Saturday, May 17, 2008

Berry berry happy!

We have found a berry supplier! After getting a little disheartened by stories of quarantine laws changing and Eastern states suppliers no longer sending stuff over to WA, I saw sign out the front of a local nursery saying 'Blueberries'. Bought 2 and have ordered a blackberry, gooseberry, red currant and black currant. The kids LOVE berries so hopefully these will grow and do well.
Ideally I'd love to plant them as a mid-storey plant (Robert Hart style) but I'm waiting to hear from some local experts, who apparently were growers years back, for some tips. Any readers with tips for growing these in a temperate climate PLEASE speak up!

It's funny, I planted the kiwi vine under the apricot tree - and now faced with the prospect of planting all these berries I'm feeling....nervous/uncomfortable about it. Will we trample them all when we pick other fruit. How will we prune? And at the same time I'm hearing myself and realising how very conditioned I am to the idea of an orchard being 'neat, tidy' and clear on the ground. I really need to get over this. Logically I know that the 'forest garden' method makes sense. Especially water wise - why water 3 acres when you could water 0.5 of one. Maybe it's just the fact that I've never seen one in real life before.
Has anyone else out there tried the Hart method? I know Crone at wits end is planning to - but is anyone else actually harvesting from a multi-layered garden? Please let me know!

Off to bed now. Permaculture expert/consultant comes tomorrow morning to give us some tips on how to best use our land. More on this after his visit.

1 comment:

The Crone at Wits End said...

Where where where!!!!!

IWANNAGARDENFULLO'BERRIESTOO!

I am getting so grumpy lately, I know and can see in my head how my garden will be in five or so years, but I want it now!