permaculture

["Sharon Gordon" <gordonse@one.net>]

: "Toby Hemenway" <hemenway@jeffnet.org> said

vegetation), but when I
> travel through the dry (human-made) chaparral of California, I dream of
> moist forests in its place.

I can think of three ways to do this though I don't know what would be the
best plants to use in California.

1) Progressive permaculture strategy.  Plant some drought resistance nurse
plants including legumes if possible.  Slowly add less drought resistant
crops until you have the things you want.  I would look at the transition
areas from desert  to meadow or forest to find plants or ideas for cousin
plants to use.

2) Gaviotas method( a sort of natural seedball method).  Plant one(or more)
kind of drought resistant tree timed to catch the area rains to cover huge
forest areas.  Over time birds will fly to the forest and leave gifts of
seeds and fertilizer from all over.  Eventually the forest will contain
hundreds of kinds of plants.  A good school project would be to raise the
seedling trees.

3) Progressive  Seedball method.  http://www.seedballs.com
Put out seed balls using desert and semi-desert plants.
As they catch on put out seed balls with  prairie plants and later with
woodland plants.  School students have a blast making the seed balls.

Sharon
gordonse@one.net