Off the Urban Grid

Edible Ground Covers to Replace Your Grass Lawn

If you’re a fan of the Food Not Lawns way of landscaping, then you might be wondering if there are any ways to replace your grass with something you can eat. Something low growing that wouldn’t block views or keep folks from walking through. Something low maintenance that you never have to mow. Something that falls under the category of “edible ground cover” perhaps.

You’re in luck. There are quite a few edible groundcovers you can plant in your yard. Let’s take a look at some of the options:

Emerald Carpet Raspberry

This is a thornless evergreen groundcover, originally from the mountains of Taiwan. It features attractive clover-shaped green foliage that gradually spreads out to cover the ground. It turns a handsome coppery color in autumn, and since it only grows a few inches tall, it won’t impede views or get out of hand.

As for the edible aspect, emerald carpet raspberry sports infrequent yellow berries that ripen in July. It can be grown in sun or shade.

Lingonberries

If you have any Scandinavian blood in your veins, you may already be acquainted with the lingbonberry, but even if your ancestors never traveled the roads of northern Europe, you can still plant some of these little guys.

Lingonberries are a low-growing ground cover that spread quickly (but they are not considered invasive). The plants have small oval leaves that stay green year around. The berries, which are a relative of cranberries, can be made into jam, juice, or even wine. Many Scandinavian baked goods feature them as well.

Kinnikinnick

You may not be able to pronounce this one, but you can grow it. Native to the Pacific Northwest, the evergreen ground cover offers spring flowers in shades of white to pink and red berries in the fall and winter. It likes full sun and only grows to about 6″.

Wintergreen

If all you’ve ever had is wintergreen gum, you’re missing out on the original berries from whence the flavor comes. This is another edible groundcover (truly edible for you can eat both the leaves and the fruit, which both taste like wintergreen lifesavers).

The bright red berries start ripening in late August and will stay on the plant until winter. Harvest them and turn them into a tea, add them to a fresh fruit salad, or munch them raw.

The plant itself is a creeper and will spread 12 inches or more outward, while growing about 6 inches tall. The plant can grow in partial or full shade and likes an acidic soil with lots of organic matter content.

Alpine Strawberries

Who doesn’t love strawberries? Well in addition to growing them in pots and raised garden beds, you can get varieties that thrive as edible ground covers.

For example, alpine strawberries are a great ground cover for your edible landscape. They can grow in sun or shade and spread from seeds instead of runners, yet they spread to make a lovely groundcover with green leaves, white flowers, and a few berries here and then when the season comes.

There are certainly more edible ground covers than the five we’ve mentioned, but this ought to be enough to get you started!

While you may not want to give up all your grass at once, you can start with a small portion of your yard. Try a little garden of edible groundcovers (you could even plant a few different varieties to see what works well in your area and produces something you enjoy eating). You can always expand later!

Tags: Edible Landscaping, ground cover, lawns