Barakah Heritage Farm USA

Category: Perennials

Perennials

  • Barakah Heritage Farm version 6.0

    Barakah Heritage Farm version 6.0

    So here we are in Winnsboro, South Carolina, neck deep in the farm restart.

    This time around is a radically different farm model.

    We have moved to a VERY different climate in the deep south, after 50+ years of living in the northeast.  The plants are different, the growing season different, the soil is different.

     

    This is also our first time with a truly distributed farm model.  In the past we did have horses split between

    two nearby farms for a brief period, but that was the extent of spreading the work over multiple properties.  Version 6.0 has the rabbits, livestock dogs, gardens (and pets) at the farm office (also our home and undergoing a complete renovation) while the goats and horses occupy a nearby farm.  The farm has buildings but no fences, and the home office has fences but no farm buildings or established gardens.  What an interesting new challenge!

    I’m going to give a shout out to a software program.  If it weren’t for Blue, I don’t know that I could juggle all these projects.  I’m not getting any compensation, I just love the software that much.

    So here’s what is going on right now:

    Gardens are in various stages of being dug, edged, fertilized and planted.   We are again creating a biointensive permaculture system, but blending it in with general

    landscaping.  Plants are doing double duty at this property, looking nice AND feeding the family.  This season the focus is on producing our favorite heirloom

    varieties for personal use.  Any crop that we can buy relatively inexpensively in bulk at the grocery we skipped – onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, winter squashes.  That means tomatoes, lots of greens like kale and chard and lettuces, and some basic herbs, all heirloom varieties for the unique flavors and colors.  I put in a pollinator garden with a water fountain the first season we were here, and fluffed it up this spring. It still needs a low water dish for the insects.

    Additionally we are planning out where key perennial food crops like hazlenuts and artichoke will go.

    The bunnies are not currently part of Bunnyville, so they moved to headquarters (such a fancy name for a modest beginning LOL) and are happily eating greens from our yard and producing wonderful fertilizer for the new gardens.

    We put poultry projects on hold, until we see if and how they might fit in with the new farm model.

    Over at the 250 acre farm, everything happened and is happening in stages.  The first step was basic shelter and containment, so wire mesh fencing beefed up with electric to hold goats and horses both.  Stalls were cleaned out, repaired and set up.  Once everyone had shelter and fencing that worked with or without power, then the bigger fencing projects and reopening the money-earning tours could start.  Horses looked like the quickest win, so a tour pen and then riding area came first, followed by the first of the rotation grazing areas and the runway, in a layout that meshes with the current land uses.  As I add each rotation, I’m also extending the perimeter to capture more land and eventually should have about 15 acres fenced for rotation and runways.  I’m reusing a lot of the fence equipment that traveled with us, and taking the best of what worked before.  T-posts and tape fencing for the perimeters, narrow tape and step ins for the rotations, and a very powerful DC energizer to keep the deer off the fences and the horses in.

     

    For the goats, it started with the 2 pens and shelters.  Next up was getting the tour area built.  Concurrently, I’m designing their rotation grazing areas, making decisions on what has the best browse, will hold them, and will be easy to move them to.  The goats must come back in at night because of predator pressure from local coyotes, black vultures and hawks.

    So, how does this all get done?  By setting aside a small block of time each day for each project – typically 1 to 2 hours, breaking the projects down into manageable steps, and keeping track of it all with due dates in the Blue software.  Many of the projects must happen concurrently so keep the farm financially on track, so small steps forward rather than big pushes on one project at a time makes the most sense.

    So that’s what’s happening these days at Barakah Heritage Farm.  We hope you will come see us if you are in the area, and stay tuned for the first goat kids of 2024!

    -Carrie and all the fur-kin

  • A Georgia Food Forest: 180 Perennial Edible Plants and a Design Guide for the Zone 8 Home Grower

    A Georgia Food Forest: 180 Perennial Edible Plants and a Design Guide for the Zone 8 Home Grower

    This entry is in the series Best Climate Regional Specific Books

    Create your own Food Forest anywhere in USDA Climate zone 8! Inspired by Dave Jacke’s Edible Forest Gardens but narrowing it down to USDA zone 8, A Georgia Food Forest is a permaculture-oriented illustrated guide for planning your own food forest of perennial fruit, nut and berry vines, bushes, trees, vegetables and herbs that work…;

    Create your own Food Forest anywhere in USDA Climate zone 8! Inspired by Dave Jacke’s Edible Forest Gardens but narrowing it down to USDA zone 8, A Georgia Food Forest is a permaculture-oriented illustrated guide for planning your own food forest of perennial fruit, nut and berry vines, bushes, trees, vegetables and herbs that work in USDA climate zone 8. The 128-page book includes descriptions of 180 perennial food-bearing trees and plants (along with the authors own black-and-white drawings to help you recognize many of them) and additional herbs, along with recommended varieties from the authors own personal experience planting and growing as well as tapping into other information from experts/grower/gardeners in this climate zone. Recommended zone 8 Varieties, typical yield and size, lifespan, special planting and care needs, how pollinated, etc. are included for major plants. Besides the plant variety detail, the author also provides a guide for how to plan your own food forest, taking into account irrigation, layout (crown diameters, mowing, shade, etc), access for vehicles, etc.and also includes drawings of designs of a couple of local food forests with a process for laying out the design by layers using easily-available materials.

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  • Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier (DVD)

    Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier (DVD)

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as perennial flowers and shrubs, need no annual tilling or planting, yet thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. In this DVD a culmination of workshops recorded in Mexico, Florida, and Massachusetts plant specialist Eric Toensmeier introduces gardeners to more…;

    Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as perennial flowers and shrubs, need no annual tilling or planting, yet thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. In this DVD a culmination of workshops recorded in Mexico, Florida, and Massachusetts plant specialist Eric Toensmeier introduces gardeners to more than 100 species of little-known, underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such delights as ground cherry, ramps, air potatoes, the fragrant spring tree, and the much-sought-after, antioxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as the goji berry), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and culinary satisfaction. Toensmeier also takes viewers on a plant-by-plant tour of his garden in Massachusetts.Ships from Vermont

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  • Perennial Vegetables & Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier (Book & DVD Bundle)

    Perennial Vegetables & Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier (Book & DVD Bundle)

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as perennial flowers and shrubs, need no annual tilling or planting, yet thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. Get the best information on growing these easy and interesting crops from Eric Toensmeier’s award-winning book Perennial Vegetables, and tour his…;

    Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as perennial flowers and shrubs, need no annual tilling or planting, yet thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season.

    Get the best information on growing these easy and interesting crops from Eric Toensmeier’s award-winning book Perennial Vegetables, and tour his own lush forest garden in the new DVD, Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier

    About Perennial Vegetables:

    In Toensmeier’s book, Perennial Vegetables (Chelsea Green, 2007), 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. In his book, readers will find perennial vegetables are perfect as part of an edible-landscape plan or permaculture garden. Profiling more than a hundred species, 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.

    About Perennial Vegetable Gardening with Eric Toensmeier (DVD):

    In the DVD—a culmination of workshops recorded in Mexico, Florida, and Massachusetts—plant specialist Eric Toensmeier introduces gardeners to more than 100 species of little-known, underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such delights as ground cherry, ramps, air potatoes, the fragrant spring tree, and the much-sought-after, antioxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as the goji berry), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and culinary satisfaction. Toensmeier also takes viewers on a plant-by-plant tour of his garden in Massachusetts.

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  • Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements

    Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements

    This entry is in the series Best Permaculture Reference Books

    Permaculture One presents unique strategies for creating a food-producing system specifically suited to your needs, whether you garden in your backyard or engage in full-scale farming. By carefully designing a system around functional relationships between plant and animal species you can create a stable ‘cultivated ecology’ suited to local conditions. The book provides a catalog…;

    International Tree Crop Institute USAPrice: $12.50 $400.16

    Permaculture One presents unique strategies for creating a food-producing system specifically suited to your needs, whether you garden in your backyard or engage in full-scale farming. By carefully designing a system around functional relationships between plant and animal species you can create a stable ‘cultivated ecology’ suited to local conditions. The book provides a catalog of 130 trees and plants useful to a permaculture system.

    The authors have based permaculture on the underlying philosophy ‘of working with, rather than against nature’ of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions rather than treating any area as a single product system.

    Focusing throughout the book on providing for human needs while maintaining a deep respect for the finite resources of the earth. Mollison and Holmgren propose an alternative to the resource-hungry methods of commercial agriculture. ‘Permaculture One’ gives you the tools to begin at your own doorstep.

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  • Perennial Plants: Grow All Year Round With Perrenial Plants, Vegetables, Berries, Herbs, Fruits, Harvest Forever, Gardening, Mini Farm, Permaculture, Horticulture, Self Sustainable Living Off Grid.

    Perennial Plants: Grow All Year Round With Perrenial Plants, Vegetables, Berries, Herbs, Fruits, Harvest Forever, Gardening, Mini Farm, Permaculture, Horticulture, Self Sustainable Living Off Grid.

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    Grow Perennial Plants and Eat Forever! Do you want to Plant once and get crops over and over again ? Learn the fundamentals of Perennial Plants with techniques and methods to Start Growing Them Right Away! Simple techniques to Planting and Caring For Perennial Plants! You Will Learn The Following:How to Plant Perennial PlantsThe Benefits…;

    Grow Perennial Plants and Eat Forever!

    Do you want to Plant once and get crops over and over again ?

    Learn the fundamentals of Perennial Plants with techniques and methods to Start Growing Them Right Away!

    Simple techniques to Planting and Caring For Perennial Plants!

    You Will Learn The Following:

    • How to Plant Perennial Plants

    • The Benefits of Perennial Plants

    • How to Care For Them

    • Which Ones are best for you

    • What to look out for

    • Why The World Needs Perennial Plants

    • And Much Much More!

    Whether you just want to learn more about how to grow organic perennial plants or already understand it and want extra help becoming an perennial planting expert, this book is for you.

    So don’t delay it any longer. Take This Opportunity By Buying This Perennial Plants Guide Now!

    You will be shocked by how much you can Eat all year, impress your friends and family with how tasty and healthy your home grown perennial plants are.

    Don’t Delay And Scroll Up To Buy With 1 Click

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  • The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival

    The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is the only book on foraging and edible weeds to focus on the thirteen weeds found all over the world, each of which represents a complete food source and extensive medical pharmacy and first-aid kit.  More than just a field guide to wild edibles, it is a global plan for…;

    Chelsea Green PublishingPrice: $29.95 $21.67 Free Shipping

    The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is the only book on foraging and edible weeds to focus on the thirteen weeds found all over the world, each of which represents a complete food source and extensive medical pharmacy and first-aid kit.  More than just a field guide to wild edibles, it is a global plan for human survival. 

    When Katrina Blair was eleven she had a life-changing experience where wild plants spoke to her, beckoning her to become a champion of their cause. Since then she has spent months on end taking walkabouts in the wild, eating nothing but what she forages, and has become a wild-foods advocate, community activist, gardener, and chef, teaching and presenting internationally about foraging and the healthful lifestyle it promotes. 

    Katrina Blair’s philosophy in The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is sobering, realistic, and ultimately optimistic. If we can open our eyes to see the wisdom found in these weeds right under our noses, instead of trying to eradicate an “invasive,” we will achieve true food security. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is about healing ourselves both in body and in spirit, in an age where technology, commodity agriculture, and processed foods dictate the terms of our intelligence. But if we can become familiar with these thirteen edible survival weeds found all over the world, we will never go hungry, and we will become closer to our own wild human instincts―all the while enjoying the freshest, wildest, and most nutritious food there is. For free!

    The thirteen plants found growing in every region across the world are: dandelion, mallow, purslane, plantain, thistle, amaranth, dock, mustard, grass, chickweed, clover, lambsquarter, and knotweed.  These special plants contribute to the regeneration of the earth while supporting the survival of our human species; they grow everywhere where human civilization exists, from the hottest deserts to the Arctic Circle, following the path of human disturbance. Indeed, the more humans disturb the earth and put our food supply at risk, the more these thirteen plants proliferate. It’s a survival plan for the ages.

    Including over one hundred unique recipes, Katrina Blair’s book teaches us how to prepare these wild plants from root to seed in soups, salads, slaws, crackers, pestos, seed breads, and seed butters; cereals, green powders, sauerkrauts, smoothies, and milks; first-aid concoctions such as tinctures, teas, salves, and soothers; self-care/beauty products including shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste (and brush), face masks; and a lot more. Whether readers are based at home or traveling, this book aims to empower individuals to maintain a state of optimal health with minimal cost and effort.    

    Ships from Vermont

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  • Plants You Can’t Kill: 101 Easy-to-Grow Species for Beginning Gardeners

    Plants You Can’t Kill: 101 Easy-to-Grow Species for Beginning Gardeners

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    “I kill everything I plant.”Does this sound like you or someone you know? Give yourself a pat on the back because admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. And lucky for you, you can easily turn your brown thumb into a green one with the help of Plants You Can’t Kill.Seriously—it…;

    Skyhorse PublishingPrice: $16.99 $13.28 Free Shipping

    “I kill everything I plant.”

    Does this sound like you or someone you know? Give yourself a pat on the back because admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. And lucky for you, you can easily turn your brown thumb into a green one with the help of Plants You Can’t Kill.

    Seriously—it doesn’t matter how many plants you’ve killed in gardens past. It’s time to put those experiences behind you and finally grow something in your empty and bare spots. This is the only gardening book you’ll ever need with more than 100 plant picks for every situation. You want veggies? We have ’em. You need to fill a big space? We have shrub ideas for you. You just want something pretty? We have plenty of that, as well.

    The plants in Plants You Can’t Kill have been vetted by an amazing and famous panel of horticulture experts (this is just a fancy way of saying they went to college for gardening), so feel confident you’re not wasting money on yet another gardening book. These plants will actually survive your well-meaning, yet sometimes neglectful ways.

    Ready for the most resilient, hardcore, badass list of plants known to gardeners? Find them and grow them with the help of Plants You Can’t Kill.

    Plants You Can t Kill 101 Easy To Grow Species for Beginning Gardeners

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  • Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist: How to Have Your Yard and Eat It Too

    Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist: How to Have Your Yard and Eat It Too

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist is a how-to manual for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike, full of creative and easy-to-follow designs that guide you to having your yard and eating it, too. With the help of more than 200 beautiful color photos and drawings, permaculture designer and avid grower Michael Judd…;

    Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist is a how-to manual for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike, full of creative and easy-to-follow designs that guide you to having your yard and eating it, too. With the help of more than 200 beautiful color photos and drawings, permaculture designer and avid grower Michael Judd takes the reader on a step-by-step process to transform a sea of grass into a flourishing edible landscape that pleases the eye as well as the taste buds. With personality and humor, he translates the complexities of permaculture design into simple self-build projects, providing full details on the evolving design process, material identification, and costs. Chapters cover:

    • Herb Spirals
    • Food Forests
    • Raised-Bed Gardens
    • Earthen Ovens
    • Uncommon Fruits
    • Outdoor Mushroom Cultivation, and more . . .

    The book’s colorful pages are filled with practical designs that Judd has created and built over years of workshops, homesteading, and running an edible landscaping business. Though geared toward suburban gardeners starting from scratch, the book’s designs can be easily grafted to the micro-habits of the urban landscape, scaled up to the acreage of homesteads, or adapted to already flourishing landscapes. Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist is a tool to spark and inform the imagination of anyone with a desire to turn their landscape into a luscious and productive edible Eden.

    Ships from Vermont

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  • Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Edibles

    Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Edibles

    This entry is in the series Best Perennial Plant Books

    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…;

    Chelsea Green PublicationsPrice: $35.00 $21.20 Free Shipping

    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.

    Used Book in Good Condition

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  • Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

    Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

    This entry is in the series Best Mushroom-Fungi Books

    What would it take to grow mushrooms in space? How can mushroom cultivation help us manage, or at least make use of, invasive species such as kudzu and water hyacinth and thereby reduce dependence on herbicides? Is it possible to develop a low-cost and easy-to-implement mushroom-growing kit that would provide high-quality edible protein and bioremediation…;

    Chelsea Green PublishingPrice: $39.95 $29.08 Free Shipping

    What would it take to grow mushrooms in space? How can mushroom cultivation help us manage, or at least make use of, invasive species such as kudzu and water hyacinth and thereby reduce dependence on herbicides? Is it possible to develop a low-cost and easy-to-implement mushroom-growing kit that would provide high-quality edible protein and bioremediation in the wake of a natural disaster? How can we advance our understanding of morel cultivation so that growers stand a better chance of success? 

    For more than twenty years, mycology expert Tradd Cotter has been pondering these questions and conducting trials in search of the answers. In Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation, Cotter not only offers readers an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices; he shares the results of his groundbreaking research and offers myriad ways to apply your cultivation skills and further incorporate mushrooms into your life―whether your goal is to help your community clean up industrial pollution or simply to settle down at the end of the day with a cold Reishi-infused homebrew ale. 

    The book first guides readers through an in-depth exploration of indoor and outdoor cultivation. Covered skills range from integrating wood-chip beds spawned with king stropharia into your garden and building a “trenched raft” of hardwood logs plugged with shiitake spawn to producing oysters indoors on spent coffee grounds in a 4×4 space or on pasteurized sawdust in vertical plastic columns. For those who aspire to the self-sufficiency gained by generating and expanding spawn rather than purchasing it, Cotter offers in-depth coverage of lab techniques, including low-cost alternatives that make use of existing infrastructure and materials. 

    Cotter also reports his groundbreaking research cultivating morels both indoors and out, “training” mycelium to respond to specific contaminants, and perpetuating spawn on cardboard without the use of electricity. Readers will discover information on making tinctures, powders, and mushroom-infused honey; making an antibacterial mushroom cutting board; and growing mushrooms on your old denim jeans.

    Geared toward readers who want to grow mushrooms without the use of pesticides, Cotter takes “organic” one step further by introducing an entirely new way of thinking―one that looks at the potential to grow mushrooms on just about anything, just about anywhere, and by anyone.

    Ships from Vermont

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  • Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms

    Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms

    This entry is in the series Best Mushroom-Fungi Books

    After years of living in awe of the mysterious fungi known as mushrooms-chefs, health enthusiasts, and home cooks alike can’t get enough of these rich, delicate morsels. With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook…;

    After years of living in awe of the mysterious fungi known as mushrooms-chefs, health enthusiasts, and home cooks alike can’t get enough of these rich, delicate morsels. With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook will make your mycological landscapes the envy of the neighborhood.1 Book
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  • 9 Productive Plants for Water Gardens – The Permaculture Research Institute

    9 Productive Plants for Water Gardens – The Permaculture Research Institute

    9 Productive Plants for Water Gardens

    September 8, 2017by & filed under Plants

    In permaculture design, water is the first priority. We try to find its natural routes on and off the property, slow it down, spread it out, and harvest it for use in times when it isn’t so abundant. In this regard, ponds (below surface water catchments, often naturally formed) and dams (walled-off catchments that retain water) are routinely part of a permaculture site.

    Designers should strive to make these bodies of water perform as many functions as possible. Of course, they can be used for irrigation and recreation, and many people are aware that protein production from fish can be much more efficient than with any land-based animal. However, it is equally as important to realize how many edible plants can be grown in water and how productive they are, as well as the role they play in creating a healthy ecosystem.

    That’s probably too huge a topic for us to tackle in one short article, so as is the case with much of what we approach in permaculture, I’m interested in sharing some of the potentially productivity—food-wise—that could be including as part of these water-harvesting landscapes. After all, if the water is going to be there anyway, we ought to put it to as many good uses as we can, and growing food certain seems like a right way to think about it.

    Some Positive Things to Consider about Water Gardens

    With the rise of commercial fishing, water gardens sunk even further into the background of Western food production. In the Far East, however, they have long been and remain a huge part of the diet, specifically in the form of rice paddies. However, even rice production has largely gone the way of monoculture, industrialized farming and could use some revision. To put it bluntly, there is a lot more we could be doing with water gardens.

    Water gardens come with built-in advantages. Obviously, they don’t require irrigation. When used for raising aquatic livestock, such as fish, mollusks, and ducks, the water also gathers a natural abundance of nutrients, and the plants, in turn, are the means by which an over-abundance of nutrients is thwarted. Stocked with the right kind of fish, and noting that ponds are the habitat of beneficial wild animals like toads, frogs, and snakes, they also help to control pest—like mosquitoes—populations. Then, productivity can come from edge plants, floating plants, and submerged plants.

    In the end, our water gardens can provide a bevy of benefits. Reed beds can be used to clean and cycle household graywater back into the system, while simultaneously producing an abundance of quality mulch material. Contour swales can slow, spread, and soak water across the landscape, supporting new forest growth while also providing rich beds for water-loving plants. Ponds and dams can add beauty, back-up water sources, and recreational spaces while they also produce much more food per square meter than terrestrial gardens can.

    A Polyculture of Aquatic Plants to Get Your Water Garden Going

    Like certain wily land-based plants, such as dandelion and stinging nettles, many water plants have the reputation of being noxious weeds, and still even more similarly, many of these noxious weeds are both edible and astoundingly nutritious. This isn’t to say there should be no cause for concern when introducing a rapidly spreading water plant, but it is to say that sometimes there is potential for production in doing so and methods for limiting their invasiveness. We just have to be in tune with our water gardens, influence them this way and that on occasion, and bring home the bounty. Here are a few plants to get started with.

    Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica)

    You’ll hear Mr. Geoff Lawton reference kangkong quite a bit, and that’s because it is the fastest growing vegetable on the planet. Obviously, that quickly puts it in the weed category, but like many weeds on land, this one is particularly adept at picking up nutrients and providing a healthy addition to our tables. It tastes like a nutty spinach and is, in fact, called “water spinach”. It’ll be easy to cultivate. It’s a tropical plant that’d likely have to be treated like annual in the temperate water garden and/or be grown in greenhouse ponds.

    Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

    In the wild, watercress likes to grow in moving water, such as shallow springs. It might be a good plant to have around a continually overflowing spot that maintains pond depth. It’ll also work in small containers, as long as the water is changed frequently. Watercress doesn’t like dirty water. This is a quick-growing, nutrient-dense food that works well as a raw green in salads, and it—like nasturtium—has a nice, spicy flavor. It’s a perennial plant, and it will regenerate after being harvested.

    Water Chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis)

    Water chestnuts, like kangkong, are another primarily tropical plant, and they like to grow in muddy soil in shallow water. Unfortunately, unlike kangkong, in order to get a harvest from them, the growing season must be quite long, over 200 days of frost-free weather. They supposedly require a little more water control, i.e. draining and filling, than other water crops do. That said, if they work where you are, they are a delicious, crunchy treat that work great in stir-fries, and they can provide a lot of food.

    Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)

    Highly regarded as a forage plant, sweet flag can also be cultivated, though it is more often as an ornamental than food source. But, sweet leaf rhizomes and leaves are edible and medicinal. This one is a slow-spreading perennial, so it doesn’t come with the invasive reputation. It likes to go in the muddy bogs, such as the edge areas of ponds. In the kitchen, the leaves have a lemon-like flavor, and the rhizomes are often used as a spice, something akin to ginger.

    Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera/Nelumbo lutea)

    Lotus is another warm climate water plant, and in Western cultures, they are typically grown for their beautiful flowers. While there is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying flowers, the benefits are much more than that. Two types of lotus have roots, shoots, flowers, and seeds that are edible, very nutritious, and delicious as well. It’s good for our blood, brains, bowels, and more. Yet again, this plant has the reputation of begin invasive, but cultivated with caution and/or in containers, it can be a great source of aquatically grown food.

    Cattails (Typha latifolia)

    Another food often used as a wild edible, especially in survival situations, cattails have a lot of edible parts, including rhizomes, leaves, and pollen, and they are also handy for crafts. They can be used to clean toxins out of ponds or polluted areas, though the resulting cattails shouldn’t be harvest for food. These are well-suited for temperate climates, and they can be found in colder zones to boot. This plant is worth growing for its functions beyond food, so it’s just an awesome bonus that it can be eaten as well.

    Malanga (Colocasia esculenta)

    Malanga is another, quite common, tropical vegetable, and it is most similar to taro and falls in line with other big root veggies, like cassava. The young leaves are also edible and used similarly to spinach. Malanga is often called elephant ear in Western gardens, and it is grown as an ornamental. Yellow malanga (rather than white malanga) is grown in boggy areas, and it likes full sun, acidic and well-draining soil, and plenty of heat. Drainage ditches are good spots. The roots need nearly a year of growth before they can be harvested. It’s worth the wait.

    Duck Potatoes (Sagittaria latifolia)

    Foraged for many centuries, duck potatoes grow all over North America, and unsurprisingly, as their name has suggested, they are renowned for their tubers, which can get up to the size of goose egg but are more readily found around the size of duck egg. They grow in lots of climatic zones, from Southern Canada to Florida. Wapato, as they are also called, are large plants, and a nice thing about them is that they’ll grow in anything from mud to 60 centimeters of water.

    Wild Rice (genus Zizania)

    There are four varieties of wild rice from the Zizania genus, two annuals and two perennials. These are a great source of food, with the potential to be a staple for those cultivating it. Wild rice is rich with protein and fiber, and it comes with a heap of vitamins and minerals. Wild rice grows in shallow water in small lakes, as well as in slow-flowing streams, so it is a really viable crop for most permaculture designs. It also thrives in cool-temperate zones.

    Header: Cattails (Robert & Pat Rogers)

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