Alexander Gomez

Excellent videos, Im instantly sold on hugelkultur. The 2 main sources of organic matter i have are horse poop and creosote would these provide decent structure for a hugelkultur? I would probably have to let it "cook" for a few weeks but im just wondering if would be suitable? There are also lots of cottonwoods in the riverbed, im pretty sure they are invasive could i trim these trees legaly and use the wood for hugelkultur(not my property, pretty sure its owned by the county)?

Hugel culture is good for cooler more humid climates. but what I've read and seen is unless you have lots of water to go through at first then maybe consider filling trenches with logs so it would look more like a swale it would serve the same function as both

Gray Henon wrote:Not trees, but nitrogen fixing corn has gained some attention.

https://news.wisc.edu/corn-that-acquires-its-own-nitrogen-identified-reducing-need-for-fertilizer/

GMO scientists are probably hard at work splicing this trait into commercial varieties.

Very interesting. I wonder if these corn varieties would be able to adapt to the dry southwest region. or if they could work in san Diego area

I would have figured it would be more simple because of fruit salad trees where theres 5 fruits in one tree. but is there any nitrogen fixing tree that would take to a fruit tree

Geoff Lawton mentions that when starting a food forest you should plant about 90% pioneer, n-fixing and support species with about 10% food species. But what about planting 100% support species and from there once the soil is sufficiently replenished the roots would already established. After that you would chop and drop  or coppice then you would graft on any fruit, nut or medicine trees to an already established rootstock. plus i would reason that the roots of any leguminous trees would feed the the fruit nitrogen. Is this reasonable I am speculating for a food forest I want to experiment with starting this winter. this will be my first attempt at a food forest well so any knowledge helps

Update. Just bought a sweet potato from the grocery store  and planted the slips. They are growing well. I'm not looking for a harvest just to see if they can grow before the frosts of January. I have 6 tomatoes giving fruit. With 9 on the way to ripening. the bell peppers I planted arent doing so well as the irrigation over there broke

For garden beds perhaps you should look into depressed garden beds. These are gardens that are sunken into the ground. you'd also want to mulch. Alongside plants like squashes to shade out the ground and keep in moisture. if you plan on putting in trees you'll need something to shade the ground in the meantime. Zai pits would be something to consider. Along with other things swales might be useful but also terracing any hills

Thanks for bringing  this up.  We are the solution. As you might know, penguins and other marine predators feed on anchovies and sardines. These fish are caught and shipped all over the world  to be turned into fishmeal. But I saw a video of a man who raises black soldier flies on a commercial scale to replace anchovies as the protein source in fish feed. The black soldier flies feed on restaurant waste and brewery waste. By supporting farms who use alternatives to like black soldier flies to feed their fish we can also reduce the pressure on fish stock while providing revenue to farmers

You could easily make a pig pen with a deep litter system. if you dedicate a 60ft square shed you could more than make enough grain fodder.  Pigs are an animal that can do well on 100 percent of their diet as fodder. But I would supplement with veggies and commercial  grain. Here is a list of a bunch of grains with different applications for fodder

Alfalfa
 Alfalfa is a highly palatable legume that has been grown as livestock feed since the fourth century. It is valued for its high nutritional quality and is an excellent source of essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Hydroponically grown alfalfa fodder is more digestible than its field-grown, dried hay counterpart, increasing feed efficiency and reducing the need for concentrates.
 
Barley
 Barley is a cereal grain that is commonly used in the finishing rations of cattle in the United States and Canada. These sprouts are high in protein and fiber, and are naturally balanced in protein, fat and energy. Compared to corn, barley fodder has 95% of the energy and higher digestibility. Barley fodder is one of the most nutritious sprouts and is full of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Feeding barley fodder will improve the overall health and wellbeing of your animals

Millet
 Millet is a grass that is rich in B vitamins and high in fiber. It has been grown as a staple feed for thousands of years and is one of the world's most important cereal crops. Millet fodder sprouts are highly digestible and nutritious. They are high in minerals and essential amino acids. Millet is similar to corn and is low in protein compared to other feedstuffs. Millet is also fairly starchy. It is commonly mixed with other seeds, such as oat or barley, to provide a more complete ration.
 
Oat
 Oat is a cereal grain that is one of the most important sources of livestock and animal feed in the world. It is commonly fed to horses and ruminants due to its excellent nutritional qualities that aid with maintaining optimal rumen and hindgut function. Hydroponically grown oat fodder is high in fiber and low in starch, making it an easily digestible feed. Oat is also rich in nutrients and essential minerals and is one of the richest sources of protein compared to other feedstuffs.
 
Read wheat
 This cereal grain has garnered attention over the last couple of years as an alternative to feedstuffs with fluctuating prices that are used in livestock rations, such as corn. When grown hydroponically, red wheat fodder has many nutritional advantages. Of all the classes of wheat available in the United States, red wheat has the highest protein composition. It is also high in energy and the starches in wheat ferment quickly in ruminant digestion.
 
Ryegrass
 Ryegrass is a highly palatable and protein-rich grass that is grown primarily for pasture and silage. It is valued for its high nutrient composition and digestibility. Due to its excellent nutritional quality it is commonly used as pasture for lactating dairy cows. Sprouted ryegrass fodder contains many of the same benefits of its more mature, pasture-grown counterpart and the feed value of ryegrass fodder is highly comparable to corn.
 
Sorghum
 Sorghum is a grass that is rich in antioxidants and high in fat. There are numerous varieties of sorghum and it is grown all over the world as a staple for humans and livestock. In the United States, sorghum is grown primarily for its grains that are used in livestock rations. Hydroponically grown sorghum fodder has many nutritional advantages and, in fodder production, it is commonly used as a supplement to provide more fat.

I copied and pasted from a website. sorry for how wordy it is

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll start more with sweeter crops like bell peppers and I might grow a mix of things. I had originally thought that I should focus more on what I need to with variety coming second

Thanks for replying. I've also been doing research on google. I want to grow at least 50% of what  I eat and I feel like if I included eggs in my diet it would allow more garden space for other foods. I also read once about grafting tomatoes onto potato plants to double production

Do you have any more suggestions on greens I could grow. I think peppers are high in vitamin c and spinach is high in iron.