What plants are the easiest to grow that are the most ounces of consumable food?

[Adam Shivers]

I love herbs and spices but I am on a quest to feed my family from home. What high volume plants are there for these purposes? anyone? I have about three months to try and become self sustaining and I can't mess around with small stuff. If this doesn't pick up, I will grow tired of eating eggs and poultry really quick! I am trying to order some red tilapia from the pet store (and some duckweed for them) and I hope they breed quickly toward plate sized growth. Do they breed in cooler waters?

[TCLynx]

turnips will give you food fast, the greens as well as the tubers are edible.

 

Tilapia won't breed or grow quickly to plate size in cooler water.

[Chi Ma]

Try some watercress.Look into micro greens. AP is not magic. You'll have to be patient. It takes at least a month for your sytem to be cycled.

[TCLynx]

Anything that you can eat the shoots of can provide good food so long as you can get a good stock of seeds to use.  I've found a little shelf with some liner and capillary matting hanging into the water some where (or getting dripped on) can provide lots of shoots just using some coir and seed trays or pots though this won't provide any extra filtration, it will provide some nutritious shoots to eat.

sunflower

pea

bean

corn

wheat

alfalfa

turnip

radish

and many more can provide fast-slow food

 

This same method can be easily used for baby greens

 

I've found that beet and turnip thinnings are great in stir fry.  I pull the entire plant and wash and chop it up into the frying pan with some onions and olive oil, add some mushrooms and there is a great stir fry.  Many many greens can be used this way and going through and thinning plants or just cutting the outside leaves to add to the stir fry and things like swiss chard will keep growing for a long time.

 

Once a bed of watercress gets going (at least here during the cool season, haven't had it through a summer yet) you can just keep cutting as long as you leave a little bit growing.  It does like high pH hard water.

[Adam Shivers]

thank you both -

are you just talking about sprouts?

[Barney Sponenberg]

Adam, A couple of things to keep in mind

1) if you are trying to get substantial growth out of your tilapia you will need to feed a commercial fish feed. Duck weed alone will now do the trick.

2) you do not want your tilapia to breed. Since they are mouth breeders they will breed in your tanks and will not eat when holding eggs and fry, which can be more than 3 weeks each tiem they breed. they can breed multiple times per year. I would recommend that you buy in all male tilapia (which grow twice as fast as females) or triploid (the eggs are put under pressure, which adds an extra chromosome rendering them sterile.)

 

My best crops are bok choi, swiss chard, and lettuce.

[TCLynx]

I was talking about shoots which are cut above the soil line and grow taller than sprouts.  Sprouts need to be grown without soil and be very clean since people eat not only the tops of the plants but also the roots.

[Adam Shivers]

ok, do shoots continue to grow after cutting?

I have set up an entire sprout system since I misunderstood but have learned a lot!

[Adam Shivers]

thanks.
Barney Sponenberg said:

Adam, A couple of things to keep in mind

1) if you are trying to get substantial growth out of your tilapia you will need to feed a commercial fish feed. Duck weed alone will now do the trick.

2) you do not want your tilapia to breed. Since they are mouth breeders they will breed in your tanks and will not eat when holding eggs and fry, which can be more than 3 weeks each tiem they breed. they can breed multiple times per year. I would recommend that you buy in all male tilapia (which grow twice as fast as females) or triploid (the eggs are put under pressure, which adds an extra chromosome rendering them sterile.)

 

My best crops are bok choi, swiss chard, and lettuce.

[TCLynx]

I doubt shoots will re-grow after cutting.

[AJ Grottke]

Pea shoots regrow after cutting for a second harvest, but that is the only one i know of.  Most like sunflower, buckwheat, etc, dont.  Buckwheat shoots are my new favorite, i would highly suggest them. You can grow a real lot in 1 flat (10"x20")

[TCLynx]

cool, thanks for that tidbit AJ

 

What do buckwheet shoots taste like, I might have to try them.

[Adam Shivers]

awesome thanks- I may not have to continue to start peas as much- do they need a certain type soil?

AJ Grottke said:

Pea shoots regrow after cutting for a second harvest, but that is the only one i know of.  Most like sunflower, buckwheat, etc, dont.  Buckwheat shoots are my new favorite, i would highly suggest them. You can grow a real lot in 1 flat (10"x20")