Flowers Are A Must For Permaculture Garden Success

Florida Permaculture Garden, Pollinator Plants a Must

Survival garden pollinator plants & plants pollinators pollinate. You have to have flowers to attract pollinators. You have to have pollinators to grow food. 

Natives & wildflowers are good choices. Passiflora (Passiflora incarnata) & cross vine (Bignonia capreolata) shown here, both Florida natives. 

If your garden doesn't grow food well it may be lacking flowers to attract the needed pollinators.

Try wildflowers!

Imagining Beauty in Mundane Chores

Purposeful Breathing, Like Ocean Breezes can Blow Away Anxiety

One of my aortic dissection survivor friends, Rick Freeman sent me a pdf file of a study showing how breathing exercises can lower blood pressure. I've been exploring similar for a while too, and when I am tense if I focus on my breathing then I can feel the anxiety dissipate.

Which brings me to this morning. I was cleaning the clothes dryer lint filter and beginning to feel aggravated that I couldn't get the lint to start peeling off the filter screen. My agitation grew exponentially in a matter of seconds and I felt my upper arms and shoulders tensing. This is my typical reaction to 'little mundane chores'. Then I remembered reading the breathing study Rick had forwarded.

Taking a few slow, deep breaths I looked at the blue-greyish lint and filter screen and instead of trying to rip the damn lint from the filter screen I began to caress the lint, imagining the act as an exercise of beauty. Instead of grabbing what lint I could and shoving the filter back into the dryer, I slowly rubbed the screen, gently removing every last bit of lint from the shiny metal filter, telling myself this is a good and noble expenditure of my life's energies.

Just as an ocean breeze does, the act of imagining beauty in the cleaning of a dryer filter lint screen seriously lowered my anxiety levels, and I found that cleaning the screen was truly enjoyable, not frustrating as it were before.

I'm still a Type A maniac in many ways and always will be. My adrenaline fueled life contributed to my dissection. But today I am amazed at feeling moved to write a post about finding beauty and pleasure in cleaning a dryer lint screen.

Being present is something I am learning. Deep, slow and paced breathing is proving to be a useful tool in dealing with anxiety and controlling the pressure on my aorta and cardiovascular system. Thanks for the article, Rick.

Yoyo Survival Garden Bounty; Green Tomato Chutney

Florida Permaculture Garden Green Tomato Chutney 

Judy brought a huge pail of wild cherry and grape tomatoes from the front yard Yoyo survival garden into the house yesterday morning.

Our Yoyo survival garden provides us with many tomatoes each day.

The three hens absolutely love tomatoes and we have found that a great hack for encouraging those sometimes stubborn chickens to saunter back into their coop at night.  Simply toss a handful of juicy wild cherry tomatoes through the coop door and they run inside.  

I didn't come up with the chutney idea myself, Judy suggested it.  She doesn't eat tomatoes like I do so I was free to make whatever I wanted with the green, orange and red harvest.

Florida PermacultureTomatoes Diced for Chutney

Green tomato chutney sounded like a great idea to me.  And I love a good condiment.

Our kitchen is usually full of fresh vegetables and fruits.  Gathering ingredients was as much fun as finding eggs on a childhood Easter hunt.

My chutney to be ingredients included;

• four pounds diced garden fresh wild and grape tomatoes
• an entire head of garlic, peeled and diced
• one overly ripe plantain, sliced
• one ripe banana
• one half cup raisins
• one large Vidalia onion, peeled and chopped
• one green bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• six garden fresh banana peppers, deseeded and chopped
• half cup apple cider vinegar
• two tablespoons Ume plum vinegar
• one tablespoon powdered ginger
• two tablespoons powdered cinnamon
• one half teaspoon powdered nutmeg (optional)
• two tablespoons powdered turmeric
• two tablespoons sesame seeds
• and one fourth cup all natural creamy peanut butter (optional)

The post full of chutney ingredients was brought to a light boil, covered with a glass lid then allowed to simmer for an hour.

Florida Permaculture Green Tomato Chutney Simmering

I really enjoy the taste of the creamy peanut butter however would consider this ingredient optional, especially when serving to those with peanut allergies.

Chutney is expensive to buy in the grocery stores.  The four pounds of tomatoes yielded a gallon and a half of chutney, a tasty treasure.

I bottled up a quart mason jar full and gave to our always appreciative neighbors.  The rest is in the refrigerator.  Some of the chutney will go into pint containers then into the freezer.  Canning is another option.

Dicing the four pounds or so of front yard Yoyo survival garden tomatoes took an hour or so.  Good blade practice too.  And the time spent preparing the chutney was of course a great way to slip in relaxation therapy.  There is something good about touching, tasting and smelling fresh food ingredients and I thought about how my ancestors spent time doing much of the same. 

Slow, hand fashioned fresh foods are much different in essence than industrial packaged 'stuff' for sure.

Florida Permaculture Wild Cherry Tomatoes

If you are considering highly productive tomatoes as a crop I can recommend wild cherries for Florida (especially Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes or Everglades tomatoes).  Be aware though, they can be invasive and take over your landscape.  They also make a successful green roof vegetable (or fruit).

And remember to find fulfillment in your Yoyo survival garden daily (You're On Your Own).  Always prepping with permaculture!

Survival Garden Perimeters and Edges; Southern Dewberry

Southern dewberry, Rubus trivilas, useful perimeter plant for gardens of all types

Garden edge and perimeter theory has long been studied and discussed in deep permaculture thought.  Edges are always rich in diversity and truly useful to gardeners.

To the yoyo survival gardener, edges provide a complex set of functions limited in use only to your imagination.

Barriers are one of the first edge plant uses that may come to mind.

Your survival garden perimeters contain potential for many levels of utilitarian barriers against wildlife and potential trespassing humans.  Using a variety of proven edge plants one can create a range of barriers, from light, visual based suggestive deterrents to impenetrable plantings.

Unlike corrosion degradation typical of metal fencing, plant perimeters grow stronger and more effective with each passing year.

Incorporating native plants into edges is a sustainable practice that can pay other dividends too.  

When designing and planting a yoyo survival garden perimeter one can choose from many different species.  I always recommend consulting with local nurseries to determine those varieties well suited for any specific location.

With respect to levels of garden fortification, flora deterrence works not only for the yard but also for the patio and balcony.  And while drawing boundaries is an important yoyo survival garden design criteria, it isn't the only factor to consider.

Curb appeal may seem irrelevant to some but in the long run the unexpected may happen and one may have to sell their homestead, townhouse or farm.  Consider planting those edge plants who contribute to the overall aesthetic of your garden perimeter.  Striking and attractive; color, hues, textures, gloss, translucence, shade, structure and form can be achieved in your garden edges with well chosen greenery.

Food production too is a real advantage of thoughtful edge and perimeter planting.  The art sketch above is my visual interpretation of our Florida native southern dewberry bramble, Rubus trivialis, a thorny shrub who doesn't allow for easy passage but also provides a bountiful, nutritious harvest for jams, snacks, pies, canning and freezing.

Thoughtfully chosen perimeter plants may also produce desirable goods to be used in commerce, such as bamboo poles or pineapple guava fruits.

Potential uses for your yoyo survival garden edges are limitless, bounded only by your creativity.

You can start with just one plant, seed, cutting or even your imagination today!

Bucket List - Do Your's Now

I've been enjoying the book, 'Brief Answers to Big Questions' by Stephen Hawking lately. I'd like to share a few notable things he writes over the next few days.

The first is: "When you are faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realize there are lots of things you want to do before your life is over".

As an aortic dissection and renal cell cancer survivor I can relate. #survivor

Survival Garden Breakfast; Nutritious, Delicious & From The Pantry

Survival garden (yoyo) plantain pantry oatmeal

Most all understand the importance of having a reasonable amount of food set aside, in store for the unexpected.  We have our pantry relatively well stocked, though as we've been staying home and using up the food, so it should be refilled soon.

For me the biggest challenge in integrating pantry food into our daily diet is tastefulness and variety.

This morning's plantain oatmeal breakfast was one of the best we've made in a long time, and quite easy to put together from mostly staple items.

In fact, Judy commented that the dish was the best oatmeal she's had.

Easy to make.  Slice up two small and very ripe (blackened peels) plantain and place in a pot with two cups water, bring to a boil then turn down heat.

Add 3/4 cup organic oats, 2 tablespoons, cinnamon, the juice of one lemon or lime, and a handful of raisins.

Simmer for three minutes.  Place in a bowl with a touch of ghee and enjoy!

Stored pantry goods can be delicious!

Dollarweed for Survival Garden, Containers & Green Roofs too!

Both Hydrocotyle and Centella spp. are important survival garden plants

Dollarweed & Gotu kola, Hydrocotyle & Centella spp. are plants every survival garden should have growing in them.  

Efficient with purifying water, full of nutrients, fats, carbs, protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins & minerals.  

Most think of dollarweed as noxious.  

#Survivalists know what an important ethnobotanical dollarweed actually is. 

Check out this interesting abstract about the nutrition content of these species here.

#botany #nativeplants #garden #weeds #dollarweed #gotukola #herbs #medicine #plants #permacuture 

Best Plants for Survival Gardens; Top 120 Patios, Yards and Balcony Permaculture Plants

Best Plants for Survival Gardens in the Southeastern U.S.

My top seventeen survival garden plant types and my top one hundred twenty survival garden plants are included in the following lists.

To be clear these plant selections are my opinion only.  What you end up putting in your survival garden is appropriate for you.  There are no wrong choices other than not planting anything at all.

Please note these plants may be grown across America but they are specifically chosen for the southeastern U.S.  

Most of these plants can be planted in containers and so are appropriate for balconies and patios as well as larger plots of land and could be brought inside shelter during inclement weather.

Benefits received from the plants below include not just those uses listed but also include; visual art, songbird music, sense of place, increase in property value, fresh clean air, commerce and much more.

I started to write a 'why I chose these plants' section however the post started to become very long.  I'll share my reasoning soon.  To summarize selection criteria though, I included plants:

• from all three photosynthesis pathways (C3, C4 and CAM) as risk management for unexpected climate effects (yes the unexpected can occur for sure),
• tolerant to a variety of sunlight exposure levels,
• adapted to both saturation and drought,
• offering pollinator attraction (a side note here is that over the years I've had so many people tell me they've had no luck growing vegetables or fruit.  When I ask them if they have an abundance of flowers in their growing area they reply,'some'.  We must think in terms of pollinator perspectives if we are to have a successful survival garden.  Without pollinators our garden won't produce.  If I am a pollinator and there are two yards I am considering visiting, one has a nice selection of flowers and the other is crammed with blooms I am heading for the fullest buffet.  Bottom line is the more flowers there are the more produce you will harvest),
• resilient to allelopathy and plants that do not allelopathicate,
• including varieties that are wind desiccation adapted for windbreaks (slow steady winds can destroy a garden through desiccation),
• that are of use to us humans from a number of perspectives,
• offering nitrogen fixation,
• providing seed production for use, commerce, food and forage,
• and are adapted to the Southeastern U.S.

The above are just a few of the selection criteria available for determining what plants are best for the survival garden.  I'll elaborate more in a future post.  Over the decades of us growing plants, running a nursery and creating gardens of all types we encountered many variables that can impact plant selection.

Importantly though, the best plants for your survival garden are those you feel you need.

So here are my lists:

Top Seventeen Survival Garden Plant Types

1. Aloe vera; medicine for sores, cuts, burns, ulcers & skin

2. Bamboo, clumping; food & structural material & perimeter protection

3. Berries, blueberries, blackberries, mulberry; food, perimeter protection

4. Echinacea spp., Purple coneflower; medicine & pollinators

5. Garlic chives; food, medicine (sulfur) & pollinators, this plant will always be there for you

6. Ginger family, Zingiberaceae, turmeric & ginger; food & medicine

7. Leafy greens; kale, shiso, Okinawan spinach, collards, amaranth, cilantro, arugula, chenopodium. etc.; food & nutrition

8. Sprouts, all types; food & nutrition

9. Grain; rice, oats, ancient wheat, barley, rye, sorghum, teff, amaranth; food & nutrition

10. Root vegetable, sweet potato, yam, cassava; food & medicine

11. Seeds; chenopodium, sunflowers, cilantro, squashes, amaranth; food & nutrition, oils

12. Squashes, Cucurbita spp., especially Seminole Pumpkin; food & nutrition

13. Plantain & bananas; food & medicine

14. Prickly pear cactus, food & perimeter protection

15. Sugarcane, food

16. Asters, Sunflowers, Helianthus annus, sunflower and Bidens alba, Spanish needles; pollinators, food, oils & nutrition

17. Elderberry; because anyone can grow this plant & it is full of medicinal, drink & food uses

Top One Hundred Survival Plants

1. Aloe vera; medicine

2. Apples; food

3. Bamboo; clumping, food & structural material

4. Bananas & plantains; food & medicine

5. Basil, Sweet; food, tea & medicine

6. Basil, Thai; food, tea & medicine

7. Basil, Africa blue; food, tea & medicine

8. Beans, yard long bean (Red noodle or green); food & nitrogen fixer

9. Beans, cow pea; food & nitrogen fixer

10. Beans, pole beans; food & nitrogen fixer

11. Beans, limas; food & nitrogen fixer

12. Beans, pigeon peas; food & nitrogen fixer

13. Beans, cold weather beans; food & nitrogen fixer

14. Beautyberry, attracts birds for pest control

15. Bidens alba & B. pilosa; food, pollinators & medicine

16. Blackberries, raspberries and dewberries; food & perimeter protection

17. Blackeye Susan’s, Rudbeckia, cut flowers and pollinators

18. Blackgum, tupelo; pollinators (esp. bees for honey) & structural material

19. Blazing star, Liatris; pollinators

20. Blueberries; food

21. Broomsedges, andropogon grasses; fabrication material

22. Butterfly  weed, Asclepias tuberosa; pollinators & butterflies

23. Cannabis; medicinal

24. Carolina jessamine; early spring pollinators & evergreen screening, medicine

25. Catbrier, saspirilla, Smilax spp; food, perimeter protection, larval food

26. Coral honeysuckle; pollinators and evergreen screening

27. Citrus, Myers lemon; food & medicine

28. Citrus, ruby red grapefruit; food & nutrition

29. Citrus, satsuma; food & nutrition

30. Citrus, kumquat; food & nutrition

31. Citrus, calamondin; food & nutrition

32. Comfrey, bone knit; fertilizer and medicine

33. Corn, grits, cornmeal; food & nutrition

34. Coreopsis; pollinators & bees

35. Cucumber, Cucumis sativa; food & medicine

36. Datura, Jimson weed and Angels trumpet; medicine & night pollinators

37. Dollarweed, Hydrocotyle; food, medicine & clean water

38. Duck potato; food, clean water & pollinators

39. Echinacea, Eastern Purple coneflower, medicine & pollinators

40. Elderberry; medicine, food & drink, pollinators

41. Eggplant; food

42. Fennel; food & medicine

43. Fig trees; food, heat island moderation

44. Gaillardia, blanketflower; pollinators

45. Garlic, Allium; food, medicine & pollinators

46. Garlic chives; food & persistent border plant with beautiful flowers

47. Ginger, Zingiber officinale; food and medicine

48. Grapes, sugars, wines; food and medicine

49. Gourds, Luffa sponge; commerce

50. Gourds, birdhouse, dipper; commerce, utensils, wildlife

51. Grasses for weaving, sweetgrass, muhly grass, juncus; fabric material, nets

52. Horsemint, Monarda punctata; tea & pollinators

53. Inland sea oats, Chasmanthium latifolium; food, wildlife

54. Iris, Louisiana; cordage, water purification

55. Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus; food, pollinators

56. Leafy greens, arugula; food, seeds, pollinators

57. Leafy greens, cilantro; food, seeds & pollinators

58. Leafy greens, collards; food, seeds & pollinators

59. Leafy greens, kale; food, seeds & pollinators

60. Leafy greens, spinach; food, seeds & pollinators

61. Leafy greens, cabbages; food, seeds & pollinators

62. Leafy greens, Swiss chard; food, seeds & pollinators;

63. Leafy greens, lettuces; food, seeds & pollinators

64. Leafy greens, amaranth; food, seeds & pollinators

65. Leafy greens, Malabar spinach; food, seeds & pollinators

66. Leafy greens, Okinawan spinach & shiso; food, seeds & pollinators

67. Leafy greens, Egyptian spinach; food, seeds & pollinators

68. Lemonbalm; tea & medicine

69. Lemongrass; tea, medicine, fabric material

70. Loquat; food & nutrition

71. Marjoram/Oregano; tea, medicine & food

72. Mints; spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint; tea, medicine & food

73. Moringa; food, medicine, nutrition & water purification

74. Morning glory, moonflowers; pollinators, heat island mitigation, larval host

75. Mulberry; food, wildlife, shade

76. Oak, acorns and tannins; structural materials, tannins, medicine, food

77. Oats; food

78. Okra; food

79. Onions; food, medicine

80. Parsley; food, medicine

81. Passionflower, maypop; butterfly larval, pollinators, food, tea, medicine

82. Peanut; food & nitrogen fixer

83. Pecans; food & structural material

84. Peaches & Plums; food

85. Pears; food

86. Peas, snow peas; food

87. Peas, sugar snap peas; food

88. Peppers; banana, bell, chili, poblano; food & medicine

89. Persimmon; food

90. Pickerel weed; pollinators, water purification

91. Pineapple guava; food, screening

92. Pine tree; fuel, structural material, nutrition, resin, pine nuts

93. Poison ivy; perimeter protection

94. Prickly pear cactus; food & perimeter

95. Pumpkin, seminole pumpkin, butternut squash; food, seeds

96. Radishes; food

97. Rice; food

98. Rosemary; food & medicine

99. Roses; tea, perimeter, medicine

100. Sage; food & medicine

101. Saw palmetto/cabbage palms; food, medicine, structural material

102. Sprouts; food, nutrition

103. Squash; food

104. Sugarcane; food

105. Sunflowers; food, pollinators, seeds

106. Tobacco; medicine, pollinators

107. Thyme; tea, medicine

108. Titi; bees, pollinators, screening

109. Tomatoes; food

110. Turkey tangled frog fruit; erosion control & pollinators (esp. butterflies)

111. Turmeric; food & medicine

112. Turnips; food

113. Vanilla plant; Carpheporus odorata, incense, tobacco

114. Virginia creeper; fast growing screening plant, cordage

115. Walnuts; food, structural material, shade

116. Waxmyrtle; wax for candles, evergreen screen

117. Willow; blood thinner & aspirin

118. Witch hazel; skin tonic

119. Yarrow; promote blood clotting, stop bleeding

120. Yaupon holly; wildlife value & caffeine tea, perimeter protection