Permaculture Plants for Utah County

The following text is the explanation, etc., but if you just want the good stuff, skip down to the List of Ten - Part I.

I searched on the internet to find a listing of plants that were especially good for Utah County. You know, a nice, comprehensive list of "permaculture-ready" plants that really like the conditions found here. Whether I was just looking in the wrong place or, more likely, such a list had not been created, I don't know.

At any rate, I decided to come up with my own list of the top twenty permaculture plants for Utah County. At first it was difficult to get beyond a small handful of plants. However, once I began to really put my mind to it, I found that twenty was way too small of a number. But could I really call them the "top" plants for permaculture purposes in this area if I started making a long list? Not so much, at least to my way of thinking.

So now I have figured out what I am going to do: I am creating a list of ten plants that have multiple uses and are known to grow in this area. Every time I come up with ten more plants I will post about them with links to the other lists of ten. Hopefully that makes sense. At any rate, eventually there should be a good amount of ideas for those that would like to increase diversity in their permaculture plot.

Just to make things clear, these plant lists do not indicate any kind of priority or placement. In other words, the plants are organized arbitrarily and where a plant shows up is not a means of showing importance or significance. Good enough? Moving on then…

Anyhow, without further ado, I present the first list of ten.

List of Ten - Part I

1. Symphytum officinale (Comfrey)
   →http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Symphytum+officinale
   →Specimen Spotlight: Comfrey

   

   Comfrey - Full Size Photo

   • Nutrient accumulator

   • Insectary

   • Medicinal

   • Mulch maker

   • Easy to propagate

   • Tolerates poor soil as well as high-nitrogen soil, such as on or near a manure pile

   • Dappled shade to full sun

   • Tolerates near drought to often wet, once established

   • Perennial - this should speak for itself; if you are curious about why perennial is important, read Eric Toensmeier's book Perennial Vegetables, pp. 2, 5, 6.

   • Naturally occurring - it can be found scattered throughout Provo Canyon
   • Flowers!

2. Amelanchier spp. (Saskatoon, Juneberry, Serviceberry)
   →Specimen Spotlight: Serviceberry
   →http://extension.usu.edu/range/Woody/utahserviceberry.htm
   →http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Amelanchier+alnifolia
   →http://sbe.umaine.edu/amelanchier/?page_id=134

   

   Saskatoon berries and
   foliage - Source

   • Naturally occurring - at least one species is native to this area and grows abundantly in Provo Canyon

   • Fruit (this is always my top reason for growing something: can I eat it?) - Most people like the berries, although some species have sweeter fruit than others. Birds will eat the fruit, especially those that are still on the plant in late winter.

   • Drought tolerant, once established

   • Is not picky about soil type

   • Partial shade to full sun

   • Shrub - it can grow to the size of a small tree. It can be coppiced to provide mulch material.
   • Blossoms!

3. Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion)
   →Specimen Spotlight: Dandelion
   →http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html

   

   Dandelion flower - Source

   • Insectary

   • Nutrient accumulator

   • Thrives on neglect

   • Shade to full sun

   • Edible - it is becoming a very popular salad green. Be sure to pick the leaves before the plant flowers, otherwise they tend to turn bitter. You can also eat the large taproot. Cook it like you would other root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, or potatoes.

   • Perennial and self-reseeding

   • Medicinal - as is the case with most, if not all, nutrient accumulators. It has been theorized that the ability of these plants to gather hard-to-reach nutrients might have something to do with their medicinality.

   • Flowers! - okay, so dandelion flowers may not seem like much to look at, but little children love them!

4. Vitis spp. (Grape)
   →Specimen Spotlight: Grape
   →http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Vitis+vinifera

   

   Grapes! - Source

   • Vine - helps fill in the vine niche in the seven levels of a forest garden

   • Edible

   • Bird feed - birds especially like seedless varieties. In this area there enough grapes that the birds mostly ignore any grape that is not seedless while devouring those that are.

   • Medicinal

   • Climber - as a deciduous climbing vine, these plants do a great job of climbing and covering during the summer, which provides shade, and then dropping it leaves in the fall and allowing any winter sunshine available to shine through.

   • Basketry

   • Privacy fence - for those that want to make a chain-link fence a little less see-through, grape vines will vigorously grow to create an almost impenetrable covering

5. Malus domestica (Apple)
   →Specimen Spotlight: Apple
   →http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Malus+domestica

   

   Malus domestica - Source

   • Edible

   • Attracts wildlife - many animals, from birds to rodents to large mammals, like apples

   • Medicinal

   • Insectary - have you ever listened to an apple tree in bloom? It sounds quite similar to a bee hive!

   • Nutrient accumulator - stores potassium in its leaves

   • Dentrifice - eating an apple helps clean the teeth and gums

   • Wood - used both as a fuel and for woodworking

   • Habitat - adding a tree to a yard, especially if it is a standard-sized one, not a dwarf, will really increase the amount of creatures that can find food and shelter in that yard. And more creatures means better diversity, better balance, and the perks that each species provides just for being able to hang around.
   • Blossoms!

6. Helianthus annuus (Sunflower)
   →Specimen Spotlight: Sunflower

   • Insectary
   

   

   Field of sunflowers - Source

   • Edible - you can eat them as microgreens, in addition to the well known sunflower seeds and the petals make nice additions to summer salads

   • Poles - my pole beans sometimes like sunflowers and sometimes do not, but I can always use last years sunflower "trunks" as teepee trellis poles without any problem

   • Self-reseeding

   • Bird seed - you don't need to do anything, the plant grows the food and then hangs it out for the birds to "harvest" at their convenience

   • Mulch - the leaves provide soft mulch and when the poles are no longer fit for use as trellises they can be chipped into short lengths or even small pieces and added to wherever some more mulch is needed or be included in a new hugelkultur mound

   • Medicinal
   • Flowers!

7. Helianthus tuberosus (Sunchoke, Jerusalem artichoke)
   →http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Helianthus_tuberosus.html
   →http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke

   

   Sunchoke flowers - Full Size Photo

   • Insectary

   • Perennial - these are another type of sunflower, but they propagate via tuberous roots as well as by seed

   • Edible - the root tubers are a great food source, both raw and cooked. Also, just like sunflowers, the flower petals are especially nice in a salad.

   • Livestock feed - the leaves and stalks are very nutritious for grazing animals, and pigs enjoy digging and eating the tubers
   • Flowers!

8. Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus (Daikon radish)
   →http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon
   →http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/radishes.html

   

   Daikon - Source

   • Insectary - when left to bolt, radishes, like the other members of the Brassica family, put up little yellow flowers that are appreciated by the local insects

   • Soil improver - this type of radish grows a root that looks like a very large carrot, similar to a parsnip. Just leave the root in the ground to decompose, thereby adding a deep injection of organic matter to the soil.

   • Edible - many tons of this type of radish are grown in east Asia as a companion food to rice

9. Trifolium spp. (Clover)
   →http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover

   

   Clover - Source

   
   →http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Trifolium+repens

   • Insectary - bees especially like clover

   • Nitrogen fixer

   • Edible - leaves, flowers, sprouted seeds, etc.

   • Chop-and-drop mulching/green manure
   • Ground cover
   • Medicinal
   • Lawn friendly - for those places where a small lawn is appropriate this plant is good to throw in with the grass as it tolerates trampling
   • Perennial

10. Chenopodium album (Lamb's quarters)
    →http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_album
    →http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Chenopodium+album

    

    Lamb's quarters - Source

    • Edible - leaves in salad, seeds can be used like a grain (this plant is a close relative of quinoa,
    the seed of which is becoming more commonly available), and the flowering shoots can be eaten in a similar fashion to broccoli

    • Naturalized - another plant that is considered a weed

    • Trap crop - this plant is prized by leaf miners and will attract them to it, freeing other plants from leaf miner predations

    • Companion - when allowed to grow near potatoes it stimulates their growth
    •  Dye - green
    • Soap - the crushed roots can be used as a soap substitute
    • Medicinal - has some mild medicinal properties