Brian Gothard

I agree, Redhawk, with all your observations.  I am putting in 4 raised beds at 4x8, mainly to make mowing the rest easier.  Take out the screws and the boards go with me.  That will be the bulk of our food production.  We have some other stuff like blackberries and blueberries in big ornamental pots.

I will just wing it at the tree line.  Clear the dead brush and throw out a few of every seed I have and see what takes.

You reached me, Paul.  I am nobody, but you reached me.  One person.  I shared with my wife and we are moving in the right direction now.  We are sharing with friends and family, however slowly that may be.

Don't fret over the masses.  They will come running when their system fails.

Thank you very much for the input.

We will be here this year and possibly one more.  We chose this place to get out of the urban area specifically to practice skills while we are looking for our homestead.  Our goal is healthy food, short and simple.  I realize that takes time, but I don't have three years here to build soil and there is not enough readily available greenery to even start a good compost pile.  I will have to grow my own.  That wood line is mostly dead woody vines.  It will help next year, but not this one.  Probably going to just make a hugelkulture mound back there.

We are good at raised bed gardening for annuals, but our experience was in the Birmingham, Alabama area.  Totally different soil and climate.  I even built a gray water irrigation system there.  We had more tomatoes from 6 plants than we could give away.  Same with the squash and kohlrabi. That, however, was in year 4.

We have a couple layer hens free ranging, and will have rabbits when I can get a hutch built, so I hope to get at least some manure help.  No plans for any other stock here, but dairy goats are a future plan.

We moved to the coast, and spent 3 years in apartments.  I discovered the permaculture concept a year or so ago and have been reading and watching YouTube ever since.  That is where I need the advice.  I have several guild plans from various sources, but fully half of the plants are not native to this area and are not easily sourced.  Buying European or Australian plants at $8 each off the Internet is not in the plan, and without extensive research, I don't know the local equivalent.  I understand companion planting, but all my experience is in annuals.

What I was hoping for was someone to shortcut my research.  Share a guild plan for my area.  I am not too lazy to do the research, and will continue.  I want to learn.

Thank you again for your advice, and I will implement your suggestions.

Hello all.  I need some focus.  Forgive the lengthy post, but I will appreciate any advice offered.

I have read hundreds of posts, articles, websites, and I just want to plant some things immediately, but the sheer volume of information is overwhelming.  I understand the overall concepts of guilds, food forests, etc., and I am fully on board, but I have obstacles.

I am RENTING a property in southwestern Mississippi about 40 miles from the coast.  I have only been here two months.  I have the permission of the owner to install garden beds, and will be building several raised boxes, but I want to also leave it better than I found it when I move in a couple years.

The property is about an acre.  The back yard is about two thirds of that.  It is all lawn, with a few trees scattered around, but the bulk is open grass.  The rear property line is about ten feet inside a forest that goes several miles.  The wood line is overgrown vines and small brush that I have not identified.

Soil:  I installed one 4x8 bed over a bare spot.  I tilled about a foot deep with a shovel before adding my actual bedding fill on top of it.  The soil is very sandy.  It is white about a half inch, black about six inches, then turns reddish another six.  I can shape it into a ball, but it is still crumbly and dries fast.  In super heavy rain, the whole yard pools a quarter inch or so, then drains in less than an hour.  I have not determined anything else about water movement.

My basic idea is to start at the edge of the existing forest.  Maybe clear some brush and replace it.  Clear the existing companions around a tree or two and put in edibles. I want it to last after I leave, but I would like to see some benefit this year.  I want to use this to learn hands on.

I need suggestions on what to plant.  There is just too much information out there, and researching/obtaining some of the plants on various lists is a whole separate project.  I will keep researching, but I am hoping for quick wins.  If anyone knows the area/soil I am describing, your input will be most appreciated.

I added a satellite view for orientation reference.