In the first of a series of environmentally-focused landscape articles, environmental consultant, Féidhlim Harty explores how edible species can be incorporated into designed landscapes. As the coordinator of Garden of Eden Projects Ireland, he has a particular emphasis on community projects, but the same plants, pointers and principles can be applied to any garden or landscape design First published in Horticulture Connected on Oct 1st, 2019 (https://horticultureconnected.ie/horticulture-connected-print/2019/summer-2019/insight-summer-2019/the-edible-landscape/) We have the potential to add edibles throughout our parks, housing estates and wider landscapes. Hedges can be grown from Corylus, Rubus and Ribes cultivars as well as the more familiar edibles such…
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First published for Feasta on April 26th, 2016, reproduced here in full. Link to original article below. Introduction Closed loop agriculture is farming practice that recycles all nutrients and organic matter material back to the soil that it grew in. This forms part of an agricultural practice that preserves the nutrient and carbon levels within the soil and allows farming to be carried out on a sustainable basis. Current farming practice (as shown in Figure 1) relies heavily on imported nutrients to sustain high production. We eat the food; and then the nutrients and biomass from faeces and urine are…
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Here is a straightforward step by step approach that can get you from lawn to forest in a jiffy: 1. First, share the idea with others in your community that are enthusiastic about it. 2. Come up with a proposal together to clarify your thoughts. Identify the areas that are suitable for planting. Consider borders along pathways and roads as well as open lawn areas. Make full use of any south facing walls, which are often ideal for more tender trees and bushes. Make a sketch of the area that you are thinking of planting and indicate the main features:…