Perennial vegetables

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I am after a list of perennials for next year, I do not think I will be able to manage to work all my garden with young plants/seeds. I am doing it this year but I feel I need something that is going to take a lot less effort in future.

I will have rhubarb, chard, leaf beet, blackcurrant, hopefully cordon apple and pear and maybe a cordon cherry or plum, herbs, JA's.

Are there any more apart from asparagus that would suit? 

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[Rhubarb Thrasher]

chard and leaf beet are biennials. Maybe they might produce little offsets to carry on, but i've never left them to find out.
Globe Artichoke? also Broccoli 'Nine Star Perennial'. Strawberries?

[Barnowl]

You can crop from Cavolo Nero for a pretty extended period

[GodfreyRob]

Permaculture enthusiasts are always on the look out for perennial food plants - maybe look into their books?
There are lots of soft fruits out there: Black/White/red currants, Blackberries/Tayberries/Jostberries, Raspberries, Gooseberries, Cranberry Cowberry, etc
Nuts too (Hazel is easy).
Good King Henry, Horseradish, Chives, and lots of other herbs.
Elephant Garlic, Babington Leek and some other relatives are almost perrenial too.

If you look here, there are quite a number of perennials:
http://www.thevga.co.uk/the_shed/sindex.cgi

[saddad]

Sorrel... if you want some Babbington Leeks I have about a thousand offsets and bulbils!
;D

[star]

Thank you all,

I dont mind too much about the biennials, they give a very long cropping season. And OH can help with them ;)

I have bookmarked the link GR, it has some good info on there :D

I haven't heard of Babbington leeks, I would love to try some thanks Saddad. I'll have a google and read up on them.

I have quite a few herbs :D

[Vortex]

Sea Kale hasn't been mentioned yet, nor welsh onions, nor potato onions - although I haven't been able to find a source for these outside the US. I know that the HDSL have stocks but they won't supply because of the difficulty in distributing them - they should be split and planted in the Autumn.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Any chance of a few Babbingtons? I've never heard of them before, but they sound interesting.

[star]

Thank you Vortex,

I didn't think of sea kale, and I will look into the welsh onions.   

I found this link if anyone is interested in something different

http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/whyperen.php

:D

[valmarg]

The herb Good King Henry is a perennial we have.

Although I've never tried doing it, earthing up the new shoots is supposed to produce an asparagus-like veg.

What we use it for are the leaves, which are very much like spinach, and you can cut-and-come-again.  It does quite (well very, actually) readily self seed.  It is tasty, and would recommend it.  It can be grown from seed very easily.

valmarg

[star]

I would love to grow that,  I must look out for garlic mustard when it goes to seed as well :)

[cleo]

Globe artichokes for sure,and if you do grow Sea Kale-remember where it is,the times I have dug it up beggars belief

[Baccy Man]

Welsh onions are available from the organic garden catalogue amongst other places.

Asparagus, Cassava, Ceylon spinach, chillies, moringa, Okinawan spinach, pepinos, peppers, Sissoo spinach, Taro, Tomato would be a few others although obviously things like chillies, pepinos, peppers & tomatoes need to kept frost free in winter.

[calendula]

so pleased that someone mentioned seakale - not to be missed, easy germination just needs forcing when it is old enough

what about runner beans, they are perennial (but we tend to treat them as annuals), mitsuba (japanese parsley), sorrel, jerusalem artichokes, some chicories have a perennial nature

there is a book, maybe more than one, available on this subject

[Sparkly]

If elephant garlic is a perennial, how does this work? Surely if you take the bulb out that is it and if you leave it in, how do you get a crop?

[Robert_Brenchley]

What I do is save the biggest bulbs, then plant the cloves from these.

[saddad]

No problem Robert... just pm me your Addy and I'll send you some!
;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

The Babbingtons arrived today, thanks. How do I propagate them?

[star]

I got mine as well today Robert, Saddad said to split the bulbs and pot on. Mine are in the cold frame till they establish a good root. Then I'll plant out later, possibly end May, unless Im told different :D

Im sure Saddad will give us more info later ;)

[Baccy Man]

There are cultivation instructions for babbington's leeks here:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Allium+ampeloprasum+babbingtonii