Urban permaculture project San Antonio Texas

Replanted this area, moving the roses from their vulnerable place away from the house to this more protected spot.  So far the deer has not approached this close to the house.

I extended the fencing around all of the raised beds in the backyard.  Not much planted in these beds yet: Some sweet potatoes, mung beans for green manure, tawny daylilies.

The beds are under this big oak tree.

I love the work you are doing.  I am currently in San Antonio, still a beginner and sponge for information and knowledge.  It is always great to see examples of permaculture in action in the city.  

I'm so glad!  I'm definitely learning as I'm going, making lots of crazy experiments (Papaya, Cassava, tropical Passionfruit, Natal Plum from seed).  I love working in this urban space.  Eventually I hope to expand out with guerilla food forestry in the adjacent green belt.  It could be such a beautiful neighborhood park if cared for.

I'm thinking of commandeering this sunny patch of easement for corn and squash:

Here's an area of the flood channel/green belt that I'm beginning to clear for guerilla food forestry.  It is overgrown with Chinese Privet/Ligustrum, although there are a few desirable trees such as Loquat and Mountain Laurel.  I plan to remove at least half the Privet and pollard the remainder to allow more sun into this very shady place.  

Using sticks from the greenbelt behind the house, I made this rustic fence to keep deer from eating the dooryard garden roses.  Now maybe they will finally have a chance to grow!

Building a brush berm to protect the guerilla food forest from floodwaters from the creek.  Berm made of Privet trees I'm removing, anchored by stakes.

Recent photos from the project:

Established the full length of the brush berm.  Now I just need to finish staking and reinforcing it.

The Southernmost part of the guerilla food forest is ready to begin planting.

Adding material to these dead hedges to help block the neighbors' view of the apartments across the creek.

My guerilla food forestry project has expanded to become guerilla forestry of the greenbelt.  I've decided to try to at least begin restoring this drainage channel so it can become a neighborhood park.

I've started by cleaning the trash, and so far have worked my way up to this extremely daunting area. Once I have removed the trash, I hope to begin installing discreet obstructions to de-energize the flood water and begin healing the eroded creek channel.

Reworking a couple vegetable beds.  Dug them out, put in some rotten wood, and covered with soil sifted with leaf mould.  Planted to cover crop of Mung Beans.  

One of my big tasks is trying to clean up the green belt behind my dad's house and the adjacent neighbors' houses.  I'm trying to build dead hedges to keep more trash from flowing down into the green belt.  Here's a before and after of one major area:

Planted this herb garden in my dad's yard along the walk to the front door, reducing the lawn some more. Then I fell while exercising and sprained my left hand, so I've had to be a one handed gardener for a few days.  Makes me appreciate full mobility more, that's for sure!

Planted about 40 Tall Bearded Iris amongst the Agave along the north border of the front yard food forest, and mulched.  This finishes the edge on the neighbor's side.

Added this Improved Dwarf Meyer Lemon to the front yard food forest. Young Moringa trees in the background.

Cory Ray wrote:Are you aware that the city offers free wood chip mulch? Might be useful to y'all. There are two locations but I've only gone to the Nelson Gardens Recycling Center. Only downside is there's often bits of plastic or other trash mixed in

Any idea how large this mulch is? We got some from the city of New Braunfels but there were huge chunks in it... which didn't quite work for our walkways we used it for since I like to meander around barefoot! It's alright for the gardens, I suppose, but I still find the big chunks to be a nuisance at times even then.

Also, Tyler, thank you so much for sharing! I'm mostly in the learning stage for permaculture and this project of yours is definitely teaching me a lot. Do you know of any resources I can use to help me become more acquainted with native and edible perennials that do well in this area? I've been 'hired' by my mom to redo her beds in the front (and back!) yard, granted it may not get done for awhile because I feel I have so much to learn still and touching the front yard in a suburban neighborhood frightens me, since it has to be presentable. I'm glad that when the time comes, I'll always have your dad's yard to refer to. Thank you, again!

Sadly, my dad's yard is proving to be a difficult, perhaps impossible place for me to grow much food.  This morning I came out to find the lovely healthy Fig tree, which even had figs on it, had been mutilated by a buck deer rubbing his antlers on it.  He has also severely damaged some Moringa trees in the yard.  

A couple of good resources for native and naturalized edibles are Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest by Delena Tull, and https://www.foragingtexas.com/

Deer damaged the biggest Moringa.  

The city will be installing sidewalks on my dad's street, so I am having to remove the entire front pollinator garden. I'm taking the plants and improved topsoil to my friend's big old yard.
Very sad about having to dismantle this garden, but it will be safer for people to not have to walk in the street.

Tyler Ludens wrote:The city will be installing sidewalks on my dad's street, so I am having to remove the entire front pollinator garden. I'm taking the plants and improved topsoil to my friend's big old yard.
Very sad about having to dismantle this garden, but it will be safer for people to not have to walk in the street.

Oh man! What a pity this happened just as you were working so hard on his yard. If only they had done it a year or two sooner!

As a permaculture project this has not been a success.  The deer and the city have continually thwarted my efforts.  The next door neighbor told me the city told her they plan to "clear out" the greenbelt, apparently to eventually remove Trash Hoover Dam.  So I've transplanted the figs I put in the easement behind my dad's house, moving them to my own garden at home.  I'm also moving some pineapple guavas from the front yard to my food forest at home, replacing them with flowering shrubs.  There are still a lot of culinary herbs in the yard, and I may later add in some familiar edibles that aren't especially attractive to deer, such as tomatoes and eggplant.

The pollinator garden has been a tremendous success in spite of the sidewalk installation. Many plants volunteered to grow back on their own.

The Moringa trees are thriving, having even survived the Big Texas Freeze.

This property was sold last year. The new owners plan to change the yard substantially, so I’m not sure what will remain of my efforts. But that’s ok. We sold to someone whose dream house this had been for years, and she loves living there, so I’m very happy with how things turned out. Every garden is a learning experience.

Hello Tyler!

What did you think of the Improved Meyer Lemon?
I am in south Louisiana and purchased and planted one this winter.
The only Meyer Lemons I know of that produce very well are the previous, plain Meyer Lemons (as far as I understand from the gardeners who share with us).
Your pollinator garden is really lovely. I hope the new homeowner has built upon what you started.

Do you have an HOA or any city entity to contend with? Great job so far!

Are you still active in permaculture in san antonio?