This month’s chosen plant is a controversial one……I’ve chosen Blue Broom – Psoralea pinnata for three reasons!
First the good then I shall get the controversial part if you haven’t picked it up yet 🙂
3. Hardy & Quick-Growing
As the Edible Forest is only 6 years old from construction, blue broom has been a great help in establishing the forest.
How? We use it similar to how Acacias work in rebuilding a forest after bush fires. The Acacias grow first and quickly protect the smaller red gums etc. having around 10-year life span once they are at the end of their time the gums are strong enough and big enough to take over, the Acacias have of course dropped their seed in this time waiting for the next fire and thus a new cycle begins. That was a quick explanation but for us the blue broom (which originates from South Africa) is hardy and quick growing, it is able to grow quick protecting the other plants from frost and high winds, we simply cut it back in areas in summer to let the sun in or leave it be, in years to come the brooms will slowly become irrelevant in the garden as the other plants grow and it is replaced, it’s really helped us get things moving quicker!
2. Nitrogen-Fixing
As it’s in the Fabacea family is nitrogen-fixing, bringing in nitrogen that other plants cannot access by the nodules on its roots, it’s helping us fertilise the garden for free!
It’s been a big help in creating our soil profile and all the pruning’s add nitrogen to our compost.
Win win!
3. Bees Love It
And last but not least it gets covered, I mean covered in blue flowers in early spring which the bees love!
So to the controversial part, blue broom is considered a weed in some areas. It’s not something I would plant near a stream or creek, due to its ability to add more nitrogen to the soil is can easily outcompete with Australian natives, so not a good one for bushlands. We are located on 120 acres in the Yarra Valley but as our forest is enclosed it has never escaped and only pops up through the forest. With any plant that has the potential to become a weed, careful consideration and research should be done. But for us here blue broom works wonders and I couldn’t see the forest establishing so quick without it 🙂
