Rebecca Treeseed

Add sand to the soil mix... Amaranth prefers good drainage.

I have had good results in dry weather with clay soil... it holds water very well. A bit of mulch keeps the soil friable and adds humus as it breaks down. I had a half acre and grew many vegetables without watering. I used free leaves mostly.

I moved and am creating a food forest on five acres in the mountains. My environment is pretty harsh and I am seeing what will work. I am also playing with native plants and have picked a couple that taste good and give results with no extra water as a specialty item.

I never discounted my ability to feed myself fresh, healthy foods... it is a major savings... and one of the few small businesses guaranteed to cover your food bill the first year.

My entry into market garden started with increasing food self sufficiency for my family. I started providing for poor families at church, and so it went.

Wonderful!

I am creating a food forest in Santa Fe County, NM. My blog is at treeseeddreaming.com.

I am creating a hugelkultur bed, bermed some runoff spots, and just getting started with it all.

I am excited to see so many others creating permaculture oases in the dry Southwest.

Hi!

I am new to the Southwest and have eaten many native foods in Texas and the Northwest. On my 5 acres in the mountains I am still identifying plants... usually start with Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel, then get more specific on the internet. Once I know the plant I check pfaf.org and Native American Food Plants by Daniel Moerman.

I am blogging my experience creating a NM food forest at treeseeddreaming.com. I enjoy trying new edibles... if they taste better than raddichio its a go.

If you know your local First American tribes you can look up a list of their edibles in the Moerman book and specifically look for those.

My favorite way to increase biodiversity is to set up a bird station of some sort. Amazing numbers of seedlings will show up around a birdbath or underneath a suet station.

I once had 14 acres of Texas... with coastal hay. Walked all around and only found about 15 species. Distributed 4 pounds of black seed sunflowers to invite the birds' help. Within 3 years I had a list of 300 species (corner of 4 ecosystems).

Suburbia? A birdbath will provide endless volunteer seedlings.

Curly Dock. They make tons of seeds which I collect and grind to add to bread. I add finely sliced baby leaves to soups before serving. I don't eat excessive amounts of anything... variety is best.