Edible Perennials for Community Preparedness
Live Like the World is Dying
Skill Series #3
This zine is based on episode #?? of Live Like the World is Dying with Propaganda by the Seed.
What is a perennial?
Perennials are plants that have a life cycle of at least three years—as opposed to annuals (plants that have to be grown from seed anew each year because they have a single-year lifecycle) and biennials (plants that spend a year growing and then another year producing seed and dying—so they have a two-year life cycle). Some perennial plants are herbaceous (meaning they have tender stalks that may die back in the cold season, then grow again from the root) and others are woody (meaning they have woody stalks that tend to continue growing above soil year after year), In this zine we are mainly discussing edible herbaceous perennials, but we will mention a few woody plants as well.
Why are perennials great?
In this zine we’re focusing on perennial plants that are edible, and they’re great for a bunch of reasons.
Perennials can be less labor intensive and more reliable to grow once they’re established than plants that you have to start from seed anew each year/season. We love a low maintenance food plant that requires less effort and provides more calories.
Many perennials grow well in marginal places—soil that’s less than optimal, partial sun, etc. They tend to be better at scavenging for water and nutrients once they’re established. That means they can thrive in places where higher maintenance plants might not be successful.
They’re great at creating habitat for birds, pollinators, and other plants because they have more time to integrate themselves into the ecosystem in mutually-beneficial ways. That means they benefit the overall ecosystem they’re a part of.
The productive season for many perennials is either earlier or later in the year than your average annual crop. So if you are growing annuals as well as perennials, the latter can expand your potential harvesting window for the year, which means more food for longer!
Some perennials to consider
There are so many options when it comes to perennial food plants. One of the easiest ways to begin is probably to get to know the plants native to your bioregion. What sorts of things do people in your area forage? Can you find books or blogs about traditional food plants for your region? Plants that already thrive in your area are generally going to be the easiest to establish in the garden. (And just to make sure we’re crystal clear because we don’t want anyone to get confused: not all perennial plants are edible or native. Not all native plants are edible or perennial. Not all edible plants are native or perennial. But exploring native plants is a good place to start when you’re first figuring out what to garden.)
Example: I am in the Pacific Northwest. Some native food plants in my area that also happen to be perennials include quamash/camas (Camassia quamash), stinging nettle (Urtica spp.), different fern species (Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris expansa, Matteuccia struthiopteris), and all sorts of bramble-type berries (Rubus spp.) and berrying plants in general (currants, huckleberry, strawberry, elderberry, gooseberry, honeyberry, etc.), different nut trees (oak, walnut, hazelnut), and different species of lomatium (Lomatium utriculatum, L. dissectum, L. nudicaule). That’s so many options and there are so many I didn’t have room to list! While I can definitely experiment with nonnative perennial plants, the native plants I just listed are probably a better place for me to start when figuring out my perennial garden, because I already know they’ll probably thrive here.
We’ll talk about some generally great perennials in a minute, but first, here are some places to look if you want to learn about potentially garden-able plants in your area:
Local agricultural extensions and universities. These organizations sometimes have classes and information about native plants. Depending on your area, they might have resources on basic gardening skills as well, like composting, soil information, and identifying local pests, diseases, invasives, etc.
Public gardens and botanical gardens. Their websites, gift shops, and physical gardens often highlight native plants, and you can wander around and get an idea of the types of nonnatives that still grow well in your area.
Native and/or hardy plant societies and your local Master Gardener network. These folks may not specialize in native or perennial plants, but they will often have some information and can point you in the right direction. These groups also tend to be full of older folks who really love to talk about plants and chances are they’ll be happy to teach you.
Natural history museums. Again, their information centers and gift shops often have native plant guides and brochures for local plant- and outdoor-related groups, which can be good starting points.
Local Facebook groups and meetups. Some social media digging will likely reveal plant nerds socializing somewhere in your area. Hit them up!
The internet! The USDA Plant Hardiness Map is just a google away and will show you your growing region. From there, it’s easy to search “zone [whatever], edible perennials]” and find endless lists. Or if you don’t want to worry about your growing zone, the National Wildlife Federation is developing this handy native plant finder that helps you search by zipcode. You can find a list of additional resources at the end of this zine.
But let’s say you live in a somewhat temperate region and you just want a few generally-good-and-easy-ish edible perennial plants as a starting point. Here are some ideas!
Urtica spp.
Greens:
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): The roots, leaves, and flowers of dandelions are all edible, and the fact that it’s a weed basically everywhere means it’s quite easy to grow! Technically a short-lived perennial, the only real risk here is that the dandelions can go to seed and spread everywhere.
Sochan/cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata): Native to eastern North America and a traditional food of the Cherokee, the young stalks and leaves are an edible green, pollinators love the flowers, and they bloom through the summer and fall.
Stinging nettle (Urtica spp.): Nettles are native or naturalized in temperate regions across the globe. The leaves of this plant are a delicious spring green. The stalks are used for making fiber and cordage and it can also be used as a dye plant, for all the fiber artists out there. Just be careful when harvesting, because stinging nettles do, in fact, sting.
Turkish rocket (Brunius orientalis): This is a great plant if you’re working with partial shade. The leaves and flower shoots are edible (similar to broccoli raab), and the deep taproot tastes similar to horseradish.
Hosta/funkia (Hosta spp.): Did you know that hostas are edible? They’re in the Asparagaceae family and native to parts of Asia, where the young shoots are prepared similarly to asparagus. If you need a plant with ornamental appeal that does fine in the shade and is still tasty, this could be a great choice.
Roots:
Apios americana
Jerusalem artichoke/sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosis): This is one of the easiest and most prolific perennial tubers you can grow—so much so that they can start to take over and be difficult to remove once established. The plants look a bit like a cluster of gangley sunflowers and they can grow massive clusters of tubers. These can be eaten raw, but they’re rich in inulin which might make some people pretty gassy. Try harvesting them after a good frost and cooking them instead. They’re great in a creamy soup with some potato and celery root. Check out cluster and dwarf varieties for options that are a bit more compact and contained.
Hopniss/groundnut (Apios americana): This plant is native to eastern North America and it produces edible tubers that taste something like nutty potatoes and have three times the protein. They grow as a vine and also produce beans which are apparently edible (I haven’t tried them, so let me know if they’re good). These are great to plant alongside sunchokes, as the groundnut vines can grow up the tall sunchoke stalks and their tubers compete for ground space, potentially reigning in the sunchokes a bit.
Chinese artichoke/crosne (Stachys affinis): People compare the roots of this plant to water chestnut, and it can be grown alongside sunchoke and groundnut in a mutually-beneficial combination similar to the three sisters (squash, beans, corn). After researching this zine, I’ll definitely be adding crosne to my garden in the spring.
Fruits:
Morus spp.
Illinois everbearing mulberry (Morus rubra): Not only are the berries on this tree huge and delicious, but the young leaves are edible and 15–35% protein. Different species of mulberry are native or naturalized across temperate regions of the globe and have been used for food and medicine for ages.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): Growing in eastern North America, pawpaws are the largest edible fruit native to the US. People describe the taste as something like a vanilla and citrus-flavored mango. Pawpaw is an important understory plant, an important traditional food, and it’s at-risk in parts of its native bioregion—all the more reason to plant some in your garden!
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas): Not actually a cherry at all, this plant is related to dogwood and produces small berries that taste sort of like a cranberry or a tart cherry when they’re ripe. It’s native to the Black Sea area and often planted as an ornamental shrub because of its early flowers and beautiful fall foliage.
Fig (Ficus carica): Who doesn’t love a fig? Me, actually. But I know most people do! And figs are great for a perennial garden, so they made the list. Native to the Mediterranean, the fruit is abundant, often eaten fresh or dried, and normal people who aren’t me really really love them.
What if I can't access garden beds?
One of the potential benefits of growing perennial food plants is that you can leave them to establish themselves for years—but that also means that sometimes these plants take years to produce food! Not everyone has access to a long-term, permanent garden. The good news is that a lot of perennials do really well in containers. For instance, many edible plants that are generally considered weeds due to their aggressiveness are great in container gardening where they can be, well, contained.
Greens: Dandelions, stinging nettle, and turkish rocket are all great candidates for container gardening.
Roots: It might arguably be better to plant sunchokes in containers than straight into your garden bed—growing them in containers prevents overspreading and makes for an easy harvest.
Fruits: Figs do really well in containers, and pruning back their branches as well as any roots that grow through the holes in your planter (try adding holes to the side of your planter as well as the bottom) will help keep the figs at a manageable size. This is also a great way to grow figs in colder climates, because you can move them into a warmer area like your home during the cold months. Lots of other perennial fruits that we haven’t discussed in this zine also do well in containers, such as strawberries and dwarf fruit tree varieties.
Some perennials to avoid
In general, the reason to avoid planting a particular perennial in your garden space is either because it won’t do well in your region/zone/soil/whatever, or because it will do so well that it has the potential to grow out of control and choke out other plants. An example of the former would be trying to grow something that likes lots of rain and a cool climate—like maybe evergreen huckleberry—in a hot desert environment. Or something that loves lots of direct sunlight—maybe some type of citrus—in the darkest corner of a garden.
On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes plants can get too happy in your garden, leading to potential takeovers. Some examples we’ve already mentioned include sunchoke and nettle (which is why they make great container plants). Paying attention to how plants reproduce and spread is helpful when considering what to plant. For example, dandelions spread rapidly through their wind-born seeds, pokeweed spreads really easily through their fruit which birds love to eat, pooping out the seeds everywhere they fly, and sheep sorrel spreads quickly through its abundant seeds and persistent root system. All three of those plants could be great in a garden under specific conditions, but their aggressiveness should definitely be a factor when you’re deciding whether or not to plant them.
The bottom line is that it’s a good idea to research whether a particular plant will do all right in your area, and also whether it’s likely to become overabundant and take over your (or potentially your neighbor’s) garden.
How to grow perennials
This isn’t a gardening 101 zine, but here are some things to consider when gardening with perennials (and other plants).
Right plant, right place. If a particular plant interests you, take a bit of time to learn about it before deciding whether and where to plant it. What are the basic light and soil requirements? What growing zone are you in and what growing zones does the plant prefer? After you plant it and give it a year or so, pay attention to whether it’s thriving. Does it seem happy? Does it need to move?
Pay attention. As discussed above, learn what grows naturally in your area and what other gardeners are growing. Look at the weeds in your local park. Look at your growing area and what you have to work with. Be observant.
Experiment. Whether you’er growing plants in containers or a garden bed,whether you’re an experienced gardener or brand new, growing things is an ever-evolving experiment. If you try something and it doesn’t work, that’s okay! Try planting it at a different time or in a different location. Try a different watering schedule. Try a different cultivar. Try a different plant altogether.
Time scale. Consider how long you have access to your growing area, and factor that into your planting. Some plants like fruit and nut trees take several years to get established. Some plants will yield food within a season.
Soil contamination. Many local agricultural extensions and universities offer affordable soil testing. If you have any reason to suspect soil contamination—or if you just want to get nerdy about your soil composition—consider having it tested. This is especially important for plants whose roots and leaves are intended for food.
Compost and mulching. It’s possible to get super science-y about compost—and we might do that in another zine at some point—but consider adding nutrients back into your soil somehow if you’re growing plants for food. That could be in the form of compost, or you could consider throwing some deciduous leaves into your garden beds or pots in the fall (carbon) and maybe water them with some watered down urine occasionally (yes really, that’s free nitrogen).
A sample perennial bed
Even though I love plants, I really don’t have a green thumb. What’s worse, I’m an incredibly lazy gardener. I have a few raised beds for annual stuff like tomatoes and beans, but most of my garden is filled with edible native and perennial plants. One of my favorite beds is a row of raspberry and loganberry canes surrounded by strawberry plants and walking onions. Scattered throughout the strawberries/onions are clumps of sunchokes with groundnuts interplanted—and after writing this zine I’ve decided to add crosne to those patches next year as well. In terms of food, this bed produces raspberry leaves for tea in the early spring, strawberries starting in the early summer, raspberries and loganberries as soon as the strawberries are winding down, and walking onions, sunchokes, and groundnuts whenever I want them.
The only maintenance I really have to do for this bed is to trim back the raspberry canes when they’re dormant, and prevent anything from spreading too much. This bed was originally planted in soil that used to be a combination of grass and english ivy and was dry and clay-heavy. I barely water it and the only thing I add to the soil is some deciduous leaves each fall and a bit of rabbit manure. The birds and bumblebees love this bed during the growing season. Trampling all over the strawberry plants is fine for them, harvesting the sunchoke and groundnut tubers keeps them mostly in check, and the walking onions take care of themselves.
The logic behind these plant combinations is that the groundnuts will grow up the sunchoke stalks white competing for the same space in the soil, hopefully keeping the sunchokes a bit in check. The strawberries are a groundcover that doesn’t mind being trampled, but helps to keep the soil covered and weeds down, while benefitting from the shade cast by the taller surrounding plants. And strawberries and alliums are considered companion plants because the onions help deter pests while the strawberries keep down weeds. The raspberries and loganberries are just there to benefit from the general goodness and produce yummy tea and fruit. This particular bed is about four years old and I just get more food from it each year.
This is just one example of a perennial plant bed. There are tons of options available to you, but hopefully this gives you an idea about some of the factors and considerations that can go into planning a garden and planting perennials.
Closing thoughts
Growing perennials can be easy, even if you only have access to a bit of outdoor space. Perennials can provide pollinator habitat, a longer growing season, reliable harvests, and often a good payoff in terms of a calories-to-labor ratio. There are a lot of options when it comes to edible perennial plants, and we’ve just shared a few here. Hopefully they give you some ideas so that you can find a few edible greens, a few roots, and a few fruits that might work for your circumstances and bioregion. They are fun to grow, and also a great option for folks thinking about things like long-term community preparedness. So get growing!
Additional Resources
Books
Around the World in 80 Plants by Stephen Barstow
Nature’s Garden, Forager’s Harvest, Incredible Wild Edibles, and anything else by Sam Thayer
How to Grow Perennial Vegetables by Martin Crawford
Perennial Vegetables and Edible Forest Gardens by Eric Toensmeier