Tithonia

Growing Conditions and Harvest

Tithonia prefers full sun and well-drained soil, and is tolerant of a wide range of soil types and conditions. It is drought-tolerant and can be grown as an annual or perennial in warm climates.

In a food forest context the biomass produced by tithonia can be harvested throughout the growing season.

We tend to prune our established plants 2-3 times between spring and autumn, only pruning after the risk of frost in spring and allowing sufficient time for the plant to regrow before frosts return in autumn

Uses

Tithonia is well known as a wonderful, fast growing biomass producer and nemisis of the dreaded kikuyu grass.

It’s preference for full sun and tolerance of a wide range of growing conditions makes it a great choice as a pioneer species, quickly gaining dominance over grasses, producing large amounts of biomass to feed nearby trees and providing shade and shelter to young seedling trees. We use it alongside Comfrey and jerusalem artichokes in our initial plantings to provide nutrients, shelter and frost protection to our younger tree seedlings.

Given its ability to tame kikuyu, over the coming year we will be experimenting with its effectiveness against blackberry and bracken and using it to help define access tracks through our site.

For more information on the benefits of tithonia for compost and fertiliser, check this link here.