Isabell Shipard recommends growing hardy vegetables for self-sufficiency and survival. Here are the ones that store well:
- African cucumber – will store for over 12 months
- Choko
- Gourds
- Pie melon
- Potato
- Pumpkin – Australian Ironbark, Baby Blue, Jack Be Little, Jack O’Lantern, Jarrahdale, Marina di Chioggia, Musque de Provence, Queensland Blue, Red Kuri
- Squash – Blue Hubbard, Golden Hubbard, Green Hubbard
When pumpkin vines die down, pick mature fruit with plenty of stem. Make sure they’re well coloured and the stem has cracked. Cure the fruit for 10 days in the sun outdoors, or on a verandah in poor weather, to harden the skin so that they keep.
Store under cover on straw or shredded paper – in a cool, mouse-proof place.
How can I be prepared with Self-Sufficiency and Survival Foods? – by Isabell Shipard
Yes, but would surviving with African cucumbers actually be worth it
?
I’ve never tried one, but they do look gnarly.
We learnt the hard to way to ‘only grow things you’ll eat’.