Perennial Vegetables That Feed You Forever 🌱
When most people think of vegetables, they think of annuals- plant, grow, harvest, replant. But for the off-grid soul or homesteader, perennial vegetables are pure gold. Once established, they come back year after year with minimal fuss, saving you time, labor, and resources.
Here’s your guide to the best perennial vegetables for food security, flavor, and long-term abundance.
🥦 Asparagus
- Why it’s amazing: A classic perennial vegetable that keeps producing for 20+ years once established. Takes years to develop a large amount!
- How to grow: Plant crowns in trenches about 12 inches deep. Takes 2–3 years before your first harvest, but worth the wait.
- Tips: Mulch heavily and let some stalks fern out each year to feed the roots.
🍓 Rhubarb
- Why it’s amazing: Tart, vibrant stalks for pies, jams, sauces, and preserves.
- How to grow: Plant crowns in early spring or fall. Needs rich soil and a cool winter to thrive.
- Tips: Never eat the leaves - they’re toxic! Only the stalks are edible.
🌻 Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)
- Why it’s amazing: Nutty, potato-like tubers that grow underground. Very hardy and reliable.
- How to grow: Plant tubers directly in the ground like potatoes. Harvest after frost for best flavor.
- Tips: They spread aggressively. Contain them or dedicate a permanent patch.
🧅 Walking Onions (Egyptian Onions)
- Why it’s amazing: They literally plant themselves. The top sets (little bulbs) fall over and re-root.
- How to grow: Plant bulbs in fall or spring. Harvest greens like chives, or dig up bulbs for stronger onion flavor.
- Tips: Perfect low-maintenance onion supply for generations.
🌱 Sea Kale
- Why it’s amazing: Ancient perennial with edible shoots, leaves, and flower buds.
- How to grow: Thrives in sandy or coastal soils but adapts inland too.
- Tips: Blanch young shoots under a pot or cover for a tender asparagus-like harvest.
🥬 Perennial Spinach (Malabar or New Zealand Spinach)
- Why it’s amazing: A heat-loving green that keeps growing long after regular spinach bolts.
- How to grow: Loves trellises, hot summers, and moist soil.
- Tips: Harvest often to encourage more leafy growth.
🌿 Good King Henry
- Why it’s amazing: A forgotten “poor man’s asparagus” from old Europe. Both shoots and leaves are edible.
- How to grow: Hardy, low-maintenance, tolerates partial shade.
- Tips: Harvest lightly the first couple years while roots establish.
🌿 Lovage
- Why it’s amazing: A bold-flavored herb that works as a perennial celery substitute. Both stalks and leaves are edible.
- How to grow: Loves rich, moist soil and partial shade. Grows up to 6 feet tall.
- Tips: Dry or freeze leaves for year-round soups and stews.
🌿 Tips For Growing Perennial Vegetables
- Start them early - many perennials take 2–3 years to establish.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch. It conserves water, protects roots, and reduces weeding.
- Plant in permanent beds or dedicated patches since they don’t move around like annuals.
- Pair them with perennial herbs and fruit shrubs to build a layered food forest.
⚠ Cautions
- Some (like sunchokes and walking onions) spread aggressively - contain them or prepare for takeover.
- Rhubarb leaves are poisonous. Only the stalks are edible.
- Good King Henry and sea kale are not well known - make sure you properly identify and prepare them.
- Patience is required. Asparagus, rhubarb, and other perennials take a couple years before producing a real harvest.
✨ Perennial vegetables may not be as common as their annual cousins, but they’re the real backbone of food security. Plant them once, care for them wisely, and they’ll keep feeding you for decades.
