Best crops for survival gardening

[Stillman]

Winged yam is D. alata the stem has these flat two ridges I think thats why anyway? My Yams have gone mad, so have my sweet potatoes, but my NZ yams are struggling in the humid summer.

[shortly]

It could also be Yam Bean or Jicama - Pachyrrhizus erosus.

Dont you just love the term "yam" half a dozen or more unrelated genera from all corners of the globe, the only thing they have in common is they have tubers.

Sexy looking Pear WB

[Stillman]

I thought I lost my jicama but it was just hiding, Its massive with leaves as big as a a softball, actually maybe bigger.

[whitewind]

Anyone tried breeding Epiphyllums for food? Their fruits are spineless and they are damned easy to grow!

[shortly]

I have done WW, got as far as bantam chicken egg size so far, they arent very heavy croppers but i figure for something that just sits in a basket haning from a fruit tree they dont take up room or much water, are very ornamental & dont look like a food crop its gotta be a winner.

Now i just need to figure out which plant is which after they were strewn about the yard last weekend

[Stillman]

I tasted the fruit of a German empress cv was really quite good except it stained my mouth mulberry purple for the day. You could certainly use them as a dye.

[Stillman]

My Ipomoea costata is doing very well with this weather, I think I had been keeping it too dry. I'm going to do some looking around online for some info on this one. Very attractive ornamental with nice flower plus an edible.

One of those seedlings is yours if you like Shortly.

[shortly]

Is the I costata self fertile Stillman? And does it propagate easily from slips like Ipomoea mauritiana & I batatas?

Have you had the opportunity to eat any yet?

It would be nice to see more of the edible Ipomoea's apart from just I batatas being grown.

[Stillman]

yep SHortly mine is self fertile. I have had a go at layering and it seems to root easily. it send long runners and a a deep tap. Very different to batatas.

http://www.apscience.org.au/projects/APSF_04_3/apsf_04_3.htm

http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/resource/DKCRC_Bush%20Food_IS-6_Bush%20Potato_July09.pdf

Interesting vid of ladies digging for the tubers, they did for a metre or so down.

http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/bush-tucker-is-everywhere/clip1/

I haven't had a chance to eat any yet but.

[Stillman]

I'm thinking I might try a source out a couple other types.

[shortly]

Excellent vid Stillman

Do you have any idea what the Wild Lemon was in the third clip??

Here's a few more edible morning glories, if anyone knows of any others plz speak up

Ipomoea tuba

Ipomoea longituba - Oloiropiji

Ipomoea obscura

Ipomoea muellerii

Ipomoea polpha - Yala

Ipomoea lacunose

Ipomoea pandurata

Ipomoea purpurea

Ipomoea macrorhiza

Ipomoea calobra

And obviously

Ipomoea mauritiana

Ipomoea aquatica

Ipomoea costata

Ipomoea batatas

[Stillman]

Some nutritional data comparison not sure how reliable it is but interesting at a glance.

Ipomoea costata

http://www.aminoz.com.au/ipomoea-costata-bush-potato-tuber-food-8750.html

Orange flesh raw and peeled

http://www.aminoz.com.au/sweet-potato-orange-flesh-peeled-food-5898.html

white fleshed raw and peeled

http://www.aminoz.com.au/sweet-potato-white-flesh-peeled-food-5658.html

Results could have alot to do with wild harvested in arid conditions results of costata and the farmed batatas.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Stillman

[mud]

Think layers.

Dig caves.. mounds...

utilise trees, climbers..

Potatos and yams,

in tyre stack..asparagus grows vertically fro YONKS too.. herb spirals on mounds make use

of small space

SPECIALTY..the key is not on YIELD but in DESIRABILITY>..always therell be more somewhere..just gotta make your more, more appealing.

native..wild..local.

ANIMALS aswell..aquaculture..chicken tractors..all of which should be niche high profit shite...gourmet mushrooms, superfoods..

and STORABILITY..

FKN ACORN TREEEs, yo!

Will take a couple of decades..but can produce tonnes of high fat, high protein, high carb..

also..

thinking commodity..grow anything that fetches good regular demand.

Edited February 10, 2013 by mud

[Davo]

I'm with the layers approach too.

Also I'd think highly on the localised climate you're in and the soil, a high producer in a neutral soil may not in a non ph balanced soil.

Including animals which have short reproductive cycles can always be of benefit that can take up small areas, I think of and harvest on farms that I visit, chicken, rabbit and yabbies.

[Stillman]

A few updates

Taro

Dioscorea yams

And if possible a hand to ID as have lost tags etc?? I have a rough idea but not exactly sure now.

[briliant_botanist]

great thread as for growing stuff my plot is relatively small-medium house & garden & I grow strawberries , lemons(dwarf), passion fruit, tomatoes,capsicums, chillies, peas, beans, corn & pumpkins & pretty much anything else that i can get seed from to propagate myself .

aquaculture is one way of producing your own meat supply too just need a large enough tank / tub to get started . best fish to use in a system here in Australia I think is Golden perch / callop!

[shortly]

Nice looking Teosinte Stillman, any sign of flowers yet?

@ Briliant batanist: Barcoo are a better option in small home systems, yellow belly are better suited to dam culture.

[Stillman]

No flowers yet. Everything is plumped up as after the rain.

[poisonshroom]

Just reading through this thread again reminded me of my Oxalis triangularis - I only just found out what it was (had it for about 2 years - picked it up at the markets). Anyone know much about it's edibility? It has tiny caterpillar looking bulbs, but nice big purple leaves, and despite being in full sun, indoors, standing in water for weeks on end etc over the years it has never given up, and even dropped a bulb on the ground near the pot it's in somehow, which grew on the surface of heavy clay with a layer of gravel until my friend found it and potted it up one day. There is another oxalis sp which has purplish flowers and green leaves that pops up in along the pavement line where the pipes come out for the shower, dishwasher etc, which looks nice too and seems to be very tolerant (growing in pretty much constant standing water with detergent and stuff in it all the time, and full sun for half the day.

Prickly pears are a good one, and if you have only one or two the weediness could be controlled by regular harvesting of the pads (you would only need to take a couple off for your scrambled eggs on a sunday morning to keep it pretty compact). Is there much difference in taste between the pads of different spp? I have an O. macrocentra which would look nice in food, but not sure how it would taste (compared to the more succulent green local variety which grows all over town).

That also got me thinking about figs (after seeing the name ficus indica lol) - F. carica would do well in most areas (it even seems to do ok here in townsville, which is fairly humid most of the time), and there are lots of wild species in the wet tropics (and everywhere really), most of which have edible fruit. The good thing about figs is they propagate from cuttings readily, so if you find one that tastes good you can take some cuttings and most will grow as well as the parent (if you emulate its microclimate as much as possible).

brahmi and gotu kola are good ones too, and basil - all grow pretty much anywhere and often naturalize. I made pasta with brahmi, gotu kola (as a parsley substitute) and tulsi as the main herbage and my parents said it was the best they have had in years (I told them what i used after they ate it and told me it was awesome ).

Dioscorea alata pops up reliably every year here as well after planting some a few years ago. Never tried the yams though

[Stillman]

http://www.globalsciencebooks.info/JournalsSup/images/Sample/FVCSB_5(SI2)19-24o.pdf
Interesting study on purple I batatas

Edited March 18, 2013 by Stillman

[Stillman]

http://www.globalsciencebooks.info/JournalsSup/images/Sample/FVCSB_5(SI2)19-24o.pdf

Edited March 18, 2013 by Stillman

[bogfrog]

Just bought some of these, they are known as 'ice cream bean's

Inga Bean

Native to riverbanks, swamps and lakes of the Brazilian Amazon, it has been cultivated for thousands of years. Inga pods have long been a favourite snack for many people in Central and South America, although the tree is still undervalued outside these regions. Inga Bean is part of the family Leguminosae, nitrogen fixing plant. Nitrogen fixing bacteria form nodules on the plant roots providing the plant with nitrogen that they fix from the air. Known as the Ice Cream Bean tree.

Landscape Value

This attractive tree creates a dappled shade or an interesting background tree with its rich dark green and bronze coloured fern-like foliage. Reaches a height of 15m in its native country but in New Zealand will only reach about 6-8 metres.

Nutritional Value

The seeds are a good source of protein.

How to Eat

Pods up to 1 metre long contain sweet, juicy, white pulp that has a soft cotton wool texture and tastes of vanilla ice-cream. "A delectable snack that comes in its own natural wrapper" which is loved by children. Can be eaten fresh or used as flavouring for deserts. Seeds can be cooked and eaten like a vegetable, in Mexico they roast and sell as a snack.

Expected Yield

Trees start producing pods in 3 years.

[Stillman]

So have had this come up in the yard hard, is it Ipomoea lacunosa? Apparently an edible.

this thing is going to self seed, but would be nice if I got a few tubers out of it.

[gtarman]

I think this is my favourite thread on SAB overall...big call, but it's really important to consider these things IMO.

So I thought I'd post up my list of survival crops I've compiled so far - the running theme is mostly root crops and other things that provide lots of calories, and sheer weight of food for the lowest amount of water (this is important I think because of the unpredictability of water supply and rainfall in the near future, and also just to make the most of what you have, and spend less time watering).

So I have, so far:

jerusalem artichoke

canna edulis (arrowroot)

cassava

sweet potatoes

yacon

okra

black-eyed beans

figs

prickly pear

possibly...Callirhoe involucrata?

Psoralea esculenta - prairie turnip

Trachymene incisa - wild parsnip

winged yam

maybe ipomea costata, desert yam

Also, depending on the situation, perhaps the sugar beets for ethanol production. Psoralea esculenta is one that I'm really interested in getting some seeds for soon to play around with, sounds really cool.

Oh, and further info I found on Callirhoe involucrata, from daves garden:

"...It seems to be extremely drought tolerant, but I have not observed it on wet sites for performance. I have grown it in my garden for several years now. It will self seed, however is not what I would consider invasive. The growth habit is several loose growing vines up to 5 foot long that sort of drape themselves over surrounding foliage. A single plant will not cover the ground well, but if one has several close together the vines mat together and they will choke out almost all competition. The several vines originate from an edible turnip like structure that grows quite large over several years, I have observed roots 4 to 5 inches through."

Edited April 4, 2013 by gtarman

[gtarman]

Also thought I'd include this: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15472&p=418072

I put together a collection of my selected links and resources on sustainable living and self sufficiency, and there's a bit of crossover. Some cool stuff in there (it's in my sig now as well...spent an hour putting it together lol)