Permaculture @ Hawkswood Nursery

I visited Hawkswood Nursery in North London to learn more about permaculture (or perm-culture). The session started at 2pm and ended at around 7pm. When I arrived I got talking to a member of staff at the nursery who told me about the things that were going to take place throughout the day. I arrived at 1.45pm and more people steadily arrived as time went on. There were about 20+ people in total all from across London who were either involved in a community project or their own personal project. I found the day really interesting and I now know much more about permaculture and building a community than I did previously. I attended three different sessions held by two guides the first was a quick tour of the nursery by a member of staff called Shaun.  As we walked around he showed everyone what they were doing and using on site. He showed us a field where they had been mulching and the methods they carried out to achieve an eco friendly vegetable patch using earth friendly materials. They used cardboard and plaster board to block any sunlight to the grass then put compost directly on top of it so that when the plaster board and cardboard decompose it will provide a nutrient rich mix along with the dead grass beneath. Because the field on which they were planting vegetables was sloped, they dug a swale near the top which caught any water running down the slop and reduced the surface run off so that the planting beds lower down wouldn't get water logged. The water caught in the swale was able to seep further into the ground. They also lined the spaces between the vegetable patches with straw so that it wouldn't be a quagmire in wet weather.

Here are some pictures:

This is a photograph of the mulching they done to get the grass to decompose and become nutrient for the vegetables they were going to plant there. After they do this its then time to put organic compost down and start planting. The organic waste they were using was collected across North London from waste plant material collected from various sources. They receive 15 tons of it each delivery! It comes mildly charred  (or burnt) so that the carbon on it further nourishes the soil.  Below is a picture of the heap, Shaun a member of staff said this is about 7 tons worth.

Above is a photo showing what I mentioned in the first paragraph about the methods they use to achieve 'greener' organic gardening. You can see the white plasterboards laid over the grass blocking the sunlight and transforming it into nutrient for the vegetables they are going to plant.  

In this photo you can just make out the swale dug out at the top of the hill. The earth that was displaced was used to plant potatoes in. 

Wood chip was used in other areas of the nursery. Shaun mentioned that if you plan to use wood chip to mulch you should only use it at a specific point of its decomposition phase because it draws nitrogen out of the soil before it returns it back, potentially ruining the crop. 

Next he showed us some planting beds that they had created. He said this area of the site that makes up the nursery was owned by the council who built terraces with the land (reason)...So to be able to plant a vegetable patch, they had to remove the thin layer of top soil and around 15cm of sand & stone which lay on top of natural clay. The clay was unfit for planting on so they kept the sand and stone there to help break up the dense clay layer. They did this by prodding holes in the clay with a pitch fork allowing the sand and stone to fall in and fragment the clay into pieces. This is possible because sand molecules are much smaller in size  than clay molecules resulting in fragmentation of clay if sand is mixed into it. Water is the driving force that makes this possible by moving the sand & stone through the clay over time. 

Shaun demonstrates how to put up a timber plank barrier so that it contains the heaped organic mix for the vegetables. Depending on the type of vegetable being planted, varying depths of organic mix is used. The organic mix is the material from trees and plants across North London deliverd to Hawkswood Nursery for a small fee. As mentioned previously, its comes charred (or burnt) so that the carbon on it further nourishes the soil.

The weight of the organic mix on the sides of the timber planks holds it in place. The wood selected for this should ideally be a hardwood like Cherry because a softwood like Pine would rot away in around a year, which isn't wise if you plan on using it for several seasons. The stakes which the planks rest between are also Cherry. The stakes are arranged so that they firmly hold the planks in place, putting 1 at one end on one side, 1 in the middle on the other and 1 at the opposite end same as the first (make sence?). 

The irrigation of these beds were done by using a network system of hose lines fed by the areas water mains. The hose lines are laid along the surface of the plant beds and water gently seeps out steadily irrigating the plants. 

Deer were seen roaming the nursery and were nibbling the growing vegetables so the staff put up tree posts which they wrap netting around so that the deer's cant get access. This netting is then used as support for fruit trees they wish to plant between the posts. I did think to my self why would you plant fruit trees, wouldn't the deer eat those too?

I tried a cup of nettle tea (yes stinging nettle tea) which was actually not bad. I drink herbal tea often so this was a similar taste. It has anti oxidant properties which took the sting out of it!

   

I snapped a picture of the sheets with the programmed talks for the day written on them.

This was inside the info building looking into the entrance of the meeting room. It is insulated with straw bails, an Eco friendly alternative insulation! You can also see wooden bee hives in the picture, these were designed not to be opened, acting as colonising homes only to increase the population.

 

They had some leaflets and books available to take and look at.so I snapped a pic of this for future reference.

I got talking to a woman there who gave me this card which was a contact address of an organisation she was involved with. She was engaged  in a community project where by the planting beds of her design were arranged in the shape of a sun symbol (possibly the same as on the card) representing each of the nationalities involved with it. 

I learned allot about how to make a community garden work and be successful by the staff at Hawkswood Nursery. After everyone chose which sessions they wanted to go to, we all sat around in our groups and had an open discussion involving each of us telling the group about our individual desire to visit Hawkswood Nursery and learn more about permaculture.

I learned that if you are finding it hard getting the community to come to together or staying stimulated, you need to try and bring fun to the table. Get people to have fun, have a jolly attitude about yourself when you approach the community you wish to unite. This will rub off of them and make them want to level with you. Competitions are a good way of triggering peoples desire to want to do good and look after something as well as getting one over on their friends. Dressing causally and even uniquely for example, wearing a feathered hat with your garden tools strapped to your waist or thigh? It's all about making an impact that their going to remember. Bringing communities together sounds good on its own but how one really goes about it is most important because It will either make or break it. You will find if you do positive things, have a passion for them and enjoy them, you will attract positives into your life. If you need finances for a community project remember that there is no shortage of money in the world so do what you enjoy well and money will come to you. Words of wisdom by a member of staff who held a talk in our group.

The days end:  Overall It was well worth the visit. I learned many things and enjoyed the social side of it too. 

I put my name down to receive an email link which will connect me to the urban permaculture network so I will always stay updated about anything new happening. A very educational day!