Chloe Bowie

I'm in Georgia, zone 8a and it's an annual tradition to hunt fiddleheads for an early spring foraged delicacy. However, I'm getting concerned about reports that the Ostrich Fern population is getting decimated since this delicacy has gotten popular.

Has anyone planted ostrich ferns on their property as a way to sustain the population and provide a way to harvest fiddleheads without hurting the ecosystem? Are there any special planting considerations? (besides shade and moist, like all ferns).

Thanks!

@scott, that sounds like a good idea for me. I've been planning on going ahead and starting to plant the area I've reclaimed, even though I'm not even close to reclaiming all of it. So a nursery might be a good start for now, and I can get it established while I work on the rest.

Eric Hanson wrote:Chloe,

Your land looks beautiful.  However, judging from the pictures you posted, it looks very shady as well.  Is it your plan to plant in the shady area or are you planning on thinning the trees a bit.

If you were going to thin the trees then I would say conserve your wood.  Perhaps you can use branches/trunks for building.  Maybe you could chip everything up and have lots of mulch.  But I would caution against burning.  I have learned over the years that wood is almost always valuable if viewed as a resource and there are plenty of people on Permies who wished they had more access to wood.

Just my thoughts, but I am curious if you plan to thin or plant in shade.  

Please keep us posted,

Eric

Hi Eric,

I'm planning to do a bit of both. I don't have the funds to clear it completely, And I'm kind of loathe to do so anyway. I'm going to split the difference and clear out a lot of the thinner/smaller trees to open up some more sunny areas, and work in herbs and ferns and shade friendly plants where the bigger trees are. So I'm particularly interested in understory plants that will be happy sharing the shade produced by some of the larger trees.

On the plus side, the soil looks lovely in the places I've dug. There's some of that red Georgia clay, but the years of having everything drop to the ground and decay in place have made some nice, rich hummus and not many places of straight clay. I'm feeling encouraged that I can make this area a haven for native plants, pollinators and edibles.

Mike Barkley wrote:Looks like a nice property Chloe. Welcome to permies. Your land seems to have some significant slope so I suggest marking the contours & taking a good look at the land from a water retention & conservation perspective. Try to figure out where swales will be most effective & maybe save some problems later.

I'm beginning to figure out where the water is going on the property. I stood outside in the last heavy rain and watched. There's some natural dry creekbeds where most of the water tends to run, and I'm hoping to introduce some natural rock to help keep the water going in that direction.

If I were making a swale, would I make it cross directly in the path of the water? I'm struggling with this concept and where to place them. I've also seen stories of catastropic failure of some of them. (catching too much water) and I want to make sure whatever I put in place is safe and effective.

@Scott Foster, Can you expand a bit on the nursery concept? I'm interested in the idea. Is it essentially buying a few plants, then nurturing them until they're big enough to take cuttings or propagate? I like this idea since I'm reclaiming the area a bit at a time, and it will probably take me a few years to even get to some areas.

Hi all!

I've got a new property here in Mid Georgia (lived here around 5 months) and I'm in the process of fighting a massive overgrowth and neglect on the back half acre or so. The entire property is about 2 acres, with a large front yard that I'd eventually like to make less monoculture-ish and a backyard that I'd like to keep pretty much as is, for the kids. The area I'm talking about is the far back yard, behind the poolhouse. It's a bit over half an acre of completely overgrown brush, with some trees mixed in and some downed trees towards the middle.  As I'm clearing the underbrush and making it usable, I'm also trying to make plans for making it a mini food forest, or at least a garden area with lots of potential food.

The area is about half an acre, square, mostly even sides. (I'm attaching photos). There are existing trees. Some are loblolly pines, some hardwoods. There is not currently the funds to remove those trees, and the lovely, tall mature trees will need to stay.  A lot of the smaller trees that I can down safely myself will be cut down. The area towards the middle is mostly sunny and unshaded. I'm considering 3ish fruit trees in the middle area.

I'd like to fill this area with edible perennials, as well as native pollinators. Eventually, I'd like to have bees in this area. We already have a chicken coop. I've found a source of ostrich ferns that I'd like to plant underneath some of the trees for fiddleheads next spring. I'm picking up some native rabbiteye blueberries as I see them and planting in groups of 3 (different types).

I want to remove some of the downed trees, but keep a couple and make some hugelkulture swales. (never done this before, advice welcome)

I'm not really sure where to go with the rest of it. I'd like to make some pathways, have some beds of shade-friendly herbs, maybe some additional trees.

What would you do with a similar space?