Hello World!

Hi everyone- I'm in the middle of moving from the heart a very urban setting (Atlanta, GA) to a very small, urban-ish, setting (Chaffee County, CO). I've been having fun rewilding/permaculturing (is that a word?) our garden in Atlanta for several years and love it. Figs, blueberries, blackberries, ginger, daikon, horseradish, comfrey, strawberries, clover, tomatoes, okra, squash, various herbs, lavender, sunflowers, corn, and lots of perennials for pollinators have transformed this urban lawn into a tiny, fruitful tangle of wildness and wildlife. Now everything I know about what volunteers and grows happily in this environment is out the window as we relocate to a same-sized garden in a much higher, drier, small town setting.

I hope to have as much fun figuring it all out in high dry Colorado as I have had in steamy, hot Atlanta. I've learned that wild blackberry twigs stuck in a hillside will rapidly establish dominance and emerge everywhere (won't do that again!), that catering to pollinators makes for a very happy garden, that ground ivy is great in salads and never, ever goes away, and that birdseed-loving mice multiply much more rapidly than I anticipated. All good lessons, at least one of which is portable.

Our new home currently has a sprinkler system, a grass lawn, and one sad tree. That's gonna change!

Anyone out there who's making a go of small-scale permaculture at an arid 7,000 feet? I'd love to learn from/with you!

You could start by covering all that grass with cardboard and a thick layer of mulch. This will go a long way in cooling the ground and keeping it moist. Your quickest way to shade around Salida will be aspen trees, which grow very fast there, especially with your sprinkler system. Which would be better converted to a drip system because of your extreme evaporation rate. A small greenhouse would be a great idea because of the short growing season-can be reversed by utilizing the intense u.v. light at that altitude. An earthship type home would be ideal there of course.

Rubarb does well there as well as Chaffee county used to be known for having the best wheat in the country. Sugar beets do well also.

I guess you noticed by now they put a Natural Grocers in Salida. They are based in Denver and have stores all over Colorado. Prior to that it was Safeway or City Market in BV to choose from. Natural Grocers is a cut above I think.

Also check out the Little Red Hen Bakery, on Friday they make wood fired brick oven breads...

You also have to watch out for the deer in Salida because they are feeding right through the yards, and they love the young aspen trees!

Thanks, William! It's taken me a while to get back to this thread- unpacking and getting settled in has been my first priority. I've saved all of the cardboard from the move and am going to use it to start soil building once I clear the gravel farm that is our back garden. And, yes, to Natural Grocers! I've been riding my bike there to get groceries and am thrilled to have an alternative to Safeway. We walk to the farmer's market every Saturday, and love Mark the bread guy's miche and Bristle Cone Bakery's breads and pastries. We've enjoyed bread from the Little Red Hen a few times, too! Meanwhile, I've started a new thread over here: https://permies.com/t/191744/Starting-food-forest-small-town#1581441
Again, thanks for your insights...and...we've already gotten used to having deer bed down on our front lawn. They are really glad I stopped mowing and watering it, as it now gives them a very soft place to sleep. They fertilize it in return for the resting place! And of course, they are welcome until we fence our garden and start planting trees.

We made a wonderful visit to the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute some years ago.  That was fun and inspiring, we were fortunate in our timing to get a tour by the founder, Jerome Osentowski.  

They have lots of methods in practice.  One of my favorite was the use of a pond to make a warmer microclimate to the north of it.  So a pond, then a planting space to the north, then a wall or barrier of some sort to help trap the heat.

The variety of plant life they've established there is also fantastic. I'm not sure where you would find their plant list, but probably in one of the books written by Jerome.

Thank you, Kim! I've been reading about the Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, and watched a few videos about it. Also, I've taken copious notes from the Jerome Osentowski section of Gaia's Garden. So much helpful information there!!
I've started a new thread about what I'm attempting- https://permies.com/t/191744/Starting-food-forest-small-town  I'm wide open to any and all advice.