The Fernmount Food Forest is situated on a north facing, sloping acre on the border of warm temperate and subtropical climate zones on the mid north coast of NSW, 3 minutes from Bellingen. The land is roughly divided into four of the five permaculture zones and horticultural practice generally follows permaculture principles. The property has sold but the original posts are maintained for reference purposes.
Thursday, 4 July 2019
Friday, 28 June 2019
Drone Footage of Fernmount Food Forest
End of June, Winter 2019
Winter Sunshine |
...but after four days of rain and cold winds it is a delight to see some winter sunshine and blue sky.
Some local rainfall reportedly reached 100ml.
Ripening Bananas |
The heavy rain brought down some banana trees but here are two banana bunches ripening in our shed.
Friday, 24 May 2019
Abundant Chaya Spinach Tree in our Food Forest
Our 3m high Chaya Spinach Tree |
Chaya Tree Spinach (Cnidiscolus chayamansa) is a fantastic and abundant food. Chaya leaves do need some cooking preparation as do Cassava leaves and Warrigal Greens. Wikipedia states up to 5 raw leaves a day can be eaten but other sources are more cautious. Although blending and drying also seems to remove the toxic hydrocyanic acid substances, boiling for 20 minutes is recommended. The leaves survive the boiling still looking green and attractive. The broth that is left can also be consumed as the toxic substances have been destroyed by the heat.
Cooking in aluminum cookware can result in a toxic broth, causing diarrhea.[13]
Thursday, 23 May 2019
Sunday, 19 May 2019
May 19, 2019 Its a warm Autumn
Labels:
Acalypha,
Autumn,
Bismarck Palm,
Brugmansias,
Furcrea,
Fuyu Persimmon,
Penta
Thursday, 25 April 2019
Miracle Fruit
It's Autumn, Ignore the not so attractive Australian Sweet Lime, ripened off the tree, but check out the Miracle Fruit berries. Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) so called for its ability to make sour fruit taste sweet after chewing.
I almost missed this first crop of berries on our 2m bush.
Why pay $50 for the dried fruit in capsule form when you can grow your own in a food forest.
I almost missed this first crop of berries on our 2m bush.
Why pay $50 for the dried fruit in capsule form when you can grow your own in a food forest.
Monday, 15 April 2019
Why the Fernmount Food Forest can look overgrown at times.
The percentage of nursery and soil improving trees and shrubs can be as high as 95% when a food forest is first established, gradually reducing as food bearing trees and plants mature. This excellent, recent video clearly describes the layers of planting: canopy; understory, bushes and shrubs; herbaceous; and root layers.
Labels:
canopy,
chop and drop,
fruit,
herbaceous,
mulching,
permaculture,
root layers,
shrubs,
soil improving trees,
sustainable,
understory
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Kwai Muk
The Kwai Muk, is related to Jack Fruit. It has a pleasingly acidic taste. We love the tartness. These fruit were discovered on the leaf-carpeted ground. In the picture, smaller fruit are still to ripen. Perhaps they will ripen off the tree although I read fruit ripens best on the tree.
The ten year old tree is now about 8m high with a spreading canopy. I will dwarf the tree by cincturing the trunk as explained in the video link above.
Kwai Muk |
Labels:
dwarfing trees,
Kwai Muk
Hand pollination of Dragon Fruit brings success.
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