Choko or Chayote? - An unappreciated vegetable or fruit?

Chokoes or Chayotes (Sechium edule) grow so easily in our subtropical/warm temperate climate and like many plants that grow easily and fruit prolifically we tend to overlook them as valuable sources of food.

A Winter Solstice Stroll in the Fernmount Food Forest

It is always cheering to suddenly finding an unexpected harvest. 

Last week's rain plumped up some Cherry Guavas. I wasn't expecting this harvest for a while.  I allow a few self-seeded bushes to thrive because they tend to fruit at slightly different times, probably depending on location but perhaps because of genetics.

Self seeded White Guava

This White Guava has a slight lemony flavour. 

Have you tried Jicama aka Yam Bean?

Yam Bean (Jicama) has a delicious and useful tuber that flourishes in our climate zone.  Its crisp white flesh can be used in stir-fries or as a Crudité. Always skin the root.

This plant is easy to grow and self-seeds easily if the pods are allowed to stay on the vine. Prune your bean pods and increase your crop. We don't bother and there is always plenty of yams underneath our Macadamias.

Note: Its seeds are poisonous containing rotenone so only eat the skinned tubers.

AA

Yam Bean (Jicama) has a poisonous seed and seed pod

Ornamentals in our Fernmount Food Forest

Ornamentals ensure the Fernmount Food Forest is not just an unattractive, utilitarian source of food.
Of course many food producing plants are also ornamental and many plants we consider only as ornamentals are also edible. Ornamentals also attract bees and other beneficial insects and of course many birds, especially small insect eaters. There is no reason that a food producing garden can't also be attractive and a delight to explore.

In our climate foliage provides much colour so gold, yellow, orange, copper, silver and bronze foliage plants feature. The advantage is that foliage colour is so easy to provide compared to the work and time required to grow annual flowers. Trees and bushes also contribute many flowers and contrasting leaf shapes also contribute to visual interest.

Large Bromeliad

This Bromeliad looks green now but will turn gold again once gradually exposed to more sun.

How the Fernmount Food Forest Developed

This path, seen here in the morning mist, was the first piece of infrastructure placed on the block. The edges required a concreted gutter to prevent road wash-outs, we had two, from heavy rainfalls. An Eastern low can dump 46mm in an hour.

Some perennial food plants for our Coffs Coast climate

We try to grow perennial vegetables to supply our needs, not only because they are less work but also because many perennial vegetables suit our climate and many of the annual vegetables we have traditionally eaten better suit climates with cold winters. This may also mean we need to change our diet a little so that we eat more green vegetables. Certainly we need to experiment with preparing our perennial vegetables so that they are as attractive to eat as the vegetables we may have traditionally eaten at our parents' table.

Eating local is also better for the planet.

Kang Kong

Kang Kong grows well in water or moist ground.  Here its broad edible leaves are shown with Lebanese Cress growing in a small pond.

Some of our food forest trees

Why catalogue these trees in this fashion?

If you are searching for suitable fruit and nut trees for a similar climate then this lengthy list may just spark your interest. This food forest is situated on the border of warm temperate and subtropical climate zones. It is only ten kilometres from the NSW coastline and in a river valley,

Of course we have some failures but it has been surprising what subtropical trees will grow on our north facing slope. Indeed our Apple and Apricot trees struggle the most because our winters have insufficient chill factor. I hope the large pics assist with identification.  

Persimmon Fuju (Diospyros variety)  (right) and Apple trees in the lowest, therefore coldest in winter, south west corner.


Fuju is a dwarf variety of Persimmon that does not need bletting. We also grow Tropical Apple (Anna), Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples. We grow Crab Apple (Malus Golden Hornet) as a universal pollinator. It is extremely slow growing.

Eating our Fernmount Food Forest weeds.

Take Care: Please ensure you know your weeds before consuming them from your garden. Roadside weeds may have been sprayed or polluted.

 These are common edible weeds in the Fernmount Food Forest and the local area.

Ragweed aka Thickhead

 

Ragweed aka Gynura crepidioides aka

Thickhead

Ragweed, Gynura crepidioides

Some online articles conflate Okinawa Spinach (Gynura bicolour)) with Ragweed (Gynura crepidioides) and sometimes both plants are depicted, cut and bundled, in Asian vegetable markets.

Okinawa Spinach (Gynura bicolour)

Gynura crepidiodes, a common weed in the Bellingen valley

Thickhead

"Gynura crepidioides Benth. is a synonym of Crassocephalum crepidioides"

"Crassocephalum crepidioides, also called ebolo, thickhead, redflower ragleaf, or fireweed, is an erect annual slightly succulent herb growing up to 180 cm tall. Its use is widespread in many tropical and subtropical regions, but is especially prominent in tropical Africa. Its fleshy, mucilaginous leaves and stems are eaten as a vegetable, and many parts of the plant have medical uses. However, the safety of internal use needs further research due to the presence of plant toxins. ^{[2]" Ref: Wikipedia}

Chinese Raisin Tree (Hovea Dulcis)

The Chinese Raisin Tree has produced a plentiful crop this season. Last year it fruited, after 7 years, and produced about 20 of its sweet peduncles attached to the inedible seeds. The fruit is quite fibrous but still very useful and as sweet as grape raisins.

The Chinese Raisin Tree, planted for seven years.

Permaculture Zones applied to the Fernmount Food Forest

Aloe Vera in Zone 1

On a large property it might be easier to designate clearly the various zone related to permaculture principles. On the one acre (0.4 hectare) land of The Fernmount Food Forest zones tend to blur. Our Zone 4 area is tiny and we don't have a Zone 5 with original native bush. 

However, we are surrounded by patches of native forest and situated near the Tarkeeth Forest, part native timber plantation and part almost original forest so we regularly see bandicoots, goannas, pythons, Black, Brown and Tree snakes, lizards and plenty of native birds.