Planting into the pasture terraces

With
the
first round of terraces dug and anchored, it was time to plant some
perennials for long-term soil stability (and eventual chicken
feed).  I’d already established a mulberry and three bush cherries
(which will provide summer fruits) on the natural terrace near the
bottom of the pasture, so I opted to add in persimmons for fall and
winter fruit.  (You
can read my plans for grafting Asian scionwood onto the American
rootstocks here.)



In the long run, the
persimmons should have large root systems, but at the moment, they’re
tiny twigs a fraction of the size of a pencil.  Clearly, I needed
some more immediate soil-holding plants, and I
had lots of comfrey waiting to be divided. 
I stuck one hunk of comfrey into the ground every foot or two along the
retaining wall on the downhill side of the middle terrace, figuring the
plants will probably fill in the gaps within a year or two.



The next round of
planting will come in the spring when I’ll seed cover crops to cover
the bare ground.  In the meantime, I hauled
rotting wood out of the forest to hold the loose soil and
to add humus to what’s essentially all subsoil.  I’ll keep you
posted once I decide what kinds of annuals to plant.