Phil Dudman spoke on Pruning and Propagating Fruit Trees at The Fernmount Food Forest

Twenty Bellingen Seedsavers had an excellent guest speaker experience when  Phil Dudman (writer and presenter from the Organic Garden and ABC Garden Show) visited the Fernmount Food Forest to speak on Fruit Tree Pruning and propagating and much more.

On the screen: A commercial fig tree farm with low pruned trees

The message most of us took away was to prune the main structure of fruit trees down to an easy pick level and that means with some trees, figs and mulberries for instance, down to waist high. What a great idea!

Straggling down the main path.

Red Pentas and Copper Bush

We were lucky to have a large, cool room.

Phil's presentation entertained us all.

Phil ready to leave with his 'goodies'.

Seedsavers gathering on the verandah

We always finish or start with food we bring, especially food we have grown.

Various pics from the Fernmount Food Forest

The Golden Grumichama was fruiting and provided a new taste experience for many seedsavers. The cherry-sized fruit is very sweet with a cherry sized pip. The fruit will not travel well because it bruises easily so picking and eating from the tree is the best way to experience the fruit. 

Crinum pedunculatum - Wikipedia

A white Guava in full flower.

Ready to pick

Carole's subtropical/warm temperate garden at Gleniffer

Carole and Phil live in a beautiful part of Gleniffer with spectacular views of the Dorrigo rainforest.

Their north facing solar passive house with the expansive edible gardens out front is a great example of a self-sustaining household for two. Their intention is to not have to bring anything in for their garden/home and to not take any waste out, and they have almost achieved this. 

The edible gardens are inspiring, we all walked away with many ideas.

Pineapple

Here are some highlights.

The pineapples are planted from the tops of pineapples they've eaten and are in a hot sunny spot close to the house. This creates a beautiful bank of structural plants with grey greens and reds and a seasonal abundance of fruit, though there is some fighting with the local bush rats to who gets the ripe pineapples first…

Kale, possibly 'Cavallo Nero' kale, in the netted vegetable garden

In a carefully netted section of the garden the blueberries were abundant. The different varieties grown spread the times at which they ripen, a strategy applied to other fruits as well. 

There were peanuts aplenty at Carole and Phil's.

We saw lot's of tips and practical ideas as well such as the way small birds, that take care of bugs, are allowed into the netted areas with vegetables (but not the berry plot) while big birds were kept out. 

Thanks Carole and Phil. It was inspiring!

Text mostly by Erik.

Here are some more pics.

Fig

Grapes

Netted vegetable garden

Salad vegetables often need shade under our intense subtropical summer sun.

Warrigal Greens and Row Beans

Persimmon

Netted garden

Macadamias

Garlic drying on the verandah

Chili

Peanuts

Our afternoon teas are always a highlight and often showcase the edibles we grow.

Rae's GINGER FIG and CHOCOLATE LOAF

Rae's Fig and Pistachio Cake

 

120g unsalted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

 100g Buderim Naked ginger, coarsely chopped 120g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

120g dried figs, coarsely chopped 

4 tbs dark rum (or enough to cover dried figs) 2 oranges, finely grated zest then juiced
3 eggs