Gudday from Downunder!
I was browsing the composting thread and found a lot of the information there useful so I thought I'd introduce myself!
I hail from Queensland, Australia. We have relatively poor soils (in general) here and as such I have particular interests in using plants and agricultural techniques to repair soil, either by reducing erosion in its various forms, reducing soil compaction from livestock and/or returning nutrients to the soil. Having said that, I am also a student of permaculture.
It is my goal to acquire a slab of land (20ha ~50acres) and turn it into my own little piece self-sustaining paradise. I have quite a few hurdles I must jump through before this can happen but I will get there in the end.
Plants I am producing now include: Desert rose, canna lilly, ornamental ginger, dwarf heliconia, dwarf lemon and some assorted herbs and leafy greens. I am very much limited by space in my current concrete-jungle based home, I cannot begin to tell you how keen I am to return to the country!
I am primarily interested in anything that can fix nitrogen (legumes), or has alternative uses as cover crops (eg. comfrey) or as drilling rigs (eg. Lucerne). I expect the land I am able to afford will be quite degraded (suffering from compaction and over grazed) so I am hoping to hit the ground running with a supply of useful plants/seeds ready. I have a fair number of varieties already, so I’m not here to skim seeds! More to garner additional knowledge that may help achieve my goals and eventually (hopefully) share some success!
Dirty hands, Clean money