Yesterday I spent time in my little greenhouse weeding out the chickweed that invaded my beds there. Although chickweed is edible and has some real health benefits, if you've never had to deal with this evil invasive plant, you're lucky! It grows quickly in all directions and has a hair-like but thick root mass that goes deep. But enough of this for now. I'm going to do a separate blog post on the chickweed menace. Venting my frustrations will be almost like psychotherapy.
We woke this morning to a light mid-February snow on the ground-- and the thermometer is due to plunge overnight. I'm not a cold weather person. (Been there, done that with all those winters in Michigan.) But this is the time of year, during these weather-forced lockdowns, when I love to sit across from the wood stove and plan my garden for the upcoming growing season.
As I sit today storyboarding my garden plan I'm also thinking about the inflationary prices of fruits and vegetables in the supermarket. Meat and fish prices are also spiraling upward. So, for myself, in addition to growing healthy leafy green produce, which vegetables can I grow that will provide us with the most calories for an active lifestyle, and will also keep over the next winter?
Rebekah Pierce has posted an informative article, Top 20 Highest Calorie Vegetables to Grow, on the New Life on a Homestead blog. She provided this list which starts from highest in nutrient density of kilocalories per 100 grams (3.5 ounces by weight):
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Sweet Potatoes
- Parsnips
- Beans
- Beets
- Peas
- Lentils
- Carrots
- Butternut Squash
- Spaghetti Squash
- Garlic
- Pumpkin
- Jerusalem Artichokes
- Taro Root
- Turnips
- Tomatoes
- Shallots
- Acorn Squash
Read Rebekahs's post. It's a good article and, as many of us are planning our gardens this time of year, it may help you plan for food security.
