Posted by James Samuel on January 20, 2009 at 10:58am
Find some land - I reckon it would be great if it was highly accessible to the bulk of the Waiheke population.
Call on some skilled permaculturalists.
Set some dates and milestones.
What else?
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Picking up this thread- I appreciate the value of organizing a highly visible group project for inspiration and learning.
Extending from that I would like to build a group knowledge base in this forum to allow the practice of making a food forest to become less daunting, more common. I will post some discussion threads so that those interested can access them. FAQ I guess. I think it would be helpful for getting over the initial feeling I have of being daunted by the project, and I imagine I'm not alone.
The following areas are where I have questions, just as a starting point:
-Siting and slope- just putting the scattered bits of wisdom in one place
-Swale or no swale? and...Manual labor versus machine earthworks
- "On contour" explained- to help anyone new to that term, and those who, like me, haven't really understood it yet.
-List of NZ/Waiheke specific leguminous plants and trees- if Richard Lee and others who have this knowledge can share it here we can start seedlings now to be ready when the project requires them, and start building up native seed stock
-Description of the process- step-by-step. A basic guideline to use as jumping off point.
My interest is in trying this out on my own little piece of backyard and at the same time starting plants and trees that can be used for the larger project.
I was at Andrei Jewel's place yesterday. He is on Wilma Rd and across the road is the council reserve. It is a relatively long but narrow strip with a gentle slope. It would make a great site for a food forest! Let's talk with Gary after he has seen the film. At present the land is grass that the council mows a couple of times a year.
I've sent him an email. Do you want to email me on islandgardening@gmail.com so I have your email and can copy you in?
James Samuel said:
Hi Christy,
Would you like to call Gary and invite him to the next screening of the Food Forest film on the 3rd? That might be a great way to stimulate the conversation. In terms of how much - the bigger the better :) There are probably some qualities of the land in terms of the contour which may be relevant (I dont know).
Perhaps a conversation setup with whoever from this group wants to join in, Gary Wilton and someone like Richard Lee, could be a good early step.
James
Christy Ralphs said:
how much land are we talking about? minimum- ideal -maximum? something that could be done on public land maybe? maybe gary wilton from council could be worth talking to, perhaps there's a waste bit of land somewhere that we would be doing them a favour of clearing of weeds...
Would you like to call Gary and invite him to the next screening of the Food Forest film on the 3rd? That might be a great way to stimulate the conversation. In terms of how much - the bigger the better :) There are probably some qualities of the land in terms of the contour which may be relevant (I dont know).
Perhaps a conversation setup with whoever from this group wants to join in, Gary Wilton and someone like Richard Lee, could be a good early step.
James
Christy Ralphs said:
how much land are we talking about? minimum- ideal -maximum? something that could be done on public land maybe? maybe gary wilton from council could be worth talking to, perhaps there's a waste bit of land somewhere that we would be doing them a favour of clearing of weeds...
how much land are we talking about? minimum- ideal -maximum? something that could be done on public land maybe? maybe gary wilton from council could be worth talking to, perhaps there's a waste bit of land somewhere that we would be doing them a favour of clearing of weeds...
Richard Lee will join in this group when he gets back home in a day or two. He has lots of knowledge of Legume trees and bushes that are available to us in NZ, and a good sense of the processes involved in establishing a food forest. He is creating one on some land in Warkworth (northland).
As for the food we want to grow and eat, i reckon we grow as much food types and species as we can and then we will have more choices about which ones we want/need to eat.
Amy said:
What do we want to grow to eat and what are the support plants? The area I am least familiar with is the Lucerne tree species....
Replies
Extending from that I would like to build a group knowledge base in this forum to allow the practice of making a food forest to become less daunting, more common. I will post some discussion threads so that those interested can access them. FAQ I guess. I think it would be helpful for getting over the initial feeling I have of being daunted by the project, and I imagine I'm not alone.
The following areas are where I have questions, just as a starting point:
-Siting and slope- just putting the scattered bits of wisdom in one place
-Swale or no swale? and...Manual labor versus machine earthworks
- "On contour" explained- to help anyone new to that term, and those who, like me, haven't really understood it yet.
-List of NZ/Waiheke specific leguminous plants and trees- if Richard Lee and others who have this knowledge can share it here we can start seedlings now to be ready when the project requires them, and start building up native seed stock
-Description of the process- step-by-step. A basic guideline to use as jumping off point.
My interest is in trying this out on my own little piece of backyard and at the same time starting plants and trees that can be used for the larger project.
Central, large enough, accessible. Imagine!
James Samuel said:
Would you like to call Gary and invite him to the next screening of the Food Forest film on the 3rd? That might be a great way to stimulate the conversation. In terms of how much - the bigger the better :) There are probably some qualities of the land in terms of the contour which may be relevant (I dont know).
Perhaps a conversation setup with whoever from this group wants to join in, Gary Wilton and someone like Richard Lee, could be a good early step.
James
Christy Ralphs said:
As for the food we want to grow and eat, i reckon we grow as much food types and species as we can and then we will have more choices about which ones we want/need to eat.
Amy said:
I have done a Permaculture Design Course with Geoff Lawton in June 2008
Roz and Lloyd