Contemplating Calorie Crops

With grocery prices rising, it may be wise to start growing a little less basil and a little more potatoes. "Calorie crops" are not very fancy - but they feed nations.

I often hear gardeners, especially new gardeners, talk about their desire to grow 'big ticket items' in their gardens. There is a desire to grow only expensive produce in gardens, like tomatoes, peppers and basil, and a complete disdain for more 'humble' crops that in my opinion, are no less noble or worthy, despite their relatively low cost at the grocery store. The particular humble crops that I am writing about in this article are called "calorie crops," and while the term "calorie" has become something of a "c-word" in recent years (especially among diet gurus), the fact remains that the human body runs on energy - and calories are energy.

We need calories!

According to Canada's Food Guide, depending on age and activity level, the average adult male (19+) requires anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day and the average adult female requires anywhere from 1,550 to 2,350 calories

Easy to grow and so versatile! The potato does not get the love it deserves!

Aren't calories bad?

We need calories, and the bulk of our diet is consumed for the purpose of providing the body with calories so that it will have the energy it needs to get through its daily activities. The three main sources of calories in our diet are carbohydrates, fats and proteins, but of these three, carbohydrates tend to make up the bulk of what most