Managing Ashe Juniper in Central Texas: When to Cut and When to Keep
Home / Managing Ashe Juniper in Central Texas When to Cut, When to Keep, and How to Use It Well Ashe juniper is one of the most debated plants in the Texas Hill Country. Once you move past myths and historical oversimplifications, a more useful question emerges. Not “Should we remove cedar?”But “What role is […]
Soil Health as the Engine of Water Health
Home / Soil Health as the Engine of Water Health in Central Texas In the Texas Hill Country, water outcomes are shaped long before rainfall ever reaches a creek, pond, or river. The condition of the soil surface and the living systems within it determine whether rain becomes infiltration or runoff. When soils function well, […]
Ashe Juniper in the Texas Hill Country: Ecology, Water, and Fire Myths
Home / Ashe Juniper in the Texas Hill Country Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) is native to Central Texas and the Edwards Plateau. Its presence in the region predates European settlement by many thousands of years. Fossil pollen records and historical ecology syntheses indicate juniper occurrence in Central Texas landscapes since at least the late Pleistocene¹. […]
Texas Hill Country Ecology: How the Land, Water, and Landscape Changed
The Texas Hill Country did not arrive at its current condition by accident. Its water challenges, soil loss, vegetation shifts, and flooding patterns are the result of more than a century of land-use change layered onto a complex ecological system shaped by flood and drought. This foundational guide explains how the Hill Country functioned, what changed, and why understanding that history matters for regeneration today.
Seasonal Land Care in Central Texas: The Importance of Ecological Forestry in Winter
Ecoforestry is a sustainable land management approach that aligns forestry practices with ecological principles to maintain and restore healthy forest ecosystems. In Central Texas, timing forestry activities to coincide with seasonal conditions is crucial for promoting tree health and preventing diseases such as oak wilt. Conducting forestry work during winter and summer, when disease-spreading insects are less active, helps protect trees and supports biodiversity. Winter also offers advantages like cooler temperatures and better visibility due to leafless trees, making it an optimal time for tasks such as pruning, removing hazardous limbs, and improving land access. Implementing ecoforestry practices during these periods ensures the long-term health and resilience of Central Texas forests.
Planting 3,000 Trees: A Hopeful New Beginning in Texas
Our Client Named This Project Arborgasm In the heart of Texas, a former olive farm is getting a fresh start. This 78-acre piece of land, once home to thousands of olive trees, is about to transform into a vibrant regenerative agriculture system. The journey begins with planting over 3,000 trees, aimed at restoring the environment […]
How to Start Controlling Pests Organically
by Using Permaculture Principles in Your Garden After a long romance with the power of information technology, the modern world is turning it’s attention back to gardening again. Concerns over food security, a fragile global supply chain, and the dangers of ultra-processed food has made growing your own food cool again. Gardening channels on social […]
Turn Your Garden Into a Gourmet Pizzeria
What if the best pizza place ever is only steps away from your kitchen? What if the gourmet pizzeria you’ve been looking for is right under your nose? It’s in the garden in your own yard! You can google homemade pizza recipe all you want, but if you’re working with standard canned ingredients and premade […]
How To Prevent Toxic Landscaping (Roundup) In Your HOA
When I see anyone spraying the ground with a backpack sprayer, I always compliment them on how good their work looks and ask what it is that they are spraying. It’s almost always Roundup (AKA Glyphosate the most common active ingredient used in toxic landscaping practices in order to control “weeds”). So, I kindly ask […]
Welcome Beneficial Bugs: Don’t Be Bugged by Nature’s Helpers
Instead, learn the power of bugs in your garden. Beneficial insects and beneficial bugs play a vital role in the health and biodiversity of your garden. Gardening with a permaculture sensibility isn’t just about cultivating plants; it’s about understanding and nurturing a thriving ecosystem. Unfortunately, the practices of conventional agriculture and monocropping have had detrimental […]
Aphids on Plants & Proven Ways to Deal With Them
Got different types of aphids on plants in your garden? Are they pests? Or could they actually be a beneficial bug buffet? Our Texas summers are well known for scorching heat. While rising temperatures can bring out the best in sun-loving plants, they also invite pests such as aphids. What should you do when you […]
Ancient Healing Secrets of Native Medicinal & Culinary Herbs
The Interconnected World of Native Plants and Holistic Health As we journey through the diverse landscapes of Central Texas and encounter the myriad wonders of native herbs, it is increasingly clear that these plants offer far more than mere sustenance or decoration. They are nature’s pharmacy. Providing us with a bounty of medicinal and culinary […]
Texas Permaculture Gardening And Food Forestry Tips For March
March is when things really start getting exciting in Texas Permaculture Gardens! The official start of Spring is March 12th. Every year I feel a surge of energy, optimism and joy seeing my gardens come back to life after surviving freezing weather through dormancy. This Spring surge can be tricky to manage for multiple reasons. […]
Texas Permaculture Gardening And Food Forestry Tips For February
On February 1st there is a transition from the first half of Winter to the second. In Central Texas the second half of Winter can be a somewhat unpredictable time in terms of the weather. February will probably be the time of the last and most severe freeze of the Winter. Warm afternoons might lead […]
Texas Permaculture Gardening and Food Forestry Tips for January
In Texas Permaculture Gardens, we never really go fully dormant. There’s always something to do in your garden or food forest to help keep things an a good trajectory. One of the core philosophies on the care and maintenance of gardens at Symbiosis is that all the activities that need to be done to keep […]
What You Need To Know On Soil Amendment For Ultimate Success
Few elements are as critical to gardening success as soil amendments. “Don’t forget your fertilizer” is a great start, however, we can do more for our gardens than simply adding fertilizer. Let’s consider the elements that can help feed and develop your soil! Consider these qualities of a good amendment program for ultimate long term […]
Understanding Biodynamic Agriculture With Adam Russell – Where Hope Grows Podcast
Understanding Biodynamic Agriculture With Adam Russell – Where Hope Grows Podcast Join us for an insightful episode of the “Where Hope Grows” podcast, featuring Adam Russell, as the podcast delves into the world of biodynamic agriculture—a holistic farming approach that treats the farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem. Biodynamic agriculture, rooted in the early 20th-century teachings […]
Agnihotra & Land Regeneration with Adam Russell on the Strange Road Podcast
Mikey and Stoner get to finally reconnect with Adam Russell on this episode. We met Adam while working the 2018 Tribalize Event with our friend Chris. We were in between setting up for an interview and shooting a scheduled livestream when we saw Adam give a presentation about Agnihotra and Land Regeneration. Agni Hotra is […]
Seeding For Biodiversity and Endangered Species in Texas
As a brief review of the articles we’ve published lately, we’ve discussed the power of Basalt dust and Azomite as broad mineralizing solutions. The value of starting as high on your property as possible and slowing the water down so that it can sink into and be stored in your landscape. We have discussed the […]
Learning Regenerative Land Design Principals That Really Work
This month we at Symbiosis Regenerative Systems care to share some of our design systems that empower us to find the right solutions. We work with a myriad of different types of client goals and properties that contain multitudes of diverse ecosystems. From high caliche hill country Juniper and Oak forests in the west, to […]