I have read most of gaia's garden, and still have no clue where to start. Maybe the answer is on the last page!

I am sort of confused.

I have a veggie garden I started this year. I never really seriously did that before, if you don't count tossing a few jack-o-lantern seeds in the wildflower patch and hoped they grew! We have moved a lot so never much of a chance to landscape before. We have been here 5 years, so I guess it might be safe to start.

A part of the veggie garden has yellow plants due to it being closest to the windy part of the yard. I have my garden on the south east side of the house were it gets sun after 2 pm. Quite a hot year so the garden did struggle. May days were 105+. The wind blows from the west. Also I may need a swale. Ug I know I need one but how to go about it. The land slopes down from the west to the east and that area of the yard is so dry. Water does not hang around. I need to post a picture, but we just got a new scanner, and no clue how this one works yet. It roll down to the area I have the cannas. The veggie garden does not benefit from the run off. The garden bed also slopes down toward this water path. Ug!. I thought if I mulched all around the outside of the garden beds more water would hang around. Still I think I need a swale. here is a bad picture I already had scanned of the back of my house the garden is around the corner to the right, up against the house to take advantage of the shade. It goes out 10 feet and is about 27 feet long. I know he photo is bad but see the cloud on the right, under that is the small tree. Between the tree and the house the wind comes and also the water flows to the corner of the yard, toward that house in the distance. Where to put the swale?? I thought to put it from the tree to the edge of the garden bed right across the water flow path. Do I make the swale surround the whole garden? I need a better picture.

Anyway, last year I sprinkled a few native wild flower seeds. Some came up others did not. It was quite dry last fall and this spring. I have tried 2 times to plant shade tolerant flowers in this very shady area, still no luck. I should have taken my clue from the fact no weeds grew there either! I think I will mulch it over and forget that area.

I will be planting sunflowers to block the wind a bit from the west wind next year. I am sure a tree would work better, but money is an issue. I will also scatter sunflowers about on the south side, to lessen that exposure a bit. I have an area bricked off touching the garden bed, to plant wildflowers to attract beneficials, and just cause I like flowers. No clue on garden design for the bed yet. Maybe I will grab a hand full of seeds from many of my flowers packets and close my eyes and toss. I am at that point now. Confused!

We had a tall hedge of photinias cut down this spring. Now, I do not see many birds in the yard or at my feeder. I am home bound due to chemical sensitivities, so it is one less this that can entertain me. That hedgerow, provided a lot of cover and lots of bugs for them. It was even evergreen. I hated to cut them down, but they were ugly, and made the area behind it barren, with just dirt due to shade. I wanted to ask the tree company for the mulch from that, but I was too shy to ask. They later said I should have. Oh, well. I have called them to ask them to deliver a load of mulch next time they are in the area. I am not sure how long it will take to get all that out of the drive way. I may need to share. If you live in Lake Dallas Texas, I will have mulch to share soon.

I have red cannas planted in a soggy part of the yard. (by that house in the picture) I did not buy them, they came with the yard. They were in the shade and were not doing well. I looked them up and found out they like sun. But to be fair to the previous owner, the trees are a lot bigger now, casting more shade.

I have also scattered more wild flower seeds in the front flower beds, and near some trees around the property. I moved the daffodils to a sunnier spot. They were in that same shady spot.

I wanted to plant some corral berry in that shady spot, I must admit that shady spot has me thinking nothing will grow there. The shady spot is by those tree you see to the right. The window to the right is the one I use to watch the birds, now I only see one (bird) here and there. It is in the kitchen at my dining spot.

I want to attract birds cause I like to watch them and for all the good things they do. eat bugs, and plant free seeds. This year they (the birds) planted 2 tomato plants in the front flower bed. Not my plan for that area, but they did great, producing cherry tomatoes all summer. Where the ones in my garden did not produce after June. They did well since there is shade most of the day there. But sadly, I had to chop them down as they took over the entry walkway! I would have just trimmed them but cherry tomatoes are not big hits in this family. If they could have planed something we liked better, perhaps a papaya tree. Too bad I do not have to much of that exposure, or I could get my whole veggie garden planted there.

We will be planting a burr oak in the front to replace the cotton wood we had chopped down. We need to decrease the huge electric bill.

Like I said, beyond those things, I have no clue. Maybe I should not bite off too much at one time.

Oh, I forgot to mention the herbs I am planting under the bird feeder. It is a cute area, I have next to a porch beam (right side of photo, it cuts the small tree in half), with mulch, rocks and a bird water dish (pot drainage saucer) I have no clue where the herbs will do best so, I thought I might plant some in the landscape as well under the trees. Not sure how to place them so they will look nice. This is all so new to me.

Next year I plant to attempt to plant squash in the weep line of a large silver maple. There is more shade through out the day there. We shall see. My post is so non specific, I doubt anyone will answer.

If anyone could post some of your permaculture guilds that would help me a lot.

I am thinking of getting a book on edible landscape, or planting for wildlife, that might be easier to understand.

I know bugs are only attracts to sick plants, or stressed plants like those not getting enough water, sun, or too much sun. But it is beyond me why squash get borers. I know it is not a pesticide deficiency. All my squash get borers. Is it not enough humus, too much sun, heat, lack of water, lack of minerals, or just planting out of their comfort zone. I don't like reading cut a hole in the stem and kill to worm as a solution. I want to know what sort of distress the plant is in, to send up the frequency to the borers, please come lay your eggs here. I have stared this book called 'tune into nature'. It talks about plants sending out radio frequencies to bugs that they are ill, and please eat me. Interesting. I wish we were more in tune to what plants are trying to tell us. They say squash borers are not a problem west of the Rockies. I wonder why. I looked at a topographic map of the whole country. What I saw was higher elevations out west. With mountains you get rocky soil and more minerals. Possibly lots of other things I am not thinking of. I have never lived out west. I bought some azomite and sprinkled it around the squash. They already had borers though, so next year I will put it out at seed planting time or before and report if this cure the borer problem. I am also trying to buy seeds from veggies that are more drought tolerant now. Maybe going with moschatas would be best. I hate butternuts, do they all taste like that. I love butter cups.

I am not sure were the question is in this post is. I guess just a better sense of what the heck am I doing, and is what I am doing accomplishing what I hope to accomplish. (what ever that is) maybe I am just trying to keep busy unil I get over this illness.

I want to plant food bearing trees, but after reading the extension service web site not a lot is suited to north Texas. (that I like) I like figs and they sound promising. And a few varieties of apple will work here since they have low chill hour requirements. Might try granny smith and pink lady since they say two varieties are needed for pollination. Not sure why? Dirt doctor says apricot will not produce every year or even every other year here due to spring frosts killing the blossoms. I have read peaches are hard to do here. I want to try papaya, but they do not like frost. I might like to try grapes but, they seem like a northern thing to me. I do not even know what a jujube is. From the Texas extension site below, prunes do not look promising either. Seems pears would have similar chill requirements to apples, so might pose a problem. Pecans do not look like a good choice as we do not have deep soil, mostly dry stuff. Not sure what a persimmon is? Pistachio, chestnut and loquats are not suited to here. Berries seem to like acid soil. I have seen someone eat a pomegranate once, does not look like fun. I hate walnuts, plus it hampers growth of everything else. Don't like cherries and they don't do well here anyway. Gooseberries, kiwi, macadamia, and currents do not like it here.

So what am I left with: figs, apples and grapes. And possibly a container grown papaya.

I like the following

apples,bartlet pears, not hard pears, apricots, prunes, not plumes so much, figs, strawberries, peaches, red seedless grapes, kiwi, pineapple and papaya

If anyone knows of some uncommon fruit plants, please let me know. I know I ran across a web site that claimed to offer permaculture plants, but I don't remember what it was. The plants have to be able to take 110 degrees, 10 degrees, drought, and wind. sometimes we get most of our rain in one day it seems. See the problem. Hopefully I can dampen down the climate extremes a bit over the years, but for now that is what I have to deal with. I think maybe fruit trees have to wait. That is unfortunate, since it takes a while for fruit trees to produce.

Another concern I have is shading off the veggie garden too much!

Anyway, enough for now.

Help in anyway you can please. I just wish someone could come over here look at my property, hold my hand and tell me what to do! OK, what fun would that be. Things are looking a bit better around here so all is not bad.

I guess if all else fails, add more mulch!

Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: fruit gardening in texas