Dietary question

[quakerboy]

do you think there are enough nutrients in Tomatoes to sustain life, sans other edibles?

I only ask because It occurred to me that, given this years harvest off a couple plants, if I were to plant 10 cherry tomatoes and 10 grape tomatoes, I might just have enough food volume for one person for at least several months.

[geardaddy]

1. They probably lack the protein you need.

[Brickbat]

2. Without fat or protein, and being low in carbs, the answer would be no.

[quakerboy]

9. I am in better shape than Ive been in a long time

But I still have about a hundred more pounds to lose before I could properly be considered "big boned" as opposed to morbidly obese, nearly at the "obviously so rich he doesn't even have to care anymore" level. Which given my jobless, wealth-less state, seems mildly ironic

[Brickbat]

13. You still need protein and carbs.

(I'm two months into a major weight loss, and I'm drunk, so I'm an EXPERT.)

[quakerboy]

16. Carbs are optional

But protien can be kinda important. Still, they say you can go without food for a month before you die. Since I weigh two people I am guessing that gives me two months. And with tomato supplement nothing, which would provide 25 calories per serving, 6 grams carbs(Or so the internet tells me), it might be an interesting exercise, if a person were more inclined to do without other foods they loved than I.

[Xipe Totec]

17. It is an interesting experiment

Can't say that I would follow in your footsteps.

[Goblinmonger]

18. Carbs aren't optional

wisdom of the Atkins diet aside. Bad carbs are bad, but your brain needs carbs.

[quakerboy]

21. Carbs are optional

Your body converts other things to usable blood sugars, and your brain is just fine.

[Chan790]

3. No, but there's enough lycopene to insure you don't get cancer any time soon.

Add some corn and beans to the mix and you'd have the poor basis for a complete diet...but it is a complete diet. Maybe you'd have to add rice and something to add vitamin C, potassium and calcium. Oranges? A source of dietary oils? Avocado?

[quakerboy]

5. Im pretty sure

the tomatoes have you covered on the Vitamin C as well. But dont quote me on that.

[Denninmi]

4. No. Grow potatoes instead.

Potatoes are a "complete" food -- entire populations lived on virtually just potatoes, which is what caused the Irish Potato Famine when fungus killed the crop.

[quakerboy]

6. Hrrmph

I dont know how to grow potatoes. Also, Im pretty sure one potato plant will not keep producing more and more potatoes for months. But since Ive never grown potatoes I am unsure of that. It seems unlikely that 100 square foot of potted plants can grow enough potatoes to keep me going though. Tomatoes on the other hand.. If my current plants are any indication, I can grow a couple carloads of those if I just tripled the number of plants.

[Dogtown]

7. Potatoes are the most dense of vegetables.

They "stack".

Plant the tuber & once shoots rise a foot or so above soil, pick the lower leaves and add soil to bury the plant up to the green tip.

Repeat procedure several times. They'll sprout tubers at all the leaf junctions that you've pinched off.


You can grow huge amounts of potatoes from a single "hill". They'll keep well in a cool, dark, damp-free place.

I store mine in paper sacks to help absorb humidity.

Potatoes are an extremely economical choice for small gardens and are very nutritious.

[quakerboy]

11. really. hmm

Learn something new every day. I may just have to try potatoes next year. The only other underground thing I tried was onions. Not sure how those are going, as they are still underground.

[Dogtown]

12. Cool.

I think you'll be pleased. They are very easy to grow.

They do have some very specific pests, though.


Here's a link to a primer that may be helpful:

http://thegardenhelper.com/potato.html

[oneshooter]

14. The Irish lived on a potato based diet for several generations.

A laborer in Ireland would consume upward of 5-7lbs per day!

[Dogtown]

15. Indeed.

That was *heavy* manual labor, also.


I forgot to mention how versatile they are, too. Lots of different ways to cook potatoes.

[pink-o]

8. Humans evolved to eat a variety of foods to attain nutrients.

I've been a vegetarian most of my life, but I know we're omnivores. Luckily, we're also pretty adaptable to food sources (how else to explain why humans can sustain themselves on 21st century crap food for so long?)but man does not live by tomato and potato alone. What our ancestors did was keep some tomatoes, but take the rest and barter with their neighbors for other crops, meat and eggs. Back in the days when we recognized we were tribal and social: not like now when the Corporate States of America prefer us isolated, ignorant and afraid of each other.

Even 2 generations ago, people knew how to farm and grow enough food to sustain their families. Now the only way we know how to feed ourselves is by opening our wallets. And the Oligarchy just loves us for it!

[quakerboy]

10. Just FYI

I am not actually planning to live on a pure tomato diet. It just seemed like an interesting question, given how easy they appear to be to grow and how much and how long they appear to continue to produce fruit.

[Goblinmonger]

19. You might get a lot of canker sores, too.

Probably spelled that wrong.

[TreasonousBastard]

20. Wait'll you see what a package of butternut squash seeds gets you.

[quakerboy]

22. Eh. Not a squash fan

I am slightly excited about the idea of growing my own potatoes, as someone mentioned up thread.

Last year I was on the shady side of a building. Things sprouted but nothing grew. I was discouraged in my first attempt to grow things.

But I tried again, since we have a sunnier location, if not much space. And tomatoes and strawberries have gone nuts(though up till recently the opossum was stealing all the strawberries before they could ripen). My broccoli also keeps growing, but something keeps eating it before it can get big enough to grow heads. And the onions are there, but no idea how they are under the ground. A couple pepper plants too.

I wonder how hard garlic is to grow?