production demands & time line SYSTEM LONGEVITY Most of the crops suggested here are perennials with a long production cycle of at least 10 years. The lettuces, beans and marigolds are the only annual crops within the system. Echinacea and comfrey are long-lived perennials, but as they are harvested for their roots every 3 - 4 years, they need replanting at regular intervals. PRODUCTION PLAN SKETCH Site establishment In outdoor orchards, site preparation can oſten take as long as three years to allow for cycles of plowing, soil amendment, and cover cropping with nitrogen fixers. For this greenhouse orchard site, a minimum soil depth of 0,5 meters is needed. The soil must first be tested, corrected for nutrient deficiencies, and brought to an appropriate pH (6,5 for this scenario). If possible, soil organic matter can be built up using a cover crop, such as clover, which can then be plowed under prior to the planting year. Typical horticultural practice also recommends a fumigation regime to sanitize the soil. For organic / biological production, this fumigation is not possible. Instead, attention should be paid to selecting disease resistant cultivars. The marigold interplanting suggested here can also assist in suppressing nematode populations, which are a common problem in fruit orchards. If possible, marigolds can also be grown in the soil during the preparatory phase to ward off these pests. Cultivar selection Cultivars should be selected with two primary goals in mind: disease resistance and fruiting period. Fruiting can be extended by picking several cultivars: early and late blooming varieties. All of these trees have a chill hour requirement, which means that they need to experience an appropriately long dormancy period to set fruit. Many apricots need around 700 hours of winter chilling to produce a full bloom in spring. The Gold Kist variety has a very low chilling requirement of 300 hours. “Katy” a California variety, has a 400 hour chilling requirement. There are also high and low chill hour varieties of nectarines and cherries. In the early years of the orchard’s production, the trees can be intercropped with bush beans to fix additional nitrogen in the soil and for an early additional crop. Lettuces can be grown in between the rows of trees throughout the life cycle of the orchard. Mushrooms in this system are produced in two ways. The shiitake can be produced on freestanding racks below the fruit trees equipped with humidity covers. Some varieties of mushrooms produce high quantities of spores that can cause allergic reactions through inhalation. The closed covers can somewhat contain the spores, though care must be taken to harvest the mushrooms in a timely manner. The small overall quantity of proposed mushroom production means that the spores will be relatively diffused. The winecap stropharia mushroom can be produced directly on the surface of the soil using inoculated fresh wood chips. Year 1 (planting year): Aſter the soil has been prepared, the plot should be marked for the construction of a Tatura Trellis and an irrigation system. Tatura is a high density training system that uses a v-shaped trellis to maximize the bearing area of crops. Complete training of trees on this system usually takes three years. Tree density of up to 2.000 trees per hectare can be achieved using this method (spacing trees 1 - 1,5 meters within rows, and 3 meters between rows), allowing for the high-intensity production required to make tree fruit profitable in a greenhouse context. Tatura trellising produces yields almost three times higher than comparable orchards with free standing trees. This high production intensity also reduces the productive life of the orchard to around 10 - 15 years for the three tree types selected here. Free standing trees, growing at much lower densities (around 300 per hectare) can continue to produce for up to 50 years in the case of apricots. Planted trees should be 1 - 2 years old. Detailed guides for Tatura training can be found on the websites of agricultural extension services. Aſter the first pruning and irrigation, trees should be cleaned of any dead branches and the companion plants can be added into the system. The bush bean, lettuce, chive, and mushroom intercropping can all commence in year one. In the fall, the trees should be painted as protection from mice. Year 2: In the second year, Tatura training should proceed as recommended with the selection of the strongest leader and a reduction of tree height if growth was greater than one meter. The trees should be fertilized and pruned, and fruit should be thinned by hand to improve tree growth. Bush bean intercropping should be reduced, but lettuce and companion plant intercropping can continue. Year 3: In the third year the trees should be completely trained on the trellis system and the general production cycle of companion plants and fungi should be established. Echinacea root can also be harvested for the first time in this year, and the echinacea plants re-established if the harvest was successfully sold. 34 / 64 Pagina 33
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