Water-wise garden and food forest in Clairemont, San Diego

Description

When we acquired the site three years ago, the yard was a patch of weeds on compacted soil. We installed a laundry-to-landscape system to fruit trees and berries, a rain chain leading to a swale, and added gutters and a 1,000 gallon water tank (which filled even in the drought this year!). We have many native and drought-tolerant plantings, a large veggie garden on drip, and over 20 fruit trees which are mulched heavily. We did most of the work ourselves, with help from the Sustainable Living Institute for the greywater and Brook Sarson of H20me for the rainwater tank. A local tree trimmer provided free mulch, and many plants/seeds were purchased at City Farmers nursery. Urban Corps planted two free city street trees. Total budget approx $4200, plus a $400 water conservation rebate from City of San Diego for the rain barrel. Garden is featured on the 2014 Clairemont Garden Tour.