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Is this any good?
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Posted by Mike_Stubbs 8, Bastrop, TX (My Page) on Sun, Mar 30, 03 at 21:01
Hi all, I have a long list of stuff in my land,3/4 acre, and wanted your advice on whether it ought to stay or go, and maybe what it is all good for. There are some things I know, like a peach is for me or the birds whichever gets there first, but maybe you have ideas that i don't know about. I am still stuck in the thinking inside the box mode. Open my eyes, please. How could I guild these trees? with what I have or maybe with something I could buy or obtain from a plant swap.
Here is the list. Get ready.
Chinaberry
Mexican Plum
Pine
Cedar
Cherry Laurel
Ash (Arizona, I think)
Redbud
Elm? Winged? Cedar?
Hackberry
Gum Bumelia?
Yaupon Holly
Roughleaf Dogwood
Mesquite
Peach
Pear
Rattleweed
PawPaw Tree
coralberry
Turks Cap
Salvias, different species
Roses
American Beautyberry
Aromatic Sumac
Flameleaf Sumac
Lantanas
Virginia Creeper
Dewberry
Mustang Grape
Bluebonnet
Indian Paintbrush
Goldenrod
Giant Ragweed
Mint
Indian Blanket
Firewheel
Coral Honeysuckle
Dwarf Ruellia
Japanese Honeysuckle
Texas Betony
Nandina
Greenbriar
Brazo berry
Herbs
Tomatoes
Peppers
Chives
Garlic
ONion
Inland Sea Oats
Little Bluestem
two brush piles
two bird feeders, one seed and one thistle
a bird bath
This is what I know I have. How would you arrange this stuff if you were starting out with a blank sheet, plot of land.
Some of this is mature and some is still in its infancy and others may be pre teens.
Some of my yard, yes I am trying to reduce the lawn as fast as possible, I only mow occassionally to try to encourage wildflower growth.
Give me anything you think this neophyte needs to know. I am trying but still learning.
Thanks,
Mike |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Is this any good?
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| I think I'd get out some graph paper, as a starter, and start setting up hypothetical arrangements, based on companion planting principles, and light needs. This might be a great time to try square foot gardening. For aesthetic reasons, I'd try to mix the mature plants with the infants, so that you have you have something nice to look at while the smaller things grow into their shape. You listed a lot of plants; it must be a bit overwhelming trying to plot it all out. |
RE: Is this any good?
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| You might want to get out your house survey, make a large copy on a copier, and plan out some permaculture zones. Salad plants, herbs, and veggies you use a lot should be close to your door and your water hose, in zone 1. Good place also for your nursery bed for young plants, and those in pots you just bought. Zone 2 could be your vegetable gardens, orchard trees, compost etc. Zone 3 for plants you use less, or only harvest once a year. You have a mix of plants that is heavy on the ornamentals. Do some research on what edible berries, herbs, perennial veggies, fruit trees, and fruiting vines you can grow in your area. Plant more of them! Substitute fruiting species like large-hipped rugosa roses for non-fruiting tea roses,for example. Or, lemonade tree sumac for the varieties you have, if they are not edible types. There are many attractive edible salvias (sage)with variegated leaves, grey leaves, etc. Edibles I recognize as such on your list include mesquite, pawpaw, pear, peach, mint, the veggies,and herbs. Check with your local Cooperative Extension or research on the web to see if any of the others are edible. If not, phase those out, and plant things that are! You might want to include more perennial edible so that you don't have to take time to replant them every year- Jerusalem artichoke, berries,prickly pear cactus, fruit trees, regular artichokes, multiplier onions, walking onions, chives,shallots come to mind. Good luck with your garden! |
RE: Is this any good?
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Thanks ya'll. Yes I know there are probably imbalances here. That comes from changing your mind 3 or 4 or a dozen times in just the 4 years we have had the place.
I plan on planting a plum next year and maybe an apple if DW will let me. The plants I pick up at plant swaps and sometimes I get the plant first and ask questions about its usefulness later. I have bought very few of these plants, just the peach, pear, redbud and the herbs and vegetables. That is also why I ask now because I need to keep this in mind as I go to more swaps(have one May 3). I have some multiplier onions(Egyptian?) but I don't know what to do with them. How do I use them? When do I pull them? ETC.
Thank you both for your suggestions and if you think of more please respond.
Anybody else with ideas?
Mike |
RE: Is this any good?
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Mike,
Seraphima's comments about convenience to the hose are right on target. Another thing you might want to think about is garden pests... if you have rabbits, deer, etc. which might necessitate a fence, how will that play into your overall landscape? |
RE: Is this any good?
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| All I can say is wow, you are quite blessed with a nice piece of dirt and some great plants! Enjoy it! |
RE: Is this any good?
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| I recently saw on "Earth Report" about some Greek farmers, inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka, who take hundreds of different kinds of seeds, mix some powdered clay with them, and make clay pellets in a cement mixer. Then they just broadcast the pellets randomly over an area. After that, nature takes over and forms its own guilds. It was amazing to see the totally unplanned synergy in the broadcast areas. Lots of the seeds failed of course, or were out-competed, but the ones that did make it... It was amazing. You might think about trying something like this to break out of your box. You can find the transcript of the broadcast at the link below. It is the last article on the page. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Making Hay With Clay
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