Permaculture Pancake Polyculture

Fresh off the press from a PDC in Vermont -- A PERMACULTURE PANCAKE POLYCULTURE.

Here's the species - function list :

Long-term overstory
• sugar maple (Acer saccharum) - syrup
• black walnut (Juglans nigra) - nuts, syrup
• shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) - nuts, syrup
• black birch (Betula lenta) - syrup, tea
• sweet-acorn oaks (Quercus spp) - acorn flour for pancakes! (see www.oikostreecrops.com for a great selection)

Selected Understory
• chicken (Gallus domesticus) - eggs (for the pancake batter!)
• pawpaw (Asimina triloba) - banana custard-flavored fruit, shade tolerant
• gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) - tasty tart fruit, shade tolerant
• currant (Ribes spp.) - tasty tart fruit, shade tolerant


This arose from our discussion of mixed-species sugar-bushes. My research & experimentation this spring shpowed that black walnut (Juglans nigra) trees can be tapped and boiled for a DELICIOUS syrup, and friends inform me that Hickories (Carya spp.) can also be tapped. Add these to the traditional sugar maple (Acer saccharum), other maple species (Acer spp.), and birch (Betula spp., especially B. lenta), and we're looking at a significantly more diverse stand of locally-appropriate sugar production!

Let's step beyond the relative monoculture of sugar maples! And go even farther for some delicious perennial permaculture pancakes.