Interest in forest gardens are growing steadily, and last week I held and Annevi Sjöberg a forest garden course on a fairly newly established permakulturgård few mil north of Oslo (http://observatory-permaculturefarm.com/). The farm, which sits on a ridge with panoramic scenic view of all sides, was until last spring in Norwegian Academy of possession and had for decades used as a field station for biology student who would learn about plants, animals and ecology. Just right place to hold the course in other words,!
Just as the course of Småland which I reported on in the last post we chose the right place for forest garden along with students outside checklist of criteria for good placement of a forest garden. Working with a group is a powerful way to identify the right place, because everyone sees different things that can be easy to miss if you are working alone or in very small groups. In this case, the group chose a totally different place than what we trainers have done if we had decided themselves.
The course was slightly longer than the one I reported on in previous posts, which gave us extra time for space observation. In particular, we tried to find natural role models for our future forest garden. Because the site had been used in teaching previously there were more natural areas than it would have done in a conventionally managed farm. On a slope just below the future forest garden grew the large cherry trees with an undergrowth of shade tolerant red currants, raspberries and lots of meadowsweet. The phosphorus-rich älggräset will be used as mulch in the garden and the forest forest garden-like hillside provides an important habitat for many of the new monsters we want to attract to the forest garden.
It was very hot and dry throughout the course this weekend and such weather places extra demands on site preparation. It is important to water all the plants plenty before planting, to reduce the stress planting. The entire ground watered we thoroughly before we put on the cover material. Otherwise it may be too dry for the cardboard boxes and newspapers, with drought stress as a result of both plants and soil organisms. Watered it thoroughly before the ground is covered, however, eliminates moisture for long periods of time and the establishment of the new plants is facilitated.
The last thing we did was to submit a management plan for the newly established forest garden for those who work with the Observatory permakulturgård. The next few weeks it's mostly about supplementing mulch, water regularly and clean off any weeds which pass through slots in the cover material. Later will require more ground cover planted to create a living ground cover and reduce the need for weeding. Speaking of work, there are vacancies on the farm, contact the owner Gerd Pedersen by contact form on the farm's website if you are interested!