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Aikeoa Ako's Garden Series, Volume 2: Fruit and Vegetable Gardens
Fruit and vegetable gardens, or edible landscaping as some refer to it, can be both rewarding and attractive. Many people tend to want to hide a vegetable or fruit garden in some dark corner of their garden, saving the most important spots for the flowers. Designed properly, crop plants can be as becoming as flowerbeds. Besides, nothing tastes better than produce freshly picked and prepared from your own garden. A few things to remember before you begin planning your garden:
1) Soil conditions: Is it too sandy or too acidic? Is there proper moisture retention? And does the area drain well?
2) Environmental conditions: Do the plants require shade or full sun? Is the climate correct for the flora you've chosen?
3) Location: Consider the area you are going to use. What features already exist, how much space do you have? Do you need to plan around any structures or obstacles?
4) Maintenance: How much time do you plan to spend on upkeep? How much time will you actually spend on upkeep?
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Also remember to keep aesthetics in mind, as the primary consideration of your garden should be the people who use and view it. Keep the color, texture, form and scale balanced in your design. And don't forget that while all these aspects are important, it is equally if not more important is to remember that all plants have spirits. Plants are living beings full of energy from Aeton; they are part of the web of life and must be treated with respect. Your garden will respond in kind if you are aware of what plants need and provide the proper essentials for a good beginning.
Below I've included some of my favorite varieties of crops that also can serve as a beautiful addition to your landscape design.
Fruits:
Benslawe Fruit - Small deciduous bushes with thick waxy round leaves bear this thick-skinned deep burgundy citrus fruit. It is has a refreshing, slightly acidic, flavor and can be used in a various recipes or eaten raw.
Cholagog Berry - Grown on thick vines, cholagogs are a juicy, yet pungent berry considered a delicacy among the Jaddan people.
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Ekichae Fruit- This relative of the benslawe and seici grows on small deciduous trees with thick waxy clover-shaped leaves. The fruit has thick fire engine red skin, and sweet, juicy flesh. The tree is hardy and grows most places, but dryer regions are best for delivering the most and tastiest fruit.
Loshei Berries - These bright orange berries grow on stout shrubs that used to only be available on Loshei Island, but now have been cultivated as a crop plant in other areas. It has pale pink leaves covered in silver dappled marks, and has bright orange berries. The berries are used to create alcoholic drinks: loshei wine, a golden orange liquid and hot mulled loshei wine, a semi-translucent dark yellow liquid mixed with spices. The berries can also be eaten raw or used in cooking.
Nchae Berries - A large green leafed plant that has small pale pink sized flowers produces these black berries. The berries are often used in dessert recipes or eaten plain. Even the leaves and flowers can be used and make a delicious tea.
Oraeshiweai - A tendril bearing, climbing annual plant widely cultivated for its edible round fruit that has a bright red rind and crisp pale red flesh. Preferred methods of eating these fruit are raw in salads or pickled.
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Rodhapan Melon - This fruit grows on vines that lie close to the ground. When ripe, they show a deep blue coloration with a reddish-pink pulp that lightens to an almost whitish color near the rind. The seeds of the plant are almost always black, though purple is not uncommon. Very sweet and a favored treat among Jaddans, the melons are used in anything from salads to desserts.
Ruchna Berries- These black, fleshy berries grow on a small shrub with velvety red leaves and a green underside. It also has tiny white star-shaped flowers that grow in clusters. The berries can be used in cooking and fermented to make alcoholic drinks. The flowers have a cinnamon-like taste and can be used in cooking or added as spice to drinks.
Seici Fruit - This powder blue citrus fruit matures on large deciduous bushes with thick waxy heart-shaped leaves. The fruit has a thick skin and a very sweet flavor. The bush is hardy and grows in most places, but dryer regions are best for delivering the most and tastiest fruit.
Shaeweio - A blue leafed shrub with long tubular feathered purple flowers and white berries. The flower and berries are both edible; the flowers have a vanilla taste and the berries have a crisp fresh sweet taste like strawberries. The leaves can also be dried and used for tobacco.
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Taimeto - Taimetos grow on a large climber shrub which has glossy green leaves shaped like a hand. Taimetos come in various colors; those with deep purple outer skin with soft golden yellow seeds inside have a slightly sweet flavor. Taimetos with pale blue skin with cream-colored seeds are normally sour and ideal for sauces. The black skinned variety has orange seeds and is normally very sweet but not overbearingly. These can be eaten in a variety of recipes or the whole fruit can be eaten raw.
Yarhelian - A climbing blue-green leafed shrub with large tubular yellow flowers and deep purple fruit. It grows in most regions, except deserts. The fruit are eatable and can be used fresh and cooked. The flowers can be brewed to make a sweet dark tea.
Vegetables:
Eliyar- Eliyars are oval-shaped, fuchsia-colored vegetables that grow in the ground. It can be prepared in many dishes because of its bland flavoring.
Itiae - This vegetable grows to three feet high and has a blue-black bulbous root, long slender stem with a few long leaves. Both the leaves and stem are golden yellow in color. The bulbous roots can be pickled and eaten, as well as used raw in salads. The long stems are also edible and can be eaten raw or cooked.
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Levoca - A green-leafed, oval-shaped vegetable, it is made up of thin green leaves that grow tightly around a central heart, which is pale yellow in color. Lovoca hearts and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The heart has a slight nutty taste, which becomes stronger if roasted. The leaves have a slight bite to their flavor and are crunchy when eaten raw.
Olaf - A vegetable that grows in the ground, olafs have a plum colored outer skin, and layers of pale blue flesh inside. It can be eaten raw or cooked.
Orowa - This crop plant has long slender burnished or dusky gold stems that grow up to 15 feet in height with edible lavender color kernels that form on a cob. Soft gold colored husks cover the cobs. Besides being used in cooking, the stems and husks can be woven into clothing and the thicker stems can be carved into pipes and whistles, flutes or other simple items.
Resana - A small deciduous bush with tiny gold-tinged white leaves, this plant was previously thought to bear poisonous 'fruit' and was avoided by the native races. When the Humans came, they renamed the plant, since it reminded them of a pepper plant they had on Earth. The color of the peppers can range from the pale silvery blue, which has a mild temperature to deep midnight blue with red streaks, which has a very hot temperature, depending on the chemical content of the soil. This plant is very hardy and can grow most anywhere.
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Miscellaneous Crop Plants:
For those who want to try their hand at cultivating some different types of crops, I suggest one or more of the following:
Cooceiei Grass - This grass grows mainly in tropical areas, can reach up to 30 ft in height and its thick, tough stems can be up to 5 inches thick. When mature, the grass can be harvested and pulverized to create sugar, syrups and other sweet substances. Several horticultural varieties are known, differing in stem color and height, but the most common are a dark bluish-green. The sugar obtained from this is typically a light turquoise in shade.
Frabrolai - Frabrolai is a medium sized crop shrub with dark green leaves and mottled purple spots. The shrub has small ball-shaped yellow flowers and long purple seedpods with dark brown seeds. These seed can be crushed to make a coffee-like drink.
Gorddet - This crop plant has long black stems with small cream-colored seed heads. The seed heads are collected and then processed to create Gorddet ale, which is a translucent cream-colored, strong alcoholic drink. This plant grows mainly in desert areas and in grasslands that are near to beaches, or have dry sandy soil.
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Hobnkuchu - A powerfully aromatic perennial herb that can grow up to 6 inches tall, it has smooth, slender yellow leaves and bright pink flowers. It flourishes in moist, temperate climates. Both flowers and leaves are edible and taste like mint; however, the leaves tend to have more flavor. The most common uses are in teas or as garnish.
Shice - These are small mushrooms that are golden-brown in color. They have a fresh nutty taste and can be used in cooking or eaten raw.
Xawrore - An edible leaf that is purple in color. It is typically used to make salads or used as a garnish.
Assuming that you plan to grow more than one crop plant per year, it is important that you rotate your crops. If you plant all your vegetables at the same time, everything will come to maturity at the same time. The solution is to continually plant small amounts of short-season vegetables throughout the growing season. That way, you can enjoy your vegetables all summer long and not be inundated by them all at once.
Drainage is also a key factor that is often overlooked by the beginning designer and it can be the making or breaking point in many designs. Get it right and no one notices, get it wrong and your garden will be a wadding pond./n/nWith these basics tips, you are well on your way. Enjoy!
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