The Big Picture

For this, my first blog post, I had ideas to delve into my current fascination with crab apples, as well as rhubarb hybridizing and varieties. But those rabbit holes being fairly deep, I have concluded it is best to begin with a review of the farm . So I will make an effort here to organize my philosophy of the “big picture” of the farm.

When I first moved here, I intended to plant apple trees. The property had a one-acre field that was usable, though not perfect, for an orchard. The field is bordered on the south and east by forest of Douglas fir, with some cedar and madrone. Other areas have less density and grow alder, hazelnut and other smaller natives. The soil is poor for growing fruit trees: cold, heavy, wet clay in the winter which dries to hardpan in the summer. It has little topsoil, having been logged and scraped, and is gravelly and acidic. Just what you might expect in the Pacific Northwest.

So here we are at the first point of contention. Mankind loves to modify its environment, often regardless of the impact. So, on one level, I feel like I should choose plantings that do not require the additions of organic matter, compost, biochar, nutrients, fertilizers etc. On the other hand, I want to grow apple trees. Also, the PNW is lacking some nutrients, like selenium, that mankind needs to be healthy.  If I want to grow trees other than natives, I will be obliged to add minerals to satisfy the requirement of the trees and of the humans. The rainfall here leaches nutrients, so the need to supplement will be ongoing.  The soil pH is naturally low, which is to say: acidic. The natives are adapted to this acidic soil, but Malus domestica, the apple trees we grow, really wants a pH closer to neutral.  So we are obliged to modify the soil pH in a not-always-sucessfull attempt to keep the trees happy.  Perhaps we should be using rootstock that is native to the area, Malus fusca, “Pacific crabapple”, that can tolerate the local soil.  Alas, M. fusca is a full-sized tree, rather than dwarf or semi-dwarf that can be better managed commercially.

Many people talk about permaculture but I find that growing apple orchards in the PNW is for the most part an endeavor that cannot be permanent without continuous interference from humans.  The orchard needs soil amendments, pH adjustment, pruning, possibly mowing, pest and disease management, harvesting and sanitation.  It is not like growing hazelnut trees in a sylviculture setting. Hazelnut does grow naturally in the PNW. The only native apple is the M. fusca previously mentioned and it grows naturally only in very specific microclimates that satisfies its needs.

Back to the development of the farm. I brought with me to the island 250 trees that I had grafted to various rootstocks. (None were M. fusca). The dwarf-rooted trees were immediately planted in an espalier.  If you are not familiar with it, this growing form was developed centuries ago. It involves pruning and training the trees to grow in two dimensions (one plane), rather than three dimensions.  It is the ultimate interference by human. But the form provides good sun exposure, good airflow and the frequent pruning stimulates a lot of fruit bud formation.  Additional trees grafted to semi-standard rootstocks (M111 and B118) were planted in the one-acre filed somewhat later.

The process of digging planting holes and adding supporting structure for the espalier trees gave me a much better understanding of the limitations of the property.  The lack of topsoil and organic matter were addressed in an unexpected way: three intact male alpacas that were re-homed from another farm on the island came to live with us. The alpacas are obviously not native, but they fit into the ecosystem lightly.  Their padded toes do not tear up turf and compact soil. Ruminants process their food very efficiently, which means that there is less manure created and that manure is fairly low in nitrogen and can be used immediately to add organic matter to the soil. The alpacas are grazers and eat mostly whatever they can find: mainly grass, but also Douglas fir needles, sword ferns and evergreen huckleberries in the winter, Himalaya blackberries, salmonberries and thistles in the summer. They do not require truckloads of hay from eastern Washington. They do require some additional minerals (selenium etc.) that are lacking in the PNW, but the cost is minimal.  Because the alpacas are free-range, they manage to find enough food in forest and pastures, even with our occasional light snows. The second addition of residents to the farm was a flock of chickens, which spend all their daylight time roaming the pastures, woods, and orchard.  The breeds are chosen for their foraging abilities and they do a good job of raking out any manure piles and exposed dirt in search of insect protein to supplement their feed. The chickens benefit from active microbes in the alpaca manure that function as probiotics to supplement their health. The chicken flock is guarded by the alpacas from coyotes, raccoons and even eagles. Sometimes the alpacas play “chase” with the chickens but it is obviously just a game.

More about developing the farm and ideas of the “big picture” in my second posting, to follow.