# What Crops Would You Grow...



## Meerkat

Say you only had a certain amount of fertilizer to feed your plants.

You are old and one is disabled so you can only keep up a small garden.

What vegetable's would you grow to get the largest amount of nutrient's if this was all you had to eat? And the largest amount of food.


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## Meerkat

I think in the fall and winter here in Florida, I'd grow greens and onions.

In spring and summer tomatoe's,pepper's and squash.


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## ZoomZoom

Pound-for-pound it's hard to beat tomatoes.

If you don't mind viney plant growing out into surrounding areas, cucumbers, squash and maybe pumpkins.

I don't have a lot of experience with them (since they're so cheap to buy) but potatoes have been a staple for centuries.


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## Sparky_D

It really depends on your environment.

As much as I hate them, in the Pac Northwest, I would grow Zucchini and Squash. Great nutritional value and huge crops with minimal space. Tomatoes would be a number 2 as well as Green Beans and Peas.
Potatoes are a hit or miss as you have to wait until harvest to see what your yield is.


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## LincTex

Sparky_D said:


> It really depends on your environment.


And, It really depends on what kind of soil you have to work with. A lot.

I would be shooting for calories, honestly. 
I would avoid all "empty calorie" foods and go for starches and carbohydrates. Potatoes, pinto/navy beans, wheat and various oil crops (sunflower, etc) would be high on the list.

I would avoid corn, because most of the fertilizer you put in the ground goes to making huge green leaves and a stalk.... oh, and one ear of corn (which is tiny compared to the rest of the plant).

All in all, don't depend on fertilizer. You need good soil amendments, like compost. Build your soil to the point where you really don't NEED fertilizer if you can help it.


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## tsrwivey

I'm with Linctex, potatoes are called the lazy man's crop for a reason :2thumb: beans & peas would be on my short list as well but you'd need some sort of grain to go with them to make a complete protein if you had no animal protein. Jalapeños, basil, bell pepper, spinach, onion & garlic grow with no fertilizer & little water in my garden so I'd throw some of them in. Squash produces so much you hate to not plant it.


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## Marcus

I'd look at planting tables at a comfortable height instead of planting at ground level to make it easier to plant and maintain.


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## readytogo

Legumes, Grains, Tubers ,listed in many ancients books as the food of the God`s, that we have totally forgotten, soy beans for bio-fuel, corn for ethanol and food(human/animals).
Try to keep heirloom grain/legumes for emergency planting needs and bean sprouts, instant energy.


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## Hooch

yea..it depends where one is at n what kinda soil they have to work with. However, pumpkins are a good crop. They last a long time if stored right and they are a superfood and can be made into bread, pies, soups, etc. I still have 2 left from last years harvest...In warmer places one would need a root cellar probably.
taters, peas, beans, garlic, onion, apple trees, carrots, any kind of squash,, cabbage strawberries lettuce, spinish n kale. I wish I could grow yams...I hear it might be to cold for them where im at...love yams...soybeans too just for the protein. I actually bought a packet of soybean seed and was going to try it n forgot to plant any. I tried some sunflower n it was a fail...the seed was old tho so it coulda been just dead sead. im rambling...


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## LincTex

readytogo said:


> soy beans for bio-fuel, corn for ethanol and food(human/animals).


I would not suggest those for someone who is:


Meerkat said:


> You are old and one is disabled so you can only keep up a small garden.


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## Jerry D Young

What I consider a soup and stew garden, plus.

Potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, celery, lentils, wheat, strawberries if not already established
Asparagus if already established, same with blue berries. If not, then 2 varieties of melons.

The root crops and celery will stretch any meat a long ways as soups and stews. The lentils add additional protein, and the wheat for bread. Strawberries and melons for sweets.
Hopefully there will already be a fruit and nut orchard.

Just my opinion.


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## Wellrounded

I'd pick the crops that are most reliable here, that have the shortest time to harvest, store well (with my resources), will compliment other foods I have stored or have access to and fill nutrition gaps. For me the top few would be carrots (grow like weeds here), chard, spring onions, tomatoes (if I had space for enough to can) and rocket. If I had more space I'd put in potatoes but only if I could store them well.


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## JustCliff

I would go with dry beans. Pinto, Navy,Great Northern.


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## Lake Windsong

Jerry D Young said:


> What I consider a soup and stew garden, plus.
> 
> Potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, celery, lentils, wheat, strawberries if not already established
> Asparagus if already established, same with blue berries. If not, then 2 varieties of melons.
> 
> The root crops and celery will stretch any meat a long ways as soups and stews. The lentils add additional protein, and the wheat for bread. Strawberries and melons for sweets.
> Hopefully there will already be a fruit and nut orchard.
> 
> Just my opinion.


Root vegetables would be a smart plan for this scenario. Also, crops like berries and asparagus that come back yearly would be a bit easier on garden maintenance for the OP couple.


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## bacpacker

Around here I would go with a good mix of beans, taters, many kinds of squash, pumpkins, peppers. And a variety of perrineals, garlic, asparagus, berries.


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## CulexPipiens

I'd go with what you will eat both fresh and preserved. Also with the preservation methods you have. If all you have is water bath canning equipment, then it's a different list than if you have pressure capability or a dehydrator. Most of the suggestions here are good, but now compare the suggestions to what you have the capability to store and what you like to eat. Since you mentioned age and being disabled, that might factor in to if you can handle a loaded canner or not or have the physical range of motions to still use it. If the preservation techniques are beyond your abilities then self storing vegies (fall/winter squashes like butternut) and root veggies that more or less self store might be better options.


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## Gravlore

My first year gardening and I must say that Potatoes and Onions are by far the easiest for me. Easy to weed without tools too. Finger plucking weeds next to the plants and they stay put. If a first year gardener can do those things they must be the easiest with the least chance of failure. The potatoes are in what appears to be straight sand and I have the onions in a richer soil and also a rubbermaid filled with vermiculite. They are coming in hard and strong with no weeding necessary.


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## Lake Windsong

I'll add that some local farmer markets/counties have vouchers for elderly living in those counties to use to buy fresh local produce at the market. Something to look into locally if needing to supplement what you are capable of growing on your own.


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## cowboyhermit

Good topic!
Fertilizer, I don't need no stinkin fertilizer
If I were to condense everything down to a small area, low maintenance situation with a focus on calories, it would be hard to beat a variation of the three sisters in most climates I have seen.

Simplest is a small round patch, drop some corn in the center, beans around that (dry type), squash (preferably a winter type) around the perimeter. If possible mulch it well and there should be nothing to do till harvest. All of this stuff stores well as is, we still have spaghetti squash from last fall

Other than that root crops are good bang for your buck, potatoes or sweet potatoes climate permitting, but also beets I love them tops and all


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## dirtgrrl

cowboyhermit said:


> Good topic!
> Fertilizer, I don't need no stinkin fertilizer
> If I were to condense everything down to a small area, low maintenance situation with a focus on calories, it would be hard to beat a variation of the three sisters in most climates I have seen.
> 
> Simplest is a small round patch, drop some corn in the center, beans around that (dry type), squash (preferably a winter type) around the perimeter. If possible mulch it well and there should be nothing to do till harvest. All of this stuff stores well as is, we still have spaghetti squash from last fall
> 
> Other than that root crops are good bang for your buck, potatoes or sweet potatoes climate permitting, but also beets I love them tops and all


Three sisters gardens have been around for millennia, so they must have something going for them. I also like amaranth and quinoa because both the leaves and "grain" are used for food. They would be more of a winter crop in Florida.


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## gabbyj310

Beans,potatoes and cornbread......Opps that's dinner


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## cowboyhermit

dirtgrrl, it doesn't fit as easily with modern equipment (machine harvesting is pretty much impossible) but it can sure be low maintenance and produce a lot of storable food There are many variations as well, you can use sunflowers in place of corn though this sometimes requires a stake, you can add a quick growing plant to suppress weeds until the squash fills in like radishes or lettuce.

I really like the concept and it works well, especially if mechanical tillage is not feasible for whatever reason.


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## Gians

Meerkat said:


> Say you only had a certain amount of fertilizer to feed your plants.
> 
> You are old and one is disabled so you can only keep up a small garden.
> 
> What vegetable's would you grow to get the largest amount of nutrient's if this was all you had to eat? And the largest amount of food.


I've gotten to the point where I only put in what produces the most with the least amount of care. Made short raised beds a few years back and have been meaning to add to their height but for now I can still manage. I go with tomatoes, beans, summer and winter squash, peppers and garlic. Stopped planting corn because it took up too much room for what I got...the beans I plant are usually bush type so only needed two sisters  I cheat and buy pony packs from the nursery for some different winter veggies. With Kohlrabi, Broccoli and Cauliflower, you can also eat the leaves(get em young). Potatoes and cabbage would be fairly easy to grow also. Dig in some of your non-meat kitchen scraps, throw in some red wigglers and add top coat of leaves or pine needles(dried) and you'd probably not have to worry about fertilizer or water too much.

Added: You can also use lawn clippings to add to the leaves/pine needles mix, I usually only do this with early spring clippings so I don't add any dreaded Bermuda grass.


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## Woody

How much space are we talking about?

Bang for your buck would be potatoes and tomatoes, big crops per plant. Storage wise dry beans, your choice of type, and winter squash. Radishes for fast growing and carrots for vitamins and storage. Spinach and kale (if kale will grow down there) or another form of lettuce plant. These will bolt in the hot sun so you can scatter them around the yard in shady locations. If you have room then add squash, peppers, onions, garlic.

I love my shelling peas but yield for space isn’t all that great and they die soon as the weather gets hot. Could be a winter crop for you though.

Time and maintenance wise all will grow well, with mulch there is little weeding. Watering would be your biggest concern. For fertilizer start a compost pile! Yard debris, table scraps, newspaper… All manner of ‘garbage’ that will decompose can be used. There is always the humanure route too.


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## stanb999

For Yield and nutrition...

roots
Beets and turnips. Both give you greens and roots, are short season, easy to grow, and require little inputs. A 4' x5' well tilled bed can yield more than 30 pounds of roots and about 5 pounds of greens.

In the north roots can be stored well in a cold basement. In the south they can be stored right in the garden.


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## Meerkat

Lots of good info here. We have 3 raised beds. 1 is 5x25 other 2 are about 4x10. Also have worked soil around the perimeter. 

We also have 3 composters one hubby got for birthday about 10 yr.s ago it was very expensive but he wanted one for years so we spent the $500 on it. The hard part is filling them. We usually rake up leaves in the fall save some lawn grass,but have to let most of that stay or we will have a sand pit in dry weather. .Always save kitchen scraps and use last years chicken manure. But its getting harder to do all the work it takes to keep then full.

Will be back here later.Thanks all.


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## fredgreek

If I had to bug-out with just two plants to restart somewhere as the core of our garden, it would be cuttings of yam/sweet potato and moringa. (And of course my little fridge of seeds)

I got my first cuttings of Moringa Oleifera from Mark Olsen, who did his Ph.D. thesis on this tree&#8230; http://www.mobot.org/gradstudents/olson/moringahome.html The tree is rated really well as a "multivitamin" source, in particular the leaves are high in sulfur-contained amino acids methionine & cystine, often in short supply, and missing from yam leaves and vines (which are edible when cooked, unlike potato plants which are not).

If you cannot store enough multivitamins, grow them. Run a web search about the value of the tree moringa as a "multi vitamin" for people. The leaves are edible raw or cooked, the pods are edible, the roots also. Note, moringa can be "cloned" from a cutting of a stem of about ½ inch in diameter. The daily dose for vitamin purposes is 100mg of leaves.

NOTE: The moringa leaves cannot have the vitamin content "advertised" unless the soil contains all of the micronutrients required... Like our commercial farming, with the "big three" fertilizers, moringa will grow, but if the particular elements is not in the soil, it likewise cannot be in the leaves for you to consume.

With sweet potato/yam, you get decent calories in the "potato", and the leaves & young stems are edible.


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## kilagal

Well as someone that is getting older and having a dh that is even 7 years older than that I kind of know a little bit about this. For years we have had a big garden. A couple of years ago I convinced dh to let me have some raised beds in the back yard. We liked them so well we now have 5 raised beds. Plus some 1/2 barrels as well. I have a cold frame over the one raised bed. And even though I live in MT I have spinach growing it in the winter. Very little work is involved in the raised beds. Plus I can start my garden early as I have put hoops over my raised beds. Then I cover them with plastic. Kind of like a mini greenhouse. In the 1/2 barrels I plant tomatoes and put tomato cages around them with plastic around the tomato cages. That way I can also do those earlier. 
I raise tomatoes, carrots, beets, lots of red cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. And potatoes. I have berry bushes as well asparague and rhubarb. We also have fruit trees, and jersulum artichokes. And of course herbs. And 2 elderberry plants as well.


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## Magus

Indian corn, potatoes, squash, carrots, mustard, okra 
None of that actually needs much fertilize, I'd put the
fertilize on the Cherokee tomatoes however.


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## mojo4

Well since I can't seem to grow squat I would plant every seed I can get my mittens on and pray. Alot. Guess the only thing I grow well is dandelions. Guess its lotsa salad for me and my family! Got dressing??


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## Davarm

Pumpkins are very good, I dont(cant) grow them here but I do grow Blue Hubbard Squash and have several in the living room that I picked last August and they are still good, cut and ate one last month. They will grow in marginal soil, are packed with vitamins and minerals and taste pretty darn good.



Hooch said:


> However, pumpkins are a good crop. They last a long time if stored right and they are a superfood and can be made into bread, pies, soups, etc. I still have 2 left from last years harvest...In warmer places one would need a root cellar probably.


Tomatoes are heavy feeders and are prone to blights so they may not be such a good choice if no fertilizers or blight sprays are available. I have read in old(mid 1800') homestead and farm books that diluted urine can control fungus(blights) but have never been desperate enough to try it.

Like Magus said, Okra is good and will grow anywhere in just about any soil but it needs hot weather to thrive. Dry beans are always a standard and will pretty much grow anywhere with minimal effort or fertilizers. Chick Peas are a good choice for those who have cool springs and mild summers, they are the most widely consumed legume in the world(has to be a reason for that).

Sweet Potatoes are hearty, require little care, can tolerate heat and can produce large quantities of potatoes. They are relatives of the Morning Glory and if you have ever tried to rid yourself of those weeds you can appreciate how trouble free sweet potatoes can be - they seem to be the last plants the grasshoppers attack as they gnaw down everything else.

Plants like cabbage, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, collards and turnips can be grown year round if you have no extremely cold spells. They can even grow well in the winter in the same soil that they will not thrive in during the summer and dont require much care or fertilizers. Potatoes can be grown here well into winter and can be planted as early as December, you may have to cover the plants during frosts.

Pear Trees can produce heavily in relatively poor soil but they do require time to grow and establish. We have many verities of wild plums(just about each stand is different) here in North Texas that thrives everywhere around here, even in drought years. The fruit is small(about the size of a quarter) but the trees produce heavily and the plums are very good. They can be a nuisance, they spread by root growth as well as seed and can be almost impossible to control.


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## eddy_dvyvan

In this situation and depending on climate ect.

Potatoes would be my number 1 pick. Grown in used tyres or bins.

Im using 4x 44gal drums to grow 16 potato plants. So far yields have been good. I need more though but this was a test run. The drums are on a tilt stand so i can tilt them to the sun and i can also empty them 1 handed onto the ground to get my spuds.

They have a great nutritional value, taste yum and store well + you can....can them. 

Im also growing Kale and brussel sprouts which is going fine in pots so should be good in raised beds. Also its very good for you.

I dont grow many things as of yet as im trying to design the garden properly. Im young and fairly able at the moment but i wont be forever so designing in access and picking things of highest nutrient value and lowest physical input is important to me.

Good luck!


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## kappydell

Potatoes (calories), tomatoes (vitamins & versatility), some kind of greens (kale is a 'superfood' that tastes like cabbage and can be used in salads and cooked as well), some legumes (dry beans or peanuts, perhaps), and onions and/or garlic (for their health virtues). I might add (if I had room) some kind of winter squash for storage - and don't forget to roast and eat the seeds too!) Such peasant fare has kept many people alive for centuries, with or without meat in varying amounts.


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## tsrwivey

Planting fruit & nut trees would be a great idea. Once established, they don't require that much tending to but would produce a lot calorie & nutrient wise.


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## Onebigelf

My Farmer-fu is still pitifully weak. I planted 22 tomato plants this year. They looked like they were doing well, about 5 ft tall, nice healthy dark green, lots of little tomatoes, then in three days they were all dead.

I fear that in case of a problem lasting longer than stored food I am doomed.

John


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## Magus

Did they change almost over night? dig around the root base of a dead one and examine it with a magnifying glass, sounds like you have cut worms or those damned Chinese aphids.


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## carolexan

Raised beds are a wonderful option for those with limited mobility. Here in Texas, onions, taters, carrots, lots of squash, spinach, cabbage, beans of every type. Tomatoes and garlic are very good too. Good luck with your gardening.


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## Gravlore

Forgot to add quinoa as a crop. Apparently it grows well in North Central Saskatchewan.


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## Meerkat

The replies here have really helped a lot. Now if it will stop raining long enough to do something but get in trouble online. Of course it has been unusually cool here because of the rain so its good. Also I feel so bad for those 19 firefighters in that fire and hope nobody else gets hurt.

I had lots of drama going on the other site I go to so didn't make it back.


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## nathan

Tomatoes,greenbeans,carrots,andpeppers:because experience has shown me that Im better off to buy my other vegetables from the farmers market,with only 1300sq/ft garden


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## debbluu

mojo4 said:


> Well since I can't seem to grow squat I would plant every seed I can get my mittens on and pray. Alot. Guess the only thing I grow well is dandelions. Guess its lotsa salad for me and my family! Got dressing??


If life gives you dandelions, make dandelion jelly and dandelion wine and dandelion tea to go with your dandelion salad.


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## Meerkat

Most of our garden is a washout now. All that work for nothing ,but that's life on the farm I guess. it beats fires too, so count the blessing I guess.


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## kyredneck

Green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes for sure.


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## LincTex

Meerkat said:


> Most of our garden is a washout now. All that work for nothing...


I take it you don't have raised beds?


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