Sometimes native species fill a need perfectly, but often, a cultivated variety (whether originally native or not) is simply going to provide a better yield. In a permaculture garden, one of the main goals is to grow food, and native plants aren’t always the best option for a reliable and useful crop. I see value in having both natives and exotics. There’s a big debate over whether native species are always better and if exotic species should even be plated at all. So if exotics are fine to plant, then why worry about including any native species in your permaculture garden? Why Including Native Species Is Important Of course, there’s a risk of exotics becoming invasive and disrupting the native ecosystem, so it’s important to be mindful of any non-natives you introduce to your garden. So it is perfectly fine to choose non-native species to grow in your permaculture garden. As long as you select species that are suited to your climate, it shouldn’t matter a great deal if the plant is native to a different part of the world. It’s not the exact plant that matters, but the function it fills. Cultivated and Exotic Speciesįrom a functional perspective, substituting a non-native species usually doesn’t have many drawbacks. For more information, you can read my article on designing fruit tree guilds, The Ultimate Fruit Tree Guild Design Guide: 7 Steps to a Bountiful Guild. In gardens or landscaped areas, we call them guilds. In nature, this is called a plant community. What is a Plant Guild?Ī guild is a group of plants growing together that support each other. Please adhere to any laws regarding the collection of plant material. Cuttings or seed collection are more responsible methods of propagation from the wild than transplanting. If you plan to do this, please be aware of and minimize your impact on the land. When sourcing plants for your guild it may be tempting to search for them in the wild. Additionally, be sure to get positive identifications prior to consuming as some of these species have toxic look-a-likes. If you plan on consuming any parts of the plants I’ve mentioned in this article, please verify edibility prior to consuming. So If you live around here, or elsewhere, read on to learn about putting together your own edible native plant guild. I’ll also cover the process of designing your own native guild, no matter where you live in the world. So take a look at my example guild with plenty of edible plants native to the Pacific Northwest to include in your own garden. If you live around here, you might like to plant one of your own. I designed this guild for my backyard in western Idaho, which is drier than much of the Pacific Northwest region, so I selected plants with lower water requirements. This edible native guild for the Pacific Northwest is the answer for getting the best of both worlds. Chambers, Professor of Botany and Curator, Herbarium, Oregon State University, and to LaRea Johnston, Assistant Curator.Landscaping with native plants has many benefits, but sometimes a girl just wants her fruit trees and berry bushes. For assistance with botanical nomenclature and taxonomic classification, we are indebted to Kenton L. Bina Nandi in our Nutrition Research Laboratory is acknowledged. Pedersen, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, kindly performed the amino acid analysis. Storvick, PH.D., Head, Home Economics Research, and to the faculty of the Foods and Nutrition Department for their advice and support. Appreciation is also expressed to Clara A. Ivy Hilty, Home Economics Extension Agent, whose efforts greatly facilitated the study. 3356.ĢThe authors wish to express their appreciation to the members of the Confederated Tribes at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation for their cooperation and interest in this project. This is Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Paper No. 1The research reported here was funded by the Federal Cooperative Extension Service at Oregon State University and by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |