Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Growing Along Highway Margins

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: yarrow@sfo.com
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Christopher Randolph <c.a.randolph@gmail.com>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Growing Along Highway Margins
  • Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:40:09 -0800

At 2:36 PM -0700 3/26/10, Christopher Randolph wrote:
Hello Everyone,

I recently had the opportunity to meet with a city official out here in
Portland, Oregon who is trying to use the land along city highways to grow
biofuels and/or building materials....>>

1. native plants. What can be more sustainable and appropriate than native plants? They can then do a big campaign promoting the use of native plants in home landscaping as well, for all the usual reasons (native plants support native fauna, usually require fewer inputs, are adapted to the climate, etc.). In Calif. some years ago, I heard that a landscape architect was specifying natives for roadsides but running into problems because the maintenance crews didn't know how to maintain them, so ultimately natives were nixed. It does require extra training to teach a different approach (little or no watering, pruning, and fert once established), but worth it in the long run.

2. wood for special uses. One of the local nonprofits that's focused on urban trees had a project for identifying useful woods so that when street trees had to be cut, they could be used as specialty lumber rather than as mulch. So you could ask local woodworkers, what woods would you like to source locally? And then see what can be grown locally. (Though I assume that most woodworking quality woods come from slow-growing trees that might not grow fast enough for roadside use or be healthy enough when harvested.) Boxwoods, for instance, are prized for musical instruments but take a long, long time to get substantial girth. I wonder if the native cherries have good wood?




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page