Edible herbs/veg/fruit for all year round?

This may be a really novice question.. but are there any kind of herbs/veg/fruit that produce all year round?

thanks

The real answer is NO, BUT there are a few herbs that are in use ALL year round because they are hardier, things like Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender etc in SOME Zones will grow and survive all year.
These are a cross between a small shrub and Perennial plants.

With fruit, be it growing on tree's, bushes or like Tomato strawberries etc, all of those grow seasonal, that is to say, they only fruit AFTER they have flowered and the flowers are pollinated by insect, again, depending on what type of fruit you have,
Veg again are seasonal BUT things like potatoes, can be grown about 9 months of the year IF you select early growing types and whn they are harvested, you have late growing types.

The simplest answer, depending on your soil, climate, size of ground etc, you can grow FOOD plants that can be harvested and stored with proper containers and equipment all year round.

I would suggest as your living in Florida, you go to the book store and search out books for beginners fruit / Veg and herb growing, there are small hand size books available as well as larger but paper back books, there are loads of them for growing in your area, There are also a good few garden centres who have fruit Herbs and veg on show, the fruit comes in tree, bush or plants, the veg comes in starter plants and herbs are in small pots, I am not suggesting you go out and buy them, I inviting you to go look, smell, feel and learn there names, how to grow and WHEN they should be ready to harvest, AND you get ideas.

Once you decide what type of Cherry, Apple, Lemon etc you want, you should find out IF you have space for them, AND prepare the soil and planting area well before you spend money on these expensive. Strawberries as do Cane fruit like Raspberries etc, all take up a fare bit of space, Herbs can be grown either in pots, tubs or in the garden, they also work as deterrents for some bugs that will be absolute ruination for some Veg plants, so as I suggest, read books to find out what you can grow in your type of hot climate BUT also how to control the pests as you dont want to run a feeding station for every bug in the neighbourhood.
There are protections you can take to keep birds, insects etc from nibbling your plants, and IF you decide to go ahead, you should also read up on Chemical free growing methods BUT that's a choice for you alone to make.


I would start with a layout plan, remember any fruit tree's are small when you buy them so, you need to plant ahead of the spacing for growing room. your Veg garden should be split into 4-5 beds where you can rotate the type of veg each year from one bed to another,
Bed for Cabbage, sprouts etc, another bed for root veg like carrots, beet-roots Parsnips etc, another for potato's, another for salads, and you can either grow herbs around the edges of these beds, or use a separate bed, some herbs are only grown for a few months then collected and either dried or frozen. all these are things as a beginner would want to learn about before they get started as it is a lot of work. after the fruit etc is growing well after a couple of years all you have to do is prune, but Veg are more a constant use of your time, and any books you manage to obtain, when you reed them it will give you an indicator as to how much time you will be able to give to the garden for prep work EVERY year and how much time to give to caring for the area.

It is the most enjoyable hobby you can take up, giving you loads of healthy food, you know what has been sprayed on your food OR NOT, and once the initial expenses and hard work has been done, it becomes a very economical way to feed family and friends etc.

There are lots of methods to use and are used by all different gardeners, BUT no matter what way you go, the basic's are the same. Prep, Rotation of crops and good practice when you are growing FOOD crops.

Good luck and make sure you take time to enjoy your new found hobby and never be afraid to ask as many questions as you want, there's always someone here to help.

Have fun, Best Regards.
WeeNel.

Very simply, yes, you can eat something from the garden year round. It won't come off the same plant, though.

Trees like Citrus- fruit holds well on the tree and can be harvested over several months.
Most other fruit trees have a shorter window of time for harvest, but one type gets ripe pretty early, another ripens later. So you might have cherries and apricots in the early summer, peaches and nectarines mid summer, and apples and pears into the fall.

"Annual" vegetables are often perennials that are grown in a cold winter location. I have had tomatoes into December by putting a hoop structure with clear plastic over them before it gets too cold. Indeterminate tomatoes keep on setting more and more fruit as long as conditions suit them.
There are many annual vegetables that prefer cooler weather, and in FL and CA are often planted through the fall, winter and spring. Lettuce, radishes, spinach, peas and a lot of the broccoli-cabbage (Crucifers) and related plants.
There are different types of onions that form their bulb according to the length of the day and night, so you could probably have onions year round by selecting different varieties.

Great thing about Florida is you can grow year round. I can't help you with fruits, but I have some recommendation for vegetables.

If you grow heirloom indetermine tomatoes they will grow all year round, but you have to keep up with it, chances are some disease will get to the plant before long though, especially in Florida. Some indetermine cherry tomato like black cherry is the way to go, they are vigorous and relatively resistant to disease. You just tie it to a 10ft stake, save space by growing it single stem by cutting off the suckers, it will out grow it and then droop back down, then put another stake so it can grow back up. Plant three and you'll get tomatoes to eat everyday, as long as there aren't too much rain which cause the fruits to crack and brings in insect attack on the fruits.

If you don't want to keep regrowing, then perennials is your answer, as well as annual plants that reseed well, as long as you keep adding good nutrient like compost back to the soil. Mustard and bokchoy grows fast and reseed well. I prefer to alternative the crop and put them in different spots each season to prevent disease build up though.

We grow sweet potatoes to eat the leaves, they grow fast and invasive. Malabar spinach is an excellent choice for trellis growing, they reseed themselves in abundance and taste very good. We have water spinach in a large no drain container, they love the sun and a lot of water and grow very fast, each week we can harvest a lot of them. We do the same for water cress, thyme, and gotu kola as well, though they don't compete with water spinach in term of growth.

Sorrel is a good perennial, but due to high oxalic acid it's better to cook them or not eat too much. Some other perennial consideration are parsley, sunchoke, lovage, walking onion and purple tree collard. There are so many, you just have to find what you like.

If you are impatient you can try hydroponic growing since green vegetables will grow very fast with that method. Or if growing annual in soil, know the maturity rate of the plants and sprout new seedlings while your already mature plants are ready to harvest, so you always have a constant supply of plants ready to be planted and not have a gap.

This message was edited Apr 24, 2015 11:33 AM

Thank you everyone! :)

Gosh, I'm moving to Florida permanently. we visit Sanibel Island every year (it helps shorten our wet harsh winters) all I ever see is tropical plants, absolutely beautiful, more tropical tree's and off Island in Naples, it's much the same landscape however, Naples began a Botanical garden and we were there the week it first opened, we visit it every-time were there and it has extended greatly now after about 20 years, But again, no Veg, Next time in Florida I must take a more closer look around and ask questions LOL.

natv, hope Max has given you huge amount of ideas and inspiration to get you going.
Best regards.
WeeNel.