~ Starting a small food forest in South Texas~

Good day to all!

I have been wanting to start a small food forest but have very little hands on experience. I have watched many videos on Permaculture and Back To Eden gardening methods. I had also attended a small Permaculture internship last Summer. I just wanted to ask for any advice and input on how to truly begin on this journey. I know woodchips are a fantastic way to help gradually rebuild soil, but finding tree services that are willing to travel ( especially during a time like this ) can be a bit challenging. I have also come across a few who say that the Back To Eden method so not work so well in South Texas, is this true? What sort of methods work for semi - arid climates like South Texas? The food forests focus would be primarily fruits and herbs. Thank you very much for reading this post. Stay safe during these changing times!

Water infiltration
Basins/Swales
Berms on Contour/Mulch
Worm holes/Root holes/Rodent holes
Drip Irrigation

Nutrients
Soil life
Nitrogen fixers
Compost/Mulch/Biochar
Rock Dust/Sea-90

Support Species
Cover Crop
Legume+Mint+Onion+Carrot Family
Vegetables

Species/Cultivar Selection
Plant 4 seeds, kill the 3 weakest
Graft a named cultivar on the surviving one.
But maybe you just want alot of dwarf fruit trees in which case just buy what you like, that likes your soil and climate, and soil life.

Water is the single most important resource for a South Texas food forest, so before you plant, be sure to shape your land for maximum water catchment.  Basins seem to work better than swales in a small space, though both are useful, especially if diversion swales are used to bring extra runoff into the forest space.

I can't possibly recommend this book highly enough: Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2 by Brad Lancaster  https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

It is vitally important to create a water retentive landscape before planting.  If some planting has already been done, a water retentive landscape can be created by bringing in soil or mulch and building berms on top of the existing soil.  The idea is to keep rain from running off.

https://www.permaculturenews.org/2013/08/08/water-retention-landscape-techniques-for-farm-and-garden/

Thank you both for your great advice!~ We haven't mulched or planted anything as of yet which gives us time to read and contour the land! I will definitely look into Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2. Thank you for your recommendation Ryan!

Where in south Texas are you? I’m in zone 10a and is trying to do a permaculture food forest  too.  keeping plants watered is our biggest obstacle at the moment, we have access to water but can’t find time to water our trees as often as they need, thankfully only one tree have died so far but others are struggling  

Shade is essential in South Texas.  Be sure to plant plenty of support species such as Leadtree, Esperanza, and Moringa. Black eyed Peas and Mung Beans are working well for me as short-term groundcover legume support species. It's important to plant these at the same time or before you plant your fruit trees.  Lots of mulch is also necessary to cool the soil and prevent evaporation of the irrigation water.

Anna Shivadecker wrote:I have also come across a few who say that the Back To Eden method so not work so well in South Texas, is this true?

I disagree with this.  The movie shows the results people are getting in a very low water area in California, and there are people in all other parts of the country using it was well.  It's very easy to test for yourself and you can do it without large amounts of wood chips to see if it works for you.  Just use a foot or so of wood chips on a smaller area.  I think you will be convinced.

What I would suggest is getting native varieties or at least varieties that are grown in your area.

This is a native plum tree:  Prunus angustifolia

Cultivated by the Chickasaw Indians and other indigenous peoples before the arrival of Europeans. This plum is eaten fresh and made into jellies and preserves.

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/plum


This thread has suggestion on different methods for drought conditions.  They work in normal situation too.

https://permies.com/t/138768/Water-Plants-Trees-Drought-Conditions


When I look for varieties I always look for drought resistant

If you like rosemary and lavender, mine do great with little water..

I'm more CenTex than south, but I agree with the water catchment & retention being a priority.
Wood chips have been great for holding water in the soil, but, in my gardens, I've found the soil needs to either have some moisture in it before I put down 8-10 inches of chips, or I need one of those slow, all day/night rains that are able to soak through the chips to the soil. Lately, we've only been getting the short/fast storms that will soak the first few inches of chips, then evaporate the next day when the sun comes out. In areas where I mixed some rabbit manure with the wood chips it seems to be more effective at holding water longer. I've also buried pieces of wood (from big sticks up to logs in size) in the forest & annual gardens, which has helped the plants/trees close enough to access the water they hold.
As Tyler (whose advice I find very helpful and follow often) said, shade can make a huge difference in surviving vs thriving. Even the things that are supposed to love the sun/heat tend to do much better with a little shade from 2-5 PM in the summer.
Ultimately, time has been the biggest factor. When I began the forest and kitchen gardens last year at my new homesite, I just had sandy dirt to work with when I planted the trees, shrubs, and annuals, which I covered with a deep layer of wood chips and rabbit manure. Even with the mulch I had to water the annuals every other day and the trees every 4-5 days; and still lost some things to the heat & terrible pest pressure (especially aphids). This year I haven't had to water the existing perennials at all, and only the new shrubs & annuals for a while after planting as they got established. The aphids barely got started before the ladybugs showed up and started having feasts and orgies. Toads, frogs, skinks, and brown snakes come out each evening, so the only pest that's been persistent is the little spotted cabbage beetles (though I expect to see the squash bugs any day now). But, for the most part it's been a much better functioning system. I haven't been able to get any more loads of wood chips since last fall, so I've been trying to cut weeds from the fields before they set seed, which has been time consuming, but most of the new things in the forest garden this year were planted specifically for the ability to grow fast & rebound from getting cut, so I hope it will be easier to cut my own mulch once they get going.

Good luck with your new garden and please keep us updated on your progress!

Hi Anna, I’m in West Texas zone 8a, and I started my Back to Eden / permaculture journey back in November. I’ve received 15 loads of wood chips so far from two local arborists. As KC pointed out, the thicker the chip layer, the more rain you’ll need for it to reach the soil. I’ve been experimenting with diverting rainwater from my roof into hand dug “swales”. On the swale berms are where I’ve been planting the bulk of my food forest trees. I’ve also been experimenting with Hügelkultur, and it seems to be working well so far. You’re welcome to check out my YouTube channel where I’ve been documenting my experiences. I hope you find some useful info.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCx7MYRIrq82_NJuZ31TXqRA

You might want to try growing lablab. It's an annual warm season vining legume that does really well with hot dry weather. It can help by adding lots of biomass and nitrogen to the soil. It also is great food for wildlife like deer and is a common species used by hunters to plant food plots to attract game among other uses.

I live in Zone 9 and found all replies to the post very helpful. Wood chips were mentioned by several folks. My fiancé in East Texas uses pine straw around the garden. I'm considering doing the same. Has anyone else used pine straw instead of wood chips?

P.S. Bueno wrote:I live in Zone 9 and found all replies to the post very helpful. Wood chips were mentioned by several folks. My fiancé in East Texas uses pine straw around the garden. I'm considering doing the same. Has anyone else used pine straw instead of wood chips?

Pine straw will shade the soil and reduce evaporation, but it won't condition the soil the way wood chips will. The latter will support fungal growth and earthworms much more than the former. I guess it's probably the greater mass of carbon in the wood chips --- pine straw mulch is mostly air.