Frank, a garden hero of mine, has put up an edible plant resource called The Vegetable Garden. It is filled with all sorts of edibles including a fair number of perennials. Check out the perennial brassica section! Not only is he generally knowlegeable about plant life, but he also has experience with lots of rare tubers including Oca, Yacon, Apios, and others.
Talking about perennial brassicas, another fellow gardener from Homegrown Goodness, has set up a blog called Perennial Platter and the first post details perrenial 'kale' Chou Daubenton. I've been looking forward to this as a resource for those interested in permaculture.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Coldframe roll call
Snow on the spiral garden (and everywhere else for that matter).
This year has been a real winter. It has been the kind of winter that old timers say is how 'it was when I was a kid.' We're not just talking a lot of snow either but bone shattering, teeth clattering, skin freezing cold. The wind chills have been dipping below - 35.
Commercial 'coldframes' made of aluminum and plastic covered by a low tunnel.
Today is relatively mild so I was willing to go outside and do a little coldframe roll call. Will anything be alive in there? Wilted leaves and the smell of rotting vegetation greeted me along with a bit of green.
Mache / Corn Salad
Corn salad has the small spoon like leaves.
Normally, corn salad laughs at the cold and is edible all winter. The fact that the outer leaves are frost bitten, I think is testament to how cold it has been.
Bietina / Perpetual Spinach
A form of Swiss Chard with thin petioles and green leaves, it has proven hardy enough to have survived. It may have helped that the deadened outer leaves sheltered the growing heart in the middle. The regular swiss chard 'Forkhook' was not so lucky.
Radicchio and Bunching Onion
Both were still alive though the outer leaves of the radicchio were frost bitten.
Scorzonera
After hearing tales of the tasty spring leaves of scorzonera as a substitute for lettuce, I was very excited to try them. They seem to be alive and well so far.
Earth chestnut
A bit of an experiment, I decided to try the perennial Bunium bulbocastaneum which has edible tubers. The seeds can also be used as a cumin substitute and the leaves are similar to parsley. It is proving to be quite hardy.
Parsley
I may have mentioned before that my nickname for italian flat leaf parsley is 'polar bear.' Seriously, this herb is a survivor. Not only does shrug off heat but cold as well. It also self seeds reliably in my garden. One year, I was soft hearted in my thinning and had so much parsley that I was giving it away to my neighbours.
Tatsoi and broccoli
This tatsoi is one of the few survivors. It was located in the middle of the coldframe so it was more insulated from the unrelenting cold. The broccoli plants still seem to be alive as well though their leaves are frost singed. We'll see if they start regrowing now that the light levels are increasing.
The weeds
And finally, here is a weed whose name is escaping me. Anyone? It, along with ox-eye daisy meerily growing away.
What did not make it?
The kale and mustard seedlings were eaten by slugs, I think. Rapini bit the dust with the first really cold weather as did the florence fennel. I think I'll have to try heavy mulch for the florence fennel next year. It survived at least until -15 celcius I think in the coldframe, just repeated bouts of -25 were too much for it!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Aboretum America - great book.
Unnecessary Preamble
-- sorry folks, had to edit --
Woohoo! I get to post again. The husband has been working so I can't play on the computer as much as usual. Darn the capitalist system. No worries, while cut off from my auxillary brain, I have had more time to read and found a great book for gardeners. Generally, I go to the gardening section of the library and think 'Read it, read it, won't read it, read it a long time ago so might read it again,' so I was surprised when after I had left my foray into the garden section and was passing through what may have been the 'ecology' section that a book called to me. I lifted it from its neighbours and read the title which suggested a tree book. 'Get it,' my mind said to me (yes, we talk). 'Why?' I asked, 'I don't feel like reading a book categorizing the many trees of the continent and I don't want to go traipsing through the forest on a voyage of discovery of some lost species, or at least not today.' My mind's reply: 'You'll regret that you didn't.' So of course I got the book and boy was I right!
Aboretum America
A Philosophy of the Forest
by Dianea Beresford-Kroeger
Do you remember standing in a forest for the first time? You started by looking forward at the sentries of the tree trunks. As you entered, you looked down to ensure that you did not trip and for a while you may have been captivated by the small details: the skeletal remains of old leaves, the mushrooms decorating rotten logs, or the rustle of a startled animal, but eventually you stopped and looked up. It is at this moment, that regardless of your size, you feel small. The wind stilled. The heat was subdued and you were surrounded by one of Earth's most important residents - the trees.
Every time I enter a forest, I am reminded of the magic of this first moment of smallness.
Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a self described 'renegade scientist' and naturalist, has written a book about the magic of 20 North American trees and emplores us to propogate them as medicine against world's woes. This poetic book is written with the passion of a gardener and the understanding of a scientist but there is something else. Vibrating from the words is a urgency that if we do not act to save the world's forests, we will endanger not only the health of the Earth but also our health.
Medicine is used in a way I read most commonly in aboriginal works though I have a hard time defining the difference, it implies the capricious use of source materials like leaves, bark and berries rather than the laboratory refined pills that most of us pop. It refers to the birch - a source of salicylic acid - not the aspirin.
Each of the 20 trees she has chosen to profile from the maple (Aceracea) to elm (Ulmaceae) is described in beautiful detail. She starts with our historical relationship with this tree in the global garden, where it will best grow and how to propogate it to ensure that the best specimens will go on to produce strong stands. She then describes how to care for it organically in the different climatic zones of North America with occasional reference to growing in other countries such as the UK. It is in the next sections where this book departs from the usual 'symphany of trees' book. She tells of the tree's medicine referring both to the chemical components in words that would make a chemist feel comfortable and to the common physical ailments that all of us can relate to. Drawing on the connectivity of the forest, she describes how the tree carves its ecological niche. It both provides habitat and acts as a food source, such as through the superior protein of the walnut, as well as protecting itself with such devilish tactics as the honey locus producing a girdle of thorns on its trunk to prevent feasters from getting to its leaf canopy.
You may find yourself falling in love with these trees not just for their usefulness but for the personalities we cannot help but impose upon them - the walnut's antisocial production of jugalone or the sugar maple's party of autumn colour before the long dormancy of winter. Now that you are in love with these trees, she will tell you how to incorporate them as part of a 'bioplan' pointing out which ones are low in pollen for urban areas and which ones may have useful agricultural applications such as high sugar cultivars of the honey locus as a forage crop. If that is not enough, she ends each section with details on designing with these trees and a list of choice cultivars and companion plants.
This book is beautifully written but there is a sense of desperation as she presses every big issue button in her arsenal to push the trees back into the ground. Commonly when talking about the use of these trees, she mentions 'climate change' and 'cancer' - two modern nightmares. Sometimes in her attempt to appeal to those in power such as city planners and agriculture, there is a sense that she is throwing out as many buzz words as possible: untapped cure for cancer, potential biofuel etc... without a more measured look at the problems of some of these products. However, I applaud her effort at getting trees back into the agricultural system.
Despite the desperation, and maybe a little bit because I too feel the uncoming environmental crisis, this is an captivating and informative read. You might find yourself lamenting your lack of space or dreaming of a rejuvenated forest in your own backyard.
---
-- sorry folks, had to edit --
Woohoo! I get to post again. The husband has been working so I can't play on the computer as much as usual. Darn the capitalist system. No worries, while cut off from my auxillary brain, I have had more time to read and found a great book for gardeners. Generally, I go to the gardening section of the library and think 'Read it, read it, won't read it, read it a long time ago so might read it again,' so I was surprised when after I had left my foray into the garden section and was passing through what may have been the 'ecology' section that a book called to me. I lifted it from its neighbours and read the title which suggested a tree book. 'Get it,' my mind said to me (yes, we talk). 'Why?' I asked, 'I don't feel like reading a book categorizing the many trees of the continent and I don't want to go traipsing through the forest on a voyage of discovery of some lost species, or at least not today.' My mind's reply: 'You'll regret that you didn't.' So of course I got the book and boy was I right!
Aboretum America
A Philosophy of the Forest
by Dianea Beresford-Kroeger
Do you remember standing in a forest for the first time? You started by looking forward at the sentries of the tree trunks. As you entered, you looked down to ensure that you did not trip and for a while you may have been captivated by the small details: the skeletal remains of old leaves, the mushrooms decorating rotten logs, or the rustle of a startled animal, but eventually you stopped and looked up. It is at this moment, that regardless of your size, you feel small. The wind stilled. The heat was subdued and you were surrounded by one of Earth's most important residents - the trees.
Every time I enter a forest, I am reminded of the magic of this first moment of smallness.
Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a self described 'renegade scientist' and naturalist, has written a book about the magic of 20 North American trees and emplores us to propogate them as medicine against world's woes. This poetic book is written with the passion of a gardener and the understanding of a scientist but there is something else. Vibrating from the words is a urgency that if we do not act to save the world's forests, we will endanger not only the health of the Earth but also our health.
Medicine is used in a way I read most commonly in aboriginal works though I have a hard time defining the difference, it implies the capricious use of source materials like leaves, bark and berries rather than the laboratory refined pills that most of us pop. It refers to the birch - a source of salicylic acid - not the aspirin.
Each of the 20 trees she has chosen to profile from the maple (Aceracea) to elm (Ulmaceae) is described in beautiful detail. She starts with our historical relationship with this tree in the global garden, where it will best grow and how to propogate it to ensure that the best specimens will go on to produce strong stands. She then describes how to care for it organically in the different climatic zones of North America with occasional reference to growing in other countries such as the UK. It is in the next sections where this book departs from the usual 'symphany of trees' book. She tells of the tree's medicine referring both to the chemical components in words that would make a chemist feel comfortable and to the common physical ailments that all of us can relate to. Drawing on the connectivity of the forest, she describes how the tree carves its ecological niche. It both provides habitat and acts as a food source, such as through the superior protein of the walnut, as well as protecting itself with such devilish tactics as the honey locus producing a girdle of thorns on its trunk to prevent feasters from getting to its leaf canopy.
You may find yourself falling in love with these trees not just for their usefulness but for the personalities we cannot help but impose upon them - the walnut's antisocial production of jugalone or the sugar maple's party of autumn colour before the long dormancy of winter. Now that you are in love with these trees, she will tell you how to incorporate them as part of a 'bioplan' pointing out which ones are low in pollen for urban areas and which ones may have useful agricultural applications such as high sugar cultivars of the honey locus as a forage crop. If that is not enough, she ends each section with details on designing with these trees and a list of choice cultivars and companion plants.
This book is beautifully written but there is a sense of desperation as she presses every big issue button in her arsenal to push the trees back into the ground. Commonly when talking about the use of these trees, she mentions 'climate change' and 'cancer' - two modern nightmares. Sometimes in her attempt to appeal to those in power such as city planners and agriculture, there is a sense that she is throwing out as many buzz words as possible: untapped cure for cancer, potential biofuel etc... without a more measured look at the problems of some of these products. However, I applaud her effort at getting trees back into the agricultural system.
Despite the desperation, and maybe a little bit because I too feel the uncoming environmental crisis, this is an captivating and informative read. You might find yourself lamenting your lack of space or dreaming of a rejuvenated forest in your own backyard.
---
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A bit of green against the whiteout
A superfulous picture with colour in it from the summer. It is of my young Evans cherry bush / tree being a bit overrun by grandpa's mint. That's Munstead lavender in the foreground. If you look really closely, you'll see the cherries developing but don't blink or my kids will eat them before you can glimpse them again.
Fruiting and nutting trees for Ottawa
So what if nutting is not a word, I'm using it anyhow. And yes this article is way later than I intended. My excuse is that there was a minor event outside of the internet world that I had to attend to. Now I wired back in so hopefully all future articles will be on time ;-)
Here is a list of plants that bear edible fruit and nuts for the Ottawa area:
Short plants
Cranberry - A native north American species that needs a moist, acidic soil rich in organic matter for best production. Vaccinium macrocarpon is the large fruited variety grown commercially and Vaccinium oxycoccus is a dwarf variety sometimes called moss cranberry.
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) - Another north american. This creeping dogwood likes to live in the understory of a deciduous forest with lots of cool, humusy leaf litter. Generally, I've heard that the taste is 'okay.'
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) - The fruit of this understory plant is also edible but as it has so many warnings attached to it, I'd prefer just to grow it for its attractive appearance and the fact that it is a native rather than as food. But if the fruit is RIPE you can eat it according to most sources. Like I said, doesn't make you run out and grab a handful.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - Back in safe territory, I was charmed by the description in Farmer Boy by Laura Ingles Wilder about her husband to be digging the berries out of the snow for a frozen treat in wintertime. You will not be surprised to learn that it has a strong 'wintergreen' flavour. It is a common understory plant in acidic soils and though prefers moist (not soggy) soil, it will grow in dryer conditions. From what I've read, it doesn't like clay.
Ligonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus) - Looking very much like the cranberries that it is related to, this is a low growing alpine plant that occurs in northern understories. More than that, I do not know. There are some developed cultivars.
Perennial ground cherries (clammy and smooth) - There are various members of the Physalis genus that are perennial and produce tasty husk tomatoes that can be eaten fresh or cooked. The fruit must be ripe before eating. It will often fall from the plant when ripe and can be gathered up then. The fruit will last awhile in their protective husks. I have not got my hands on either of the above species mentioned but I hope to one day. In the meantime, I grow Physalis pruinosa, an annual that self seeds in some gardens.
Strawberries - The delights of strawberries can not be overestimated. There are many varieties from the tiny wild ones to alpines that hang from little stems on neat plants which make great edging for a sunny border to the classic heavy June bearers that fill your basket with delicious red jewles. Alpine strawberries do not have runners but form neat little mounds that produce a steady though small harvest of sweet berries all year.
Rhubarb - Not really a fruit but used in dessert recipes. What can I say? It will grow in part shade to sun, likes a rich soil and will produce for years.
Bush fruit
Serviceberry etc... (Amelanchier ssp.) - A number of thicket and bush berries fall under this Genus and would be suitable for growing in Ottawa. They like full sun and are apparently delicious. The Ottawa Tree Program usually has them available in their smaller / medium sized tree catagory. I would grow some but I can't figure out where I would squeeze one into the garden.
Sour bush cherries (Prunus) - Several forms of bush cherry with sweet / sour fruit make nice crops here some are sweet enough to eat out of hand especially when ripe. I grow Evans cherry and rarely get to taste it because the kids gobble it up before I can. Nanking Cherry has a good reputation as well. A friend of mine grew it as an edible and productive hedge on his urban property. Both are self fertile.
High bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) - A very attractive bush that yields berries suitable for making a jam that has an interesting aroma much like stinky cheese. They are considered a substitute for cranberries and are better after a frost.
Blueberries (Vaccinium ssp.) - Lots of breeding has gone into this plant so you have low, high, medium and rabbiteye types. The taller rabbiteye varieties grow in low chilling zones down south. The low bush types grow wild around here and have a fantastic taste. They prefer sun but will do well on a sunny edge or in part shade which is where they are often found in their natural habitat. These are the classic acidic plants and they cannot withstand moisture stress. If you provide them with the right conditions, they will reward you with wonderful fruit and a lovely fall display of bright red leaves.
Currants / Gooseberries / Jostaberries (Ribes ssp.) - I grow red currants but golden, white and black currants are also available. My kids love gobbling up the tart but tasty berries and this is another plant that I have yet to have enough to make jam with because it is all eaten fresh. Gooseberries are generally much larger than Currants and Jostaberries are a cross between the two. All will grow in partial shade.
Rugosa rose hips (Rugosa: various) - Some roses have nice edible hips. I'm not a huge fan but lots of people love them and they are produced on a pretty and very hardy plant.
Elderberry (Sambus: various) - An attractive shrub with edible flowers and berries - only the ripe berries. Everything else about the plant could make you ill. I have never tried the oft mentioned flower fritters as I can't figure out how you would eat only the flowers and not any teeny bit of stem but maybe I just need to see it done. Grows wild around here but make sure you positively identify them before sinking your teeth in.
Mulberry (Morus: various)- These would be considered borderline hardy and if it wasn't for the masses of mulberry bushes I see everywhere, I wouldn't recomend growing them. If you have a sheltered sunny location though they can produce a great crop.
Tree fruit
Small plums - Many species of plums will grow around here but I particularly like the Montreal Plum which is self fertile and produces a bountiful crop in good years (last year was not a good year for us for some reason). There are also several forms of small plum like the Manchurian Plum and wild plums. The size of these bush / trees will vary on their growing conditions. In the crowded conditions of the wild, they are generally bushy. I have just seeded some Manchurian Plum in the fall so I'll let you know how it does over the years.
Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus) - If you are looking for a large sweet cherry to grow here, I'm afraid you are out of luck but many types of sour cherries will do well and they make superior cooked desserts anyhow. I have seen Montmorency cherries growing here and other cultivars that might be okay are Meteor, and Northstar. Some would be considered borderline here.
Apples (Malus ssp.) - From wild apples, crabapples to large eating apples, there are lots of varieties to choose from that will do quite well in Ottawa. Look for disease resistant cultivars to reduce or eliminate spraying. If you can live with a few defects, you may not need to spray at all. Many larger crab apples also make great preserves.
Pears (Pyrus communis)- Many of my neighbours grow pears and they are delicious but several pear growers I know have trees that suffer from fire blight - a slow death for the tree and a source of contagion for others trees. Generally more than one pear variety will need to be planted for fertilization. There are several fire blight resistant varieties like Moonglow and Seckel - both are borderline hardy from what I can tell.
Peaches / apricots - Though there are some trees that are hardy here their blossoms can be killed by frosts lowering or eliminating the harvest. The peach cultivar 'Reliance' is reliable for some people.
Hawthorn (Crataegus ssp.) - often ornamental with varying degrees of edibility. They resemble little apples.
Mountain Ash (Sorbus ssp.) - My kids enjoy eating these berries even though they are supposed to be inedible before a frost. Go figure. I think the fruit look like tiny pumpkins. They are a common ornamental around here but go easy on them as there are some reports of toxicity.
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae L) - These sour berries have to be carefully harvested off a thorny, tall upright bush / tree that is occasionally used as a windbreak. It is considered very nutritious and though mostly I have read that you have to eat it with liberal additions of sugar, some people have eaten it out of hand.
Various bird cherries - Normally collected wild and made into jam. They are pretty bush / trees but often have a suckering habit that can become invasive.
Vining fruit
Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta and Actinidia kolomikta) - Okay, so these grape sized kiwis are supposed to be hardy around here but I understand that they have a long growing season so can't really be relied upon for a harvest. Alongside the peaches, I would see this as a bonus crop if you were lucky that year. Both a male and a female plant are needed to produce fruit and the Male of A. Kolomikta has beautiful white and pink splashed foliage, is slightly hardier and produces smaller fruit than the A. arguta.
Grapes (Vitis)- There are lots of hardy grapes, some wild and some are cultivars such as the infamous concord. The taste of the fruit varies according to the type but the leaves of most types can be delicious when used young are as wraps.
Raspberries (Rubes) - Anyone walking the woods will know that various kinds of raspberries grow here. Plant them where you want them to stay because suckering is a their speciality but the rewards are sweet. Also tayberry though I've never tried them.
Nuts
Hazlenuts / Filberts (Corylus) Common commercial hazelnuts would not do well here but there are several wild types such as beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) that you could try to wrestle from the squirrels. It is one of the recommended species for building a wildlife hedgerow in part shade (other plants people can also eat on this page too). Also hope springs eternal that crosses of Turkish filbert will develop cultivars that are hardy in our zone. Did I mention that I love hazelnuts?
Beech (Fagus) - These are also edible though small and fiddly.
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) - This tree is infamous for creating an unfriendly environment by exuding juglone from its roots which causes poor growth of most plants beneath it. This plant would probably be considered borderline hardy here in that it is listed as zone 5.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea) - Related to walnut, they produce juglone. If you can get beyond and its slow growth then it can make a high calorie, nutritious food source. I am not sure of its hardiness but I have seen trees growing around here.
Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) - This tree has also been accused of producing juglone though in minimal amounts. It has attractive bark that lays against the trunk in shaggy ribbons and produces nuts that are described as pleasant tasting.
Gingko - I guess the nuts of this fruit are edible, even a delicacy, but the fruit smells so bad that nurseries generally only sell the male plants. They are pretty with their prehistoric trees that turn golden in the fall.
White Oaks (Quercus ssp) As far as I know, all oaks have edible nuts once tannins are leached out. They are very hardy and though red oaks seem to dominate the urban landscape of Ottawa, white and bur oaks also grow here. The white oaks have less bitter nuts so are more desirable as food but all oaks contain high amounts of tannins as I understand it. Apparently, the kind of tannin in white oaks is just harder to taste - I'll try and dig up the reference. You can leach the tannins to produce a nutritious and tasty flour.
---
Enjoy. As always corrections and additions are appreciated as are stories of growing any of the above species. Did it work for you?
Links:
Nut Growers of Ontario
Old list of fruit trees for Ottawa
Here is a list of plants that bear edible fruit and nuts for the Ottawa area:
Short plants
Cranberry - A native north American species that needs a moist, acidic soil rich in organic matter for best production. Vaccinium macrocarpon is the large fruited variety grown commercially and Vaccinium oxycoccus is a dwarf variety sometimes called moss cranberry.
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) - Another north american. This creeping dogwood likes to live in the understory of a deciduous forest with lots of cool, humusy leaf litter. Generally, I've heard that the taste is 'okay.'
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) - The fruit of this understory plant is also edible but as it has so many warnings attached to it, I'd prefer just to grow it for its attractive appearance and the fact that it is a native rather than as food. But if the fruit is RIPE you can eat it according to most sources. Like I said, doesn't make you run out and grab a handful.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - Back in safe territory, I was charmed by the description in Farmer Boy by Laura Ingles Wilder about her husband to be digging the berries out of the snow for a frozen treat in wintertime. You will not be surprised to learn that it has a strong 'wintergreen' flavour. It is a common understory plant in acidic soils and though prefers moist (not soggy) soil, it will grow in dryer conditions. From what I've read, it doesn't like clay.
Ligonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus) - Looking very much like the cranberries that it is related to, this is a low growing alpine plant that occurs in northern understories. More than that, I do not know. There are some developed cultivars.
Perennial ground cherries (clammy and smooth) - There are various members of the Physalis genus that are perennial and produce tasty husk tomatoes that can be eaten fresh or cooked. The fruit must be ripe before eating. It will often fall from the plant when ripe and can be gathered up then. The fruit will last awhile in their protective husks. I have not got my hands on either of the above species mentioned but I hope to one day. In the meantime, I grow Physalis pruinosa, an annual that self seeds in some gardens.
Strawberries - The delights of strawberries can not be overestimated. There are many varieties from the tiny wild ones to alpines that hang from little stems on neat plants which make great edging for a sunny border to the classic heavy June bearers that fill your basket with delicious red jewles. Alpine strawberries do not have runners but form neat little mounds that produce a steady though small harvest of sweet berries all year.
Rhubarb - Not really a fruit but used in dessert recipes. What can I say? It will grow in part shade to sun, likes a rich soil and will produce for years.
Bush fruit
Serviceberry etc... (Amelanchier ssp.) - A number of thicket and bush berries fall under this Genus and would be suitable for growing in Ottawa. They like full sun and are apparently delicious. The Ottawa Tree Program usually has them available in their smaller / medium sized tree catagory. I would grow some but I can't figure out where I would squeeze one into the garden.
Sour bush cherries (Prunus) - Several forms of bush cherry with sweet / sour fruit make nice crops here some are sweet enough to eat out of hand especially when ripe. I grow Evans cherry and rarely get to taste it because the kids gobble it up before I can. Nanking Cherry has a good reputation as well. A friend of mine grew it as an edible and productive hedge on his urban property. Both are self fertile.
High bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) - A very attractive bush that yields berries suitable for making a jam that has an interesting aroma much like stinky cheese. They are considered a substitute for cranberries and are better after a frost.
Blueberries (Vaccinium ssp.) - Lots of breeding has gone into this plant so you have low, high, medium and rabbiteye types. The taller rabbiteye varieties grow in low chilling zones down south. The low bush types grow wild around here and have a fantastic taste. They prefer sun but will do well on a sunny edge or in part shade which is where they are often found in their natural habitat. These are the classic acidic plants and they cannot withstand moisture stress. If you provide them with the right conditions, they will reward you with wonderful fruit and a lovely fall display of bright red leaves.
Currants / Gooseberries / Jostaberries (Ribes ssp.) - I grow red currants but golden, white and black currants are also available. My kids love gobbling up the tart but tasty berries and this is another plant that I have yet to have enough to make jam with because it is all eaten fresh. Gooseberries are generally much larger than Currants and Jostaberries are a cross between the two. All will grow in partial shade.
Rugosa rose hips (Rugosa: various) - Some roses have nice edible hips. I'm not a huge fan but lots of people love them and they are produced on a pretty and very hardy plant.
Elderberry (Sambus: various) - An attractive shrub with edible flowers and berries - only the ripe berries. Everything else about the plant could make you ill. I have never tried the oft mentioned flower fritters as I can't figure out how you would eat only the flowers and not any teeny bit of stem but maybe I just need to see it done. Grows wild around here but make sure you positively identify them before sinking your teeth in.
Mulberry (Morus: various)- These would be considered borderline hardy and if it wasn't for the masses of mulberry bushes I see everywhere, I wouldn't recomend growing them. If you have a sheltered sunny location though they can produce a great crop.
Tree fruit
Small plums - Many species of plums will grow around here but I particularly like the Montreal Plum which is self fertile and produces a bountiful crop in good years (last year was not a good year for us for some reason). There are also several forms of small plum like the Manchurian Plum and wild plums. The size of these bush / trees will vary on their growing conditions. In the crowded conditions of the wild, they are generally bushy. I have just seeded some Manchurian Plum in the fall so I'll let you know how it does over the years.
Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus) - If you are looking for a large sweet cherry to grow here, I'm afraid you are out of luck but many types of sour cherries will do well and they make superior cooked desserts anyhow. I have seen Montmorency cherries growing here and other cultivars that might be okay are Meteor, and Northstar. Some would be considered borderline here.
Apples (Malus ssp.) - From wild apples, crabapples to large eating apples, there are lots of varieties to choose from that will do quite well in Ottawa. Look for disease resistant cultivars to reduce or eliminate spraying. If you can live with a few defects, you may not need to spray at all. Many larger crab apples also make great preserves.
Pears (Pyrus communis)- Many of my neighbours grow pears and they are delicious but several pear growers I know have trees that suffer from fire blight - a slow death for the tree and a source of contagion for others trees. Generally more than one pear variety will need to be planted for fertilization. There are several fire blight resistant varieties like Moonglow and Seckel - both are borderline hardy from what I can tell.
Peaches / apricots - Though there are some trees that are hardy here their blossoms can be killed by frosts lowering or eliminating the harvest. The peach cultivar 'Reliance' is reliable for some people.
Hawthorn (Crataegus ssp.) - often ornamental with varying degrees of edibility. They resemble little apples.
Mountain Ash (Sorbus ssp.) - My kids enjoy eating these berries even though they are supposed to be inedible before a frost. Go figure. I think the fruit look like tiny pumpkins. They are a common ornamental around here but go easy on them as there are some reports of toxicity.
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae L) - These sour berries have to be carefully harvested off a thorny, tall upright bush / tree that is occasionally used as a windbreak. It is considered very nutritious and though mostly I have read that you have to eat it with liberal additions of sugar, some people have eaten it out of hand.
Various bird cherries - Normally collected wild and made into jam. They are pretty bush / trees but often have a suckering habit that can become invasive.
Vining fruit
Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta and Actinidia kolomikta) - Okay, so these grape sized kiwis are supposed to be hardy around here but I understand that they have a long growing season so can't really be relied upon for a harvest. Alongside the peaches, I would see this as a bonus crop if you were lucky that year. Both a male and a female plant are needed to produce fruit and the Male of A. Kolomikta has beautiful white and pink splashed foliage, is slightly hardier and produces smaller fruit than the A. arguta.
Grapes (Vitis)- There are lots of hardy grapes, some wild and some are cultivars such as the infamous concord. The taste of the fruit varies according to the type but the leaves of most types can be delicious when used young are as wraps.
Raspberries (Rubes) - Anyone walking the woods will know that various kinds of raspberries grow here. Plant them where you want them to stay because suckering is a their speciality but the rewards are sweet. Also tayberry though I've never tried them.
Nuts
Hazlenuts / Filberts (Corylus) Common commercial hazelnuts would not do well here but there are several wild types such as beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) that you could try to wrestle from the squirrels. It is one of the recommended species for building a wildlife hedgerow in part shade (other plants people can also eat on this page too). Also hope springs eternal that crosses of Turkish filbert will develop cultivars that are hardy in our zone. Did I mention that I love hazelnuts?
Beech (Fagus) - These are also edible though small and fiddly.
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) - This tree is infamous for creating an unfriendly environment by exuding juglone from its roots which causes poor growth of most plants beneath it. This plant would probably be considered borderline hardy here in that it is listed as zone 5.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea) - Related to walnut, they produce juglone. If you can get beyond and its slow growth then it can make a high calorie, nutritious food source. I am not sure of its hardiness but I have seen trees growing around here.
Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) - This tree has also been accused of producing juglone though in minimal amounts. It has attractive bark that lays against the trunk in shaggy ribbons and produces nuts that are described as pleasant tasting.
Gingko - I guess the nuts of this fruit are edible, even a delicacy, but the fruit smells so bad that nurseries generally only sell the male plants. They are pretty with their prehistoric trees that turn golden in the fall.
White Oaks (Quercus ssp) As far as I know, all oaks have edible nuts once tannins are leached out. They are very hardy and though red oaks seem to dominate the urban landscape of Ottawa, white and bur oaks also grow here. The white oaks have less bitter nuts so are more desirable as food but all oaks contain high amounts of tannins as I understand it. Apparently, the kind of tannin in white oaks is just harder to taste - I'll try and dig up the reference. You can leach the tannins to produce a nutritious and tasty flour.
---
Enjoy. As always corrections and additions are appreciated as are stories of growing any of the above species. Did it work for you?
Links:
Nut Growers of Ontario
Old list of fruit trees for Ottawa
Monday, January 26, 2009
Veggie Garden Info is back on line
Last year, there was a great resource which linked all sorts of veggie garden blogs together called VeggieGardenInfo but then it seemed to die the slow death of things on the internet. I was sad as it was a great place to go and read other blogs with a similar obsession to mine. But, wait, it has been revived, or resprouted in the terms of the owner, hopefully this time for good!
Also, if you are interested in heirloom vegetables, permaculture and the wonders of edible gardening, Extreme Gardener is a well written and inspiring resource. Every time I visit, I read the entire post all the way through, without skipping words (and I admit to sometimes skimming blog posts - yes, punish me if you will).
Also, if you are interested in heirloom vegetables, permaculture and the wonders of edible gardening, Extreme Gardener is a well written and inspiring resource. Every time I visit, I read the entire post all the way through, without skipping words (and I admit to sometimes skimming blog posts - yes, punish me if you will).
Now back to my regularly scheduled posting.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tomato trades mailed
Wow, the post office must be wondering what kind of 'trade' exactly I am in. Ever week, I come with 4 or more letters of 'seeds' to mail out. I think the young man behind the counter today gave me a look. I wanted to say to tell him they are JUST tomato (and other veggie) seeds, really.
The point is that I am currently up to date in mailing out seeds after that last batch of 12 or so letters and packages. If you have sent me your address, I have sent you seeds.
I'm thrilled about the way the gardening community is getting together to share our seed wealth. For those of you that haven't heard me mention it, I am also part of an international seed network, started by Bifucated Carrot: great idea, great blog.
The point is that I am currently up to date in mailing out seeds after that last batch of 12 or so letters and packages. If you have sent me your address, I have sent you seeds.
I'm thrilled about the way the gardening community is getting together to share our seed wealth. For those of you that haven't heard me mention it, I am also part of an international seed network, started by Bifucated Carrot: great idea, great blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)