Michael Davidson

Regarding the lay of my land; I have a 3% slope with an abrupt change to about 8% about halfway down in the northern direction.I am in central western Arkansas and am in zone 7a. We get around 50 inches of rain on average, and lows usually in the low teens during the worst months.

I have about 6.4 acres that slope downward from the southwest corner to the northeast corner. My 2 soil types are both sandy in composition and very well drained. I am clearing out a lot of eastern red cedar trees as I open up a predominantly pine forest with the intention of creating some pine/blueberry/strawberry guilds; and knowing in advance that decay will be slow, I still am going to incorporate them into hugelkultur beds in an effort to retain organic matter and increase water retention. My delimma is how to maximize water runoff retention without impeding air flow which would increase the chance for frost pockets. I am thinking in terms of beds running at an angle less than perpendicular to the terrain slope, but how much of an angle is the question. Does anyone have any experience with this or can anyone present me with any explainable advice?

I have about one and a quarter acres of native shortleaf and loblolly pines that are anywhere from 8 inches to 14 inches in diameter and fairly thickly established. I would like to thin them and interplant blueberries and strawberries to establish a guild. My concern/question is how much I should thin the pines to allow adequate sunlight penetration for the development of fruit by the berries. These pine species mature with about a 30 foot diameter canopy and may grow to be 90 - 100 feet tall. I am considering also growing an understory of red Mulberries but am concerned that they will cast too much aditional shade and hurt fruit production.