Food Self-Sufficiency: Fruit

Fruit
Fresh fruit has essential vitamins and minerals needed for strong bones and blood cells, antioxidants, and fiber. Absolutely required for good health, yet we don't eat much as a USA nation. I read somewhere that fruit should be eaten at times when you don't eat vegetables, so that they don't compete for digestion. Whether that's true or not, because of the sugar content of most fruits, I usually serve fruit during lunch, and veggies during dinner. Fruit is also a good snack in between meals, especially when served with a protein like cheese or nuts/seeds.

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Here's a list of fruits with Nutritional Values, from: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49478.asp - not complete by any means. I mean, where's the avocado?

 

(Concerns are in parenthesis, but if you grow them yourselves and/or limit usage, you should be ok.)

 

Apples - flavonoids, fiber, C (pesticides, wax coating) Dried, canned chunks/applesauce, canned apple butter, frozen, juice, cider, vinegar
Apricots - carotenoids, A, C, fiber (preservatives) Dried, canned jam
Bananas - B6, C, potassium (glycemic) Dried, frozen
Blackberries - flavonoids, fiber, C, K, manganese Dried, frozen, canned jam
Blueberries - flavonoids, C, manganese, fiber Dried, frozen, canned jam
Cantaloupe - carotenoids, C, A, potassium Frozen
Cherries - flavonoids (pesticides) Dried, frozen, jam, pie-filling
Cranberries - flavonoids, fiber, C, manganese Dried, frozen
Dates- (glycemic) ??
Elderberries - C, very high in antioxidants (glycemic) Dried, jam, cold/flu syrup

Figs - (preservatives) ??
Fruit juices - (glycemic)
Grapefruit - carotenoids in pink, flavonoids, C Frozen, Juice
Grapes - flavonoids, manganese (pesticides) Dried into raisins, Jelly, Frozen, Juice, Wine
Guava - carotenoids, fiber, C ??
Kiwifruit - C, fiber (glycemic) ??
Lemons - flavonoids, C (wax coating) Zest Dried, Frozen
Limes - flavonoids, C (wax coating) Zest Dried, Frozen
Mangoes - carotenoids, A, C (glycemic) Dried, ??
Melons - carotenoids, C, A, B6 (glycemic) Dried, frozen

Nectarines - carotenoids, C (glycemic, pesticides) Frozen
Oranges - carotenoids, flavonoids, C, fiber (glycemic) Canned jam?, Zest dried, juice, frozen
Papayas - carotenoids, C, folate, potassium Dried, ??
Peaches - carotenoids, C (pesticides) Dried, frozen, jam
Pears - flavonoids (pesticides) Dried, Canned as Pear-sauce, Frozen
Persimmons - C (glycemic) Dried
Pineapple - C, manganese (glycemic) Dried
Plums - carotenoids, C Dry into prunes, frozen
Raspberries - flavonoids, fiber, manganese, C Dried, canned jam, frozen
Raisins - (glycemic, pesticides, preservatives) Kept dried
Strawberries - carotenoids, flavonoids, C, fiber (pesticides) Dried, canned jam, frozen
Tangerines - carotenoids, A, C (glycemic) Canned jam?, juice, frozen
Watermelon - carotenoids, C, A, B6 (glycemic) Dried, frozen

Remember: When you eat a dehydrated/dried food, you need to drink a liquid, preferably water, to prevent constipation.

 

Plan

So ... what kinds of fruits can I realistically grow on my 10x10 patio, on the windowsill in my bathroom, and in the corner of my living room?  Here's what I HOPE to try this year in my little Backyard Grocery Garden:

-five-in-1 fruit tree

-yellow apple miniature tree

-blueberry bush (miniature)

-strawberries

 

...and if at all possible ... elderberries!!

 

 

Give it some thought ... how much space do you have to grow things, and what is the basic minimum fruit you could grow?

Is Food Self-Sufficiency Possible?

Food Self-Sufficiency has interested me for years. Is it possible to grow everything we need to eat a healthy and varied meals? What about if you only have an apartment?
Here are my thoughts:

This is the problem: We are products of modern days. A time when we could get in the car and drive 5 minutes to a fast food joint or convenience store. When we have freezers stocked with pre-made dinners, toaster waffles, and logs of ground beef. When our pantry is stocked with tin cans purchased, and not home-canned. When a quick meal means grabbing carbs and meat with little thought to fresh veggies and fruit. When we can eat an entire bag of chips or bowl of popcorn as we vegg in front of a TV. When dessert is cake or something sweet, instead of fresh fruit and homemade cheese.

What would happen if the economy got so bad that we couldn't afford to go to McDonald's or order delivery from Pizza Hut? Or Peak Oil happened so drastically that we ran out of gas? Or if the electrical grid went down from a EMP, which meant even grocery stores would be out of food within days, with no chance of restocking.

So how do make the transition to homegrown anything and everything?
I've discovered cold turkey doesn't work for me. Sometimes I have a migraine. Or my IBS is acting up. Or my autistic epileptic son MUST have his Cinnamon Life Cereal.

I just don't feel like thinking about what's in the pantry or refrigerator, or stored in jars in my closet.  I'm sure I'm not alone.

When I had my little farmette in Colorado with my husband, we had goats (milk and it's products, meat, income [sold cheese]), chickens/turkeys/quail (eggs, feathers, meat, income), rabbits (meat, income, "fur") as well fruit trees and bushes, and a large garden for veggies, fruits, herbs and greens.

We learned so much and put away a lot but honestly, we MIGHT have been able to survive for a short while on what we successfully grew.  But now? My son and I live in a small apartment in Kentucky. Yes, we have an outdoor patio, but how much can I really grow in this tiny "backyard grocery garden"? Enough to feed us if we have nothing else?

I plan to explore that in the coming posts.