First and foremost, THANK YOU! Your help directly, and your many topics in many forums have answered sooooooo many questions and been so great to read!

Now I'm working on the clay that is supposed to be "soil" in my yard, and I'm really hoping that someone here has done things a little differently, and can clear a couple of things up for me.

I've decided to take the long slow route to ensure I do not endanger the trees spread all over the yard, and go with plants that have deep and large roots to break up the clay and introduce vegetation, since I do not plan to harvest.

For the warm season I've chosen soybean and forage turnips, and for the cool season, alfalfa and forage radish. And at some point, I'd like to have a mix of different colored clovers and hairy vetch, eventually moving to a clovers/vetch/grasses mix that will like very "woodsy" and natural, I've no plans to get anywhere near anything that even remotely resembles a proper lawn.

My thoughts were, for the first two years, to plant both warm season choices at the same time, let them do their thing, mulch mow as often as I can without killing the plants before maturity, then do a really low cut, repeat with the cool season plants. For the third year, plant only the soybean and the alfalfa, and for the fourth year to start working on the woodsy look I am after.

But I wonder if I should not do some sort of rotation instead. One year turnips then alfalfa, the next soybean then radishes, and a third of soybean then alfalfa, and fourth working on the woodsy look. Which one would offer the best chance for growth and soil enhancement?

And does anyone know how often you can mow these plants without killing them? I've got no problem with longer lawns and letting them grow longer than your average person would, but it is not possible to let it go for several feet, and again, I want to mulch mow and have those working on the soil as well.

All thoughts and opinions would be most welcome! Thanks!

Char

If your looking for semi-wild fruit and nut trees, I recommend the following nurseries:
http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/
http://www.reesevilleridgenursery.com/7.html
http://trees-seeds.com/seeds.htm

Rosa rugosa is very drought tolerant and deep rooted:
http://www.highcountryroses.com/special.html
http://www.springvalleyroses.com/catalog/frudagmar.html

Hazelbert and hazelnut are very drought tolerant and deep rooted:
http://www.badgersett.com/

One Green World has some interesting choices.
Mulberry trees are probably my favorite semi-wild fruit tree.
The list is endless.