[A-List] Edible Landscaping

[Bill Totten]

One Transition Step from Peak Oil

Posted by Gail the Actuary {1}

The Oil Drum: Campfire (June 02 2010)

This is a guest post by Will Stewart, who has written a number of
articles previously at The Oil Drum.

We are told that in the US, the food on our table has traveled an
average of 1500 miles {2} and consumed nine calories of energy {3}
for each food calorie on our plate. In a time when "oil prices are
likely to be both higher and more volatile and where oil prices
have the potential to destabilize economic, political and social
activity" {4}, we need a way to mitigate the near certain risks of
much higher impending food costs.

There are a number of answers, one of which is to support local
agriculture. Additionally, one can grow their own food in a
pleasing, sylvan landscape. five years ago, I decided I was going
to shift from a native plantings landscaping theme to one that
turned my yard into a source of sustenance. I had read about
"Edible Landscaping" and "Permaculture", and decided that
approaching tough economic times could be mitigated by growing more
of my own food in a manner that did not require a large degree of
manual labor. After all, we are supposed to have two to five
helpings of fruit each day, and nuts have been shown to be very
healthy sources of protein and essential fatty acids {5} - and even
lowering cholesterol {6}. My family likes to "pick your own" at
local orchards and shop at farmer's markets, and felt that
augmenting those purchases with our own fruits and nuts meant that
we would reduce the need to ship food across country. So in
addition to our gardening and backyard chickens, we could
effectively cover three out of five of the basic food groups in the
food pyramid {7} right in our yard.

Where to start?

So how does someone go about determining what is appropriate and
manageable to grow in their yard? The following factors are the
most important;

* Location: First, one needs to know what hardiness zone they are
in, to eliminate candidate plants that would die from the low
temperatures in their area. For the US, refer to the Hardiness Zone
Map update {8} provided by the Arbor Day Foundation (hit "Play").
Other hardiness maps are available for Canada {9}, Europe {10},
Australia {11}, South America {12}, FSU {13}, China {14}, Japan
{15}, and a global map {16}. Any plant that does not grow well in
the zone you are in should be removed from further consideration,
unless you are prepared to go to extra measures (such as create a
greenhouse, move the plant indoors seasonally, et cetera).

* Disease-resistance: Many popular fruit varieties (that often show
up in local nurseries or hardware stores) require extensive
spraying to control a wide array of diseases, many of which have
been imported from other countries and attack local species that
have no inherent immunity. Considerable effort has gone into
creating hybrids of species with numerous immunities to produce
species that are resistant to a wide variety of disease. Once you
decide on the types of fruit you would like to grow, learn about
the diseases that are endemic in your area. Then select varieties
that are resistant to those diseases. (More on this in future
articles)

* Pollination: Some species are self-pollinators and do not require
a second specimen or variety to produce fruit. Many species,
however, require a second specimen or even another variety to
produce fruit. In this case, you must consider the other varieties
that are needed, the timing of the spring bloom (which must overlap
sufficiently), and an extra specimen so that the loss of one tree
does not eliminate the ability to pollinate. Note how close
pollinators should be to each other (for example, "no further than
20 feet for some dwarf apple trees"). Learn how to attract and keep
natural pollinating insects - for example, Mason bees {17}, more on
this in future articles.

* Fruiting schedule: Be cognizant of the timeframes in which your
fruits will ripen {18}; the best approach is to try to cover as
much of the calendar year with as diverse a harvest as possible.
For example, I've chosen four varieties of apples that will provide
fruit from July through November, with the later apples able to be
stored through the winter ("winter-keepers"). Other choices include
strawberries (May) and June berries for early fruit and
Lingonberries for late fruit (December). This way, one can enjoy
fresh fruits almost year around and dehydrated/canned fruit any
time of year.

* Pests: The luscious pictures of fruit on the tree tags at the
local nursery often turns into a nightmare of worm-eaten sickly
fruit after the first couple of bearing years. Find out from your
local horticulture agent which pests are likely to attack the types
of fruits or nuts you've chosen. Often, some varieties also have
some resistance to common pests. Many pheremone traps and natural
pesticide products exist to keep insects from damaging your trees
or fruit crop, and there are natural insect predators that can be
encouraged (with their favorite habits) to take up residence in
your yard - for example, Ladybugs {19}, who eat aphids, scale, and
mites. Learn about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in order to
more efficiently target specific lifecycle vulnerabilities of the
pests, either with organic {20} or non-organic controls. (More on
this in future articles.)

* Size: Standard sizes of common fruits such as apples and pears
are often too large for homeowners to maintain and harvest
effectively. Dwarf and Semi-dwarf varieties are very popular now
with home gardeners, and they also bear fruit much sooner. The size
(and other attributes such as disease resistance) depends greatly
upon the rootstock used. Nut trees can generally be large without
much issue. (More on this in future articles)

* Harvest/Storage: When will each plant bear their crop? How long
can it be stored? What are the preferred storage conditions
(temperature, humidity)? Can they be dehydrated/canned/ et cetera?
(More on this in future articles.)

Initial List

After performing the above analyses, I came up with the following
candidate plant list based on my location in the Mid Atlantic US
(the list for your specific area may differ).

Fruit Trees:

* Apple
* Asian Pear
* Plum
* Pawpaw
* Jujube (Chinese Date)
* Persimmon (American)
* Persimmon (Asian)
* Pomegranate
* Watermelonball Tree (Chinese Mulberry)

Berries:

* Blueberry
* Raspberry
* Grapes
* Ligonberry
* Juneberry
* Elderberry
* Gooseberry
* Goumi
* Aroniaberry
* Black Huckleberry
* Figs
* Kiwi

Nuts:

* English Walnut
* Heartnut (Japanese Walnut)
* Northern Pecan
* Filbert
* Chestnut

The above list is a fair number of plants, though one's yard can be
artfully planned out to yield a large amount of fruits and nuts
with a thoughtful design approach. For example, Gene Yale in
Chicago has a planting of 97 apple trees (and other fruits) in a
1/4 acre yard! {21}

Our own yard is approximate 1/3 acre, though we have many acres in
sheep pasture. Coincidentally, the sheep also need some relief from
the summer sun, so plantings just inside the electric fence
(protected by circular fence cages) serve dual purposes.

In coming articles, we'll talk about laying out plans, the types of
fruits and nuts that are doing well here, and how to put it all
together to begin executing your plan early this fall. While this
series will be about hardiness zone seven, most of the plants
involved are suitable in at least two other zones.

Links:

{1} http://www.theoildrum.com/user/Gail%20the%20Actuary

{2}
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/food_travel072103.pdf

{3}
http://www.dcp.ufl.edu/ckibert/BCN4905/NaturalCapitalism-HawkenLovins/NCchapter10.pdf

{4} Quote from Wall Street Journal by Philip Dilley, the chairman
of Arup, the consulting engineers to the UK Industry Task Force on
Peak Oil and Energy Security

{5}
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/nuts-for-the-heart/index.html

{6} http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8673208.stm

{7} http://web.mit.edu/athletics/sportsmedicine/Food%20Pyramid.JPG

{8} http://www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm

{9}
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/forest/forestcanada/planthardi

{10} http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/europe/

{11} http://www.backyardgardener.com/zone/australia.html

{12} http://www.backyardgardener.com/zone/sazone.html

{13} http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/russia/climatic.shtml

{14} http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9815&page=2

{15} http://www.jelitto.com/english/japan.htm

{16}
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0103-90162008000700009&script=sci_arttext

{17}
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note109/note109.html

{18}
http://berks.extension.psu.edu/Agriculture/images/HarvestClndr.jpg

{19} http://insected.arizona.edu/ladyinfo.htm

{20}
http://comp.uark.edu/~dtjohnso/Org%20Fruit%20IPM%209%!%3Cbr%20/%3E%2020Nov%2007.pdf

{21} http://www.midfex.org/yale/intro.html


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