Permaculture Test Plot Part 1 (Dtube Video + Full Article!)

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Before transitioning to the tiny house, and then out to our own land, Aimee and I had been staying with my parents. While I didn't want to plant too many trees, or start developing an area that I would later not be able to manage, I have always been interested in gardening and I had an itch to do some experimentation. Thus, the test plot was born.

The test plot is basically a mish mash of plants that started with a lot of annual vegetable crops and transitioned into more of a perennial, shrub and tree bed. From discovering radish pods to learning about the importance of deer protection for small trees, I am always learning some new valuable lesson from the test plot.

Here is a list of all the varieties of plants I managed to pack into the small area that is the test plot.

Annuals that had been in the plot the previous year but did not reseed.

• Orange Beets - Less prone to staining than the common beet. The entire plant is edible.
• Spinach - A cold hardy leafy green that is high in many micronutrients including calcium and iron.
• Bush Beans - An easy-to-grow, nitrogen fixing vegetable. Excellent "steemed" with a little butter on top.
• Tomato - A favorite with gardeners for its high yields and diversity in the kitchen.
• Zucchini - A high producing summer squash. By the end of the year you usually have to trick people into taking your excess zucchini.

The tomato harvest from the test plot on the first year. the varieties I remember are Zebra (top left), Indigo Rose (top right), Ox Heart (bottom right) Lemon Drop (far bottom), Sweet 100 (bottom left), Tiny Tim (center left)

Plants in the test plot that are either perennial or had self seeded from plants I planted the year before.

• Comfrey - Nutrient accumulator, home to beneficial insects, and can be used as a medicinal tea.
• Seabuckthorn (Sea Berry) - Extremely nutrient dense berries, nitrogen fixer, leaves make medicinal tea.
• Silver Buffalo Berry - Native berry high in lycopene, excellent for jams and jellies.
• Icicle Radish - Deep tap root penetrates and loosens soil, edible root, tasty seed pods. Easily reseeds if left to grow.
• Dill - Very popular cooking herb, both the seeds and leaves can be used. Easily reseeds.
• Red Current - Deciduous shrub with tart berries useful in flavoring jellies, wines, and sauces.
• Hazelnut - One of the most cold hardy nuts, excellent in baked goods, high value oil.
• Bee Balm - This herbs flowers attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Leaves are used for teas.
• Horse Radish - Perennial plant in the brassica family with a strong flavored root used mainly in sauces.
• Saskatoon (Northline) - Native North American berry. This variety is shrub like and has high yields of large berries.
• Catnip - Gets your favorite kitty high! Perennial herb in the mint family.
• Mint - Perennial herb commonly used in teas or, on a hot day, in a refreshing mojito :)
• Jerusalem Artichoke - Perennial in the sunflower family. The tasty tubers can be used as a potato replacement.
• Lemon Balm - Perennial herb with a zesty lemon flavor. Commonly used in tea blends, and is a powerful antioxidant.
• Lettuce - Common salad vegetable that is excellent for cut-and-come-again harvesting. Annual with some ability to reseed.

Aimee describes this borscht as a "Ukrainian Rainbow." It is made with orange beets and purple cabbage!

Beneficial Plants that just showed up!

• Dandelion - Deep tap rooted nutrient accumulator. Edible leaves and flowers.
• Clover - Nitrogen fixing fodder crop with some medicinal qualities.
• Thistle - This one can be annoying because of the tiny thorns but it's tap root is great at loosening compacted soils.
• Alfalfa - A popular fodder for livestock that is nitrogen fixing and produces tons of flowers for bees.

Stay tuned for part two and three of Permaculture Test Plot.

Thanks for reading everyone! Please upvote, follow and resteem to support this work. As always, comments are welcome and I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about permaculture.

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