Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener's Guide to over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow Edibles

by Eric Toensmeier

Overview

There is a fantastic array of vegetables you can grow in your garden, and not all of them are annuals. In Perennial Vegetables the adventurous gardener will find information, tips, and sound advice on less common edibles that will make any garden a perpetual, low-maintenance source of food.

Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as the flowers in your perennial beds and borders—no annual tilling and potting and planting. They thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. It sounds too good to be true, but in Perennial Vegetables author and plant specialist Eric Toensmeier (Edible Forest Gardens) introduces gardeners to a world of little-known and wholly underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such "minor" crops as ground cherry and ramps (both of which have found their way onto exclusive restaurant menus) and the much sought after, anti-oxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as goji berries), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and satisfaction.

Perennial vegetables are perfect as part of an edible landscape plan or permaculture garden. Profiling more than 100 species, illustrated with dozens of color photographs and illustrations, and filled with valuable growing tips, recipes, and resources, Perennial Vegetables is a groundbreaking and ground-healing book that will open the eyes of gardeners everywhere to the exciting world of edible perennials.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781931498401
Publisher:	Chelsea Green Publishing
Publication date:	05/16/2007
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	70,601
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Eric Toensmeier has studied and practiced permaculture since 1990. He is the author of Perennial Vegetables and coauthor of Edible Forest Gardens with Dave Jacke. Toensmeier has worked as a small-farm trainer at the New England Small Farm Institute, has managed the Tierra de Oportunidades new farmer program of Nuestras Raices, and is a graduate and former faculty member of the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield, Vermont. His current interest is in large-scale permaculture farming as a carbon-sequestering solution to climate change. Toensmeier's writing, consulting, and teaching business is based at www.perennialsolutions.org, where he posts his latest articles and videos. He lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1: Gardening With Perennial Vegetables

1. New class of food plants

2. Design ideas

3. Selecting species

4. Techniques

Part 2: Species Profiles

Using this book — Alismataceae: the water-plantain family — Arrowhead — Alliaceae: the onion family — Multiplier onions — Ramps — Other perennial alliums — Amaranthaceae: the amaranth family — Sissoo spinach — Apiaceae: the celery family — Arracacha — Article: Lost crops of the Incas — Lovage — Water celery — Skirret — Araceae: the aroid family — Edible aroids (taro, belembe, tannier) — Article: Calcium oxalate — Araliaceae: the spikenard family — Udo — Asteraceae: the aster family — Chicory and dandelion — Globe artichoke — Okinawa spinach — Sunchoke — Article: Inulin — Fuki — Scorzonera — Yacon — Basellaceae: the malabar spinach family — Malabar spinach — Ulluco — Brassicaceae: the cabbage family — Perennial brassicas (cabbage, kale, and broccoli) — Article: Pests and diseases of the brassica family — Turkish rocket — Sea kale — Sylvetta arugula — Watercress — Cactaceae: the cactus family — Nopale cactus — Cannaceae: the canna family — Achira — Caricaceae: the papaya family — Papaya — Chenopodiaceae: the goosefoot family — Saltbush — Article: Oxalic acid — Sea beet — Good King Henry — Convolvulaceae: the morning glory family — Water spinach — Sweet potato — Cucurbitaceae: the squash family — Perennial cucumber — Malabar gourd — Bitter melon — Chayote — Article: Extending the range of chayote and other day-length-sensitive plants — Cyperaceae: the sedge family — Chufa — Water chestnut — Dioscoreaceae: the yam family — Air potato — Article: Air potato: an ecological conundrum? — Yams — Dryopteridiaceae: the wood-fern family — Ostrich fern — Euphorbiaceae: the spurge family — Chaya — Bull nettles — Cassava — Katuk — Fabaceae: the pea family — Groundnut — Basul — Hyacinth bean — Water mimosa — Perennial beans — Winged bean — Lamiaceae: the mint family — Chinese artichoke — Liliaceae: the lily family — Asparagus — Yellow asphodel — Camass — Daylily — Giant Solomon's seal — Malvaceae: the mallow family — Edible hibiscus — Cranberry hibiscus — Musk mallow — Meliaceae: the neem family — Fragrant spring tree — Moraceae: the mulberry family — Breadfruit — Moringaceae: the moringa family — Moringa — Musaceae: the banana family — Plantain and green banana — Nelumbonaceae: the lotus family — Water lotus — Oxalidaceae: the wood-sorrel family — Oca — Phytolaccaceae: the pokeweed family — Pokeweed — Haitian basket vine — Poaceae: the grass family — Clumping bamboos — Running bamboos — Article: Rhizome barriers for aggressive running bamboos — Pitpit — Polygonaceae: the smartweed family — Rhubarb — Sorrel — Solanaceae: the nightshade family — Wolfberry — Ground cherry and goldenberry — Pepino dulce — Peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes — Article: Pests and diseases of the nightshade family — Tetragoniaceae: the New Zealand spinach family — New Zealand spinach — Tiliaceae: the linden family — Linden — Tropaeolaceae: the nasturtium family — Mashua — Urticaceae: the nettle family — Stinging nettle and wood nettle

Part 3: Resources

Perennial vegetables for each climate type

Recommended reading

Helpful organizations and Web sites

Sources of plants and seeds

Sources of gardening supplies and materials

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

Booklist-

Part of the allure of perennial gardening is the fact that a gardener can plant something once and enjoy it for several years, a benefit that has rarely been extended to vegetable gardeners. Save for such stalwarts as asparagus and rhubarb, most edible crops can be used only annually. Thanks to Toensmeier, gardeners need no longer be frustrated by such limitations. From air potatoes to water celery, Turkish rocket to Malabar gourd, there are more than 100 new species of edible plants. After addressing such cultural basics as site selection and preparation, Toensmeier explains why each plant is an excellent perennial vegetable crop. Now that such items are making their way onto trendy restaurant menus and health-store shelves, Toensmeier's groundbreaking guide is destined to become the bible for this new class of edible gardening.

Carol Haggas

"This book is itself a perennial polyculture of multipurpose plants. Toensmeier's adventurous yet sober palate blends with his observant eye and plant-geek mind to yield a varied harvest that should produce for years to come. He is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide for explorations of this largely unmapped territory. Let's hope gardeners everywhere follow his lead and join the fun!"—Dave Jacke, coauthor Edible Forest Gardens

"That there are more perennial vegetables than asparagus is no surprise, but that there are more than 100 species we North American gardeners can choose from is news. Toensmeier's Perennial Vegetables, the first comprehensive guide to growing them, will have all of us reexamining our plans for next year's vegetable plot." —Karan Davis Cutler, author of Burpee—The Complete Flower Garden

"Eric Toensmeier has comprehensively filled a huge gap in the sustainable landscape. Perennial Vegetables lets you put away your tiller, and covers everything you need to grow, harvest, and eat vegetables and greens that will keep coming back year after year."—Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden

"Toensmeier's knowledge of edible plants is impressive and inspiring. His excitement for a sustainable landscape helps us focus away from buying food to harvesting it naturally. Perennial Vegetables offers an excellent range of edible plants for long-term cultivation and enjoyment."—Ellen Ecker Ogden,co-founder of The Cook's Garden seed catalog, author of From the Cook's Garden

"Growing perennial vegetables is a true pleasure. This fine book gives the knowledge to successfully add variety to both the garden and the table while also enhancing the home environment."—Miranda Smith, author of The Plant Propagator's Bible and Complete Home Gardening

From the Publisher