Multi-purpose edible hedging for your home
Every inch of farmland has the potential for use. How, then, can the home gardener maximise the utility of their yard? Multi-purpose plants are the key.
Not all vegetables are as ugly as a radish top. Certain vegetables hold such hidden beauty that varieties are bred and planted as decor: kale, sweet potato, peppers, and asparagus have decorative varieties. Okra has a stunning flower, opening only during the day, cream with maroon centres.
Artichoke has grey leaves and large iridescent purple flowers, creating an unusual garden centrepiece. Purple coneflower is also known as Echinacea. Chamomile, calendula, coriander, and bee balm all have beautiful and edible flowers.
They are not only pleasing to onlookers, but for pollination and harvesting. Multi-purpose plants are used all the time on the farm. The most notorious being the soybean.
In addition to being a crop, these beans often provide between 15 – 20 per cent of the following crop’s nitrogen. Cover crops, such as rye, vetch, and sorghum-Sudan grass all provide a source of food and or bedding for livestock as well as an improvement in soil health.
Vetch, a legume, also provides additional nitrogen to the next crop. Some farmers choose to plant cover crops that will flower, in order to improve the health of local bee colonies and beneficial insects.
Gardens planted around the eaves of barns help capture run-off water and provide habitat for beneficial insects. In warmer climates some farmers will plant scattered shade trees in order to improve animal weight gain and the quality of the pasture.
Shelterbelts, which are one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted to provide shelter from the wind, reduces heat bills, dust, and crop wind damage and improves spray applications.
Additionally, waterways help keep sediment and nutrients out of the stream, provide some continual habitat for wildlife and soil biology, prevent damage to equipment, and help the farmer avoid planting in areas where crop failure is likely.
Multi-purpose plants are a way to make more of your land. With a bit of creativity and knowledge, a single plant can easily improve soil quality, pollinator habitat, aesthetics, and provide the freshest possible produce to your table.