Kevin Ajarn

Hi there! I recently started my food forest by planting two apples, two pears, a fig, a mulberry, two aronia and two goumi bushes! Very exciting to have them in the ground after the many months of researching and waiting. In my research I found these two watering systems but haven't bought anything yet, and can't find any info by searching. Also found a little info about people doing this with PVC pipes with holes in them. Anyone have experience with any of these or thoughts about them? Is it really beneficial to the tree? Is the spike on the bucket that much better than just a bucket with holes in in? How do you water your trees? Anything I should know as a brand new tree owner? They are mulched well!

https://www.rootwell.com/

https://www.shop.treeiv.com/main.sc

https://www.cityofmonrovia.org/your-government/public-works/water/water-conservation/tree-watering

Concerns about roots actually being pretty shallow and needing to water in more than one spot: https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/1998/061598.html

Also, random question, anyone have experience and know if liberty and goldrush pollinate each other in Portland, OR? I have seen both yes and no online.

Thanks!

Hi there, I'm new to hugelkultur and have a quick question. I am putting in an evergreen hedge on the side of my yard next to my neighbor's driveway. I was thinking about making a hugel to put it on, along with maybe a small swale to catch the runoff from their neighbor's driveway. I have read about the dangers of a swale with a big hugel, and I won't be doing that. The question is, do hugel's benefit plants that don't like wet feet during the hot summer here in Portland? Specifically Grevillea, Ceanothus, Sentinel Manzanita. I will also have Pineapple guava, Choyzia, Viburnum, and Camellia. Would a hugel and/or swale be a bad idea for any of these plants? I know that the logs hold the moisture in, but that the hugel also drains well, so not sure!

Thanks!

Thanks so much for the replies, all the info is very helpful. Anyone else have thoughts on my plant choices or ideas for 15ft ish evergreen trees that can take a little shade? Anyone tried Crataegus mexicana, Tejocote?

I was actually just thinking about that issue. The whole property is pretty flat. There is a downspout at the front NE corner of the house by the hedge, I was thinking I could add a rain barrel there, maybe with a drip line connected to the bottom of it that I can turn on and off?

Hi everyone!

I bought a house last March and have spent the intervening year fixing up the inside and tearing out most of the old plants. Now I am ready to start putting things back in the ground and through my research I have discovered the world of permaculture, which appeals to me for many reasons. I know there are lots of posts asking what kind of plants to get, and I have read as many of those as possible. I have become quite overwhelmed in my several months of research and hoping to start planting here in the next several weeks, so I want to nail down my choices and hoping to get a little morale support and feedback! I'm 30 and don't have much gardening experience, let alone in permaculture, and it's my first house and foray into landscape design, so trying to learn a lot of things at once!

The house is in outer SE Portland and has approximately a 65x120ft lot, with the house right in the middle, so big front and back yards. I have attached a 3D model that I made to help visualize. The house faces north and behind the fence in the back yard is a two story house looking into my backyard and then many very tall evergreen trees and a water tower that give some shade in late afternoon. I want to have edible plants as much as possible, along with as many evergreens as possible to keep it pretty through the long winter. I plan to put up a mason bee house so lots of plants for them too.

A. Starting from the NW corner: there is about a 2ft wide strip of dirt between my driveway and a 4ft chain link fence where the neighbor's yard starts. My original idea was to put clumping bamboo there but I was convinced not to for fear of a ton of maintenance and it leaning into my driveway. The new idea is to construct a 7ft lattice of some sort and then grow vines, mostly evergreen, to screen my yard from my neighbors. Want to do this as cheaply as possible so thinking about just putting some 4x4 posts in, 2x4 top plate, maybe one more 2x4 across the middle and then fill in the rest with some wire or remesh for the plants to hold onto. Thinking akebia, jasmine, hops, honeysuckle, china blue vine, clematis, passionflower.

B. North facing front yard: My main project, I want to plant a food forest based around four fruit trees. Gone back and forth a lot but current plan is to do one combo apple and one combo European pear closest to the house. Then a fig and mulberry beyond those, making a square. Underneath these I would have a fruit tree guild with bee balm and comfrey, thyme, lavender, clover, lupine, yarrow, daikon, strawberries, aronia, a couple goumi bushes, maybe a currant.

C. East side of front yard: I want an evergreen hedge that will fill in moderately fast. It is a mix of sun and shade as it will start right on the north side of my house outside a big picture window and continue to the street. There is a big grape trellis structure over the neighbor on that side's driveway which the hedge will but up to, that will also provide a little shade. I want this around 8ft tall to totally block my yard from their driveway in the winter when the grapes aren't there. Here I was thinking silverberry and pinapple guava, maybe a smaller ceanothus, smaller manzanita bush, Peris japonica, camellia, sweet olive, evergreen huckleberry (not sure if it will get 8ft tall?).

D. Backyard along the fence: I want some 15-20ft tall evergreen trees along the fence to screen my backyard from the second floor windows of the house behind me. Thinking loquat, Chilean myrtle, Strawberry marina madrone, wineberry, one of the big ceanothus, another Elaeagnus or autumn olive for the fast growing and fruit but I hear mixed reviews on how invasive they are and whether or not to plant them.

Few other spots beside the garage and the patio and in front, but I'm not as worried about them. Want to have Oregon grape, salal, fragrant sweet box, winterberry, lingon berry, etc.

-So first question is do you see any potential problems or have design ideas to add?
-Anyone in the Portland area have extra/dividable understory plants like those I mentioned for under my trees you want to donate to the cause?
-Did I miss anything that would work great in one of the spots
-Which of the mentioned plants would you recommend over the others?
-If you were starting over your urban food forest today what would you do differently?
-What do you wish you knew when you started that you know today?
-Anything else I should think about as I start buying and planting?

Thanks for reading and any thoughts!