Although I'm living on my beautiful boat, located in one of the most desirable cruising grounds in the UK, I still hanker after the smell and feel of dirt under my fingernails! The thrill of planting and harvesting, of tinkering with permaculture. True, I love the wild abandon of living on a boat, but I also miss tending a garden!
So, I've bought a little Quinta on the bank of the Rio Guadiana, just north of Alcoutim, Southern Portugal. It's an off-grid haven and a hive of boaty activity. A great place to spend winter when the south of England becomes a little too chilly for living on a boat.
I've been looking for this place for a long time now. Although I didnt know this was THE place. It's a wild little spot...sunshine drenched, and populated by old salties who have crawled ashore from their own boats, to set up farm and put down some roots.
A little piece of boat loving, land loving heaven!
Over the next couple of years I plan to spend the sailing season exploring the South coast of UK and the Channel coastlines, and the winter down in Portugal planting and building, working, loosely, towards establishing a land-based haven in the sun. The bonus of this place...at some point in my future, I can anchor the boat at the end of the garden! How fricking cool is that!
Anyhoo, winter is approaching - which is the primary growing season in The Algarve - so I'm gathering and researching tree species for my first mega planting session. I want natives, drought tolerent, edibles. I want to plant LOTS of trees!
I've discovered the Myawaka method of planting which is closely packed planting, to recreate a natural forest, self sustainable system. Reforestation of native forest - Miyawaka Method.
I'll update the lisy below as I discover new varieties.Please suggest in the comments if you have any ideas or recommendations for species to include.
Ongoing list...
Shrubs/Aromatics
Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) perennial, evergreen, herb, drought tolerent, 5ft tall,
Lavandula stoechas
Lavandula viridis (Green Lavender )
Erica arborea (Tree Heath)
Shrub/Fruit
Corema album - Edible (white and very acidic fruit)
Santolina chamaecyparissus
Arbutus unedo - Edible (Strawberry Tree) [Medronheiro]
Sambucus nigra (Elderberry)
Morus nigra (Mulberry) Edible, deciduous, 8-12m tall
Brambles (blackcurrant, redcurrant, Vaccinium myrtillus (billberry), raspberries, brambles)
Goji berry/Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) deciduous woody perennial plant, 1–3 m tall
Shade-tolerant mineral-accumulators, nitrogen-fixers or medicinal
Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Pea/Bean family Leguminosae/Fabaceae perennial, herb, 1m tall
Oregon tea (Ceanothus sanguineus)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Ground Cover
Erica lusitanica
Festuca - Grass, Drought Tolerant, Sandy Soils
Trees
Pinus pinea (Stone Pine) - Pine Nuts/Pinhões [Pinheiro Manson] pine wilt nematode resistant
Pinus pinaster (Maritime Pine) [Pinheiro Bravo]
Cebrus artanica (Cedar) [Cedro]
Quercus suber - Cork [Sobreiro]
Quercus canariensis
Quercus rotundifolia [Azinheira]
Carya illinoinensis (Wild Pecan) Northern Pecan
Quercus pyrenaica (Perenean Oak) [Carvalho-negral]
Alnus glutinosa (Common Alder) [Ameiro] -
Fraxinus Angustifolia (Ash) [Freixo nacional]
Corylus avellana (Hazel) - Hazelnuts/Avela [Aveleiro]
Olea europaea / Olea europaes sylvestris (Olive/Wild Olive) [Oliveira/Zambujeiro Oliveira Brava]
Salix alba (White Willow) [Salguiro Branco]
Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica)
Dunstan Chestnut (Hybrid of Chineses X American Chestnut)
Butternut ( Juglan cinerea)
Burr Oak
Macadamia?
Sweet Chinquapin
Sweet burr oak
Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo
Castanea sativa (Sweet Chestnut)
Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) shade-tolerance
Poplar (Populus alba) - fast growing
Lime (Tilia cordata) edible sap, leaves and seeds
Italian alder (Alnus cordata) fast-growing, nitrogen-fixer drought tolerant, edible sap
Fungi
Boletus edulis (Ceps) - Autumn Harvest
Cantharellus cibarius (Chanterelles) - Autumn Harvest
Craterellus cornucopioides (Horn of Plenty) - Autumn Harvest
Wildflowers
Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodor)
Nitrogen Fixer
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
White Clover
Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust) grows rapidly, drought/frost tolerant, infertile/acidic soils
So, I've bought a little Quinta on the bank of the Rio Guadiana, just north of Alcoutim, Southern Portugal. It's an off-grid haven and a hive of boaty activity. A great place to spend winter when the south of England becomes a little too chilly for living on a boat.
I've been looking for this place for a long time now. Although I didnt know this was THE place. It's a wild little spot...sunshine drenched, and populated by old salties who have crawled ashore from their own boats, to set up farm and put down some roots.
A little piece of boat loving, land loving heaven!
Over the next couple of years I plan to spend the sailing season exploring the South coast of UK and the Channel coastlines, and the winter down in Portugal planting and building, working, loosely, towards establishing a land-based haven in the sun. The bonus of this place...at some point in my future, I can anchor the boat at the end of the garden! How fricking cool is that!
Anyhoo, winter is approaching - which is the primary growing season in The Algarve - so I'm gathering and researching tree species for my first mega planting session. I want natives, drought tolerent, edibles. I want to plant LOTS of trees!
I've discovered the Myawaka method of planting which is closely packed planting, to recreate a natural forest, self sustainable system. Reforestation of native forest - Miyawaka Method.
I'll update the lisy below as I discover new varieties.Please suggest in the comments if you have any ideas or recommendations for species to include.
Ongoing list...
Shrubs/Aromatics
Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) perennial, evergreen, herb, drought tolerent, 5ft tall,
Lavandula stoechas
Lavandula viridis (Green Lavender )
Erica arborea (Tree Heath)
Shrub/Fruit
Corema album - Edible (white and very acidic fruit)
Santolina chamaecyparissus
Arbutus unedo - Edible (Strawberry Tree) [Medronheiro]
Sambucus nigra (Elderberry)
Morus nigra (Mulberry) Edible, deciduous, 8-12m tall
Brambles (blackcurrant, redcurrant, Vaccinium myrtillus (billberry), raspberries, brambles)
Goji berry/Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) deciduous woody perennial plant, 1–3 m tall
Shade-tolerant mineral-accumulators, nitrogen-fixers or medicinal
Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Pea/Bean family Leguminosae/Fabaceae perennial, herb, 1m tall
Oregon tea (Ceanothus sanguineus)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Ground Cover
Erica lusitanica
Festuca - Grass, Drought Tolerant, Sandy Soils
Trees
Pinus pinea (Stone Pine) - Pine Nuts/Pinhões [Pinheiro Manson] pine wilt nematode resistant
Pinus pinaster (Maritime Pine) [Pinheiro Bravo]
Cebrus artanica (Cedar) [Cedro]
Quercus suber - Cork [Sobreiro]
Quercus canariensis
Quercus rotundifolia [Azinheira]
Carya illinoinensis (Wild Pecan) Northern Pecan
Quercus pyrenaica (Perenean Oak) [Carvalho-negral]
Alnus glutinosa (Common Alder) [Ameiro] -
Fraxinus Angustifolia (Ash) [Freixo nacional]
Corylus avellana (Hazel) - Hazelnuts/Avela [Aveleiro]
Olea europaea / Olea europaes sylvestris (Olive/Wild Olive) [Oliveira/Zambujeiro Oliveira Brava]
Salix alba (White Willow) [Salguiro Branco]
Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica)
Dunstan Chestnut (Hybrid of Chineses X American Chestnut)
Butternut ( Juglan cinerea)
Burr Oak
Macadamia?
Sweet Chinquapin
Sweet burr oak
Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo
Castanea sativa (Sweet Chestnut)
Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) shade-tolerance
Poplar (Populus alba) - fast growing
Lime (Tilia cordata) edible sap, leaves and seeds
Italian alder (Alnus cordata) fast-growing, nitrogen-fixer drought tolerant, edible sap
Fungi
Boletus edulis (Ceps) - Autumn Harvest
Cantharellus cibarius (Chanterelles) - Autumn Harvest
Craterellus cornucopioides (Horn of Plenty) - Autumn Harvest
Wildflowers
Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodor)
Nitrogen Fixer
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
White Clover
Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust) grows rapidly, drought/frost tolerant, infertile/acidic soils
