July 2012 - Permaculture at the Arctic, in Iceland

It is now early July, and our permaculture garden in Iceland is in full bloom.

We have outdoors, a thriving garden full of potatoes and sunchokes, plenty of onions and leeks, a carrot bed, salads here and there (lettuce, rocket, mizuna, radish, parsley and pak choi), some cabbages and kale, two squash plants (already gave a courgette), celery, cumin and fennel (overwintered from last year), peas and lentils (grown from seed outdoors), a few sunflowers and strawberries (now starting blooming), lovage and rhubarb (both grow very well in Iceland), several currants (which also provide shelter from wind), and even one surviving tomato and one pepper plant (helped by the heat of surrounding rocks which warm at the sunlight). We also have several flowers (tulips,  phacelia, rye and mustard (that work as green manure), poppies and other native flowers).

If last year, our garden outdoors was neat and organized in rows, this year the garden seems a bit wild, because we opted for some dense planting. We have been experimenting. We are testing companion planting, creating warm micro-environments (by using shelter from wind, mulching and warming rocks) and also by depositing organic matter to create a deep rich soil (where a shallow sandy soil was initially present).

Indoors we have a collection of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers from several varieties (some are rarities like a pink tomato); we even have a container with corn (now fruiting); some chia, fenugreek, anise and sesame (grown from kitchen seeds), some experiments which still have not cropped (quinoa, millet, amaranth and mung beans), different legumes (beans, cow peas, peanuts and chick peas), some perennial vegetables (yacon, chives, chinese artichokes, asparagus, skirett and walking onions), one moringa tree, one ginger plant, and finally some small tree seedlings of honey locust, avocado, pomegranate, manchurian apples, limes, mulberries and others that we started from seed.

We have resorted only to use local resources: our self-made compost, we don't want to import nutrients or organic matter, only use the hay and grass which already grow around the garden itself.

Permaculture in Iceland - An example of Arctic (Polar climate) Permaculture

Here in Iceland, we are aware of the limitation of climate, to grow food.

On the past, Icelandic people were self-sufficient by being reliant on birds, fish, sheep and angelica roots. Of course, you dont want to live like that nowadays, but its proof its possible to survive even on the Icelandic highlands, during winter, just on wild foraging (as outlaws stories show us).

Wild edible plants
There are a few wild herbs you can eat, cooked dandelion (tunfífill) and nettles leaves, some sorrel rumex acetosa (tunsura) leaves. I haven't tried yet to cook northern dock, rumex longifolius (njóli) leaves or chickweed, stellaria media (haugarfi). Besides this, mjadurt (meadowsweet, filipendula ulmaria), blodberg (iceland thyme) and birch/birki make all excellent teas! There are other plants I haven't tried but I read somewhere you can eat them, silene acaulis (lambagras) and mertensia maritima (Blálilja) but I have to read more on their edible uses.

Nettles grow wild in Iceland, and can be replanted to provide nutricious greens for a very tasty soup. See a recipe here

Conventional vegetables
Now back to Permaculture you can grow some conventional crops. Its easy to grow carrots, turnip tops, oriental cabbages such as pak choi, potatoes and broccoli. If you have good soil you can also try kohl rabi. You must grow these first indoors! Otherwise forget about it. Except carrots and rucula, that you can sow outside.

Here is Pami happily harvesting some swiss chard, kohl rabi and beets.

Indoors you can grow tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, bush beans, and you can start squash indoors and transplant outside in late June. The squash will crop well outside if you plant it with lots of compost!

Spinach and radish are not possible to grow, because they bolt in response to the 24 hour daylight of the Icelandic summer. Radish can be grown if you sow in late July to reap them in September (when nights are longer). These you can also sow outside. I was never lucky with lettuce or peas, so I must try it again. Also easy is onions (but did not grow large).

This year we are even growing gourds and corn indoors!

Perennial vegetables - the common choices
Perennials you have kale, lovage and rhubarb, all survive very well the Icelandic winter and are tasty. Carrots also overwinter easily, and I guess similar roots like parsnips, rutabagas, salfisy, skirret and scorzonora would also grow well as root crops in Iceland (and some of these are perennial).

Very easy are berries. Strawberries, blueberries and currants. I also grow jerusalem artichokes, easy to grow, but I'm trying them first year. You can buy the roots sometimes even in our Bonus supermarket! Alternative to onions are chives (perennials) and spring onions (overwinter quite easily). But I start these first indoors.

Strawberry spinach is a striking plant that has edible fruits and leaves, but not very tasty. It is an annual but self-seeds easily. 

Perennial food - the less obvious choices
Speaking of extra Permaculture species, I plan to try mulberries, siberian pea, cornus mas, certain hardy bamboos, elaeagnus and hawthorn species, sea buckthorn... Most of these are fruits which are hardy to cold climates such as the UK, so them can be attemped in our sub-arctic climate too.

Lovage is a beautiful vegetable used like celery to give amazing flavour to food. And it is very tough and resistent to cold and dry conditions. 

Wildlife garden
Much easier than food is flowers. We can grow a lot to make our garden colorful and attractive to bees, birds and wildlife. By planting cornflowers, poppies, marigolds, daddofils, tulips, crocus, anenoma, buttercups. Here I only had luck starting the seeds first inside and then transplanting outside, as weather is so often dry and windy, that even seedlings die sometimes. But poppies also grow wild in Iceland, and self-seed freely, and my poppies survived the winter and are going to flower just now again (they were perennial types).

A patch like this is sure to attract lots of wildlife, birds and bees are everpresent in our garden

My conclusions
I don't expect self-sufficiency, even partial in food, yet. Its hard and challenging. It's a hard challenge to try, so I want to see how far we can get in Iceland, using Permaculture principles. It will need several years of learning and trying. I am getting more and more interested into perennials, as annuals are difficult to grow in Iceland, and once perennials are established they are tough and adapt well. I think they are the key. I believe in the long term we can establish the first world forest food garden in the world, on a Arctic setting!

How to start a garden from a lawn - Permaculture in Iceland

Here in Iceland we started our Permaculture garden from a lawn.

Our soil was very compacted, full of clay and sand (almost no organic matter), and thick grass on the top, and big rocks just a few cms below. This is how I recover it, and how I recommend doing:

1) First its best to remove the top 5-10cm of soil, which is full of grass, and till the other 30-40cm of soil.

2) On top of this add plenty organic matter, such as tree leaves (not conifers), dried yarrow, compost, hay, manure, and grass clippings. Perhaps add sand if you plant carrots or other crops that require good draining. Make sure this is at least 30cm of this mix. Just after a couple of months it will be full of worms, and it will be a very light and aerated layer of fertile soil!

3) Finally, spread some normal soil on top of it. Let's say 5 cm. If you don't, birds will mess your organic matter mulch, and seedlings might rotten under the mulching. I actually did this mistake last year. If you prefer, you can add mulching later, when plants are past their seedling stage.

4) Plant your seedlings here, or even sow seeds (if you can water them often). In the end of the season, avoid messing up with this new soil, by pulling plants, just cut them.

5) Swear never to till this new soil ever again! Or walk over it!

This is how it was:

May 2011. I started preparing beds with organic matter and planting vegetables and flowers

This is how it looks now:

May 2012. Edge of daffodils, tulips and currants surrounding the vegetable garden

The plan is now to established more wild flowers and perennial vegetables, besides the usual annual veggies.

The Biodynamic Wizzard: yarrow, dandelion, nettle, horsetail, chamomile and valerian, in different vegetables

About a week ago, I started some biodynamic experiments.

I was curious to see whether the Steiner herbal preparations would have some effect. He claimed that this plants would have a positive effect on vegetable growth, by way of cosmic and nutrient workings. Furthermore, the plants like dandelion, yarrow, nettles, horsetail, chamomile, valerian and oaks, are well known as dynamic accumulators, that is, they pull specific nutrients from the soil, which are lacking near the surface, and make it available to other plants. Something similar to the nitrogen fixing plants but for other nutrients.

I was really compelled to see whether those herbs would work.

Below see the dried herbs, waiting to be made into teas.

From left to right: chamomile, nettle, valerian (top), yarrow tops, dandelion and horsetail (bottom)

Of course I did it the simple way, I simply transplanted some of my vegetables with some of these dried herbs on the soil, and then both sprayed them and water them, with a tea made of those dried herbs. This is a lot of fun, as I could drink the tea at the same time I applied to the vegetables.

I did these 6 different herbal teas for 6 tomato seedlings, one per each plant (but those are from different varieties), for lentils (same variety), and also in cabbages, rucula, squash and beans. It is a very rough experiment, just to have a feeling of whether these herbs work at all, and if they work, in what way.

Below are the tomato seedlings, which have the "special" herbs on the topsoil, and were also watered and sprayed with their teas.

Wizard of Biodynamics: applying the different herbs to different tomato plants to see how they react.

After one week now, I can already see something happening.

So far, it seems that yarrow and dandelion have induced stronger growth, including nicer side shoots, and larger leaves. This is consistent and expected as they accumulate potassium, which is good for a stronger growth, stronger roots and increased plant resistance. The effects of yarrow seem clearer in the lentils (with large side shoots than the other plants) and the effects of both yarrow and dandelion in larger tomato seedlings. It is known that yarrow is full of other micronutrients, so its positive effect is expected and welcomed.

Lentils watered with yarrow (right) seems to have developed much sooner side shoots than the plants watered normally (left). Probably a positive effect from yarrow.

The chamomile seems to have induced smaller but bushy and harmonious plants, both on the rucula, tomato seedlings and lentils; so far a subtle difference. The chamomile is rich in phosphorus, its lack on vegetables manifests in weak stems, leggy plants with no flowers or fruits, so it could be that the tea has also some effect.

Nettle seems to clearly induce a strong leafy growth. This is not the first time I observe this, nettle seems really to be a strong inducer of leafy growth, just like a nitrogen or compost fertilizer. It is also full of other nutrients. The ruculas watered with nettle tea are very vigorous, as are the beans, but not so much the tomatoes.

Rucula grown with nettle tea (left) compared to without (right)

I did not see clear effects for the horsetail and valerian. So, I will wait another week or two to see what happens with those tests.

I also have one squash plant watered, sprayed and containing in the soil these herbs, and another without. The one with the herbs shows plenty of tiny ants, probably attracted by the herbs laying on the topsoil, I do not know why, but this is surely a nice ecological difference. The plants so far seem similar size, but the one without the herbs seems less healthy (its larger leaf shows some yellowing), while the one treated with the biodynamic teas shows healthier leaves.

Squash watered biodinamically (right) seems healthier than the one watered normally (left)

I also tried this on two cabbage plants. Before the experiment, they were in very good shape, having some sort of deficiency (scorched leaves, yellowing at the edges, probably a lack of potassium). Now, the one treated with the herbs is much greener color, but the leaves are curled (which points to some nutrient problem), the other is blueish color and looks better. This is a clear difference. I was surprised by a less positive effect on the cabbages, might have been too much of something, but I will wait a couple of weeks more.

The cabbage watered biodinamically (right) is greener and shows curled leaves than the one watered normally (left)

Vegetables that survive a polar climate

Here in Iceland, growing seasons are usually small. The spring is between May and August, sometimes it can snow even as late as early June, and frosts often begin by late August.

Last summer was unusually cold and dry. However, the weather remained mild until November, when suddently a severe frost began, and deep snow acumulated until February, when the weather warmed. This allowed many vegetables to survive in a good shape until that time. However, the tricky Icelandic winter brought many frosts/thaws since after. Nevertheless many vegetables managed to survive the hrash Icelandic winter!

Carrot family: extremely cold resistant vegetables
Carrots were completely unaffected by the polar winter! So tasty carrots! They enjoy the cold summer and do not seem to mind the extreme cold and snow. Another proof that the carrot family is well adapted to polar climate, are the native herbs Angelica, Lovage, Cumen and Sweet Cicely. Celery survived very well the first frosts, since then it suffered a bit, but most plants are still ok. Celery is quite cold hardy, especially Celeriac (the bulb forming variety). Another proof of cold hardiness comes from a Florence Fennel plant that survived the polar winter in our garden. Fennel is a warm loving vegetable, but still one plant survived and has now a nice side shot coming from its bulb. I think perennials like Skirret and Water Celery could be good investements as Icelandic perennial vegetables.

Onion family: very cold resistant vegetables
The onions from last year they are annuals, so I did not expect them to grow back again. However, the spring Onions were unaffected by the cold winter. If they are moved from indoors to outdoors they can suffer some minor damage but recover well. This might be because of their stored energy and thick leaves. I expect other species to be able to survive the winter and naturalize/ establish on a garden. Garlic, Multiplier onions (A. cepa agregatum), Walking onions (A. cepa proliferum), Welsh onions (A. fistulosum), Perennial leeks (A. ampeloprasum), Chives and Ramps (A. tricoccum or A. ursinum).

The Survivalists!
Many vegetables survived. Broccoli that did not flower last summer was well alive in February, but the following frosts killed most of the plants, but one or two still are still alive. Kohl Rabi was a crop that managed to survive several plants until now, better than the Broccoli. Brussels sprouts also surprised me; the plants were quite resistant to the cold, despite having a small size. All these crops seem to be cold hardy, but they need to be established there first. Rucula also survived but less. The cabbage family vegetables should be aclimatized before moving outdoors as they suffer cold damage quite dramatically, if not prepared. Some common herbs also survived: Lavender, Peppermint, Hyssop. The Thyme and Sage suffered heavily, and a bit of it survived. Perhaps they must be heavily mulched. Furthermore, there is a native species of Thyme here that is extremely adapted to the polar climate. More unaffected were the Lemon Balm and the Oregano.

The cold sensitive!
The Chicory survived the first frost in a good shape, I was excited about it, but the following frosts completely killed all plants. Beets and Swiss chard initially survived well the first frost, but did not stand a change to the rest of the frosts. However, they adapt well if transplanted outside in the cold spring and thrive during the cold summer. The Turnips, Radish Pak Choi and Mustard did not survive even the first frost. But they set seed before the winter. The same for the Calendula; these showed some signs of life after the first frost, but the rest of the winter killed them.

The cold hardy!
And likewise, Kale, a very cold hardy plant, is now beautiful. It seems to be unaffected, if the soil is protected by a mulch cover. S. Other unaffected vegetables  were the Rhubarb, Blueberries, Raspberries and the Lovage, some of them native to Iceland. There are also native Strawberries that stand the polar cold, but the cultivated varieties do not stand the cold. Some wild flowers demonstrated to completely stand unaffected the winter: Poppies, Ranunculus, Anemone, Tulips, Crocus, Muscari, Daffodils, Lupins, Astilbe, and even the Lilies. They all show a surge in growth just now, even if the weather is still cold. Carnations survived but suffered a little bit. There are herbs which stand the polar winter relatively well: Lady Mantle, Meadowsweet, Valerian and Angelica.

The surprise was the containers of tomatoes and eggplant. I had the dead plants standing outside, during the whole winter. As I brough the containers indoords, I was shocked to see some new seedlings from tomatoes and eggplants coming!

Warm loving crops
What about the warm loving vegetables? Obviously they do not survive the winter, but some of them can be cultivated during the polar summer. Squash grows quite well, if transplanted from a greenhouse, when it is already big. However, Cucumbers did not grow outside in Iceland (too cold). I haven't tried Pumpkins, but I heard people growing them with success in Alaska. I tried Bush Beans, but the warmth is just not enough; they also die when transplanted outside in cold spring, with frosts; Peas grow well; they are much more cold resistant and stand some frost and snow. They do not germinate if the ground is cold, but they stand very well hard frosts (even seedlings). I am currently trying Lentils outside; and the seedlings show the same kind of resistance. The plants also stand hard frosts (even in seedling stage) and adapt well to cold.

Perhaps less known perennial pea-family edibles could be attempted in Iceland, as the family obviously shows some cold hardiness. Lettuce obviously does not survive the polar winter, but the small plants do not mind a minor frost. They germinate well even with frosty weather.
Tomatoes seem impossible to grow. The plants stop growing if night temperatures are below 10ºC. They suffer leaf damage if temperatures are around 5ºC and are not adapted. But they grow excellent inside, because there is so much sunlight during polar summer. Potatoes can be sucessfully grown outdoors if started late, and having mulch protection. They are well adapted to cold conditions.

In summary - growing vegetables in a polar climate:

• Carrot family: very cold hardy in Iceland
• Onion family: very cold hardy in Iceland
• Cabbage family: cold hardy in Iceland (except turnips, oriental types, radish, mustard)
• Beet family: cold sensitive (do not survive polar winter)
• Squash family: can be grown outdoors during polar summer (if transplanted big)
• Bean family: cold-hardy members can be grown outdoors (not beans)
• Nightshade family: excellent if indoors (potatoes can be grown outdoors)
• Cereals: barley is grown outdoors (perhaps other crops can be grown too)

Permaculture in Iceland: preventing soil from freezing

Well, that might sound impossible, but actually I learnt something since last year of growing a garden in Iceland. I made several beds in our garden, and I notice that one of them was particularly not frozen as of now, mid February.

The winter was very harsh in December and January, it became cold very suddently, and soon we had two months with temperatures always well below freezing and snow up to 1 meter high. February is now however remarkably warm, as it has been raining a lot. The snow is nearly gone but most of the soil remains deeply frozen, especially as rain water soaks the soil and freezes.

However, as I told you before, there is one patch of our garden that is not frozen! This is a sandy bed where I planted carrots and which was heavily mulched with leaves and compost at the top. That fragile layer is slighty frozen, but if you remove the frozen leaves, the sandy soil below is totally not frozen, unlike the rest of the garden. This is because the soil is rather dry, and since it also contains clay, then the remaining little water does not freeze well.

This might be very good for starting crops earlier than planned. As the soil takes a long time to thaw, long after the freezing winter is gone. Usually the freezing stops in April but you can only dig the soil in late May.

So, as root vegetables like sandy soils and cool climates, this might be a perfect crop to start as early as early April, as the temperature starts to get more and more above freezing. If these root vegetables are perennials (like skirret, parsnips, jerusalem artichokes), then they have time to be established and restart growth very fast once the winter finishes. This "sandy soil strategy, covered by mulch" also facilitates the survival of some fragile herbs like mints or some flowers.

In short, all you need is to dig beds with some clay, some loose compost, lots of sand, and a mulch of fine leaves and grass. Your plants will enjoy having unfrozen soil as soon as temperature gets avove zero!

Talk about how is possible to do real Permaculture in Iceland!

Permaculture advices: salt tolerant plants

• Acer pseudoplatanus, Sycamore, hedging
• Pines, edges
• Salix caprea, Goat willow, edges
• Sorbus aria and intermedia, firewood crop and berries
• Tamarisk, tamarix gallica, hedging
• Holm oak, quercus ilex, hedging and nuts
• Seabeach sandwort, erosion resistance
• Sea plantain, erosion resistance
• Blackthon, edible fruit and edges
• Broom, cytisus scoparius, nitrogen fixer

Edible salt-tolerant plants:

• Sea beet, beat vulgaris, edible veg
• Hottentot fig, Caprobrotus edulis, edible
• Colcheria officinalis, scurvy grass, edible
• Sea kale, crambe maritima, cabbage substitute
• Hawthorn, edible leaves and fruits
• Rock samphire, Crithmum maritimum, delicious edible
• Sea holly, eryngium maritimum
• Sea milkwot
• Sea purslane
• Sea buckthorn
• Iceplant, mesenbryanthemum crystalinum
• Marsh samphire, salicornia
• Sedum album, edible
• Milk thistle, silybum marianum, salad or herb
• Alexanders, smyrnium olustratum, edible herb
• Saltbrush, Atriplex
• Seablite, suaeda linearis maritima

More species to be added in soon. Some non-edible ornamental species also include lantana, coleus, kalanchoe, hemerocallis (daylilies), opuntia, portulaca, jasminum floridum and bougainnvillea.

The following video from eattheweeds.com features seablite, a common salt tolerant plant with edible leaves:

Permaculture advices: water plants

Plants that favour a damp or wet environment. We can find several of these where we currently live in Iceland due to the wet climate, and peat soils.

A wetland for greywater treatment could consist in a first tank where sewage from a settlement tank flows in a tank filled with coarse gravel, and topped by fine gravel and sand, and Phragmites australis. The water sinks and at the bottom flows into another downstream tank, with aeration pipes, and Iris pseudacorus growing in that water, Clean effluent flows at the bottom.

First we list plants that grow in wet meadows and banks, then plants that grow around water edges, and finally plants that grow in the water:

• Butomaus umbellatus, wet meadow
• Meadowsweet, medicinal and aromatic, wet meadow, grows in Iceland
• Blueberries, wet meadows, grows in Iceland
• Pulicaria dysenteria, wet meadows
• Ranunculus ficaria, wet banks
• Giant rhubarb, rheum alexandrae, wet banks
• Hemp agrimony, wet banks
• Eucatorium purpureum, wet banks
• Geum rivale, wet banks, grows in Iceland
• Iris pseudacorus, wet banks
• Liatrus spicata, wet banks
• Lycopus europaeus, wet banks
• Lythrum salicaria, wet banks
• Soapwort, soaping plant, wet banks
• Bistort, wet banks or edges, grows in Iceland
• Angelica, wet banks, aromatic, grows in Iceland
• Valerian, wet banks, powerful medicine for sleep, grows in Iceland
• Levisticum, lovage, tasty aromatic herb, wet banks

• Juncus, water edge
• Acorus calamus, water edge
• Scirpus, bulrush, water edge
• Water mint, mentha aquatica, water edges
• Tiger nuts, tasty edible tubers and grows in water edge
• Veronica beccabunga, water edge or surface, some veronica species grow in Iceland
• Caltha palustris, water edge and surface, grows in Iceland
• Water cress, water edge or surface
• Salix, willows, trees that grow near water edges, grows in Iceland

• Water hyacinth, water surface
• Lemma, water surface
• Walfia, duckweed, water surface
• Water lily, nymphae tuberosa, water bottom or surface
• Water chestnut, edible, grows from water bottom
• Common reed, phragmites communis, shallow water
• Wild rice, zizania aquatica, shallow water
• Althea officinalis, salt marsh
• Menyanthes trifoliata, bogbean, acid bog
• Myrica gale, bog myrtle, acid bog
• Sphagnum moss, acid bog or wet woodland

Some more edible plants that grow near water will be added in soon.

Permaculture advices: fruiting plants

An enormous range of plants!

• Amelanchier candensis and lanarkii
• Strawberry tree, arbutus uneda ("medronho" in Portuguese)
• Uva-ursi
• Berberis vulgaris
• Ornamental quince
• Hawthorn
• Azerole, crataegus azarolus
• Quince, cydonia
• Russian olive, Eleagnus
• Fig
• Alpine strawberry
• Gaultheria
• Huckleberry, gaylussacia
• Sea buckthorn
• Japanese raisin tree, hovenia dulcis
• Mahonia
• Apples
• Medlar
• Mulberry, morus nigra
• Cape gooseberry, physalis
• Cherry, Apricot, Plum, Peach, Sloe (Prunus, domestica, persica, spinosa)
• Sumach, Rhus
• Roses
• Gooseberry, Black, Red, White Currant (Rubus grossularia, nigrum, rubrum, sativum), cloudberry, blackberry, raspberry, loganberry, arctic brambleberry, japanese wineberry (chamaemorus, fruticasus, idaeus, loganobaccus, arcticus, phoenicolasius)
• Rowan, sorbus and checkers
• Elderberry and red berried elder (sambucus racemosa)
• Vaccinium (blueberry, bilberry, cowberry, cranberry)
• Pears
• Orange, lemon, manderin
• Persimmon, diospyrus
• Grapes 
• Pines (some species have good edible seeds)
• Carob (to make chocolate substitute), ceratonia siliqua
• Kiwi (in warm climates, stands some hard frosts)
• Passionfruit (in warm climates, stands some hard frosts)
• Chestnuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts (in warm climates, stands some hard frosts)
• Peanuts (warm climates, no frost)
• Bananas, mango, pomegranade (in warm climates and with little to no frost)
• Pineapple (in greenhouses)

Come later, as more species will be added in soon

Carob has fruits that when powdered can be used in cakes as a chocolate substitute. It is really tasty.

Permaculture advices: Unusual roots

Some less common roots:

• Jerusalem artichokes
• Garlic mustard, alliaria: horseradish substitute
• Greater burdock, arctium lappa: boil as vegetable
• Pleurisy root, asclepias tuberosa: lung tonic
• Red valerian, centranthus: for soups
• Chicory: coffee substitute
• Tiger nuts: dessert/coffee
• Gentiana lutea: bitte tonic
• Bog bean, menyanthes: edible root
• Oca, oxalis tuberosa
• Evening primrose
• Common reed, oenathera
• Chinese artichoke
• Dandelion: coffee substitute
• Trapaeolum tuberosum
• Reed mace, typha latifolia, boiled or grated vegetable
• Skirret
• Yacon (very high yields, grow in warm climate, but survive some cold)
• Sweet potato
• Air potatoes (warm climates, tubers grow in branches)

Come later, as more species will be added in soon.

Oca is a peculiar and colorful tuber from South America

Permaculture advices: Animal fodder

Chicken fodder:

• Bamboo, arundaria macrosperma
• Shepherds purse, bursa-pastoris
• Siberian pea tree
• Carex
• Chenopodium album
• Good King Henry
• Hawthorn
• Cytisus
• Fagus, beech
• Gallium aparine
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Lupin
• Medicago
• Milium effusum
• Morus nigra
• Plantain
• Oaks
• Elderberry
• New Zeland spinach
• Ulex europaeus

For chicken, make a circle for forage area, divided in 10 segments. The chicken forage in each area for 6 weeks, then you lime, rake and sow, while moving the chicken to the next circle segment.This circle should have also a shrub/tree wind protection around.

Animal fodder:

• Horse chestnut
• Alnus, high protein
• Anthoxanthum
• Bamboo, arundaria racemosa
• Siberian pea tree, high protein
• Carex
• Chestnut
• Chicory
• Pampas grass, cortaderia
• Hawthorn, horses like this
• Cytisus, high protein
• Fagus, beech
• Galega officinalis, milk booster
• Walnuts
• Lespedeza
• Lupin
• Medicago
• Melliotus
• Morus nigra, mulberry
• Sainfoin, onobrychis
• Prunus avium
• Prunus spinosa
• Oaks
• Elderberry
• Comfrey
• Ulex, gorse

Permaculture advices: Soap plants

Plants that have a high saponin content make a lather with water. But don't expect as much lather like a soap or shampoo. Other plants are healthy washes for various purposes.

• Horse Chestnut (aesculus hippocastanum)
• Agaves (agave americana)
• Fat hen (chenopodium album)
• Soap lily (chlorogalum pomeridianum)
• Ragged robin (lychnis flos-cuculi)
• Pokeweed (phytolacca americana)
• Poplar (populus trichocarpa)
• Soap-bark tree (quillaja saponaria)
• Soapwort (saponaria officinalis)
• White and red champion (silene alba and dioica)
• Soapweed (yucca glauca)
• Shikakai (acacia concinna)
• Soap nuts (sapindus)

I am actually working as a soap maker, and making soap out of lye and organic vegetable oils. But naturally I am very much interested in soap producing plants. I have tried shikakai and soapwort, and they foam just a bit, nothing compared to a soap. However they do clean your skin or hair, even without the foam effect, due to their saponins. Below are some herbs useful to use on the hair. I will also post in the future on how to make natural shampoos.


Hair washing

• Nettles
• Horsetail
• Yarrow
• Sage
• Calendula
• Thyme
• Amla
• Henna
• Hibiscus
• Rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis)
• Chamomile (chamamelum mobile)
• Honeysuckle (lonicera ciliosa)
• New Jersey tea (ceanothus americanus)
• Ivy (hedera helix)
• Dwarf mallow (malva pusilla ) tooth cleaner

Soapwort is a plant that when boiled produces some lather and cleans

Permaculture advices: Acid soil tolerant plants

All these plants are tolerant of acid soils:

• Abies
• Alnus
• Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
• Betula, Birch
• Calluna, Heather
• Carex
• Cytisus
• Erica
• Fragaria, strawberry
• Gaultheria
• Genista
• Juncus
• Juniperus
• Larix
• Liquidamber styraciflua
• Menyanthes trifoliata
• Myrica gale
• Marjoram
• Wood sorrel
• Pines
• Potentilla
• Primula
• Rubus
• Salix
• Thymus
• Sorbus
• Trapaeolum
• Vaccinium

Growing vegetables in polar climates: the trouble of early bolting, due to 24 hour daylight

If it was not enough the challenges of growing vegetables in polar climates: strong winds, short summer and erratic weather, even ash fall from volcanoes (because I am living in Iceland), there is yet another to mess up with the growth of vegetables: positively in some cases, negatively in others: 24 hours daylight.

Some plants flower depending in the amount of daylight hours. Long-day plants will flower always when the day is longer than a threshold number of hours of daylight. Such vegetables will not produce well in Iceland (or other polar climates such as Sweden, Norway, Canada or Alaska) because they will bolt (early flower) even when they are very young seedlings. So, you cannot expect spinach to make large leaves, because the plant will flower almost after sprouting from seed. You cannot expect radish to make a radish, because the plant will flower very fast, and skip the part of creating the nice edible bulb. This will also happen with lettuce.

Lettuce, spinach, fennel, radish, turnips (and to some extent other brassicas) will bolt if grown during the polar summer, due to the excessive amount of hours of daylight. Therefore it is not possible to grow these plants, unless in shadow or later in the summer, when the daylight is reduced from 24 to 16 hours. By then, the first frosts are rapidly approaching, and so this makes growing them very complicate.

I am not worried with the turnips: I can still eat those greens like that, but for the spinach I would like to see some nice big leaves, not young flowering seedlings. The same goes for the radish: from a whole bunch of plants, only one gave a bulb. All six fennel plants bolted. I will not even try again, as fennel can only grow without cold, and the summer is already finishing here. But I will seed now (as it is 1st August) new seedlings of spinach, radish and turnip, to see if they don't bolt so easily during early autumn (August to October): there will be already some frosts, but still no snow.

Swiss chard also bolted, but it was growing since May, and so it already produced a nice crop of leaves. The swiss chard growing indoors, in shadow did not bolt yet. This demonstrate the value of growing plants indoors to accelerate growing, and protecting from the excessive bolting-inducing sunlight. With lettuce, the case was different, some plants bolted, others they strangely stalled in growth.

The positive side was for the indoor tomatoes: with so much daylight, I was surprised to discover how sweet the tomatoes taste! The extra sunlight increases even more the level of sugar in the fruits. It's unbelievable.

Permaculture advises: shadow tolerant vegetables

A full day of sunshine is about 14-15 hours However, some vegetables can do with less time of sunlight.

This is very useful if you plan a garden in the shadow, if you grow a garden in a urban setting for example, in a location not facing south, or under trees such in a forest garden.

Tolerant of 4-6 hours of sun

Herbs: Bay, chives, horseradish, mint and parsley

Vegetables: Broccoli, swiss chard, cress, kale, kohl rabi, lettuce, leafy perennials, radish, spinach, welsh onions

Fruits: Gooseberries, red currants, rhubarb, loganberries and morello cherries

Tolerant of 6-8 hours of sun

Herbs: Fennel, rosemary, sage, thyme (also lovage)

Vegetables: cabbage, beets, cauliflower, carrots, leeks, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, runner beans, broccoli and turnips. Celery and chicory also do pretty well, but chicory prefers full sun. Even perennials such as Yacon can crop perfectly (in a good soil) with as little as 4-5 hours of sunlight. And as I showed you in 2009, tomatoes and cucumber can crop enough with even less than 6 hours of direct sun. Tomatoes yields will of course have reduced yields, but cucumbers can produce good if they have good soil and warm weather. 

Fruits: Strawberries, blackcurrants, kiwi, raspberries and white currants.

It might be good, if you are growing your vegetables in part shade, to cultivate them in raised beds, to avoid excess humidity in the soil. Take care also with slugs, as they love crawling in the shadow. Protect  your vegetables with  two effective slug barriers! Either by putting cut plastic around your plants, or by spreading sawdust.

The vegetables that would need the most sun and warm would be sweet peppers, eggplant and pumpkins, squash and zucchini.

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