Grains, Legumes, and Staple Crops

Staple crops are grown for calorie-dense seeds, pods, tubers, or storage organs.

Common Kinds

Kind	Examples	Harvest
Cereals	Wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats, rye, sorghum	Dry seeds
Pseudocereals	Quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth	Dry seeds used like grains
Pulses	Lentils, chickpeas, dry beans, peas	Dry seeds
Fresh legumes	Snow peas, green beans, edamame	Pods or immature seeds
Oil seeds	Sunflower, sesame, flax, canola	Oil-rich seeds
Starchy staples	Potato, cassava, taro, yam, sweet potato	Tubers, roots, corms

Garden Scale

Many staples need more space than home gardeners expect. Beans, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and amaranth are among the more approachable small-scale options.