I'm currently fleshing out a medieval fantasy kingdom whose territory is basically one giant wetland. While the world is original it doesn't have anything that I consider magical or supernatural. The following writeup is from my climate and geography notes: Wet. Water is inescapable in Taog. It pools in every footprint and wheelbarrow. It lurks under every bridge. It ceaselessly drips from birch leaves, tree moss, and spiderwebs. And it rains. Normally twice daily — once in the morning and then again in the evening. But an unscheduled midday or midnight drizzle is not uncommon. Besides rain the lands of Taog are notorious for summoning nightly creeping fog and rumbling thunder. The Kingdom is comprised of numerous wetlands (swamps, bogs, and marshes), low muddy hills, a solemn stretch of coastline, and a temperate rain forest known as the Cloud Wood. These separate terrains seemingly makeup a single, immense wetland. A demesne soaked down to its every root and bone. Winters in Taog are dreadfully cold. And its cool summers are breezy and bring frequent storms. Hopefully the above painted a clear enough picture for you. With the climate nailed down I've moved on to the kingdom's economy. And one of the main questions I want to answer is how do the Taogish people feed themselves? I've done a bit of research already. In terms of protein I'm thinking there's duck, goose, deer, elk, pigs (wild and domesticated), moose, muskrat, frog, crawfish, pike, trout, catfish, and turtle. Maybe some turkey in the Cloud Wood. I'm having a harder time with plants. I came up with some berries: blueberry, cranberry, and huckleberry. But what I'd really like is a carbohydrate crop as a staple. I've Googled wild rice in hopes of finding something to grow in a colder wetland, but I didn't manage to turn up anything. Any suggestions?
Beavers? I know it's not carbs but what about sugar? I live in Canada. I can't really think of crops grown by aboriginal peoples in the wet areas of Canada. My recollection is that they traded and hunted/trapped for food - deer, bear, rabbits, beavers, etc. You could search for aboriginal crops and prey, I guess from Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc and see what pops up that clicks with you. EDIT: https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/11/19/wetlands-should-be-seen-as-a-key-part-of-sustainable-agriculture/#.XoDMTx6vAlQ https://www.freshwateralliance.ca/farming_wet_lands The second one looks promising. I googled for farming on Canadian wetlands, I think.
This might help as well ...or at least give you some ideas. https://foodmattersmanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TradFood-Guide_2015_online.pdf
@Cdn Writer Your second link mentions draining as a way to prepare land for farming wetlands. I wonder if that was done during medieval times, possibly through ditch digging/irrigation. @jannert I found the following from your link: "Wild rice is not actually rice, it is the seed of a native North American long-grain marsh grass! The Ojibway word for wild rice, manoomin, means good berry." That looks very promising. Now I have to go research marsh grass seed.
Look at the Netherlands with their dikes and canal system. There is probably something there as they do have farms. I know they used wind power (windmills) in the process but I don't know the specifics.
Using Scotland as somewhere roughly analogous to what you've described, oats and barley were traditionally the staple crops, but most farming was focused on meat and dairy. That's the kind of land where it's far easier to grow cows than it is to grow crops.
While I appreciate your attempt to help, the kingdom in question is much colder than Iraq & Iran. The wetlands of Canada, Estonia, and Scotland are closer to what I have in mind.
No. If those areas didn't have permanent inhabitants, then it suggests that cold wetlands on their own can't support a permanent population.
That's what I was thinking. If a settlement exists there has to be a food source nearby. Is how the Taogish feed themselves an important plot point? As in, will the setup of the world make the reader question the viability of the regions food sources to the point that it needs a separate explanation? I could see that if they were living on the moon or something, so was wondering if there was something extremely inhospitable about your world that begs this question.
I'm not at the plotting stage yet, I'm worldbuilding. It's partly a political intrigue story so some aspects of the economy definitely will be.
