Perennial Sister

Perennial plants (those that come back year after year) are used in permaculture because they represent a more stable and enriching form of food production and soil health. Wes Jackson in Kansas is still working on breeding a grain crop from perennial grasses. If this is accomplished then we can greatly reduce the negative impact of our food farming. Tilling the soil means destroying soil health over time unless careful fallow periods are observed. No-till methods in conventional farming actually mean massive amounts of pesticides are used to kill competing weeds. Growing annuals which are all grains and beans translates to soil erosion, species extinction and reduction of bio-diversity and water pollution. Perennials could be one of the keys to our creating a sustainable, stable culture.

There are some annuals that act kind of like perennials because they reseed so readily. Calendula is one such plant. Although I have had trouble getting it to germinate and grow due to hungry mice, I have seen it in my sister's wild garden reseeding everywhere. Speaking of my sister's garden... tomatoes, sunflowers and coreopsis all reseeded themselves in her wild back lot and grew all on their own this summer. The birds and bees were so happy back there. Spending time in her garden you would never know that bees were in trouble. But she gave them everything they need and so they came in droves. Tomatoes are much tougher than we give them credit. I saw them growing out of pure road gravel. Granted, my sister has incredible soil underneath this gravel but still.

Slowly my sister is converting her green lawn to a small forest of trees closer to her house. She finds perennials she likes and digs a hole, plants it and then continues along her way. Over time these plants will shade out the lawn. She also has mature fruit trees that line her eastern fence. Apple, cherry, pomegranate, grapes, apricots and peaches produce more fruit than she can eat. She has a largish suburban lot but many people could grow a lot more on their land than they currently do. Get rid of that lawn and grow perennials! Even better grow food!