10 Perennial Vegetables To Start Your Garden With • Insteading

There is a huge variety of plants that we can choose from when we want tostart our own garden.

But starting your garden isn’t as simple as just throwing some seeds in the ground. You have to consider the plant’s sun, soil, and water requirements, as well as whether or not it’s well-suited for your climate.

但许多园丁需要考虑的另一个问题是，他们想要种植一年生植物、两年生植物还是多年生植物。一年生植物生长一个季节然后死亡，双年生植物需要两年来完成整个生命周期，而多年生植物会在这些年里继续生长。多年生蔬菜为园丁提供多年的食物，使它们成为许多菜园的热门选择。

Some perennial vegetables include:

For those looking to expand beyond vegetables, there are also dozens ofperennial flowers, like peonies and lilacs (my two favorite flowers from my grandmother’s backyard in southern Michigan),zinnias, irises, and more.

Perennial Vegetables To Grow

If your yard is big enough, growall上面列出的多年生蔬菜!每一种都有独特的味道和营养价值，其中许多植物看起来都很漂亮(或者至少是有趣的，以香椿芽为例)。

Using the same list as above, we’ll dive into the growing and cooking details about this interesting mix of perennial edibles.

Artichokes

洋蓟可能是有史以来最大最奇怪的蔬菜之一!只要气温不低于20华氏度，这些植物就能以多年生植物的形式生长6到7年。这些强壮的、有时看起来可怕的植物在仲夏至夏末产出美味的洋蓟。

You can harvest once the lowest part of the scales just starts to open. To learn how to plant, sow, and save seeds for artichokes, reviewthis articleby Barbara Pleasant.

Cardoon

Cardoon is related to artichokes but differs in that the edible parts of cardoon are the stems. These kinda scary looking plants are a delicacy in the Mediterranean and Italy! Gayla Trail ofYou Grow Girlsays they are “bold and sculptural plants,” and Graham Stuart Thomas calls them the “grandest of all silverlings” and perfect for keeping gardens interesting in cooler months.

Trail explains that the effort of growing cardoon is not for the faint of heart. Says Trail: “Cardoon is a bit of a pain, and an absolute nightmare to prepare and cook, but it is a stunning plant and a delectable, but acquired taste.”

在最冷的月份里，为了让洋蓟和香椿都能存活，用一个硬纸盒盖住，并填满稻草或树叶来隔热。

Asparagus

Asparagus is one of the most lovely plants of the spring, and its daily prolific growth is great for growers. Given that this plant may take a few years to really reach its full potential, you’ll need to plan ahead a bit. In the first year, asparagus should be grown but not harvested.

But when it gets going fully, it will likely produce for years! When asparagus is in its most prolific stages, the spears can be harvested at about 8 inches. You’ll need to check your asparagus each day to see what’s popped up overnight.

Chayote

Chayote vines are another hardy veggie that can withstand cooler temperatures, despite migrating from more tropical climes. These versatile veggies can be eaten raw, pickled, or cooked.

If you can find this unique veggie locally, just leave it on your countertop for a few weeks until it sprouts, then plant it where it will have room to climb. Before winter comes, cover it with mulch to keep the roots as warm as possible.

Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)

jerusalem artichoke tubers — 菊芋块茎。allispossible.org.uk / Flickr (Creative Commons)

Either name is appropriate for these humble little root veggies. Despite their name, these perennial vegetables are not related to artichokes or sunflowers but are a cool root crop that can be eaten raw or cooked.

These plants are quite large, growing 6-10 feet tall, so organize the garden accordingly to make space. It’s important to note that they will also surreptitiously take over the entire garden, as hilariously examined here byLauren Neverman.

Nasturtiums

nasturtium flowers — cultivar413 / Flickr (Creative Commons)

These bright flowers and pretty round leaves are a lovely, spicy addition to salads and other dishes. While they are more often considered flowers rather than veggies, since you can eat the flowers, greens, AND the seeds, I think they are good fodder for discussion here as an awesome food crop.

严寒会让这些植物变成一年生植物，所以如果你在较冷的地区，把旱金莲放在花盆里，这样冬天的时候你就可以把它们移到室内。

Nettles

荨麻是一种草药和蔬菜。这些植物在早春到达，是多产的一年生植物。这些植物上有刺毛，可以通过烹饪或混合使其失去活性。也就是说，当你收获它们的时候，它们真的很烦人，所以要小心，戴上手套。

Nettles can be made into tea, tinctures, and blended into pestos and sauces for mineral-rich green foods at the end of a long winter.Barbara Pleasant在她的网站上有一个关于如何收割，训练和种植荨麻的很棒的讨论。

Ramps (Wild Leeks)

Ramps are one of the first green things of the spring, and many foragers and foodies adore these spicy, pungent veggies that are part of the allium family of onions and garlic. However, as these plants become more commonly foraged,they become depleted, so it’s best to plant your own.

These plants have a unique lifecycle and a long runway before full production, about five to seven years! Ashley Adamant ofPractical Self Reliancehas the best article for how to choose ramp seeds and the details of how to grow your own crop of this awesome food.

Rhubarb

Like artichokes and sunchokes, rhubarb is a plant that has a large space commitment. These tart and tangy stalks are the only edible part of the plant—the leaves are poisonous. Rhubarb actually thrives in colder weather and will do well with little maintenance in the winter.

Like asparagus, rhubarb may need a year to get started. Consider not harvesting during the first year in order to fully establish the plant. Afterward, the stalks can be harvested easily from the base. Once the season cools, cover the plant with mulch and wait until next spring!

Sorrel

Sorrel is another tender green that is an early riser in the springtime. Though sorrel is a tall-growing plant, you can keep the size small by pinching or cutting off leaves, keeping the remaining ones in clumps to encourage more growth. Read more about how to grow this (and lovage, a related vegetable-herb) here onGrowVeg.

Benefits Of Perennial Vegetables

The primary benefit of perennials is that you can get one plant in the ground, and it becomes a gift that keeps giving. Edible perennial vegetables like asparagus, rhubarb, and ramps will rise to life again in the spring and provide you with ongoing harvests each year.

You can see from the list above that perennial vegetables are generally less-common vegetables, and often not ones found in your local grocery stores. But adding this diverse mix of vegetables into your garden can help improve your overall yield and deliver an abundance of variety when interspersed with otheredible landscaping.

Planting around perennial vegetables also gives you a framework for how to plan out your garden. For example, knowing that the asparagus will always come up in a certain spot in the garden means you know what other plants you can plant around it so that it is as productive as possible.

多年生植物的另一个好处是，它们有时是早春最先出现的绿色植物。Eric Toensmeier is quoted onMother Earth Newspromoting the benefit of these early risers. He says, “Some perennial crops, such as sorrel, are up and ready to eat in March when the snow is melting [and most] of our springtime food harvest comes from perennials. By the time they’re finished, the annual vegetables are coming in.”

同样值得注意的是，根据你的USDA种植区，一些植物(如西红柿)只会在天气变暖的时候存活。我有一株羽衣甘蓝(真的，现在它更像一棵树!)，是我的朋友们两年前种的;同样，我们搬进来时种的羽衣甘蓝也终于可以正常收割了。

And even in cooler climates, when properly protected with row covers or otherwise protected from deep cold, plants like kale and collards and some herbs will weather the snow and spring back to life in the warmer months.