I discovered permaculture this winter so still have a lot to learn.... but I want to start incorporating some of it into my yards. Which means "food forests" and perennial food sources, fruit or nut trees or bushes, etc.
My garden in back is small. I have at max a 20 ft by 20 ft area for it but it will be getting a couple of changes this year. I rearranged my square ft boxes to leave room for an asparagus bed that I will be starting this spring. I will be trying to grow mushrooms in mulched paths and beds. And I am looking for places I can tuck away smaller perennials like Claytonia and purslane and maybe a horseradish bush. On the other hand I want to grow more vegetables that I can put by or store for winter so the garden plan has seen a few tradeoffs but I am happy with it.
My front lawn... sigh. This area has some challenges. The house faces north and the road in front is a major road. We have an old sidewalk that splits the lot in half that runs from the public sidewalk near the road to the house. To the east is an alley with a single row of bridal wreath Spirea running from the road towards the back of the lot divided by two middle aged cottonwoods. These bushes are over 50 years old so will remain... Also on the east half of the yard is the brand new water main. That main runs from the road to the side of the house making it just a bit east of center, closer to the alley bushes then the sidewalk.
The water main means nothing big or with invasive roosts can go on that side. And those old bushes have to stay for now. AND is another good reason to take down those Cottonwoods. The other reason is they are both dying and becoming a hazard to us, our house and anyone who uses the alley.
So step 1 is actually a big one - get the cottonwoods removed
Step 2 turn the left hand side into a "flower bed" with a cattle trellis covered in runner beans(good snap or shelly size), and dahlia's (these have edible tubers) in front of them plus some low growing marigolds... OH and put in a single summer squash plant or maybe two.. This would look very much like a flower garden not a food garden.
Step 3 Plant winter squash in the right hand size and let them sprawl within reason
Step 4 Remove the grands pine tree. This will not go over well with DH but the tree is in the wrong spot and will need severe trimming as it grows. Plus it currently has broken branches from the record snow. The branches are not clean breaks but rather took sections of bark with them leaving open wounds that make the tree vulnerable to any bug or diseases.
Step 5 Plant more appropriate sized fruit bearing bushes along that corner. I am thinking of Golden Current a native well suited for this area but I am still exploring other options. This could be the start of a food forest made up of plants that fit our tiny lot...
Eventually I really would like food bearing plants on both sides of the yard with some space left for people...
Plants I would like to try:
Dahlia - these flowers have edible tubers AND make lovely displays also
These two are both very invasive so I may keep them in containers...
Jerusalem Artichoke - sunflower relative with edible tubers
Chinese Artichoke - this is a mint that produces small crunchy edible tubers
Hosta - eat the new growth in spring treat like asparagus ( I would need to establish a shaded area for them)
Ground Nuts (Apois Americana) - vine that produces edible beans and tubers. This one could go on that cattle trellis in place of some of my runner beans.
Horseradish- this one you can eat the leaves also not just use the roots for horseradish sauce. It is an early green so could be well worth setting aside some room for it.
There are of course many others but some like Claytonia and purslane are small enough for the garden while others don't sound that intriguing/good to me
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