Advice for Central Chile

Hi everybody, my first thread here

We have bought 5000 m2 in central Chile, in an eco condo close to a national park. Condo regulations allow a maximum impact of 20% of my land, and they give me 50 tree seedlings to plant on the resting 4000 m2.
The land is full of Espinos (vacchellia caven). Rainfall would be around 200 to 400 mm/y and only from may to october. Winter temp around 5, summer temp around 35 degC. 300 days of sunshine a year. The soil is bone dry and stone hard. We have access to horse poo and maybe dead plant material from the neighbours.

I am looking to put a weekend home on my land and will be there every 7 to 15 days. Any advice would be appreciated as to:
Which local tree or shrub species to grow
How to grow them (mulch?)
Where and how to plant fruit trees
How to increase biodiversity, attract reptiles, birds, insects...

Any hints? Any permies in the area?

Google or get a book on author Sepp Holzer.  He is a fantastic person that has restored land in many places around the world.

Any plan you can repeat, you want to toss in nitrogen producers about every 4 tree.

A book by Sepp Holzer is "Permaculture A Practical Guide to Small Integrative Farming and Gardening."    He is consider a top Permaculture guru.

Bueno Suerte,

You are in what is called a Mediterranean climate, where most or all rain falls in the cool season and the summer is hot and dry.  Only a few places around the world share this climate and it is quite unique....fortunately quite a few food plants thrive in it. Research these regions (all around the Mediterranean, parts of California, USA; parts of South Africa, southwestern Australia) to find out about these and other possible species.  Beware that moving plants from one of these zones to another may result in their becoming "invasives"....chances are likely there are already one or more of these present, and the challenge then is to find good uses for them.  Observe what's growing around you in the region and what other folks are planting....  For trees things like olive, fig, pomegranate come first to mind.  Unless you have excellent irrigation, plan to grow most of your gardens in the rainy cool season.  Mulch and manure of all sorts is the solution to hard clay soil....better incorporated or buried than left on the surface, in my experience....in part this is motivated by fire danger....which is also common in these climates.

Michael Moreken wrote:

Any plan you can repeat, you want to toss in nitrogen producers about every 4 tree.

A book by Sepp Holzer is "Permaculture A Practical Guide to Small Integrative Farming and Gardening."    He is consider a top Permaculture guru.
,

Thanks Michael for the advice on nitrogen producers! And Sepp rings a bell, will look out for his work.

Alder Burns wrote: Beware that moving plants from one of these zones to another may result in their becoming "invasives"....
... Observe what's growing around you in the region and what other folks are planting....  
.... For trees things like olive, fig, pomegranate come first to mind.  Unless you have excellent irrigation, plan to grow most of your gardens in the rainy cool season.  Mulch and manure of all sorts is the solution to hard clay soil....better incorporated or buried than left on the surface, in my experience....in part this is motivated by fire danger....which is also common in these climates.

Hi Alder, great reply! Introducing plants to Chile is not only questionable, but under local law downright illegal. I would get picked out at the x-ray machine at the airport and heavily fined for anything brought into the country

Watching locals might help, but considering the extreme escepticism locals have to anything ancient, I reconed it would be better to start from scratch.

I was thinking about planting trees in winter, and doing mulch, plant them in ditches etc- looks like it makes sense cheers!