Written by Shaked.

For several days during the last month we have been planting hundreds of trees, small and fragile they look now, but they are the start of a forest, the forest that Kotare Village is going to become.

We have been learning and designing forest gardens for a while now, on our sections some of us have planted fruit trees and other special support trees for forest gardens, but now we have taken the first steps in order to establish a forest across the village clusters.

Kay has put together a forest garden design pattern to fit with the sections in the clusters that have not been sold yet, this includes a range of support trees to be planted as what we call in permaculture a ‘Suntrap’, these are several species of Alders – for bees, nitrogen fixing, coppicing for biochar and firewood, species of Maples – for bees, beauty and mineral accumulation, species of Dogwoods – for bees, Chickens, human food and calcium accumulation, Tagasaste – for bees, nitrogen fixing and animal fodder, and several more types of trees mostly for the same functions, these trees are going to be the backbone of any forest garden to be established on these sections in the future, they will create the shelter, the privacy and the ecology to support any other fruit trees (and animals) you might want to have on your section in the future, leaving the perfect sunny spots for the house and garden.

Planting hundreds of trees into the bare paddocks is one of those ‘pioneer’ feelings that are so exciting to be part of, and the feeling of accomplishment that is nice and fussy now, will be strengthened by walking/sitting in the shade of these trees, picking fresh nutritious fruit in the future.

a little snippet into one of these planting days…