Hardy Edible Garden

[apothecary]

Hey guys,

Was thinking it would be cool if there was a thread where people could post ideas for a completely edible garden concentrating on being nutrition complete, hardy, sustainable and vigorous.

i.e., the best crop plants.

Potatoes, Cherry Tomato, Asparagus, some form of nutrition dense mushroom, etc, etc was my first idea.

Who's got the superfoods. Where's Rev when you need him.

[Green Osiris]

Are we limited to regions ? Amount of land ?

[apothecary]

It should grow in all possible regions.

Lets say 7m by 7m block of land.

[mescalito]

Start at the roots

Go root-vege's off the bat and get some bush beans from Eden Seeds stringless and beautiful flavour.They grow in a bush as the name suggests,so easy in pots and are hardy not to mention tasty!

There are a whole lot of different types root vege's and some like Yucca contain inulin which is a great for diabetics and those with cholesterol and weight issues.Then you have arrowroot(great for creating a micro-climate for fungi!),jerusalem artechoke and the alternative potatoes like Kipfler etc....just source some organic samples,chit and mutiply!!

Chilli and tomato will grow in anything and contain c,e and a vitamins plus minerals.

Alliums are great as they deter pests(vampires hehe)and you can buy them from the supermarket and plant them fresh e.g.chives,garlic and leek.Then simply collect the seed and you have a never ending supply.Like any store bought root veg or seed containing fruit...no need to buy seeds after the first crop

Wheatgrass is piss-easy to grow,is gluten-free as it is a graminea until it forms fruit, then it becomes a grain(contains gluten for coeliacs info).

Good topic Apoth....I'll think more about it and maybe add some more stuff later.

[apothecary]

Thanks for the tips mesc, I like em!

So far my list of favs is

Cherry tomatos

Potatoes

Bush beans

Garlic

gerbil suggested eryngii for the fungus, anyone got suggestion for a nutrition dense leafy green?

I have struck Asparagus from my favs as I understand it has larger water requirements for good yield.

[sobriquet]

This is a great thread apoth. Maybe it can be sticky for a few months?

Here are some of my suggestions and what I grow.

1. Armoracia rusticana - Horseradish. Easy to grow and impossible to eradicate once established. The roots are used grated to give the familiar eye watering flavour. Most wasabi is actually this plant and while there are subtle differences between it and true wasabi the essential pungency is very similar. I love this plant.

2. Anethum graveolens - Dill. Another easy one to grow in hot and sunny climates. This one is fantastic in everything really, salads, fish, roasts, yoghurt, and whatever else.

3. Allium schoenoprasum - Chives. Smallest of the onion family and again very versatlie.

I'd also grow some legumes, and a variety of salad greens (esp rocket), the cabbage family, and sometimes spinach types (silverbeet also) and leeks.

[wandjina]

Hardly edible garden? Hmmm, let's see...some euphorbias, oleander, castor oil plant....and a rhus or two for good measure.

sorry...couldnt help myself...its what i first thought the topic was

How about Shahtoot...white mulberry. Very hardy, drought resitant, delicious fruit (good source vit C), excellent shade tree/aesthetics and source of fodder.

Also, i reckon Moringa oleifera would be a good choice...ridiculously nutritious, drought resistant....many many uses

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_en...a_oleifera.html

Amaranth comes to mind as well...

[nothinghead]

Green leafys like silverbeet are nutritious and fast growing, you can cut off leaves every few days when theyre in full growth.

Corn yields a good amount for the small amount of garden bed space it takes up, plus it is way sweeter when freshly picked, and no grubs get into it.

Pyrethrum plants keep some pests away from the more susceptible food plants (I've found planting with basil and tomatoes is good).

Aubergines are easy to grow and add colour, gourds are also fairly easy and can be put on a trellis to save space on the ground.

"Weedy" greens are excellent as well because they just grow anywhere. My favorites of these are dandelions (for the greens in a salad and roots when mature), chicory (again, leaves and root), wild rocket (also attracts plenty of bees), mint (which will take over if you let it) etc etc.

Also, I haven't actually grown any, but apparently rasberries give a great yield and are easy to spread by cuttings and division.

Oh, and beetroot. Especially useful because you can eat the whole plant

BTW if you want some vegetable seed apothecary PM me, I always save more than I can sow.

[_e_]

Awesome thread Apothecary!

How good is it growing your own food!

I cant wait till we have some property to crank out a massive permaculture garden on.

Subsistence living is my dream!

Id like to throw some of my own favourites into this here virtual garden:

'Grandmas compost hybrid' pumpkin

A giant pumpkin vine that rose out of the 25yr old compost heap down the back of my grandparents last year... The vine monstered the majority of the chookyard, producing about fifty or so giant ultra tasty pumpkins. (a cross between japanese, and queensland big blue)

'Eden seeds-Giant Russian' cucumber

Bloody beautiful fresh cuies for ya salads... cant go wrong!

Artichoke

Garlic

We have a friend who grows the tastiest organic garlic ever. We eat it by the ounce!

(roasted then marinated in a mixture of home grown honey, lime rinds, and small sections of wild fig mmmm)

Celery!

Basil

[planthelper]

hmm, horse radish doesn't like the tropics, and saying this growing at my location means: different stuff grows well at different times of the year. my no.1 is and allways was parsly and n0. 2 are zuchini which both grow well all over the year... ok, in winter i grow cucumbers and lettuce and tons of rocket. than springtime the brocoli kicks in and the eggplants, various beans and peas like this time of the year aswell. than the cherry tomatoes come on selfseeded... around mid nov (right now) i sort of shut down the vegie garden as it gets too hot and i have to water a lot, whith hardly any results. one time i will set up some shade cloth and i guess that is the way to grow over the hot summer periode.

i love my vegie garden, and it's an awesome feeling to just dash out into the garden and to come back with the goodies, i hardly buy vegies!!

i used to grow a lot of different vegies and asparagus is definately worth the wait, but different climats ask for different vegies...

if you live in a high rainfall area choko is the way to go as it's perenial and a high yielder.

rocket man, i love rocket...

[apothecary]

Ok, rocket looks like the leafy green addition for my favs.

I am loving this list guys. I will be attempting to implement something along these lines in the holidays after exams!

[coin]

cool thread apo...

would love to see what ends up on your short list

www.whfoods.com might generate some ideas

[mescalito]

Maybe add some Bok Choy for your leafy greens mmmm love that buttery taste

You can grow them in styro boxes in a sandy mix if you're stuck for room too.

[gerbil]

ahh mesc. bingo :D

How 'bout dragon fruits as an addition apothecary? or Opuntia spp.

[Anodyne]

I've got a pretty dismal patch of dirt in my yard. So far my plan is to plant:

*taro (for shade & breaking up soil)

*lentils (eat shoots in salads, then dig thru for green manure)

*sunflowers (decoration, soil-breakers, green manure)

*nasturtium (v. hardy green, good for salads)

*garlic (for leaves & breaking up soil)

*climbing beans/peas (for food & decorating fence)

After a couple of months I'll mash all these and my accumulated compost through.

I'm also going to start a few other things in pots & styrofoam boxes while I'm waiting for the soil to come good:

*rocket

*flatleaf parsley

*basil - green & holy

*chillies

*lettuce (green mignonette)

All of these greens are reasonably happy as long as they get some water.

And then when the soil's a bit better I'm going to start some french shallots, cherry tomatoes, transplant the chilli & holy basil bushes, maybe a few chinese greens like tatsoi, and some more beans & snowpeas.

[nothinghead]

Anodyne, if you want to breakup some hard soil or clay pans chicory and chickweed are excellent, their taproot really mines the subsoil, and they have the added bonus of bringing nutrients to the upper layers, especially if you dig them in once they have grown. Plus they require little to no attention and thrive!

[Auxin]

Walking Onions (Allium cepa var. proliferum) are among my favorites. They taste like onions should taste but the real advantage is they make the onions as bunches of 2 cm onions on the Top of the plants, if I want a bit of oniony in soup or noodles I just go snap one or two off, chop em up, and add at the very end of cooking.

Perennial, hardy to zone 5 or 6

Edited November 19, 2006 by Auxin

[apothecary]

Onions are essential to this garden. Cannot believe I forgot.

Cheers Auxin!

Edited November 19, 2006 by apothecary

[mescalito]

Onions...alliums?

silverbeet will attract snails and slugs though,they love it.Great if you wanna farm escargot but you have to surround the area with copper wire for unadulterated high protein stock

Dragonfruit's a good thing too as gerbil said and they fetch about 5 bucks a fruit retail here.Takes about 2 years to get at least 5 fruits per plant,but apparently the yield increases per year and they grow to about 5 feet,so planting rows would be the go.....$$$$$(and easy on the back for picking )

Do a google on the farms and you'll see how easy it could be.

I wanted to start growing these at mums place 2 years ago but she wants to sell the house so I kept the seed and alas are still renting

Styrofoam brocci boxes are the go!

[-bijanto-]

I'd go for soybeans. Theres nothing better than steamed, salted edamame (young soybean) and some ginger ale. In Australia, edamame is available for a very short season from November till Easter.