Question for Backyard Growers

Question for urban farmers and growers with smaller spaces -

What do you want to see more information about on Permies?  

What are some of the challenges you face in your growing endeavors?

I'd love to see folks learning more about season extension,  using more of their organic waste in a closed urban system,  and really like to see some succession planting in conjunction with how to do that in polyculture!    And maybe some perennial/tree plannings made specifically for smaller urban or suburban folks.  

Neighbors and resale values are a real concern in living close to "conventional" folks as well,  anything we can do to keep the peace and/or/while educating is helpful.

Some support for implementing "pieces" of permaculture design without feeling like we need to go "all in" with a huge in depth design revamp in one go.   Nothing wrong with that, but I suspect it stops a lot of overwhelmed folks from dabbling and learning as they go!

Because my urban space is limited, I'm really interested in zone4 fruit and nuts I can grow that are self-fertile. I don't have room to plant two of everything!

I also am in a constant battle with urban critters--rabbits, birds, very aggressive squirrels--and I often lose. I have never gotten a single nut from my hazelnut because the squirrels strip them before the nuts are al the way ripe. And this year my one grapevine that has never been bothered by anyone was stripped of grapes in a day by a swarm of sparrows. So I'm always interested in how to deter the critters!

And as Heather said, also interested in season extension and succession planting in a polyculture. Everything in my garden is interplanted so I don't have a single bed I can dedicate to overwintering. Or maybe that's something I can plan for but don't know how?

Producing large quantities of compost or mulch is challenging for single or couple city dwellers, especially like myself who have recently started a transformation in a yard.

Water harvesting is something I have been looking into, as it requires a lot of infrastructure investment, and possibly permits for building structures. Most of what I have been reading about ponds and catchment systems is scaled for large spaces. I have ideas, but not a design so to speak...

Terracing for street facing steep slopes is also something I am interested in learning more about.

Heather Staas wrote:
I'd love to see folks learning more about season extension,  using more of their organic waste in a closed urban system,  and really like to see some succession planting in conjunction with how to do that in polyculture!    And maybe some perennial/tree plannings made specifically for smaller urban or suburban folks.  

Neighbors and resale values are a real concern in living close to "conventional" folks as well,  anything we can do to keep the peace and/or/while educating is helpful.

Some support for implementing "pieces" of permaculture design without feeling like we need to go "all in" with a huge in depth design revamp in one go.   Nothing wrong with that, but I suspect it stops a lot of overwhelmed folks from dabbling and learning as they go!

This!

Been working on this myself for years in my own backyard. I've got a mix of raised beds mainly used for growing annual food crops and then the perimeter which is my "food forest" and incorporates fruit trees, bushes, asparagus, strawberries, and other perennial crops. It's a challenge to do all this in a small space without it looking too "foresty" or messy. But a fun challenge!

Im 10 years in on this house, so most of it's sorted, but the things I could have used the most help with were water catchment/storage, composting, mulch, and tree pruning (because of size limitations), smaller-scale compost tea and fertilizer production.

Additional issues are snail/slug control (not enough space for ducks here), urban pests (rats, feral cats).

When we had an urban lot, I was interested in how to grow as much as possible in a small space.

That is how I became interested in square-foot gardening.

After finding the forums, I became interested in bio-intensive gardening.

I feel learning more about these techniques would benefit the backyard gardener.

Season extension by starting indoors under lights, cold frames, small hoop houses (not walk-in), and choice of fruits and vegetables for cold tolerance.

Recommended varieties for cold weather and small spaces.

Suggestions aimed at transient gardeners who move too often for long term investment in in-ground perennial food forests, such as growing in large movable containers.

Pest control, especially non-insects pests such as mice, rats, voles, moles, snails, slugs, and birds. A healthy organic garden with plenty of predator insects can usually keep insect damage under control, but that won't deter mammals and birds.

And throughout discussion of all topics, recognition that most urban/small town gardeners have to follow the local rules, rather than hoping not to be noticed. That eliminates many of the approaches used in more rural areas, farther from neighbors and prying eyes.

Dealing with lead tainted soil.

Brent Bowden wrote:Producing large quantities of compost or mulch is challenging for single or couple city dwellers, especially like myself who have recently started a transformation in a yard.

I'd like to correct myself, because yesterday I saw people had piled leaves out on the street. So I collected two truckloads. One guy even came out and handed me $20! I tried to refuse, but he insisted!

The fencing is actually the gates for my yard that weren't attached anyway, so I tied them with wire.

Nature provides!

Things to look for when inheriting, restoring, or replanting a property with a lot of mature trees and plants.

Tips for cleaning up or restoring a garden area, old greenhouses, overgrown trees.

I've asked and figured out a lot of this stuff, but it probably would have been helpful earlier.

More on the whys and hows of soil testing.

And also what others have already said.

My 'backyard' garden is actually an appartment terrace. I'm learning how to grow in this harsh conditions.
It took me several years to realize that wind is a killer here. Too much exposure to direct sun is another. Since we didn't know what was wrong with our plants, we ended up overirrigating, which turns out to be the wrong answer.
Probably because most guides I read were not made for my specific climate and specific location, I followed generic (and wrong!) advice.

So, I'd include the specifics of growing in pots in a windy terrace or balcony.