One of the greatest steps in being self-sufficient is to grow your calories and there is nothing better out there than an orchard.
Orchards last for several generation and give the most bang for our buck with little labor. The fruits and nuts that can grown are nothing but full of health and energy for our bodies. Thus, it was a no-brainer that our family would make this decision to plant one.
--We can eat fresh off the tree once there is ripe fruit.
--We can make fresh fruit pies.
--We can can, ferment, freeze dry, or dehydrate for storage throughout the winter.
--We will have plenty to feed our neighbors.
--And the list goes on.
Thus, I believe an orchard is one of the most important steps to take in a homestead in my humble opinion.
Now that I have discussed why I believe an orchard is important, how do we plant one staying organic and permaculturally minded?
SUCCESSION PLANT is the answer.
In the text, Practical Permaculture, written by Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein, succession planting "is a way to accelerate the successional process and obtain earlier yields by planting plants from many different stage of succession all at once. For instance, you may plant some young fruit and nut trees at their adult spacing. However, that leaves lots of space in between. So between your rows of fruit and nut trees, you might include a row of berries." (1)
Here are the 5 steps that we are taking currently to plant our orchard to ensure it is in succession and hardy:
#1. Choose a location for your orchard with the best soils on your property. Or close enough that you can maintain the soils regularly without going out of your way.
#2. If you have chickens or pigs, put them in that area to poop and help till the soil with all of the biota getting deep in that top layer of soil.
#3. Plant your trees and ensure you have a good irrigation system set up in the area.
#4. Plant a ground cover. We plan to add comfrey and yarrow that provide protection from weeds and adds nutrients to the soil. They can act like a mulch and also much needed water.
#5. Put a fence around the orchard if possible to prevent from wildlife destruction such as deer. We are not able to but have tree tubes to help create a microclimate and keeps deer from attacking small and fragile limbs.
Do you have an orchard? Or maybe already started researching on beginning one? Please provide your thoughts. Even if you haven't even thought about it and I provoked a desire to start one, I hope this helped!
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Reference:
1.) Bloom, Jessi & Boehnlein, Dave. (2015.) Practical Permaculture for Home Landscapes Your Community, and the Whole Earth. Timber Press, Inc.: Portland, Oregon.
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