Edible landscaping

[ChanellG]

That's pretty awesome, @Faye Brown! I think an elevated garden could be a good thing in the city as it's away from car exhaust fumes. I just want to grow the sweet potato vines as vines for now - I have new potatoes going in a laundry basket and if that works out I'll try sweet potatoes. Found a sprouted peanut plant last week in the compost; despite my saying I was going to scale back in the garden this year, it's still growing!

 

[ChanellG]

Just an update on the avocado, I've been watching it and waiting for something to happen. Today I was rewarded with a burst of new growth. It's as if the plant tripled in size overnight! Of course I know it will be a while before it's mature enough to bear fruit, and I read recently that you may not get fruit from a sprouted seed, but we shall see...

 

[Shellyann36]

Huge fan of the sweet potatos. The vines are gorgeous but they are high yield and prolific. In a small plot (4x3?) we harvested about 70lbs last year. We sold a third of the crop at a local market and ate potatoes for months.

I do so love the sweet potato vines. They are so pretty. You got lots of potatoes for the amount of space you used. Do you have any pictures that you could share with us?

 

[Rosyrain]

I am completely on board with edible landscaping because it is a great way to grow food and garden at the same time. It makes you self sustainable and you get to breathe in lots of fresh air.

 

[iLoveTheLawn]

That is simply beautiful! My typical idea gardening edible plants are in rows. Never had this idea of a mix and match of everything. And the colors..looks fantastic!

 

[evelynmcgregor]

My Mom always put red lettuce, the kale with the colored stems, rhubarb and such in her flower beds. She used blueberry plants as hedges along the sides of the front yard and put in beds of strawberry plants underneath them. They were always so pretty and since this was over 60 yrs ago, she was ahead of her time! One year she grew little ice box watermelons on the fence. As they grew they did need some support for the little melons and she used the legs of panty hose to make little slings to hold them.

 

[ChanellG]

I am completely on board with edible landscaping because it is a great way to grow food and garden at the same time. It makes you self sustainable and you get to breathe in lots of fresh air.

It's good for you and it's good for the environment! My only problem is that I live in the city and I garden organically, but my neighbors spray pesticides for everything from wasps to fleas to termites. While I can sympathize with people not wanting to potentially be stung by wasps, I don't want that stuff on my food.

 

[ChanellG]

That is simply beautiful! My typical idea gardening edible plants are in rows. Never had this idea of a mix and match of everything. And the colors..looks fantastic!

I live in an area where the soil is questionable and you never know what your neighbors have done, so it is best to plant in containers where you know what's in the soil and can move plants around when people are spraying for bugs or painting (they use sprayers for that too!) - that's when you're around to see what's going on and try and protect your plants.

 

[ChanellG]

My Mom always put red lettuce, the kale with the colored stems, rhubarb and such in her flower beds. She used blueberry plants as hedges along the sides of the front yard and put in beds of strawberry plants underneath them. They were always so pretty and since this was over 60 yrs ago, she was ahead of her time! One year she grew little ice box watermelons on the fence. As they grew they did need some support for the little melons and she used the legs of panty hose to make little slings to hold them.

I've never seen kale with colored stems. I love the rainbow chard with colored stems and I want to try and grow some this fall. I bought plants last year, but the container I had them in was too small and they didn't get enough water, etc., etc. I should probably wait until I have more time again so I can give my plants more attention, but I want to be able to go outside and get some food for dinner!

 

[Carolyn]

I live in a small city and have the problem with runoff from chemicals sprayed on the roads in the winter. I always keep anything I'm going to eat pretty far back from the street. My house sits on the front of my property so everything I grow is in back unless it's ornamental.