This is a quest to try and convert you gardeners to plant more PERENNIALS
They are low impact , low maintenance , they take care of themselves, they are edible year after year, have low carbon emissions, better for the soil and the most important. LESS WORK and more time to do other stuff like the pub or the theatre or read a book.
Undoubtably gardening is a rewarding pastime so if you use gardening as an full-time escape this isn’t for you.
A PERENNIAL should last at least 3 years. With some part of it edible — leaf/shoot/root/flower
Already some of you may be cultivating Asparagus. There you go — you are cultivating a perennial. There’s a whole lot of perennials to add to this list.
Edible lilies; Babbingtons leeks; Artichokes; Elephant garlic; Egyptian onion; Rhubarb. On the potato front — try Mashua: Yacon:Oca: Sweet potatoes. For more information try reading Perennial Vegetables by Martin Crawford, and there is a list at the back of the book where you can buy this stuff.
Meanwhile- its February. Start sowing some salads and herbs ( with protection) and you had better add some organic fertilisers to your borders. Prune your winter flowering shrubs. Mulch your perennials. Remove weeds and fork in some compost. Cut your autumn raspberry canes to the ground while cut off the tips of the summer raspberries. Prune your currant bushes
