[Scpg] words of wisdom from Loren Luyendyk

[LBUZZELL at aol.com]

Santa Barbara permaculture designer/teacher Loren Luyendyk posted this on  
the "Mediterranean Food Forest" Facebook page. Great info - thanks, Loren!
 
Linda
 
For perennial pioneers I like Leuceana as a short lived tree with many  
benefits, edible pods, NFT, bee forage, chicken forage, animal fodder, drought  
tolerant.

I also like using nopales (Opuntia) as it grows fast and is  easy to 
remove, plus edibility and drought tolerance.

Annual support  species is a long list, and one that needs to be made. I 
select for drought  tolerance, edibility, insect plant, and self-sowing. 
Arrugula, alyssum, cosmos,  zinnia, chrysanthemum, calendula, sunflowers, and 
cilantro are some of my  favorites.

One tactic is to introduce our own pioneer plants, or take  advantage of 
those that are already there, ie "weeds". I think the best would be  both. 

We can select local pioneer species by observing the site- for  example, 
looking over the fence to see what "weeds" are growing in that area.  The 
specifics of the site will dictate what plants will grow and be the best  
support species, ie soils and exposure. (and the plants growing will tell you  
what the soils are lacking)

Most local "weeds" are naturalized European  introductions, and many are 
edible and medicinal, as well as insect plants and  great sources of biomass. 
Off the top of my head, the most common "weeds" of  coastal SB that are 
edible or medicinal and that would be good support species  include:

sow thistle (Sonchus sp.)
milk thistle (Sylbum  sp.)
European thistle (Cirsium sp.)
cheeseweed (Malva sp.)
fat hen or  lambs quarters (Chenopodium sp.)
purslane (Portulaca sp.)
wild radish  (Raphanus sp.)
wild mustard (Brassica sp.)
curly dock (Rumex  sp.)
dandelion (Taraxacum sp.)
sour grass (Oxalis sp.)
wild oats (Avena  sp.)
fennel (Foeniculum sp.)
chicory (Cichorium sp.)

nitro  fix:
burr clover (Medicago sp.)
alfalfa (Medicago sp.)
sweet clover  (Melilotus sp.)

Grasses are always a challenge as they can outcompete  many plants. Crab 
grass is one that I still have a hard time finding a use for,  besides horse 
pasture. I haven't tried pickling it  yet...
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