Personally I would put Tomatoes at #1 on my list for the High Potassium, K1 and Vitamin C Values, #2 Would be a variety of Chili Pepper Personally Jalapeno are my choice because of the high yields and range of heat available. #3. Waltham Butternut Squash, High yields, stores great and is virtually identical to pumpkins in every way. #4 while I grow a lot of potatoes, I grow even more sweet potatoes. Higher yields, better nutrition, Easier Propagation and better storage. #5 Nantes Carrots fast growing, great flavor and dual use root and top and high nutrition value. #6 Zucchini or Crook Neck yellow squash, high yielding decent nutritional values and either are a good companion for hundreds of dishes they can be added to as a filler. LOL not only what I would grow but what I do grow as my primary crops. I obviously grow a lot more than that but everything I grow I look for a couple of things Good Nutrition, low maintenance, high disease and insect resistance and ease of processing and storage. I love beans in particular Roma Beans but like many things they are Labor intensive, subject to several diseases and are LABOR INTENSIVE if I didn't mention it. Corn to me makes zero sense in the container garden or small garden, Corn makes a lot of sense where you can devote 1/10th of an acre or more to it using successive plantings. The corn container in the video would be much more wisely used for anything else, He might get 40 ears of corn out of that patch...... 40 ears of sweet corn does not get you very far. He is obviously in a more tropical region/zone giving him more options and more plantings and harvest per year. And brings up another point. You have to tailor your crops to your climate. Figs are a major staple fruit for us even though we are out of the good fig growing zones. But there are a couple of hardy figs that do very well here, like the Turkey Fig. Then there is how subjective taste are. I like cabbage but cabbage would not even be in my top 10 list of things to grow. Dry beans are a lot of work and space for a couple of gallon jars of shelled beans, so the question must be asked, is that your best use of space if you have limited space available? I am not going to knock anyone's choices of what they grow, may chuckle to myself and question the wisdom of what they grow, but like I said it subjective and comes down to to personal taste and if the space used is a value to the individual.
I have been using alfalfa pellets and comfrey tea for soil amendments the last couple of years. Comfrey is easy to grow and alfalfa pellets are way cheaper then fertilizer. Also make my compost heavy to comfrey.
Don't forget greens-- mustard, turnips, kale, rape, collards, ect., they are one of the few crops that you can grow through the winter around here.
For once, a reasonably sane, sensible and practical Youtube clip...created by an Australian no less. The presenter has a YT channel which features a host of other self sufficiency content...well worth book marking.
Its good that there are people in Australia with common sense. Most of them want the kids to eat bugs. 1,000 Australian Schools Have Introduced Bugs To Their Menu
The biggest thing to remember, is that you're going to grow different crops at different times of the year, depending on your geographical location. Here in the snow belt, I can grow cooler weather crops in spring and fall (lettuce, carrots & other root crops, spinach and most brassicas should do well, including cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc). If I try planting pumpkins/squashes, tomatoes or peppers during those months, they're either going to DIE, or they're growth will be stunted, until it warms up. IDK what his Aussie weather is like, but I doubt he's growing all those crops at the same time of year, either. Along with that, you'll have to practice crop rotation, unless you want to be fighting bugs all summer long, that want to eat your veggies, too! Try growing nightshades (tomatoes, peppers or potatoes) in the same soil, year after year, and you'll find out that all the nasty critters know right where to find them! Same with squashes & pumpkins (and if you end up getting a nasty infestation of squash bugs, you might as well give up on growing any for a few years there, until they lose interest in your growing area). So I'd say that limiting to 6 crops is short-sighted. Grow your cold weather crops when it's time to do so, and your warm weather crops during their time. Stick with not only what's easy to grow, but what's easy to save seed from. And don't forget to inter-plant with beneficial flowers, that will attract pollinators and beneficial bugs (like parasitic wasps that will control horn worms, ladybugs, etc). You CAN grow food by simply sticking a bunch of seeds or seedlings in the ground, and hoping for the best (shoot, I proved that, this year! LOL)......but a good quality garden, that's going to feed you and your family, year after year, has to be well planned and executed, to be successful.
