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Posts from Forest Garden Wales Blog for 04/17/2019

April 17, 2019

By [email protected] (Jake Rayson) on Apr 16, 2019 03:24 pm

The itinerary for my forest garden tours and workshops, with a link to a “live” page that will be kept up-to-date.

We had our first forest garden tour and workshop last week, via Airbnb. A bit nerve-wracking but eminently enjoyable. I used the same itinerary for both the two hour tour and the six hour workshop. I feel the cyclical process works well in both situations, the workshop is an extension with more detail and practical applications.

This is a snapshot of the intinerary, I’m keeping a “live” version on Simplenote updated, as it’s easier to print from http://simp.ly/publish/wj614M

FGW itinerary

A. TheoryB. PracticeC. TimetableD. Reference

A. Theory

1. Definition of a forest garden

  1. Productive: produce, layers

  2. Sustainable: wildlife, pests, nutrients, inputs, carbon

  3. Low maintenance: watering, weeding, digging, fertilising, compost

Wildlife orchard underplanted with edible shrubs & perennial vegetables. 7 layers.

2. Start with wants

  • Harvest: fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, herbs, mushrooms, poles, canes, string

  • Space: People centered “who, what & when”

  • Time

  • Money

3. Climax vegetation

  • Woodland -> Forest garden -> Orchard -> Pasture -> Arable

  • Increased: energy, fragility, uniformity, maintenance, greenhouse gas emissions

Gently balance the garden

On the cusp of woodland

With minimal effort

4. Efficiency

Energy input:output

B. Practical

1. Survey

  • Measure aspects: soil, water, boundaries, paths, slopes, orientation, views, footpaths, utilities, structures, access, privacy etc

  • Mapping: tape measure, satellite, OS map - accuracy

2. Plan

  1. List what you want & have (three W’s; time, money, space). Zoning.

  2. Purpose of plan: fit the use and trees with the space.

  3. Plan access, windbreaks, canopy, name areas (computer or paper).

3. Propagate

  • Start ground cover & windbreaks now

  • Rudimentary propagation bed. Flowers & veg!

4. Windbreaks

  • Calculate position, height, width (nurse tree)

  • Choose - aspect, light, soil

5. Canopy

Critical. Spacing, pollination, protection

6. Sheet mulch

Area, material, time

7. Shrubs

Spacing, light, access. Mark chalk circles.

8. Ground cover

Wood chip, spacing, shade, temporary ground cover

C. Timetable

1. Workshop timetable

  • 10-11: Tour - meadow, coppice, Ornamental Forest Garden, Forest Garden One definition

  • 11-12: Survey, plan

  • 12-1: Lunch

  • 1-2: Plan

  • 2-3: Practical propagation, shrub

  • 3-4: Practical ground cover

2. Tour timetable

  • Definition: Fruit Triangle example

  • Survey, Plan: polytunnel area

  • Propagation, windbreaks: Ornamental Forest Garden

  • Canopy, Shrub, Ground cover: Forest Garden One

D. Reference

Jake Rayson

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By [email protected] (Jake Rayson) on Apr 16, 2019 10:17 am

Now is always a good time to start propagating ground cover plants for a forest garden, indeed any garden. Here’s how to make a simple, no-dig propagation bed, where you can plant-and-forget.

At the beginning of any forest garden project, I always recommend surveying and planning first, followed by propagating ground cover plants. The reason is cost; you need a large number of ground cover plants to create a living mulch in a forest garden. At 30cm apart, the cost of plants would be prohibitive even in a small garden.

The process is pretty simple. Find an area of grass that you know won’t be used for quite a while and follow these steps to create the bed:

  1. Lay down a really thick layer of cardboard.

  2. Put a thick layer of top soil or garden compost onto the cardboard.

  3. Cover the soil with a thick layer of wood chip.

  4. Plant your ground cover plants through the woodchip into the soil.

  5. If you like, liberally sprinkle a layer of annual green manure (I use White Mustard) which will help keep the weeds down.

The grass will die off beneath the cardboard, the ground cover plants will grow in the soil, the cardboard will gradually decompose and the ground cover will get established. All you’ll need to do is a bit of weeding every few months.

Make sure to plant something that easy to propagate. Around here in West Wales, Glechoma hederacea grows like a proverbial weed, so it’s a fantastic, low-maintenance ground cover. Plants For A Future has a handy database of ground cover plants if you’re stuck for ideas.

The beauty is that the propagation bed is only ever temporary, you can always move the plants to another site. If you don’t use them, you can always give them away to friends, neighbours or a fête worse than death.

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