering cultivation of a wide range of crops — from staple vegetables to fruit trees and nut-bearing plants. Learn soil management, pest control, watering, and harvesting techniques.
Find the Course →Getting Started: Key Principles
- Know your climate zone. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map tells you which plants can survive year-round in your area and informs your planting calendar.
- Start with the soil. Healthy soil — rich in organic matter, with good drainage and structure — is the foundation of a productive garden. Compost is the best amendment for most soils.
- Grow what your family eats. Focus first on vegetables and fruits you already buy regularly — this is where you'll see the most immediate savings and impact on your food storage goals.
- Plan for succession planting. Rather than planting everything at once and getting overwhelmed by a single harvest, stagger planting dates so crops mature at different times throughout the season.
- Water consistently. Most vegetables need 1–2 inches of water per week. Drip irrigation or soaker hoses are far more efficient than overhead sprinklers.
- Keep it simple your first year. Tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, and lettuce are reliable, high-yield, low-maintenance crops for beginners.
High-Yield Crops for Self-Sufficiency
These crops offer an excellent balance of caloric density, nutritional value, ease of growing, and suitability for storage or preservation:
| Crop | Why It's Valuable | Storage Method |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | High calorie density; very filling | Root cellar (months) |
| Winter squash | Long shelf life fresh; excellent nutrients | Cool, dry storage (months) |
| Dried beans | High protein; complements grain staples | Dry and seal (years) |
| Tomatoes | Versatile; high yield per plant | Canning (years) |
| Sweet corn | Can be dried for cornmeal | Dehydrate or freeze |
| Kale & Swiss chard | Highly nutritious; productive over long seasons | Dehydrate or freeze |
| Garlic & onions | Long storage life; enhance all cooking | Dry and braid (months) |
| Fruit trees | Decades of productive yield; jam/canning | Canning, dehydrating |
Connecting Garden to Food Storage
Your garden can directly contribute to meeting your Level II food storage targets (fruits and vegetables). After harvesting, preserve excess produce using the methods in the food storage guide: canning, dehydrating, fermenting, and root cellaring.
Even a modest garden — 100–200 square feet — can produce hundreds of pounds of produce in a growing season when well-planned and properly maintained.