Edible landscaping

Edible landscaping is an exciting way to have your landscape pull double duty for you. By including edible plants among your ornamentals you have an opportunity to grow a landscape that’s good enough to eat. You’ll have healthy food, save on your grocery bill, and support sustainable gardening practices.

From a historical perspective, edible landscaping is not new. In fact, some garden styles that we recognize from European landscapes were initially designed for food production. Large park-like lawns were actually communal livestock grazing areas, and borders of tightly clipped hedges encircling planting beds were designed to keep out small farm animals. Over time, the food production aspect of these gardens was replaced with ornamentals, and mowing equipment replaced grazing cattle and sheep.

While the concept of edible landscaping is not new, modern gardening practices based on University of California science-based research and information can make it easier for the home gardener to have a productive and beautiful edible landscape. The process of creating an edible landscape is the same as creating one with purely ornamental features. But by substituting fruits, vegetables, and herbs, where appropriate, for lawn, annuals and perennials, shrubs, and trees, the result is much more functional and sustainable, and good tasting too.

See the slides that were presented by Sacramento County Master Gardeners at the Edible Landscaping Workshop on March 9, 2013.

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Resources

Also see other information under the individual topic tabs at the left.
Files below are in PDF format and will open in a new window/tab.

Soils, Amendments and Composting

EHN 53 - Garden and landscape plantings on hardpan soils
EHN 54 - Managing clay soil in gardens and landscape plantings
EHN 55 - Know your soil
EHN 56 - Improving layered soils for gardens and landscape plantings
EHN 94 - Sheet mulching
EHN 98 - Composting for the home gardener
GN 142 - Composting tips and tricks
GN 144 - Worm composting

Vegetables

EHN 96 - Vegetable gardening 101
ANR 8059 - Vegetable garden basics
EHN 95 - Growing beets in Sacramento
EHN 99 - Growing melons in Sacramento
GN 147 - Tomatoes—suggested varieties for the Sacramento area
ANR 8159 - Growing tomatoes in the home garden
GN 109 - Cherry tomatoes
EHN 15 - Landscaping with herbs
GN 140 - Vegetable container planting tips
GN 128 - Understanding information on a seed packet
GN 154 - Soil temperature conditions for vegetable seed germination
GN 155 - Growing edible flowers in your garden

Fruit trees

EHN 85 - Bud grafting
ANR 8058 - Fruit trees: Pruning overgrown deciduous trees
ANR 8218 - Citrus bacterial canker disease and Huanglongbing
ANR 8472 (5.2MB) - Tried and True or Something New? Selected Citrus Varieties for the Home Gardener

Grapes

EHN 30 - Grapevines—girdling and cluster thinning to increase berry size
EHN 97 - Guidelines for the home vineyard

Other

ANR 8499 - Community Gardens

ANR = free publication from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Catalog
PN = free publication from UC Integrated Pest Management
EHN = Environmental Horticulture Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
GN = Garden Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

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