Making the city productive

1. Making the city productive

2. Background • Sustainability (production not consumption) • As a measure of efficiency • Food production • Peasant agriculture still the most efficient • Local/small-scale • All green space is a cost • Or just wasted • Limiting factors • Plants cost money • Slugs like eat our dinner

3. Response • Plant systems are the foundation of all life • And every successful civilisation • Remove limiting factors • By creating “eco-infrastructure” • Strategy for a plant based economy • Make green space productive • Plant & harvest edibles • 1000’s of south-facing walls in the area

4. Vision • Plantings • Micro forest gardens • “Edible shrubbery”, “edible border” • Distributed orchard • Eco-base camp • Nursery • Composting • Training etc etc • Maintenance • Eco estate teams

5. Recipe for an Edible City • Veg gardens • Design, install, plant, maintain • Fruit trees, edible landscaping & forest gardens • Planting, pruning • Infrastructure • Training and demonstration sites • Nurseries • Bare-root: grafted trees, fruit bush cuttings -Bardon Grange • Container: veg plugs, -Cornerstone • Rainwater harvesting & irrigation -Cornerstone • Composting -Cornerstone • Construction: bioshelters, solar dryers, polytunnels • Info, workshops and skillshare sessions • Composting, pruning, propagation • Urban Harvest

6. Opportunities for Edible Plantings • Public green space • Types • Strips of land • Little triangles of land etc • Shrubbery, amenity tree • Often multi-storey already! • Next to car parks • Too small for amenity • Maintenance costs • Stakeholders: • Residents • ALMO, Council

7. Community Edible Plantings • Attractive & productive • Self-sustaining • Low-maintenance • Multi-storey • E.g. shrubs under trees • Eco-friendly • Plants • Fruit trees, fruit bushes • Herbs, flowers, groundcovers • A new take on the shrubbery/herbaceous border • “Edible border” • “Edible shrubbery” • “Micro Forest Garden”

8. Community Plantings

9. Community Plantings

10. Eco-infrastructure -Container nurseries • Cheap/free plants • High density: 450 plants/m2 • Slug-proof • Contract nursery growers • Project provides: • Pots, compost etc • Help and support • 50/50 share with grower • Standardised • Issues • Feeding, watering • Relatively high set-up cost

11. Eco-infrastructure –Tree nurseries Bare-root tree nurseries • Open ground • High density • 6 tree/m2 • Benefits • No need for watering • Low maintenance • Fruit trees £1 • Outcomes • Building capacity

12. Fruit into the Community (Proposed) • Distro fruit trees and bushes • Trees trained against walls • eg espalier, cordon • Provide help and support: • Pruning, planting, feeding • Create distributed orchards • Org. neighbourhood events • Pruning walkabout • Apple days • Jam & chutney making

13. MyFarm (Proposed) • Backyard market gardens • How does it work?: • Trusted growers do the work • You provide some land • Back garden/yard • You get your weekly veg • Grower keeps surplus • Who is it for? • Older & disable people • Busy families etc

14. Services • Design • Edible gardens/landscaping • Planting Services • Community/participatory • Composting advice • Kitchen waste ect • Mushroom cultivation • Rain water irrigation • Installation & design • Landscaping • Raised beds, paths etc • Training & activities • Comm groups, schools • Consultation • Presentations

15. Niels Corfield Email: ediblecities@gmail.com