多年生蔬菜有哪些特別之處？
What is special about perennial vegetables?
多年生蔬菜是可靠的出席者和生產者。顯然，他們並不完全堅不可摧，但他們的成熟耐用性讓人放心，一旦落戶紮根，他們可以持續生長數年。
Perennial vegetables are reliable performers and producers. Obviously they are not totally indestructible, but their proven durability is reassuring and once established they can last for years.
一旦落地生根，它們需要的觀照比一年生植物要少
Once established they need little care compared to annual vegetables
很少（如果有的話）的體力勞動，只需要建立和維持他們多樣化的混合種植，此方法特別適用於於任何一個只能投入很少時間和精力的人。
Very little (if any) physical labour is required to establish and maintain them in a polyculture, making them eminently suitable for anyone with little time or energy.
有些多年蔬菜是野菜或是從離在地不遠的野生環境中移栽過來原生種。它們往往是韌性和適應能力都很強的植物，它們可以種植和生長在在一年生的蔬菜都瞧不起眼的地方。必要時，許多也會在礦井，或是半遮蔭下生長，有些還總是在陰涼處。它們使我能夠充分利用自己的條件，真是令我感激不盡！
Some perennial vegetables are wild vegetables or have not moved far from their wild origins. They are often resilient and adaptable plants and can be grown and land that annual vegetables would despire. Many of mine are, of necessity, growing in semi shade and some are in total shade. They have enabled me to make the best of the conditions I have and for that I am eternally grateful.
我已經不需要任何花哨的小玩意和心愛的小發明，放在園藝料架上增添色彩了。
I have had no need for any fancy gadgets and gizmos beloved of some gardening magzines and colour supplements.
多年生蔬菜從春天到秋天都是主要的出產時節，有一些甚至會產於冬天。在夏季更暖一些的時候，會有一個暫時平靜的時間段。這個間隙提供了所有酷愛夏天的植物躋身成為多年生植物，或在此期間傾向於種養一片傳統的菜地，或者安心地去度假，而不用擔心多年蔬菜是會遇到致命的危險。
Perennial vegetables are mainly productive during the spring and autumn and to some extent the winter. There is something of a lull in the warmer summer months. This gap provides an opportunity for including any summer favourites amongst the perennials or tending to a conventional vegetable patch during that time, or safely going on holiday without fearing the perennial vegetables are in mortal danger.
在一年期間，多年生植物可通過「活食網」，仍在原地存活下來，促進了土壤的肥力；而一年生菜地的土壤會被裸露在外，逐漸喪失生育能力（見第三章）。
Plants that remain in situ through the year contribute to soil fertility through the 'live food web' whereas the bare soil of an annual vegetable patch can lose fertility (see Chapter Three).
植物的高度和形狀的多樣化，有助於支持生物多樣性增加。
A diversity of plant heights and shapes helps support increased biodiversity.
在實驗種養多年生蔬菜和寫這本書的過程中，我們似乎已經歷了一系列極端天氣事件 ——在我住的地方什羅普郡，2007-2009年期間，我們有過幾次非常潮濕、陰涼、沉悶的夏天；在2009-2010年和2010-2011年，有兩個非常嚴寒的冬天 ；2011年，有一個非常乾燥的夏季；緊接著2012年，有一個非常、非常潮濕的夏天；隨後的2013年，冬天有破有史以來記錄的降雪和一個極端寒冷的春天；這種異常多點的情況，對於任何形式的園藝都機具挑戰，但多年生蔬菜整體都保持得非常出色。要讓每一種植物都能應付每一種極端天氣，是很不切實際的期望。去年冬天出現了一些死傷，例如羽衣甘藍，在長達幾周的時間裡，幾乎完全包裹在冰雪裡，最後被凍死了，這並不出乎意外。
During the course of experimenting with perennial vegetables and writing this book we seem to have experienced a series of extreme weather events - in Shropshire where I live we have had several extremely wet, cool, dull summers from 2007 to 2009; two very severe winters - 2009- 2010 and 2010-2011; a very dry summer in 2011 followed by a very, very wet one in 2012 and then a record breaking period of snow and extreme cold in spring 2013. Such changeability makes any form of gardening challenging but overall the perennial vegetables have held on remarkably well. It would not be realistic to expect everything to cope with every extreme of weather and there have been some casualties such as the kale that not surprisingly froze to death nearly totally encased in frozen snow for weeks last winter.
沒有人能夠確切地預測並精確地說，氣候變化將影響未來一些年的天氣。但如果我們是來切身體驗——增加多樣性和擴展極限，也許在我們的花園裡增加多樣性的食用植物，將會是幫助減輕影響的方式之一。
Nobody can predict with any certainty the precise way that climate change will impact on weather over the coming years, but if we are to experience increased diversity and extremes perhaps having an increased diversity of food plants growing in our gardens is one way to help mitigate the impact.
關於混合種養多年生植物所帶來的更多額外的效益，將會在以後的章節中附加說明。
Growing perennials in polycultures brings additional benefits which are described in later Chapters.
我絕不會聲稱，多年生蔬菜可代替一年生的蔬菜，但我相信它們在未來的糧食種植中發揮著顯著作用。它們並不鋒芒或搶盡風頭，但它們常備不懈，踏實可靠的表現，值得人們器重——無論是種植還是食用，都是極有價值的。
I would never claim that perennial vegetables are a replacement for annual vegetables but I am sure they have a significant role to play in the food growing of the future. They are not show stopping celebrities but reliable performers that are immensely rewarding to grow and eat.
有哪些缺點呢？
Are there any disadvantages?
目前一些多年生的蔬菜種子，無疑是比他們僅一年的堂兄弟更昂貴。有些時候，購買這些種子是一次性的開銷，為某些物種可以傳播而保存的種子。
At present some perennial vegetable seeds are undoubtedly more expensive than those of their annual cousins. Sometimes seeds are a one-off expense as some species can be propagated from saved seed.
多年生蔬菜並不是經常能通過各大種子和苗木供應商索取。但即便如此，我的一些植物和種子，還是從歐洲獲得的，這是不難做到的，在附錄二，我給出了已經使用過的種子供應商的詳細信息。我很高興的是多年生蔬菜在園藝市場並沒有被大企業佔滿細分，我更喜歡在小的，獨立的公司購買。
Perennial vegetables are not often obtainable through the major seed and nursery suppliers. However even though some of my plants and seeds have been obtained from Europe this is not difficult to do and Appendix Two gives details of the suppliers I have used. I am quite pleased that perennial vegetables are a niche in the horticultural market not filled by big corporations and much prefer to buy from small, independent companies.
寒溫帶氣候（如英國），不支持常年掛果或結莢蔬菜。如果你想種養豆類、葫蘆或南瓜之類的多年生蔬菜，你將需要搬到到合適的地方，如加州或夏威夷。
Cool temperate climates (as in Britain) do not support perennial fruiting or podding vegetables. If you want to grow things like perennial beans or gourds and squashes you will need to move to somewhere suitable like California or Hawaii.
盡可能找到並種養多種常年生蔬菜
Find and grow as many perennial vegetables as possible
根據自己的情況，選擇出最好的常年蔬菜，可能需要經歷一些試驗和錯誤。我最初的開始實驗的植物如"好國王亨利"、獨活草和沙拉地榆。我不喜歡任何一種，在這一點上，我幾乎想放棄了。但我不希望輕蔑他們，他們有自己的位置 ——就像在森林花園，有足夠的空間給他們 ——他們無疑會帶來一系列的好處，而有些人可能也像他們一樣。儘管最初的嘗試令人失望，但具備一個常年生蔬菜花園的想法，仍是我實現夢想的可能，所以我從未放棄地追查下去。我繼續尋找對我實用的多年生植物，我決定追查每一個品種，我想看看這些種子或植物，它們是否可以種植到我的花園裡，它們品嘗起來會是怎樣。
Selecting the best perennial for your own circumstances may take some
trial and error. My initial experiments began with plants such as Good King Henry, lovage and salad burnet. I did not like any of these and nearly gave up at this point. I don't want to malign them though, they have their place - as in a forest garden where there is plenty of room for them - and where they undoubtedly bring a host of benefits, and some people may well like them. Despite initial disappointment the idea of perennial vegetables had so possessed me that I could not give up without finding out if my dream was possible. I continued searching for perennials that would work for me and decided to track down seeds or plants of every variety I possibly could to see if they would grow in my garden and what they tasted like.
最終，這一雄心也意味著我幾乎得不堪重負地對許多不同的植物進行實驗。有苗無處不在，年輕的植物綻放出盆，它們不會住在菜地裡的指定地點。我發現從一開始我就應該有所預料——由於我缺少技能和經驗，造成了大量的失敗。種植許多新的植物，所有這些經驗都是寶貴的，在一個非常有限的空間裡，且要及時配合著工作和其他所有的要求，本已充滿挑戰。有些植物必然沒有得到它們所需要和應得的照顧；我也還沒能試著做到，完完全全地喜歡一切植物。但至少，這是現實生活的反映，也是真正令人興奮的事情，儘管是這些缺點，也都有它們的意義！
Eventually this ambition meant that I was almost overwhelmed with a host of different plants to experiment with. There were seedlings everywhere and young plants bursting out of pots with no designated place to live in the vegetable patch. I found out what I should have anticipated from the outset - that my lack of skills and experience caused a good deal of failures. Growing a lot of new plants, all of which were precious, in a very limited space and fitting this in between work and all the other demands on time has been challenging. Some plants inevitably did not get the care they needed and deserved; and I have not yet been able to try absolutely all the plants that I would have liked. But at least this is a reflection of real life and the really exciting thing is that despite these disadvantages it works!
我完全地感謝肯蕨和他為建立「未來資料庫 」所提供的植物[1]。如果沒有這個巨大的參考，我不會已經具備能夠開始研究的背景條件（其他關於多年生蔬菜的有用信息等書籍和網站，都列在附錄三）。最新統計顯示，我已嘗試種植了某個地區60多種多年生或潛在多年生蔬菜。我的實驗無疑將繼續，但這本書的目的，是收集和整理出，我所發現並確定的：最有用的常年蔬菜。
I am completely indebted to Ken Fern and his Plants for a Future database[1]. Without this monumental reference I would not have been able to even begin the background research (other books and websites that have useful information about perennial vegetables are listed in Appendix Three). At the latest count I have experimented with somewhere in the region of sixty perennial or potentially perennial vegetables. My experiments will no doubt continue but for the purposes of collecting things together for this book I have identified the perennial vegetables that I have found to be most useful.
雖然許多常年生蔬菜是強壯的，相當容易生長，但部分品種在播種和\或定根的時候，需要更多的觀照，因為它們對於土壤的pH值、光照和水分的耐受能力比其常年植物要差一些。我所推薦的常年生蔬菜，已經是令人愉快的混合種養成功的種類。我希望這些條件都足以代表許多英國的花園所具備的條件，因此在英國的大部分地區，或是在世界其他的溫帶地區，也同樣氣候涼爽的環境下，我們也期待著，這些多年生植物，也可能真正現實地茁壯成長起來。還有那些——我種養效果並不好的多年生植物，詳見第六章，也許其他更乾燥、陽光更充足的地方，會更值得種養它們，而更適合在其他不同的土壤中生長。
Although many perennial vegetables are robust and reasonably easy to grow, some species require more care in the sowing and \ or establishment and some have narrower tolerances for soil pH, light and water than others. The perennial vegetables I am recommending have been successfully and happily grow in my polycultures. I hope these conditions are sufficiently representative of conditions pertaining in many gardens in the UK and that therefore they might realistically be expected to thrive across most parts of the UK and also similar cool, temperate climates in other parts of the world. Those that I tried that did not produce good results are detailed in Chapter Six as they may well fare better in different soils and with drier and sunnier locations than I can provide.
原則
Principles
我剛開始種常年蔬菜時，只是希望能找到更容易的方法來種植食物。隨著時間的推移，這個目標也日漸完善，並最終演變為不斷汲取和發展的項目，還有完成的這本書。它需要時間來充分展現什麼是必要的，什麼是可實現的；但後見之明，如今我可以定義一組核心的指導原則和目標了。
I started with perennial vegetables simply hoping to find easy ways of growing food. Over time this aim has matured as ultimately evolved into an absorbing project and this book. It took time to fully unfold what was needed and could be achieved, but with some hindsight I can now define a set of core guiding principles and aims.
節約能源
Conserve energy
據估計，在食物生產的過程中，約10多倍的能源是耗費在按照流行和消費生產和加工的食物上，而不是花費在生產真正滿足人們基本飲食需要的食物。當然，對於任何形式的糧食種植或生產，從長遠來看，都有持續增多的機會，這個可怕的統計數值，勢必還會顯著攀升。
It is estimated that about 10 times more energy is needed to produce food in what has become the conventional fashion than is realised by eating it. Surely for any form of food growing or production to have a chance of being sustainable in the long term it must drastically improve on this horrifying statistic.
我已經記住自己種植的或者經常使用的蔬菜可能具備的熱量值，因為許多都不包含在標準的營養表裡。綠葉蔬菜是低熱量的，因此並沒有意義去花費體力去生產它們。理想的情況下，它們需要提供給摘下綠葉後仍然根基穩固的植物，因此常年生蔬菜是非常適合這樣的。而更多的熱量可能都是從根莖中提取的，這是植物長期而穩固的儲存能量的部門。雖然有些像菊芋這樣含糖的塊根植物，但卻不易消化，因此它們的熱量也都沒用上。無論哪種方式，更好是花最少的能量放在打理花園，你將有更多的時間，自然得做更多的工作，節約能源逛商店，，在整個植物生長的環節中，很少需要你參與其中，這事兒坦白來說令人發狂。（意思是指，原來大部分情況都是自然自己打理好的，而根本不需要人的幫助，人們一下子會因為無所事事，而感到不可思議。）
I have borne in mind the calorific value of the vegetables I grow, or more often the likely value, as many are not included in standard nutritional tables. Leafy green vegetables are low in calories therefore it makes no sense to me to spend physical effort producing them. Ideally they need to be available to just pick off the plant on a more or less permanent basis and perennial greens fit this very well. More calories are potentially derived from roots and tubers that are anergy stores for the plant, although some like Jerusalem artichokes are stores of sugars that are not digestible and therefore their calories are not available. Either way, the less energy put in to the garden the better, you have more time, nature gets to do more of the work, energy is saved going shopping and less needs to be grown within a system that is frankly mad.
其結果是我的第一個目標是使用盡可能少的能量。作為一個有機種植的園丁，這顯然包括不會使用人工投入的化肥和農藥，但同樣我希望是花費盡可能少的個人體力。
As a consequence my first aim is to use as little energy as possible. As an organic gardener anyway this clearly includes not using artificial inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, but equally I wanted to put as little personal physical effort in as possible.
培育和珍惜健康、肥沃的土壤
Nurture and cherish a healthy and fertile soil
土壤是一個非常寶貴的資源。我身處在黑暗的境地，始終敬畏和支持著地球上所有的生命。這不是我剛開始就有的認識和理解； 土壤是一個非常寶貴的資源。我在這個黑暗的境界，最終支持地球上所有生命的敬畏。這不是我認識或理解為開始;；我的園藝，遵循著自然的法則，支持土壤的健康正是至關重要的，無論是種養蔬菜，或是花卉和灌木，都應如此。
Soil is an immensely precious resource. I am in awe of this darkened realm which ultimately supports all life on the planet. This was not something I knew or understood to begin with; follwing natural principles for supporting soil health is fundamental to my gardening whether it be for vegetables or flowers and shrubs.
節約水，並且保濕
Conserve water and moisture
我會澆水給幼苗，直到它們被種植出來，紮根土壤。此外，在一些特殊情況下也會澆水—— 長時間沒有下雨，當植株已經開始枯萎的時候。據我的實踐，只有在2011年異常乾燥的夏天，我不得不經常為我混養的菜地澆水，而當時，需要補充這些水的植物，也僅僅是生長在陽光地帶的綠色蔬菜。大批量的有機物已建立在土壤中，能夠幫助保持水分，因為覆蓋了土壤表面，很大程度上，覆蓋物可保持混養的土床足夠潮濕，度過正常的乾旱期。
I water seedings until they are planted out and established. Otherwise watering only happens under exceptional circumstances - after long periods without rain and when plants are starting to wilt. In practice it has only been during the unusually dry summer of 2011 that I have had to regularly water the polycultures and even then it was only the green vegetables in sunny places that needed it. High volumes of organic matter have built up in the soil helping to retain moisture, as does mulch on the soil surface and for the most part this keeps the polyculture beds sufficiently damp through normal dry spells.
混合種養
Grow polycultures
混養的理論和實踐涵蓋於第四，八，九，十及十一章。這樣的種養方式，是非常有利於環境及生態的。它提供了多樣化的棲息小生境，充滿生物生態網絡的栽培床，維持著整個土地的健康和生育能力，有助於周圍的環境。
The theory and practice of polycultures is covered in Chapters Four, Eight, Nine, Ten and Eleven. Environmentally and ecologically this way of growing is extraordinarily beneficial. It provides diverse habitat niches which nature fills with networks of life which in turn contributes to the overall health and fertility of the patch and the surrounding enviroment.
混養有可能是有序的或隨機的，根據每一個別丁的願望。只要植物們是幸福的，實際的佈局可以是相當整齊的，就像一個菜園，或是比較原始和自由；無論哪種方式，都可極具直觀的吸引力。
A polyculture can potentially be as orderly or as random as the individual gardener wants. As long as the plants are happy, the actual layout can be an approximation of something neat like a potager or much wilder and freer, either way can be very visually attractive.
遵循且讚頌自然
Follow and celebrate nature
所有上述的原則，可以概括為以下的讚頌文。自然是高效的；她節省能源，並生產而毫無浪費。她構建生命的複雜網絡，以提高生育能力，促進物種多樣化，其創造之法，超乎計劃，不拘一格，而美不勝收。接下來的許多內容是關於展開和運用這一原則。
All the above principles can be summed up as following and celebrating nature. Nature is efficient; She conserves energy and produces no waste. She constructs complex webs of life that boost fertility and promote variety and diversity in unplanned but endlessly beautiful and productive ways. Much of what follows is about unwrapping and applying that principle.
[1] www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx
蘇萊和派皮爾，於1992年，在食用森林公園的報價 ——關於生態視野和溫帶氣候的永續農業理論，第一卷：視覺與理論，大衛傑克與埃裡克託恩斯米爾，切爾西綠色出版社，佛蒙特州，2005年第23頁。
Soule and Piper 1992, quoted in Edible Forest Gardens - ecological vision and theory for temperate climate permaculture, Volume One: Vision and Theory; David Jacke with Eric Toensmeier, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, Vermont, 2005 page 23
譯者&編者（Translator & Editor）: Vivian
發佈方（Publisher）: permaculture_
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譯者&編者（Translator & Editor）: Vivian
發佈方（Publisher）: permaculture_
更多相關閱讀鏈接，請搜索關鍵詞：手冊