Transition Projects #4: Creating a Resilient Orchard
Transition Projects #4: Creating a Resilient Orchard
So now I’m working on yet another project to help us Transition from a high energy lifestyle, to a lower energy lifestyle. Transforming our old neglected fruit orchard into a resilient Food Forest.
If you’ve been following this blog for a little while you will have subscribed to the newsletter in order to receive the 20 video “Energy Series” (which are free by the way) that help you take control of your energy bills by giving you excellent hints, tips and advice on what to do to reduce your consumption, save energy and save money. Recently though, we’ve raised the bar a little and began sharing with you our other major projects.
Project 1: The Food Project – beginning with the construction of our shade house. This totally revolutionised our food production last year and this year it has morphed into a berry and herb growing house with our main potato crop and some soft summer salad vegetables planned for a few weeks time. There will be a part two shortly.
Project 2: The Chook Project – these are our wonderful animal companions and they do so much work for us, eating our scraps, weeding our gardens, eatings pests and they give us eggs and fertiliser in return. Not to mention the sheer joy of having them around. There are plans afoot to upgrade their lodgings but it may be a while before that gets done due to the next big project below.
Project 3: The House - this is our long term project to build ourselves a sustainable home. We are literally building it ourselves so it’s slow, but we are using recycled materials, waste material, natural materials, energy efficient design as well as new and old technologies and materials to create a healthy, efficient, welcoming abode.
Project 4: The Food Forest Orchard
Which brings us to the first steps towards creating a resilient orchard which will one day be a Food Forest. Now my definition of a food forest as it stands today is a food garden incorporating fruiting and non-fruiting trees, shrubs, bushes, ground covers and underground edible items. I’m a long, long way from being able to claim any such thing right now but I am making a start.
This picture shows some of our apple trees which are planted alongside the shadehouse. They are not particularly old trees but from my observation they were planted a few years ago and no-one has touched them since.
This small orchard contains apples, cherries, plums, nectarines, peaches and quinces. There are four rows of six trees in each row and many of these trees are old, overgrown, filled with dead wood, crossed branches and lots of pests and diseases.
Despite this horrid state, they continue to produce fruit.
Imagine what they will do when someone starts to appreciate and care for them.
I recently purchased a DVD from the Australian Permaculture Institute, on Food Forests and it was so inspiring but I found myself a little overwhelmed. Most of the projects were of such a large scale I just couldn’t see how I could do such a thing in my garden.
Then I got onto YouTube and typed in Food Forest and came across a couple of video’s by or about Robert Hart from the UK who has developed a forest garden on a scale that is very applicable to my circumstances. YouTube is an absolute gold mine for visual images and information on this subject so go there and get inspired … well it certainly worked for me!
In our garden we have a limited amount of time in which to work to create and maintain things due to most of our time being spent building the house. However, Spring certainly worked it’s magic this year here in Australia with rain turning our parched land into a green oasis in a matter of weeks and creating an irresistible urge to get out there and do some work of a different nature.
I chose just one tree, in this case a fairly mature plum that has been shaped and pruned in the past but is badly in need of some nurturing. I’ll admit right here that I’m new to orchard maintenance and the details of how to properly care for each different tree are not yet part of my knowledge base without resort to books. However, I do know that dead wood has to go – that is where I always begin. Then diseased wood and wood that is crossing other branches or which for some reason are just not where you want them. Pruning is hard work but very rewarding.
Using my spade length as a measure, I dug a circle around the base of the tree, pulled out all the weeds and grass (some went to the chooks and ducks and some to the compost bins) and gave the whole area a nice long drink.
As you can see from the picture, this kind of activity is like a beacon to the chickens who come from wherever they are to “help” – on this occasion, they gobbled up lots of lawn/grass bugs and unfortunately a few worms too but their scratching also dislodged a few of the weeds I had missed so it seems we make a good team.
This activity was followed up with a good few handfuls of blood and bone, dynamic lifter and cow manure (I used all my homemade compost on the vegetable gardens this year) and another good water in.
Finally, we topped the lot with straw as a mulch to keep the moisture in the soil and attract the chickens back to this spot over the next few weeks.
Why do I want the chickens to come and spend time in this spot? They love straw – mine find it impossible to resist – so they come and scratch about and in the process dig up any new weed seedlings which may be popping up and they drop their nutrient rich manure right there where I want it and I don’t have to do a thing!
At the end of the day this is what I had and the tree looked much happier. This is the first tree on the second row in the orchard and I’ve already given all the trees in the first row the same treatment. Hopefully this time next year all the trees in the orchard will be feeling this kind of love!
Our plan is to begin turning this orchard into a food forest and I’ve begun on the trees in the first row already by reading up on companion planting for fruit trees.
This is part of my pest management strategy and so far I’ve planted apple mint, hollyhocks and lemon grass under an apple tree. Chamomile under a nectarine, strawberries, rosemary, garlic, lavender and catnip under the remaining peach and nectarine trees in that row. These are my herb layer and I have to say they look very attractive, the bees love them and they make me smile when I walk through the trees.
There is a lot more work and learning to be done but already the rewards are showing me that it’s most certainly worth it.
Where ever you are, what ever the season you can do something similar in your garden. If it’s cold and dark right now, get out the books and start planning to plant a new fruit tree and it’s companion plants next season, if it’s growing season where you are right now, go outside and see what you can do to add diversity and complimentary plantings to what you already have in your garden or orchard. Watch some video’s, buy a DVD, read a book or two.
Your garden will love you, your food will be healthier and you will glow with pride and health. Go to it.
