Pruning & Introduction to Food Forests Workshop

It's time to prune your fruit trees!

Come and join Pete Baird and Ivan Blacket at the stunning Bells Harvest in Jan Juc for a day of learning about pruning and food forests. This is the perfect time of year to prune your deciduous fruit trees and there is a number of species on site (apples, pears, cherrys, nuts and more) that we will look at pruning. Pruning your trees at the right time and in the right manner will keep them healthy and give you the best quality fruit.

Whats a food forest you may ask? Food forests are a way of growing edible plants that mimic patterns found in forest ecosystems with the goal of producing food and other usable products. It's a low-maintenance and very resilient food production system and can be adapted to any scale! Not to mention a very productive and beautiful way of growing food. We will also have a look at the integration of annual and perennial plants and the benefits this can provide. Along with exploring some companion plants that can offer great benefits to your fruit trees.

Children under 15 free!
We have one scholarship available for the workshop, please email nettleandsnail@gmail.com to apply.

What's Included 

• A full day workshop
• We will supply some pruning tools (secateurs, pruning saws ect.) but we encourage you to bring your own if you have some.
• Tea/Coffee and other drinks 
• The event will be fully catered with produce from the garden!

What to Wear & Bring 

• Come dressed for any weather – rain, hail or shine! We suggest wearing waterproof and sun-smart clothing, including; a rain jacket, hat, sunscreen, closed-toe shoes, pants and comfortable clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty.  
• Please note: to protect yourself on the farm, you must wear closed-toed shoes. Flat boots or gumboots are suitable, especially when it rains.  
• Please bring a water bottle and your own materials for note taking. 
• Please bring your own pruning equipment if you have it.
• If you are attached to your own gardening gloves, bring those!

Please contact Ivan Blacket on 0407 652 554 if you have further questions :)

Please note this workshop is weather-dependent. If the event can’t go ahead, we’ll seek an alternative date and offer refunds.

About your facilitators:

Pete Baird

Pete has been a permaculture consultant for 15 years and has extensive experience with trees including running his own permaculture nursery (Oasis Permaculture Nursery) and managing a Biodynamic apple orchard. 

Ivan Blacket

Ivan grew up on a small goat dairy in Drysdale, and went on to study agricultural sciences at the University of Melbourne. Following his studies, Ivan has managed many systems around Australia from agroforestry market gardens to large fruit orchards. He developed food systems around The Farm in Byron Bay and Conscious Ground Organics, and has helped educate hundreds of aspiring farms and homesteaders in the process. Ivan now works as a regenerative farmer and a permaculture designer/educator, he is an accredited permaculture teacher and is member of the teaching staff for Permaculture for Refugees.