When designing a garden to feed your family throughout the year, consider what is required to live and thrive. I know some of my readers do not agree that a strict vegetarian (vegan) diet can meet human nutritional needs. However, I've listened carefully to what Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Neal Barnard from Physicans Committee for Responsible Medicine say about the subject and I've read their books as well as numerous others. I'm personally convinced the science is sound and that I won't fall over dead from a lack of animal bits and pieces in my diet.
Eliminating livestock from the homestead saves time, energy, and resources usually diverted to their care, feeding, and "harvesting". Yes, livestock can graze on less arable land, control pests, and produce manure. However, soil can be built up even on top of bedrock, hills can be terraced, and saline soils can be improved by good management. Integrated Pest Management techniques can help control pests. And manure doesn't have to come from livestock.
What are the necessary building blocks for health? Carbohydrates, protein, and fat, in that order. "But what about all the micronutrients"?, you may ask. If you eat a varied plant-based diet, you'll meet all those needs. Wait, that's not quite correct. In this article, Dr. McDougall mentions a study from 1925 where a healthy adult couple lived on a diet of white potatoes with minor additions of oil, a few fruits, coffee, and tea for six months. They were active during this time and did not suffer nutritional deficiencies.
Plan a Poverty Garden to meet your nutritional needs. To figure out what plants will grow in your area, start with a climate zone map for local conditions. Then, tap into the experience already present through local farmers and gardeners, cooperative extension services, and local guides. Select plants to give you carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Filling carbohydrates are available from grains, and starchy vegetables such as tubers, winter squash, and corn. Grains take quite a bit of space and can take more energy to process, but they store well and are very versatile in their uses. Familiar tubers include potatoes and sweet potatoes. Potatoes can be grown vertically with a relatively small footprint and can be stored for up to six months in a root cellar. Winter squash plants spread out tremendously but can produce quite a lot of pumpkins and squash. (In addition, the blossoms and seeds are also edible.) Corn also takes space but has the advantage of drying very well for long term storage and is versatile in its uses.
Other non-starchy vegetables provide phytonutrients and variation in flavor. Use intensive gardening techniques to maximize production in the space you have available. Fruits provide phytonutrients as well as simpler carbohydrates good for quick energy. The edible seeds of some, such as watermelons, also provide protein and fat. In a poverty garden, all edible parts of the harvest should be utilized.
Humans can easily meet their protein needs from plant foods. Plant different types of legumes in your Poverty Garden to provide variety in your diet. All beans and lentils store very well when dried. Some nitrogen-fixing trees also have edible pods, making them doubly beneficial in the garden.
Nuts and seeds provide fats as well as protein. By eating them in their whole form, rather than as free oil, you get all the fiber and nutrients packed into the kernel. Growing nut trees will provide you with shade, leaves for compost, wood (from pruning), and food. If you're lucky, you live in a zone where homegrown avocados or olives are a possibility.
For seasoning, plant some herbs appropriate for your climate zone. Some culinary herbs also have medicinal uses, which gives you more bang for the buck in your poverty garden.
When you sit down to plan your garden, spend a little time figuring out how to grow the most nutrition, and flavor, for the last amount of money and effort. This will help ensure you continue to have food even during times of poverty.