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Letter Re: Stealth Vegetable Gardening
Jim:
An issue with putting in a garden for food security is that your neighbors
or passersby know what a tomato or broccoli looks like and may feel inclined
to help themselves. While not so much of an issue on a farm, in a subdivision,
this could be a problem. Consider putting in a second garden full of what
other people would consider weeds. Does your neighbor know what nettles look
like and that they are edible? The starving hordes could just pass by your
bounty with no need to fight it out . - SF in Hawaii
JWR Replies: You've raised a good point. There are lot of
edible
plants that look like weeds or wildflowers. A few that come immediately
to mind
are burdock
(edible roots), wild dock (edible leaves) camas (edible bulbs), dandelion (edible
leaves), chicory (edible roots, leaves and seeds), and arrowroot
(edible roots). Of these, only the dandelion is fairly well-known to be
edible. You mentioned nettles as one possibility. Nettles don't have have much
sustenance value, but they are a
good natural source of calcium and iron. They are also a good "barrier"
plant to keep intruders away. With any of the aforementioned plants, the
trick is: don't
plant them in rows. In
a mixed jumble planting, they will indeed
be
overlooked as "just some weeds." Further, most people wouldn't recognize
potato plants. Quite a few of those--or perhaps also carrots or turnips --would
be overlooked if mixed into your "weed patch."
