I've heard Kudzu makes a great salad and has many other culinary uses including tea. It might not be ideal to plant it now...but knowing how to get it going in a survival situation could provide rapid growing food for years in the right place.

Johnny Kudzu?

Hi,

I am not sure about the types of wildlife that you have in your area but planting some species of fruit can lead to nuisance wildlife problems in the future. For example, residential apple trees in my area are a big attractant to black bears in the fall, some people like seeing them but many are terrified of the bears and try-up the police trying to deal with them.

Good idea to do some research now ahead of time, it may save you a big (furry) hassle later.

Mike

Permaculture!
Do some research on Bill Mollison.

this in itself could lead to a survival opportunity if one wanted to shoot said bear.

I love this idea. in wainwright I have a huge back yard and while out walking through it one day I noticed that I had wild chive and rhubarb all over the place. nice to know that ist there if I need it. problem is if I ever plant more survival stuff and get my land the way I want it the army will post me somewhere else.

oh well

you need the right kind of bamboo. there are runners and clumpers.

Cattails, yarrow and willows will grow in wet soil. It is possible to set up a grey water system and have your marsh do the processing.

Oaks.

Bamboo needs little to no cultivation. Look for both food and structural varieties. For some varieties keeping them under control is the biggest bother.

The new resistant chestnuts. These were a staple for wildlife and humans alike before the blight hit.

I don't know for sure but I have been told that onions, potatoes and carrots can be planted and allowed to go wild or minimally cultivated and will remain a reserve for many years.

Aloe can be let go in well drained soils.

Fruit and nut trees.

I wonder if adding a small pond would open some new possibilities? The slough in the backyard is unfortunately part of the heavily polluted Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, so foraging in its 1,000 miles of waterways is problematic.

Koi are good eating

Before you plant trees, check to see how big they will get. Always plan for the mature size. You see maples and other trees that people have planted under neighborhood power lines, and every year they have to be butchered so they don't pull the lines down during storms. Eucalyptus has no food value as far as I've ever heard, and it will dry up water sources. They are one of the trees Mussolini used to dry up the Pntine marshes. Willows are rather pointless, too.

Plant what your family will eat. If you want to try natives, try to find some fruit and taste it before you plant it. Native edibles and the kind of food you're used to eating tend to be world's apart.

Get your soil tested by a lab that knows what it's doing. Kinsey Agricultural Services can help [http://kinseyag.com/]. Bring your soil up to par; if it's out of whack, you'll have nothing but problems. Keep in mind that many of the local cooperative extension services still go by federal/chemical company advice.

I hate homeowner associations, and I don't trust them any further than I can throw a grand piano. Make up your main plan, have them okay it, have them give you permission IN WRITING to do what you want to do. That won't keep the next set of them from cutting down anything over 3" tall, but it might slow them down.

Trog's advice on Permaculture is excellent. Find Mollison's books: Introduction to Permaculture; Permaculture Two; Permaculture: A Designer's Manual. Gaia's Garden by Hemenway is good, too. All Mollison's books are collector's items these days, but you can usually find them in a library, or through the interlibrary loan system. Lots of drawings.

Sue