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New completely revised intro leaflet.
Plants For A Future - Introduction
We live in a world that is increasingly beset with environmental
problems: pollution, the loss of our forests, species becoming extinct
at an alarming rate, the greenhouse effect and a human population that
is putting an ever increasing pressure on reducing resources. It is
becoming very clear that unless changes are made to the ways we treat
this planet, it will become less and less capable of supporting life.
It is our belief that plants can provide people with the great majority
of their needs and in a way that works for the planet's health rather
than against it. By growing a wide range of useful plants, whether on
the farm or in the garden, it is possible to produce most of the food
we want to eat plus many other commodities. In addition, this way of
growing is visually very attractive and offers a diversity of habitats
for our native flora and fauna.
Loss of diversity
Our most obvious use of plants is for food. There are more than 20,000
known species of edible plants in the world and yet, over the
centuries, we have become increasingly dependant upon fewer and fewer
species to provide our food. Indeed fewer than 20 species of plants now
supply about 90% of our plant foods. As a result of this
impoverishment we now see huge areas of land devoted to single crops
and an increasing dependence upon chemical fertilizers, insecticides,
fungicides and herbicides in order to grow these crops. There is the
constant threat of new diseases or of chemical-resistant insects
evolving and this could wreak havoc in such large areas of single
crops. One has only to consider the famine in Ireland last century,
which was caused by potato blight, to realize the potential catastrophe
that awaits the temperate as well as the tropical regions of the world
- just imagine the result if our wheat crops were similarly
devastated.
A changing world climate would also cause major disruptions in
agriculture with many important food growing regions such as the North
American grain belt becoming incapable of producing their traditional
crops. Clearly a greater diversification is urgently required. Just
compare a huge field of wheat with an area of natural woodland. This
woodland receives no chemical fertilizers or sprays yet year after year
it produces lush growth; it is alive with a wide diversity of plants
and animals quite unlike the wheat field which can support very few
species. The quality and depth of soil in the woodland is maintained
or improved yearly whilst erosion and loss of soil structure make
cultivation of the wheat field increasingly difficult.
Alternative foods
At Plants For A Future we are already growing many hundreds of
different species of edible plants from temperate and sub-tropical
zones around the world. Unlike the majority of our cultivated food
plants most of these species have never been selectively bred in order
to increase size and yields, to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness
etc, yet many of them are delicious (compare the taste of a wild
strawberry with a cultivated one) and many more have lots of potential.
Just a few of these alternative foods include:- A hardy yam from China
that is delicious baked. Oca is a South American tuber that has an
acid-lemony flavour when first harvested, but becomes very sweet and
can be eaten as a fruit after being left out in the sun for a few
weeks. Crataegus arnoldiana is a North America hawthorn with a
delicious tasting fruit. Quinoa is a South American plant with an
edible seed. This seed contains a complete protein so it is an ideal
part of the vegetarian or vegan diet and it can be used in all the ways
that rice is used. As a bonus it also produces its own bird deterrent!
Reichardia picroides is a Mediterranean plant with mild-flavoured
leaves that are produced all year round and are an ideal salad
ingredient.
Medicinal plants
There are many hundreds of medicinal plants that can be grown in
temperate climates and there are probably a great deal more with
properties as yet undiscovered. Just to look at a few of our more
common herbs: thyme has been shown to slow down the ageing process by
maintaining the vigour of our body cells; sage is an excellent
antiseptic for treating mouth ulcers and sore throats; camomile is a
safe treatment for childrens' stomach upsets; garlic contains
fungicides and is used in the treatment of Candida; various plants are
currently being tested as possible treatments of diseases such as AIDS
and cancer. Much more research needs to be carried out on a whole
range of plants in order to find safer, more holistic alternatives to
the drugs so often used nowadays.
Other plant uses
Plants also provide us with fibres for making cloth, rope, paper etc.
There are numerous dyes obtained from plants with which to colour our
fabrics. Many plants have oil-rich seeds and these oils can be
extracted when they have a variety of uses. Many of them are edible
and they can also be used as lubricants, fuel, for lighting, in paints
and varnishes, as a wood preservative, waterproofing etc.
There are so many more uses of plants enough to fill a book let alone
this leaflet but we'll finish this list with just a few more
interesting examples, such as: a bulb that can be dried then grated and
used as a substitute for soap flakes; a dandelion that yields a high
quality rubber, a tree whose sap can be used as an excellent varnish; a
shrub whose fruits have a thick waxy coating that can be made into
aromatic candles; a plant whose stems make excellent pot scourers and a
bulb whose sap makes a strong adhesive for paper.
Permaculture
It is not only a diversity of food plants that we advocate, but also a
diverse system of growing these plants. No more huge fields of single
crops, but a wide range of plants growing side by side with an emphasis
on perennial species, especially trees and shrubs. For example, one
can try to emulate a woodland by growing fruit and nut trees
underplanted with shrubs, climbing plants and herbaceous woodland
plants. By careful selection of species it should be possible to
produce a wide range of edible fruits, seeds, leaves and roots
throughout most of the year. Many other possibilities exist, even on a
fairly small scale in a garden, by using food plants in hedges, in
water and bog gardens, in flower beds and even as part of a lawn.
The wonder of trees
Trees are quite literally the lungs of the planet, helping to purify
the air and locking up huge quantities of carbon in their wood, thereby
reducing the 'greenhouse' effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Trees also protect the soil from erosion, they encourage rainfall,
prevent flooding and regulate the flow of groundwater throughout the
year. Many trees produce foods, medicines, fibres, dyes and oils and
they also provide us with a valuable construction commodity - their
wood. Different species have woods with differing qualities of
strength, elasticity, durability and so forth, suitable for a wide
variety of uses. The wood can also be used as a fuel (preferably in
efficient closed stoves). The bark can be made into an effective
weed-suppressing mulch and the dead leaves can be turned into a
marvellous soil conditioner. Trees are also the source of pitch and
resins, products that have many applications, such as water-proofing
and preserving wood. An excellent little booklet dealing in more
detail with the value of trees is entitled 'Abundant Living in the
Coming Age of the Tree' and is available from the
Movement for
Compassionate Living.
Our activities
We have carried out considerable research into the uses of plants that
can be grown in temperate climates and, to date, have assembled a
database of over 6,900 useful species. We also have a demonstration
and trial ground of about 28 acres where we carry out our research into
the plants. The trial ground was obtained in 1989 and has been planted
out with over 1,500 different species of useful plants, including a
woodland of over 10,000 trees and shrubs plus about one and a half miles of
hedgerow. Although still immature, this demonstration garden is open,
by appointment only, to the public. We can give guided tours around
the land but, since this can take two hours or more (depending on how
interested you are), you are invited to either spend some time working
with us or to make some other donation towards the project. As we
increase our collections of these plants we will also be making them
available to others who may wish to grow them. Plants or seed will be
supplied free of charge to people who are engaged in serious research
(though we would usually require postage to be paid and would want to
see the results of such research). In other cases there will be a
fixed charge for the plants.
How you can help
There are always more jobs to do than time in which to do them, so we
welcome volunteers to help us with the work. Please contact us for
more details.
We are constantly on the look out for new sources of useful plants,
particularly from those people who travel to or live in other temperate
zones. Please contact us if you feel you might be willing to help. It
does not require botanical knowledge, just a willingness to search out
sources of seed in that area.
In addition, we need more funds in order to expand our activities, get
the information across to a wider audience and enable more people to
join us. We are a non-profit- making organisation and
a registered charity. Donations and legacies of any size
are always very welcome. Ethical investments are also available.
As well as growing and researching plants, we are also a small
land-based vegan community; aiming towards self-sufficiency. We would
very much welcome new members as we hope in the future to expand into a
village-type set-up. For more information see our leaflet
Plants For A Future - the community.
Plants For A Future has a further range of leaflets going into detail
on more specific topics, you can find a list of these
on the PFAF home page which also
lists the other services we offer.
If you would like more information on any aspect of our activities, then please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Also see the new completely revised intro leaflet.
Database
The database has more details on these plants:
Crataegus arnoldiana, Reichardia picroides.
Readers Comments
Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments,
use at your own risk. In particular
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants.
You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.
Alternative Food Crops
a person
Thu Mar 3 2005 Hey I read it I liked it and I'm glad I came across it I do have a
question though I'm doing a scince project for school and my teacher
is putting it in a scince fair at school and high school teachers are
scoring them and I want a good score and I have to go all out here
and do a really asome one and I have to have research and stuff like
that well I can't find any research and I was hoping you could help
me find some. So anyway engouh of my mouth the question I'm doing it
over is this:"Does temperature affect the growth in plants".
Thanks soooooo much!
signed
A big fan with some trouble
Alternative Food Crops
JAMES HENDERSON
Wed Jan 18 2006 WHY IS IT THAT BERE A 6 SIDED TYPE OF BARLEY IS NOT MORE WIDELY GROWN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD APART FROM ORKNEY IN SCOTLAND AND IN NORWAY? Introduction
Pat Williams
Tue Apr 15 2008 I liked your site. none none Add a comment/link:
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