| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Grow Your Own Nutrient-Dense Fruits and Vegetables, by C.F.B.
Let’s face it. When we get to point that you can’t call out, use a computer, or find a stop light that is working, our stash of stored food will eventually become depleted. We will all become more and more dependent on local produce. Even if food is available for purchase, many people will want to grow some of their own. For most of us, growing our own fruits and vegetables in an efficient manner will be a challenge. How successful we are in gardening will very much depend on our individual knowledge and skills. If you have never gardened, be aware that there is lot more to it than just planting seeds and harvesting.
Basically, all of our gardening goals will be much the same – to grow large quantities of fruits and vegetables that are packed with minerals for good nutrition. When fruits and vegetables are high in minerals, we call it “nutrient-dense.” Depending on the way a fruit or vegetable is grown, its mineral content can easily vary as much as 100 percent. It’s the minerals we are after. In fact, we don’t need to eat as much food if it is nutrient-dense to get the same benefit. Gardening in ways to get nutrient-dense food is therefore a move to greater efficiency. This is especially critical when gardening in restricted spaces.
This article is about the concepts and techniques for growing nutrient-dense produce. It’s for beginning and experienced gardeners. After more than 50 years of gardening experience and extensive training, I offer what I know to be the critical factors for growing nutrient-dense produce in an efficient manner.
If at all possible, I urge you to get started now with growing your own food. Don’t wait until there is an emergency at hand. Start small, develop a gardening community, make it an adventure, and enjoy it. Bonding with Mother Nature serves us all well.
Choosing the Fruits and Vegetables you will Grow
We know that there are differences in nutritional value among the many fruit and vegetable choices that we have available to grow and consume. That is simply the nature of the individual species. Beans, corn, melons, broccoli, etc. are not alike in nutritional value. It’s important that we eat a variety of foods to get a full complement of minerals.
Before you begin learning and using techniques for growing nutrient-dense produce, recognize that your selection of what you can grow is dependent on your geographic location. Summer and winter temperatures, length of growing season, winter chilling requirements, basic soil types, and other factors, all influence what you can grow. Especially if you are new at gardening, it is wise to see what is available at local Farmer’s Markets and visit with long-time local gardeners and farmers before deciding what to grow and when to plant.
The aim of this article is to help you get the most minerals/nutrients possible into whatever crops you are growing. The more nutrients you get in all your produce, the more efficient is your gardening effort.
Source:
Blackberry’s grow almost everywhere. They are one of the easiest to grow and nutrient rich fruits there is. They can even grow in a pot on a balcony or suspended like vines overhead.