Michael Gray

Fencing the property to keep in large animals is not really in the budget, but poultry is definitely going to happen. I guess for now working on zone 1 is the priority, along with utilizing the heavy shade of the forest and heavy rains for growing mushrooms. Your point about being limited by labor, resources, etc is definitely a valid one, so I will focus more on what can be done within my limits.

Hi I'm in Louisiana zone 8a, I get 64" of rain annually and my land is mostly flat/bumpy with lots of low spots that hold water when it rains. I have a good bit of lawn, some 10 year regrowth (mostly wisteria and privet with pine and oak), and a lot of what appears to be much older regrowth. This was once prime farmland. It is now a mix of oaks, sweetgum, pine, magnolia, Chinese tallow, a few pecans... The wild edibles i have found are the pecans, a lot of chanterelles mid summer, elderberries and blackberries on the forest edge, and wild muscadines everywhere.
So my question is, if I am wanting to make the most income off of this land with least impact, what should I do? I know I can grow mushrooms under the closed canopy and maybe some shade lovers, but would I do better to start cutting trees and replanting with a more edible over story like more pecans and other nuts? We have discussed having a timber company come out so we can get a little more start up money and also have some more garden/orchard space, but I find the idea of cutting down trees ethically questionable (except for the tallow trees which are impossible to get rid of). I also don't trust the timber company to tread lightly on my land!
So does anybody have any ideas? I know that I already have enough cleared space to grow all my food and a little more.. But how can I utilize the rest of this land without harming it? Do I just leave it alone? What coul be grown under a fully closed canopy that has real economic value?
One thought I have is to cut a few clearings here and there with paths branching out from the house to the various clearings, creating many different edges, or I could just cut into the edge at points making a more wavy forest edge with little inlets. Any input is much valued, as I am learning this on my own at this point!
Here is a pic of my property

John Elliott wrote:Welcome to Permies Michael!

If you want the loquat to bear fruit, you are going to have to plant it in a protected area, like on the south side of a wall. Loquats will make it through a zone 8 winter just fine, but if the temperature drops below 27F during the couple of weeks after blooming that the fruit start to form, the fruit won't make it. I'm also in zone 8 and they have two huge loquat trees at the local library that bear nicely, much better than the little tree in my yard. They are sitting in a south-facing nook of the two-story building and that is all the microclimate they need to be good producers. Maybe I need to relocate my tree to a similarly sheltered location.

Thanks for the tip!

Hi there!
I'll try to make this quick! I am pretty inexperienced, but have been researching permaculture for the past 2 1/2 years or so, but without anywhere to practice it. I went WWOOFing with my fiancé this summer to try and get my hands dirty, but was in a car accident before we got to the first farm that left me unable to do much due to pre-existing back problems that were then and are now exacerbated. Not to mention our car was totaled and then the truck we had shipped up to us ended up needing $800 in transmission work. Between all this and me now having to deal with about 6 visits to physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy every week, we decided it would be best just to come back home.

Anyway, right around the time we get back, somebody burns my grandmother's neighbor's house down and since my grandmother was no longer living there, we were told we could move in to keep an eye on the place!
Now we have about 7 acres of mostly flat land with occasional low and high spots, but no real slopes or hills. All of it was heavily farmed about 60 years ago, and now about 5 acres are regrowth of a mix of mostly pine, oak, sweetgum, and Chinese tallow. Throughout, there is dense undergrowth of Chinese privet and wisteria vines, which are out of control. There is also some poison ivy, but nothing insane!

Some of the goodies we have found:
1. Chantelle mushrooms everywhere in the lawn and wooded areas
2. Wild Elderberries
3. Two fig trees
4. A "cookin' pear" tree
5. Wild muscadines... And lots of them! Though mostly too high to reach, some of the vines we have found are bigger around than my arm!

I've already installed an asparagus bed, and have a loquat and two blueberry bushes to be planted. Plus lots of herbs in planters on the porch! I really want to grow lots of mushroom logs under the full shade of the forest canopy! I'm zone 8, but im more on the northern side of that so I need to plan for it to be on the colder side. I also get almost tropical rainfall here.

Anyway I don't want to drag this out too long, just wanted to give an idea of what I'm working with! I've been an active reader of these forums for quite a while now, so it's great to finally be a member! If anyone else is in my area, please hit me up because it seems most of the permaculture community in Louisiana is concentrated in New Orleans.

Love you guys!
Michael