There is nothing so joyful as a large group of people coming together to plant currants. Especially when they’re doing it in a forest garden, early in Spring, when the peaches and wattles are flowering madly and the sap is rising all around.
As part of our first forest garden workshop here at Milkwood Farm, we planted out a wonderful tangle of shrubs, berries, herbs and ground covers to support our existing fruit and pioneer trees, creating lots of guild plantings to encourage a stable, resilient forest garden system in years to come.
A portion of the haul of shrubs and berries to be planted
Harris shows how to plant a bay tree so well that it won't turn up its toes, even after being rootbound.
The class examining soil structure, an important aspect of any healthy system
The planting action begins...
How to make a happy currant: plant it well, with friends!
Students Dave and Erica getting their weed barrier sorted, with baby Angus advising on technique
Olivier and Celia planting a tree the Milkwood way. Note crowbar.
One of the pioneer geese is laying in the forest garden. Her eggs are an early spring treat.
And the warré beehives are a-buzzing and the bees are making their early spring flights...
Peach blossoms in the forest garden, with (nearly finished) tinyhouse behind. Ah, Spring...
Many thanks to all the students who attended. It was great to meet you all. Big thanks to Dan Harris Pascal, our resident plant-whisperer, forest garden expert and pronouncer of un-pronouncable plant names.
We’re doing more forest garden workshops at Milkwood Farm and also an urban version in Sydney in the new year.
Good to see those pink tree guards are infecting the country! Keeping those rabbits out! Great work Milkwood and Harris the food forest master!
Go the pink tree guards! Loving them…
It was a great workshop, learnt lots, met lots of great people and can’t wait to get practising guilds in my soon-to-be food forest garden.
Lovely to meet you Vicki – let us know how it goes!
Thanks Nick, as well as the rabbits the guards seem to be keeping the frost out. On the morning of -2 frost we had after the course the frost had settled around the guards and not on the plants inside. Even better, were were able to work 3 guards together to go around a particularly sprawling Ugni plant. I like that they have holes too so that plants don’t heat up too much in the guard. Vicki, glad you had such a good time, was great to have you along and I’d love to see photos of your site prep… Read more »