Hi all! I have a largish veggie garden on the west side of the house. I live near Cowra and it's very hot and dry in summer. I want to plant one or two small, deciduous light-shade trees in the middle of the garden. I was going to try to knock up a frame for shadeclothe but we get huge winds down our valley, and I'm an older woman on my own - not sure I have the skills, although I did think about concreting in some pine poles and screwing some across the top of them and growing something on them. Bit too frosty for passionfruit here, and that shade is probably too heavy, as is the shade from grapes. Anybody got any ideas? And thank the Goddess for permaculture!
What about pecans? They are deciduous, and like it hot and dry. And you can eat the nuts as an added bonus.
Thanks - that's an idea. I have some young ones I could replant there. I'll have to do some research on whether they're shade is quite light, and whether they greatly deplete the topsoil underneath them. Do you have any idea?
No I don't Im afraid. I did plant one here a few years back, but they like a dry summer and ours is wet. So it didn't survive.
Good grass growing under the pecans here in Coffs Harbour. Gleditsia, or honey locust, might be a good choice. Nitrogen fixer and also grows great grass underneath, some farmers say it is the last place the pasture dies off in winter so would mean its a good companion to vegie gardens, and not a heavy shade in summer. Just make sure its a thornless variety. Im sure there are more productive trees for a backyard. Almond perhaps? which could be grafted with other Prunus species. Bit heavier shade but can be pruned well.
Thanks re Gleditsia I think that's a great idea, especially as I don't think they're shade is too heavy, and its great to have that feedback that they don't deplete soil underneath. Thanks.
Maybe think about silver birch, silver birch is a pioneer tree, it casts lite shade, it only live for 70 years, and unless you live in snow country it can’t spread by seed because it needs stratification to germinate.
Hello A pecan we have across the gully from our home is huge, and I mean really HUGE, so I'm not sure it would be a good choice in the middle of a vege garden area, unless they are available as 'dwarf' specimens. A dwarf mulberry might be the go... They tolerate many climatic extremes and seem pretty hardy. There are dwarf varieties available, in various colours/cultivars, and these can be kept even smaller by occasional/seasonal pruning, which would allow as much shade as desired but also encourage further fruiting Alternatively, a dwarf pomegranate.... Lovely to look at, seriously healthy fruit...
Just stating the obvious, but why do you want to plant the trees in the middle of the garden? Which part of the day does your garden need most shade, and which direction does it need wind protection from? It may be most useful to plant your trees on one edge, eg west/ northwest to give afternoon shade. This would also give some protection from westerly winds. Mulberry trees are surprisingly tough characters and are quick growing, and less likely to cause an environmental weed problem than honey locusts.