Edible Flowers Permaculture

Flowers play an important role in an edible landscape and in any food producing permaculture.

The benefits of integrating flowering plants into a vegetable garden are numerous: they attract bees and other insects to pollinate and predate on common pests, fragrant flowers and flowering herbs help confuse and repel some harmful insect pests, and an exceptionally diverse range of flowers that can be harvested for pot-pourri, herb teas, aromatherapy, cut flowers and also for food.

Many fruit trees and vegetables have beautiful flowers with aesthetic value as well as other uses. Some of my favorite flowering fruits include pomegranate, quince, and all the stone fruits, and there's nothing more delightful than the fragrance of a citrus tree in flower. Salsify, chicory, globe artichoke and Jerusalem artichoke rank amongst some of the most attractive flowering vegetables.

Many the plants commonly grown in gardens solely for their flowers are medicinal and culinary herbs and some also produce edible fruit - like fuchsia which produces an edible berry. Roses have always been a great favorite in ornamental landscapes. The old traditional varieties are the best for harvesting the hips (fruit) for herb tea and jellies, but any fragrant rose can be harvested for pot pourri and if you want a real treat, try making some rose petal jam.

The elderberry bush has been used for centuries as a multi purpose plant in Europe - it's medicinal qualities are listed in most herb books, the fruit used for preserves and elder berry wine and the flowers are prized for pot pourri, wine making and most of all for making elder flower fritters (Note: recommend growing the true deciduous European Elder Sambucus nigra, not the invasive evergreen variety, Sambucus Canadensis). The flowers of pumpkin and squash are a delicacy in many cultures - you can eat the male flowers and leave the females to produce fruit.

There are a surprising number of regular ornamental flowers that can add colour and zest as a garnish for salads or sweet dishes: violets, pansies, petunia, carnations, calendula and gladiolus just to name a few. I love to garnish a mulberry pie with borage flowers, spice a baked custard with ginger flowers, toss nasturtium and calendula petals in a fresh garden salad, or top off a parfait with a couple of violets or heartsease.

There is a resurgence of interest in edible flowers which is rapidly becoming good business for back yard production and small scale horticulture supplying produce to local restaurants and food markets. An edible flower producer in southern California has tapped into a national market, with a US$1 million harvest from just 30 acres. Flowers for food must be free of pesticides so this is one new primary industry using only biological control. Harvest, storage, packing, transport and handling all require special care.

Care should be taken with eating flowers and it is important to remember that not all flowers are safe to eat. Never try eating the flowers of poisonous plants. If you suffer from hayfever, you're advised to give flowers a miss or try with caution as you could have an allergic reaction to the pollen. There have been cases of toxic reaction to some flowers listed as edible, possibly because local sub-species have developed a toxic compound due to different soil or climatic conditions. So be cautious, only try a small amount, one or two petals first time round. Avoid flowers that taste too bitter or caustic. Also remember that most edible flowers are primarily used as a garnish - don't go making an entire salad from your flower garden. In moderation, flowers can be used not only to brighten up the garden, but to add an exciting touch to many a dish on the table.

© Robyn Francis

References:

* The Avant Gardener Vol.23, No.9.,

* Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally - Robert Kourik

Resources (Avant Gardener):

* "Specialty Flowers" Fact Sheet available free from USDA Office for Small-Scale Agriculture, Aerospace Building, Suite 342, Washington, DC 20250, USA

* "Guide to Cooking with Edible Flowers" - Jay & Pamela North, Paradise

Farms, Box 436, Summerland, CA 93067, USA (US$6.95)

Source: http://permaculture.com.au

Six steps to create your own organic permaculture garden

Organic gardening avoids the use of chemicals to make plants grow or protect them from insects, relying instead on natural gardening principles used for thousands of years. Permaculture organic gardening goes a step further and also emphasizes growing plants sustainably, working with rather than against the grain of the natural environment. Permaculture organic gardening is growing in popularity as more people realize that it offers an inexpensive and relatively low-maintenance way to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Choosing a location

Observe your property at different times of day. Consider which areas receive the most sun, which are in shade for much of the day. Depending on where you live, if sunshine is a scarce commodity, you will want to expose plants to receive as much as possible. On the other hand, in desert regions, you will not want your plants to be in the area most likely to be parched by sun exposure. Also think protecting your garden from the paths where strong winds tend to blow through your property. Even a small property will have microclimates -- notice these and plant accordingly to give different plants either more sun or more shade according to their preference.

Selecting plants

Avoid disease-prone plants which require time-consuming chores such as spraying and pruning by the gardener. Select plants which will thrive in your area rather than those which will require extra labor on your part to protect them from the environment. As far as possible, select plants which serve multiple purposes, such as fruit trees which will put forth blossoms in one season, fruit to pick in another, and provide shade for when you want to sit and enjoy your garden's natural beauty. Native plants are also more likely to attract local pollinators such as bees, and to draw butterflies so that your garden contains even more natural beauty.

Making a home for your plants

Raised beds require less physical effort on the part of the gardener and also benefit plants, providing better air circulation, more protection from spring chills and improved usage of water. Raised beds also mean a small permaculture garden is an option even for apartment dwellers and others with little available space since you can rely on containers and vertical gardening principles.

Feeding your plants

One of the key concepts of permaculture organic gardening is to avoid waste. Having a garden gives you a means of re-using natural waste such as eggshells, apple cores, coffee grinds as well as yard waste which many people throw away. You can either purchase or make a compost bin to turn this organic material into gardening gold which can be used to help your plants grow.

Watering your plants

Modern gardeners who do not follow sustainability principles tend to draw heavily on piped-in water resources, often using hoses and sprinklers to make plants which require abundant water grow in a desert climate. Permaculture organic gardening tries to use natural water as much as possible, maximizing the use of groundwater and rainwater. Rain barrels allow you to collect rainfall and extend its use over longer periods of time.

Protecting plants from pests

Eschewing the use of chemicals does not have to mean a garden full of pests. You can use companion gardening principles, growing plants which deter pests near those which attract them. There is also a natural synergy between some plants which means planting them near each other increases your yield. Also, just as some herbs have a medicinal effect on human health, they also offer benefits to plants which grow near them. For more information about companion planting, visit http://www.appropedia.org/CCAT_companion_planting and http://www.gardeningknowhow.com

If you have space and live in an area where it is permissible to keep poultry, chickens can make a wonderful addition to a permaculture garden. If they are permitted free-range for most of the day, they will consume many pests. Chicken manure also contributes beneficial nitrogen to the soil of your garden.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.safecom.org.au/permaculture.htm

http://www.organicgardening.com

http://www.appropedia.org/Beginners_permaculture_garden

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/035038_permaculture_gardening_how_to.html#ixzz1nQZExyLx