Vitamin and mineral plant growth question.

[Scythe13]

This is a question that's only just come to mind.

I'm looking at my preps, just before going to bed. Milling over everything in my head (not much in there) when it occurred to me that although I'm harvesting rabbits for food, and can forage reasonably well. Those are my fail-safe options. I'm looking to grow all my own food, to get enough fat, carb, and protein. The tinned food is nothing but another fail-safe option for us.

Then it struck me like a brick. Although I'm stocking on multi vitamins and minerals, I should be considering my dietary V+M intake from my harvested selection.

Have you considered your vitamin and mineral intake from the plants you're growing? How have you made it so that your crops, year round, provide all the V+M that your body will need? Have you got the figures for how much you need to grow, and what of?

I'll do some research into this tomorrow, if it's a quiet day at the office (unlikely). But getting some input before hand would be hugely appreciated!

Thank you all in advance for the help.

[TOF]

In a word, yes, very much so.

Eating a seasonal diet will be key. Also growing fruit and veg that can be stored to enhance what we all know is a pretty hungry time in the winter.
During the Summer and Autumn it's pretty easy to fulfill your dietary requirements, from potatoes to tomatoes and all the lovely sweetcorn, peas, beans all sorts of yummy goodness. Then into Autumn with the tree fruit and Squash and Pumpkin. Winter and the greens and root veg.
Growing food that stores well and knowing how to store it is something els to consider.
I'm also experimenting with some new crops. An article to follow.

[Scythe13]

Thank you TOF.

I look forward to the article.

[SecretPrepper]

When choosing what to grow look into their nutritional values.
At the moment I am trying to grow miracle trees because of the nutritional value but it isn't going so well.

[TOF]

Don't hold your breath, this is a long term experiment and the results won't be in til next year!

[Rush2112]

the crops we grow because of nutrional value and we like are: sweet potatoes, yellow beans, yellow squash, kale,and tomatoes. We also grow other things (like peppers,lettuce)and have some fruit trees, but these crops are so neccessary in my view that if we go 2 seasons without we may be screwed. Cant grow any grains in this climate, including corn. I keep trying with corn because of its many uses, but so far just feeding insects.
As far as having food year round, that invloves some kind of preserving. That is a whole other subject. Canning, freezing, drying, using salt, vinegar, oil, sugar or brine. in general fruit is better to dry, and veggies canned, frozen, or preserved in some kind of liquid mentioned earlier. Canning/freezing are for long term storage, but the harvest can be preserved using other means. It is not for long term, but just get you through to next harvest.

Secret prepper: I am still trying to grow the miracle tree too, and not going well either. Mine basically grew straight up like a stick about 14 feet tall with very few leaves. So I trimmed it. It looked dead for the next month, then finally 1 little branch of new growth appeared. Funny thing is, everything i read online said its so easy to grow. Just goes to show...

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(14 April 2014, 23:27)Scythe13 Wrote: Have you considered your vitamin and mineral intake from the plants you're growing? How have you made it so that your crops, year round, provide all the V+M that your body will need?

Another thing to consider to help provide enough food for a year is extending the growing season. In cooler climates this can be done using cold frames. This link has good information:

http://www.shtfblog.com/you-need-season-extension/

reasons why I conside them survival crops:

sweet potatoes: starch and fiber, vitamin a,c,e, and manganese

kale: Move over Popeye and make room for the "queen of greens," kale. Gaining in popularity, kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on a regular basis may provide significant health benefits, including cancer protection and lowered cholesterol. for more info on kale check out the link. Seriously, the stuff is easy to grow, you can take cuttings all season, and its good for you.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/featur...about-kale

yellow squash: Yellow squash is a brilliant source of vitamin C and a very good source of magnesium, vitamin A (particularly in its concentration of carotenoids, including beta-carotene), fiber, folate, copper, riboflavin and phosphorus. It is also abundant in potassium, providing 345.60 milligrams per serving. Potassium is a key electrolyte in the balance of fluids and also provides muscle energy.

yellow beans: good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate and Manganese.

[SecretPrepper]

well yours are doing better than mine. the leaves went yellow apparently i watered it too much. So i watered it less and they still look like they are dying. i think they are poor quality plants. i am going to try moving it to a bigger container as they like room

[PreparednessUK]

Look a wild edibles nettles have a huge benefit to your diet

[Tibbs735]

Vague, not-particularly helpful post alert!
Sprouting seeds in a jar on the windowsill for example is a good way to get yer vital minerals in the long dark months, and the regular months too.

[MaryN]

The best way to get all the vits and mins you need is to eat seasonally, and to eat as many "colours" as you can. Canning, preserving, freezing etc are all great ways to store foods, but there is nothing to touch actually eating the fresh stuff with the bloom of just picked on it. Plan your garden around a year's worth of eating accordingly. Right now, I have runner beans coming up in the greenhouse, asparagus sprouting in the garden, peas growing and salads coming along - just a start of the backbone of our fresh food for the coming summer.