On warm days in autumn and winter, there are thousands of dancing flies or winter gnats (vintermygg) particularly in the windows. Last week all the windows downstairs had swarms of these dancing up and down and were swarming all over the garden too. They are fun to watch and wonder why and how these are active in such low temperatures when most other insects are hibernating or overwintering as larvae or eggs. They can even be seen on warm winter days on the snow. These are flies in the Trichoceridae family (we have 15 species in Norway) and provide morsels of protein in winter for the birds in the garden! The larvae feed on decaying plant material, rotten wood and fungi…there’s plenty of that here! An important component of my food forest garden.
Landås matskog (food forest) is situated under Mount Ulriken in Bergen, Norway. The area was until just a few years ago spruce forest, but when it was felled, an agreement was struck with the kommune in 2013 for the organisation Bærekraftig Liv (literally, Sustainable Living) to develop the area as a food forest (matskog). I have long wanted to visit, so was happy to finally get to spend a day there with food forest enthusiasts Lars Ove Kvalbein, Benedicte Brun and others during my May 2018 visit to Bergen to give a course for Bærekraftig Liv!
Landås matskog (food forest) is situated under Mount Ulriken in Bergen, Norway.
The path we took up to the food forest was along a seasonal stream bed…..
The grindabygg is a traditional building technique from western Norway
Benedicte gave a tour of this still young food forest (here with my friend David Woodland from Hardanger who it turns out grew up just a few kilometres from me in England!)
Benedicte has done a great job in the food forest and contributed many hours!
A perennial tree kale (tree collard)
North American salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis is an invasive plant in Western Norway and is already growing in the food forest!
Ostrich Fern (strutseving) has been planted!
Preparations for growing shiitake and oyster mushroom
Hosta
Zanthoxylum schinifolium, one of the sources of Sichuan pepper
The lads cleaning pignuts (Conopodium majus) harvested from the food forest! It’s a common wild plant in western Norway
Lars Ove Kvalbein cleaning pignuts (Conopodium majus)
Pignuts (jordnøtt)
Pignuts (jordnøtt) being roasted
The roasted pignuts were delicious
We didn’t have enough plates, so Hosta leaves were used as wraps for the salad!
A swarm of bees was discovered near to an area with bee hives…
Landås matskog (food forest) is situated under Mount Ulriken in Bergen, Norway.
The grindabygg is a traditional building technique from western Norway
A perennial tree kale (tree collard)
Benedicte gave a tour of this still young food forest (here with my friend David Woodland from Hardanger who it turns out grew up just a few kilometres from me in England!)
Zanthoxylum schinifolium, one of the sources of Sichuan pepper
Benedicte has done a great job in the food forest and contributed many hours!
Ostrich Fern (strutseving) has been planted!
Preparations for growing shiitake and oyster mushroom
North American salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis is an invasive plant in Western Norway and is already growing in the food forest!
Hosta
The lads cleaning pignuts (Conopodium majus) harvested from the food forest! It’s a common wild plant in western Norway
Pignuts (jordnøtt)
Lars Ove Kvalbein cleaning pignuts (Conopodium majus)
A swarm of bees was discovered near to an area with bee hives…
Pignuts (jordnøtt) being roasted
The roasted pignuts were delicious
We didn’t have enough plates, so Hosta leaves were used as wraps for the salad!
The path we took up to the food forest was along a seasonal stream bed…..
English: It has been announced that this year’s big permaculture event in the Nordic countries, the Nordic Permaculture Festival will be arranged in and around the fantastic village of Jondal at the Hardanger Academy for Peace, Development and Environment (see http://www.hardangerakademiet.no). Jondal is situated on the Hardanger Fjord just a half hour’s drive from the Folgefonna Glacier!
Norsk: Det er annonsert at årets store begivenhet innenfor Permakultur i Norden, den Nordiske Permakultur Festivalen blir arrangert i og omkring fantastiske Jondal ved Hardangerakademiet (Nordisk senter for fred, utvikling og miljø) http://www.hardangerakademiet.no Jondal ligger ved Hardangerfjorden bare en kort halvtimers kjøretur fra isbreen Folgefonna!
On the second day of Perennialen III, in early August 2017, we were joined by Rebecca Smith of Norway’s second LAND centre on Byrknesøy on the coast north of Bergen! Since I last met Rebecca here during Perennialen I, Eirik Lillebøe Wiken’s food forest which basically surrounds the house, both above and below all the way down to the fjord on steep ground, has grown well and is becoming more established. The diversity has also increased. These pictures are from our food forest tour together including a stop on the shoreline where we could only imagine the wild food forest also in the fjord, this is truly a food forest with many layers :)
For day 2 of Perennialen III, we were joined by Rebecca Smith!
Views from Alvastien showing the mozaic of ecological niches, the complicated geology not allowing the modern world to destroy the environment!
Fyksesund bridge and old Hardanger terraces
Rock gardening #1
Part of the food forest is located below the house on the steep slope from the road to the fjord!
American blueberries
Looking up from the food forest to the road.
Cirsium oleraceum (Cabbage thistle / kåltistel)
Mallow / kattost
Alcea rosea (Hollyhock / Stokkrose)
Alcea rosea (Hollyhock / Stokkrose)
Rumex spp.
Looking up from the food forest to the road.
The house from the food forest
Below the food forest is an underwater food forest, providing much food through the year
A local species of Sorbus
A local species of Sorbus
Angelica sylvestris
Rock gardening #2
Decaisnea fargesii with fruit
Decaisnea fargesii with fruit
Eirik and udo (Aralia cordata)
Decaisnea and Aralia cordata (udo)
Rebecca demonstrated making green nettle fibre!
My room with a view!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
