Glenn from Olomana Gardens was kind enough to give me a seed pod from his Moringa Oleifera tree. I got one seed to sprout, so its got my full attention at the moment. I used a tooth brush on an early infestation of aphids. Gonna prune it when it gets larger, to encourage it to take on a bushy form. I'll be happy if I can grow more seed pods.
I still need to decide on/get nitrogen fixing shrubs and trees.
Will probably buy some Comfrey plants from him for their deep tap roots and useful foliage. Also been using Daikon to loosen up the heavy clay soil in our yard. Of course the Daikon is doing best in the parts of the yard which are already loose
We've got a sugar apple tree that's infested with scales, but the upside is they're supporting a colony of ladybugs (black ones and the occasional grey one with black spots). I've been planting Cosmos and Mustard around the tree to provide pollen and nectar for the adult ladybugs. Those two plants are growing very well for me.
I've sheet mulched a section of the front yard. It's definitely keeping the weeds at bay. The yard is south facing, so it gets the most sunlight but also heat; we'll see how well I can establish stuff there. I'll go with my sure bets, Cosmos and Mustard, to try and get some shade and predatory insect habitat going. Mustard is water hungry though, so not sure how well that will go (I want to do minimal watering).
Debating introducing Dandelions back onto the property.
For those who haven't heard of Permaculture, you can check out these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index...ite/classroom/
And I'd recommend these books to start:
Gaia's Garden
Teaming with Microbes
I still need to decide on/get nitrogen fixing shrubs and trees.
Will probably buy some Comfrey plants from him for their deep tap roots and useful foliage. Also been using Daikon to loosen up the heavy clay soil in our yard. Of course the Daikon is doing best in the parts of the yard which are already loose
We've got a sugar apple tree that's infested with scales, but the upside is they're supporting a colony of ladybugs (black ones and the occasional grey one with black spots). I've been planting Cosmos and Mustard around the tree to provide pollen and nectar for the adult ladybugs. Those two plants are growing very well for me.
I've sheet mulched a section of the front yard. It's definitely keeping the weeds at bay. The yard is south facing, so it gets the most sunlight but also heat; we'll see how well I can establish stuff there. I'll go with my sure bets, Cosmos and Mustard, to try and get some shade and predatory insect habitat going. Mustard is water hungry though, so not sure how well that will go (I want to do minimal watering).
Debating introducing Dandelions back onto the property.
For those who haven't heard of Permaculture, you can check out these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index...ite/classroom/
And I'd recommend these books to start:
Gaia's Garden
Teaming with Microbes
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