WELCOME TO THE PLANT ZONE

i'm red, they/them, plants babeeeey

[gardeningwithpina]

My mentor: I wanna do a wall garden, because it doesnt take up too much space

Me, already vibrating from the dopamine and adrenaline: Let's talk about espaliers

[gardeningwithpina]

okay, so espaliers are beyond sexy, they are so unbelievably productive

The basics are just... pruning growing trees so they are more 2 dimensional, usually placed against walls. It takes a few years to form/ raise, but they are much easier to maintain than free growing trees in the long run.

(source)

Not only is it more accessible, easier to harvest fruit, but the design has a double purpose; the walls hold and release heat that can keep warm-weathered plants alive during Northen winters!

Fruit Walls: Urban Farming in the 1600s

We are being told to eat local and seasonal food, either because other crops have been tranported over long distances, or because they are g

There are people who use this method to grow avocado, fig, etc trees outdoors without electricity in -20C weather.

A similar technique to espalier can be used to grow furniture without killing the tree!

[theatsymbol-deactivated20210220]

Its such a rip off that flowers don’t taste good

[recoil-operated-deactivated2021]

Spoken like a woman who’s never used garlic blossom in a stirfry, had an elderflower fritter or used Calendula and Nasturtium in a salad.

[theatsymbol-deactivated20210220]

I have not but im going to now

Add pics of the tasty flowers plz

[recoil-operated-deactivated2021]

garlic blossoms (allium) balls of tiny flowers, may be white to deep purple. literally just the flowering head of the garlic you use in food. it tastes like garlic. but colorful.

elderflower, the blossom of the elderberry bush. can be battered and fried. excellent with elderberry syrup or honey. tastes fruity with a tiny hint of anise. also good in teas and sweets.

Calendula, also known as pot marigold. (please, verify you’re using pot marigold, not regular marigold. calendula is actually a daisy.) tastes similarish to bell pepper, sans crunch. leaves are also edible. should be grown with broadleaf plantain:

as a poultices of calendula and plantain can be used to rapidly heal small cuts and scrapes, and are also helpful for other dermatitis. don’t use it on deep wounds though, as it can and will cause the surface skin to heal before the underlying tissues. all of broadleaf plantain is also edible. if bitter.

Nasturtium ranges in color from bright yellow to deep red. it’s peppery and very slightly spicy.

[glumshoe]

Personally I love squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and fried in a pan. Not ideal if you also want to harvest squash, though.

[lyrslair]

Dandelions can be made into wine, fritters, etc. so they can be eaten as well.

The wild violets that grow here can also be eaten. On their own they taste a little peppery, but they can also be candied.

Daylilies are also edible but it’s been so long I forget what they taste like so I couldn’t tell you offhand (got in trouble one too many times as a kid for eating them out of my mom’s flower bed LOL)

And hibiscus makes an excellent tea. Very tangy and fruity.

[artisticlog-deactivated20231213]

Crassula Perforata 🌿🍀🌱

[hortiheartbeat]

pictures from my walk :3

[the-barn-rat]

real tired of hearing the vegan vs. omnivore arguments when the real superior diet in terms of both cruelty and ecosystem is locally sourced

beef and pork from a farm 10 minutes away from you is more ethical and less detrimental to the environment than quinoa grown in ecuador. the future is food forests. the green revolution is food forests. if we manage to survive this apocalyptic hellscape all of your food, plant and animal, is going to come from within half an hour of where you live. plant a vegetable garden in the meantime

[clouddoggo]

As a trained conservation biologist this is the most important step we can take. You do not understand how many issues we could solve if people bought most of their food from local sources.

[fungusqueen]

What’s better than examining a mushroom by the fire? You already know the answer

[fungusqueen]

For those asking if I ate it: no, I never ate this mushroom. This one is also covered in dirt; I would at least clean a mushroom before eating it and you should never eat any mushroom raw. However, this specific species, Amanita muscaria contains specific compounds which means that this mushroom (and this mushroom uniquely) can be made safe for consumption if prepared in a specific way…which i’m not going to specify on tumblr because…let’s face it…is anyone even reading this? Is anyone reading this caption carefully? And who is reading this? Don’t eat mushrooms you’ve only seen pictured on the internet…safe consumption of found mushrooms is something that takes years of experience and time spent with experts in the field. If you would like to know more about the questionable edibility of this specific mushroom, I will supply you with this journal article, “A Study of Cultural Bias in Field Guide Determinations of Mushroom Edibility Using the Iconic Mushroom, Amanita muscaria, as an Example,” by William Rubel and mycologist David Arora.

[ianception]

[cli-meme]

Permaculture memes for all the permies out there

[izzetheking]

What the Heck is a mushroom?Well let me tell you… its like a plant… but stop right there…Its not a plant… its nota planet and not an animal.. Its something else… Something fucked up that we havnt ever seen before… You can eat it on a steak but its not an animal or a plant… So what is a mushrom? Its a fungits

[wallacegardens]

Hügelkultur (German, meaning “hill culture” or “mound culture”) is the garden concept of building raised beds over decaying wood piles. Decayed timbers become porous and retain moisture while releasing nutrients into the soil that, in turn, promote root growth in plant materials. As the logs decay, they expand and contract, creating air pockets that assist in aerating the soil, allowing roots to easily penetrate the soil. This decaying environment creates a beneficial home to earthworms. As the worms burrow into the soil, they loosen the soil and deposit nutrient-rich worm castings, beneficial to plants. An earthworm can produce its weight in castings on a daily basis.  

The best decayed wood for a Hügelkultur, according to A Growing Culture, comes from alders, applewood, cottonwood, poplar, maple and birch. Use wood products that have been in the process of decay for about a year (using green, or fresh, wood products will rob the soil of necessary nitrogen). Some wood products, like cedar and black walnut, should be avoided because they produce organisms that negatively effect plant growth.   

Read more at A Growing Culture. 

[plantinghuman]

This looks a bit weird, but you can create private spaces in your garden. Natural walls are always better than stonewalls in your garden!

[flowerpatchedheart]

As soon as I own a house I’m doing this.

[darkbookworm13-deactivated20240]

reblogging for future reference. This is fascinating.

[twitchywitchyone]

@dedfa

[thededfa]

I have actually been having dreams of doing this along the edges of my property! (and planting wild oranges and thorned blackberries, but that’s another matter)

[r-bearr]

It’s dangerous to go alone, take this

[mostlyvoidpartlyplants]

[crabapplepectin]

I'm kinda meh about roof gardens/ grass roofs bc they can accumulate a lot of weight and collapse/ cause leaks

But living walls? Mighty sexy

They provide natural insulation, which not only keeps the heat in during cold days, but keeps the heat out during hot ones. It's better planned and maintained than vines (depending on the plant ofc).

Flooding in urban areas can be reduced since the roots and the growing medium will hold in moisture. Air can be purified, and heat can be reduced because of evaporation.

I just love living walls

[ancientson]

Imagine cities that are also forests and prairies because they actually make an effort to integrate nature into all of their surroundings

[makkleyn]

“Life is confusing, like one day you’re the happiest person alive and tomorrow you hate everyone and everything for no logical reason”

[gorps]

i’ve finally forgotten what these bookmarks lead to so its time to check

[gorps]

great news everyone

[divine-disruption]

Some photos from the Global Climate Strike in Perth today ❤️🌏❤️

[theemperorsfeather]

Native Plant Agriculture — Indigenous Landscapes

A primarily perennial agricultural system that utilizes + 95% edible native plants in formats that mimic natural ecosystems and plant associations for biodiversity restoration and climate change mitigation.

This is really really really REALLY awesome. They also have a list (of LOTS of plants!) of what they are growing in their demonstration project, which is just getting started.

Native Plant Agriculture (NPA) is the implementing of edible native plants as the basis of a primarily perennial agricultural system that mimics native plant communities in format. The goal of NPA is to expand native vegetation back into agricultural land to restore a significant level of biodiversity while improving human-food productivity for a changing climate and growing population.

When/if agriculture shifts to a Native Plant Perennial system, soil is conserved, more carbon is sequestered in the soil and above ground, irrigation needs decrease, fertilizer needs decrease and biodiversity increases in response to the native plant diversity. Since the plants are native, it becomes “eco-inclusive”, allowing all types of native insects including pollinators, and higher life forms to co-exist. Compare this with our current agricultural system which is “eco-exclusive” primarily supporting one single species desires (humans). Any food system that isn’t based in native plants is much more so eco-exclusive, as non-native plants lack the co-evolution with native insects and wildlife to support them.

Native Plant Agriculture could mitigate habitat fragmentation and habitat loss by connecting perennial native plant agricultural land to existing undeveloped habitat. The inclusion of native plants as the foundation of our ecosystem is an answer to questions about insect and pollinator decline, and sequestering carbon on cropland through perennial agriculture.

[ominousplants]

A field of the carnivorous species Darlingtonia californica as photographed by Barry Rice, 2010, on his site sarracenia.com. 

Please do not remove attribution!