if you could only grow 3 things...

[sixshooter]

What would they be and why?
1. Tomatoes (better boy for an all purpose disease resistant fruit) because of all the things in the garden, a tomato seems to have the biggest difference in taste from garden to grocery store. Nothing is better than a home grown vine ripened tomato. Nothing is worse than a raunchy mid winter wal mart tomato.

2. Swiss chard - I first planted this last year. Id pick chard because I loved the taste and the plant just kept producing. I ate so much swiss chard all season long, what a wonderful producer.

3. Much nacho hybrid jalapeño - I bought this as a starter a few years ago. My local nursery seems to have stopped carrying them. I havent found a jalapeno plant that produces as well since. I love cooking with jalapeño (chilli, salsa, eggs, jambalaya etc)

[rkunsaw]

Wow!!! I sure hope that never happens.My three things:
1. Tomatoes.
2. Okra
3. Corn.
I picked those because we eat them a lot, okra is hard to find in stores and not very fresh.Corn and tomatoes from stores have no taste at all.

[jal_ut]

Corn, Beans, Potatoes.

I would really like to make it 4. Add Squash. These are the Big 4 top producers for the home garden. If you really want a lot of food this is what you plant.

This is a tough quiz for a guy who had close to 40 varieties last season.

[Zinniagirl]

This is a really tough question. But this is what I'm thinking at the moment

1. Tomatoes. Can use them fresh or freeze/can.

2. Bell peppers. Can't afford to buy organic and peppers have been listed as some of the most pesticide contaminated vegetables so I don't like to buy non-organic. Love them raw and cooked.

3. Green Beans. My favorite vegetable and buying them, even at a farmers market, is just not the same as picking and eating right in the garden.

Now tomorrow, or maybe even later today, I might pick others that I just can't live without. Thankfully, I can plant many more than 3.

[Bobberman]

Of course tomatoes a midseason 1/2 pound maybe pine apple or brandy wine. Peas that are a sugar snap so you can eat the pod or pea! kohlrabi which I can make cole slaw out of and can be harvested over a long time even in the fall!. I love corn but its everywhere here fress and excellent cheaper that I can plant it!
+++
Maybe this post should be the three I will not plant and the 50 I will plant!

[GardenGnome]

Wow that's hard
1. Shallot. Cause I love garlic and onions if I can only do 3 this can fill alittle for both. Almost every dinner we have has garlic.
2. Corn. You can do so much with it.....I just need to learn how to grow it..
3. 5 in 1 grafted apple tree....lol is that cheating? I bought one this year. All the apples can pollenate each other let's see if they bloom at the same time.
Default. If 3 can't be added. Pumpkins my wife loves them you can do a lot with them.
And kids have fun with them on halloween.

[Flatlander_MB]

I'd grow:

1. Cucumbers - I am an avid pickle maker and couldn't go with store bought anymore. I also love fresh cuc's during the season.

2. Tomatoes - Taste, as others have already said. I also make my own salsa.

3. Beans - Not sure what variety, though. Mostly because my family can't get enough of them.

[lorax]

1. Bananas / Plantains. Personally, I'd grow the variety Limon (Iholena Lele), which are good for cooking when green, and for eating when ripe.

2. Barley. This way I can make bread, beer, and whiskey - the three staples of life! It's also one of the few grains that will produce really well at my altitude.

3. Papaya or Babaco or some relative in the same family. These are prolific plants, and I love the juice and the fruit. They've also got some heavy-duty medicinal uses.


This is really hard; for example, Pineapple and Papaya were tied for third, and Rice and Quinua are close contenders in the grain category.....

Is there any reason I can only grow 3 things?

[!potatoes!]

'Is there any reason I can only grow 3 things?'

just to make things challenging, I guess. but I can't do it. I refuse to imagine such a world. what would I do if I could only grow three things? keep trying more things, that's what.

[gardenvt]

Tomatoes
Sweet Red Peppers
Eggplant

If I could choose 3 more, it would be kale, lettuce and leeks.

[gardenvt]

Why?

Tomatoes are versatile: eat fresh, freeze, dry or can
Sweet Red Peppers: delicious fresh or dried
Eggplant: it is impossible to find it fresh and firm else where.

the other three because I like fresh lettuce, leeks because they are wonderful in soups and dry very well, and Kale because it is wonderful fresh or dried.

[bcallaha]

This is easy for me....

1) Green Beans
2) Corn
3) Tomatoes

Brad

[ruggr10]

3 is just mean!

1. Tomatoes - But, I don't think I could pick on type.

2. Summer Squash - I say yellow, my wife says Zucchini and she's the boss!

3. Garlic - I grow the hottest spiciest garlic I could find and keep propagating it. Nothing like garlic fresh from your yard.

Those are just if I had to pick 3 for my vegetable garden. Blueberry bushes would bump them down if I had to make that choice.

[tc_31_fillAmenist]

Tomatoes, green beans and...

not sure, peppers, potatoes or carrots? Peppers are expensive in the store, potatoes and carrots are cheap but I eat far more potatoes and carrots. I suppose peppers is the third. Answer subject to change and influenced by available space.

[DeborahL]

Tomatoes, peas, and herbs. (I sneaked in herbs as a group)

[rainbowgardener]

Tomatoes and chard, because they keep producing over such a long season. Swiss chard is my absolute favorite thing to grow, because unlike the tomatoes, no insects or diseases ever bother them, they are dead easy to grow and one 8' row provides all the chard two of us can eat, from April to Nov. Amazing!

Third for me would have to be basil. Another very productive, amazingly useful plant. Last year not only did I dry jars of basil, and make and freeze bunches of pesto, distill basil essential oil for use in soaps and medicinally, I also made green basil jelly and purple basil pancake syrup. Got rave reviews on all of it... what else could you do so many different things with!?

(PS herbs as a group is cheating! Can you see why they say tomatoes are the gateway drug of the gardening addiction? )

[DoubleDogFarm]

Independence, Self Confidence and Persistence.

Eric

[soil]

I'm with potatoes, imagining a world where I can only grow three things is depressing. though if I was in that situation I would go for.

wheat - thousands of uses (breads, cakes, soups, pastas, and so on)

tomatoes - hundreds of uses( soups, dried, sauces, and so on)

broccoli- nutrition rich, and the diverse potential genetic background to selectively breed new varieties of greens and veggies for different flavors and uses.

used together and given some time for
plant breeding you can make an unlimited amount of different recipes.

ps - if I could only grow one thing, id grow grass. then on that grass I would raise beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork, duck, goose, and rabbit. then I think ill be set for food, as grass is easy to grow as long as it gets water.

[Ruffsta]

I'm a pepper/eggplant kind of guy.. so just to pick 3 things is really hard.. but

bell peppers because I am a former head cook and I use them alot even at home.

tomatoes.. well just because lol

cucumbers... well with all three I can make a mean salad lol

[DeborahL]

Rainbow, OK, I'll change it to one herb, my favorite, sweet marjoram.

[GardenRN]

Why can I only grow 3 things? I ask because it matters. If it's just how much room I have one answer, if it's because I'm on a very tiny deserted island and I have to survive on it, different answer. I'll go with more of a survival answer.


Potatoes-you can live on them alone

Hot Peppers-to flavor the rancid meat I'll probably have to cook and eat

Peanuts-valuable source of protein

[Royiah]

1- Tomatos
2- Cucumbers
3- Bell pepper

[Intriguedbybonsai]

Cucumbers
I love their crunchy, faintly sweet taste. You can pickle them, smother them in ranch dressing, or eat them plain with a little salt. What's not to love about these guys?

Yellow Crookneck Squash
I absolutely love these things. Smooth, buttery, and melt in your mouth yummy. I love them seasoned, battered, and deep fried until golden brown.

Sweet Potatoes
Another good eat. I love to boil, or roast them until tender. Then peel, mash, add some butter, a little cinnamon, and *drools*

[stella1751]

Tomatoes and peppers are a definite two. I would use the third to rotate, so it would vary each year. I suppose the first year would be watermelon.

Interesting question!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Ok, If this is based on survival, winter pantry, I 100% agree with James (jal_ut). Potatoes - Dry Beans - Squash would be the top 3 and add flour corn - duck eggs.

Eric

[dustyrivergardens]

gun ammo scope I win

[rainbowgardener]

gun ammo scope I win

what kind of seeds do you grow those from?

[dustyrivergardens]

tomatoes peppers garlic

[lorax]

gun ammo scope I win

what kind of seeds do you grow those from?

The seeds of war?

[sixshooter]

Thanks for everyones responses. I just wanted ro read everyones opinions for fun and see what some crucial things to grow are. I don't have a HUGE garden space, but I have enough to enjoy planting new things and experimenting a litte; but at the same time I always wish I had more space. No real reason for the 3. All just for the sake of conversation since I'm frozen in right now.