Post #6 Why Perennials Are Key
Blog Description: Why perennials are key to a sustainable garden in south Florida, whether you are growing food or not.
If you want to learn how to grow celery and carrots and spinach in your south Florida garden all year, stop reading now, because without boatloads of money and an air-conditioned greenhouse, it’s not going to happen.
Perennials are where it’s at, especially in our tropical and subtropical climates.
“Why?” you may ask. My journey to perennials began after several labor-intensive seasons of growing annuals early on in my gardening adventures. I loved gardening, but wow was it turning out to be a lot of labor for my precious annuals, and with the amendments and water they took, it was hardly cost effective.
I knew there had to be a better way. It all came together after several trips away during the growing season. We came back to dead or dying annuals but realized the perennials we had were still pumping out edibles and ornamentals without missing a beat.
That was when it clicked. Perennials are key! They require much less work and they are a more sustainable option, hands down.
Here are just a few reasons why I LOVE perennials, and you will too:
- Low maintenance! Just pop the plants in the ground, no need to prep the soil or build raised beds.
- Less water, which translates to lower bills for you! In fact, perennials actually catch and store water in their root systems which is beneficial to the entire garden.
- Fewer pests!
- Plant once – eat for years
- Instant harvest! Some perennials are ready to harvest almost as soon as you get them in the ground.
- Nourish your backyard ecosystem – perennials build and feed soil. Chop and drop when pruning old foliage.
- Pruning and harvesting are one and the same for many perennials, win-win!
- Longer harvest window and some can be harvested year-round, score!
- Drought tolerant – many perennials can go weeks without watering making them an ideal choice if you travel often.
- Fill every niche in your garden, perennials do not need separate dedicated garden space, just stick them in wherever you’ve got a little patch of bare ground that receives decent sunlight!
- Most can be grown in containers so you can move them around. This can prove to be helpful since they are such long lived plants.
- They provide beauty and color throughout the year.
- Edible perennials are a fantastic source of nutrient-dense food
- Erosion control – if you have a steep slope, plant perennials! They will hold the soil while providing you with food and beauty.
So, if I haven’t sold you on trying out some perennials in your garden, let’s talk a bit more about our specific climate zone 10.
When you look at books and websites about gardening in our climate, edible perennials are touched on when discussing fruit trees, but little else. The emphasis is still on annual vegetables that grow for only a short window of time.
If you want to eat your annuals all year from your own garden, you have to preserve your harvest by drying or canning, just as people do up North. Freezing works too, but you’d better hope the power doesn’t go out and ruin your food. As we all know, a hurricane can knock the power out for a week or more, rendering your lovingly grown and preserved frozen produce a pile of compost.
My friends and I have tried all of these preservation methods over the seasons, and they take a lot of time and effort!
What if you didn’t have to preserve the harvest? What if you lived in the middle of an edible jungle, where the food was stored in the ground or right on the shrubs and trees? What if you could just walk out of your door and pick what you need when you need it?
With perennial gardening in Zone 10, you can!
Here in South Florida, we are privileged to live in a climate where that’s possible. If you plant the right things, you can literally go out into your garden any day of the year and pick food to eat.
It never freezes, the plants don’t go bare, and you don’t have to wait for the ground to warm up in the spring. Yes, of course we do have seasons, but some edible plants are always producing.
Instead of just growing some special items as a treat, knowing the flavor will be unbeatable compared to store-bought, I am suggesting that you can grow most of your staple produce year round in your own yard.
Go grocery shopping in your garden before heading to the market. Make your own produce the backbone of your diet. Grow your own seasonings. When you go to the store, supplement your home-grown produce, instead of the other way around.
As for sustainability and nutritional value, you can’t get more local than your own yard, and you can control what goes on your food plants and into your soil. Your carbon footprint will be zero.
There is an epidemic right now of nutrient deficiency in our produce due to the standard practices of mainstream agriculture. The soil is depleted, and so is our food.
If you grow your own food, you can supply a lot of these missing nutrients to the soil. These nutrients get absorbed into the plants, and ultimately into your body, ensuring you and your family get the nutrition you all need.
So, my suggestion? Next time you find yourself laboring over a patch of annuals that need to be harvested and pulled up, plant some perennials in their place. See what happens! You just might be amazed.
Have you experimented with edible perennials already? I’d love to hear your experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly! Tell us in the comments what works and what doesn’t in your corner of the world!
As a global community of sustainable gardeners we must share our knowledge to grow a better future. Lively conversation fuels innovation. Whether you are a first time gardener or a seasoned expert, all constructive comments, questions, and ideas are warmly welcomed.
Happy Gardening!
Mary
This is Part 4 of a series on the basics of Permaculture, Forest Gardens and Sustainable Gardening. Click for the Previous Post in the Series.