[Fantasy] [Low-Tech] Crops with extremely short cycle and low yield

[Tuk the Weekah]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Hmm. Indeed I haven't put much (any?) thought into proportionally reducing the work required.

I'm basically looking for a way to create a setting with much shorter harvest cycles - numbered in days, or at most weeks.

Oh, and I intended the seeds/fruits to be as long-lasting as normal ones.

The problem, of course, in such a short life cycle is the weed issue. If it has a low labour cost, it will dominate the ecosystem. If it is so picky that it doesn't dominate, it will have a high labour cost. If it has a high labour cost, as TBC points out, farmers will tend to prefer traditional grain crops.

Have you considered something akin to wild rice? It is incredibly easy to harvest, and the process of harvesting simultaneously reseeds the "field". Basically, you bend the stalk over the canoe and tap it with a stick. Most of the seed falls into the canoe; some of the seed falls back into the lake/river to form the next crop.

Would having 4 cycles per year (and a dormant winter), with a low labour cost akin to wild rice, work for your purposes?