imho, and limited opinion, chard seeds are quick and give long returns. I like to soak them overnight before planting for better and faster germination.

Lettuces, during our cooler periods, also grows fast. You can eat at almost any stage.

Broccoli rabe, radishes, and turnips are often edible in 30-35 days. Any mesclun or baby greens mix is fast growing, and often cut and come again, with selective harvesting.

The homesteading forum might have some answers, but there's not too much activity there lately. Dandilion, cress, & amaranth are quick for greens, popcorn sprouts are very fast and really sweet (bag of grocery store popcorn ((not microwave popcorn)) works for sprouts but will not grow cobs of corn.. I tried they were not pretty. I did dry a couple, haven't tried to pop them though)
Wheat or oat grass is also very fast and takes no effort to grow. (preschoolers had great fun with this) Bags of whole grains are available at feed stores very inexpensive.
Bok choi is relativly fast. Trying to think of things that you eat the whole plant...
OTOH, if it is a real emergency, you want to be able to identify the wild edibles in your area. As well, you need to keep seeds for veg that you can store with minimal effort. (not such a problem in a zone 10 but for those with cold winters, food for the frozen months could become an issue)

Many leafy greens, especially annuals and biennials such as lettuce, chard, and brassicas, require a lot of nitrogen in the soil. So, if you're planning to save seeds for those, you might also want to store a quick acting well balanced fertilizer. Also many annual and biennial greens are VERY sensitive to nematodes and other bugs in the soil. So you might want to store a granular pesticide that can be worked into the soil prior to planting, such as neem seed meal, along with a spray bottle of sevin to prevent bugs from eating your greens.

Many perennial plants that people grow for ornament are edible and nutritious, such as daylilies. Since the daylily is closer related to the onion than the lily, the whole daylily plant can be eaten. The roots can be boiled and eaten. The greens can be eaten; they taste sort of like scallions. The flowers can be eaten. The flower buds are very tasty battered and fried. In ordinary circumstances, daylilies would make a very expensive meal, but in an emergency, it may be all one has.

If one cares for only nutrients and not calories, ordinary lawn grass can be boiled and eaten. Loaded with vitamins and minerals (where do you think the ones in cow milk come from), but the average human cannot get any calories from it.

You would probably want to grow vegetables that many people would consider weeds in your area. Weeds are weeds for a reason. They generally will grow in any quality of soil and often will thrive with nematodes and other bugs. Here, they would include Dandelions, Chenopodium album (Lamb's Quarters aka Old Fat Hen), Plantago major (Plantain), and Red Clover, all of which have very nutritious leaves.

For experimental purposes, the University of Wisconsin developed a group of "Fast Plants" as model organisms. They can go from seed to seed in about a month! You gotta eat 'em quick!

But, anyway . . . I believe they are all Brassica rapa and you can learn more about them here and this is where they are sold.

I grow a quite a few Brassica rapa plants every year, mostly bok choy. They are a good choice, all around.

Steve

Why wait for disaster? start gardening now!

Good answer, gardenspice!

Downplay, zone 10 isn't always the most hospitable to plants growing outdoors, but if you have room to bring a couple of container plants in on cold nights or broiling days, there are many dwarf varieties of vegetables you could be growing now, with an eye to harvesting in a few months.

mxbarbie,
I just learned a couple days ago about sprouting popcorn. How big do you let it get before you eat it?

Beets,Chives,Garlic and Onions.

Wow, thanks! And I thought I didn't have any replies ;0)

Looks like I have plenty or reading to do!

gardenspice: I have gardened before and do on occasional
basis. I have an incredibly broad knowledge of gardening
tools and techniques but my experience and knowledge
of individual species is very narrow.

I want to expand my experience into growing a variety of
foods and this is where I wish to begin.

At some point when I have time I will get a book of native
plants and edible weeds.

Do you guys know of any survival or other types of gardening
books with information along these lines?

I especially love the "boiled grass" input. I think I've heard this
a long time ago but I forgot. I've grown and juiced wheatgrass
before. I definitely intend to stock up on wheatgrass seeds. I
consider it a nutritional marvel. I don't think I've ever felt better
than when I juiced wheatgrass daily.

THANKS!!!

It may not be quite what you are looking for, but I enjoyed Perrenial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeir.

For sprouting nutritional grain products, or seeds from things like beets, alfalfa, clover, buckwheat, you name it, I've used products purchased through www.chinaprairie.com online. Designed to be an avian diet (parrots like grains) from sprouted seeds, it is nonetheless good for people and other animals. Take a look at the website.

These seeds can produce edible sprouts within a few days, depending on a source of fresh water of course. If you are investigating emergency options, look into this.

Very interesting topic, might be an option after hurricanes too.

"Wildman" Steve Brill has alot of edible plant info on the linked website. He also has a book with more info. He markets with much humor, but I find his info is seriously correct. As you read about wild edibles you will find conflicting info. I trust Steve's. Try wild plants out before an emergency so you can carefully learn IDs and how you react to new foods.

Tom Brown has survival books out, also, with good wild edible and survival suggestions. Two older ones are: Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, and Tom Brown's Guide to Nature and Survival for Children. Don't reject the second one just because it's for "children". I don't agree with some of his philosophy, but I trust his edible plants and medicinal plant expertise.

Also be aware that in some emergencies (nuclear fallout, volcanic dust, etc.) outdoor foods might be more contaminated than indoor stored foods and seeds you might sprout indoors. Adjust your plants to match the "emergencies" for which you are preparing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Foraging with Wildman

Storing food (preserved) is a lot better idea. Beans, peppers, and most veggies can be dried and stored. Many other things can be easily canned and stored for years.

If things are going to be that bad off you're going to spend more time actually protecting your food you're growing rather than eatting it. Access to clean water (or running water) would probably be an issue, too.

You can do sprouts/microgreens withing 1-2 weeks, but you'll need a lot of seed and have to watch over it from other animals/people/etc.