Micro Forest Garden – installation. Following on from designing a microforest garden recently, it was time to realise the design!
Harris led the charge, helped by forest garden interns Minoru and Kelly, as well as all the students of the forest garden design course. This micro forest garden was to be established on a very compacted piece of ground that had formerly been a road. Yikes. As with many plantings on this crazy patch of land of ours (read: everywhere except the creekflat), it was time to get out the crowbar to dig the holes… but it all turned out splendidly! Conceptual group design for the microforest garden, done during the course by students. Finger Lime - Happy Earth. Microcitrus australasicaMYRTACEAE Growth Habit: The finger lime is a thorny deciduous shrub/small tree native to rainforests of south east Queensland and northern New South Wales.
It grows slowly to a maximum height of around five to six metres. Foliage/Flowers: Green oval leaves of 1-3cm long grow on spindly looking, thorny branches. Small fragrant, white flowers typical of the citrus family appear in autumn. Fruit: The small fruits are cylindrical and finger like, growing up to 12cm long. Adaptation : Finger limes are hardy plants that grow naturally in heavy shade in areas of high rainfall and at the forest edges where there is more sunlight. Soils : Grows best in fertile, well-composted soil. Irrigation : Fruit will be best if the shrub is given frequent irrigation when the weather is warm, and kept on the dry side when it's cold.
Pruning : Pruning is not necessary, though some of the lower branches may need to be removed to prevent fruit making contact with the ground. Food from Perennial(ising) Plants in Temperate Climate Australia, for October 2012 Permaculture Courses. This is the second monthly post for the research project about perennial plants, and perennialising annual plants, which provide food in temperate climate parts of Australia.
The original article introducing this project, stating its aims, and providing participant instructions, can be found here. Growers are sending me information on a month-by-month basis, then this information is collated and published the following month. The first monthly post can be found here. Grower #2 Grower #2 has also obtained food in October from Beta vulgaris var. cicla leaves, Fragaria spp. using tender young leaves as well as fruit, Lactuca sativa leaves, Passiflora edulis fruit plus tender young tops of suckers, Santolina rosmarinifolia leaves, and Symphytum officinale leaves (all profiled last month).
Grower #3 Grower #4 Conclusion Thank you so much to the growers who have contributed so far, both last month and this! Edible Forest Gardens Home.