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  • From: dwoodard@becon.org
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] case study anyone?
  • Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:42:59 -0400 (EDT)

Paul, my understanding is that pawpaw Asimina triloba likes
well watered bottom land with wind shelter. I would worry a bit about your dry summers. Do you know anyone locally who has experience with pawpaw? I have limited experience growing it for a few years only year. The trees were a little under 1 metre when planted. I am told that it likes part shade in the first year or two from seed (first couple of feet growth). I grew up a couple of small seedlings and they needed babying.

NAFEX
http://www.nafex.org
has a pawpaw interest group.

The hardy kiwis are interesting.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario
Niagara Peninsula


On Thu, 19 Oct 2006, Paul Cereghino wrote:

I am starting up some initial plantings of mixed trees and shrub -- a
zone 2 fruit savanna on a 1 acre lot. These are in areas just outside
more detailed cottage garden/raised bed/chicken rotation/cane fruit
system, and will encompass some existing poorly managed fruit trees (2
apples and 2 peaches). I have copious local sources of grass clippings,
good quality horse manure, pasture cuttings, maple and alder leaves, and
arborist chips for organics.

SOIL dry silt loam, largely stripped of topsoil during clearing,
currently supporting 1.5 feet of hairy cat's ear (Hypocharis radicata),
Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), and bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera).
CLIMATE: ~47 deg N, low elevation maritime temperate, wet winter with
45 inches rain, with dry summer <5 inches rain.
EXPOSURE: rolling topography <3% slopes, full blazing sun on these
microsites, fair frost drainage

# I am primarily looking for interesting strategies for maximizing soil
development for these impatient early plantings?
# I am interested in suggestions for low tech water distribution on a
pretty flat site other than thickwall drip tape
http://www.netafim-usa-agriculture.com/Agriculture/index-heavywall.php
or like. I'll use well water until I retrofit to greywater or
catchment? I don't like the plastic solution, but I know it well and it
works efficiently.
# Any recommendations for a free blog service where I can upload images
and further expose my exploits?
# Is this list interested in kibitzing on incremental site development?
Just writing this email has been useful to me even the parts I've deleted.

Here's a thumbnail. I'd appreciate any critiques or ideas or cautions.

It's October, the ground is just getting moist, I'll lay a layer of rock
phosphate and greensand, than ~2" mature horse manure and grass
clippings, than ~3" arborist chips (primarily douglas-fir pseudotsuga
menzeisii). followed by manual fracturing (stab and lever) with a large
turning fork.

Come January I'll buy in and plant bareroot trees and shrubs (that's
when they'll become available).

Here are my ideas for more enthusiastic soil building following sheet
mulching, any additional suggestions would be fun.

1) Reintroduce some Queen Annes lace (Daucus carota) for the tap root
and insect values.
2) Chicken poop and human urination. I am trying to figure easy
approach to chicken containment as the woody planting will interfere
with a good sized chicken tractor, and I don't want to build fencing.
There may be no way around fencing.
3) Rake back woody mulch and build micro compost heaps. I can use them
as future planting sites (thanks Eric Johnson).
4) Patches of legumes (favas this winter, native lupines in the future
-- I can use the seed to beautify my neighborhood)
5) Intercrop with short rotation woody nitrogen fixer. I can pull
bareroot alder (Alnus rubra) from local roadsides and drainage ponds and
plant them 'hodad style'. I can cut them as mulch after 2-4 years
before they get unmanageable. I like the feel of woody tap roots for
building soil structure.
6) Dig and fill mulch pits (ala Fukuoka-san but with some horse manure,
food scraps, or grass clippings to boot -- it's just so much work and I
don't think I need to build that much character -- maybe my daughter...:)
7) Drive quick rotting wooden stakes into the ground around precious
plantings to create vertical structure (thanks John Browne)

Paul Cereghino
Olympia, Washington, USA

Here's the initial plant list for principle species if anyone has
specific reactions, or a particular favorite I've forgotten -- I'm
trying to stay away from things like blueberries that need moist soils.

Corylus avellana 'Gem' Hazelnut
Corylus avellana 'Santiam' Hazelnut
Corylus avellana 'Barcelona' Hazelnut
Corylus avellana 'Lewis' Hazelnut
Asimina triloba 'Pennsylvania Golden' paw paw, pennsylvania golden
Asimina triloba 'Davis' paw paw, davis
Diospyrus kaki 'Izu' persimmon, Izu
Prunus domestica x 'Golden Nectar' plum, golden nectar
Malus domestica 'Akane' apple, akane
Malus domestica 'Liberty' apple, liberty
Malus domestica 'Enterprise' apple, enterprise
Pyrus communis 'Comice pear, Comice
Pyrus communis 'Bosc' pear, Bosc
Armeniaca vulgaris 'Puget Gold' apricot, Puget Gold
Amelanchier alnifolia 'Smokey'
serviceberry, Smokey
Aronia melanocarpa aronia
Ribes nigrum x 'Jostaberry' jostaberry
Ribes sativum 'Johnkeer Von Tets currant, 'Johnkeer von Tets'
Ribes sativum 'White Imperial' currant, 'white imperial'
Eleagnus multiflora 'sweet scarlet' goumi, Sweet Scarlet
Crataegus pinnatifida Chinese edible hawthorne
Vaccinium ovatum
Evergreen huckleberry





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