Indigenous vegetables are quite easy to grow since they require fewer inputs to raise them like fertilizers and chemicals. Part of the reason is that they are recent adoptions from wild plants which have inbuilt mechanisms to core with environmental adversity. They are are also more nutritious per unit amount and require less irrigation. Anyone with experience in this area? We usually grow pigweed and other related variants.
We have lots of native vegetables. I said that because we didn't their origin. Our forefathers never ever mentioned them especially as to their sources or origin. They just propagated them and gathered their seeds, seedlings, or cuttings for replanting. Well, to borrow your statement as to their wild plants source,probably those vegetables evolved as to what they are now. Thus, they may be classified as indigenous veggies.
When you say indigenous you are talking about plants that grow locally on your country right? I do love the native cultivars in my area but I also plant imported veggies that can grow on my region's temperature and seasons. I wanted to have varieties of fruits and vegetables that I can harvest. Recently I am so happy to find out that I can grow hibiscus in my area because it's a very useful plant. It is edible and decorative. I can use the flowers to make hibiscus tea and use the leaves as salad greens and livestock feeds.
I think growing indigenous vegetables is good as it is easy and best suited for our local climate and soil. Also. growing vegetables at home are organic nad fresh and also it saves money of buying vegetables from the market.
I am a backyard gardener not really for the money but for the fun of it. Gardening is my stress reliever. But on the side, it is profitable somehow because we don’t buy red pepper, ginger, lemon grass, lime, sweet potato, cassava, and some other edibles that I raise myself. And for the fertilizer, I’m always proud of my compost bin that produces organic fertilizer. By the way, we also have mangoes, bananas and some pineapple plants.
