Sourcing nut trees & other permaculture plants from southern Spain & Portugal

Hi folks,

I'm writing from Abrazo House ecological learning centre in Cantabria, northern Spain, where we are embarking on an expansion of our 16-year-old food forest on a newly purchased 2-hectare site, with a special focus on nut trees as canopy species: sweet acorns (encina), chestnuts, walnuts, pecans, heartnuts, hicans, butternuts, etc. etc.

As the threat of climate change has become an imminent reality, we need to think about planting varieties that are going to thrive in a warmer future, so we are looking to source trees from southern Portugal/Spain which will be able to cope with the projected climate in a few decades. So, I'd like to ask permies who are based in that region —especially southern Portugal which has a similar maritime climate to ours—for their recommendations for the best nurseries and contacts for sourcing permaculture plants, especially nut trees.

Muchas gracias,

Robert

PS. You might like to check out our newly relaunched ]website.

Hi Robert,
happy new year!
Did anyone give you some advice on the food forest source yet?
I am currently researching sources for trees for a possible future food forest in the north of Spain. Reading about your plan and of taking climate change into account was very exciting.
I wanted to make a list of species that are available and a rough estimate for prices.
I would be grateful for any advice on nurseries in the north of Spain.
Un saludo
Benjamin

Hello Robert and Benjamin.  How is your plant list growing? I’m going to be exploring southern Spain in a few weeks. I’d love to be a plant and plant nursery explorer for you. This will give me something to do in addition to birding and hiking. Feel free to PM me if you are interested.

Hi Jeremy,
thanks for the reply and the idea.
Our plans changed a bit, we're far from knowing where we will settle down.
The next couple of months we will be in the area of Granada. There is a lot of reforestation and permaculture and syntropic farming going on in the area, especially around Órgiva.
I don't want to speak for Robert, but I think they are beginning to plant in January.
You can come by our house to have a talk and we can also offer a place to stay for the night.
PM me if that's something you're interested in.
Safe travels!

Hi Benjamin, thanks for the response and I’ll send you a PM. Looking forward to exploring Spain soon. And I’ll try sending Robert a PM. Some contacts would be fantastic.
Paul Jeremy