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Old 08-11-2010, 01:33 PM
echinosum echinosum is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2006
Location: Chalfont St Giles
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Originally Posted by Tove Posselt View Post
I am planning a garden in Isafjórdur, in north-western Iceland. I want to figure out how to be gentle to the ecosystems of the place and still have edible plants and maybe even trees growing there, strong enough to endure the salt, wind and cold. Someone told me only birchtrees - and maybe not even they - are authentic to the icelandic landscape. What do you think of bringing in other species? Are there any kinds of appletrees growing in iceland? spinach? what kinds of potatoes? do you eat any of the algae in the sea? do mushrooms grow there?
In Iceland, outdoors you can grow potatoes (certain Icelandic varieties), rhubarb, blackcurrants, redcurrants, cabbages, some other root veg. Potatoes are even said to grow better in the north because of the increased summer light, but you risk losing the crop to an early frost in August. I've certainly seen all of the above growing in or near Husavik in N Iceland. But Isafjordur is not as sheltered as Husavik, and is on a north facing coast, so you will need to establish some sheltered conditions to do it. No apple trees that I've heard of or seen in the whole country. With some glass, you can grow other stuff like lettuce easily in the summer.

Several willow species are native to Iceland, and are commonly used as windbreaks. Rowans are certainly seen. For some more interesting things which you do not commonly find there, I would suggest growing Nothofagus antarctica, the antarctic beech (which is not a true beech), Nothofagus betuloides (Magellan's beech), and Maytenus magellanica (Magellan's mayten) which all grow in Tierra del Fuego. The latter two are is evergreen. The mayten in particular is very southern in distribution, and grows well in the Faeroes. These will not become invasive so there should be no problem.

Not Icelandic, but I've been there a few times, and a friend has long been established there and has a vegetable garden.