From small trees, food forests grow

Thanks to the support of landlord Noel and everyone who came to Quiz Night at the Windermere Pub where all profits were in aid of NPCG, we were able to make a small but tangible start to the food forest garden with the purchase of 10 bare-rooted fruit trees from a specialised nursery.

Susannah Hall of Permablitz London ran a workshop for us on Mother’s Day when we potted up the trees. We learnt for example, how to choose the right fruit tree from a pollination group (crab apple trees are a pollination partner for other apple trees provided they blossom at the same time) and common rootstock (quince for pears). Interestingly, silver birch trees protect the home against pollution even if they are grown in pots!

Preparations are in full swing for the Permablitz gardening day where we’ll be planting the first section of the food forest garden in Northwick Park. We are finalising logistical details with Brent Council and will publish the date of the Permablitz on this website in the events section - we would be thrilled if you volunteer to help with the ground preparation and planting! The more the merrier – however we do require everyone to pre-register online for organisational and insurance reasons.

If you have a look at the Gallery section (drop down menu) on this website, you’ll spot that a huge amount of effort is being made by members of the community to ensure we’ve got things to plant on the Permablitz day. Delicate seedlings, such as calendula, sunflowers, chicory and chard, are developing nicely into strong plants and are being nurtured at home by volunteers. The potted up apple, pear and plum trees are also being cared for by volunteers.

We’ll also purchase a series of plants for the Permablitz that feature in the garden design.

At our next workshop we’ll be making mushroom logs. They are extremely important to the ecosystem as they provide essential nutrients for tree growth. The workshop is being held on Tuesday 30th April 7-9pm at the Windermere Pub and we’ll be delighted to see you there. Tickets will be available via the News & Events page on our website or via biletto.

Thanks for the great support.

Eleri, Joanna, Rishil and Iris