Pooka, its so good to see you and this thread again.

I have been prepping like crazy adding more garden space.

If I could recommend ONE survival plant to provide calories when times get tough, it would be the squash family. Pumpkins and some winter squash will keep for up to a year after harvest without refrigeration.

I need to learn how to post photos. My cucuzza squash (sseds from Westwind) is growing at an incredible pace. I planted along fence lines and the vines are covering the fences now.

The leaves are up to a foot across and shading out the weeds. The fruits two months after planting are around 2 feet long and up to 2 inches diameter.

Since its actually in the gourd family, the bugs and diseases that attack squash don't do anything to cucuzza.

BTW, the leaves are edible and can be cooked as well.

I planted 5 kinds of green beans. Found out later that the USDA recommends Blue Lake variety for my area, and, OH BOY, did the Blue Lake produce! A small patch provides about a pound of green beans per day. The other varieties are not producing much. Will replace them.

Advice to newbs: Find the USDA list for your county, buy those seeds, and get started. Concentrate on "low demand" stuff that does not require rich soil.

My soil is poor, but green beans, sunflowers, okra, pumpkins, melons, cucuzza, corn, etc. don't seem to care. However, they DO take a lot of area. E.g., my melon patches are 12 feet across and the vines are taking over the remaining lawn.

I also recommend rotating chickens through multiple garden areas. My richest soil was a chicken yard before. I planted my "high demand" veggies there and they are doing great.

I got 17 free 55 gal. chemical drums from my company. Don't worry; they had non-toxic stuff like hydrochloric acid before. Easy to wash out. I used a number of them for potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The Queen used store-bought taters in hers. Fungus killed them after initial growth.

I bought seed potatoes from Park Seed. Mine are pathogen-free and doing great.

So, plant a variety of stuff and something will survive.

Of all survival skills, I rate gardening near the top.