Book Review. How to grow perennial vegetables, buy Martin Crawford. 3.17.16

Red mulberry

This week I went to the local library and checked out the book, "How to Grow Perennial Vegetables" by Martin Crawford.  2012.

This book is interesting because growing perennial vegetables allows us to have plants that require minimal maintenance, fit into a permaculture landscape, and puts to work some plants that might otherwise be taken for granted or considered weeds.

The book is well written and interesting.  There is a comprehensive list of plants with descriptions, instructions for how to grow them, and culinary uses.  The format is easy to follow and informative.

Plants that were interesting to me -

Violet

Apple mint -  because I recently saw a video about how to make a tea from apple mint.
Asparagus - which I just planted yesterday, "Millenium".  I don't know how that will do, but it's worth a try.
Chives and Chinese Chives - which we already grow.
Columbine - for the leaves.  Salad greens.  I didn't know that.
Dandelion - multi uses, greens and root.   Planning to experiment with both the weed and improved cultivars.  One application is a sort of "wilted lettuce salad" which involves saute of the leaves.
Daylilies - for the flowers or flower buds.  The unopened buds can be used as a sort of green bean - like vegetable.
Hostas  - eat the young shoots as a fresh vegetable, apparently popular in Korea.
Horseradish - I think I will add some in the orchard row.  That should at least give the moles and voles extra flavors to savor as they tunnel through.
Sedum spectabile - I didn't know that!  Already growing many bunches for bees.  Use leaves as a fresh green.  The book states, "succulent and juicy and ready to add to a salad on a hot summer day"

Linden

Linden - leaves for cooking like spinache, or salad.  I imagine better in spring when fresh and young.
Mulberry - leaves can be used as a cooked green. Also, I imagine better when fresh and young.
Opuntia cacti - for nopales.  I don't know how they will do but I am experimenting with them.
Oca - I found these in a catalog but way too expensive.  If I can find a less expensive source I will try.
Rhubarb - mostly uses as a pseudo-fruit, but can also be savory.
Violets - leaves for soups, have a thickening effect.

The book describes many times more than this list, which other than oca and apple mint, I already grow.  All very interesting and useful

I'm fairly impressed at this list, so many edible plants already in my yard, and quite a few that I have not sampled.  I suspect some are better and some are not so good, but we can be sort of like Euell Gibbons, we can "Stalk the Wild Asparagus", in our own yards.


[All images via public domain website, vintageprintable.com]




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Allium Family Perennial Vegetables. 2.10.16

Chive Beds and New Raised Bed.  2.10.16

 All of the overwintering Allium family perennial vegetables are growing.

The 2 raised beds of garlic chives broke dormacy last week, now 2 to 2 inches of growth. 

I priced these concrete blocks today at Home Depot.  They were 99 cents each.  I think they are less expensive than the wooden beds, will last longer, and are easier to assemble.  I don't know about thermal properties.  The corners have openings that would be good for posts.

Garlic Chives.  2.10.16

Chives.  2.10.15

Garlic Raised Bed.  2.10.16

Egyptian Walking Onions.  2.10.16

Standard chives are growing fast.

Garlic is showing great growth.  My subjective estimate is the garlic in the raised bed is about  twice as big as the garlic in the ground, probably due to warmer temperature although the soil mix could also be better.

Egyptian Walking Onions are also growing nicely.  I protected them from deer and rabbits this year.  There was still evidence of something foraging - maybe slugs.

Not shown, the new starts of White Potato Onions are about 6 inches tall.  This time around they are also protected from herbivores.  There is no evidence of foraging on those plants.

I'm not concerned about potential frost or freeze.  These are hardy plants.

Onions, garlic, shallots.

Green onions from Egyptian Walking Onions

 Nice to have some scallions from the garden this time of year.  These were Egyptian Walking onions, that I did not pull out.  They resprouted and are beginning to be big enough to eat.

The onion bed is starting to grow.  Planted roughly 5 weeks ago.  At the end is a row of cilantro, about an inch tall, planted the same time.  The Egyptian Walking onions are all up.

Onion bed at one month

 The Yellow Potato onions are starting to grow.  Most are still not showing above ground.

The garlic, planted about 4 weeks ago, is several inches tall.  Right on schedule.

Yesterday I cleared out a 3-foot by 4 foot section of the tomato bed.  I added 1/2 bag of chicken compost, and planted shallots.  The shallot starts were saved from this summer.  I planted 4 rows.  That is from the original 2 rows.  About the same amount is available for eating.  Starting them later this year.   These shallots might have been larger, if I didn't let them go to seed.  The honeybees loved the flowers, so I didn't want to remove the flower heads.

Garlic bed at one month

Holland White Shallots