See Hes

If people ask for a plant ID I always recommend to add the location.

Passiflora edulis var flavicarpa (up to 4" fruit size) or the invasive Passiflora laurifolia (Water Lemon, up to 2" fruit size) comes to my mind...

The answer what you can plant is easy but also bears one mistake many do.

The right approach is what would I like to eat (or family)
Then know how the tree canopy will develop and where are spots with shade or dappled shade in the future.
(I was is Pasadena once and it's warm in Summer with relatively fair winters, hence things grow faster than in the north)
Last is to know can your chosen plants grow in these conditions and even better if they are companion plants for your fruit trees.

A complete guild or single guilds make no difference beside all nutrients and water will probably better distributed to the benefit or all trees and plants.

If you not touch (control) the spot a guild creates by itself (not so neat arranged and sure not the plants you want. But definitely its a guild too)

One thing you need to make sure that you not raise the soil around the planted trees as they may struggle and in the worst case they eventually die, because the roots are too deep.

Mother nature's solution should be found in your "woods".
Check what's there and what has died over the time.

A fallow piece of land will develop.
1st the pioneers like nitrogen fixer and ground cover like grasses
Small trees getting platend by all kind of animals (squirrels, bird dropping...) and one day they will outgrow the pioneers and grasses, that's your forest.
Because mother nature always creates a forest as final product. You are just fitting it into the forest you want.

Nice one!

After 3 years having Chickens we cut the amount from 300 all way down to 30 birds and give our 2400 sqm (25,900 sqft)  paddocks a complete makeover and implement all lessons learned.

Especially our Barred Plymouth Rocks are egg eater so some roll out boxes need to be made.

We want make most things needed by ourself and this idea is based on words, an old farmer tought me als school kids were still allowed working 12 hrs in their holidays.

Boys, you see all the bits and pieces behind the shed?
These make a successful farmer like I am.
These bits and pieces were worth a try but ended as failed projects.

so here we go.
The first Project will be a safe coop and with fenced outside feeding terrace.
Yellow lights keep Mossies at bay (Lemon Balm and Lemon Grass failed..
Locked against theft (we lost about 20 over the time)

...and to follow the topic, a chicken pit (they call it here in Thailand)
I believe that this coop under shading trees with deep litter bed shoots two brids with one bullet.  Compost for the food forest and even more happy chickens in a more comfortable accomodation.

Efficient and a clever reuse of difficult waste I must admit...

...and you haven't got venomous spiders where you live, do you? For them it must be a 5 Star hideout.

just as an add as most people don't know the difference:

You bite it and you give up your ghost = Poisonous
It bites you and you give up you ghost = venomous

Bethany Clay,
I recommend to get your share of honey from time to time fro below reason.

to make a colony strong the best way is to have always some empty honeycombs in the hive, especially in the spike times where honey is available in abundance.
That's the time bees start swarming.
When the stores are filled they likely will swarm but as long there is a job to do the population increases without swarming.

My wife and I went out shopping and as soon we were gone my dogs went to the goats.

The Dogs:
"OMG!!! Mom and Dad are gone, who will feed us in future? They will never return!! ooooh we poor dogs will starve without them!!"

The Goats:
"Who??"

I had the "honor" to bump into a Biker with my car and he was from one of the tough gangs and as we were waiting for the police to come I told him about the quality of sloe wine I made at home.

He responded excited that he was into mead (as an ex Norwegian who wonders)

So we met and he pulled me into his garage which was well insulated and somehow it had a red brick chellar character.
His mead was not from this world, even he used the basic Viking recipes.

3 Kg good Honey
1 Liter apple juice with pulp and 1 Liter grape juice (which you use to start your yeast in beforehand)
7 Liter water
a table spoon full of flour
Lactic acid (2 and a half shot glasses)
4 gram yeast nutrient salt

and then under daily moving (swinging the Bottle slightly around) about 3 month and you can play Viking Berserker.
Unfortunately, I not like sweets at all, so the wine was ok but not for my taste.

I have still contact to him and one day he came to Thailand.
I had to help him to find honey from stingless bees because they are not capable to reduce the water contant like other bees do.
These bees ferment their honey to make it last forever.

I never tried the outcome but he was over the moon with the results.. The mead so he said would be also for my tase buds, because of the very voluminous and sour taste.. (Whatever he ment with that)

Since my first gnashers grew, mother put me on eggs and ryebread for breakfast.
Two-three eggs with two slices rye bread.
Grandfather had about 60 chickens so it was my every day breakfast and I loved it.

Today I am 62, my annual health check a week ago was like in the past, well within all limits and since you have to arrive sober and with empty stomach to the examination, I had afterwards my usual five fried eggs on rye bread for breakfast.

Despite of this and for our "weight watchers" I went through all kind of weight classes from 76 Kg (167 lbs) to 113 Kg (249 lbs) by just being myself and eat what I was thinking of, and since the last 18 years I am constantly around 94 Kg (207 lbs).

But sure I love my five eggs on rye bread in the morning.
Since we have our farm and our own (100 each at present) Brahmas and Plymouth Rock Chickens I know they are from literally "wild" Chickens.  
As a mechanic I learned early: "Never touch a running system"

I relocated to Thailand 2002 I have adapted to the Thai cuisine, hence the solid western food is not often seen in my Kitchen...
...but nothing wrong to put some fried eggs on my Rab Moo for dinner, isn't it?

James Bridger wrote:Just to make sure I understand......you're curing the ham using a salt brine, and then covering in wood ash both to add smoke flavor, and to preserve the meat?

Or are you covering an uncured ham with wood ash, and the ash provides the curing?

You take all steps that you do for smoking and instead of smoking you ripen the meat in wood ash.

To add: As far I remember Granny used beech and apple tree wood cuttings from a neighbor carpenter and her apple tree prunings.

We had an overproduction of Squash and Pumpkins and had lots of recipes as well from my Thai family members as also from my German history.
The last recipe, which was impacting even the last Thai taste bud, was my stuffed Squashes and Pumpkins.

-Clean the inside of your Pumpkins or Squashes until the seed core is completely removed
-Spoon out the flesh until the rind with about 1/2" or 12 millimeter are left
-Pre-fry minced meat  (Pork or Beef or 50/50) in Olive oil, add equally diced Onions till they are glassy, the diced pumpking pieces you spooned out and last the diced tomatoes
-Add chopped Coriander, Salt, Pepper  (Oregano, Thyme who likes)

when the ingredients are slighly softened spoon them into the hollow Pumpkin until the Pumpkin/Squash is slightly dense filled.

Cover it with grated Cheese (Gouda, mild Cheddar or grated Pizza mix which I use) and bake it in the oven by 160 degree celsius (320 degr F)
In picture Nr 3 I used Hokkaido Puimpkins with the common processed cheese slices you find on every Cheeseburger, its also ok but not that exclusive.

After 45 minutes to an hour the flesh of the pumpkin should be soft and penetrateable with a fork as sign its all done.

Enjoy