OK, so we've been living on the Rocky Mountain foothills for over 5 years now. We have had quite a few planting failures since, I have to admit, we didn't really know what we were doing. Two attempts at beekeeping have failed (we'll try again in the future).
The chickens, ducks and geese are doing well. However, we need to be able to produce more food for them to be more self-sufficient. Buying poultry feed just doesn't cut it cost and sufficiency-wise.
Plants (all plants have to be edible/fodder/of other use) that we've planted so far (zone 5):
Beans (annual; bush varieties are good for our short season)
Blackberries (perennial; surviving)
Blueberries (perennial; dead - they don't do well in Colorado's alkaline soil)
Borage (annual; an easy self-seeding annual, companion with strawberries)
Broccoli (annual; no luck with this yet)
Daylilly (perennial; edible flowers)
Cabbage (annual)
Catnip (hardy perennial)
Cilantro (annual - great growth 1 year, none last year)
Lavender (perennial; only English lavender seems to survive our winters)
Lettuce mix (annual; ravaged by deer)
Peas (annual; grows but I need to work on these)
Potatoes (annual or perennial; prone to disease so best to grow in bags as annuals for easy harvesting)
Raspberries (perennial; surviving)
Egyptian Walking Onions (perennial; flourishing - an excellent almost no-care crop)
Grapes (perennial; barely surviving)
Johnny Jump-Ups (annual; grows wild - flowers are edible)
Nasturtium (fast growing annual; edible leaves/flowers/seeds)
Strawberries (perennial; small berry yield)
Sweet William (perennial; edible flowers)
Tomatoes (annual in our zone; best for container planting because of unpredictable seasons)
Zucchini (annual; decent yield, suitable for our short season)
Plants for 2012 were chosen to be part of an easy to care for semi-permiculture project:
Amaranth (annual; this one is a long shot, we'll see..)
Asparagus (perennial; harvest in second year)
Yellow Grove Bamboo (perennial to zone 6; we'll try it heavily mulched. Edible shoots)
Comfrey (perennial; fodder and medicinal)
Hops (perennial)
Hosta (perennial; edible!)
Jerusalem Artichokes (perennial up to zone 2; you can just plant store tubers)
Mint (perennial; invasive)
Purslane (invasive annual; yes, the weed- edible!)
Raspberries (they grow wild here but seem to prefer more swampy conditions)
Sage (perennial)
Oregano (perennial)
The chickens, ducks and geese are doing well. However, we need to be able to produce more food for them to be more self-sufficient. Buying poultry feed just doesn't cut it cost and sufficiency-wise.
Plants (all plants have to be edible/fodder/of other use) that we've planted so far (zone 5):
Beans (annual; bush varieties are good for our short season)
Blackberries (perennial; surviving)
Blueberries (perennial; dead - they don't do well in Colorado's alkaline soil)
Borage (annual; an easy self-seeding annual, companion with strawberries)
Broccoli (annual; no luck with this yet)
Daylilly (perennial; edible flowers)
Cabbage (annual)
Catnip (hardy perennial)
Cilantro (annual - great growth 1 year, none last year)
Lavender (perennial; only English lavender seems to survive our winters)
Lettuce mix (annual; ravaged by deer)
Peas (annual; grows but I need to work on these)
Potatoes (annual or perennial; prone to disease so best to grow in bags as annuals for easy harvesting)
Raspberries (perennial; surviving)
Egyptian Walking Onions (perennial; flourishing - an excellent almost no-care crop)
Grapes (perennial; barely surviving)
Johnny Jump-Ups (annual; grows wild - flowers are edible)
Nasturtium (fast growing annual; edible leaves/flowers/seeds)
Strawberries (perennial; small berry yield)
Sweet William (perennial; edible flowers)
Tomatoes (annual in our zone; best for container planting because of unpredictable seasons)
Zucchini (annual; decent yield, suitable for our short season)
Plants for 2012 were chosen to be part of an easy to care for semi-permiculture project:
Amaranth (annual; this one is a long shot, we'll see..)
Asparagus (perennial; harvest in second year)
Yellow Grove Bamboo (perennial to zone 6; we'll try it heavily mulched. Edible shoots)
Comfrey (perennial; fodder and medicinal)
Hops (perennial)
Hosta (perennial; edible!)
Jerusalem Artichokes (perennial up to zone 2; you can just plant store tubers)
Mint (perennial; invasive)
Purslane (invasive annual; yes, the weed- edible!)
Raspberries (they grow wild here but seem to prefer more swampy conditions)
Sage (perennial)
Oregano (perennial)
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