We want to try different strategies of reforestation in our sun traps. We will start in the western zone. There, we rely on the highest possible diversity and let the little trees themselves decide which one is best adapted to our area and will prevail against the high competition. We were inspired by the approach of the Japanese Akira Miyawaki, whose method of a very dense initial planting of very young trees we combine with the approach of the American permaculturist Mark Sheppard. The latter aims for high genetic diversity & leaves the treelings to their own devices. This approach ends up with only the most robust individuals that require the least additional care (STUN method). From these he then in turn further selects and breeds according to the desired characteristics.
After three new work sessions, there are now a few quaking aspen trees standing as nurse trees to provide shade and foliage for the later fruit trees to mulch. Thanks to the many hands of a Berlin high school art class that visited our grounds, there are now also plenty of seeds of fruit trees in the ground. Later we will see which ones grow well, which ones will be grafted, and which ones we will transplant or simply let work as ground cover for the other trees using the chop-and-drop method. The first meters of raspberries have also been planted at the edge of the orchard.
