Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub that thrives in poor soil conditions while providing multiple benefits to the garden. Whether you’re looking for a hardy pioneer plant, a nutritious food source, or an effective soil builder, pigeon pea is a must-have in any sustainable garden or food forest.
Are you struggling with poor sandy soil and crispy plants from not enough summer shade? Then keep reading because this easy-to-grow edible plant could be the answer!
Benefits of Growing Pigeon Pea in a Permaculture Garden
1. Pigeon Pea Improves Soil Health
Pigeon pea is an excellent nitrogen fixer, meaning it naturally enriches the soil by pulling nitrogen from the air and making it available to other plants. This is especially valuable in poor, sandy soils where organic matter is often lacking. Additionally, its deep taproot helps break up compacted soil, improving aeration and water retention. It is a great plant to grow in newly established gardens where soil quality is low.
2. Creates Dappled Shade
This shrub grows quickly and provides light, dappled shade that protects lower-growing plants from harsh sun exposure. This makes it an excellent companion plant for young fruit trees and vegetable crops that benefit from reduced heat stress.
3. Attracts Beneficial Insects & Pollinators
The bright yellow flowers of pigeon pea are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. These pollinators help increase biodiversity in your garden and improve the yield of surrounding fruiting plants.
4. Nutritious & Versatile Edible Crop
Pigeon peas are a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber, making them a valuable addition to a self-sufficient diet. They can be eaten in various ways:
Fresh in salads
Steamed like edamame
Cooked in stews and curries
Made into burger patties
Dried and stored for long-term use
Not only are pigeon peas beneficial for human consumption, but they also make excellent high-protein animal feed.
5. Provides Abundant Biomass & Mulch
Pigeon pea produces a significant amount of organic material that can be cut back and used as mulch. This helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and build healthy soil over time. Regular pruning encourages new growth and keeps the plant productive.
6. Windbreak & Habitat for Wildlife
This shrub can be grown as a hedge to provide wind protection for more delicate plants. It also creates shelter for small birds and insects, enhancing the overall ecosystem of your garden.
7. Pioneer Plant for New Gardens
Pigeon pea is an ideal “pioneer” species for establishing new gardens. This means it helps pave the way for establishing more valuable long-term crops. It offers:
Fast-growing shade
Nutrient-rich mulch
Green material for composting
Pollinator attraction
Wind protection
Thrives in poor soil
Drought tolerant
It is a short-lived perennial, typically lasting 4-5 years, making it perfect for supporting other plants in the early stages of a food forest or permaculture system. As your garden grows and your main fruit tree crops start to get established you can prune back and remove the Pigeon Pea to make room. With so much seed available you will be able to re-grow more plants in other areas of the garden.
How to Grow Pigeon Pea
Pigeon PeaPlanting & Soil Requirements
Thrives in well-draining soil, including poor, sandy soil
Pigeon Pea prefers full sun but can grow in semi-shade positions
Drought-tolerant once established
Grows well from seed planted directly in the ground
Doesn’t like frosts, but can be grown as an annual crop in cooler climates
Doesn’t like wet feet as this can cause the roots to rot. Plant on mounded soil to help improve drainage in wet areas.
Maintenance & Care
Minimal care is required once established
Benefits from regular pruning to encourage bushy growth and biomass production. It also helps with the ease of harvesting peas at a more manageable height.
Pigeon Pea can be interplanted with fruit trees, vegetables, or other nitrogen-demanding plants
Harvesting & Usage
Harvest fresh peas when pods are still green
Leave pods to dry on the plant for long-term storage of dried peas
Regular pruning ensures continuous production and plant health
Pigeon Pea Permaculture
This pioneer plant is an invaluable addition to any permaculture garden, offering multiple benefits such as soil improvement, food production, pollinator support, and natural wind protection. Whether you’re starting a new garden or enhancing an existing one, this resilient shrub will help create a thriving, self-sustaining ecosystem.
Start growing Pigeon Pea today and enjoy its many rewards in your sustainable garden!
Wildlife and beneficial insects are key to creating a sustainable self-sufficient garden. They help form part of a balanced ecosystem and creating a small wildlife pond in the garden is an incredible way to attract them. Wildlife ponds can be a transformative addition to any garden or outdoor space, offering many amazing benefits including beauty, tranquility, and increased pollination. Whether you have a sprawling backyard or a compact urban garden, a small DIY wildlife pond has the potential to create a thriving ecosystem, attract beneficial insects, and help your gardens grow an abundance of food.
Today I’m going to share the process of creating my own DIY wildlife pond including choosing a location, pond plants, and why I have chosen native Australian fish for the pond.
One of the key advantages of having a wildlife pond is the ability to attract beneficial insects. Many of these insects, such as ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies, are natural predators of garden pests. By providing them with a water source and a suitable habitat, you can encourage their presence and create a natural pest control system within your garden. No need for harmful chemical pesticides making your garden healthy, thriving, and sustainable.
Click to WATCH the transformation or continue reading below
Planning Your Wildlife Pond
1. Choose a location for your wildlife pond
The first step in creating your small wildlife pond is to find suitable location options. Look for an area that is relatively level and away from large trees or shrubs whose roots may interfere with excavation or cause water quality issues. Consider the overall layout of your garden and how the pond will fit into the existing landscape. Keep in mind that a wildlife pond can range in size from a small, shallow pond to a larger, more expansive water feature, so choose a location that suits the space you have available.
Important things to consider when choosing the location for your wildlife pond:
Sunlight – most pond plants will need 6-7 hours of sunlight per day. This is more important in spring and summer than in winter as many pond plants will slow or die down over winter anyway.
Shade – Shade is also important, especially during the hottest part of the day. Shade will help keep the pond cool, especially in summer and reduce the algae. Adding plants will help shade out the pond.
Water source – Having a water source or hose available nearby is important especially in summer if the pond water gets low or too hot.
Safety and access – Pets or young children – depending on the size of your pond you will want to consider access if you have young children or pets (my water-loving dog would jump in immediately!). It would be worth checking out your local council’s requirements for ponds.
Close proximity to gardens – If you are wanting to attract wildlife to your gardens to help with pollination and pest management then it would be a good idea to have it close to your veggie patch or gardens. Existing gardens will also create wildlife corridors for safe access to and from the pond.
My pond location:
Front garden away from my water-loving dog
In an existing garden bed for a wildlife corridor
Outside my office window to enjoy the aesthetics and tranquility
The size and design of your wildlife pond could be determined by the space available or the structure you choose to use. Whether that is a prefabricated pond, pot or barrel pond, or full DIY pond with a pond liner.
I sourced a preformed poly pond that was roughly 1m x1m and 30cm deep. There is a huge range of preformed ponds available to fit a range of spaces. Baths, tubs, and tanks also make great DIY pond structures.
3. Filling and Balancing the Pond
Having a water source nearby is important to be able to top up or cool the pool down during the warmer months. Rainwater would be ideal to fill your pond but if like me, you only have access to mains or system water you will need to do a few extra steps to balance and remove the chlorine.
To condition the water you can either leave it to sit and gas off for 2-3 weeks or you can speed up the process by running an aeration pond pump in the water. The other way to condition the water is to purchase some water conditioning treatment. This is what I did and I also waited two weeks before adding in fish just to be sure and to allow natural bacteria to build up. I also added “splosht” which are small dissolving sachets of good bacteria to help keep the pond clean. The ones I used are made here in Western Australia so it is native bacteria. Speak to your local pond shop to see what will work best for your pond.
4. Introducing Plants to the Pond
Selecting plants for your pond is an exciting time! Firstly, it is important to determine what types of wildlife you would most like to attract to your pond. This will help you select plants to suit and reduce some of the overwhelm.
Frogs like lily pad like leaves and grasses or reeds to hide in.
Small birds like nectar-producing flowers and dense shrubs to hide in.
Ladybugs and beneficial insects like pollen-rich flowers such as herb flowers
Lizards like low-lying dense ground covers to easily hide in
Native wildlife often are attracted to native plants and flowers
Another thing to consider is whether you would like them to all be edible or a mix of both. I chose to plant edibles, natives, and herbs. A wide range of leaf types and plant heights/structures will help encourage a wider array of wildlife to your pond.
There are 4 main types of plants you may like to select for your pond:
Full Aquatic Plants: These grow completely submerged underwater such as Water lilies, and Vallis grass. They are great for deeper parts of the pond and can help oxygenate the water.
Filtration plants: These help keep the water clean and act as natural filtration. These are plants such as: Lebanese Cress, Water Mints, Gotu Kola, Pennywort, Watercress, Kang Kong. Most of these plants like to be partially submerged. I have mine propped up on bricks with 1 inch out of the water.
Marginal Plants: These are plants that can be planted around the edge of the pond or in shallow water. These are plants like: Fairy Lights, Blue Grass, Reeds, Bull Rush, Taro, Water Chestnuts, Mint, Queensland Arrowroot, Iris, Lebanese Cress, Watercress, Thalia, Papyrus, Society Garlic, Sweet Violet, and Moneywort.
Floating cover plants: These plants multiply quickly and cover the surface of the water. This can help regulate the pond temperature and shade out the pond. This can reduce algae and also offer food to many fish. Plants such as: Duckweed, Azolla, Frogbit and Hornwort.
Check out the video for a full tour of the plants I selected for this project.
5. Adding Natural Elements
Natural elements such as logs, rocks, and sticks offer surfaces for wildlife to rest on, cross over or hide under. It is important to make easy access in and out of the water. This will allow frogs, lizards, and bees the ability to get in and out. Shallow areas, ledges, ramps, and varying heights around the edge of the pond will help with this. It will also help your pond blend in and look more natural and integrated within the garden.
6. Adding Fish to the Pond
Adding fish to your pond can help with filtration and keep mosquito larvae in check. Understanding what type of wildlife you would ideally like to attract to your wildlife pond can help determine the type of fish for your pond. I am hoping to get frogs in my pond and many introduced fish such as goldfish or Koi may eat frogs’ eggs. This can be ok in a large pond with more space for frogs to hide and lay eggs. As I have a small pond and would like to encourage frogs, I have decided to go with West Australian Perch and White Cloud minnows that eat mosquito larvae but not the frogs eggs. They are also low maintenance and can handle ponds without pumps.
After purchasing the fish from the pond store, I let the bags sit in the pond water for 5 minutes to let the water in the bag adjust to the pond temperature. I then gently opened the bag and let the fish out. The Minnows dart about on the surface often but the Perch love to hide and I never see them! So that is something to consider.
7. Maintaining Your Wildlife Pond
It is important to regularly check on the pond, especially during the first year as things grow and temperatures change. Observing will allow you to see what types of wildlife are using the pond and what changes or additions you could make. Adding a small pump or water fountain will also help keep the pond cool and reduce algae. I do plan to add a solar pump and fountain eventually.
Scoop out dead leaves or excess algae
Top up water in summer if needed
Regular top-ups of “Splosht” good bacteria or similar
I decided to add solar lights to the pond as it is outside my office window and is nice to view during the evenings when I’m working late. I selected floating solar lights and also spotlights to point at feature plants. The fun thing about these lights is that I can change the colours and turn them on and off via a remote. The floating lights also offer more protection for the fish whilst the plants are established.
Just like the rest of your gardens your pond will change and develop over the seasons and the years. It will require some tweaking and editing as you go to find a good balance. There are so many amazing reasons to create a wildlife pond for your gardens.
By creating a wildlife pond, you are not only providing a habitat for a variety of natural life but also fostering diversity in your surroundings. These ponds act as sanctuaries for a wide array of wildlife, including frogs, lizards, birds, dragonflies, and beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. These creatures play essential roles in pollination, pest control, and maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
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Learn how to grow Feijoa and what to make with their abundant crops! Feijoas or Pineapple Guava (Feijoa Sellowiana) are an abundant-producing fruit tree with green, sweet-tasting fruit. The trees are evergreen with dark green and silver foliage. Feijoas are easy to grow and, due to their thick foliage, they make a great screening tree or edible hedge!
This fruit tree is a prolific producer and can grow in a range of climates from temperate to subtropical, but grows best from zones 8-11.
Prune for size in autumn. Keep well watered in summer when fruiting.
FERTILISE
Feed with compost and keep well mulched.
PESTS
Rats, fruit flies, birds, guava moth, possums, scale.
HARVEST
Ripe when they fall from the tree. Collect daily.
REPRODUCE
Can grow from seed but best results are from grafted plants.
Why Grow Feijoa?
Here are some of the many reasons to grow Feijoa
It produces in abundance!
It is self-fertile
Evergreen – ornamental all year round
Delicious juicy fruit that are sweet with a perfumey flavor
Green fruit, which is harder to see from pests
Hardy tree – easy to grow
The whole fruit is edible!
Flowers are edible
Foliage is said to have fire-retardant qualities
Drought tolerant
Dense foliage can be pruned into a hedge for screening areas
Popular Feijoa Varieties
Feijoas are commonly sold as seedling plants under the name Pineapple Guava or Feijoa Sellowiana these will perform with mixed results and can take 6+ years to start fruiting. Choosing a grafted or named variety will offer a quicker-producing tree that will be true to type. Varieties will vary from country to country.
Duffy – Medium – large-sized fruit. Popular all-around variety.
White Goose – Large fruit with juicy white flesh. Early season fruiting that can last quite a long time.
Mammoth – Large round fruit with thick wrinkled skin. Can benefit from a pollinator tree. Tall upright tree.
Apollo – Medium – large oval fruit. Smooth light green skin. Tall upright tree. Semi-self-fertile – benefits from another pollinator tree.
Unique – Medium-sized fruit. Smooth, juicy, and sweet. Starts fruiting from a young age.
Triumph –Medium-sized fruit. Slightly gritty but good flavour. Late season bearing.
Nazemetz – Large oval/pear-shaped fruit. Smooth skin with sweet flesh. Self-fertile but will bear heavily with cross-pollination.
QUICK TIPSON HOW TO GROW FEIJOA
Choose a named variety (x2 different ones for bonus pollination)
Choose a sunny location
Add plenty of compost
Mulch
Ensure plenty of water during fruiting (summer)
Fruit is ready in Autumn
When to PlantFeijoa Trees
Plant your Feijoa plants in Spring or Autumn to avoid added stress from summer and winter temperatures.
How to GrowFeijoa
To plant your Feijoa, pick a sunny spot, they like full sun for 6-8 hours at least. And quite a bit of space, as these trees will grow quite large (2-5m). You can prune them back heavily though, so it’s not a major issue. They will also grow well in a large pot.
Dig a hole twice as big as the pot and mix a little compost in with the soil. If your plant has tightly bound roots, free them up before planting them out. Firmly pack the soil back around and cover it with mulch. Just pull back the mulch from the trunk so you don’t rot the trunk. Feijoas have shallow feeder roots so keep weeds and plants at a minimum under the tree line.
Give it big water! Now you basically don’t have to do anything for the first couple of years except keep it watered, especially during the dry season. You may get flowers in the first year or it makes take a couple of years until it is established enough to put out flowers. It flowers in spring and the fruits are usually ready and ripe in Autumn.
How to Care and Maintain Feijoa Trees
Feeding
Once your tree is established and starting to flower and fruit you can look at more fertilizing and watering. You can feed your plants near the end of winter, spring, and summer with compost or worm teas, or liquid seaweed. I don’t do a lot of feeding but I do chop and drop the prunings and add layers of mulch each year.
Watering
Another key tipis to ensure your plants get plenty of water during summer and late summer as the fruits are developing. This is something we struggle with here in Perth because we basically get no rain in summer. This last summer was so dry in Perth, and my trees were loaded with fruit. I obviously didn’t water them enough for the amount of fruit they had and the results are a strange hollow center. The fruit still tastes delicious, just not quite as juicy as it should be.
So I will have more mulch and more water next season. From memory, I was only hand watering max twice a week, and it was extremely hot here, so I’m not surprised really.
Pruning
Once your feijoas have finished fruiting, and you have picked up all the dropped fruit. It can be a good time to prune your trees if you want. I like to prune mine each year so that the fruit is always within reach. Otherwise, it ends up over the neighbor’s fence or is bruised from falling so far to the ground. Feijoas love a prune and it can actually improve fruiting. I cut back about 20-30% each year and I find that it grows back about that much so my trees stay relatively the same height by doing this.
Plus, by cutting back 20% of the tree, I get a whole lot of green material to chop and drop. In my food forest-style garden, I don’t remove anything so all prunings go directly back into the garden. I prune using hedge shears or loppers for larger branches and then run them through my small mulcher. You can also chop them into small pieces, then lay them around the trees. This will break down and act as a natural fertilizer.
Pollination
You may notice lots of small birds in your trees when they are flowering. Don’t worry as they are helping pollinate the flowers. They harvest the nectar and also eat the petals but generally allow the main flower to stay put and fruit. Bees and small birds are the main types of pollinators.
One tree will still perform amazingly as they are self-fertile but having multiple just increases your harvests. It can also extend your season. Meaning different varieties take longer or shorter to flower or ripen and you can get extended harvests.
One thing to note is that feijoas ripen quickly and in bulk. So they come in hard and fast.
Pests / Disease
Rats and possums will love your fruit, and also parrots and birds. You may want to net or bag fruits if you are worried. I definitely have rats and parrots but so far I haven’t needed to bag fruit as they are doing minimal damage to my large harvests. Fruit flies and guava moths are also a problem in other areas. Again, this would mean you need to bag the fruit or net the tree when the fruit is young before they get stung.
How/ When to HarvestFeijoa
Now comes the fun part – harvesting. How do we tell when the fruit is ripe if it remains green? Well, it falls off the tree. So each morning, you can go out and pick up all the fruit from the ground. It is important to pick all the fruit up because otherwise, you will attract pests like rats and possums, or fruit flies. Feijoas do continue to ripen off the tree so you want to eat them quite quickly or use and preserve them. I like the tartness of fresh feijoas, and they get sweeter and more perfumy as they ripen, which is why I never like feijoas from the stores, as I find them too overripe.
Most people will cut the fruit in half and scoop out the inside to eat but you can eat the whole fruit. Especially when they are quite ripe the skin is sour and the inside is sweet it has a nice balance.
Reproducing
Ripe feijoas may have small brown seeds inside. These can be planted in moist soil. Feijoas do not grow true to type from seed so they may produce fruit different from the one you saved the seeds from.
Ways to cook and use Feijoa
Feijoas are delicious when eaten fresh off the tree. You can eat the whole fruit or cut it in half and scoop out the insides. Once they fall from the tree, they may still be a little tart. Allow them to ripen for a few days, and they will become softer, sweeter, and juicier. However, they will continue to ripen and become over-ripe. Fruit flies may also find them on the bench, so I like to keep them in the fridge.
Feijoa flowers are beautiful, and the petals are edible. I saved a bunch to add to teas. Just carefully remove the soft white and pink petals without removing the whole flower.
Feijoa pairs well with: Ginger,Coconut, Apple, Cinnamon, Chilli, Citrus, Pear, Nuts, Dark chocolate, Yogurt
Feijoa ideas:
Juices
Smoothies
Cakes
Jam
Crumble
Muffins
Icecream
Preserving your Feijoa Harvest
Feijoa trees, once mature, will produce bucketloads of fruit! They can be frozen to use in smoothies and juices or baking, or preserved in jams, chutney, alcohol infusions, and bottled.
Our gardens will inevitably get shadier as mature trees start to grow. We will also get more shade in our gardens throughout the year during different seasons. In this episode of the Homegrown Podcast, we will discuss how to grow food if you have areas of shade in the garden. What to plant, how to maximise production and minimise disease.
I am so excited to announce the launch of my brand new live show and podcast – Homegrown with Sustainable Holly. Homegrown the live show is a live podcast for those who want to grow food at home and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
Welcome to the edible gardening Podcast x Livestream where you can listen, ask questions, or watch live and be a part of an interactive gardening show. Together we will sow seeds, discuss what’s happening in the garden, make plans, and track goals to grow more food at home naturally and sustainably.
Homegrown is hosted by Holly an Edible Gardener, YouTuber, and Photographer creating a more sustainable life in the suburbs of Perth, Australia. Join us Wednesdays at 5pm AWST – live on YouTube and grow your own nourishing homegrown food!
Be sure to subscribe to get updates on when new episodes go live! And if you found some inspiration from the show I would love it if you could give me a rating and review. This helps me grow the show and be able to get lots more exciting guests.
Why is it a live show?
Live streaming allows us to have real, raw and unedited conversations about growing food at home and also behind the scenes of growing a business from the garden it’s going to be an evolving show but we are starting right here in my kitchen. I’m so excited to have you along for the journey and to see where we can go next with this live cast. I already have some incredible inspirational guests that are crazy enough to put their hands up to join us here in future episodes.
And just a forewarning whether you are watching is live on YouTube or listening to the podcast after the fact i just want to put it out there that this is a live show so there may at times real life background noise like my dog Tama barking at someone driving down “his” street or people turning up, neighbors on power tool. I mean who knows what is going to happen but its all part of the adventure right?
How can I get involved?
Join for the livestream over on YouTube on Wednesays and get involved! Join in the live chat, ask questions and make suggestions for future episodes. To keep the flow of the show for those that are listening to it after recording, i will answer questions at the end. So pop any questions you have in the livechat and write a Q at the start so i can see them clearly from the comments and stick around to the end and i will feature some of your questions!
Want to be a Guest on the show? Send me a quick message with a little info about your garden and we will take it from there!
Edible Climbing Vines help maximise growing space and double the amount of food in each garden bed or container. One thing that I think is so underrated is the ability to grow food up 👆 This list of edible climbers to grow in your garden will help you utilise vertical space and create shade and protection. These 10 edible climbing vines are perennials,which means they will produce more and more food each year without us having to replant them! There are so many incredible reasons you should be growing food vertically. Not only to maximise space but also to increase airflow to reduce rot or disease, strategic shade, or like me, to reduce some of the heat in my garden by covering my ugly fences!
Annuals vs Perennials 🌿
Annuals will allow you to still change up your garden beds each season and have the flexibility of space. Whereas perennials (which grow for longer than 2 years) will allow you to get a crop established and provide long-term protection, and produce more and more food each year.
Click to watch for bonus Planting Tips 👇
10 Perennial Edible Climbing Vines
1. Passionfruit
Passionfruit is one of my favourite fruits to eat, and the main reason I am growing this edible climber in my garden. They are also evergreen, so it has leaves all year round to create shade and protection. Passionfruit have thick, lush leaves, so they work perfectly to cover fences or create screens to block out unsightly structures or areas. Watch the video above to see how to plant passionfruit from a store-bought fruit!
BONUS TIP: Purchase a passionfruit plant that is NOT grafted. Grafted passionfruit needs to be carefully maintained or the rootstock can quickly take over and become invasive with no fruit.
2. Choko /Chayote
Choko is a quick-growing, vining edible plant that can make great summer shade to protect your summer garden. They will often die back over winter but will pop up and regrow each spring. Any fruits left on the ground will also easily regrow. Choko are similar to a large zucchini or marrow and can be used as a substitute for potatoes or even apples to bulk up pie recipes.
3. Sweet Potato
Growing Sweet Potatoes / Kūmara (Ipomoea batatas) in your home garden is a great step toward self-sufficiency. They are my favourite permaculture plants and are an easy crop to grow for beginner gardeners. It is important to grow plants that support and encourage other plants and beneficial insects in your garden. Creating a cohesive ecosystem that promotes the growth and success of your garden’s health and supports abundant harvests. Sweet potatoes send out runners and can easily be trained up a vertical trellis. Plus, many people do not know that the leaves of the sweet potato plant are also edible.
4. Grapes
The great thing about growing grapes as edible climbers is that they are deciduous. This means they lose their leaves in winter, so you can plant grapes strategically to provide shade in summer and let light through in winter!
5. Malabar Spinach
Malabar spinach is a fantastic edible climber for warm or tropical climates. It thrives in summer during warm weather when most other spinach and leafy greens die off. This can help fill the gaps in your seasonal harvests. Malabar spinach can be grown in pots or containers. It has succulent-like leaves, so it can handle hot weather, but it can be frost sensitive.
6. Butterfly Pea
If you love colour, then this edible climber will be perfect for you! With bright blue-purple flowers, the butterfly pea is a striking addition to an edible garden. The flowers can be used as a natural food colouring or infused in teas or cocktails. Plus, if you add acidity such as lemon juic,e the colour will transform to hot pink! Such a fun plant to grow.
7. Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit can be grown over structures to create great canopy shade. They are prolific producers and the fruit can be eaten fresh, frozen for smoothies, made into jams and even dehydrated for naturally sweet treats. You will need to have both a male and a female plant for pollination.
8. Kiwiberry
Kiwi berries have a similar taste to the kiwifruit, but are much smaller, around the same size as a grape. Kiwi berry vines grow really well in containers or urban gardens.
9. Nasturtium
Nasturtium is often known for its wild rambling nature but it can be trained vertically as an edible climber. The whole plant is edible, including the leaves, flowers and seed pods. Nasturtium has a strong peppery taste and can be used in salads, flavoured salts, pickles and many other recipes. Here in Perth, my Nasturtium dies down in summer but will pop up and regrow by itself in Autumn/winter.
10. Scarlett Runner Bean
Scarlet runner beans are also known as the 7-year bean because they pop up and regrow each year (for about 6-7 years). Beans are a great addition to an edible garden and can easily be cooked or frozen to preserve.
Annual Climbing Vines 🌿
Annual climbers are also great because they don’t need dedicated space, so you can grow, harvest and remove them to grow something different each season! Having a mix of annuals and perennials will help you grow more food all year round. Annual climbers can be plants such as Cucumber, Squash, Tomatoes, Pumpkin, and Melons.
Fruits that Grow on Vines
Want to grow more fruit without taking up extra ground space? Climbing fruits are a great way to grow more varieties without taking up more garden space! Check out these 17 fruits that grow on vines to get more fruiting plants in your garden.
