Traditional gardens tend to be full of annual vegetables that need to be started year after year from seed, and while it may well be worth the time and work it takes to grow those vegetables, planting some perennial vegetables in your garden. And patio can end up putting food on your plate for much less effort.
Unless you live in a region with a year-round growing season, your tomatoes and peppers (which are perennial in nature) will need to be planted again each spring, because they cannot handle the low winter temperatures, but there are other vegetables. They can overwinter in many places and be reborn to life as soon as ground temperatures are warm enough. By dedicating one or two perennial vegetable garden beds, especially in a polyculture with other perennials, you can pack a large amount of food production in a small area.
6 perennial vegetables that keep on yielding year after year
1. Asparagus
This slim spring beauty is probably the best-known perennial legume and one of the most sought-after vegetables in early spring (and the relatively high price in the produce section to give it a try). It does not produce fast, like many vegetables are annuals, but the asparagus might offer green delights every year once they were established. Although it is possible to start asparagus from seed, you can speed up your harvest timeline by at least a year or two by planting the multi-year crowns, which are usually available at garden centers in the spring. (or if you know someone with a large bed of asparagus, you may be able to convince them to give you some crowns when they distribute their plants).
2. Sunchokes
Also known as Jerusalem artichokes (even though they don’t look like artichokes at all), sunchokes are a relative of the sunflower that produce an edible tuber that is crisp and sweet. This perennial vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked like a potato, and is often described as having a nutty flavor . The plant can grow tall, like a sunflower does, making it well suited for planting as a border or along a garden edge. The tubers are harvested in the fall, with some of them left in the ground (or replanted after harvest) for next year’s plants.
3. Peanut
The peanut, also called the Indian potato, is one of those perennial vegetables that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it could be a great addition to any garden. The groundnut, or groundnut, is a perennial plant that produces edible grains and large edible tubers (more properly “rhizomatous stems”), and is native to the eastern part of the US The vines grow up to about two meters long, and a trellis (or on top of other plants) can be grown for dense plantings. Peanuts are harvested in the fall, and like sunchokes, some should be left in the ground for next year’s growth.
4. Artichoke
These relatives of the thistle, properly called artichokes, are not the softest and most tender vegetables but they produce a tasty flower bud. Growing artichokes however, take up quite a bit of space in the garden, as they can grow to 6 feet or more in height, and like most perennial vegetables, a couple of years of growth is often necessary before that have matured to the point that you can pick enough flowers to grace your table. While it can be started from seed, artichokes can also be planted by dividing an established bed, or from outlets available at the garden center.
5. Horseradish
While it’s a stretch to call radish a vegetable (it’s more like a condiment you either love or hate), this perennial in the mustard family is a must-grow for those who love spice and sushi. The leaves of the horseradish (also edible) are quite plain and unpretentious, and the small white flowers are nothing to write home about, but the large root of the horseradish is a source of a strong flavor that can lead to tears. In some areas, radish can cause invasive root growth, so when harvested in the fall, it may be good practice to remove as much of the roots as possible, and only replant enough of the roots. root sections as you will need it for next year.
6. Rhubarb
This perennial vegetable, rhubarb, is not only edible, but it is also a colorful addition to the garden, and it comes in varieties of red, pink and green (the color of the stems). Rhubarb is best planted from the crown, which can be purchased from a garden store (or from a friend whose rhubarb bed is out of control), and should be allowed to grow for several years before picking the stems for that cake. rhubarb and strawberry summer favorite. Only the stalks of rhubarb are edible, but the leaves are toxic to humans, yet they make a great contribution to the compost pile.
