Finding out were plants grow best?

Lately I've been thinking, other than the fact it's convenient, why do we put all our plants in one place? For instance when looking at nature different plants grow in different places because well, they grow better in different places. Some plants like sun, some like shade, some like water and some like it dry etc.

So I’ve been thinking about returning some vegetables back to the “wild” so to speak.

So I guess my question is; are there any good sources for finding out where cultivated plants would like to be planted instead of all in one place. Or where would one be likely to find these plants in the wild if they weren’t forced to live together.

 

You might try googling ... forest gardening.

 

i like the fukuoka concept,kinda with the goal of permaculture in mind.

im gonna experiment with it beginning this year.

 

Thank you very much for your input and Forest Gardening is a very interesting idea that I will keep in mind.

But right now I'm kind of interested in finding out what the original home environment for our cultivated plants was like.

I'm kind of interested in accommodating the plants by planting them in their home environment rather than planting them where it’s convenient for me to have them all together.

In the long run it just seems like it would be more convenient to plant plants were they will thrive on their own in a place they want to be in the first place.

 

I've read about Masanobu Fukuoka 's Natural Farming methods and that kind of what got me wondering about where the wild forms of our cultivated plants came from. Fukuoka says that he broad casts all seeds and just observes where different plants like to grow but that has taken over 20 years, being over 60 I may not have 20 years to find out, so was wondering if there was a book on plant origins that would tell me. I’ve tried googling but as yet have not come up with anything.

HHB let me know how your Fukuoka experiment comes out. I’d like to know.

It’s sounds like it might take several years before the land gets back to where it’s suppose to be and begins really producing but in the long run sounds like you’ll get better crops with less energy and expense.

 

The vast majority of vegetables need full sun, some may "make do" with partial sun but you have fewer fruits, etc.
Any plant you can buy or - even think of - if you look at the plant tag or google it if you have just thought of it- will tell you the amount of sun it requires for optimum growth...That will tell you what would "grow together".

 

There may be some greens (leafy vegs) that would grow best in partial sun; but all of the vegs I know of or have read about don't need to be allowed to get dry for very long.
I'm just saying, that since you were talking about vegetables - those are easy - they all probably would grow naturally near one another.
Plants, wildflowers, etc are a whole nother bucket of worms.
And after reading my previous post, felt I needed to clarify myself.
Sorry 'bout that, OWB.

 

No problem, thanx for the info.

 

Okay let me put this, another way. I know that when you go foraging for wild plants that you can expect to find certain plants in certain areas because that is where they naturally grow. Such as cattails are always found near or in water but you don’t look for strawberries or Queen Ann’s Lace there.

So what I’m asking is; before the plants that are in our gardens were in our garden, they were wild plants and so if you went foraging for them when they were wild, where would you most likely find them?

Yes, I know they would be outdoors but I was hoping for something a little more specific than that. Some plants do well in or around water such as cattails and rice, where as there are some plants that do better when their roots aren’t constantly bathed in water and I’m just wondering if there is a book or a website that gives more detailed information on what plants really like, so I can start planting plants where they like to be planted and where they would be found if they were still wild plants.

 

i will be sure and let you know my friend. i dont expect it to take a decade to figure out.

sure it may take a decade for it to completely integrate but i believe within a couple seasons we will have a good idea of whats happy where..

its all going to be done with spare seed anyway and its not like there is any real effort involved besides a day of making seed balls,so we figure why not.

between herbs,grains and veggies we have probably 25 to 30 different varieties of seed that we have more than we could ever plant otherwise and lots of land that is unplantable without doing serious terracing and quite frankly im getting sick of terracing beds here.lol so this seems like a good way to make use of both.

i will keep a lookout for the information your requesting and if i run across it ill be sure and let you know.

just a afterthought,have you tried looking up origins of heirloom seeds? i mean so many are from so many areas of the world with such varying soil conditions,climates and weather conditions that that would im sure help you figure out what your trying to figure out..

 

Good idea, I hadn't thought of looking up heirloom seeds, I'll check it out.

What I should have also said is my aim is guerrilla gardening. I kind of figure that when this system collapses, a conventional garden is going to draw a lot of attention, whereas a pre-planted “wild” garden not so much. So when the time comes you know where to find “wild” tomatoes, etc.

Keep in touch. I’d like to know how it turns out, if this system lasts long enough for us to still talk when you find out.

 

All you have to do is read their cultivation requirements.

Many of todays plants don't grow wild anywhere. They've been hybridized to promote production, and can't reproduce without optimum conditions, or replanting by man.

Most of us plant vegetable gardens with all plants together for one reason alone. Production value. It's easier to seed, water, maintain and harvest in one central location than scattered all over. Guerilla gardening is that another definition of planting on someone else's land and not wanting to be discovered?

 

Nothing is going to grow in the summer where the temp get's to 90 to 100 degrees and it's not planted over an accessible aquafer, or somebody waters it during a drought, or the soil is completely deplete of nutirients. I am not sure where marijuana grows wild, but it's not in the northern California foothills, and thats why hikers get shot when they venture into so called wild areas that are being gardened by outside interests.

 

the usda makes a climate zone chart. try consulting that.

 

Planting anything in the wild, disturbs the natural ecology of the area. That's mother nature's job. And she does it well. If you want to harvest wild hallucenigens study the local flora and learn about your area. Don't ask me to advise you on bringing in foreign plants to my area that may disturb the balance.

 

gardener,have you ever heard of "permaculture"??

and i wouldnt plant a hybrid seed if you gave it to me..

 

what if that seed could churn out some nicely kind buds?

 

Thanx, HHB.

I'm not sure what gardner is going on about but my thinking is that when this system goes down a conventional garden is going to be a problem. If all the produce doesn't get taken by others; it may tell others that you don't want to find you, how to find you.

So my thinking is along the lines of what I call guerrilla gardening or survival gardening and that is trying to find a separate place for each plant, where that plant more or less grows naturally and will not need a lot of care and maintenance. That way if someone finds part of your garden and takes it they don’t get the whole garden or if someone is looking for you, they may think that the plants have just gone to seed and no one is going to come back to them.

Also over a period of time they may even begin reseeding themselves and more or less become “wild” again. When I was a kid we use to call those “volunteers”, maybe not as big as the originals but a welcome surprise none the less.

PS I agree with you on hybrid seeds, soon the only way to get those is to go to the man and ask for them but heirlooms you can just harvest some seeds every year and save them for next year.

 

You start introducing non-native plants into a wild environment and you are playing with fire. Can you spell Kudzu?

 

Once again, Thanx, for the warning but I'm not talking about Kudzu.

I'm talking about commonly cultivated garden plants and not even genetically altered, like some commercial agribiz plants (if you really want something to worry about), not even hybrids. Also I'm talking about food plants that humans eat and as has already been well established that many other animals and insects eat also, not Kudzu that has no native enemies in the US.

Some of the plants I’m talking about, like corn, are even native to the US.

By the way if this system should collapse, what are you planning to do for veggies? As I’ve already mentioned, growing a conventional garden is liable to attract a whole lot of hungry people that may find that they don’t have enough to share with you, from your own garden.

Or the government may decide that growing a garden instead of depending on your government to provide food for you is a crime (what’s the matter don’t you trust us) and arrest you for it and we all know how well the US government providing food worked for the Indians.