Click to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Planning perennial edibles for next year
When planting our edible gardens, most of us think of them as annuals. Here’s a look at 3 perennial edibles and 1 herb hardy to zone 4 climates.
The first is one I’ve never been a huge fan of but almost everyone I know loves it. Asparagus. It takes commitment to grow this guy but once established, your asparagus bed will yield for years.
They prefer a neutral pH soil. Choose a well drained location in full sun keeping in mind that asparagus’s ferny summer foliage will grow to 6 ft.
Dig a trench a foot wide and nearly as deep, incorporate plenty of compost and plant the crowns 18 inches apart in early Spring spreading the roots out horizontally. Cover with 2 to 3 inches of soil adding more as the plants grow so that you eventually fill the trench. Once planted, leave asparagus for 2 to 3 years before harvesting. By the 4th year, you should be able to harvest for 8 weeks. Harvest when the spears are 6 to 8 inches long and the scales at the tips are still clenched tight.
French tarragon is one of my favorite herbs and is hardy to zone 4 with winter protection. The leaves have a strong taste of anise. Before you buy, pinch a leaf and eat it, you want to make sure you’re getting true French tarragon, the Russian variety is pretty much flavorless. There are some folks that say you can’t grow tarragon in cold climates, I have grown it in my zone 4 garden covered with a thick layer of leaves where it’s come back a few years in a row!
Rhubarb is a giver that requires little but sunlight, well drained soil and the chance to establish itself for the first 2 years. Harvest the stalks but not the leaves, they’re toxic.
The Woodland Strawberry or Alpine Strawberry is found growing wild in many areas. The berries are petite but they pack a punch of flavor. These berries need only 6 hours of sunlight. In Spring, plant the crowns 8 inches apart with the crown at soil level. These plants establish quickly and you can usually harvest the first year.
