Perennial Veggies
 

Hi, I started to work on a perennial veggie plot this year and an curious if anyone else is doing it.

Some things planted are Tops set onions ( walking onions) poato onions, Skirret, Rhubarb,Sorrel,

Things almost ready to go out, Daubenton Kale,Delaway Cabbage,

I have other things waiting to be sown next Spring, Jerusalem atichokes and Asparagus, Nine Star Broccolli,Cut and Come Again cabbage.

Waiting to recieve Babbington leeks.

Looking for Rampions.

It would be great to connect woth other folks who are growing pernnial veggies

XX Jeannine

I've grown artichokes, perennial kale (=tree collards), and yacon (= Bolivian sunroot) for >5 years. I grow rhubarb but haven't grown to like it. The garden came with green onions, but I don't use them much. I've kept one purple peacock broccoli/kale going for at least 3 years.

I'd love to try more (and more obscure) perennial vegs.

Oh good, a like minded soul, stay in touch as it would be good to swap ideas, I have one yacon that a friend sent me, it grew a shoot prettyyt quickly in a pot and I planted it out, it is growing quite slowly though.

I can't find tree collards apart from walking stick kale , which I have seeds for,but I understand tree collards can only be propogated by cuttings

Purple Peacock broc is a new one on me.I shall have to look that up'

The skirret is an interesting one, a root sort of in between a carrot and a parsnip. I have Salsify and Schorzona seeds to go in too. Also have seeds for Good King Henry. You may like the Nine Star Perennial.. maybe we can trade.

XX Jeannine

I got my original perennial kale as a cutting, but the second one was a 4-inch seedling from a plant exchange labeled walking stick kale! It's exactly the same as the first one. However, a neighbor at the community garden planted a seed of walking stick kale and it was a totally different plant. I don't know the seed source for either one.

The purple peacock wasn't meant to be perennial, but in my climate, with a bit of coddling, I like to see how long I can keep small brassicas going.

I have old seed for scorzonera and my interest was piqued recently by someone from Germany who talked about black root -- said it was delicious but hadn't seen it in the US. I did some research and figured out it's scorzonera.

I'll have to try skirret -- sounds so medieval.

Hello Jeannine and HG - another one here who likes to see what will carry on from year to year. The rhubarb, sorrel, asparagus and Egyptian walking onions are easy and flourish. The herbs are also very hardy: oregano, thyme, chives, tarragon, hyssop, sage and of course, mint. Lemon balm is usually OK, in a bad year I need to start it again. Quite often a parsley will winter over and provide seed for the following year. I usually leave in a couple of kale, late lettuce and swiss chard - if the winter conditions are just right (and I still haven't figured out what they are) they will continue growing on for an early spring harvest. Do you count volunteer and self-seeded plants such as potatoes, Aunt Molly's ground cherries, dill, spinach? Lots of small fruits; raspberries, strawberries, currants and blueberries. Jeannine, I posted a question about skirret in another thread, have wanted to try that for several years.

My goal is to have more perennial veggies. I have grown various ones at past houses, but haven't got many in where we are now (yet).

I have runner beans that should come back year after year and am trying rhubarb from seed this year.

I have grown chayote for a few years - wow! I have never seen a vine grow so high - it climbed the fence, the neighbor's tree and then up it went to the tippy top of the phone pole just outside the fence each year LOL! It would die back during the winter and with spring warmth would restart and start climbing again. I tried transplanting it, but it's not happy. I have to start a new one. Hopefully I will get better production in a new spot, so far harvests have fallen way short of the possible 150/vine capability.

I tried walking onions when I lived in the hot/cold San Diego foothills with limited success, I'm keen to try them in my more moderate locale. I also grew sorrel, Jerusalem artichokes, apios (didn't work out well in the heat), Malabar spinach, and purple hyacinth beans there. I still have seeds from the hyacinth beans, but I'm a bit skittery - some sources say they have toxins, others say they are widely grown and eaten (after proper cooking) and are fine. They sure are pretty though. I don't know if my seeds are still viable since I haven't grown them for 10 years, but if you are interested in a few (I have less than 200 left) let me know in a PM.

I have a book that has given me some additional ideas of things to try - it has info on 100 perennial veggies and what zones they do best in. "Perennial Vegetables" by Eric Toensmeir.

Tomatoes can be short lived perennials here - I had an Early Girl live for 18 months once when I lived in the foothills. It was in a half barrel next to the house under the eaves. The first frost killed off the outer vines and leaves. I let it be since the interior was still green. In the spring I took off the dead bits that had insulated the core. The darn thing started up again and gave me more tomatoes. It died after its second summer.

I have been expanding my perennial edibles sections every year. Started off with Rhubarb, Oregano, black currants, a pear tree and an apple tree.

Added a plum, cherry & hardy peach, blueberries, raspberries, 2 grapes, blackberries, a large strawberry patch (renew it every spring with runners & pull out the oldest plants), an asparagus patch - in its 1st year, so it will be another year before I can harvest. In my area parlsley, cilantro, dill, rosemary, thyme,mint &sage are all perennial (some more tender than others).

I also have a section for overwintering things that need to go to 2nd year for seed or size - parsnips, garlic etc. I often have accidental perennials (potatoes, tomatoes etc.) which get moved to wherever the main crop has been rotated to in the garden! I found last year that my brussels sprouts overwintered and if I cut them down, they go again! I pulled them because I had already started new plants - but this year may leave a couple to see what kind of a crop i can get!

From what I hear tomatillos will reseed easily if you give them a spot of their own.
I just wish I had more room! And a new digger (husband is tired)!!!:D

Oh yes, scarlet runner beans! I'm growing them for the first time this year, and ate my first bean yesterday. Someone local said the roots get huge and the beans can start growing much earlier in spring than other beans, so I'm looking forward to future crops as well. I cut back a huge part of my thornless blackberry, which was hogging the arbor, to make room for the beans.

I grow a a few varieties of runners, some red , some pink, some white and some red and white but I have never had them self seed due to climate. I have not heard of them being earlier , I only thought the English Broad Bean was earlier as it can be fall sown or spring sown in February.

I too have heard mixed comments about Hyacinth beans but many folks do eat them and they are very pretty.

I have suceeded to grow Chayote and it was huge and practically took over.

I found some Ramsons and Rampions today which I am pleased about.

I have been toying witht the idea if Eric Ts book bit after reading a review I changed my mind. I do know many of the veggies mentioned won;t grow here.

salix, I answered in the other thread, I can let you have some Skirret seeds, I have more en route from Germany so may be a couple of weeks, but Amishland does have them.

It is a very interesting thread, and is great to hear other folks are going perennial.

XX Jeannine

parsley is a biennial... cilantro and dill may reseed but they are not perennials either...

perennial anything is a good thing- less work!

asparagus, various berries, herbs and rhubarb are pretty much it for perennial edibles for me although i do keep some peppers alive in the greenhouse each year and have a couple of basil plants that are a number of years old (african blue and greek columnar- not regular italian).

Oh yes I overwintered 4 Pepperdews from year and they are doing very well

XX Jeannine

[QUOTE=Jeannine Anne;226738]I grow a a few varieties of runners, some red , some pink, some white and some red and white but I have never had them self seed due to climate. I have not heard of them being earlier , I only thought the English Broad Bean was earlier as it can be fall sown or spring sown in February.
...
I have been toying witht the idea if Eric Ts book bit after reading a review I changed my mind. I do know many of the veggies mentioned won;t grow here.
...[/QUOTE]

The person who told me about the runner beans said they have a huge solid root, like a tuber, which allows them to store a lot of energy, which is why they start growing early in the season.

I borrowed T's book from the library and came to the same conclusion! But vegetables from the Andes such as acocha sound interesting and would grow here.

I have never heard of that, nor have I seen it, They do have small nodules on the roots which are high in nitrogen, this is why the roots are best left in even in cold areas as they give so much to the soil.

Runners beans were one of the first veggies I grew when I was a child and have done so now for 60 years. I collect heirloom varieties.

They definatley will self seed if conditions are right but they do not grow in cold soil anymore that French beans do, and don't form huge tubers.

I have often grown two varieties of Achocha, it grows very easily as an annual but have never grown it as a perennial. It is an interesting veggie ti grow and rambles like crazy, tasty too. I think I still have seeds.

XX Jeannine

I grew Runners many times in a hotter/colder climate here in So Cal where it would regularly go over 100 in the summer and drop into the 20's in winter. I don't remember any tubers on my runners there, and they certainly didn't come back each year. When I grew them here, in a much more moderate climate I got tubers. I didn't look it up until after I had ripped the plants out at the end of the season. The roots didn't look like any bean I had seen before - I thought they were diseased LOL

Now that I know they can come back year after year here I am planting them in more permanent locations.

Hi again, I guess the roots could be called a tuber but the ones I have seen over the years were very spindly . Of course weather conditions could make a difference, I have only grown them in the UK and Canada.. interesting point though. I have heard of folks lifting the roots and regrowing them a long time ago with mixed results but I don't see the point as seeds are easy to start and readily available, however I could see leaving them in the ground and letting them re grow if it gave as good a crop and quicker.

I would be very interested to har more about this.

XX Jeannine

The way I understand it if you leave the roots in the ground (in moderate climates only it appears) they will re-sprout the following year and you will get beans earlier than you would by planting new seeds. One of the places I read said that the crops on the renewed vines aren't as heavy, but that they will come back for a number of years.

I don't have anything terribly exotic yet but, since moving here last fall, we've been working hard to get a variety of "permanent" fruits & veggies going. So far, we have various fruit & nut trees, blackberries, raspberries, a few varieties of asparagus and rhubarb, sunchokes, assorted herbs, Alpine strawberries, walking onions (and wild onions), and garlic.

For next year, we're planning on adding more (larger) strawberries, cherry trees, more rhubarb (love that stuff!), and... I don't yet know. This winter, I'll be researching more things to add to the perennial areas. I love hearing what you all have tried.

This guy has some videos of Tree Collards and Walking Stick Kale (plus other edible perennial vegetables)
YouTube embed isn't working
Maybe this link will work
[URL]http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens/videos?query=tree+collards[/URL]
He has about 600 videos not all about edible perennial vegetables
[URL]http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens/videos[/URL]
[B][SIZE=1]How to Over Winter Your Scarlett Runner Beans & Best Source for Seed [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvO4-VVAjw&feature=plcp&context=C450e36bVDvjVQa1PpcFMDffvQ0swoNQbRt8Bo6KZID9UYcKlf5oc%3D"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQvO4-VVAjw&feature=plcp&context=C450e36bVDvjVQa1PpcFMDffvQ0swoNQbRt8Bo6KZID9UYcKlf5oc%3D[/URL][/SIZE][/B]

[SIZE=1]Scarlet Runner Beans - Growing and Harvesting [/SIZE][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhOxmm_xdA&feature=plcp&context=C4732ecaVDvjVQa1PpcFMDffvQ0swoNdFOH-R1Xc_q1rOf2CkEaOY="][/URL]

Tree Collards

Walking Stick Kale and Tree Collards

[B][SIZE=2]Yield 8 Pounds of Edible Sunchoke Tubers from a 3 Gallon Nursery Pot[/SIZE][/B]

Thanks, \I have seen his videos before.

Adding to my earlier post in which said I had ramsons and rampions imported from Germany, the ramsons grow happily under trees so they being planted direct in to the place under my grape vine.They are sharing it with Wils English Bluebells ,

The Rampions I have decidee not to sow, I have found it is ivasive and need to be put in a wood or something or in wild flower garden. If anyone would like them please PM me.

I have brought fruit bushed to day coming in the mail, blackcurrantsm gooseberries, redcurranys,raspberries and blueberries, with strawberries and rhubarbthis will give me a soft fruit garden,asparagus should be here any day too,

I had some chou Daubenton plants sent from overseas but they didn;t make it. They rarely set seed so was surprised to see the UK seed savres offering them, I was lucky and one of the few who got them. I have them up about 1 inch now. This is a prennial cabbage so am finally thrilled I have it. my deleway cabbage is going in soon, it is also perennial.

Still hoping to find soem cuttings of the perennial collards

XX Jeannine

I actually just picked my first asparagus today! I went out to check how my snap peas were coming along and realized that there were several stalks over a foot tall. Had to snap a few off and munch right then and there! Yum.

Have to say, those are shaping up to be a good investment. Putting in the bed took a lot of time. (Removing all of the grass, digging a 5' x 20' space down to 18" with a shovel and mixing in batches of compost didn't sound that hard until I actually had to do it by myself. LOL) But once it's done, it's done and it's so great to go out on a Spring day and cut a few stalks.

I have several fruit trees, grape vines, and perennial herbs, but the asparagus is the only perennial veggie so far.

Are the perennial collards and Kale as tasty as the annual kind? If so, that would be wonderful. You gotta love food that just pops up on it's own!

I wish it was cold enough here to plant rhubarb. I love, love, love rhubarb.
I have an amazing kale plant, just one, that survived the hottest summer in Phoenix last year, lasted all winter and is still going strong. I also had a chard go 2 1/2 years before dying during a week of 120 degree days, planted where it got heat soaked by the house, although it had a lot of shade.
I'm moving in a year so won't do a lot of perinniels until after our move. Hope to start a real orchard then. This year, though, I am planting plenty of herbs and a pomegranate tree. I will plant asparagus, rhubarb and stone fruit trees as soon as we move, hopefully somewhere with a colder winter and milder summer.
We do have a nice old Meyer lemon which gives is tons of sweet lemons and an orange smelling zest.

Tracy, Do you keep your Meyers Lemon inside over the winter?

No, my Meyer lemon is a huge, old tree. In the ground and has been through quite a few freezes, down around 20-25 degrees. It has a concrete wall for protection but everyone in my area has citrus trees in-ground, orchards everywhere. The air is so sweet smelling with citrus blossoms in Mesa right now.

That sounds so wonderful! My grandparents lived in Winter Haven, Florida for many years. They had a grapefruit tree and a kumquat tree. We loved going out and picking our own grapefruit for breakfast. The smell in Spring was great, as I recall.

I believe that some people do grow a dwarf container version of the Meyers lemon, so that's why I was asking. I just wondered how much sun they need if they are kept indoors. (Not that I need anything else to water! lol)

Yes, you can grow Meyer lemon in a pot and bring indoors for winter. I think they do well in pots. Take it outdoors for spring,summer and fall.

I just bought a couple of Meyer Lemons at Stark Bros this weekend, along with some Key Limes, a Tangerine, and a Valencia Orange. All will live in pots and be brought inside for winter. (I grew lemon & lime before indoors and they did okay... until I killed them when life got hectic. Oops.) I also fell sucker to Baker Creek's Orange Pomegranate and Pink Banana seeds that I'll soon get started and overwinter in pots for winter.

I have started increasing my perennials this year: Good King Henry and French Sorrel, along with more rhubarb and asparagus.

Jeanine, I would love to know how the perennial cabbages do for you. I'm trying to add a few more perennials each year and those would definitely be at the top of my list if they do well.

Owiebrain- with the pomegranate, it's a true desert plant. I would plant it in a cactus mix and keep it dry, dry, dry. The citrus like good drainage and not too much water, once established, although I've not ever grown them in pots. Not too much fertilizer but a bit of organic stuff. Mine get some chloriosis so I have to give them iron every once in awhile. Pomegranate likes an alkaline soil so they shouldnt need iron too often.
I haven't tried bananas, yet. I just bought some giant bird of paradise, which look like bananas but are ornamentals, growing to 15 feet and beautiful flowers for hummers.
I'm trying to sit on my hands and not plant too many perinniels this year, although my chard and kale act perinniel. I did plant strawberries and I'm going to bring them indoors this summer, under lights, because I was really late starting them. Next year, I should have a bumper crop of strawberries!

I am sooooo excited.

Part of my story is a repeat........

I have wanted Chou Daubenton a perennial cabbage for two years. It rarely puts out seeds and has to be propogated by cuttings.

A friend sent me some cuttings from the UK but they diidn't make it....

I bought plants in France,had them sent to my son in Holland who sent them to me, they took ages and were in a very bad state, we babied them and finally got them into the ground last year but I guess they were not strong enough as they diidn;t make it. I was gutted.
I am a member of HSL, the UK seed savers. We can''t buy seeds through them as such but with our membership we get 6 packets of seeds free. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Daubenton offered. We have to choose 6 vareties of seeds and give a 2nd and 3rd choice, then we wait with fingers croseed to see if we get our first choice. Knowing how rare these seeds are I didn't hold my breath but....I got them !!!

Then it is said that even if the plant makes seed it is often not viable so the pressure stays on. I sowed them 2 weeks ago and I got super germination . They have just been potted on so feel safe now

I can't believe I am finally growing them.

Just a cabbage.....................but I am so excited that this rare French plant will be joining my perennial veggies garden.

I also ordered fruit bushes this week. Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Redcurrants, Gooseberries,Raspberries and also Strawberries and Asparagus. The rhubarb I grew fron seed two years ago has formed good tubers so it looks as though the fruit garden will be complete this year, there is already a big grapevine there and I am sowing my Rampsons around the base of it as they like to be under s trees I am told..

XX Jeannine


Just for the record, when my Daubenton plants are big enough I will take cuttings and have no problem sending them into the US if anyone wants them. I know how hard it is to get some things and have every intention of sharing my Daubenton around.

Wow! How exciting!

So how does a perennial cabbage work? When you cut out the center, do yo leave some foliage on the outside to keep it going? Does it form little baby cabbages to the side?

Just wondering.

It doesn't have a centre like a usual cabbage, you pick the leaves. I have never grown it before so it is learning journey for me too but there is bits and pieces on the net.

Basically it is French cabbbage and popular there. I belive there is a varigated form too which is interesting. ! of my babies is much lighter than the others, in fact it is almost yellow. I thought it was sick but it is growing just the same as the others. It may die but I will try to keep it.

I have just ordered Jerusalem Artichokes and Chinese Artichokes.

Oh and I have Babbington leeks to plant now, a firend sent them from the UK, I may have mentioned I was getting them. They are perennial.

So my perennial bed is fast getting very interesting. I can't wait for it to start producing.

How is everyone else doing?

Owiebrain, I will keep the info coming and if I get cuttings from my Daubenton further down the road I will share.

XX Jeannine