105 Edible Perennials Zone 9: Growing A Food Forest Jenny Graham, December 27, 2023December 27, 2023 Are you ready to branch out and grow a food forest? Planting the best edible perennials zone 9, along with annual plants, will have you harvesting food year after year. The Best Edible Perennials Zone 9 While this list is specifically for zone 9, many of these edible perennial plants can be grown in multiple zones. It’s a long list so, I’ll break the best edible perennials for zone 9 up into four categories: Fruits & Berries, herbs, vegetables, and nuts. Edible Perennials Zone 9: Fruit Trees & Berries Apples Apricots Blackberries Blueberries Boysenberry Barbados Cherry Cape Gooseberries Citrus Dwarf Pomegranate Elderberries Everglades Tomatoes Figs Goji Berries Gooseberries Grapes Jostaberry Jujube Kiwi Loganberries Mulberries Nectarines Olives Papaya Paw Paw Pears Peaches Plums Persimmons Quince Raspberries Strawberries Tayberries Edible Perennials Zone 9: Perennial Herbs Aloe Angelica Bay Laurel Catnip Chives Echinacea Eucalyptus (Lemon) French Lavender Garlic Chives Ginger Lemon Verbena Lemon Balm Lemon Grass Lovage Marjoram Mint Oregano Parsley Rosemary Rue Sage Salad Burnet St. Johns Wort Sweet Cicely Tarragon Thyme Valerian Wintergreen Winter Savory Edible Perennials Zone 9: Perennial Vegetables American Groundnut Asparagus Plants Babington’s Leek (Wild Leek) Cardoon Cassava Caucasian Spinach Chicory Chinese Artichoke Dahlia Earthnut Pea Egyptian Spinach Egyptian Walking Onions French Sorrel Giant Butterbur Globe Artichoke Good King Henry Horse Radish Japanese Ginger Jerusalem Artichokes Kosmic Kale Nine Star Broccoli Oca Peanuts Peppers Perennial Peanut (the flowers) Perennial Potato Sea Kale Scarlet Runner Beans Skirrets Sweet Potatoes Taunton Deane Kale Watercress Welsh Onions Wild Rocket Arugula Yacon Edible Perennials Zone 9: Nut Trees American Hazel Nuts Black Walnuts Carpathian Persian Walnuts Chestnuts Heartnuts Hickory Nuts Macadamias Pecans Pistachios Plant a Perennial Food Forest With a little bit of forethought and planning, planting a food forest in addition to your vegetable garden will have you harvesting food year round. Once established, a food forest is relatively low maintenance and will provide food for years. You’ll want to choose a location that has full sun and well-drained soil. Testing your soil to see what amendments need to be added is also a great plan. The Seven Layers of a Food Forest Once you have your soil prepped and amended and have a variety of edible perennial plants picked out, you can start designing the layout of your food forest. There are seven layers to a food forest. Many home gardeners start planting their food forest with their tallest trees on the north side of the garden and step down each layer towards the south. Canopy Layer of a Food Forest The canopy layer of a food forest consists of the tallest trees. You’ll want to plant those first, throughout your food forest. Be sure to give your nut and fruit trees ample space so they can grow to maturity. Understory Layer The understory layer of a food forest will be your trees that will not grow as large as your canopy layer trees. These are the fruit trees you’ll want to plant next. Shrub Layer A good rule of thumb for every tree in your food forest is to plant a nitrogen fixing shrub. Partridge pea or Comfrey (if it grows in your zone) are both an excellent choice. This is also a great layer to add some pollinator attracting plants to. Herbaceous Layer The herbaceous layer of a food forest are perennial herbs or small plants that help fill in the gaps around the taller shrubs. It also helps keep the ground covered so weeds don’t creep in. Vining Layer of the Food Forest Edible plants that are vining are also a great addition to the food forest. These can be edible perennial plants, such as muscadine grapes or annual plants that like to climb, like cucumbers. Groundcover Layer Be sure not to skip the groundcover layer. It’s main purpose is to keep weeds and grass from overtaking your food forest. You can also choose an edible ground cover, such as strawberries, mint, oregano, or perennial peanut that has edible flowers and is hardy enough to walk on. Root Layer The root layer of the food forest is the place to grow root vegetables. Not only will they provide food but they also help keep the soil in your food forest aerated and less compact, which helps deliver nutrients and water to your other plants. Benefits of Perennial Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, & Nuts There are many great reasons to grow edible perennial vegetables and such in your home garden or food forest. Let’s take a look, shall we? Perennial Plants Are Low Maintenance After the first year, once edible perennial plants are established, they are incredibly low maintenance. You won’t have to worry about replanting year after year or spend much time taking care of them. Edible Perennial Plants Produce More Once Established You won’t just be harvesting annual crops in the spring or summer. Planting a wide variety of edible perennial plants will provide food year round and keep you out of the grocery store. The more established your edible perennials are, the better the harvest. Edible Perennial Plants Build the Soil Perennial plants are well known to improve soil conditions and increase soil fertility of poor soils. They usually have deep roots, which helps bring up nutrients, keeps the soil aerated, and adds organic matter to the soil. More Benefits of Perennial Crops Not only will edible perennial plants provide food year after year, they are also beautiful. With all the different crops flowering, you’ll also be attracting lots of pollinators to your garden with your edible landscape. There’s Perennials, Biennials, and Annuals. What’s the Difference? Perennials are plants that come back year after year. There are some perennials that are short-lived perennials as well. Biennials are plants that take two growing seasons or two years to complete its life cycle. Whereas annuals complete their life cycle in one growing season. Harvesting Perennial Crops Keep in mind when you are harvesting perennial herbs or pruning your perennial plants to only harvest or prune one-third of the seasons growth. You want to make sure there is plenty of time for any new growth to harden off before your first frost. Overwintering Tender Perennials In late fall you may have to start thinking about which perennials may need some help making it through the winter. Even though the list of edible perennials for zone 9 is long, there are some on the list that may die in cold weather. Things like Citrus, Papaya, and pepper plants will need special treatment to make it through colder climates into early spring. Remember, your zone is only an average of the coldest temperature in your area. You may have times in late winter when temperatures drop below the average minimum temperature. 2023 USDA Hardiness Zones The USDA plant hardiness zone map can be used as a guide in growing perennial crops. The 13 USDA zones are based on the average minimum temperature based on data collected over the last 30 years. Each zone is broken down into half zones, a and b, to represent the colder climates and warmer sections of the zone. To find your zone, enter your zip code into the search box on the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. Best Edible Perennials Zone 9 Now that you have a good idea of the best edible perennials for zone 9 and the basics of building a food forest you’ve got some planning and hopefully some planting to do. You may also enjoy reading: The Ultimate Guide on What to Plant in Spring Garden What to Plant In Florida in February How to Harden off Plants The Ultimate Guide in Sustainable Homesteading How Often Should I Water My Pepper Plant: To Water or Not? What is the Best Mulch for Fruit Trees for Healthy Growth? Do Rabbits Eat Tomato Plants? How to Keep Bunnies Out Now Crop Rotation Chart: Vegetable Garden Planning Made Easy Happy Homesteading & Food Forest Planting, Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm Jenny and her family have been homesteading for over 20 years. They are currently farming on their 10 acre Florida farm, that they built from the ground up, 8 years ago, growing 100% of their meat and a lot of their vegetables. From their small herd of Aberdeen Angus Cattle, Pastured Poultry, Sheep, and seasonal pigs, they are able to raise enough meat for the family while selling extra to the community. All the while, striving to butcher at home, as much as possible, and use the bits and pieces of their harvest by preserving food, making bone broth, and (Jenny’s favorite) tanning all kinds of hides! Gardening Homesteading