u/Missesquinlan

We recently purchased a property where the only otherwise suitable space for a garden is on a stone shelf and also has multiple springs in the area. (Soil tends towards clay. The lawn is very healthy throughout, no dead spots, only significantly more green spots.)Found out about the shelf and springs when talking to the neighbor our first day moving in. It's very wet all year round, some places being soft, but nothing "swampy" per se. We had hoped when buying the land to be putting in some dwarf fruit trees and a significant garden, but it sounds like many have tried;all have failed. I'm hoping hugelkulture could offer a solution. Most of the reading and podcast listening I've done looks positive, but a family member who had personally done hugelkultur sounded less than convinced. Thoughts? Insights? Suggestions?

My husband and I just purchased a 3.76 acre property in midcoast maine (zone5). It's about half wooded and half lawn, maybe slightlymore lawn, with a trailer somewhat centered on the property. The lawn has a dramatic slope, and there's really only one place that looks good for gardening due to light, leach field placement and a few outbuildings. Chatting with our new neighbors, we were informed that there's a granite ledge under that portion of the yard, as well as several springs. The ground is definitely saturated in some places (but it also just dropped several inches of rain a few nights ago). We had hoped to put in fruit trees and a kitchen garden in this spot, and now we're wondering how to proceed. I have never personally dealt with this combination of conditions and am wondering if anyone has suggestions for land management, or even just crops/plants that might do well in these conditions?