Fingerlakespermaculture mailing list

["Chrys B. Gardener" <cab69 AT cornell.edu>]

Permaculture Park Work Party and Potluck, Wednesday July 9

Work Party from 4:30-6:30 pm

Potluck from 6:30-7:30

 

The work party will include a talk about the Apios americana (Potato Bean) at 5:30 pm, presented by Dr. Gautam Bhattacharya, who will also be donating several plants for an experimental garden plot in the park. This vine, which is also known by other names such as hopniss and groundnut, produces a tuber that is like a more nutritious version of a potato- similar taste and look, but almost 4x the protein content (15% vs. 4%.) Apios is very versatile and can be grown in regular soil but it's also notable for performing well in flooded, nutrient-poor environments such as swamps. This gives it an advantage if planted in areas that are vulnerable to heavy spring melts (such as our creek flooding!) It is also nitrogen fixer and helps regenerate the soil.

 

Apios is native to the area between Southern Canada and Florida and to the west as far as Colorado. However it has never been cultivated domestically, perhaps because the wild plants take a couple years to produce tubers. That makes these self-sowing perennials a perfect candidate for use in permaculture projects, which place less emphasis on immediate crop yields and allow for more patience. Dr. Bhattacharya's crops were acquired from stocks created during a breeding experiment at Louisiana State University. He is currently attempting to set up a study on them at Cornell. They've been planted in several local areas, such as the meadow at Beebe Lake, and we're excited to add them to the park as both an educational resource and a food producer!

 

For more information on the Apios americana and other edibles with domestication potential, see this article: http://www.wired.com/2014/06/potato-bean