Davin Correa

Thank you Guys! A lot of good information here has eased my worries. It can be quite dry here in the summer, so I'll dig a little deeper, as for wood, I am fortunate enough to have old wood piles in my backyard, piles that have been there for years and as such, have rotted quite nicely. I had read somewhere about placing the logs vertically might work like something of a straw and pull the water up, so that's a very good idea, I'll pound some of the logs into the soil as suggested. I'll have to go to one of the local coffee shops to get some coffee grounds, (the nearest star bucks is in the next town over). I will definitely try to go taller, and use the shaded sides for more shade tolerant plants, and leafy greens. Again thank you guys for all of the input, I greatly appreciate it.

I have no experience on Hugulkultur, I have read a books that mention Hugulkultur, and watched many videos on the subject, but I'm still not clear on the how deep they need to be to be effective. I am currently digging three small scale Huguls in my backyard, and I'm somewhat in a hurry to get them ready before spring, and I will be making three more in the sideyard so I have a bit of a time limit. I'm thinking that the deeper the are the more water they will be able to reserve for the Texas dry season, as the logs will be buried deeper, currently mine are at eighteen inches, not sure on how many cenitmeters that is, and I'm a bit nervous to start the log process if it won't be deep enough. I plan to start planting this spring, which is a bit hurried, I did read that Hugul's get better as time passes, and that they are recommended to have a cover crop that fixes nitrogen for the first year, but like I mentioned in my previous post, I just moved back to Texas, and I'm not too keen on waiting an entire year to plant, especially considering I may not stay here a long time. So any advice would be appreciated in managing a new hugul to give it the best chance of success, maybe adding a lot of nitrogen as I'm currently lacking that as well, I've been here a little more than a week and haven't accumulated very many scraps, and being winter, there isn't a lot of greenery to bury along with the logs, I've read that bloodmeal is good, and maybe I'll splurge and buy some rock dust as well. Like I said, I'm very amateurish and if any of you beautiful, experienced people out there have any wisdom to share, I will love you for it! Thank you for your time

Anne Miller wrote:Welcome to permies!

You might want to consider edible landscapes.  I have seen some really nice ones.

While my zone is about the same as your, my ability to grow things is much different.

Some of the things I have read about that you might look into:

Good King Heny, Runner Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Garlic Chives, Walking Onion, and Elephant Garlic.

Also you might want to add some herb plants.

Wow! Thank you for all of the input, I need to compile a list of all the eligible plants I can grow and ways to procure them. I have a lot of work ahead of me hahaha!

wayne fajkus wrote:Asparagus is as cheap as say, planting tomato transplants, but will give decades of produce.  Its a gift you can leave behind. Its also pest free (at least in central tx)

BlackBerry is another that should grow well. Ive never had a pest issue.

Those two are the bulk of my non tree perennials.  I added horseradish this year but unsure of its longevity as of now. Too soon to tell.

Oh, great idea, Bush plants would be a happy medium, you reminded me of Jerusalem artichoke as well. I think I'll go for thornless blackberries, as thorns don't seem like a good idea in close quarters. Asparagus sounds like fun! I think I also may be able to grow elderberry, at least I hope so. I do have some daikon radish seeds, I read those were good for breaking up compacted soil, and I really need to get my hands on some Comfrey. Thank you so much for the input!

My name is Davin, I am an amateur gardener, I have only had the privilege of caring for a small keyhole garden I made after reading "Gaia's Garden." I am moving back to North Texas after living in the Pacific Northwest for 3 years, while I love the area so much more for many reasons, I have to move. However, I am excited to say that I will have a lot more room to garden, however, I am quite overwhelmed with the thought and don't know where to start, I will sheet mulch a lot of the grass, and make some Hugulkultures, but as far as what plants to grow, I can't think of anything but common vegetables, most of which I have no experience with anyways. I've read a lot of things online, and bought a few books, but still, I feel so uneducated and inexperienced. While I know permaculture emphasizes the use of perennial plants, I Do not know how long I will stay in Texas, and as such don't want to put all my resources into something that's not permanent. Eventually I will be inheriting 19 acres of farmable land in Belize, and my end goal is to be self sufficient, and build a forest garden and keep animals, including bees, but that's not for another decade or so. I would appreciate a few tips on which plants to grow while in Texas I will be in Zone 8a, I saw a post about prickly pear cacti, which peaked my interest, Thank you in advance for the advice and I hope to be an asset to this community.