t toms

Thanks, Skyler- as a grandmother of five, I've opted to remove the gravel for multiple reasons, not the least of which is to reduce the rock throwing opportunities! Also, I love being barefoot outside and the type of gravel spread by the previous homeowner is large and sharp and very unpleasant underfoot. I've spent the last year shoveling it all out, and have layered the bare ground with compost, cardboard, and more compost, well watered in and topped with a thick layer of wood chips dropped in our drive by a local arborist. We're in the process of fencing the front and side yards and I'll do the same layering again over the now very dead, very pointless, very out of place Kentucky Bluegrass. Then I'm going to go back over the whole garden with further compost, straw and more compost. Soil building has commenced.

Many little volunteers are letting me know they like these new conditions, and I'm enjoying figuring out who wants to be here. So far, lamb's quarters and purslane are the strongest contenders, along with volunteer sunflower, millet, and thistle sprouted from scattered birdseed. Plenty of tumbleweed, goat's head, wild amaranth, buffalo gourd, and henbit replacing the dead bluegrass, but I'm not as keen on nurturing those? Maybe someone can enlighten my thinking around their value? I've been pulling out all the goat's head to prevent it's spiky spread, but I'm leaving the rest to chop and drop under the layering. Is this the right way to go? Should I yank out the buffalo gourd, too, before it gets too stuck in?

My neighbor has dug out multiple 3 foot deep beds in his yard, and replaced all the alkaline soil with amended soil. He's used all the beautiful rounded cobble he unearthed to mulch around the trees, shrubs, and flowers he's planted in the beds. He dug out enough rock that his entire yard is covered in cobble, from one side of the property to the other. I'm saving all the cobble being dug out for our fence posts to possibly do the same around trees as I plant, or at least use it to edge some pathways as they emerge. Does this sound like a reasonable compromise to your keeping the gravel suggestion? At least it is easier underfoot?

Onward.

S Bengi wrote:Here are my thought for your new garden in chronological order. I think you could do all of it this year

Soil-Water:
Add drip irrigation and swales

Soil-Carbon:
Add bio-char, woodchip, etc

Soil-SoilLife
Add compost, worm tea, pond/aquarium water, etc

Soil-CoverCrop
Add legumes, daikon radish, mint/thyme family, chive/onion family, dill/celery family

Plants-Shrubs
Add fast growing, native: blackberry/raspberry, and strawberry

Plants:
Every 10ft along the fence line/perimeter plant some fruit/nut trees
- Hybrid Persimmon, Pawpaw, Elderberry, Honeyberry, Gooseberry/currants/jostaberry, Blueberry,  Sand Cherry/Beach Plum, Juneberry/Aronia/Mayhaw
- Jujube, Chicargo Hardy Fig, Dwarf Mulberry, Seaberry, Goumi
- Grapes-vine, Hardy Kiwi-vine, Artic Kiwi-vine, Maypop-vine, Abekia-vine,
- Almond, Hazelnut, Yellowhorn
- Asian Pear/Quince, European-Apple/Medlar, European Plums/Cherry/Apricot/Peach

*Plants in bold do okay in a semi-shady spot

 

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I really appreciate you taking the time to list specific plants, as I'm still figuring all of that out. I'm still trying to identify which plants are "weeds" over here, much less productive plants! I'm looking forward to moving the gravel out and seeing what's underneath. There's a local source for compost here, and once I've shoveled out the gravel, I'm having them bring in a truckload. I'll spread that out, cover it with cardboard, then cover that with whatever mulch I can get locally. This is going to be a very busy year! Again, thanks for your insights and suggestions. Much appreciated.

Kim Goodwin wrote:What is "gorilla hair mulch"?  Sounds fascinating. My mind asked if there was a zoo nearby, and if you could instead get some manure.

Ha! No zoo here, but if there was I'd be collecting the poop! Here's the skinny on gorilla hair mulch- https://yardandgardenguru.com/gorilla-hair-mulch/ It was applied much too thickly, so no water was getting through. I'm not a fan, but I'm sure it works for some folks. As my grandma always said, "Everybody's natured different!"

Thank you, Kim! I've been reading about the Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, and watched a few videos about it. Also, I've taken copious notes from the Jerome Osentowski section of Gaia's Garden. So much helpful information there!!
I've started a new thread about what I'm attempting- https://permies.com/t/191744/Starting-food-forest-small-town  I'm wide open to any and all advice.  

Darn! I missed it!

Thanks, William! It's taken me a while to get back to this thread- unpacking and getting settled in has been my first priority. I've saved all of the cardboard from the move and am going to use it to start soil building once I clear the gravel farm that is our back garden. And, yes, to Natural Grocers! I've been riding my bike there to get groceries and am thrilled to have an alternative to Safeway. We walk to the farmer's market every Saturday, and love Mark the bread guy's miche and Bristle Cone Bakery's breads and pastries. We've enjoyed bread from the Little Red Hen a few times, too! Meanwhile, I've started a new thread over here: https://permies.com/t/191744/Starting-food-forest-small-town#1581441
Again, thanks for your insights...and...we've already gotten used to having deer bed down on our front lawn. They are really glad I stopped mowing and watering it, as it now gives them a very soft place to sleep. They fertilize it in return for the resting place! And of course, they are welcome until we fence our garden and start planting trees.

Thanks so much, Jenny, for your hard won advice. Exactly what I needed to hear, especially considering how impulsive I am. I almost hit pay on $800 worth of trees from this lovely resource- https://www.treesofantiquity.com/- but will rein myself in and wait. I'll carry on shoveling gravel, removing weed barrier, and building soil. Then come Spring, I'll let my planting impulses run wild-ish. A kind neighbor has already offered raspberry canes and rhubarb from her back garden for this spring.

But the best news of all is this: When we moved in a couple of months ago, I pulled the gorilla hair mulch from the tiny dead plot near our back door and started digging in our kitchen veggie scraps, spent tea leaves, and coffee grounds. Yesterday, I noticed several seedlings popping out of the soil, giving me great hope for soil life! Loving the restorative power of Mama Earth.

Thank you, again, for the advice and encouragement.

List of helpful links   (specific to zone 5, 7000 ft)

https://permies.com/t/20082/Thoughts-mulch-semi-arid-high#167580

https://permies.com/t/74437/Veggie-garden-Permaculture-Hugelkultur-challenging

https://coloradomountaingardener.blogspot.com/

Hello folks-
I've recently moved to a small town in CO at 7000 ft. I'm working on starting a food forest now that we've unpacked and moved in! Currently we have one Amur cherry planted too close to the house, a front yard covered in dead bluegrass (I refused to water it when we took ownership of our home and nature took her course), a gravel covered back yard, and a whole lot of cardboard leftover from our move. I'm gradually shoveling out the gravel, revealing a weed barrier (which I'll remove, obviously) and intend to begin sheet mulching most of the yard with organic matter, cardboard, and mulch to get started on building the soil. I also want to move the cherry to a far corner of the yard. There is an irrigation system in place, which I'll modify/move/use to get the garden up and running.

I've got so many questions, but I'll start with just a few.

1- When would be the best time of year to move the cherry tree to ensure its survival? Tips to help make moving it manageable?
2- Thinking of ordering trees now for spring delivery. Am I getting ahead of myself? If not, any suggestions for types of trees which will survive this elevation/zone/annual rainfall (around 9 inches a year) are very welcomed.
3- I've read conflicting suggestions regarding the best mulch for this elevation and average rainfall. There's some gorilla hair mulch on a small (devoid of life) bed which seems to prevent any penetration by rainfall or sprinkler, so I'm steering clear of using that. Any suggestions re: the best mulch for this alkaline, dry soil? Pinestraw, shredded leaves, and straw were my choices when I lived in GA, but I am a turtle out of water here in CO!

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions/advice.

Welcome to the mother lode, Patrick! I'm a newpermie (?), too, and happy to have you here.