Eleisia Balaguer

I admired the iris growing along canals when I recently lived in the netherlands and was aware of them long before that. I think they will be a good idea along with several herbs I already had in mind. That's interesting about them being island builders, I like that fact.

Jack: I will have to look into if those american species can thrive in this climate but as I love willow, that's a great idea. I thought of them even it's just that I want to make this space as productive as possible so was thinking of herbs and/or plants that attract bees. Worms, of course! We found a gigantic earthworm while digging the trough so they are certainly eating and being drawn to the area. It helps we have a compost pile very close by. I appreciate your suggestions.

Dan: I had an iris planted there but it was too wet for it. I'm going to replant it now that the water is more dispersed and add other species. There is a reed species that grows rampant around here but any juncus is going to overwhelm the other plants. I found that adding small stones was a great idea and since there are rocks everywhere here, it was easy to source. That's a great suggestion, they are actually doing some work like that next to a river here so I will go and see what I can collect. I didn't even think to google those! Great references, thank you. I will look into the author and links you have sent me. There are wetlands very close to here, I drove through them the other day even. Thank you for your help.

Hey permies.

We've been working on a grey water catchment and I need to find some plants for filtration. Water from the kitchen sink and outdoor sink were just running from a tube into the ground, making an unused wet spot. So we dug a channel to spread out the water usage and its been working beautifully. I'm making terra cotta banks for it and a thin layer of rock in the midddle. Both are to keep and move the water. I've planted two different mints near the spout in the most wet area but I need something that can handle the food, dish soap and grease to plant amongst the rocks to help filter the grey water so its not so gross as it moves down our little creek in the making. Suggestions? I'm in spain, sea coast, mountain valley, resaonable amount of shade in the spot it will be planted.

Eleisia

Hi Brooke! I'm setting up my property to grow organic herbs for teas and medicinal tinctures. Want to discuss working together? We can see if we can meet each others needs or not. I am in Spain so it could work well.

Bryan:

Yeah of course! Everyone's projects are going to be very micro climate specific so sharing that is a really important detail. To elaborate on the project we plan on developing a food forest that will supply food not only for us but for our future Cerveseria. Serve as an example to teach others about soil and water conservation/restoration. I surely post in other forums as we continue to work on/develop projects. See you there. ;)

Jay:

Thanks for the welcome on my first post! Sepp does come up a lot so I will look into his work. I have known about companion planting for ages and already have a list and notations on my plantings. ;) I also plan to start by planting natives to build the land and set up for the success of my production plantings. Sea buckthorn is an excellent plant! I'm excited to put one in. Sounds like you are trying to give that little apple a fighting chance!

Joseph:

Spain does get a surprising amount of water, it's just that people do not have good catchment or harvesting practices of said rainwater. In fact there have been huge flooding problems in the Mediterranean coastal regions I'm sure due to that. We have family in Languedoc in southwestern France (very similar climate) that have an excellent permaculture garden that advocate hugel which is why I want to give it a go. I think it will take much longer to break down in a long dry summer then in a more moist climate but could still be very beneficial. Just not going to put a mound of branches, a row so that the top doesnt dry out. That's an interesting concept you employ, I will do some more reading on it. It's very similar to what I had in mind that I was adapting from swale concepts.

Jack:

That's some good advice there. I believe there is enough water, but it needs to be conserved to provide throughout the summer. I think with enough shade and building up the layers on top of the soil along with creating water catchments that are essentially glorified ditches. My focus is primarily repair the soil for sure. I want to do lots of thoughtful planting to help the soil recover and do so in stages.

Anne:

I was thinking of placing an area for relaxation under a metal roof to serve a duo purpose, but most importantly of rain catching. ;)

Rene:

Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed reading about the variety of methods you employ. I think that truly is the best approach, trying a bunch of techniques and seeing what works best for your exact conditions. I think burying logs is a great idea. Will you be green mulching? Also do you have a layered canopy?

Hello all. In Spain they love stripping the earth bare so that everything is leached out and rocky clay is exposed to the sun. The whole country is slowly becoming desert due to this and many other poor land/water management practices. My husband and I have a small parcel of land that is open with plans to turn this into the productive food forest I know it can be. I know the different phases and techniques I want to pursue for the property but for the water collection at the trees I'm unsure of which method is best. It is likely I will experiment with the existing almond trees and see what works best but I'm curious what other people have been successful with.

Here are the ideas I'm contemplating: Creating swales for water catchment and then on the ridge where the tree is located create hugelkulture beds -or- dig around the tree to create a basin so that runoff from the swale sinks into the tree roots as well -or- pile a bunch of rocks around the base of the tree -or- a combination of these. I will be sheet composting, mulching and have chickens. But first I need to plan water use and earthen works.

Thoughts?