Hi! I have some property near a river basin on the south side of the property and along the side of this which has initially something like a 15% slope and then a 4% slope higher away from the basin. This area has clay soil in zone 7 and was planted in pines and should be timbered soon. Knowing this, I am trying to think of ways to make use of this space ideally with something edible. Plants in the flat portion of the river basin would need to be able to withstand a bit of flooding once or twice a year or if a hurricane came and so would not be suitable for livestock because of potential damage or grounding of fencing.
My goals are eventually to have some apple trees, grape vines, elderberries, blackberries, a garden, and one day later a cow. At least that is my dream even though it is far off.
I am trying to think of ways to fit these things and use what is usable of the river basin as well as the slope. My initial thought is that perhaps trees would be more suitable for a steeper slope, with the vines, etc being better for a lesser slope. But then that would put the trees more south than the vines and they may shadow the vines, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad because they would be growing starting at a lower elevation...
1. What is the recommended and maximum slope for orchard (apple trees) or vines (blackberries/grapes/elderberries)? And why is that recommended?
2. What would you recommend given the things I would love to do someday?
