{"id":32288,"date":"2019-08-24T01:33:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T01:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenbridge.co.nz\/food-forest-case-study-blagdon-taranaki-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-07-17T09:40:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T09:40:03","slug":"food-forest-case-study-blagdon-taranaki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenbridge.co.nz\/food-forest-case-study-blagdon-taranaki\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Forest Case Study: Blagdon, Taranaki"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This food forest was for a Greenbridge client who wished to establish an extensive urban food garden, making the site self-reliant for most fruit and vegetables, on her return to New Plymouth in three years\u2019 time.\u00a0 The area designated for the food forest is 230sqm on the property\u2019s south boundary, with a canopy of 5 fruit trees and a four-tier\/layer system below.\u00a0 Microclimate and habitat suits deciduous pip and stone fruit trees and guilds\u2026.writes Bena Denton<\/strong><\/p>\n

SITE PROFILE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Location: <\/strong>Blagdon, New Plymouth<\/p>\n

Size:<\/strong> 230sqm<\/p>\n

Topography:<\/strong> gentle slope<\/p>\n

Aspect\/Solar Access:<\/strong> North-East facing (receives 8hrs sun during summer & 6hrs in winter)<\/p>\n

Wind\/Shelter:<\/strong> Somewhat sheltered from predominate Westerly and due to a hill to the South largely protected from damaging South Easterly (could do with increase to the south shelter).<\/p>\n

Soil:<\/strong> Free draining loam, with existing moss and grass ground indicating slightly acidic soil.<\/p>\n

Microclimate\/Habitat:<\/strong> Reasonably sheltered warm site, which suits deciduous pip and stone fruit (if better shelter were present the microclimate would lean more toward sub-tropical).<\/p>\n

Access:<\/strong>\u00a0 Good bike, foot & car access down a steep drive, which opens onto FF.<\/p>\n

Water Management:<\/strong> A bit too free-draining due to a large terraced drop off to East (so mulching important for water retention).\u00a0 Hose\/garden tap, currently from town supply, however, there are plans for a rainwater tank to be installed, which could syphon feed a barrel system in the FF.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SITE CHALLENGES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weed\u2019 issues abounded at this site; bindweed, climbing asparagus, tradescantia, balsum, caster oil plant, climbing fig, and oxalyis.\u00a0 While a weed is only a plant where you don\u2019t want it and many \u2018weeds\u2019 are encouraged in a food forest (such as dandelion, chickweed etc.) for their edible and other uses, some weeds are pernicious and can make it difficult to grow the edible plants you may desire.\u00a0 Convolvulus or bindweed, in particular, posed a real problem, as this client is not in residence and if not checked will strangle fruit trees and ground covers would be hard to establish.<\/p>\n

SITE ASSETS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Predominantly north-facing, free-draining site \/ Good Access (foot & driven) \/ Reasonably sheltered from predominant winds \/ Water Access (town supply and future rain tank) \/ Client with good gardening skills and permaculture understanding \/ A great install team!<\/p>\n

INSTALL TEAM<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sorrel, Victoria, Susan (client), Barbara, Lou, Bena (GB), Dan (GB<\/p>\n

PLANT\/<\/strong>YIELD <\/strong>LAYER<\/strong> INCLUDED<\/strong><\/p>\n

5 x Canopy Fruit Trees:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 x Apricot Fitzroy (on plum stock), prolific, local variety,\u00a0$25-30<\/p>\n

1 x Fig Brown Turkey (restricted) $60<\/p>\n

1 x Peach Black Boy (on plum stock), does well some spots NP $25-30<\/p>\n

1 x Plum Luisa (plum stock) Exceptional eating \u00a0$25-30<\/p>\n

1 x Plum Hawera (plum stock) local variety \u00a0$25-30<\/p>\n

The client selected the above varieties from a list, which also included: medler, persimmon, apple (low chill varieties) & pear (if espaliering).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>12 x Soft Fruit\/Bushes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 x Hazel Ennis (less vigorous but prolific), needs pollinator, prune 2m $12-15<\/p>\n

1 x Hazel Whiteheart, pollinator $12-15<\/p>\n

3 x Black Currant Goliath 1.5m large berries $5-6 each<\/p>\n

3 x Black Currant Magnus 1.8m \u00a0$5-6 each<\/p>\n

2 x Gooseberry Invicta 1-1.5m $10 approx.<\/p>\n

2 x Gooseberry Pax 1-1.5m $10 approx.<\/p>\n

The client selected the above, from a list which also included: NZ cranberries, red currants, cape gooseberries, blueberries, cane fruit (if espaliering) & elderberry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Many x Herbaceous Guilds\/Perennial Ground Cover:<\/strong><\/p>\n

20 x Comfrey Russian clumping (mines potassium, 4 for each fruit tree) $2 each<\/p>\n

5 x Spring Bulb packets (rot down at end of spring, when fruit trees need nutrients) $10 each<\/p>\n

20-30 x Strawberry plants (good ground cover, spread by stolen) $2-3 each<\/p>\n

10 x Oregano plants $2 each<\/p>\n

Add any other perennial herb\/veg\/flowers readily available (i.e. kale, NZ spinach, borage, phacelia, lavender, thyme, yarrow, nettles, geranium, forget-me-nots, nasturtium, vetch, red clover, parsnip & violets etc.)<\/p>\n

Perennial Beds: <\/strong><\/p>\n

For the narrow terraced beds that the footpath \u2018circles\u2019 around, suggested perennials were either; rhubarb, globe artichoke (one already growing there), cape gooseberry, asparagus & oca (yams).<\/p>\n

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Shelter<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 x Tagasasti $2 each<\/p>\n

6 x Hebe small (or jerusalem artichoke) $5-7 each<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Animals<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chooks (in future)<\/p>\n

MATERIALS REQUIRED\/USED<\/strong><\/p>\n

Straw: \u00a0<\/strong>As weed free straw is expensive ($22\/square bale), we used a mix of this and hay from our farmlet (using them in separate areas to test effect on weed growth).\u00a0 We found that ideally 1&1\/2 large round bales are required for thick coverage of a 12sqm guild.<\/p>\n

Compost:\u00a0 <\/strong>We brought in 1.5 cubic meters of compost (allowing for approx. 2\/10 of a cube per fruit tree and some for the berry bushes). \u00a0Purchased from Return2Earth who do compost, which is not organic, but good quality.\u00a0 1 cube is $120 + $50 delivery \u00a0($230 total)<\/p>\n

Stakes:<\/strong>\u00a0 Long un-tanalized wooden stakes are hard to source, so we used 1.8m high Steel-Y-Post (warratah), which gave us the advantage of not breaking in wind, not rotting and being able to be reused).\u00a0 Two needed per tree.\u00a0 Purchased from RD1 at $10.90 each ($109 total)<\/p>\n

Fertilizers\/Maintenance<\/strong>:\u00a0 In addition to the living mulches and plant miners (tagasaste\/ comfrey\u2026), horse poo, carbon mulch (cardboard and straw), compost, potash\/lime were all added to any dug over soil (to raise PH).\u00a0 The FF would benefit from seaweed meal (esp. asparagus in spring) and all fruit trees could do with a foliar spray of seaweed (the peach may need a copper spray at bud burst if the leaves are showing signs of cull-leaf fungus).<\/p>\n

Further Materials:<\/strong>\u00a0 Pruning Wax \/ Bark for path mulch (on site from previous arborist work) \/ Newspaper and\/or Cardboard \/ Plastic Bottle cloche (for tender veg) \/ Inner Bike Tubes (from bicycle shop \u2013 for fruit trees ties) \/ Wood Ash (for liming, saved from wood burner) \/ Plastic Bin (for Fig root restriction \u2013 drill drainage holes before burying).<\/p>\n

TOOLS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planting Spade(s) \/ Shovels \/ Trowels \/ Garden Fork(s) \/ Garden Buckets (plastic flexi 2-3) \/ Secateurs (sharp) \/ Pruning Saw Loppers \/ NT Cutter \/ Wheelbarrow 2-3 \/ Hammer \/ String Line \/ Chainsaw \/ Axe (for cutting roots) \/ Contractors Long Bar \/ Bamboo or other making pegs (two types min) \/ Gloves \/ Protective eyewear and Ear muffs \/ Baby Sledge \/ Hacksaw \/ Pliers \/ Adjustable Crescent \/ Screw drivers \/ Power Drill \/ Hose.<\/p>\n

ORDER OF WORKS<\/strong><\/p>\n