If You Could Only Plant 1 and Why ?

Homestead Hubby

If you could only plant one Vegetable, one Fruit, raise one meat source what would the be? and why?

Vegetable- Tomato I think you can do the most here when you think sauces and such. I alos think very barterable too as it is known.

Fruit - Elderberry. Medicines, Wines, juice jams and more. Also cuttings for a lifetime

Meat - Chickens because I dont have experience with any others and just seems like good for reproduction long termness. Easy to buture and store compared to larger animals.

silvertipgrizz

@Homestead Hubby

Veg: tomato, and I'd sneak in peppers... they are both healthy and easy to grow and productive

Fruit: same as you..Elder of course, healing, jams/jellies, beauty, fast growing and comeback every spring,little to no care needed, and the SCENT of the flowers are unbeatable !!! and...Moringa..a tree but the health benefits are AMAZING, tree easy to grow, easy to prep for consumption and grows about 12 ft per month or so

Meat: BISON hands down.. meat very healthy and quite tasty once one masters not over cooking it...the hide is awesome soft and extremely protective in harsh winter winds, and can use as a shelter as in tepee or lean to....

Ok I cheated but that's what I would do if I could and i had to be lean on supplies and planting...

blevinandwomba

This is going to have to be an either/or. Of course, I might change my answers depending on circumstances, such as, am I raising this food by myself, etc. Off-hand, here's my answer

Veg: either tomatoes, hot peppers, or winter squash.

Tomato pros: Very easy to start from seed, usually easy to grow, extremely versatile for cooking and preserving, and I like them

Cons: if late blight hits, that's it.

hot pepper pros: I've found them much easier to grow and more productive than sweet peppers. They produce late, but abundantly. If you choose a mild variety like anaheim they can stand in for green peppers in many recipes, unless you have no spice tolerance whatsoever. They are both a vegetable and a seasoning, have many medicinal uses, and can be used in the garden to deter pest. I also love them.

Cons: I've had some trouble starting them from seed.

winter squash pro: Very nutritious, very long keeping, makes lots of food, and so delicious if you choose the right varieties. You can also use the green squash as summer squash.

cons: similar to tomatoes, I have had sudden catastrophic deaths. They can take up a lot of room too.

Fruit: either black raspberry, blackberry, or mulberry. All three have been completely carefree to grow in my experience, and very nutritious. Mulberry is my least favorite for taste, but it produces a long time and has no thorns.

Meat: definitely chicken. If push came to shove I think I could butcher one- I'd get eggs in the mean while. I also love having chickens around.

judsoncarroll4

Probably radishes. They grow so fast and are hardy. You can harvest the greens a few times before the roots. Runners up would be mustard and beans.

dottile46

Wow, that's a hard question. I naturally thought tomatoes because I love then, they are easy to start and grow but reality says corn would be the better bet. I could eat it fresh or use it dried. The stalks could be used for shelter, fuel for a fire, roughage for livestock, or when still green the sap as a sweetener. The cobs could be used as fuel and if all else fails, TP.

The fruit would be elderberry for the same reasons mentioned above.

The animal would be chickens.

dianne.misspooz

I would probably buy a potato plant. I can name potato dishes like Bubba could name shrimp dishes! hahaha

Torey

@Homestead Hubby For livestock, I would choose goats. I agree with the bison idea as we are fortunate to get a side of bison every year and I know how good it is. However, goats are easier to care for and usually produce twins. They can be used for meat or the full spectrum of dairy products. While the hides are not as large as bison, they still make a good leather. Horns can be used for a variety of purposes. I have had goats before so I am familiar with their needs.

Corn is a good idea for versatility as are tomatoes but I think I would have to go with squash. Easier to grow (for me), a good source of vitamins and minerals and it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Stores well with little to no effort. Corn is a difficult crop in my garden. Tomatoes are hit and miss. An assortment of greens can be harvested wild in most areas so no necessity for choosing greens.

Apples might be my choice for fruit. They do well here and can be used in so many ways, including cider and vinegar. Both important ingredients in my kitchen. Also, easy to store as is, or canned, dried or frozen. Almost all other berries (with the exception of elderberries) grow wild in my area so are easy to forage. And the old saying "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away" has been shown to have merit.

Lisa K

Wow that is a hard question! I am sure next week this could change but ...

Vegetable: Artichoke, they are my favorite and tomatoes are easier to find even off season.

Fruit: Elderberry for its medicinal uses

Meat: Chickens for eggs (I am vegetarian).

JodieDownUnder

Difficult to answer, purely on practical terms. Vegetable - potato, fairly easy to grow in most places, prolific and can cook a few different ways. Fruit- apple, same as above. Meat- goat, prolific breeders, lean, could milk and maure to fertilise the other two.

Purely on favourite foods, mushrooms, mango, fish. Because I adore them all.

cre8tiv369

Are you asking if you could only grow/raise one of each and we’re still able to get other food from elsewhere, or are you asking if you could only have one for the rest of your life kinda thing?

SuperC

vegetable would be yucca, a tuber. Provides some shade. You can take one and replant it. The flesh is white which promotes healthy immune systems. It’s very delicious and carries medicinal properties I believe once it’s in a powdered form.

fruit would be elderberry as medicines and healing.

meat may be crab. The shells can be crushed and added to gardens. Delicious tasting flesh. Attracts seabirds and other animals that may be necessary for survival.

OhiohillsLouise

I’m trying not to over think this but probably squash, apple, chicken. (If I could pick 2 of each, then Jerusalem Artichokes, tomatoes (because it really is a fruit), goat).

Squash because it is easy to grow, nutritious, seeds are good for a snack, easy long term storage.

Apple because I already have trees, nutritious, easy long term storage, easy to dry.

Chicken because they are easy to raise, easy to butcher, eats bugs, worms and seeds and turns them into eggs. I’d rather eat beef, bison, or goat meat but those eggs are such a bonus in a small package.

This was fun to think about!

maimover

One thing: definitely potatoes (growing this year for the first time ever), apples as they are so versatile and can be stored reasonably well, and chicken (eggs and meat, fertilizer for future use)