6 Pack – Nutrition Security

Nutrition Security Seed Collection

As a home gardener you have superpowers! You can turn bare ground, even concrete (with a few containers), into nutrient-dense food. As a home gardener you can make a big contribution to your ‘nutrition security’ by growing the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients your body needs.

• What is ‘nutrition security’? (or skip down to ‘Seed Collection)

The term ‘nutrition security’ builds on the concept of ‘food security’ – a term used in the context of averting hunger or counting calories – by recognizing that not all calories are the same. Some calories are more nutritious than others — and these more nutritious calories contribute to your condition or state of nutrition. A paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association describes ‘nutrition security’ as having access to affordable, nutrient-dense food that promotes well-being and can prevent, and, if needed, treat disease.

• What are nutrient-dense (plant) foods?

Nutrient-dense plant foods are plants that produce high-quality food in a small space (or “small-packages”) which is what home gardening is all about (ie backyard, balcony or community gardening). If you are a gardener, you can sow seeds for nutrient-dense foods in your garden, and gardening becomes your budget-friendly way to improve your ‘nutrition security’. You just need to know which ones they are.

And we will add — it doesn’t matter what is going on in the world, planting nutrient-dense foods is just a good thing to do anyway.

We subscribe to the gardener Pat Meadows’ ‘Theory of Anyway’. Pat’s ‘Theory of Anyway’ is succinctly summed up by another gardener and writer, Sharon Astyk, in her book. Independence Days. Sharon writes:

“Pat Meadows…has a wonderful idea she calls, “The Theory of Anyway”. She argues that 95 percent of what is needed to resolve the coming crisis [the economic/political/climate/food crisis] is what we should do anyway, and when in doubt about how to change, we should change our lives to reflect what we should be doing ‘anyway’. Living more simply, more frugally, leaving reserves for others, connecting with our food and our community—these are things we should be doing because they are the right thing to do on so many levels. That they also have the potential to save our lives is merely a side benefit (a big one though).”

This is a great quote to read, oh you know, once a day, hour, every few minutes…

______________

• Seed Collection

This seed collection includes 6 varieties:

• Dwarf Essex Kale (‘Powerhouse’ Food)
• Prizehead Lettuce (‘Powerhouse’ Food)
• Mrs Bs Garden Huckleberry (Anthocyanin-Rich Veggie)
• Purple Pak Choy (Anthocyanin-Rich Veggie)
• Purple Peacock Pole Beans (Anthocyanin-Rich Veggie)
• Lemon Balm (Culinary and Medicinal Herb)

_________________

Here is our thinking behind these choices:

(1) Leafy Greens (‘Powerhouse Foods’)

• You might be surprised to find out that leafy greens are some of the most ‘Powerhouse Foods’ you can eat. ‘Powerhouse Foods’ are defined as foods providing 10% or more of the daily value of 17 nutrients (potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E, and K) as reported in a study by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Which plant foods are ‘Powerhouse Foods’? The CDC study found that the Top 10 ‘Powerhouse’ plant foods are all cruciferous greens (e.g. watercress, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, kale and arugula) and leafy greens (e.g. chard, beet greens, spinach, chicory, leaf lettuce and romaine). 

• Leafy Green varieties included:
• Dwarf Essex Kale: A powerhouse ‘eat-all greens’ variety. A fast growing, nutritious and productive leafy green that is popular in Newfoundland! The ‘eat-all’ method involves scattering the seeds 2” to 4” apart. Cover lightly with soil and keep moist until germination. That’s it! Harvest leaves when plants are 1 ft.
• Prizehead Lettuce: The humble leaf lettuce is on the CDC’s Top 10 list of ‘Powerhouse’ plant foods. Prizehead is a tried-and-true heirloom leaf lettuce that is a source of anthocyanin – see below. And lettuce is also a good source of the important antioxidant Quercetin.

_____________________

(2) Anthocyanin-Rich Veggies

• • Anthocyanins are: (1) the purple/red/blue pigments found in plants that let you know the plant is a source of this nutrient; and (2) powerful flavonoids that help regulate cellular activity and have numerous biochemical and antioxidant effects. Our bodies benefit when we eat plants with anthocyanins.

• Anthocyanin-Rich varieties included:
• Mrs B’s Garden Huckleberry: This berry is a new food for many people. But an easy one to grow and you will quickly find ways to use Mrs B’s (think smoothies, pies, yogurt). The dark coloured berries of the Solanum family (ie Mrs B’s) have anthocyanin levels similar to blueberries. And Vitamin C levels higher than lemons and limes and just under that of oranges. Mrs B’s has a sweet, faint vanilla ice cream flavour.
• Purple Pak Choy: A ‘powerhouse’ leafy green with anthocyanin-rich purple-plum leaves and green-chartreuse stems (6 to 8” tall). Purple Pak Choy has superb flavour: sweet, crunchy, with a hint of salty-spicy. It is fast growing and easy to grow.
• Purple Peacock Pole Beans: Make the most of your space with these nutrient-dense pole beans. As a raw bean, the dark-amethyst coloured bean pods are high in anthocyanin (they turn green when cooked). The plants are hardy and do well in adverse conditions (heat or cold).
• Please note the only reason our Anthocyanin-rich tomato varieties aren’t here is because we wanted this to be a direct sow collection.

__________________

(3) Culinary and Medicinal Herb

• • Lemon Balm is a culinary and medicinal herb with superb lemon scented leaves. It is easy to grow from seed and low maintenance. In summer, we pick the fresh leaves to infuse in water for an iced tea, for a hot tea, and use the fresh leaves in salad. In the fall, we dry Lemon Balm leaves to use as tea over the winter. In the paper “Antiviral Potential of Melissa officinalis L.: A Literature Review”, the authors (2023) provide a comprehensive review of the herb’s attributes. They write:

    “Melissa officinalis [Lemon Balm] is … utilized for its carminative, antispasmodic, sedative, analgesic, and tonic effects alongside its antioxidant and antiviral effects. Moreover, many articles emphasized the antiviral effect of Melissa officinalis against several viruses (such as HSV-1,18 CPV,19 HBV,11,20,21 HCV11,20,21) and confirmed its effectiveness as an alternative therapy against several viral infections…”

_______________

To circle back to our opening thoughts: even if you can’t grow all of your own calories (food security) you can make a big contribution to your ‘nutrition security’ by growing nutrient-dense veggies.

If you would like to read more about nutrition security and home gardening check out our ‘Musing’ HERE.

Also, check out our articles on nutrition security in the following Canadian gardening magazines:

• The Gardener (Spring 2025), titled Nutrition Security, Home Gardening and Growing a ‘Purple Patch’ (see image)
• The Prairie Garden Annual (2025), titled Growing Your Own Food Opens the Door to Nutrition Security.

_______________

The packs in this collection are standard size. This collection is a 20% savings over buying the packs individually.

We will include growing instructions.

____________

Happy Planting!