Perennial Edibles in Alaska

There are a number of annual vegetables that do well in Alaska, but did you know that there are several perennial vegetables, herbs, and fruits that thrive here also? In my quest to make my property a major source of nutrition for my family, I have focused on bringing in only trees that will produce edible fruit (there's always the exception, of course!), and I am working on plans to create a perennial wing in my vegetable garden.

Here's a list of the Perennial Edibles that currently grow on my property:
Crab Apple
Choke Cherry
Raspberry
Black Currant
Red Currant
Gooseberry
Strawberry
High Bush Cranberry
Low Bush Cranberry
Rhubarb
Rosehip
French Tarragon
Sheep's Sorrel
Mint (Chocolate and Apple)
Lavendar
Chives

Here are a few I would like to add to my property:
Grafted Apple (Norland and Parkland)
Blueberry
Kiwi
Apricot
Indoor Citrus
Asparagus
Jerusalem Artichokes
Horseradish

Making space for perennials in your garden is an important part of any good permaculture plan. It is imperative that you plan for the long term when selecting a location and creating a space for the roots to thrive. Pay attention to not only the soil you nourish them with, but also the amount of sunlight they will receive, the space they will require when they are fully mature, and the amount of shade they will cast onto the surrounding areas. Just about anything can benefit from a fork full of compost at the bottom of the hole before planting, and plenty of loose soil beyond the edge of the root ball will give your plant room to wiggle its toes and settle happily into its new home. If you pay special attention to watering and pampering your plant for the first season or two, they will happily produce for you for years to come, with no more investment needed!

What types of perennial edibles do you have on your property? Do you have plans to integrate more in your garden?

Funny how we develop routines without even realizing...

If you will look at this blog post from almost exactly 1 year ago, http://woodsidegardens.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-know-its-fall-when.html , you will find almost my exact dinner for tonight!  I just added some chicken to the pan this time!  Some things never change!

I made Crabbapple/Wild Blueberry Jam today, with apples from my sister's tree and berries my mom picked up north.  I also managed to make a batch of Mint Jelly, with the last of the mint from my herb garden.  We added some food coloring, at my son's request, and it is a very yummy emerald green!

The garden is officially put away for the year, as we have had a hard frost the last two nights in a row.  All the raised beds have compost and steer manure covering them, which will be turned into the soil in the spring.  The new compost pile has been started, and I covered the clematis, which isn't supposed to make it through the Alaskan winter, with old leaves from the edge of the yard.  I also put some of the leaves in a burlap rice bag and put that over the top of the whole thing.  I'm not holding my breath, but we will see if it works!

I didn't post any pictures of the garden this time, as I'm not sure you all want to see a bunch of bare raised beds full of compost and steer crap, but I'll take some if you want them!

I think I'm about jellied out...

Crabapple Jelly!!!

We got 2 batches of Crabapple Jelly done today. Mom looks glad to be done, as you can see from the photo above! I think this will be the last of the canning for the season, unless Rob gets a moose this weekend. I am definitely getting burnt out!

Oh, for the love of crabapples!!!

I was given a large amount of crabapples over the weekend. The owner of the tree loves the blossoms, but doesn't touch the apples! Lucky me!

Spiced Crabapples

Yesterday I made Spiced Crabapples, and today its Crabapple Jelly, with a bit of the syrup from the Spiced Crabapples. Its going to be yummy! I'll probably end up making regular jelly as well, for those who don't like cinnamon.

Once all the canning for the season is done, I'll have to post a picture of my pantry, with all the glass jars lined up. It really is a beautiful sight!

Cranberry-Apple Butter

The most recent project has been Alaskan Cranberry Apple Butter. The high-bush cranberries (which I have learned aren't really cranberries at all) were picked here in my yard. You have probably noticed by now that my un-landscaped land provides quite a bounty of wild food every year. The apples were picked from my aunts house in Palmer. They are Parkland apples, grafted onto a crabapple root, so that they will survive our -30F or colder winter temperatures.

I baked some pork chops last night, smothered in this wonderful stuff, and my son couldn't contain his amazement over how good it tasted!