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orchard plan: the food forest
Mar. 11th, 2025 02:38 pmSetting aside the plans for the maples (syrup), white oaks (acorns), high bush cranberries, hazelnuts, and wild rice, this post is about the more structured orchard and gardens.
I havn't studied orchards and agriculture, so I might be Doing This Wrong. I guess we'll see!
Broadly, the plan is to plant the fruit trees in a hexagonal pattern, spaced about 15-20 feet on center. Most commercial orchards plant trees in rows at 8-10 feet on center. But that's so that the trees can be more efficiently picked.
The current plan is to have a Hügelkultur, or some other type of raised bed, in the middle of each hex, and nitrogen-fixing perrinials scattered on the outer and inner perimeter of the fruit trees. The central vegetable garden could easily be 10 feel long and 4 feet wide.
This year, we'll pick our site. I'll be looking for a very slight slope facing north. The north slope protects the trees from coming into flower too early; that's a problem for us. We often have a spring thaw followed by another week or two of hard freeze. Trees come into flower and then the flowers get frozen. It's better to let the flowers come later.
At 20-feet on center, the hex will be 40 feet across at the points. Counting the outer layer of nitrogen-fixing plants, each hex would be around 2340 sq feet.
Chickens and bees will round it out. That's enough for now.
I havn't studied orchards and agriculture, so I might be Doing This Wrong. I guess we'll see!
Broadly, the plan is to plant the fruit trees in a hexagonal pattern, spaced about 15-20 feet on center. Most commercial orchards plant trees in rows at 8-10 feet on center. But that's so that the trees can be more efficiently picked.
The current plan is to have a Hügelkultur, or some other type of raised bed, in the middle of each hex, and nitrogen-fixing perrinials scattered on the outer and inner perimeter of the fruit trees. The central vegetable garden could easily be 10 feel long and 4 feet wide.
This year, we'll pick our site. I'll be looking for a very slight slope facing north. The north slope protects the trees from coming into flower too early; that's a problem for us. We often have a spring thaw followed by another week or two of hard freeze. Trees come into flower and then the flowers get frozen. It's better to let the flowers come later.
At 20-feet on center, the hex will be 40 feet across at the points. Counting the outer layer of nitrogen-fixing plants, each hex would be around 2340 sq feet.
Chickens and bees will round it out. That's enough for now.
