Organic gardening on Noah's ark.

[Newtonian]

Ok - 450' long, 75' wide ark with 18" top windows. What would you plant in the c. 333 window boxes 3 feet long and 2 feet deep (6 sq. feet per box)?

I would start with this edible shade tolerant flower - the common violet - from:

Violet's Edible and Medicinal Uses

Violets are welcome “weeds” in my garden. In fact, the common blue violet—my particular brand of violet garden guest—is native to these parts, which is more than I can say for myself.

chestnutherbs.com

"The leaves and flowers of the common blue violet, along with many other species, are edible and medicinal. The “confederate violet” is an escaped cultivar (cultivated variety) of Viola sororia—it has white flowers with blue streaks and is an inhabitant of lawns in the southeastern United States.

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[Moonglow]

The common blue violet (Viola sororia, Violaceae) is native to most of central and eastern North America

 

[Dekster]

Salad greens and scallions so I could have some veg with my meat harvested from the critters I snuck a third or 4th onboard.

 

[Moonglow]

Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes

 

[Synthaholic]

I never knew that Noah had rock monsters who helped him build the Ark!

 

[Moonglow]

nothing will grow when it rains continously for forty days and flowers need some sun to flower.

 

[Compost]

Mushrooms

 

[Thunk]

Noah didn't need to garden...he had a fishing rod

 

[Newtonian]

I never knew that Noah had rock monsters who helped him build the Ark!

I doubt Noah brought rocks onto the ark!

 

[Newtonian]

nothing will grow when it rains continously for forty days and flowers need some sun to flower.

Good point - but they were on the ark for about a year - most of the time sunlight would have been available through the windows.

I mentioned the common violet because it can bloom without direct sunlight - at least it does here in SE Louisiana. And it is edible!

I suspect Noah was an organic gardener before entering the ark and likely brought some flowers already in bud and bloom.

I also think Noah brought seedlings onto the ark which would not bloom for over 40 days anyway.

But, not to ignore your point, the snake plant has an extremely fragrant flower spike - though ours did not bloom until after some 30 years! Snake plants also do not need direct sunlight.

Sansevieria Blooming: Flowers Of A Sansevierias (Mother-In-Law's Tongue)

You can own a mother-in-law's tongue for decades and never know that they produce flowers, then one day, it has produced a flower stalk. Is this possible? Yes, and this article will explain more.

www.gardeningknowhow.com

They tend to flower when neglected or root bound, btw. I suspect Noah brought a few snake plants in bud and bloom. See the article. The fragrance is incredible - and drips with honeydew!

And they do well in extreme shade so they would not even have to be in the window boxes - they could simply have been potted on the other side of the walkway along with other extremely shade tolerant plants like philodendron and many forms of ivy.

 

[Newtonian]

Noah didn't need to garden...he had a fishing rod

I do believe they and the animals were all vegetarian:

Genesis 1:29,30
Then God said: “Here I have given to you every seed-bearing plant that is on the entire earth and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. Let them serve as food for you.+ 30 And to every wild animal of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving on the earth in which there is life,* I have given all green vegetation for food.”+ And it was so.

Genesis 6:21
For your part, you are to collect and take with you every kind of food to eat,+ to serve as food for you and for the animals.”

I suspect Noah brought fruits on the vines - some on the inside edge of some window boxes. The fruits could still ripen in shade and they would last longer on the vine than already picked - am I correct?

 

[Newtonian]

Besides violets, I found spinach to be very shade tolerant I'm not sure what varieties Noah propagated before entering the ark - but the following list of shade tolerant veggies would likely have been similar to those Noah took onto the ark and planted in the inner rows of the 2 foot deep window boxes:

Vegetables That Grow In Shade: How To Grow Vegetables In The Shade

Most vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight to flourish, but don't overlook the shade loving vegetable. Click here for shade tolerant vegetables.

www.gardeningknowhow.com

Swiss chard is on the list.

Also, the fact that the windows on the ark were only 18" high would make tall veggies like asparagus cramped. I suspect, however, that Noah brought asparagus roots ready to sprout. The edible sprouts are normally less that 18" high - 9" is even high. These asparagus plants could, after the 40 rainy cloudy days, be allowed to grow taller outside the windows.

Daylilies also tolerate shade - but they only bloom with at least a little sunlight. Noah could have brought daylily plants ready to spike and bloom after the 40 days. Some portions of the daylily are edible:

How to Sustainably Harvest and Eat Delicious Daylilies – Mother Earth News

Daylilies are usually appreciated for their showy flowers, but they also provide four different tasty ingredients. Wild food forager Leda Meredith shows you how to use the edible parts of the plant.

www.motherearthnews.com

By the time the plants send up flower stalks, those tubers will have become depleted and mushy. Dig them up before that, from late autumn through early spring. Don’t bother to peel the tubers: just scrub and cook as you would potatoes, remembering that they won't take quite as long to cook.


Digging up the tubers means you killed the plant, right? Fortunately, no. When you dig up a clump of daylily roots, snip off most but not all of the tubers. Replant the mass of tangled roots with the remaining tubers. They will regrow into new plants.


In late spring and early summer, daylily plants develop flower buds. Harvested while they are still green and firm, these can be steamed, boiled, or stir-fried. They also make great pickles.

Finally, in the full heat of summer daylily offers up its fourth edible part: the flowers. Each flower looks like it has six petals (technically they're three petals and three tepals). The reason for the common name “daylily” is that each individual flower only blooms for one day. Once an individual daylily has enjoyed its day in the sun, its petals close and never reopen. Fresh, they are lovely in salads. Dried, try them in clear broth or miso soups.

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CAUTION! While daylilies are edible - they are not actually lilies. True lilies grow from bulbs (not tubers as in daylilies) and are dangerously poisonous.

 

[Synthaholic]

I never knew that Noah had rock monsters who helped him build the Ark!

I doubt Noah brought rocks onto the ark!

No, they helped him build the ark, then sank back into the earth.

Just like in the Bible!