Artilcle - The Only 7 Seeds You Need to Stockpile for a Crisis

[TWP]

Ok, I dislike absolutes, so please ignore the "Only" in the title.

Instead, I'd use "Desirable" or "Baseline".

You all know the "food pyramid" concept, right?  I would put these seven vegetables at the base of my "Garden Pyramid".  Then you can add other seeds, depending on what you want to do.

The point is to have a set of nutritionally complete foods (or as close as you can get) for your diet.

After that, assuming you have garden space and manpower, you can expand with other crops.

[rant off]

http://www.askaprepper.com/the-only-7-seeds-you-need-to-stockpile-for-a-crisis/

Before anybody flames me for my stance on this, DO NOTE that you are free to do whatever you want to do... It is YOUR garden.  It is also your family/group nutrition. 

[Reasonable Rascal]

I have to say the advise is very generic. Squash, sure: what variety? Butternut? Zucchini? Pumpkin? Acorn?

Bean: likewise. Pinto? Green (string)? Soy?

The recommendations are wide-open to interpretation based as much on locale as preference.

All said this is not a flame directed at you. The info offered on this forum is useful and straight-forward. The site referenced: pick and choose carefully.

Because of dietary changes (high protein in an effort to change certain health issues - and yes, it works very well if I stick to it) we have discovered that things such as rutabaga, turnips and other 'oddball' veggies are actually tasty as well as healthy. But then anything cooked with bacon is beyond tasty. ;-)

RR

[TWP]

Rascal, that begs the question:

Which do you recommend?

Yes, it is variable by regional climate and growing season.

I prefer Pinto and Kidney beans,  Sweet Corn and Spaghetti Squash.  Pumpkins are on my list only because I like pumpkin pie (it can be made with other squash also).

Common White Potatoes plus Sweet Potatoes (a perennial!).  These are outside the category since they are generally only grown from tuber starts and not seeds.  Yes, I am aware that potato seeds are available.

I would add, beyond the authors set of seven seeds; Soy beans and Amaranth because of their protein profile.

[Reasonable Rascal]

Personally I'd try to find 7 actual varieties that best fit the bill. What squash produces the most 'meat' with the least tender loving care? Zucchini is prolific but also produces smaller fruits and is generally seen as less desirable in and of itself versus say a baked acorn squash.

I'd also prefer either a pinto of kidney bean for versatility and protein.

Corn: much as I'd prefer a good peaches-and-cream variety of sweet corn practicality demands that I seek a heirloom variety that resistant to as many natural obstacles as possible. Lacking that a decent field corn is preferable. Not as tasty but it fills the need and produces more poundage per plant. More utilitarian as well.

Wheat: hard red winter, or a soft white, or.... Hard red is the standard for storage, but we seem to be talking ongoing consumption. What about oats instead? Just thinking. Is rye hardier?

Just some random thoughts.

RR

[Jerry D Young]

A couple of thoughts on TWP's and RR's choices:

1) Soy beans: I refuse to eat any soy product if I know it is an ingredient and can choose almost anything else. Soybeans are one of the reasons that the health of Americans is on the downslide. I will not ask anyone to believe it, nor am I preaching it, but I will ask anyone that is interested to do some due diligence research on the generally not mentioned negative effects that soybeans and soy products have on the human body.

2) Squash/pumpkin: I would only grow a squash if I really needed to do Three Sisters planting. While I like pumpkin pie, I much prefer carrot pie, so have no need for the pumpkin squashes. The only squash I really like is yellow crook neck summer squash and that is just not a good choice for a prepper basic garden.

3) Beans: While I like pinto beans, especially cooked with a hambone, I would not make them a first choice. Nor kidney beans. For the same basic reasons. Both can become very difficult to cook to a consistency that most people will accept after long storage. And the very fact that makes them a top choice for many, is the stronger taste they have. It can be a bit much for me in anything except 'a pot of beans' type dish. For other purposes, as an additive or stretcher for other dishes, I think they affect the taste to a degree that keeps many of the dishes from being what they were intended to taste like, and turn them into a bean tasting dish.

4) Corn: I find that quality field corn, for those few hours when it is in the milk stage, is superior to all but the highly modified Super Sweet Corn strain of sweet table corn. But if you do not harvest and cook or preserve the field corn during that short window of time, field corns in general are not great table corns.

Now that I have voiced my thoughts on other people's choices, I will voice my own choices for a basic seven. (Which, truth be told, I think is a highly arbitrary number that does not represent a well rounded prepper basic garden grown from stored seeds.) (I am hearing something in the background here... 'Who are you to make judgements...' Hm... need to clean out my ears, I guess.)

All heirloom open pollinated varieties suitable for the area soil(s) and climate:
1) Red potato: Basic carbohydrate that can be used in a huge number of ways.
2) Turnips: A good alternative to potatoes in some dishes, and to break the monotony of potatoes. Also produces an excellent cooked green. (And as a good green, as much as like spinach, I do not have to grow a separate cooked green.)
3) Corn: Hopi Blue Corn - The harder huruskwapu strain variety - Do a bit of research. One of the Three Sisters, great for no irrigation planting. (might add a popcorn, too)
4) Beans: My preference is Great Northern beans for soup beans/pot of beans, and for use in other dishes as an additive or stretcher since they are mild tasting. And small red beans for 'chili beans' (similar to Ranch Style brand beans), actual chili, and other 'Mexican' and 'Southwest' dishes such as refried beans.
5) Wheat: If I can cheat just a little, I would have at least two, and probably four types. Hard red winter for sure, soft white for sure, with soft red winter third, and durum as the fourth, if possible.

Without a separate greens needed, nor a squash, I would add the following two:
6) Onion: A yellow sweet onion. I like the milder, sweeter flavor. If possible, Vidalia, though I do not know its genetics.
7) Melons: Muskmelons for sure, with watermelons, as well, if possible. Something sweet. Muskmelons are a great addition to breakfasts, and watermelon anytime in the summer.

And since I do not agree with the '7', here are my additions:
Carrots: Part of my 'soup & stew' garden (along with potatoes, onions, and corn, and a couple more below), great as a side dish (honey ginger carrots - oh my), and for carrot crème pie during the holidays (much better and prettier than pumpkin and available all year round) (orange are best for pies, but one of the other heritage types of various colors would be good, too.)
9) Celery: Part of the soup & stew garden. Also great snack, alone and with peanut butter or cream cheese, and such.
10) Sweet peas: Part of the soup & stew garden. Also great side dish, in cold salads (though I do not like this type of dish), and other dishes.

And honorable mention:
11) Cucumbers
12) Tomatoes
13) Lentils
14) Oats

This is not including the many perennials, trees, bushes, and other plants that you plant once and harvest for years.

Just my opinion.

[Reasonable Rascal]

Ah, the Kobayashi Maru paradigm. Is it really cheating if you are merely reprogramming the scenario?   

RR

[TWP]

Last time I checked, the Garden Gods have not issued an edict to the effect that: "Thou Must Only Plant Seven Seeds, No More May Thou Plant And No Less May Thou Plant"...  But I do know some gardeners who hold strong beliefs...

I suppose it depends on to which church of gardening you subscribe... 

Ecumenical gardening would see the best approach.  What works better for each gardener, in their particular situation.

And never forget to grow enough for Corn Licker...

Jerry, RE soy, I have read some reviews which support your position.  Still undecided whether the evidence is based on which strain or whether it is true for all varieties.  Soy has been strongly modified by mono-cropping and cross breeding of strains.  The aim was/is to product high volume crops... Follow the money there.