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GAMCOD Species, Calories, etc

posted 1 year ago

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What is GAMCOD? Here is the official central thread: https://permies.com/t/241168/GAMCOD-square-feet-degrees-colder#2239712

Counting Calories Goal 1 Million (or more) in 1 Year

Weigh seeds, vegetables, or other garden harvests and multiply that weight by the agreed upon calorie value references, which are still yet to be determined. Only the edible parts should be weighed.

The chart below is a work in progress and will continue to be edited as we progress.

Potential Species

Family	Species	Common Name	Product	Calories	Per acre Calories
Apiaceae	Daucus carota	Carrot	Vegetable	45/cup	2 million
Asteraceae	Helianthus annuus	Sunflower	Seeds	800/cup	4.4 million
Asteraceae	Helianthus tuberosus	Sunchoke	Vegetable	100/cup	15 million
Betulaceae	Corylus spp	Hazelnut	Nuts	800/cup	5 million
Convolvulaceae	Ipomoea batatas	Sweet Potato	Vegetable	110/medium potato	?
Cucurbitaceae	Cucurbita spp	Pumkin/Squash	Vegetable	80/cup cooked	1.5 million
Cucurbitaceae	Cucurbita spp	Pumkin/Squash	Seeds	285/cup	?
Fabaceae	Pisum sativum	Peas	Vegetable	115/cup	?
Linaceae	Linum usitatissimum	Flax	Seeds	900/cup	?
Pedaliaceae	Sesamum indicum	Sesame	Seeds	800/cup	?
Poaceae	Triticum aestivum	Wheat	Grain	400/cup flour	4 million
Poaceae	Zea mays	Corn/Maize	Vegetable	90/cob	12 million
Rosaceae	Malus domestica	Apple	Fruit	95/medium apple	11 million
Solanaceae	Solanum tuberosum	Potato	Vegetable	160/medium potato	17 million

For anybody else wanting to contribute and make edits - this how-to thread is very helpful:

https://permies.com/wiki/52623/formatting-tags-permies-posts-awesome#426719

Other potential species that we can consider adding to the chart above:

Acorn
Alfalfa
Almond
Amaranth
Apricot
Arrowhead
Artichoke
Asparagus

Barley
Basil
Beans
Beech (Nuts)
Beet
Black eyed susan
Blue wild indigo
Borage
Brassicas (Cabbages)
Buckwheat
Bunya Pine
Burdock

Calendula
Camass
Catnip
Cattail
Celery
Celtuse
Chard
Chaya
Chayote
Cherry
Chestnut (Marron)
Chia
Chicory
Chinese Artichoke
Chrysanthemum
Cilantro
Clover
Comfrey
Coriander
Corn (Posted in Chart)
Cranberry
Cucumber
Currant

Daikon
Dandelion
Day Lily
Dill
Dock

Echinacea
Eggplant
Elderberry

Fennel
Fenugreek
Fig
Flax (Posted in chart)
Fuki

Garlic
Giant Solomons Seal
Ginkgo
Gobo
Goldenseal
Gooseberry
Grape
Groundnut

Hazel (Posted in chart)
Hickory
Hops
Horseradish

Jostaberry (Hybrid of Gooseberry and Currant)
Jujube

Kale
Katuk
Komatsuna
Kiwi

Lambs Quarters
Lavender
Lead plant
Leek
Lemongrass
Lettuce
Lincolnshire Asparagus
Linden
Lovage
Lotus
Lucmo
Luffa
Lupine

Malabar spinach
Mallow
Maple
Marigold
Melon
Millet
Mint
Moringa
Mulberry
Musk Mallow

Nettle

Oat
Onion
Okinawa Spinach
Oregano
Ostrich Fern

Parsley
Parsnip
Paw paw
Peach
Peanut
Pear
Pecan
Pepino
Pepper
Persimmon
Pigeon Pea (Potential Landrace varieties?)
Pignut
Pine Nuts
Plum
Poppy Seed
Pumpkin/Seeds (Posted in chart)

Quail Grass
Quince
Quinoa

Radicchio
Radish
Raspberry
Rhubarb
Rosemary
Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus family)
Rye

Saffron
Sage
Salsify
Scorzonera
Sea berry
Sea Kale
Sheperds Purse
Siberian Pea-shrub/ Siberian Pea Tree
Sissoo Spinach
Skirret
Sorghum
Sorrel
Soy (NO Soy Allowed!) Here is why...(link)
Spelt
Spinach
Strawberry
Strawberry Tomato (Physalis pruinosa)
Sweet Annes Lace
Sweet Potato

Tannier
Taro
Thyme
Tomato
Toona Tree
Triticale (Hybrid of Wheat and Rye)
Turkish Rocket
Turnip

Udo

Walnut
Water Celery
Water Chestnut
Watercress
Watermelon
Water Mimosa
Wild Leek
Wheat

Yaco
Yam
Yarrow
Yellow Nutsedge (Tigernut)
Yucca

Zucchini

What are some other temperate zone compatible species worth adding to this list?

While some plants will have minimal calorie value or edible qualities, they might have uses in aiding other species in a polycrop design, thereby enhancing the overall health and function of the system. Consider strategically placing some of these in your "ghost acre".

The work of Dr. Christine Jones on the “Sociobiome” and “Quorum Sensing” within the soil ecosystem is a worthy source of information. She recommends including a minimum of 4 very different plants in a group - preferably from different families. Twenty is even better, although this could get too complicated for the main goals of GAMCOD. We do, after all, want to show how gardening can be very easy and non stressful.

For some of us it is the fun of creating relationships and connections within the system that brings us joy in the garden, so the complexity can also be a delightful challenge that keeps bringing us back.

The main thing is to have fun.

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paul wheaton

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posted 1 year ago

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for GAMCOD, you cannot count animals.

Also, calories per cup probably isn't as useful as calories per acre.

Nancy Reading

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posted 1 year ago

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paul wheaton wrote:calories per cup probably isn't as useful as calories per acre.

I think both would be useful - one for measuring results and the other for planning what to grow.

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Nancy Reading wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:calories per cup probably isn't as useful as calories per acre.

I think both would be useful - one for measuring results and the other for planning what to grow.

Also, calories per acre is going to be highly dependent on where that acre happens to be. Even comparing mono-cultures of corn with standard chemical fertilization, some places are going to produce almost twice as many calories per acre as other places. [1] With a poly-culture and highly varied inputs I would expect the variation to be even greater.

Christopher Weeks

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Yeah, Calories per acre stats should be accompanied by some givens about the conditions under which that number is reached.

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Jennifer Markestad

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posted 1 year ago

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Nancy Reading wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:calories per cup probably isn't as useful as calories per acre.

I think both would be useful - one for measuring results and the other for planning what to grow.

How about calories per pound/per kilo to record results. Weigh the part of the plant that is edible, so for rhubarb only the stems, not the leaves.

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Timothy Norton

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We should have a standard unit of measurement that we all compare against in my mind. It could be pounds or cups or whatnot. It needs to be able to be 'scaled' up to an acre for a comparison but for the purposes of the movie I think agreeing on a standard measurement is important.

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Christopher Weeks

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posted 1 year ago

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I assumed we'd do it just like Jennifer outlined above. Weigh the produce, multiply the weight by whatever value we're collectively using or find online, and tally a total. That's how the PEP BBs for growing 100K, 1M, 4M, etc, seem to handle the issue.

Joseph Lofthouse

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posted 1 year ago

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Mostly I observe people keeping production records in pounds. Except for sweet corn, which usually gets listed by dozen.

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Ashley Cottonwood

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posted 1 year ago

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I was thinking along the same lines as Jennifer. I was imagining documenting and weighing things from the garden as I harvested them to eat/prepare/store.

I was thinking of radishes. Not a heavy hitter in the calorie department but cold hardy and fast to grow. They help build the soil too.

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Arthur Wierzchos

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Should we start a poll to see which species will most likely be grown by participants?

This could help focus efforts on which ones to focus on researching and studying in more depth.

Arthur Wierzchos

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What resources can we use as a go-to for gathering calorie info for different species?

This is one of the first google search results:

https://www.calories.info/food/nuts-seeds

Where and how to find calories per acre info?

Mike Haasl

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posted 1 year ago

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To report results I would plan to weigh all the produce and report calories based on those weights. Calories per acre for potatoes means nothing if I'm growing 12 potato plants in poor soil.

Having a standard calories per lb for most crops would be good to keep us all on the same page.

Not sure about herbs or lightweight things but I'm assuming they would contribute negligible calories and thus not really impact the final numbers.

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