Long tap-rooted plants for pond banks

I want to remove the privet that crowds the south-facing perimeter of my pond, but I do value the erosion control provided by those tenacious and expansive root systems. The plan I'm working on is removing the privet piecemeal and replacing it with edible perennials with long tap roots that will help prevent erosion
I've got a lot of artichoke and cardoon seed that I hope to put in there, but some variety would be nice and I was wondering what the community here would try in such an area.

A key consideration besides the criteria listed above is not looking too weedy or tall, as my parents have a direct view of this area and I don't want it to look too unkempt for them, nor do I want to obscure their view of the pond.

Asparagus? Grows from seed (slow) or 'crowns' - Takes 3 seasons to establish to the point of cutting spears for eating though.  Up to 1 metre tall feathery stalks when left to grow - necessary to allow some to provide energy for the next crop.  Most things leave it alone, but the berries can spread about.
Maybe rhubarb - that loves a damp/wet spot and the roots go on forever.

Vetiver is usually recommended for erosion control.  It has deep roots and also makes a mass.

Here are some threads to introduce vetiver for you or others:

https://permies.com/t/26103/Feedback-vetiver

https://permies.com/t/241423/Vetiver-grass-experiences-buy

Alfalfa is another good choice as the tap root can go down as far as 15 feet.

Anne Miller wrote:Vetiver is usually recommended for erosion control.  It has deep roots and also makes a mass.

Here are some threads to introduce vetiver for you or others:

https://permies.com/t/26103/Feedback-vetiver

https://permies.com/t/241423/Vetiver-grass-experiences-buy

Alfalfa is another good choice as the tap root can go down as far as 15 feet.

Think vetiver would survive a 10 F low in winter?

Alfalfa is a great idea.

Jill Dyer wrote:Asparagus? Grows from seed (slow) or 'crowns' - Takes 3 seasons to establish to the point of cutting spears for eating though.  Up to 1 metre tall feathery stalks when left to grow - necessary to allow some to provide energy for the next crop.  Most things leave it alone, but the berries can spread about.
Maybe rhubarb - that loves a damp/wet spot and the roots go on forever.

My only issue with asparagus is out here it grows even taller. My patch gets closer to 6 feet high and very dense.

Rhubarb would be great tho - from what I've seen it grows wider and lower.

I was thinking horseradish too tho I want to see if the greens are any good before I plant it en masse.

Sam Shade wrote:Think vetiver would survive a 10 F low in winter?

Extreme climatic conditions: vetiver can survive in prolonged drought, flood and temperatures of -15°C to + 55°C. Its growth is limited by frost but it can handle temperatures below freezing for a short period.

https://www.orchardofflavours.com/vetiver-a-miracle-grass

A potential fun and classic erosion control plant that surprisingly is edible (to me at least) would be cat-tails but they do get tall. You could use them towards the edges of the field of view? You would need to do some management of them but they produce good biomass.

Timothy Norton wrote:A potential fun and classic erosion control plant that surprisingly is edible (to me at least) would be cat-tails but they do get tall. You could use them towards the edges of the field of view? You would need to do some management of them but they produce good biomass.

Love the idea of cat tails - four-season food production!

I was thinking horseradish too tho I want to see if the greens are any good before I plant it en masse.

The younger greens are delicious in salads and stir-fries or cooked as greens. They've got a subtler taste of the root the same sort of way young mustard greens hint of mustard.

Sam Shade wrote:I want to remove the privet that crowds the south-facing perimeter of my pond, but I do value the erosion control provided by those tenacious and expansive root systems.

So this is a south facing bank? Is it the slope that makes it an erosion risk? How wet? I'm just trying to visualise the layout. I'd plant cardoon and globe artichoke in well drained areas rather than by a pond, but my summer is probably a lot cooler than yours.

Scorzonera (black salsify or Scorzonera hispanica) had very tasty leaves and dandelion like flowers on long stems - it also has a long tap root, which may be good for erosion control. Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) is a pretty umbellifera beloved of insects, maybe a bit wild looking, but has tasty sweet aniseed flavoured seeds when picked green. long spreading roots like rhubarb, but a little smaller perhaps. The leaves go well with rhubarb as it really does reduce the amount of sugar to make the rhubarb palatable. Day lillies have pretty tough root systems I believe and are also very ornamental.

Nancy Reading wrote:

Sam Shade wrote:I want to remove the privet that crowds the south-facing perimeter of my pond, but I do value the erosion control provided by those tenacious and expansive root systems.

So this is a south facing bank? Is it the slope that makes it an erosion risk? How wet? I'm just trying to visualise the layout. I'd plant cardoon and globe artichoke in well drained areas rather than by a pond, but my summer is probably a lot cooler than yours.

Scorzonera (black salsify or Scorzonera hispanica) had very tasty leaves and dandelion like flowers on long stems - it also has a long tap root, which may be good for erosion control. Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) is a pretty umbellifera beloved of insects, maybe a bit wild looking, but has tasty sweet aniseed flavoured seeds when picked green. long spreading roots like rhubarb, but a little smaller perhaps. The leaves go well with rhubarb as it really does reduce the amount of sugar to make the rhubarb palatable. Day lillies have pretty tough root systems I believe and are also very ornamental.

It's the ridge above the short sloping bank. My concern is that without the privet roots holding the ridge in place, the rains will crumble the ridge and turn the whole area into a slope.


The soil on this ridge drains pretty well - probably because of how much gravel has made its way down from an old gravel path in the other side of the pond fence.

I've got lots of artichoke and cardoon seed handy and I've had some success with cardoon, which is the main reason I was planning to incorporate them.

Did anyone suggest milkweed?  The showy one is edible according to the edible weeds and natives reference I saw a few years ago.  Some milkweed are toxic but some are not.

I have eaten the stems of showy milkweed….🤣 and lived to tell the tale

Here’s a link
https://www.foragecolorado.com/post/foraging-and-eating-showy-milkweed

Addendum: I gathered the stems when they were young and tender. I removed the leaves and cooked it like fresh asparagus. When I am gathering fresh asparagus, I collect as much of the stem as snaps off easily. When it gets older, it also gets tougher and doesn’t snap,  it seems woody or vascular fiber develops with time.