Hello from Colorado

Hello everyone! I’ve lurked on Permies for a long time now. Now that I’m starting out on my land, I thought I should start to participate. A couple of months ago, I spoke with Paul about all the challenges I face. He recorded and posted the conversation as two podcasts: Podcast 576 and Podcast 577. This is the consultation document that we discuss with all the details and pictures.

The short version is that I have 36 acres of treeless desert at 8000 feet in the North end of the San Luis Valley. I want to turn two or three acres into a food forest and eventually have a grazing area for sheep or goats. The land was a horse pasture, but has been left alone for many years so there aren’t any chemical herbicides, pesticides, etc. in the soil. I don’t have soil and calling what I have dirt is generous. It’s mostly rocks! The closest “city” is Salida, Colorado with about 6,000 people, and I’m about three hours from Denver. 12 inches of rain is about average with 300 days of sunshine. The wind is gusty from all directions and can be incessant; I saw snowy dust devils for the first time today. The last frost date is mid-June and the first is mid-September. It’s a short growing season! In addition to the fruits and vegetables I’ll be growing outside, I’ll be building greenhouses to grow citrus and tropical plants.

Shortly after I spoke with Paul, I planted 13 apple trees from Montezuma Orchard Rescue Project. There are eight varieties, all historically grown in Colorado. I also want to plant pear, apricot, and walnut trees this spring.  Eventually there will be more diversity, but I’m trying to be reasonable about what I can accomplish. The walnut trees will be planted in front of the house by the shed to provide shade. I won’t try to grow anything else around them, and eventually I hope to have a pig pen out there. There is a place where the shed roof water will be directed so maybe eventually they will gley a pond. With shady walnut trees, I might actually be able to stop it from evaporating immediately.

Paul suggested that I construct a 30 foot wide and 15 feet tall berm around a portion of the land. It would be very effective in helping break the wind and manage water. It would require significant earth moving though, which isn’t going to happen any time soon. So I’m building a hugel around the apple trees to provide something of a wind break and water sponge. I’ll be planting perennials like berries and asparagus on it eventually, but this first year will probably be Nitrogen fixing annuals and cover crops. I’ll write more about that on the Hugel forums though.

The mouse problem was also part of the conversation. They are everywhere. They were nesting under my water pressure tank so I replaced the shed and got rid of all of the fiberglass insulation soaked with mouse excrement. I was surprised recently when my two city dogs actually caught and killed some mice like Paul said they could. The mice had been trapped in a bucket and I dumped it out right in front of them. So I just need to make it easy and they’ll help. Here’s Stella playing with the corpse of her victim.

A little while ago there was frost on the mulch around the trees in the morning. It has been freezing overnight for a while now, but this was the first time the frost stuck around. There was snow this morning. It’s going to be interesting to see how much moisture I get this winter. Below is a Summer Rambo with a tree guard, a thick layer of organic hay, and an anti-deer cage. I haven’t had any deer problems yet; I actually see more pronghorn.
There is so much to do! I’m looking forward to learning from the community and starting to share my progress.

Hello there from the southern front range! My wife and I looked at property down there   and I definitely understand your challenges! We are on year 4 and have learned a lot and going progress! This year seems to be the year of Perma culture. And trying to find easier ways to do hugles and swales. Truly amazing watching the soil composition change over time! Wind blocks and chicken tractors (actually just wrapped up the tractor this morning!) Still trying to get more tress going. Life is good and keep up the good fight!

Thanks for the great Colorado inspiration! And for the links. I want to support heritage orchard varieties for my SW Colorado location and now I know how!

First swales! Far from done though

Interesting. Please keep us posted on the progress and swales.

I listened to those podcasts with great interest and would like to know how you are coming along. Awesome job on the swales. For your food forest, I recommend you start with tough nitrogen fixers and try to get those to survive first, before getting any other fruit or nut trees. A mix of honey locusts, black locusts, siberian pea shrubs, curl leaf mahogany, sagebrush and russian olives should do the trick. You get those seeds in bulk and stratify them easily. Then just pay attention to the weather, and plant them before a rainy day. This will save you a ton of money. Mark Sheppard recommends pinyon pine for this climate. I would plan on that being your backbone tree, but they need a nurse plant to survive. This could be your nitrogen fixers or you could use rabbitbrush or four wing saltbush (this one for obviously salty areas). Another edible tree is siberian elm which edible leaves and seeds, grows quickly, drought resistant, and already grows all over the southwest.