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Fernglade Farm

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Commenced:	01/01/2005
Submitted:	08/04/2011
Last updated:	16/02/2016
Location:	Cherokee, Victoria, AU
Climate zone:	Cool Temperate

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Fernglade Farm

Cherokee, AU

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Manure happens

Project: Fernglade Farm

Posted by Chris McLeod over 8 years ago

Here at Fernglade Farm headquarters (FFHQ), we are on the cutting edge of testing and development of small holding systems (SHS). FFHQ brings to you – the reader – the most up to date information and progress on the various SHS under development here. Constant improvement is the watchword here!

And what we’ve learned so far, is that even after 5 years of living here at FFHQ, we still get things hopelessly wrong. But we’re learning and more importantly, we’re correcting those errors so that the SHS just work!

Now that the brand new chicken house and run (the Chooktopia project) has been mostly completed, I’ve had to contemplate the walking path between the house and Chooktopia. Unfortunately, there were several fruit trees on that future pathway. Something had to give and so those fruit trees had to be moved.

This week I moved quite a few of those fruit trees from that pathway. Fortunately, it is still winter here and those colder weather conditions favour moving fruit trees. That watchword, constant improvement, strikes yet again!

Relocating a hazelnut tree from the site of a future pathway to a different location this week

Soil geek alert! Observant readers will note how black and loamy the soil is around the roots of the hazelnut tree in the photo above. That is the result of applying various composts, manures and mulch over many years in the orchard.

Winter is the time to move fruit trees as many of them here are still deciduous (which is a fancy name for sleepy) and if those fruit trees are small enough they’ll relocate without too much of a shock. The trick with relocating a fruit tree successfully is to obtain as much of the root system and the surrounding soil as possible. The general rule for a well-established and healthy tree is that the root system below ground will be the equivalent mass as the fruit tree above the ground. Once you understand that general rule, you may get an insight into how hard (but certainly not impossible) it may be to relocate advanced trees.

Once the pathway between the house and Chooktopia had been cleared of fruit trees, I could then begin some of the landscaping works around the chicken housing. That work included building up the soil around the front and downhill side of Chooktopia. That newly cleared path was just perfect for using the wheelbarrow to bring soil across to the chicken’s area.

For the rest of the entry click on: http://ferngladefarm.blogspot.com.au/

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