Daniel Riera

s. lowe wrote:I would use those cypress for sure. If you top, your mound with enough soil you'll be able to grow crops immediately, it with just take a couple years to realize the full benefits of hugeldom.
I would pile the cypress logs with woodchips and fill dirt to pack in any air holes, then top it with the nicest soil you can find and go forth into the world of hugel

That's what I was hoping to hear.  I would love to utilize hyper local materials.

Jennie Little wrote:I don’t know if this is new to you or not? We here in my small New England town have a brush pile, so I looked for something similar in SF. If you know about these folks, Apologies!

https://sfenvironment.org/compost-in-sf

Yes I haven't been there but will probably get some compost topsoil from them

Hi I'm based in the city of San Francisco and want to start a hugel in my backyard garden. I'm wondering if anyone can suggest where to find source material for free.

I have an a local arborist that can supply me with free logs and woodchips, the problem is it's all super fresh and I don't want to have to wait years to grow veggies.

There's a woodpile a few blocks down from me that seems up for grabs but it's all cypress. That's bad for hugels no?

Would all woodchips be bad? Would be easier for me to move by hand since you can't get a truck in my yard.

The hugel will be replacing the collection of pots in the photo. About 6'x6'x6' triangle

Thanks!

I have some big tree collards that grew from seed and while very abundant I don't like their taste as much as another dino kale that I grow. Can I graft onto the tree collard trunks? Any advice?

First squash of the season! These came from a volunteer seed from my worm bin so I'm not sure the variety. Maybe butternut? It's a big plant with a lot more buds on it.  Gonna grill them tonight!

Hi everyone. I've been working on setting up a permaculture style food forest in my SF backyard in the Ingleside district. I started volunteering on urban farms in the city three years ago to gain experience and finally got my own space last year, a dusty dirt lot that had cars rusting on it for decades. Since then I put wood chips down, started a compost pile and sowed everything in April.

People warned me my area is too foggy and cold to grow much but I've been pleasantly surprised at what I've been able to get; kale, arugula, tree collards, radishes, squash, strawberries, all kinds of herbs, opuntia, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, pepino dulce. I have a meyer lemon tree, kumquat tree and feijoa tree planted which so far have not produced.  I'm zone 10b so it never freezes but also never gets that hot.

I'd love to connect with other locals for advice and seed and plant exchange.

Just wanted to confirm you can successfully grow nopales from the immature ones you find in the grocery store.  Probably not the fastest method though. My plant is 5 levels tall now and it took four years. Still haven't harvested any fruit but I eat the green pencas all the time. This is in my San Francisco backyard.

My favorite method of preparing is to shave the spines off with my kitchen knife perpendicular to the paddle, it goes fast this way. Then I chop them into 1" squares and sautee with onions, tomato, oregano and chopped chicharrón. One of my all time favorite breakfasts! Some people blanche them first to remove the slime but I find just sauteeing them longer evaporates the slime just fine.  

When I was in Sicily recently opuntias were everywhere and I harvested some and made my dish for a few locals. They had never thought to eat the paddles before! I hope it catches on.