Tyler Ludens

Anne Miller wrote:I don't see how a community or even a town could survive without "monetary avenues".

Who pays for the land?

Who pays for expenditures that are necessary for life?

I think for the foreseeable future, those with financial resources will need to be willing to share/exchange them for other kinds of support from the community. For instance in my own life, my 92 year old father has the greatest amount of financial resources, which he shares with us for an environment to live in. He gets to enjoy a comfortable home, loving family with him all day, and a quiet outdoor environment to take walks in. In town, my friend Ann has a large yard which she lets me garden in pretty much as I like. She pays me a small amount each month and provides a space for me to live in her garage, in exchange for an unusual, beautiful, and productive garden which she is physically unable to care for herself. I think in most communities at the present time there are individuals with financial and other  resources who may be willing to share them in exchange for resources they don’t have such as companionship,emotional support, and physical strength for doing things like gardening.  Once a community of support is established, the monetary avenues needed to continue it might be very small, limited to things like paying for property tax and some kinds of insurance perhaps. At least it seems like something that might be possible. Maybe people with resources can set up a trust to continue the community of support beyond their own lifetime.

A few updates from this year:

This property was sold last year. The new owners plan to change the yard substantially, so I’m not sure what will remain of my efforts. But that’s ok. We sold to someone whose dream house this had been for years, and she loves living there, so I’m very happy with how things turned out. Every garden is a learning experience.

Honey locust grows easily from seed. Seeds for the thornless variety are available from Sheffield’s Seed Company. Sheffield’s.com

I believe Edible Acres in New York state sells sea berry and many other cuttings.

I also recommend Garlic Chives!  They are utterly unkillable and pollinators love the flowers.

I’ve had great success using deep mulch of tree and shrub prunings, leaves, and wood chips to transform an overly hot exposed rocky clay soil.  About three years ago the garden was a dead Bermuda grass lawn with a couple of tiny sad fruit trees. Now the little peach tree is huge and bearing peaches.

Beware of the weight of the assembled forest!  Make sure you have adequate equipment to transport them.

It's important to have some filtered shade over vegetables during the summer, in my experience. I grow Moringa, which freezes to the ground but comes back and can grow 10 feet in a season. Honey Locust might also work.

I'm in central texas. I tried aquaponics and failed miserably, killing multiple batches of fish and producing almost no vegetables. It was expensive to set up and never paid for itself.