Suzette Thib wrote:A challenge I have here is that the local edibles are harder to identify, probably, mostly because they don't come in seed packs (usually) and I find that they occupy more space and time, as well as needing more coddling, before becoming productive. What do yall think? Am I missing a piece in understanding this?
It is true as Jay alluded to, that cultivars often produce a bigger calorie per square foot bang than native plants. When we are working with a smaller plot of land in our urban gardens, that can be a very important consideration. Remember though, in permaculture gardening, plants play many roles in addition to food production including nitrogen fixation, attracting beneficial insects, deterring pests, improving soil health, providing habitat for wildlife, and weed suppression. You may have better luck finding native plants that can fill those roles in your garden than exclusively focusing on edible natives. Late Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) does an absolutely outstanding job attracting pollinators and other beneficial insects like predatory hover flies to my yard. Wild oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is a fantastic dynamic accumulator that fills in shady areas where most crops wouldn't thrive anyway. My native Echinacea species might not be quite as showy as some cultivars, but they have even greater wildlife benefits and I would wager greater medicinal benefits. Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) is another wonderful native shade lover. While it's never going to produce a high volume of calories for your family, its fruit is edible, you can make hibiscus tea out of its flowers and you can substitue its leave in for grape leaves when you make dolmas. Speaking of grapes, Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangenis) is a prolific producer. The grapes have astringent skins that can irritate your mouth, but the juice once squeezed and sweeted is so delicious that my mom and I go to the trouble of canning a decent amount every year. I recently learned that when harvested green, you can pickle them and they make a decent olive substitute. Some people even bake the unripe green grapes into a pie. I need to try out some of those recipes this year as I have a bumper crop growing on my fenceline. Other native edible plants that have produced well for me and have been easy to grow are elderberries, mulberries, dewberries (native low growing blackberry vines), and the permaculture favorite, the sunchoke. I garden in zone 8b in North Texas so many if not all of these plants should work for you in your zone 9 deep south yard. If you need any sunchoke tubers or seeds from the other plants I mentioned, send me a DM with your address and I can mail some to you.
