Hector Dominguez

Thanks for the image, will definitely try this come fall.

John C Daley wrote:THERE are a few questions before we can answer
What area are you in?
hat soil type do you have?
rainfall annually?
How big is the area you are speaking about?

I live in California. The rainfall average in Valley Center (where I live) 15” per year, but we have had more rain this year.
The area across the slopes is about 3/4 acre. Clay soil.

Hi everyone. I am looking for advice as to how I can slow erosion on my property and incorporate that into the landscape. I have a few goals, on of them being growing some of my own food. I have read and watch videos about building swales and planting trees, bushes etc. on the other side of the swales. All advice will be appreciated as well as any good book on permaculture that has practical ideas to implement. I have a few questions in mind. How long do the swales have to be, depth, width? How far apart should they be from one another? Any other ways you have tried to stop erosion are also welcome. I am attaching a few pictures of the slopes with the slope percentage (which I calculated) so you can get a better idea of what I will be working with. BTW all these water goes on to a seasonal creek which runs though the entire property, which is also causing erosion because it slopes north to south. Maybe I can build some kind of pond system (permit required? dont ask/ dont tell? Any how that might be part of a different thread. Thank you in advance for you input.

I planted some buckwheat and clover in a small patch next to the chicken coop. I wonder if I do this in a larger scale I would end uo with the same problem except this time would be the buckwheat and clover, although I have read they are great weed suppressants.

Thanks everyone. John, thanks for all the info. You really got me thinking about all the pros and cons. Mary Beth, thanks for the link, it was very useful and informative. I actually have a couple of eucalyptus in my property. i actually fell one of them about a month ago because it was shading a huge part of my vegetable garden. I am saving it to use maybe next year. I also bought half cord of eucalyptus firewood for $90 from a local guy. Bartering for firewood might be a better route for me. I also planted a couple of cuttings from one of my eucalyptus trees, they seem to be doing ok. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!

Hi, this is my second post since I became a member. I received very valuable information on my first post so here we go again. We moved into this house/property about 3 years ago and we are in the process of transforming it into somewhat a forest garden. Anyway, there are lots of weeds growing everywhere, my property literally looks like I have a lawn (my daughter loves how it looks). I have a weed wacker and that is usually how I cut the weeds. I am trying to cut them before they go to seed, even though it is still raining (unusual) My plan is to cut the weeds and leave them there as they will hopefully cover any other weeds that are growing. Any recommendations?

One acre, a section of that acre would be dedicated to the blacknlocust maybe 1/10?

Hi there, I am new to the blog as well as to the permaculture/organic/non-gmo/grow your own food/homesteadish movement. I live in San Diego County, California. I am looking for recommendations on how to grow the black locust tree, which from my research, it sseems like a very good option to use for firewood since it has a fast growth rate.what would be a good number of trees to start with. We definitely do not get very cold winters but I would like to use firewood to heat my house during the winter rather than the furnace which runs on propane and it really isn’t effective. My house has a Timberline wood insert or wood stove (proper term?) I have burnt eucalyptus which I really like because it burns hot, it has no smell and it’s long lasting. I don’t want to be buying firewood if I can “grow” my own. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks.