Berry and Fruit Terrace Orchard
Prolific berry and fruit production on terraces provides income and farm status.
Overview
For a retired couple wanting to produce enough to attain farm status, the answer was a combination of berries, vegetable garden, composting, and orchard. I assisted with design input and site installation on the primary design, by Brandon Bauer. With their newly built, energy-efficient home complete, providing the means for continual food production and on-site income was the logical next step in creating an abundant, living landscape.
Challenges
The primary challenge was to repair soil compaction from house excavation; additional challenges included designing an economic layout of irrigation and efficient pathway system suitable for retired clients.
Key Elements
- Several terraces with double beds of fruit production, including haskap and josta berries, blueberries, gooseberries, and raspberries; currants, apples, and pears
- Achieved farm status from food production
- Pathways highly accessible with efficient layout
- Vegetable garden prolific in first and subsequent years
Update
Three little words that speak volumes: PROLIFIC FOOD PRODUCTION. Enough fruit and berries for owners to easily meet farm status every year, and sold at the local mailbox. By choosing plants of the right age, berries started producing in year 1; a lowbush blueberry ground cover has also been highly prolific. By year 4, the system had matured exceptionally well, and continues to produce abundantly year after year.
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