Page 54 - may2021

the Good life... CREATING A FRUIT FOREST

When my sister in law Samantha mentioned ‘Permaculture Gardening’ at first I was not
quite sure what to expect. Thankfully for research books and Google, I now have a much
better understanding and hopefully I can interest someone to follow suit as for me this is
a fantastic way foward of growing your own food. It is ideal for anyone looking to grow
their own food in a sustainable system. Permaculture is based on the concept of designing
your garden around your local environment. A permaculture garden design considers the
needs of the natural ecosystem and climate in addition to meeting human needs.

There are a few steps in Permaculture Gardening one has to consider.
1 ) The first one is to familiarize yourself with your surroundings. What native plants,
insects, and mammals inhabit your region and planting area?
2) Choose your plants based on your environment, practice companion planting,
choose crops that attract beneficial insects, deter pests and naturally fertilize your soil.
Flowers can attract butterflies and bees; grow herbs that repel harmful insects (ie Marigolds,
Chillies), plant trees which attract bees and birds.
3) Design your garden layout. This is so much fun to do. What you have to consider
here is watering, light and the landscape. Use plant stacking/zoning, I will show you an
example below. Consider the size and height of each tree/plant/shrub etc
4) Plant your bigger trees first so you know where you will have shade. Make sure
plants with similar water and sun requirements are planted together.
5) Use your compost (manure and kitchen scraps) and also mulch (which helps retain
moisture).
6) Use an efficient and sustainable water system. I am using a drip irrigation system,
another possibility would be collecting rain water or grey water.

Farming organic vegetables and not using pesticides is hard work and sometimes very
frustrating. We have had army worms eating our mealies, next were pickle worms eating my
squashes and just recently we found something eating my peppers. After looking carefully,
we discovered beautiful yellow CMR beetles, loads of them. Sadly those beetles were blister
beetles and not really something you want in your garden. When I read up on them and
found out how toxic they can be for horses and people I thought about a way to get rid of
them naturally. And other than picking them (with gloves) and destroying them I read that
birds work the best to lower their numbers.

And this is how the idea of my Fruit Forest came to life.

In the beginning of the lockdown last year I concentrated on my little nursery and started
planting trees and fruits and vegetables from seeds which I could buy or collect in our area.
I looked around and chose the plants which I have either grown myself or managed to buy.