As the clock ticks over tonight July ends, and we’re looking forward to slightly longer and on average a slither slightly higher thermometer reading of ‘warmer’ days in our Cool Mountainous climate of Wentworth Falls and Upwards. It is just about the last chance for the year to buy bare rooted fruit trees, gooseberries, currants, grape vines. Or propagate a bagful of cool climate berry varieties at Mt Tomah this Sunday with the Fruit and Nut Tree Network (see upcoming events)
I’m moving some of my plants around, I want to create more layers under my fruit trees to create a food forest. And I’m incorporating one of Bill Mollison’s suggestions (one of the co-originators of Permaculture); that you plant a grape near a fig tree and “lead your grape into the fig and then stop pruning it for good, because the grape reaches the crown of the fig and is wind pruned, and you just forget pruning it anymore.” Entwined they help camouflage each other from the birds and possums as well. It had crossed my mind that a passionfruit might work the same but then I looked at some vines growing in an orchard at Mt Tomah. The passionfruit has total engulfed the fruit tree completely, no thanks!
I’m dreaming too of seedlings, of cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, peas, salad greens like mizuna, mitsuba, spinach, and seed potatoes of all kinds. You might think about perennial underplantings too, like rhubarb and asparagus crowns, artichoke suckers, these will give you wonderful spring provisions the following year when other foods are still getting up and going.
Lower down the hill in the more Temperate climate of Hazelbrook and below, you you still might get away with planting a fruit tree or vine either bare rooted or evergreen. Because of the warmer temperature for the veggie patch I would suggest seeds or seedlings of baby carrots, beetroot, lettuce, parsnip, peas, radish, swede, turnips, celery, celeriac, leek, lettuce, onions, mizuna, mitsuba, seed potatoes, rocket, silverbeet, spinach. You might even plant the seeds of early tomatoes, zucchini, melons and pumpkins in pots on a sunny windowsill to give them a head start. Head to the Food Co-op in Katoomba where a new batch of Greenpatch seeds has arrived just in time.
*My apologies to the town of Bullaburra; not only doesn’t it have shops but now I’ve wiped it off the map as far as this planting guide goes.
Never mind you’ve still got a few hours to book in at early bird prices for our upcoming Permaculture Design Certificate!
http://www.permaculture.net/~EPTA/Hemenway.htm
www.jackiefrench.com/cal.html
Katoomba Street Permaculture 