Sam Shade

J. Adams wrote:Willow leaves and branches were always a favorite. And our neighbor who had a rabbit rescue sanctuary loved getting armloads of weeping willow branches for her bunnies. Most willows grow back quickly and there are often native varieties in many locations.

If I can get my hindquarters in gear this summer,  I'm going to harvest as much tree hay as possible from my willows, mulberry, callery pear, elm and silver maple to see if I can get my rabbits off commercial feed in the winter.

Knowing bamboo,  even if it gets its own forum,  it will likely pop up in nearby forums.

Those look great. Where did you get them?

I'm dumping heaps of this stuff on my hugel mounds - great for filling in the cracks.  I'll report back on how things grow.  Planting kale and mallow.

Haven't seen wax myrtle mentioned yet.  Not fully edible but useful at least and evergreen at least down to zone 7.

That plus elaeagnus, pyracantha, hawthorn,  gooseberry and osage orange are part of my living hedge plans

I have tons of box elder and silver maple at my place in Memphis but nobody taps out here.  Need to educate myself

Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier. Opened my eyes to a hundred new possibilities.

Tree Crops by Russell Smith for big picture planning.

I'm considering  hedging in my front yard (primarily to keep the dog and possible future sheep in, but also to keep people out as I live in an urban area).

The challenge I have is that there are so many mature trees, including a gigantic oak, several massive loblolly pines and a handful of pecans with very wide canopies that there isn't the full sun environment.

I'm currently leaning towards Washington Hawthorn with pyracantha and gooseberries to fill in some of the shadier areas.

Hawthorn's primary selling point is that you can get seedlings from state nurseries for under $1 each.

Rico Loma wrote:Eric hits a bullseye,  right on the mark , Osage orange is a phenomenal tree.  Besides quality fuel, it has other superpowers

It's also known as bow wood, reputed to make perfect durable bows for indigenous cultures in the US. Tough, flexible,  almost like spring steel

All of the strange green fruit is useful, according to a farmer I know in the Blue Ridge of Virginia.  He says it can dry out in a barn or house attic and prevent insects and critters..... flying squirrels,  mice, red squirrels........from living indoors.   Two or three years of prevention, amazing how our natural world offers gifts every day

If it can deter roaches my daughters will love it for life.

I haven't seen anyone mention cherry. I have a lot of black cherries and chokecherries on my land - I tend not to like them because the foliage isn't useful as goat fodder. But they make excellent firewood. Beautiful wood too. And they respond well to pollarding.

Along with mulberry, it supplies my modest firewood needs.