Forest Gardening at the ART August 29, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Food, Gardens, General, Permaculture , add a commentI had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to attend a 2-day course on Forest gardening with Martin Crawford at the Agroforestry Research Trust.
The course was professionally delivered by Martin who has encyclopedic knowledge of his subject and was a fantastic experience, re-inspiring my own attempts and forest gardening and showing me some areas i need to focus on more if I want to achieve success. Lunches were provided by his wife Sandra using as much produce from the garden as possible including an amazing array of jams and chutneys, dried fruit and, my favorite, chestnut pate.
Situated in the Dartington Estate near Totnes in Devon, Martin designed and planted his experimental forest garden in the early 90s and now, 15 years after its design, it stands as perhaps one of the important examples of perennial agriculture, and a demonstration that this is a viable and productive method of food production in the cool temeprate climate of Britain.
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Martin Crawford discusses Apricot trees underplanted with comfrey;
The E.F. Schumacher Forest Garden in the Dartington Estate
The Forest garden has always been an iconic feature of permaculture design, and the image of a successful food forest of fruit and nut trees underplanted with successive layers of fruit bushes, climbers, herbs and perennial vegetables, ground cover, roots and tubers and even fungii, has been for many- myself included- a kind of Holy Grail of
the permaculture concept: the designer would become the recliner, lolling in a hammock in a Garden of Eden of her own making, the only concern being Fear of Falling Fruit.
Upcoming Courses August 25, 2008
Posted by Graham in : General , add a commentCourses for 2008
Coming up in the next couple of months….
Weekend Introduction to Permaculture Courses with Graham
September 6th-7th
Kildare Steiner School
contact: Kate Park
katepark1@eircom.net
27th-28th September
Dunhill Eco-Park, Ballyphilip, Co. Waterford
Saturday 27th September 10am – 5pm and Sunday 28th September 11am – 4pm Slow food lunch included with tea / coffee
Contact: Samantha Richardson
samantha@dunhillecopark.com
Forest garden Workshop
September 13th 2008
Venue: Derryduff Mor, Coomhola, Bantry, Co. Cork
Topics to be covered include:
-edges and hedges
-Canopy cover/tree crops
-shrub layers
-herbaceous and ground covers
-climbers and trellises
-maintenance and fertility
Cost: €40 waged; €25 unwaged
Please bring your own lunch.
Places are limited so please book early:
email: graham@zone5.org
Phone: 086 8539900
Green Building in 5 Days
An an introduction to natural building techniques and design over 5 consecutive Thursdays starting September- date TBA.
Venue: Kenmare Adult Education Centre, Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Contact:
kenmareaec@eircom.net
A visit to the Eden Project August 15, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Environment, Food, Gardens, Peak Oil, Permaculture, climate change , 1 comment so farThe Eden Project in Cornwall was established 7 years ago and has become a world famous visitor attraction with its iconic huge bubble-wrap domes providing the closest you’ll get to an experience of the rain-forest this side of the Amazon.
I was visiting my sister this week, who lives nearby in Bodmin, and got the opportunity to visit, with my father. (more…)
Introduction to Permaculture Kildare September 6th-7th August 11, 2008
Posted by Graham in : General , add a comment
I will be teaching a second introduction to permaculture course at the Kildare Steiner School, near Castledermot, September 6th-7th.
This is a result of the tremendous interest shown in practical courses held at the school since my first permacultre course there in June, and the hard work of Kate Park of Transition Town Newbridge in promoting these courses.
Topics covered will include:
-Permacultre design principles
-Perennial food crops
-Forest gardens
-No-dig gardening
-Fruit tree establishment and aftercare
Practical work will involve continuing to develop the school garden.
Bookings and further details:
katepark1@eircom.net
Book Review: Climate Code Red-the case for Emergency Action August 10, 2008
Posted by Graham in : General , 3commentsClimate Code Red
The Case for Emergency Action
David Spratt and Philip Sutton
Scribe Publications 2008
Spratt and Sutton have written an important book that looks at the current state of climate science, compares the projections for likely catastrophic and irreversible climate change to the policy measures and government reactions so far, and finds the latter seriously lacking. If we carry on with our current targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, we will effectively guarantee climate disaster.
They are too little, too late and seem designed more to allow “business as usual” commerce and industry to continue with minimal pain rather than responding sufficiently to the extreme gravity of our situation; and as the authors continually stress, we have only one shot at solving the problem. The decisions we make now will determine the future of life on earth, and so far, there is little evidence that we are taking the threats to civilisation seriously enough.
It’s time, they argue, to face the reality that we are confronting a global climate emergency, and we had better start reacting with an appropriate sense of urgency.
The problem with the book I found is that despite the language of “emergency” -and we should know by now this is certainly what we should be talking about- the book doesnt go nearly far enough, confing itself to largely technological and economic methods of reducing carbon emissions and cooling the planet while ignoring the call from other authors- Ted Trainer for example- to change our lifestyle and revolutionize the ideology that underpins the growth economy. (more…)
Fruit and Nuts at Derryduff August 9, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Food, Gardens, Permaculture, Trees , 1 comment so farI am off to attend a Forest Gardening course with Martin Crawford at the Agroforestry Research Trust in Totnes, Devon, next weekend, so I thought it would be appropriate to tell you how some of my own fruit and nut trees are doing, seven years after moving to Derryduff.
Of greatest excitement, I have a walnut!
A single, solitary specimen, but a walnut nevertheless- on a grafted tree of the cultivar “Broadview”. It is only planted here two years and just 3ft high, but the fact that it has a nut at all so early in its life is hugely encouraging and shows that it is possible in this climate.
As a timber tree, walnuts and related varieties grow like the clappers in the moist warm Irish climate, and should be considered for that reason alone. (more…)
Permaculture at Derryduff August 6, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Gardens, Permaculture, water , 2commentsThe summer break from Kinsale College has givien me some time to spend on the site at Derryduff and I have been developing the gardens and landscaping here over the last couple of months.
In particular, a large extension to the small pond has now been created, with multiple potential uses:
-swimming hole- glorious to have!
-general large store of water in the landscape- not as high up as I would have liked as it is below the house but invaluable nevertheless;
-micro-climate creation- the edge around a large pond may serve as a protection against frost for early spring vegetable i could grow there, as a body of water can keep the immediate environment from freezing;
-added reflected sunlight to the northern terraces above the pond;
-potential for edible water plants
-potential even for small-scale fish-farming ( something I know little about, but many of my friends and neighbours around west Cork are also creating large ponds with this in mind).
-general wildlife habitat, especially good for frogs which may keep down the slugs
-adds tremendous beauty to any site (more…)
Zone5 Claims Victory in Science vs Religion Debate August 1, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Science and Rationaltiy , 8commentsIn her recent comment on the last post, Alanna Moore, Geomancer, Dowser and Animist Pagan, has confessed that her beliefs are religious in nature and therefore have no scientific credibility:
“Could you kindly remove all references to me plus my contact details from your blog. You are infringing my privacy as well as my religious freedom (I am an animist pagan, by the way - and there’s nothing new-age about paganism)…”
Now, this is very interesting because in an early email exchange with Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture magazine, Maddy told me quite explicitly that she at least did not see belief in Geomancy as being religious or superstitious, but claimed they were backed up by evidence.
Below: Exuberant Zone5 supporters celebrate a dramatic victory for common sense
This welcome and brave admission that her Geomancy beliefs are religious can only mean that they should not be promoted as part of Permaculture.
It would be great now to see a letter in PM Magazine explaining this and putting the matter straight. (more…)
