Video: Permaculture Trio
This video is really three different views of permaculture gardens rolled into one. Notes below the video.
Forest Gardening with Robert Hart
Robert Hart was born on 1 April 1913, and died on 7 March 2000. He was a vegan (eating around 90% raw food) who took up farming at Wenlock Edge, in Shropshire.
- garden is on the site of an ancient Celtic monastery
- inspired by the urge to create a practical solution to world hunger
- also cared for his handicapped brother, Lacon, born with severe learning difficulties
- “vision was to plant a miniature edible forest to fulfil the needs of a healthy diet in beautiful surroundings”
- garden was established in the early 1960s
- success depends upon planting in layers to mimic nature
- 7 storeys
- canopy layer: tall, light-demanding trees e.g. mature fruit trees
- low-tree layer: short, shade-tolerant trees e.g. smaller nuts and fruit trees, and dwarf fruit varieties
- shrub layer: bushes e.g. currants and berries
- herbaceous layer: perennial vegetables and herbs
- ground cover layer: horizontal spreading plants e.g. strawberries
- rhizosphere: underground area, plants grown for roots/tubers
- vertical layer: climbers, creepers, vines
- Mahatma Gandhi was the inspiration, with his vision of a world order of democratic, self-sustaining small communities
- some of the trees have been planted in memory of inspirational figures
- garden is kept mulched all year
- mulch suppresses weeds, maintains desirable soil temperature, retains moisture, feeds microorganisms
- good compost contains a wide variety of organic materials
- shredded woody material is excellent for the compost
- no chemicals used, but foliar sprays of liquid comfrey, nettles etc
- attention paid to the relationships between different plants (companion planting)
- sells produce to local greengrocer and whole-food restaurant
- advice on how to start a forest garden from scratch:
- start an orchard of standard fruit trees, planted at the recommended spacing (20 ft apart)
- plant dwarf trees in between the standard trees
- plant bushes (e.g. currants, gooseberries) in between the trees
- plant herbs and perennials at the ground level
- once established, the main work is cutting back plants so they don’t encroach on each other too much, and keeping the soil well-mulched
- forest gardens give maximum output for minimum labour
Plants For A Future (PFAF) with Ken Fern
- (15:50) profile of Ken Fern, building a farm in Cornwall using many of Robert’s ideas
- Ken has a massive variety of plants growing on his farm, and goes through some of the more interesting ones
- Ken maintains the Plants For A Future (PFAF) web site and database, listing over 7000 plants that can be grown in the UK
Mike and Julia Guerra
- (32:10) tiny backyard forest garden in Hartfordshire
- the garden is 75 square metres, and gives 250 kg of food per year (15 tons/acre!), for 2 hours of garden work per week
- was inspired by a Bill Mollison documentary to start growing his own food
- turned their barren backyard into a very productive food garden
- mostly zone 1, intensive herb and vegetable garden
- (39.25) cool strawberry tower
- companion planting
- use warmth of the compost heap to dry shallots or grow seedlings
- growing potatoes in old tyres
- worm farm – “wormery”; use castings, liquid (“worm wee”) for heavy feeders like tomatoes
- greens during winter fight depression
2 comments February 21st, 2008