1st. Sheets:

For the tree layer, the hovenia dulcis because it is a deciduous tree, so these are the months to plant them, while they are dormant.

For the vine layer, the chayote because after the recent frosts they are being harvested abundantly and it’s time to get them.

For the herbaceous layer, the daikon radish because these are the months to sow and consume root vegetables.

HOVENIA DULCIS

Known as the raisin tree or Chinese grape, it is a ramnaceous tree of Asian origin well adapted in the country; I have seen them in Montevideo at the exit of Parque Rodó where Br. España begins.

Properties - A medium-stratum tree, no more than 10 m tall. With a branched and irregular crown, large deciduous leaves. Used as an ornamental, it is meliferous, forage, food, and medicinal.

Insect-pollinated flowers in October and November. After the flowers fall, the peduncles thicken, taking on a fleshy consistency and a reddish-brown color.

Provides good shaded cover for lower-layer crops in summer. The infructescence (thickened peduncle) is rich in sugars and is used in the East to sweeten and is abundant in vitamin C.

It has diuretic and antipyretic properties and is considered good for bronchitis and liver ailments.

Like other ramnaceous plants (our coronilla and spina de la cruz), it fixes nitrogen in the soil; it is good for recovering and enriching soils due to its large foliar mass in the fall.

Cultivation - A heliophilous tree (full sun) that is very easy to cultivate, without pruning or pest or ant care.

It is not demanding in terms of soil, although it prefers sandy soils and does not like waterlogged conditions.

CHAYOTE

A vine of Mexican origin; chayotli means spiny pumpkin in Mexico. Known as air potato among us, chuchu, chus chus, or chocho, among others, it actually has nothing to do with potatoes. It is a climbing cucurbit, with strong tendrils, perennial in an appropriate microclimate. Abundant and vigorous guides can measure dozens of meters if the soil and microclimate conditions are favorable. It is advisable to cultivate them supported by fences, with supports, and in food forests on strong, thornless foliage where they can climb but not smother.

In dry summer seasons, birds ravenously eat tips of guides and leaves, but when the rains come, they easily recover. It has self-compatible male and female flowers. Very late flowering occurs as the days shorten; don’t despair, sometimes they flower in May. Therefore, they need an appropriate microclimate so that early frosts do not leave us without fruit.

It is a good meliferous plant and flowers at a time of low nectar availability. Fleshy fruits with variable shapes, sizes, and appearances, with or without spines; some have hard or fine, soft skin. The pulp is firm, succulent, and mucilaginous.

The seed, contained in the fruit itself, is recalcitrant, meaning it loses vitality if it dries out. The fruits should be kept at low temperatures and in the dark (I have sometimes stored them in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator), but if we want them to sprout roots and shoots, we place them at room temperature and in light.

Its cultivation fits into the low-effort agriculture model of permaculture:

- It is planted in spring simply by leaving the fruit on the ground as it would be in climates without frosts with the spontaneous falling of the fruits.

- There is no need to replant for years; underground, after frosts, a rhizome remains that regrows in spring, along with large roots that keep the chayote alive.

- It requires little work at harvest time, unlike common potatoes; just stretch out your hand.

Properties - The fruits are the "dietary potato," with low starch and soluble sugar content, low caloric value, about 95% water, low sodium, and high potassium content. There is information indicating that they are rich in vitamins A, B, and C and in iron and calcium. The juice has healing properties for superficial wounds.

It is a good meliferous plant and flowers at a time of low nectar availability. The leaves, which are edible, seem to have medicinal properties and are used for cardiovascular problems. They are good forage for cattle, pigs, and birds.

Chickens devour the fruits both from the plant and when cooked as feed. It is a great producer of biomass due to its vigor and regrowth capacity.

Cultivation - It is simple; it requires a good prior selection of site, rich soil, microclimate, and moisture (spectacular near gray water outlets), but not waterlogged places.

If they sprout very early, keep them in a protected environment and plant them after the frosts pass. Install them where they can climb. When they burn due to frost, prune the dry parts and cover the rhizomes with straw, sawdust, or the same dry branches.

Consumption - The fruits are especially eaten like zucchinis, raw, boiled, sautéed, stuffed, etc., but also the leaves, shoots, roots, and rhizomes. The shoots and tendrils steamed taste like asparagus. They are accused of being bland, but they are no blander than zucchinis; they need to be well-seasoned, using aromatic plants to enhance their flavor.

Some prepare them sweet in pieces with lime like squash, and they can them as chayote jam.

DAIKON RADISH

Scientific name: raphanus bipinnatus var. longipinnatus A winter vegetable with a long taproot, highly valued by macrobiotics, who even use it in medicinal preparations.

With a herbaceous stature, it is multifunctional, not only as food; it is Masanobu Fukuoka's favorite aerator and decompactor of soils in natural agriculture, provides abundant biomass, has insect-pollinated flowers, and if allowed to flower and seed, it reseeds so easily that if left to its own devices, it becomes self-perpetuating. It provides 33% of vitamin C, vitamin A, and is a source of calcium. It regulates sodium-potassium balance. It does not cause weight gain and is good for diabetics and for regulating cholesterol.

Cultivation - During the cool and cold season, not in summer, and in all types of soils. It adapts well to firm and compacted soils, but I have successfully cultivated it in beach sand and gravelly soils in the hills.

It requires full sun, so in food forests, it is planted on edges or in clearings.

When collecting seeds, I keep part of them, and the rest I scatter around for them to develop on their own. To keep good seeds, I select the plants that take the longest to flower so that they perpetuate that characteristic since I consume the root more (raw, sautéed, boiled), although I also use the leaves in the same way and the raw flowers in salads.