Low Maintenance Perennials

I really wish I had more time to work around the homestead. There are so many things I need to get done and not enough hours in the day. Here are a few things I have planted that don't take a lot of maintenance.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is so easy to grow. I mean it is almost effortless. The only catch is you have to let it establish a good root system before you can harvest from it. Most recommendations are to let it grow for 2-3 seasons before you harvest. I let ours go for three springs before I harvested. This plot has 10 crowns that I planted 4 years ago. I have 20 more crowns I just got in the mail. I need to find two more good spots, away from this one, so pests have a harder time moving around. Asparagus will produce for 30 years or so. Make sure you get yours in this year.

This is a Chicago Fig (Ficus carica). It is supposedly hardy to zone 5. I had another "cold hardy" fig that I lost over the harsh winter we just went through. I am pretty sure we just had a zone 5 winter. I hope this fig will do better than the one I lost.

Another plant and forget perennial is the Filbert (Corylus americana) or American Hazelnut. Pictured behind our puppy who was behaving in a rare moment of calm. I have 12 planted in the back yard and another hedge of 10 planted in the front yard. The trick is to get to the nuts before the critters do.

People tell me it is hard to grow blueberries (Vaccinium Cyanococcus) in a backyard setting. I say, look at this. Now, I do have a couple blueberries that are not producing as prolifically as this one, I just think it is a matter of finding the right variety that works well in your climate. Again the trick is to get to the fruit before the critters do.

Spring Broccoli Is Now Fall Broccoli

This Broccoli was planted way back in the spring as soon as the ground was thawed. We let it go through the summer because when a brassica plant flowers it bring in all kinds of beneficial insects. When we checked it the other day we were surprised to see nice full heads of broccoli waiting for the dinner table.

This cabbage was planted early spring as well. The heads did not tighten up and get big enough for harvest in the spring so we let it go through the summer. In our experience, cabbage will put on a good tight head at the end of summer into fall.

This Eucalyptus is a new addition to our garden. Eucalyptus cinerea is very hardy for a Eucalyptus plant. One source says this variety is hardy down to -4 degrees F. Zone 6a, where we are, has a average temperature low of -10 to -5 degrees F. I hope this perennial tree will establish itself. The lady in the booth at the plant show where I bought the plant seemed to think it was completely fine in our climate. After doing some research on it, I think it may die back over the winter and come up again in the spring. It may be to cold for this plant to establish as a tree in our climate. But the tag it came with says it is hardy down to USDA zone 6. So we will just have to chalk this up to a experiment.  I will let you know how it goes.

I got this fig tree from my friend Mike B. Not sure what variety it is. It is suppose to be cold hardy in our climate. He is growing figs in Newport KY and they went crazy this year. He had so many figs on every branch, I was truly amazed. We tend to be just a little bit colder over the winter here in SW Ohio. I hope this tree gets established and I get as many figs as my friend did this year.