10 Edible Ground Cover Plants for Permaculture Gardening in Australia // Edible Gardening Tips

[@--Paws--]

Underrated topic. I really like how you use your space to be as cosmetic while giving enough room for what can be practical, such as edible plants.

[@benjaminmiller3075]

American whose been introducing my wife and son to purslane this summer. A delicious volunteer

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

Hey Holly! I grow the purple sweet potato and I love the nasturtiums for the wide variety of color. When it comes to Strawberries, I grow French Breakfast Radish between the runners and I also plant the runner nodes until they root then I cut off the leader and I have (as the Beatles would say) Strawberry Fields Forever. I can attest to the calming appeal of Chamomile but I haven't got any planted yet. Rosemary makes a beautiful hedge. When I lived in the US, I knew exactly when the rosemary hedge was trimmed because it filled the air with such a beautiful smell. I have Oregano in a raised stone bed and it spills over a rock that is part of the bed. Thank you Holly for all your suggestions! Cheers!

[@thepotager9816]

I know sweet violet as viola odorata, the violet you are showing is native violet, viola hederacea

[@janetbransdon3742]

YES an Aussie... so hard to get advice from USA and UK as their seasons/ times of planting etc gets so confusing. SUBSCRIBED. 🥰

[@erin.murphy]

if you don't already watch, check out the 'Self Sufficient Me' channel. Mark is great, and Australian too. I found this channel from there.

[@Nayz13]

@@erin.murphy he’s awesome

[@sandragarner3913]

There is another Aussie, self sufficient. Check him out. I’m in Florida (USA) and yes our seasons are turned around but I just use what he says is for winter and apply it to my winter which is December.Check him out!

[@suziecollins9313]

Think Holly is a kiwi from Aotearoa/NZ 🤔

[@catey62]

Same here , love finding Aussie gardeners. so few around. another 3 I would recommend checking out are 'self sufficient me, ' based in Brisbane..Morag Gamble of 'my permaculture life' and 'Homesteading Down Under' based in Tassie. 'Robs aquaponics' is another one too. and the ABC has many videos up as well, check out 'Gardening Australia'. hope these help 🙂

[@jordanwj19]

I like her. she’s really on point. sincerely, from an eco-landscaper and homesteader

[@oakmaiden2133]

I’ve found snap dragons are actually perennials. I’ve been adding them in any empty little corner. The flowers are edible and make my salads, sandwiches look spectacular. They feed my spirit! Your food lookd awesome too!

[@SustainableHolly]

Amazing I love the pop of colour they add!! 🌸

[@dmr2376]

And you can squeeze their “jaws” to talk and scare little kids!

[@landrylee6207]

@@SustainableHolly Chinese chives,perilla also are very nice

[@melanieallen3655]

I never knew strawberry leaves or flowers were edible!! I love love this video! Thankyou..shared.💚

[@laurenrda07]

Yes the leaves can be used medicinally for period cramps for woman too.

[@lpmoron6258]

Everyone pulls the crown off and tosses it! I eat that part too.

[@peggy-h2w]

​@@lpmoron6258I do too

[@JR-_-2010]

Great video. Thankyou so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

This looks like a fun channel. Your food is BEAUTIFUL.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you!

[@wazowski6709]

I love your channel so much. Your videos are always so easy to watch, the info on point & you're very easy to listen to. Greetings from Vic 😊

[@SustainableHolly]

Yay! Thank you so much I really appreciate it 🌱💚

[@alicepettit164]

Right on target for me. Never seen Nasturtiums leaves so large, checking out link.

[@petergehr2250]

Thanks for your input on ground covers. You have a grasp on the concepts of permaculture and I appreciate the information you've provided. Very good! Kia ora!

[@SustainableHolly]

Thanks Peter!

[@dculver3954]

Kia Ora Holly from Aotearoa! Arohanui, this is an excellent video thank you. Very much appreciate the content and supporting notes. Nga mihi. 😊

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you! 🌿🌿🌿

[@christypham3386]

I used sweet potato leaves for quiche, with scrambled eggs, sautéed with variety of vegetables. yum😊

[@milamirasol1941]

Watching from Qatar. You are very inspiring. You're videos are informative and full of value. You encourage me more to utilize the idol spaces in our lawn. A big thumbs up and thank you so much.

[@SustainableHolly]

Wow Qatar i love how we can connect all around the world 🌱

[@traryvery8851]

‘Mint, the kikuyu of herbs’ - had to laugh! 🤣 We have one small kikuyu lawn reduced from a much larger lawn, with which we have a love/hate relationship. Almost indestructible, loves the heat and contributes to the chickens greens but the stolons can travel underground halfway across the garden and pop up! The chickens have knocked it off in their yard though. One invasive beast is enough in the garden and the mint is kept contained in pots (I have standard, ginger, peppermint, and basil mints). Excellent list Holly.

[@SustainableHolly]

It has very similar growing patterns! I have a grapefruit mint that I love!

[@traryvery8851]

Grapefruit mint sounds interesting - I shall try to track it down.

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

WRT lawn and the dog pooing on it, I recommend several ground covers that can be used as "Green manure". Clover, purslane, sorrel, etc. My "lawn" is a mix of every native plant in the area. I mow the area around my house for mulch and compost material

[@SustainableHolly]

The purslane and nasturtiums are starting to infiltrate the lawn haha. Thinking about doing some more green manure out the front for sure 🌱

[@DanceintheRaine666]

Thank you for including your exquisitely beautiful salads & foods both savory and sweet. Your presentation is inspiring. I am replacing/converting both a neglected overgrown "lawn" and the existing perennial beds (again overgrown with a lot of dieback to my once established perennials after over a decade of illness), to mostly edible (yet beautiful) crops. Whereas previous years I focused on non edible (free perennials which were once in my beds) ground covers, it was disheartening to have the invasive perennial weeds reestablishing themselves with prolific self seeding. I have found the ever increasing summer heats/watering restrictions we have experienced have altered my micro biomes, such that plants which once flourished in these sites now struggle or die back due to heat/drought (even after being established) and/or expanses of time when I am too "geeked" to garden. I am using cardboard mulch (and some excellent quality/expensive light suppression weed cloth to gain a foothold, but THIS YEAR I decided to GROW edibles in those areas of reclaimed lawn and garden beds....and the happiness and sense of accomplishment I get from these crops REALLY helps my sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT. As an experienced perennial gardener (who focused on SCENT & CUT FLOWER PRODUCTION), I am THRILLED to learn more about FOOD CROPS. You are rather unique in that your recipes are so BEAUTIFUL, appealing to the Japanese adage that food should be a delight for the EYES, the NOSE as well as one's taste-buds. I will certainly watch more of what you offer. Thank you.

[@The_Savage_Wombat]

Be very careful with Purslane. It has very high oxalates. I was eating it on a regular basis. I started getting huge calcium deposits on my tendons that were very painful. You could even see them bulging through the skin and muscles. It was very hard to move without tremendous pain. The doctor wanted to scrape them off surgically. Shortly before surgery I stumbled across some information about calcium and oxalates. I was incredibly lucky to find the information as the doctors weren't going to tell me (if they even knew). I immediately stopped eating high oxalate foods but the problem didn't go away. Then one sleepless painful night I looked up information about calcium problems on YT and found a Dr. Berg video about kidney stones being calcium deposits. He recommended drinking lemon juice. I went to the fridge and found an old expired bottle of goopy brown lemon juice in the back and gulped it down. Within an hour some of the pain started to subside and I could sleep again. After about two months of drinking good quality lemon juice, the calcium deposits were gone. I'm very careful now to research the oxalate content of greens before I start eating them.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

You are very irresponsible to drink something that could have given you botchulism and narcissistic to recommend others do so.

[@belindalee7378]

Love Dr Berg

[@maddlepaddle420]

​@@girlnextdoorgrooming i don't think you know what narcissism is..

[@MangoCitizen]

​@@girlnextdoorgroominglemon concentrate is too acidic for most bacteria to grow

[@I_know_it_I_sew_it_I_grow_it]

Add a squeeze of lemon juice to your purslane salad.

[@pearlgirl]

Nasturtium, your favorite recipes? I was excited so I looked. I’m really interested Holly.

[@elkeschmitt623]

Looks amazing, thanks for sharing.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you! 🌱

[@nomparfait]

Really looking forward to trying many of these! When foraging purslane, there is a toxic look alike

[@cassandrayoung4392]

Very informative. Loved your video.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you! 💚

[@dsmith6868]

Rosemary smells so nice too! I use my rosemary for so much stuff (just like you said) but even if it did none of that, I'd probably still grow it just for the smell. By the way, your rosemary is the absolutely largest rosemary I've ever seen! I use my clover for a live mulch with my potted plants. It actually started here as a weed that I decided to keep and nurture into a mulch - the easiest live mulch ever. It is also relatively easy to pull out when needed while preventing other weeds from growing once it is established and it looks really nice when grown with some plants. I'm starting my sweet potato crop in the meantime and I'm pretty excited about that. It seems like a great plant to grow for all the reasons you mentioned and more. Can't wait! Thanks for the video!

[@JosePerez-vz1qq]

Purslane is a winner 👍🏿

[@susanbowman2054]

Sweet potato is also a good nitrogen fixer

[@CF1091]

Awesome advice, thanks!

[@melanieallen8980]

Im going to take cuttings off my sweet potatoe now.I have just eaten my 1st nasturtium leaf! omg!! yummm! love your videos!!I dont care if they take over my whole yard! What is your website please? your recipes look amazing!😍

[@SageRosemaryTime]

Back near the top , just click on Sustainable Holly and you should go straight to her KZbin site It's full of goodies. Hope this helps.

[@caseyvessey6870]

I had no idea nostershum could get so big! I love your info! Soo helpful! Love how you use them or wraps!

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you! They get much bigger in shade 🌿

[@smithjohnston7878]

So inspiring!! Thanks for expanding what’s possible!! Learned so much. Thank you!

[@susanjordan2130]

My lawn is important for grass clipping mulch and compost. Absolutely needed in this desert climate.

[@apteryx7080]

Grass is one the most underrated resources !Are you familiar with JADAM natural low cost farming ?

[@orangemoonglows2692]

u do not NEED a grass lawn in the desert. u now we're in a drought, right? craziest illogical logic i've heard.

[@marypatten9655]

to each his own. depends on the type of grass you are growing. there are some drought tollerant types out there you know.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

@@marypatten9655 drought tolerant is completely relative. drought tolerant in hawaii or ohio with heavy rainfall/year is not the same as drought tolerant in the mojave desert with under 7 inches of rain a year. you don't need a lawn to have an edible garden.

[@susanjordan2130]

@@orangemoonglows2692 I'm not growing grass because I chose to. My husband grows the grass but since he dies, I make use of it. You probably don't have a garden. We are following our city rules to a tee.

[@sappir26]

Wonderful channel. Great work and much appreciated.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you 🙏 much appreciated 💚

[@salmaster8256]

lots of valueable info. Thanks

[@valeriemelendez5860]

Your hair is BEAUTIFUL! 😍 and awesome video, thank you!

[@winsomegunning5834]

Love your garden Holly and your cooking looks amazing. Am also a great permaculture fan and working also on a food forest in my home garden on the Gold Coast. Your video has added inspiration to my own efforts, thank you.

[@SustainableHolly]

Yay for food forests! They are so exciting to create 🍌🍓🥒🍉

[@lpmoron6258]

@@SustainableHolly check out Weedy! He's permaculture. Love his videos.

[@peggy-h2w]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

[@ginielvillacote2372]

Sweet potato leaves are best with tomatoes and onion and a little vinegar.

[@SustainableHolly]

Yum I will have to try that!

[@chrisnore5169]

Holly , I am so pleased to discover your videos. I too am a permaculture fan and a Perth resident. I wonder what number 5 was between strawberries and lawn chamomile - I must of missed it.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you! Welcome to my channel 🌿 where counting is optional 😂😅 there’s a bonus one at the end so let’s call it even haha

[@lpmoron6258]

Check out Weedy. He has amazing videos.

[@freeflutistjagannathkoleyj9416]

Most welcome💐💐💐

[@datwistyman]

Great video. You know I picked strawberries as a job year's ago and I never knew you can eat the flowers and leaves and make tea. 👍 Really great info the whole way through 🙂

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you i appreciate it!

[@datwistyman]

@@SustainableHolly you're welcome 👍

[@thepotager9816]

I would add warrigal greens, baby sunrose, native pigface, pumpkins

[@kumipermaecovillageghana]

Wow! I love your video. You also look so good. Thanks for sharing.

[@dwylhq874]

Superb video. Great list and most are applicable to any country (not just Australia). Thanks! Instant sub! ❤️

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you!! 🌱🌱🌱

[@nigelcoleman9939]

Welcome back Holly, missed your videos. How hot has it been? Great crop I planted this year was Watermelon, beautiful low but lengthy ground cover with about 6 fruit growing from 4 plants, Melville WA 🌹

[@SustainableHolly]

Thanks Nigel! Woohoo x6 watermelon 🍉 I have planted some after my tomatoes cooked in the heat 😭 hopefully I have time to get a few watermelons 🤞

[@Parmesito]

I also have those dungarees! Awesome video, hello from Ireland! 👋

[@SustainableHolly]

Yay!! They are so fun! 🐝🌿

[@patrickguyot1290]

WOW Holly! Thank you for so many videos! They are a pleasure to watch and not boring 😂😂😂. Also your attitude is pleasant,relaxing and the accent and lovely smile do it for me… liked and suscribed. High 5 from a french man in Scotland 😁

[@Black_Kakari]

You're very smart thanks for this video

[@momrocks9971]

Love these ideas, and I am so inspired by your food pics! I am interested in replacing grass with a better option for the environment. However, when I was watching this video all I could think about were snakes! Do you have snake problems? I'm mainly worried about poisonous ones, and also my dog getting bit.

[@MichaelMiller-ip3lg]

Looks amazing

[@johnwilliamson4231]

Very informative video

[@richardhawkins2248]

Nice job. I found another way to grow sweet potato slips. I now just take the varieties I want to grow and toss them in a big pot and the slips are everywhere. I relearned that one when I had a purple one I really wanted grow and left half of it sticking out of the soil. Slips were sticking out of it all over the place. I had left home and was in another state working on our sailboat and my wife sent me a picture of what a large rat had done to my sweet potato. She wasn't sure what had done it but sent me the picture. I responded in moments a rat dd that. Take another look at it. It is actully from the angle the picture was taken a sculpture f a rat. Everyone I point it out to says "Yeah, ya just can't unsee it after that." LOL

[@SustainableHolly]

Haha yes have you watch out for those rats! When the sweet potato are ready they can push up to the surface as well and are vulnerable to pests 😅

[@squidbeard492]

So far my garden consist of strawberries, blackberries and dwarf clover for nitrogen fixing. Also a couple fruit trees that haven't really started producing yet.

[@charlesbale8376]

This was really useful information.

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you!

[@GutenGardening]

Agreed!

[@SustainableHolly]

Thank you!

[@ameliarose727]

Nasturtiums are delicious, but they can be an acquired taste. The flowers are milder than the leaves. The leaves really pack a peppery punch! I personally love the variety called “Cherry Rose” best. It has floral notes.

[@melanieallen3655]

I dont mind planting mint in the garden.I have birds, chooks & guinea pigs who love eating them too!💚

[@apteryx7080]

it astounds me that people might find rampant mint a problem !

[@terachuu4077]

Grasshoper eat mint too. My mint ia looking pathetic now, still living though

[@apteryx7080]

@@terachuu4077 I learned something very interesting re grasshoppers recently. They are telling you that your soil is deficient in some way. But if you only have grasshoppers, and you don't have aphids or scale insects, your soil isn't so bad and the plants might actually have some nutrition contained within them. Look up the "plant health pyramid" on the advancing eco agriculture channel. Life changing information if you want to be able to grow food (without chemicals) that doesn't get eaten by pests or fall prey to disease. Happy growing 🙂

[@terachuu4077]

@@apteryx7080 thank you for the info. I am gardening organicly using compost, mature cow dung, etc without chemical. It's not easy to check soil deficienty here, maybe in some university/ goverment ? My plant grow very robust and fast. Grasshoper eat some but not ruin too much. Aphids just attacking wild plants not my veggies. I plant few flower bush so insect has coming a lot😄 . Gotta look for that piramyd.

[@apteryx7080]

@@terachuu4077 sounds like your soil might be getting close to what you want. If the aphids are eating your weeds and not your plants, then your soil is better than mine ! . I hope you enjoy learning about the plant health pyramid.

[@MattMilla76]

Wonderful video Holly!!

[@staciejohnson9578]

Love it!!!

[@SustainableHolly]

yay so glad 🌱

[@camicri4263]

Good points, I agree!🤗

[@SustainableHolly]

💚💚💚

[@camicri4263]

@@SustainableHolly 💗

[@p-san]

A few things. Living in the desert, ive noticed that my strawberries do better being partially shaded from other plants. And also mint is HIIIGHLY invasive. I dont think people put enough emphysis on this.

[@SustainableHolly]

Mint can be hard to grow for some people so I think that’s why they don’t get it but the problem is if it does happen to take off…. its a hard thing to undo 😂😅

[@annak804]

Yup that's why it's recommend to keep it in a pot or sealed bed

[@gardeningperth]

I love the "to buy more plants obviously..." part! Are you allowed chickens where you are? My favourite ground cover is wood chips 😊😊. I can't grow those ground covers on the ground due to the doggies. Also, I missed number 3.

[@SustainableHolly]

Hahaha never enough plants! 🌱

[@SustainableHolly]

Yep I’m allowed chickens and I am tempted but having the dog and we go camping a bit so not sure it’s a good fit atm. The termites like my wood chips which make me so anxious 😅

[@deandreaford6919]

Sweet violets

[@Doxxy820]

Thank you ❤

[@haleyheavenhill7680]

Brilliant! Thanks, great information……

[@PermacultureLife]

Awesome ❤

[@SustainableHolly]

Ok.......who spotted the gap in my counting 😂😂😂 At least I added in a bonus one at the end so let's call it even 🌱🌱 If you want to learn more about regrowing sweet potatoes or how to make cuttings check out my ebook 🌱 bit.ly/3LLrlSS

[@lpah2u]

I kept backing up like ... what did I miss! Thank you!

[@oniricsounds]

great channel! great video! thanks!❤

[@SustainableHolly]

Thanks! 🌿

[@reddare2386]

Is it possible to plant sweet potato in containers? My garden isn’t ready for planting but I want to get started! I have some fabric potato bags but I’m worried they wouldn’t be big enough.

[@girlnextdoorgrooming]

Yes. Hollis and Nancy have great videos on it.

[@pempholamvekamakono]

Subscribed!

[@crochetingaroundnewzealand]

I must have weird mint. It dies off and doesn't spread at all. I have sandy soil at the beach. Wonder if that makes a difference.

[@SustainableHolly]

Haha no it can be hit and miss. Mint loves water so Sandy soil can mean they stay dry. The problem is if they do take off it’s veeeerry hard to control.

[@crochetingaroundnewzealand]

@@SustainableHolly got some in a pot and a shady raised bed trying to keep them alive lol

[@deedaw9246]

Just came across your channel. What are your normal summer temperatures? I live in the US in the low desert. Our summers are 120F+.

[@SustainableHolly]

We often get between 30-45 degrees Celsius in mid summer

[@BellaMoonflowerfly]

I feen nasturtiums, bring them on. 😁

[@darmawandesign7820]

1:55 in Indonesia it called "TELO / Ubi Jalar" Ubi Cilembu Varieties is more sweet and it have Honey

[@pietieko1]

Nice

[@patrickmurphy7485]

Do you have a cookbook I would buy one

[@buzzanderson6217]

Yes I’d love to see that! Everything she made looks magical!

[@sofiamiliaressis5403]

Hi Holly, first time seeet potato grower. Do you know if sweet potato would rot if not harvested at the right time in wet winters, or will they keep producing more and more tubers underground? Mine have been in pots for 4 mths and from what l’ve learnt it’s time to harvest. Cheers Sofia 🌱

[@indigojazi421]

What about soil / mineral content for sweet potatoe?

[@alicepettit164]

Where is your source or what varieties of nasturtiums u use?

[@SustainableHolly]

I have no idea sorry I planted seeds once about 5 years ago and they pop up every year. 1 seed is all it takes!

[@alicepettit164]

Just relistened and heard u noted this on website. Checking. Your recipes are the most lovely ever seen with fresh colorful flowers and vegs. Keep it up.

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Ducks love slugs and snails!

[@elmohead]

Sweet potato leaves are a staple in Chinese home dishes. I eat so much of it... Bored now lol

[@PetrusStiglingh]

💛💛💛

[@Metalelbow]

I spend a lot of time outside all year round.

[@singlemomvlogs8163]

yahooo#connie

[@nole8923]

Will sweet potato grow in shade?

[@sarahhall5714]

Lol, I hope you're right. Just bought EVERYTHING you said. 🤣🤣🤣

[@SustainableHolly]

Omg all in 🤣🤣🤣🌿

[@sarahhall5714]

Just saw you for the first time. You're lovely. Thanks so much for your additional support to my ever growing and improving three year old food forest. ❤️❤️❤️

[@TheMajinCollins]

What sweet potato are you growing there's several species.

[@purposeful142]

Thanks, it looks like your gardens are really big in Australia as compared to uk 😂

[@johnowens22]

(1) Sweet Potato (2) Nasturtium (3) Sweet Violet (4) Strawberries (5) Chamomile, lawn variety as ground cover (6) ... ... ...was this one lost in editing??? (7) Rosemary, ground cover variety, rock walls, very Hardy, full sun ok, good flowers, (8) Purslane, (9) Red Clover (10) Herbs -- thyme, oregano, parsley, sage etc.

[@jodyjohnsen]

There was no number six. She lost count

[@steveb2915]

YO YO YO

[@SustainableHolly]

STEVE! What's your favourite edible ground cover?

[@steveb2915]

@@SustainableHolly i dont know but i will be trying sweet potato leaves like you showed...with butter garlic in a pan sounds delicious

[@SustainableHolly]

@@steveb2915 hard to go wrong with butter and garlic really 👌

[@lordsams]

Lambs quarter recipe

[@TheMajinCollins]

Send me all your food recipes, and a list of plants if you have time please 🥺 like seed distribution sites I'll gladly pay you.

[@SustainableHolly]

all my recipes are available in my garden to plate membership 😊

[@taylorelliott2467]

Gosh you're pretty lol

[@-opus]

Snails can live for 25 years... if humans don't kill them

[@princemarcnt7875]

I am Bangladeshi you can take me with you I want to work with you

[@classoguide220]

You look like my ex gf.... That is why i watch your video 🤣

[@andrewcrimmins8173]

you should figure out how to sell single aussie homesteading women, I guarantee they would fly off the shelves!! hahaha