Iowa teen grew 7k pounds of veggies, then gave them all away
An Iowa teenager’s project to grow and donate 7,000 pounds (about 3,175 kg) of vegetables over two years prompts debate over how impressive that yield is compared with industrial crops like corn and soy, and how fertile Iowa’s soil is. Commenters broaden the topic to the realities of home gardening – sudden gluts of zucchini and squash, preservation techniques, and the limits of what food banks can practically accept – as well as whether people could live on vegetables alone and how much fresh produce low‑income charities actually need. Along the way, the thread veers into unit conversions between imperial and metric, highlighting how hard it is to reason intuitively about food, land, and yield across different measurement systems.
Yield and Farming Context
- Commenters compare 7,000 lb over ~2 years on ~1 acre to corn/soy yields.
- Estimates: intensive corn can reach ~10,000 lb/acre/year, so the teen’s yield is lower in mass but comparable in order of magnitude.
- Several argue corn/soy are the wrong comparison because they largely become feed/inputs, whereas vegetables are higher retail value per acre and go directly to people.
- Iowa’s famously fertile soil (deep black chernozem) is noted as a major factor in productivity.
Iowa Soil and Irrigation
- Multiple anecdotes confirm extremely deep, rich soils in parts of Iowa.
- Some farms there reportedly need no irrigation in many years; rain and soil moisture retention suffice, summed up as “God provides.”
Home Gardening Surplus & Preservation
- Many gardeners report massive seasonal gluts (especially zucchini, squash, tomatoes, leafy greens) followed by scarcity.
- Strategies discussed: freezing (shredded zucchini, cooked greens), canning, drying, fermenting, making sauces, relishes, pesto, and pickles.
- Staggered planting, mixed cultivars, and succession planting are suggested to smooth out production over the season.
Dietary Questions: Living on Vegetables
- A subthread debates whether someone could sustain themselves on “only vegetables.”
- Confusion arises over what counts as a “vegetable” (do grains, beans, nuts, tubers count?).
- Some argue modern vegan diets rely on processed oils/grains and supplements, especially B12 and perhaps creatine.
- Others counter that traditional near-vegan diets existed, that B12 is the only unavoidable supplement, and that beans/rice and similar staples can meet protein needs.
Food Banks, Charity, and Systemic Hunger
- Experiences with food banks vary: some eagerly distribute fresh produce; others prefer only shelf-stable goods due to storage, labor, safety, and logistics constraints.
- One commenter questions whether stories like this obscure structural causes of hunger; others respond that individual charitable acts still have real value.
Vegetable Preferences and Cooking Techniques
- Zucchini/squash and spinach are often overproduced and hard to give away, yet many share preparation methods that make them desirable: soups, curries, grilling, spiralized “noodles,” stuffed vegetables, breads, and desserts.
- Pests (birds, slugs, insects) and gardening frustration also feature in anecdotes.
Units, Metric vs Imperial, and “Kilopounds”
- “7k pounds” sparks a long digression on imperial vs metric units and odd hybrids like “kilopound.”
- Some find mixed unit systems confusing and error-prone; others say conversions are manageable and culturally embedded.
- Ton/tonne variants, American wire gauge, and other quirky systems are cited as examples of unit complexity.