Brian Rumsey

This is awesome information. Thank you! Still no immediate plans to travel to the peninsula in short order but I aspire to get back before too long and these are fantastic ideas.

That sounds fantastic! Though I don't have any immediate plans to be in the Yucatan Peninsula, I do hope to return in the future. Mind if I add you on FB?

Laura Lubarov wrote:Hi, I'm currently building a small off-grid permaculture homestead in the jungle in Playa del Carmen. Right now it’s one big room built with concrete block, surrounded by raw jungle terrain. No kitchen or bathroom yet - those are the next steps. I'm working with a local architect and local contractor (everyone speaks Spanish, not English). If you'd like a chance to shape a blank-slate project from the ground up, or if you want to practice your Spanish, it could be a good fit. Otherwise, we could connect later when it's more developed (for example, the bathroom should be done in about 6 months). I'm going slow, but I'm getting there! haha.

You can email me at llubarov@gmail.com or send me a facebook message at https://www.facebook.com/llubarov/ if you'd like more info.

Fantastic ideas. Thank you!

Melissa Ferrin wrote:You can check here https://www.permacultura.org.mx/es/directorio/

And also https://www.facebook.com/groups/1441168369510743/   Facebook is very widely used in Mexico because the principal cell service provider made a deal with meta so Facebook and Whatsapp use is unlimited in all data plans.

Enjoy your trip!

I'm going to be in Yucatan for a few days in May and came here looking for insights on this question, so I'll reply to bump rather than start a new topic. Any one got recommendations of can't miss sites?

Hi Nathan! I'm thinking about a similar planting and am also in a midwest Zone 5. What did you land on as far as tree species for your coppice planting?

I've got Prok in northern Iowa, at the border between 4b and 5a. It was planted in 2019 and is doing great, looks like first crop of fruit this year (hoping they don't abort).

Thanks John -- the tower is well over 100 ft, so actually reaching that height is highly unlikely in the near term. Line of sight is indeed my priority. I don't actually have a house there -- it's open land about a mile and a half from my house. May perhaps build something eventually but it's not the immediate plan.

Thanks Mark -- that's definitely an idea worth considering.

I'm actually not really familiar with Paulownia. Looks very striking in some of the photos I googled. I see you are in N. Illinois so we should have similar conditions. Is it invasive there? If you grow it, does it do well for you?

I have recently purchased several acres of land (!!) that's mostly going to be for growing things. It has a cell tower near the north edge of the property. I'd like to plant trees that will help obscure the tower as well as possible. Since we're talking about the north side, shade isn't going to be a big issue. My criteria are (1) fast growing, tall final height (so fruit trees are mostly out), but not overly short-lived, (2) ideally productive of food or other useful products, and (3) not going to negatively affect the growth of other plants nearby. I'm in Iowa, where we have hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Below are some of my ideas -- I'm very curious about other suggestions people might have.

1. Cottonwood. These trees are very fast growing and I like their appearance. They don't produce usable crops that I'm aware of. I think they may draw so much water that things nearby might be affected.

2. Silver maple, especially the high sugar varieties. Fast growing but not as fast as cottonwood. I also like their appearance. Should produce sap that could be used for maple syrup. I'm not aware of issues affecting nearby plants.

3. Walnut. Relatively fast growing, nice looking, produce a usable crop, but juglone is going to be an issue.

4. Stone pine (Korean or Siberian). I don't know so much about these trees yet but like the cropping potential.

5. Oak (various varieties). These are some of the natural trees for this ecosystem. Not the fastest growing. May be possible to plant varieties with usable acorns.

6. Shagbark hickory. Another native for this ecosystem. Not sure about its growth speed. Possible usable crop.

7. Sycamore. Native to Iowa but not to this specific land. Fast growing. Nice looking. No known usable crops. No known negative impacts on other plants.