Topic: Ideas for a perennial veggie plot

[Jeannine]

Thinking of putting together a perennial veggie plot.. any ideas of what is good/bad etc.

Not fruits..other than rhubarb.

Obvious first thoughtsa are asparagus,globe artichoke, cardoon,JA's

Babbington leeks but I know nothing about them..

Some of the onions but again my knowledge is diddly.

I have Deleway cabbage but not grown it yet??

I would really appreciate any help you can giove me

Thank you

XX Jeannine

[manicscousers]

5 star perennial broccoli, not sure how long it lasts, though  :)

[pigeonseed]

Chives and herbs.

Sorrel. Nice for salad and sauce with fish.  :)

[Cuke]

One of my new discoveries this year has been Egyptian Walking Onion's which sound amazingly fun to grow as they literally walk around your plot over the years. I've only got a few first year seedlings at the moment so can't report back on how they taste or 'work' but they'd fint nicely into your perennial plot I'd think...

I'd love some Babbington leeks but haven't found any for sale anywhere, so if you do find some I'd love to hear where... :)

[artichoke]

Sorrel. Year after year, lemon flavoured and soft.

[goodlife]

Perhaps some herb/salad stuff. Lemon sorrel, turkish rocket, chives; 'normal' and chinese sort, oregano (to go with all your lovely tomatoes).
Part from what your already mentioned there is not huge amount of perennial crops available that would yield plenty.
Good King Henry is perennial and used like spinach.
There is several perennials in allium family..you already mentioned Babbington leek.
Hardneck garlic could be grown in perennial-like fashion. By sowing the bulblets in autumn..you get chive-like growth in spring..left in ground they will grow larger bulbs..that can be left in ground to be used as greens..or thinned out and left to grow larger bulbs in following year. Third year you get scapes that can be eaten and then the full size bulb. ;)

[zigzig]

Rhubarb is a vegetable and along with Globe artichokes and Asparagus are the only true perennial vegetables

Others such as potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes grow fresh each year from the tubers of the previous year.

Some beans if not killed by frost will grow over several seasons but these are technically more of a fruit since we eat the pod or/and seed as a savory.

Commercial growers find the yield reduces after the first year so prefer to grow from fresh seeds to maximise on production.

Many herbs will carry on for several  years but some harder ones get tough and woody so for commercial purposes fresh seeds are sown each year or two to produce the tender crops which are better for cooking.

Comfrey, Mint and Horse Radish will all soon fill any area and are not only perennial they are difficult to get rid of. Container growing is best for these to curtail the spread.

There are onion types which keep on reproducing. Chives and Welsh or Egyptian onions. they keep spreading out.

Leaf beet, a spinach substitute, often called perpetual spinach, will self seed and keep regrowing in the same spot for a while.

People generally confuse fruit and vegatables

[goodlife]

There is huge number of different plants that are true perennials..but many of the are shrubs or wild plants that are either invasive or simply too large to grow in limited space..but then they would be more as 'edible's' rather than veggies.
I've been looking to trial some evening primrose that apprantely all parts of the plant are edible...perennial, pretty but not sure how much it would over take it's space.

[caroline7758]

Sweet cicely to flavour your rhubarb!

[Obelixx]

I should have thought you'd be too cold for too long for perennial veggies.  Here in central Belgium we are usually frozen from late November till the end of March with a couple of weeks of snow and a couple of weeks of dry -15C to -20C but the last 3 winters have had really cold spells and more snow.

I've had to give up on my asparagus bed and have never got globe artichoke through the last 3 winters (-25C, -26C and -32C).  Perennial white broccoli froze to death, ditto leeks, broccoli, kale..........   

Half a dozen purple sprouting broccoli plants have survived this year but are looking sorry for themselves.  I hope they'll perk up this spring as I love the taste and can't get it in shops.    One single purple pak choi has survived in a 2 metre square bed.  I expect the fartichokes will be OK but no signs yet.

On the other hand, fruit is good - rhubarb, black and redcurrants, autumn raspberries, loganberry, damson tree, blueberries, bilberries and stawberry plants all doing fine.

[Jeannine]

Thank you all, some good ideas there.. I don't want herbs as there is a very b9ig herb bed here so no need.

I realise rhubabrb is a vegetable but often referred to as a ftuit as per it's usage which is why  I put in in with a fruit comment..but then tomatoes are fruit !!

I think the sorrel and the Good King Henry is good.

Can anyone explain aboiut the perennial onions.. I do have seeds of somer that I think are perennial but am confused about them. Which is which??Walking, multiplier etc.

Can someone explain to me about Babbington leeks pleaseand hpoefully where I could get them.

.

JAs I consider perennial as I left them in the ground and unlike potatoes they came back every year.

We are not allowed to grow comfrey,mint, borage or horseradish on our community gardens.

I have seeds for ninr star broc but they are very very old.

Thank you XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Obbelix...it is much much warmer here than in the UK XX Jeannine

[Digeroo]

Good King Henry is a terrible weed.  Once it gets bigger than small it is very difficult to shift it from the ground.  If you pull it up you simply break off a branch and its roots are very large.  I have taken to pouncing on it as soon as I recognise it. Not great on flavour either.  I am not sure which King Henry it was named after but feel sure it was a terrible insult.

[1066]

Great idea for a plot.
Anyway, Chriscross gave me some seed of the walking onion, and it has survived our winter, and is bulking up, I'm really not sure what to expect next! I read that the head literally droops down and then the cycle starts again, but maybe someone more experienced can help
I've also picked up a packet of Welsh Onions, and they are classed as a hardy perennial, and will over time bunch up, and the bunches can be divided.

re the 9star broccoli, I picked up a packet at a seed swap, and you are very welcome to some, if you'd like some fresher seed

1066  :)

[Spudbash]

Nice to hear from you, Jeannine.  :)

How about seakale? You can grow it from seed and start cropping once the plants are well established, like rhubarb. In the UK, you can also buy plants or 'thongs', ie pieces of root.

Although it's traditionally forced in complete darkness in late winter/early spring, I just cover mine with a big plastic box or some fleece as it starts to grow (late Feb this year). This doesn't exclude all the light to give you whitish shoots as per the old recipes and gardening books, but it does give you pale green shoots which taste even better. It also keeps the pigeons off at a time of year when there's not much else for them to scavenge. 

In recent years, my seakale has wanted to send up flowering shoots as soon as it breaks into growth, so what I actually get is two or three pickings of seakale broccoli. Yum!  ;D

I should add that it has survived the -10 C temperatures and the snow without seeming even to notice!

It's also an extremely labour-free crop, once established, if not terribly high-yielding. I do weed around it, but I haven't fed it in the past three or four years and it doesn't seem to have noticed!

 :)

[goodlife]

Jeannine..easiest way for you to see differences of different 'wild' onions and leeks is through these pages..
http://www.pfaf.org/user/DatabaseSearhResult.aspx?LatinName=A%25..alliums start from page 10 and carry on to page 13... ;)
Some wild species don't produce seeds or only few and are then started from small bulbils that form underground and/or on top of stem above ground..there is not necessary any flowers on the stem, but that depends individual variety/species....that's why I gave that page for allium database as there is so many differences within leeks and onions..not so much in their use but how they grow.

[plainleaf]

Jeannine. tomatoes may be fruit botanically but here in USA they are considered vegetable by use and under law.

[Weed-Digga]

Jeannine. tomatoes may be fruit botanically but here in USA they are considered vegetable by use and under law.

What?? You have vegetable police!! Blimey, that's strict

Weed-Digga

[plainleaf]

Weed-Digga  no vegetable police the reason for tomatoes being a vegetable has to do with an old tariff case.

[Tin Shed]

Welsh onions seem to go on for ever end ever and seem to pretty hardy as they survived this winter.
The trouble is that I keep forgetting to use them ::)