Ludi's Projects 2019

Some of my goals for 2019:

1. More brush-damming https://permies.com/t/51421/Creek-repair-brush-dams

2. More rock-damming https://permies.com/t/53556/Creek-repair-rock-dams

3. Another Pollinator Habitat  https://permies.com/t/94376/permaculture-projects/Pollinator-Habitat-Project

4. Finish fencing the cemetery  https://permies.com/t/87862/ungarbage/Green-Family-Cemetery [completed]

5. Clean and replant frog pond [completed]

6. Plant native tree seeds

7. Extend house area perimeter fence

8. Grow as much food as I can in kitchen garden

9. Redesign front yard

10. Learn to graft [completed- successful Apple grafts]

Planted a few hundred tree seeds in the old ranch road and covered them with a protective layer of brush.  I've had some success simply tossing seeds into brush piles but I think they will have a better chance if I actually plant them in the soil.

Littleleaf Linden
Rusty Blackhaw
Mexican Buckeye
Osage Orange
Wafer Ash
American Persimmon

Grafted some Asian Persimmon which Wayne sent me onto Texas Persimmon.

I'm way behind on updates.  I hope I can get more up next weekend, but here's one of last week's projects, grafting an apple in the kitchen garden.  This is an Enterprise apple that wasn't doing much except surviving (it was the only survivor of four) so I decided to use it to practice grafting.  I top grafted it with itself, then added Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Goldrush and Akane side veneer grafts.  If even a couple of these grafts make it I will be thrilled.

I never succeeded at grafting, but haven't tried it much either. I hope you succeed.

I found texas persimmons at a local nursery so i picked up a couple. They are very different than the fuji and other persimmons. Leaf is different. Fuji seems single trunk, texas seems like multi trunked bush.

Your pics are similar to my project.  Im planting on a steep slope that borders the perimeter fence. A new sheep paddock will make this area a tree belt. Fenced off from sheep and cows. I was stoked to see several wild blackberry(dewberry) on the slope.  I planted texas persimmons and scattered branches around it for deer protection like you did. I then mulched the area wirh woodchips.

I found a native nursery in leander and am working a list of other trees i can plant on the rocky slope. Im hoping soapberry(i planted some of yours and hope they sprout)and mexican plum may work.

Wildflowers in the double fence perimeter.

Iris and Bluebonnets in the kitchen garden

Kitchen garden

Low Water Garden.  Pits filled with organic material and topped with clay soil sifted 50-50 with leaf mould.  Planted Mountain Pima Cristalino de Chihuahua and Lofthouse Harmony Grain corn this past week. Each pit received 5 gallons of rain water.

Lemon is covered in blossoms!

View of kitchen garden over the little frog pond:

All my persimmons leafed out. Any luck on the grafts?

No sign of life in the grafts but I think some of the extra sticks may be growing in a pot (I forgot to label them so they may be something else).  It may have just not been the right time of year to graft them, who knows.  

My trees will be bigger this year so let me know if you want to try again.

I now have texas persimmons and the other usa native one ( western?)  Along with the 2 Japanese ones.

The japanese leaves are so different than the texas one. I would pribably agree that they are too different to graft.

Taro in a half barrel:

Finally got my Bluegill for the aquaponics setup.  They seem to be doing fine, eating Red Wigglers with enthusiasm! Here's a screengrab from some under water footage that my husband took of them this morning:

Very productive week so far.  I planted a Persian Mulberry (purchased), two Figs (grown from cuttings), three Moringa (grown from seed), and seeds of Mayo Kama and Lofthouse Smallest Fruited Moschata Squash, Tohono O'odham and Lofthouse Tepary Beans, Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato, and Hopi Red Watermelon.  Also started working on the Banana circle for my 4 new Banana pups.

Weeded corn for the first time.  Good germination of all the corn, and it is growing strongly.  Planted squash around the edge and non-climbing Tepary Beans throughout.

Tropical Yam, Dioscorea alata, in the Kitchen Garden:

Landrace Tomatoes from Gilbert Fritz, direct seeded, blooming!

Nice direct seeded tomatos.  I think they are as far along as my transplants.

I thought all my Apple grafts had failed, but it looks like at least two and possibly three or more have made it - Goldrush and Honeycrisp.  I didn't get a good photo of the sprouting sticks, but here's a bad one:

Our old dog Izzie thought I was making a lovely soft compost bed just for her, but it is really a Banana Circle!

Bananas planted:  Grand Nain, Dwarf Cavendish, Dwarf Brazilian, Raja Puri

The deer aren't getting into the cemetery, so I don't need to double-fence it.  Wildflowers growing lushly in the soft earth:

Here's a better photo of Apple graft "Honeycrisp"

Tiny toad in the Kitchen Garden:

Big rainstorm with exciting flooding through our creek.  I'll post about that in the Creek Repair threads.

Everything is growing like mad.

Apple grafts are growing well, so I've begun to train them to a more horizontal position.

I've always loved Sedums and Sempervivums, so I planted a garden of them on a rock berm near a sitting area in the back yard.

The Hybrid Bluegill in my aquaponics system are becoming tame and rush into the feeding area whenever they see a human approach. These Bluegill are bred to be sport fish, so they are very feisty and strike dramatically at the food.  I'm feeding them mostly Red Wigglers, with some Pillbugs, BSF larvae and kitchen scraps like grated cheese, bread, and small bits of leftover cooked chicken.  We call them our pet Piranhas because they are so eager for food.  Growing fast and seem very healthy.

Working on holes and protective brush donuts for the Notre Dame Oaks.  https://permies.com/t/110107/Planting-Trees-Memory-Notre-Dame

Can you give details on your double fence . Looks like it  is working

Inner fence is 5 foot high reinforcing mesh, exterior fence is 4 foot high woven livestock fencing.  Fences are approximately four feet apart.  It's working great!  I wish I had done it years ago.

I think one could probably use just the shorter fencing, which would be cheaper I think, but the different heights may provide more deterrence to jumping attempts.

Corn tasseling

This one of Lofthouse Harmony Grain Maize is an amazing deep red

Direct-seeded Landrace Tomatoes from Gilbert Fritz are setting lots of fruit

Tatume Squash ready to harvest

Finished planting the frog pond.  I still have to beautify the surrounds but that is a separate large project.

Plants in the pond:

Louisiana Iris
Duck Potato
Watercress
Duck Weed
Two kinds of water weed
Chinese Water Chestnut
Lizard Tail

No longer in the pond - Cattails - the darn pests!  I have them elsewhere.

Beautiful!

I planted approximately 50 Bur Oak acorns in the "Oak Area" to honor Notre Dame Cathedral.  Acorns were stratified in damp sand in the fridge for a month until they germinated.  Here is one showing the tiny radicle sprouting: