Perennial Crops: Plant Once, Harvest Many Times

Perennial Crops: Plant Once, Harvest Many Times
by Walter Rhett
Charleston Perlo

My readers have accused me of being an "eco-nut" or a recycled Al Gore, but I really think the new green technology is neat for reasons beyond philosophy.

I am attracted by the ability of green technology to save energy, lower costs and create good paying jobs. I think I'm a cheerleader for higher wages, common sense management of the earth, and raising the standard of living by reducing waste and lowering costs. Consequentially, I write about practice . I am less interested in global warming that warming a house at five percent of its current energy costs. I am less interested in charkas than reducing illness through better nutrition.

So far, I have written about new technology for renewable electric power production developed at the University of Michigan; free software that is effective in defending personal computers against the number one national threat, cyber terrorism; how LED lighting in homes can save $1.8 trillion in ten years; and a Germany home building technology that reduces heating costs to seven percent of current cost averages. And yes, I did do one blog on global warming for the Al Gore haters and fans.

As a southerner, I learned early and first hand to respect the mysteries and value the interconnected earth. Every Saturday, our community held a catfish and fish fry in a neighbor's backyard, the fish cooked over a chopped wood fire blazing in a fire ring near a table the men had built and hammered to a tree. Every spring, we youngsters did a controlled burn to clear a fallow field and turn it into a diamond for baseball. And every fall, venison roast and ribs (still a specialty of mine) graced the table and actually increased our wonder and respect for the deer that provided the meal.

As a southerner, I have also seen what corporate farming has done to the land. Modern farming has ramped up costs while reducing the land's ability to increase crop yields without chemical additives. For short term gain it has often done long term harm. It's time to break the destructive cycle. It's time for a new paradigm.

Lower costs, grow jobs, manage more efficiently, increase the standard of living, and improve health are the five principles of change in my paradigm. When possible, all five principles must be put into practice.

When it comes to agriculture, I am excited about one model that potentially meets each of the five goals. That model is perennial farming using perennial crops.

Perennial crops only have to be planted once, but they bear fruit and foodstuffs year after year. Annual crops, which now account for 80 percent of planted farmland, have to be planted each year, but can only be harvested once. There are risks in annual planting, the apparently simple task of growing foodstuffs from seeds has peril right from the beginning. Temperature, sunlight, rain (too much or too little), soil conditions, weeds can all torpedo a new crop if seeds fail to germinate before entering the growing season.

Perennial crops reduce the risks associated with annual planting virtually to zero. But perennials have other very useful benefits. Instead of breaking down the soil, many perennial crops build it up, making efficient use of nitrogen (moved from the atmosphere into the soil by spring rains) by having longer and deeper root systems that lock it in and "fix" it in the soil. (Incidentallly, the movement of nitrogen in the water causes the expansive algae blooms in the Mississippi and other river systems in the spring. The Gulf of Mexico has one such dead zone of 5,000 to (this year's record) 8,000 square miles! In addition to massive fish kills, the depleted oxygen levels no longer support a once flourishing population of shrimp, crabs, fish, and other aquatic life in an area that extends from Louisana to Texas along the Gulf Coast. The microscopic algae feed on the nitrogen and rob the water of oxygen to create "dead" zones that increase in size annually and are inhospitable to fish and other aquatic life.

Back on land, perennial crops have longer root systems that are a buffer against extremes of temperature and climate conditions, allowing the growing season to begin earlier and extend longer into the fall. Longer roots also act to prevent erosion and help crowd out and discourage weeds, or non-foodstuff. This reduces the enormous costs of adding nitrogen to the soil for crop growth. Perennials also eliminate the need for chemical "weed" killers that replaced the traditional method of tillage (turning the soil) as the primary means of weed control.

For the home gardener, especially, the perennial garden requires far less work. The home gardener plants once, and has little to do between spring and the harvest except for a little pruning and tillage, mulch and compost.

And perennial crops are excellent choices for planting in marginal areas unsuitable for annuals, and can even be used to develop forest gardening!

Asparagus, a perennial, reduces hair loss, lowers blood pressure, fights depression, and provides vital nourishment during pregnancy and nursing.

(reprinted under fair use)

What foodstuffs are perennials? Many southern-and American-favorites. For one, the pecans my grandfather grew that I helped him sell beside the road, are perennial, as or other nuts and fruits, including apple varieties, grapes, chestnuts, pears, and peaches, as a short list. Grocery stores carry only thirty or so of the thousands of perennials that humans can safely eat. One of the emerging favorites is the oca, a Southern American potato with a lemon flavor that can be eaten cooked or raw. Some varieties of oca when stored in sunlight become sweet enough to eat as a fruit! Chinese yams, British earth peas (really, a tuber), and the Spanish tiger nut (another tuber) all are a part of national diets outside of America, but could adapt easily to American soil and tables. Perennials such as hazelnuts, black cherries, loquats, avocados, (trees); strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, gooseberries (vines and shrubs) and sorrels, hyssop, basil, mint, rosemary, fennel, chives, and sage (herbs); and arugula, asparagus, ginger, horseradish, sweet potatoes, rhubarb, turmeric, and sorrel (vegetables) are already a part of the American diet.

Blueberries reduce the risks of heart disease, lower colesterol,

and have a measurable effect on improving memory

(reprinted under fair use for education)

Perennials with edible leaves (including a tree that produces leaves of collard greens!), fruits, seeds add eco-diversity and strengthen the food supply against the rigors of weather and environment. Perennials also have a natural resistance to pests and many botanical diseases.

Wheat is the high stake crop in the perennial sweepstakes, and several wheat hybrids should soon progress to full scale agricultural production. Washington State University and The Land Institute, a research and think tank located in Kansas, is working to develop varieties of hybrid seeds and conducted extensive studies on how hybrid perennials affect the soil and yield. Consistently for wheat, hybrid perennials roots are longer, often five times longer that the roots of annuals. But hybrid wheat faces a long woodshed period as researchers seek over time to strike the right balance between fertility and re-generation, bio-mass (grain size), and yields.

Some uses of Perennials need no waiting period. Perennials are easily adapted as bio-fuels. Switchgrass, a prairie perennial that can be grown under a wide range of conditions, produces twenty times the energy necessary to grow it per acre. Added value includes its use as hay, food for wildlife, and its tendency to actually improve the conditions of the soil within which it grows.

Alfalfa, a perennial, is the fourth most widely grown US crop, after wheat, corn, and soybeans. It supports everything from animal feed to honey harvesting.

Perennial crops may generate a second agricultural revolution, returning man back to the products of the human community's first food source. Plant perennials, the wildflowers bring beauty and reminds us that the earth can be renewed and the demands for food met by a return to the source supply, once dominant, but abandoned 10,000 years ago in the neolithic age.

Peruvian oca, cooked (reprinted under fair use for education purposes)

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading.

Originally published on SearchWarp.com for Walter Rhett Saturday, January 10, 2009
Article Source: Perennial Crops: Plant Once, Harvest Many Times

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Perennial Crops: Plant Once, Harvest Many Times