Beyond Organic NZ Tour - 2015 Stefan Sobkowiak, M.Sc, MLA
 www.beyondorganicnztour.com
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I’m not here to change your way of growing
OUTLINE CONVENTIONAL ORCHARD Transition Organic orchard Start over Permaculture orchard Lessons learned
Zone 5b (Canada) warmest zone Qc
 Zone 4 US
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5 Hectare conventional orchard
 purchased in 1992
NO EXPERIENCE in orcharding
My Experience Biologist
Landscape Design
Was sprayed 25x per season One worm in 100 holes!!!
OUTLINE Conventional orchard TRANSITION (no sprays!) 1993-1996 Organic orchard Start over Permaculture orchard Lessons learned
Transition to organic 1993-96
WINTERS '93-'94 and '94-95 COLDEST in prior 30 years+no spray
Result : 25% tree death From 4000 to 3000 apple trees OUCH!!
5 Hectares is NOT A GARDEN
Early members came to pick for 30 minutes and then asked ''what more do you have?''.
Hamaker Weaver book = I want to save the world
Continuous experimentation :Basalt
OUTLINE Conventional orchard Transition ORGANIC ORCHARD 1996-2000 Start over Permaculture orchard Lessons learned
Continuous
 experimentation Whey sprays 1997
Continuous experimentation Presentation by Dr. Elaine Ingham in 2002
Continuous experimentation Aerobic Compost tea sprays 2003
Continuous experimentation Aerobic Compost tea sprays 2003
Continuous Experimentation :
 Kaolin Clay spray
Continuous experimentation: Animals
100 sheep on 5 hectare orchard!
Continuous experimentation : PENS
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Continuous experimentation : PENS
Continuous experimentation : PENS
Continuous experimentation : PENS
Continuous experimentation:PENS
 now PENHOUSE
Continuous experimentation:
 Rabbit Roller
Steep LEARNING CURVE Orcharding Pruning and Training Animal Husbandry Soil biology Irrigation U-pick marketing Direct marketing Systems Design
Certified Organic 1996-2000
Realized organic orchard is still a monoculture
Lesson : Know thyself
Know thyself
Se connaitre
Teaching
What do YOU LOVE?
Know thy site
''Miracle Farms : Just add water''
''When your site gives you ice cubes celebrate with iced tea!''
Know THY site :What grows NATURALLY
NATURALLY grow IT 1st
Know thy ENEMY Plum curculio
Codling moth
Apple maggot fly
Life cycle
Know Vulnerable times
Wintering sites
Allies
Gradual decline 2000-2001
OUTLINE Conventional orchard Transition Organic orchard START OVER 2002-2006 Permaculture orchard Lessons learned
2002 Student: Jean-François Hébert began nursery on farm
2006 Orchard Removal : OUCH!
Don't remove, Overgraft
Better to start from scratch than
 to start over
Better to just start today period.
Have a strong 
 DEFENSE : Frugality
OUTLINE Conventional orchard Transition Organic orchard Start over PERMACULTURE ORCHARD: REDESIGN Lessons learned
Members asked ''what more do you have?''.
Grocery store concept
Month = 3 x 10 day HARVEST
69
3 + HARVEST periods/ year
July Small Fruit, Herbs, Flowers‌
Trios : NAP Goal of NAP was to plant Trios of trees, shrubs and perennials and be able to take a NAP.
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 (Robinia pseudoacacia) inermis) Honey locust Black locust
(Eleagnus angustifolia) Russian olive
Shrubs: Caragana Seaberry (Hippophae r.) Buffaloberry (Eleagnus commutata)
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 Newbies Horizontal - Trios 1 - 2 - 3 N - A - P Vertical 1
Canopy
2
Trios
3
Shrub
4
Herbs
5
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 only
 1 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)
.
The best time to plant a tree is...
 20 years ago. Old Chinese Proverb
Fall 2007 : Amendments and st Planting 1 Block .4 Hectare
Compost
Coffee (Tim Hortons)
Wood Chips (RBF) 100m³
Shredded Leaves
Rule of thumb RBF (Ramegeal Branch Fragments)
2cm of decomposition per year Our 10cm should last 3 years
Surprise!! Our HIGH soil life ate ALL mulch by Spring 2008 (5 months)
November 2007 Autumn
May 2008 Spring
Mulch again?? 
 Plastic?
I'm against agricultural FILM plastic
But 30-40 year recyclable plastic?
But 30-40 year recyclable plastic? Silage grade, 6mil (.006'') Now 3rd use : silage/ nursery/ nursery
Summer 2008: new .004'' Plastic mulch
Result :2008 no tree growth (2cm!)
Lesson :Protect young trees from grass (Add mulch and/or plant)
Lesson :Protect young trees from grass (Add mulch and/or plant)
4 phases of planting Permaculture Orchard : 1 - Trees
4 phases of planting: 2 - Shrubs
4 phases of planting : 3 – Perennials, vines, ground covers.
4 phases of planting :
 4 - Allies Can all be put in at once.
Read, study, know Mollison's : Phases of Abundance Download on my site : https://sites.google.com/site/dorrrose/forestgardening
2009
2009 Grew vegetables under trees
2009 Establish Mother Plants
2009 Trees doubled in size
Lessons in Plastic Mulch
Rock a lot
 (prevent wind lift)
Install plastic TIGHT
Make smallest holes possible : stick cuttings vs plants
Make smallest holes possible : stick cuttings vs plants
Worms Bring organic matter under plastic Survive better due to protection (observation)
Result :weeding first 3 years, 5hrs/yr/.4Ha
80/20 rule : 80% of your area will take 20% of your maintenance time

80/20 rule : BUT 20% of your area will take 80% of your maintennance time
MAINTENANCE is all about EDGES
ALLIES :''If you do not want a pig to do the work then you inherit the job of the pig.'' Sepp Holzer
'' inherit the job of...''
Apples 100 cvs now 80
Crops : Pears 16 cvs
Crops : Plums 5 cvs
Cherries 
 7 cvs/ species
Fruit Shrubs : Currants
Gooseberry 4 cvs
Haskap 4 cvs
Amelanchier 8 cvs?
Perennial Vegetable : Sea Kale
Perennial Vegetable : Sorrel
Perennial Vegetable : Egyptian Onion
Perennial Vegetable : Perennial Arugula
Crops : Annual
Crops : Annual
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables
Annual Vegetables on Nitrogen fixers
Flowers
Greatest Crop : Interns
2002-03 : Jean-François Hébert
●
Emily Nigh
2008 ●
Axtli Viau
2009 : Geoffroy Ménard
2010 : 
 Steve Brooks
Master Intern 2011- :

Jean-Christophe Denis (Eric of the North)
2013 Frédérick Barbe Antoine Boissy-Gadoury
2014 Alexandre Guertin, Alex Klohe, Sean Brennan, Becky Poirlier, Isabelle Legault, Niija Demers
From 4 to 23 hives in 1 week
Something is REALLY working â—?
Trees blooming from early May to end of June.
No fertilizers since 2007 â—?
Very good growth and fruiting
More mosquitos than last 15 years â—?
Sounds, smells, looks and feels like a forest.
TRAIN up a young tree in the way it should go. Even when it is old it will not depart from it.
TRAIN up a young tree in the way it should go. Even when it is old it will not depart from it.
Miracle Farms Future 10 acres of permaculture orchard Grass to meat Fill gaps, gross $1/ ft2 Biotope Rabbit roller Bioshelter More tours, training, workshops, interns
Diligence : a Permaculture SPECTATOR?
VS
FOCUS on the POSITIVE Environmental Annoucer?
We NEED 25 GREAT forest garden examples and 
 25 GREAT Permaculture Orchard examples in New Zealand
Will YOU have one?
To make an IMPACT on LAND
SHOW Permaculture orchard is VIABLE

Can SCALE to 4 Hectares
Know the TOOLS and TECHNIQUES needed
Otherwise remains Forest GARDEN instead of Permaculture ORCHARD
Establishing a food forest/ Permaculture Orchad takes TIME PATIENCE $$ Lots and lots of PLANTS Start your nursery TODAY Get your mother plants established
Start with a triple Trio
Then add 50m of triple Trios
Go make 100 mistakes! 1 person 100 mistakes 100 people 100 mistakes =
SERIOUS PROGRESS
CONCLUSION : not 20 years Conventional orchard Transition Organic orchard Start over Permaculture orchard IN 3 YEARS Lessons learned
YOUR turn to plant
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 Forest
 Garden course 2 day Permaculture Orchard course
Watch the film
Read my books Q&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
Curtis Stone
Jean-Martin Fortier
Next year . . . 2016 The rockstar market gardeners
Thank you —————
Stay connected permacultureorchard.com
miracle.farm
info@miracle.farm
Stefan Sobkowiak
beyondorganicnztour.com
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