Growing Your Own Food Off-Grid

Whether you're just starting out or fine-tuning your setup, here’s how to make food production a dependable part of your off-grid life.

Start With the Right Crops

Not all crops are created equal when you're growing for sustenance. Focus on high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods that store well and that you will eat. Here are a few staples:

• Potatoes – Easy to grow, store well, and calorie-rich.

• Winter squash – Hardy and keeps for months without refrigeration.

• Beans – A great protein source, can be dried for storage, and there are a lot of varieties to try.

• Kale and collards – Cold-hardy greens.

• Tomatoes – For fresh eating and long terms storage.

• Garlic and onions – Add depth to meals and have long shelf lives.

Your local climate will play a big role in what you can grow successfully.

Raised Beds and No-Till Gardening

If your native soil is rocky, compacted, clay-heavy, sandy, or nutrient-poor, consider having raised beds with imported soil. Raised beds help with soil drainage, minimize weed competition, and warm up faster in spring. No-till gardening, on the other hand, preserves soil structure and promotes beneficial microbes.

Hack Alert: Use cardboard or newspaper to suppress weeds.

Feed Your Soil

Consider these tips for enriching your soil:

• Compost everything—kitchen scraps, plant trimmings, even paper.

• Add animal manure—but always compost it first to avoid burning your plants.

• Mulch heavily—to retain moisture, reduce weeds, and build soil as it breaks down.

Plan for Water

Use one or more of these strategies:

• Rain catchment systems with barrels or tanks.

• Gravity-fed drip irrigation from uphill tanks.

• Greywater reuse from sinks or showers (avoid harsh soaps).

• Mulching and swales to retain moisture in the soil.

Grow Fruit Trees

Don't underestimate the bounty that can come from fruit trees. For cooler weather locations consider apples, plums, cherries, etc. For warmer weather locations consider oranges, lemons, grapefruit, ect. Take a look around and see what types are trees are around you. A small investment now can feed you for decades.

Preserve the Harvest

A garden glut is great—until it all ripens at once. Preserve food while it’s fresh:

• Canning – pressure can low-acid foods, water-bath for jams and pickles.

• Dehydrating – especially good for fruits, tomatoes, and herbs.

• Fermenting – sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled veggies.

• Root cellaring – potatoes, carrots, squash, and apples love cool, dark spaces.

Protect Your Garden

Critters love your veggies as much as you do. Use fencing, netting, and scare tactics as needed. Chickens can be allies in pest control, but also love digging up your beds, so fence them out unless supervised.

Bonus tip: If chickens can't see the garden, they will stay out of it. A solid wall short fence usually does the trick.

Growing your own food off-grid isn’t about perfection. It’s about persistence. You’ll have failures, late frosts, bug infestations, and mystery diseases. But with time, your garden can become one of your greatest asset.