Beyond Organic NZ Tour - 2015 Stefan Sobkowiak, M.Sc, MLA

www.miracle.farm

Proudly sponsored by

I’m not here to change your way of growing

Want to work in an inspiring environment?

Want to save years of trial and error?

Save 1,000’s of Dollars?

Want a business that can gross

$10/m2 and regenerate life?

$10/m2

With

• Less work • More yield • More fun?

That can be profitable in first year?

While you grow in peace, joy and patience?

Dreaming? Unrealistic?

Reality Check: Lost 50 turkeys to a raccoon in one night

Lose 45 chickens to a mink in a day.

There are marvellous days

And challenging days

Days of great joy

And great heartaches, nursery eaten!

Zone 5b (Canada) warmest zone

Brief History

Purchased conventional orchard in December ’92 It was 12 years old

4,000 apple trees (dwarf M-26)

on 5 ha

Brief History

Organic transition '93-'96 Certified organic '96-'00 Not certified since but

maintaining organic standards.

Brief History: Replant

Decline '01 Start nursery '02-'03 Nursery trees ready fall '03 Trees all eaten winter '03 Start over '04 Ready fall '05 Trees eaten winter '05 Start again '06

Lesson learned: Plant in the FALL

And protect young trees with guards Use mouse traps or poison in nursery when snow

Brief History: Permaculture Orchard

2006 tore out, redesigned

2007 replanted 0.5 ha. As Permaculture Orchard 2008 replanted 0.5 ha 2009 replanted 0.5 ha

(Total 1.5 ha = 3.75 acre)

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My Mission: 1000ha, 1000 people, 50 countries adopt Permaculture Orchard model

That's why I am here

My OBSERVATIONS:

Nature is well designed

Nature has stood the test of time

We can copy nature

Killing is not the solution(pesticides, fungicides, herbicides

1% vs 99%)

People demand better and are informed

Let's return to a model in harmony with nature

Many examples of the model are being established

France, Conservatoire d'Aquitaine Sweden, Alnarp, Swedish Univ. of Biol. Sciences New Zealand La Pocatière, Qc, ITA La Pocatière +100 private properties or farms

If a Permaculture Orchard is in your future? You're in the right place

How is a Permaculture Orchard different?

By design:Polyculture not monoculture

By design:

Design the solutions into the orchard

Solutions last a long time

Different by biodiversity

Allies do most of the work (fertilize, pest control, mowing)

Different: INFORMATION vs INPUTS

INFO vs INPUTS

1X in the life 1X or more per season of the orchard ex. TRIOS

Different: working with nature

Different: Marketing

(our farm

membership Upick)

Different: planted by harvest date multi-species and cultivars/ row

How Beyond Organic? I was organic, not a functional ecosystem

I tried to diversify 100 sheep on 5ha

Large scale monoculture is not a functional ecosystem

Focus on the positive (what can I DO) not on the negative

Details of Permaculture Orchard

TRIO: NAP (1 nitrogen fixer - 2 fruit trees)

(1 nitrogen fixer - 1 fruit - 1 nut)

Each fruit tree is next to a N-fixer

TRIO: N (n-fixer)-Apple-Pear or Plum

Repeated Pattern: N A1 P1, N A2 P2, N A3 P3... A1 = Apple cultivar 1, A2 = Apple cultivar 2, A3 = Apple cultivar 3 P1 = pear (or plum) cultivar 1,...

Orchard Pattern is not a bad idea

MONOCULTURE Orchard pattern IS a bad idea

N nitrogen fixers we use

(Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) Honey locust

(Robinia pseudoacacia) Black locust

Shrubs: Caragana Seaberry (Hippophae r.) Buffaloberry (Eleagnus

commutata)

(Eleagnus angustifolia) Russian olive

Goal: never 2 apple trees touch...

In the row and between rows

DUH!!!

Paradigm shift for Fruit Growing industry.

TREE TRIOS give 60-80%? of positive results

Layers For NewbiesHorizontal - Trios

1 - 2 - 3 N - A - P

Vertical 1 2 3 4 5

Canopy Trios Shrub Herbs Ground Cover

Layer 2 = Shrubs: 1-4/ tree

Gooseberry Black and red currant Haskap Aronia Amelanchier Raspberry Rhubarb

Gooseberry 4 cvs

Amelanchier (A. alnifolia) 8 cvs?

Perennials

Perennials: Alliums (onions) Herbs Perennial vegetables

Perennials: 16/ tree

Perennials (2x8) : Alliums Herbs Perennial vegetables

Vines climb on N-fixers only1 vine/ tree

Grape Kiwi

How many plants for 1 acre?(.4ha)

450 trees minimum 450 shrubs 16 x 450 = 7,200 perennials + ground-cover vines = 150 Total = minimum of 8,250 plants

Just Do It

Start a nursery

Just Do It

Start a nursery:

70’x 30’= 1000 trees (23m x 9m)

Grocery store concept

73

Month = 3 x 10 day HARVEST

3 + HARVEST periods/ year

July Small Fruit, Herbs, Flowers…

Raising poultry on grass in the aisles

Advantages of Permaculture Orchard

Something is REALLY working

● Trees blooming from early May to end of June, 60 days.

● VS 10 days (apple)

From 4 to 23 hives in 1 week

Abundance of Pollination

No fertilisers since 2007

Very good growth and fruiting

Advantage: REDUCED INPUTS

25-30 sprays (conventional)

6 sprays of whey

Advantage: INCREASED BIODIVERSITY

Advantage: Diversity of Yields

Advantage: Easy, Logical to Harvest

Advantage: More Wildlife

More FUN to work in.

Advantage: Impulse Buying (Marketing U-Pick… Tomorrow at 3)

Advantage: More FUN

Permaculture OrchardLooks, smells, feels more like a forest.

A disadvantage

Disadvantage: More mosquitos

Disadvantage: OVER pollination

Disadvantage: Need More Containers

It can be a steep learning curve

Orcharding Pruning and Training Animal Husbandry Soil biology Irrigation U-pick marketing Direct marketing Systems Design

Lesson: Know yourself

Know yourself

Se connaitre

Sharing know how

Innovate: Rabbit Roller cage

Innovate: Biotope for20+ species of wildlife

LUSH cosmetics $$

Innovate Apple Maggot Fly trap (Rhagoletes)

What do you love?

Future Miracle Farms?

•4ha of Permaculture Orchard •Grass fed meats •Fill plantings to gross $10/m2 •Biotopes •Bio Climatic building •Tours, workshops, interns, courses

How can I help you?

Watch the permaculture orchard videos

youtube

Friend or follow

Les Fermes Miracle Farms

Attend a tour:Tours 2015: 1st Saturday of month

(may-oct) Reserve:

www.miracle.farm

Internship: www.miracle.farm/stages

2 day ForestGarden course

2 day Permaculture Orchard course

Watch the film

Read my booksQ&A booklet (60 page) Go Beyond Organic

For links to read these online simply sign up at BeyondOrganicNZTour.com

Order a hard copy miracle.farm/book

Thank you —————Stay connected permacultureorchard.commiracle.farminfo@miracle.farm

Stefan Sobkowiak

beyondorganicnztour.comThe Film

Jean-Martin FortierCurtis StoneNext year . . . 2016 The rockstar market gardeners