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Chris
03-17-2009, 10:47 AM
If you could plant just one tree to help your homestead survive if civilization were to fail which would it be?

I'm going to say a pecan tree, pecans are high in calories, nuts in general keep a long time, and pecans also have the most antioxidants of nuts.

Of the non-nut trees the one that comes to mind is an avocado. Probably the most calorie dense non-nut fruiting tree you can grow, and, calorie density aside, are incredibly healthy. Not sure on long term storage though.

Ken
03-17-2009, 10:54 AM
Pecans won't survive up my way. An Apple Tree would be the way to go in Southern New England. McCouns. Good eating, and they keep for a long time. Preserve well, too.

Was it in the book Treasure Island where it was written that the captain kept barrels of apples on-board for whenever a man was hungry in order to prevent crew members from stealing food?

Rick
03-17-2009, 11:58 AM
Walnuts. Walnuts contain high levels of antioxidants, L-arginine, and alpha-linoleic acid and are one of the best nuts you can eat. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E. Nuts in general are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (Omega 3 fatty acids - the good fats) that have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. Walnuts, in particular, have significantly higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids as compared to other nuts. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't eat walnuts. In addition, walnut trees can live for several hundred years.

For a non-nut tree, I'd pick apples. They are probably the most versatile fruit we have. You can cook, can, dehydrate, jelly, jam, make cider or just eat them raw. Under the right conditions they can be stored for quite a long time. Hot apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream ... Mmmmmmmmm.

Pal334
03-17-2009, 12:11 PM
I go with apples. A hearty tree, a multi use fruit. And it tastes soooo good :clap:

crashdive123
03-17-2009, 12:14 PM
OK - you plant the apple tree and I'll plant the ice cream tree. Pecans and walnuts are good choices. As far as fruit trees in my neck of the woods I'd have to stick with citrus, as they seem to do best for the climate.

Rick
03-17-2009, 12:16 PM
Crash, you better leave the ice cream tree to the northern climates. I don't think it will last all that long in Fryada.

Sourdough
03-17-2009, 12:25 PM
Yea, we got 10" of Ice Cream yesterday, so today is Plowday. We can do CrabApple trees, and ChokeCherry trees, but the moose eat the whole tree.

crashdive123
03-17-2009, 12:35 PM
I just got a picture of moose grazing on trees the same way cows do with grass. Thanks for the image.

Ken
03-17-2009, 01:01 PM
Pecan trees. Ice cream trees. Harbor Town Ice Cream - Hilton Head, S.C. BUTTER PECAN!!! Mmmmmmmmm. Three Large cones in a row. Left cursing when they closed the window when I was just five away from ordering a fourth at exactly 9:00. No amount of begging could get me one more cone. Betcha' it was part-time staff on that night and not the owner .........

Ken
03-17-2009, 01:02 PM
Anybody have any luck growing dental floss? :innocent:

Sourdough
03-17-2009, 03:53 PM
I just got a picture of moose grazing on trees the same way cows do with grass. Thanks for the image.


They eat bark off the birch trees in the winter. And leaves and budds off alder and willow and young cottonwood trees in the summer.

Scoobywan
03-17-2009, 04:08 PM
I find it odd that nobody has said Pine... after all the posts in the past about the versatility of pine.

crashdive123
03-17-2009, 04:27 PM
I find it odd that nobody has said Pine... after all the posts in the past about the versatility of pine.

Not meaning any disrespect to Mr. Euell Gibbons, but if I'm planting trees for food, it's not going to be a pine tree.:no:

nell67
03-17-2009, 04:37 PM
Pawpaw tree here,doesn't have a long shelf life like other fruits,but can be mashed and frozen like banana pulp and used in place of bananas in recipes,plus it is very high in protien vitamins and other minerals.

Scoobywan
03-17-2009, 04:37 PM
for food I wouldn't pick pine... but the original post didn't specify that it was for food... just to help survive. :)

crashdive123
03-17-2009, 04:40 PM
You are correct, it didn't. I guess in my original answer I was thinking for food. In the OP pecan tree was selected, so my thoughts went to food source. Maybe it's because pines are just about everywhere down here too.

SARKY
03-17-2009, 06:01 PM
Walnuts. Walnuts contain high levels of antioxidants, L-arginine, and alpha-linoleic acid and are one of the best nuts you can eat. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E. Nuts in general are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (Omega 3 fatty acids - the good fats) that have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. Walnuts, in particular, have significantly higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids as compared to other nuts. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't eat walnuts. In addition, walnut trees can live for several hundred years.

For a non-nut tree, I'd pick apples. They are probably the most versatile fruit we have. You can cook, can, dehydrate, jelly, jam or just eat them raw. Under the right conditions they can be stored for quite a long time. Hot apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream ... Mmmmmmmmm.

You forgot cider..... the hard kind!

Rick
03-17-2009, 06:29 PM
Cider is in there.:whistling:

RBB
03-17-2009, 06:37 PM
If it is "just one tree" walnut is out - unless your neighbor has got one. Come to think of it - that goes for a lot of fruit trees as well.

LowKey
03-17-2009, 10:09 PM
RBB has a point.
You might get a few pecans (walnuts, hickory nuts) off a single tree but for good yield you need 2.

Pretty much the same for most apple trees too. But with most apples, pears, and some cherries you sometimes need a different variety to pollinate, not two of the same. Sometimes the pollinator is specific.

No one mentioned Pine nuts (pinyon). Tasty and nutritious. If you can wait that long.

red lake
03-17-2009, 10:40 PM
My parents used to talk about a tree allot when we were kids, I want one of those trees. Money Tree

Rick
03-17-2009, 11:01 PM
Really? My parents' speech so of went like, "Do you think money grows on trees? Do you think I can just pick dollar bills off the limbs? You think dollar bills drop off trees like leaves?"

I was pretty convinced at a young age that money did NOT grow on trees.

wareagle69
03-18-2009, 08:03 PM
apple would be my first choice, but oak is a close second, haveing and oak forest close by would help with food, shelter and warmth, as does the apple tree

RobertRogers
03-19-2009, 07:22 AM
Up here in the north, Apple would be a good choice. Oak too, though you need to process the nuts before they are edible.

Chris
03-21-2009, 11:51 AM
Walnuts. Walnuts contain high levels of antioxidants, L-arginine, and alpha-linoleic acid and are one of the best nuts you can eat. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E. Nuts in general are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (Omega 3 fatty acids - the good fats) that have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. Walnuts, in particular, have significantly higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids as compared to other nuts. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't eat walnuts. In addition, walnut trees can live for several hundred years.

For a non-nut tree, I'd pick apples. They are probably the most versatile fruit we have. You can cook, can, dehydrate, jelly, jam, make cider or just eat them raw. Under the right conditions they can be stored for quite a long time. Hot apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream ... Mmmmmmmmm.
Walnuts would be my second choice, or #1 for northern climes that can't grow pecans, but if you can grow pecans, they edge out walnuts in nutrition/calories except omega3 fatty acids, and if society is failing I'm probably going to be more concerned with getting calories then making sure my HDL levels are high enough.

This is all purely hypothetical of course, no one would just plant one tree, and no one knows if civilization were ever to degenerate. But I like to think of the functionality of things I plant. For instance, if you want shade trees near your house, plant sugar maples. Worst case scenario one day you might be able to make your own syrup, barter it, whatever. In the meantime, they're pretty and can provide shade.

Pocomoonskyeyes3
01-05-2011, 10:25 PM
From a "Survival mentality", I would have to agree with Chris and some others on Pecan as the "Nut tree" I would have as my main choice, although Walnuts are also good food. Why? Ease of getting the Nut Meat, is my ultimate reason. It is easy to crack a pecan by holding two in one hand and squeezing and easier separating the meat from the shell. So for "Calories expended" By the work involved the Pecan wins out in Calories returned for calories expended.

We had just one mature tree in our yard where I grew up. One year My Mom "Fertilized" the tree using 2 of the smallest cans of Red Devil Lye. She dug a shallow hole under the ends of the farthest reaches of the limbs on opposing sides and punched 3-4 nail holes in the cans bottom and top, burying the cans. That fall we harvested something like 40 - 5 gallon buckets of Nuts. In previous years the Harvest was less. In the following 2-3 years the harvest slowly dwindled to a "normal" amount. But that one year our harvest was more than doubled.

For fruit trees I guess I would have to go with the majority also and play "Johnny Appleseed".

canid
01-05-2011, 10:34 PM
bacon tree. no contest.

oh; a real tree? hrm... i think i gotta side with apples.

Justin Case
01-05-2011, 10:41 PM
Money Tree !

http://www.visualparadox.com/images/no-linking-allowed-main/moneytree640.jpg

canid
01-05-2011, 10:51 PM
and of course; whatever sort, it should double as a squirrel tree.

crimescene450
01-06-2011, 12:12 AM
A native one that would help out the local wild life. Probably an oak tree. Aside from the acorns in fall, oak trees support squirrel, deer, and turkey populations.



edit: wait, do turkeys eat acorns?

canid
01-06-2011, 01:04 AM
yes they do.

Reverend Greg
01-06-2011, 01:34 AM
Apples and avocados...I'm allergic to nuts.
Have you ever had a deep fried avocado?You wont care about eating anything else...ever
(G)

wildWoman
01-06-2011, 08:28 PM
Hm...not too many choices up here. The hardy apple trees only grow ping pong ball sized fruit here. I suppose a birch would work, providing us with plenty of fire starter and, towards the end of our lives, enough bark to build a miniature birch bark canoe. If we live to be 100.

LowKey
01-06-2011, 09:43 PM
You can tap some birch like you can maple so you could have a sugar source with those birch.

Has anyone ever grown PawPaw?
Not that it's a good keeper...just curious.

What about fig trees? You might get them to grow outside up to Rhode Island, not much farther.
Or Olives in the more temperate places.