Best (edible plants) to grow

[nomore49]

Best edible plants to grow, including medicinal plants and mushrooms

[pinfeather]

Not sure where you are, but here on the Pacific coast, my artichokes, blackberry brambles, apple trees are the showstoppers of the perennials we've planted.

[nomore49]

I live in NC btw

[Bat Farm]

Grow what you like to eat. There is no sense putting time and effort into something you and your family won't eat.

If you are talking about growing to sell, it will depend on your area. See what everyone else is growing and look for what is missing.

[snoozy]

Swiss chard is the most useful veg I know. You can eat it fresh in salads, you can cook and use it like spinach. You can use the ribs in soups if you are short of celery (though it doesn't taste the same.) You can use chard in Asian-style broths and stirfries. It will overwinter and survive mild snow. Comes in lots of cool colours. High in calcium and all the same good nutrition as spinach. Grows fine in part shade, so you can save your sunny spot for something else.

BUT: Don't eat it if you are prone to kidney stones, because it is one of those veggies which is high in oxalic acid.

[motdaugrnds]

Talk with your local agricultural agent to find out what grow naturally around your area. Then google to find out what parts are edible/medicinal. Then cultivate those for yourself.

Here in zone7 (Virginia) we have quite a bit of native vegetation/fruit; so I've made use of these. Then I planted some Elderberries, Black Currants and Goji berries, along with nettle and asparagus. These all grow real well here and are very healthy.

[nomore49]

@motdaugrnds

[7thswan]

Check this link out-images. This is called permaculture . This is what I have done to my "yard". I have planted everything I can so far , that will come back year after year. 10 years so far on this spot. Orchards, medicinals, a fenced veggie garden, herbs,plants for dyeing yarn,fabric,berrys, on and on. There are diffrences in what one is able to grow depending on your zone. Mine is 5. Many of what grows in these spaces spreads like crazy. Try to find those that will share. Some things one will have to purchase.
https://www.google.com/search?q=perm...w=1920&bih=979

[7thswan]

Originally Posted by snoozy

Swiss chard is the most useful veg I know. You can eat it fresh in salads, you can cook and use it like spinach. You can use the ribs in soups if you are short of celery (though it doesn't taste the same.) You can use chard in Asian-style broths and stirfries. It will overwinter and survive mild snow. Comes in lots of cool colours. High in calcium and all the same good nutrition as spinach. Grows fine in part shade, so you can save your sunny spot for something else.

BUT: Don't eat it if you are prone to kidney stones, because it is one of those veggies which is high in oxalic acid.

I have recently tryed Hibiscus to lower my blood pressure- no way,instant kidney pain on my weak kidney. I am very sentive in this area. It was the first thing hit when I got bit by a brown recluse. I thought it was a kidney infection as I was traveling cross country on a Harley. Chard does not seem to bother me, but I do not eat that much of it. Great stuff! I even grow it for my dogs food.

[Grandmotherbear]

I always thought hibiscus raised b/p.
2 that I know drop b/p at least 10 points within 20 minutes- cornsilk or cinnamon. Eat a spoonful of cinnamon in applesauce. Do your b/p before and 20 minutes later. You'll be amazed. I used to stock applesauce and a BIG container cinnamon at work for my coworkers.
Oh yeah- Growins- I'm moving toward more permaculture too. Lots of water garden- purple rice, lotus, arrowhead, katniss (groundnut) water chestnuts. Peaches, apples. I'm going to get a strawberryfruit tree in here soon- the Jamaican cherry kind. Pachira nuts. Olive tree. Avocado. Pineapples. Loofa. Katuk and Chaya, basketvine, yacon, sweet potatoes, perennial beans. Chinese yams. Most of these are in containers.
You might want to read Eric Toensmeier's book on Perennial Vegetables. Plant once, harvest multiple times.

[7thswan]

I need to try the cinnamon in coffee, I've read of that. I get 1 cup a day.

[light rain]

nomore49, what growing zone are you in? What are your five favorite foods? Also, is where you plant going to be your permanent garden?

[COWS]

I'm in SC, so this should be more or less local advice.

Sweet corn(hybrid), open pollinated field corn if you want to grind for meal and grits, green beans, okra if you like it, I don't but will eat it in soup, tomatoes, Irish and sweet potatoes, Lima beans, field peas, greens in fall like collards, spinach, kale, garlic.

COWS

[Peggy]

I started last year getting rid of all the Pretty flowers in my flower beds and planted veggies and fruit. most of my stuff is now editable or medicinal.

blueberries and cranberries have their own bed
asparagus
elderberries
blackberries by the fish pond, waterchestnuts in the pond.
garlic and walking onions
ramps around the Carolina roses
raspberries and editable flowers
6 new grape plants started last year.
this year I would like to grow lettuce under the fruit trees.
strawberries in 3 different flower beds.
daylilies an strawberries and garlic in front bed.
want to try climbing peas in several beds this spring an see what happens.
planning on adding Kiwi and maybe gooseberries.

[Jolly]

Everything.

That is, everything that grows well in your area.

My in-laws do it better than most, with a big vegetable garden that has something growing in it almost every day of the year and a very small hot house for the newest seedlings. They also have a substantial home orchard, with a half-dozen mayhaws, three fig trees, three plum trees, four peach trees and a couple of pear trees. They have 8 or 10 blueberries, a small strawberry patch and a thornless blackberry patch. Years ago, they planted a few pecans around the place and those are producing now.

Lastly, my MIL has her herb garden scattered in containers on the back porch and yard.

No medicinals, mushrooms or edible wild plants, but it seems like they are picking or working with something everyday.

[Awnry Abe]

goldenrod