blockhill - forest garden experience & education

North Canterbury

European hazelnut

European hazelnut

Botanical name   Corylus avellana
Details   Broadly columnar, deciduous. Very edible hazel nuts in March with yellow autumn leaves in April. Make great windbreaks yielding nuts, small poles and rods. Coppice readily.
Wind pollinated (not self fertile)
Frost hardy
Family   Betulaceae
Diameter   3.00
Height (m)   5
Jugulone tolerance  
Seeds / nuts / tubers  
Soil type   Most (prefers moist)
Wind tolerance   High
Tags     nuts 
Boosting plant and ecosystem health with compost tea

Boosting plant and ecosystem health with compost tea

Fertigating is the practice of irrigating and fertilising simultaneously. To achieve this we brew liquid compost 'tea' using an assortment of fresh and decaying plant material. Learn how to easily make, brew and deliver compost tea or other liquid fertiliser. You can use all sorts of organic, nutrient rich, biodegradable substance.

The breakthrough come with the venturi mixer which allows for easy distribution of the heavy, smelly liquid.
More Trees

More Trees

This weekend I planted a number of crop trees. For the most part it was seedling walnuts collected from under my grandmothers tree but also included 5 grafted fruit trees I purchased.

2 x apricot
2 x nectarine
1 x almond
July 25, 2010
Fertigate with ducks

Fertigate with ducks

A simple and effective way to fertigate (fertilise while irrigating) fruit trees or other productive plantings using an old bath tub. Like all good permaculture solutions, this stacks functions by providing the ducks with a source of water to enjoy while collecting their nutrient, discharging it via gravity. It could also provide some thermal mass to help nearby plants during cold times...
  ducks  water  nutrient 
Japanese Chinquapin

Japanese Chinquapin

Botanical name   Castanopsis cuspidata
Height (m)   25
Diameter   10.00
Seeds / nuts / tubers  
Evergreen  
Edible  
Perennial  
Date   August 01, 2015
Shade / Sun   Semi shade
Soil type   Most
Tags     nuts  evergreen