Crops You Can Hide In the Woods

I recently received this e-mail from a friend:

Maybe you’ve done this one before, but how about a blog post on what sorts of handy edibles one can seed in a nearby forest? For example, the one behind our field. Lots of tree cover, lots of leaves, good soil under old fallen logs, etc… not a lot of sunlight but enough to keep lots of things growing in there.

Ah-ha! A challenge!

I know what I’d plant here in Florida; however, many of you readers are located across the United States in locations with vastly different climates.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some good species you can “guerilla garden” in unused lots, woods and fields in order to give you some backup food if things crash.

My criteria for picking species is as follows:

1. The plants must be able to live without supplemental irrigation, at least after the initial planting.

2. The plants must produce enough calories or barter value to make planting them worthwhile. (No lettuces, capiche?) 

3. The plants must grow fast enough to be useful within a year or so. (Planting pecans is a nice idea but too long-term.)

We’ll take this thing by region. Ready? Let’s plant.

NOTE: Planting vegetation on land you don’t own is a legal grey area. Trespassing is not. Don’t do anything stupid and then blame me or the nice men at The Prepper Project. This is hypothetical and is not a practice that should be attributed to this author.

I’m innocent, officer, I promise! Them luscious greenbeans on the park fence ain’t mine!!!

3 Guerilla Plants For The Subtropics

In regions with mild winters you can plant a vast variety of edible perennials and expect them to live from year to year. For some reason, there’s a ton of useful edible plants in the tropics. Cinnamon, coffee, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, pepper, starfruit, mangoes, macademia nuts, taro…

The thing is, most of the US isn’t tropical. For the sake of this article, I’m going to call USDA zones 8-10 “subtropical.” That area includes the state of Florida, the southern portions of Texas, southern California, areas along the Gulf of Mexico and hugging the Atlantic coast up through South Carolina, etc. There are other good pockets of subtropical growing areas inside of Arizona and elsewhere, though the aridity and humidity of all these regions vary and will limit what you can grow. Here are a few options to try out:

Chaya

One of my favorite “no-work” plants is chaya, also known as “Mexican Tree Spinach” and “what’s that weird plant the bugs won’t eat?”

It grows easily from cuttings and will handle full sun or half shade. I’ve seen chaya growing wild in south Florida and in my north Florida yard it’s a totally easy green. Caveat: you have to cook it for 20 minutes to make it safe to eat. Never eat chaya raw.

Stick cuttings in fields and forest edges, then come back later. Chances are it will be there.

There’s a complete survival plant profile on Chaya here.

Ginger

Ginger is a plant that grows well in full or partial shade, making it a good woodland choice. Plant it in the sun and it will burn up. Ginger requires little water and consistently produces roots with little work. Plant your own from grocery store roots and you’ll have a good harvest by next year.

It’s not really a calorie crop but ginger’s barter value and medicinal uses are excellent.

More on growing ginger here.

Winged Yams

You may or may not be “allowed” to plant winged yams; however, they have other cousins that are outside of the restrictions on “invasive” species. (This plant might be a minor invasive, but its cousin Dioscorea bulbifera is much worse.)

They’ll grow from aerial bulbils and take care of themselves until you dig them up a year… or three… or five… later. Don’t spread these around unless they’re “okay” in your area. Local ecosystems are important.

More on winged yams here.

3 Guerilla Plants For The North

In the north there aren’t as many choices as there are down south, but there are still some great options.

Mulberries

Mulberries will grow across most of the United States. They’re delicious, highly productive, and they produce fruit rapidly when grown from cuttings or grafted specimens.

Mulberries can handle partial shade and less-than-ideal conditions and just shrug it off. I’ve gotten 6+ gallons of berries from a two-year-old tree that hasn’t been cared for beyond some watering during the establishment period.

More on mulberries here.

Jerusalem Artichokes

These guys are one of the top crops you can hide. Productive, perennial, no-hassle… plus they’re a North American native that grows from USDA Zones 3-9.

The tuberous roots can be dug all winter, provided you can hack through the frozen soil. In the summer the tubers disintegrate to feed the above-ground growth. A root planted in spring will result in a bucket of roots in fall. Plus, they just look like a nice sunflower… not a source of food.

More on Jerusalem artichokes here.

Duck Potatoes

Duck potatoes are another native plant which thrives in swampy ecosystems. If there’s a pond near you that needs some food in it, introduce some duck potatoes.

The roots are good to eat and can be harvested in the fall.

More on duck potatoes here.

Conclusion:

This article just scratches the surface on what crops you can hide that may survive and bear without care in your area. If you live someplace very arid and hot, you might want to try growing improved prickly pears by sticking cuttings in the ground. If you live in a grassy area, consider sowing fistfuls of sunflower seeds in the spring.

The main way to get started is to simply get started. Experiment. Test crops in your neighborhood. Plant things where you think they’ll die. If they don’t, you’ve got a keeper.

Who knows? What you plant today may save you – or someone else – tomorrow.

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