A bit of a weird question regarding ‘self sustaining’ veg…

[WittyUsername]

A brief bit of context; there’s a patch of woodland near me that nobody ever visits and the corners get good sunlight. I was considering turning a patch of soil over, chucking some nice loam/compost down, and growing some veg there as I don’t have the space. My thoughts are, it’d be there in case of emergencies, such as the pandemic/lockdown scenario we had.

Now, this woodland is a nightmare to access, so planting won’t be too easy and I might not get there very often. What are my options for veg that’ll grow, die off, re-seed, and re-grow the next year? In a worst case scenario, what if I planted 50 of them and just left them in the wild for 5 years before I needed them? Which vegetables would be the hardiest and need the least maintenance for this sort of thing? Is there such a thing?

Are there any edible fungi or fruit that would be a better option?

Sorry for the odd question. Cheers.

 

[TLM]

Several fruit trees and berries would do that. Jerusalem artichoke (what an odd name?) would also be there for several years.

 

[WittyUsername]

Several fruit trees and berries would do that. Jerusalem artichoke (what an odd name?) would also be there for several years.

Which fruits and berries would be best? And which soil should I go with if they’re being left unattended?

Thanks for replying, by the way. I read my own question back and it sounded mental, even to me.

 

[Pattree]

We’ve had a gooseberry bush growing among the nettles for 47 years and
counting.
Warning! I ended up with four children!

I’ve had a spud on the edge of my compost heap keep coming back for three years

 

[Kadushu]

Currants, gooseberries and raspberries grow well in a woodland environment. Potatoes will grow year after year but they need well dug and fertilised soil to produce good sized tubers. As far as seeding, I've found parsnips will seed themselves and effectively grow wild. For more naturalistic options you could introduce burdock, wild garlic or pignuts.

 

[TLM]

Nuts would take some time but definitely one option.

 

[Broch]

OK, putting my conservationist hat on for a minute, what type of woodland is it? If it's semi natural ancient it would be criminal to introduce any additional species to it - even native species. Even if it's a small piece of scrubby woodland it still has biodiversity value.

All land is owned by someone - local authority, the state, or individual; do you know who owns that land? Even if it's common land, you won't have the right to change it.

 

[WittyUsername]

Exactly the answers I was looking for, thanks everyone.

Any more suggestions? It’d be good if there was a fairly varied span of harvest times, so there would be at least something available at any one time if needed.

 

[WittyUsername]

OK, putting my conservationist hat on for a minute, what type of woodland is it? If it's semi natural ancient it would be criminal to introduce any additional species to it - even native species. Even if it's a small piece of scrubby woodland it still has biodiversity value.

All land is owned by someone - local authority, the state, or individual; do you know who owns that land? Even if it's common land, you won't have the right to change it.

It technically belongs to a family member but they fenced it off years ago and never visit or tend to it. It’s a small, scrubby patch near a railway track and the only attention it gets is when grass cuttings get thrown at it over the fence.

To get to the part the sun reaches means clambering over two fences and through lots of nettles and brambles, which is why I won’t be paying it much attention once planted.

 

[TeeDee]

A brief bit of context; there’s a patch of woodland near me that nobody ever visits and the corners get good sunlight. I was considering turning a patch of soil over, chucking some nice loam/compost down, and growing some veg there as I don’t have the space. My thoughts are, it’d be there in case of emergencies, such as the pandemic/lockdown scenario we had.

Now, this woodland is a nightmare to access, so planting won’t be too easy and I might not get there very often. What are my options for veg that’ll grow, die off, re-seed, and re-grow the next year? In a worst case scenario, what if I planted 50 of them and just left them in the wild for 5 years before I needed them? Which vegetables would be the hardiest and need the least maintenance for this sort of thing? Is there such a thing?

Are there any edible fungi or fruit that would be a better option?

Sorry for the odd question. Cheers.

Respectfully - and speaking as someone who has also played around with the notion of guerrilla gardening - I think this plays to the fantasy held notion inside a lot of us. But youd be better off just increasing your current shopping/food larder or if thats an issue for storage - create a dedicated area somewhere else.

For calorific return of food stocks vs something that 'may' grow in a woodland , 'may' not be eaten by pests or wildlife , and 'may' be accessible long term and within your influence I would tend to default to the slightly more boring basic solution.

 

[Broch]

It technically belongs to a family member but they fenced it off years ago and never visit or tend to it. It’s a small, scrubby patch near a railway track and the only attention it gets is when grass cuttings get thrown at it over the fence.

To get to the part the sun reaches means clambering over two fences and through lots of nettles and brambles, which is why I won’t be paying it much attention once planted.

OK; good luck

 

[WittyUsername]

Respectfully - and speaking as someone who has also played around with the notion of guerrilla gardening - I think this plays to the fantasy held notion inside a lot of us. But youd be better off just increasing your current shopping/food larder or if thats an issue for storage - create a dedicated area somewhere else.

For calorific return of food stocks vs something that 'may' grow in a woodland , 'may' not be eaten by pests or wildlife , and 'may' be accessible long term and within your influence I would tend to default to the slightly more boring basic solution.

Yeah, all fair points. We always have extra tins and food around the house, this veg idea just combines two ideas I’ve always likes the sound of; having my own little veg patch somewhere, and having a bonus supply of fresh fruit/veg if needed.

 

[Broch]

Yeah, all fair points. We always have extra tins and food around the house, this veg idea just combines two ideas I’ve always likes the sound of; having my own little veg patch somewhere, and having a bonus supply of fresh fruit/veg if needed.

What's the waiting list like for an allotment around you?

 

[WittyUsername]

What's the waiting list like for an allotment around you?

I asked about a year ago and they estimated 2 years but also said it’s difficult to tell. I think there’s a couple of people ahead of me in the queue too.

 

[Toddy]

If you make a determined effort to visit it even just once a month, you'll see things grow, deal with issues. Better once a week or once a fortnight, but if it's too difficult to access easily, then aim for simplicity.

Spuds are worth growing. So are onions, garlic, leeks, etc.,
They'll change from perfect globes to a mix of green oniony stuff, if you abandon them, but it'll be green oniony stuff that's still edible. The overwintering hardy stuff, the kale, the sprouts, etc., are often slug and snail magnets though.
Peas (buy a box of marrowfat peas from the supermarket, something like 50p) are brilliant. They're tasty, they dry, they keep, they can be ground into flour (peasemeal) and they're nutritious and self seeding in the right spot.

Rasps do very well in our climate, so do apple trees and an apple tree you'd only need to visit to prune and then to pick the crop.
You can quite quickly become overwhelmed with apples though.....I have one tree, that's kept really heavily pruned, and it's taken me a fortnight to process all the fruits from it. We'll be eating apple products until this time next year.

 

[TeeDee]

Yeah, all fair points. We always have extra tins and food around the house, this veg idea just combines two ideas I’ve always likes the sound of; having my own little veg patch somewhere, and having a bonus supply of fresh fruit/veg if needed.

I obviously don't know your living situation but don't under estimate what you can grow in a small vertical space NOW whilst you wait for an allotment and get your growing eye 'in'.

Take a look here for inspiration.

Urban Container Gardening | Grow At Home | Vertical Veg

How to grow vegetables, salad, herbs and fruit in containers. Make the most of your balcony, patio or front yard - and eat fresh homegrown food ev...

www.verticalveg.org.uk

 

[Woody girl]

I'd be looking at making it into a permaculture forest garden.
There is a book by Patrick Whitefield that I'd recommend to start you off with some ideas of how to go about things.
Forest Gardens are pretty much self sustaining. So don't need masses of work, produce food almost year round, and there are plenty of wild edibles you could introduce that are naturally found in woodlands. Wild damsons, Hazel nut, sweet chestnut, walnut, crab apples, wild garlic and wild strawberries, depending on soil type even wild blueberries.
You want to plant with things that pretty much look after themselves.
At the project , we are turning a small area that already has an aged apple tree and wild gooseberry bushes into a forest garden. It's a bit of a frost pocket, next to a river, so we are having to do a lot of research on suitable varieties . It's a little frustrating when we'd like a particular variety, but have to plump for something else to be able to survive successfully, and we've spent hours looking at books to find out the best ones, but we are looking forward to planting our first fruit trees this winter.....hopefully the deer will leave us some pickings