Ok, things are still crappy here in the US of A. There is every indication that there are going to be periods of time when people who rely on government aid for food are not going to get it. Given that, and given that I can garden, I am planning a proper Victory garden that I will hopefully harvest for the benefit of the local food banks/relief entities. (With some set back for us, of course.) Some of the banks here run like grocery stores - people are allowed to go in once every five weeks and shop for whatever they'd like to have. These are, I assume, for people who have temporarily fallen on hard times and not people who have been scraping to get by for some time. Other entities provide a big box to each client family each week, and the box contains a mix of whatever is donated. I'm targeting that last type, since when my daughter was a toddler we had to rely on one to survive. They are located in the most miserable parts of town, and I think those folks are the most likely to need fresh produce.
So given that, I'm trying to think what I can grow that would pack the most nutrition, that is durable enough to not be inedible two or three days after harvest, and that would actually grow in my climate (USDA 5b to 6a). I have just ordered a good quantity of seed potatoes. I will put in several rows of storage onions, shelling beans, green beans, carrots, beets, winter squash, summer squash, basil, and a few other herbs. I have a considerable amount of garlic in the ground now. I will also put in some tomatoes and some "Commie" Kale (brought to the USA in the late 1900s by people bugging out of the USSR) and chard. Since I have a chicken-wire fence, I can train edible mini-pumpkins along it as well. We won't get more than a dozen, but food is food.
A lot of that won't be ready until mid-summer and the fall. Some of the carrots and beets will come in earlier. Not sure what else I can pack in there that would be ready to harvest before June or July (I would be planting in April. Ish.) If you have any advice as to what to plant - again, it has to work in our climate, pack in as much nutrition as possible, and be relatively shelf-stable on harvest - I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks.
