TENDING PARADISE A manual for maintaining the apple orchard
THE ORCHARD
Apple cultivation in Norway Temperature, direct sunlight, water and wind are the most important climatic factors needed to produce apples of good quality. In Norway commercial apple production is mostly located in the warmer parts of southern Norway. The fruits need an average temperature above 12.5 degrees celsius. Sunlight is crucial for the sugar level and the colour; the more sunlight, the better colour and taste. In some areas frost can affect the flowers when the trees blossom. The trees need a lot of water, particularly in the early summer when growth is the strongest.
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PLACE
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THE ORCHARD
Arild Eriksen Joakim Skajaa
These counter-spaces (…) are well recognised by children. Certainly, it’s the bottom of the garden; it’s the Indian tent erected in the middle of the attic; or still, it’s … on their parent’s bed where they discover the ocean, as they can swim between the covers, and the bed is also the sky, or they can bounce on the springs; it’s the forest as they can hide there; or still, it’s night as they can become ghosts between the sheets and, finally, it’s the fear and delight of their parents coming home (…)
On the eastern edge of the site, on a slope facing the Torshov valley park we found an abandoned fruit orchard. Overgrown and left behind without care, for unknown reasons. Our main interest is how the orchard can be used by the residents at the centre: as a free source for fresh fruit, an area for collective action or a refuge from daily life. For us it is also a way to look beyond the reality of the centre to a more hopeful future. We see the orchard as a heterotopic space that, in the words of Michel Foucault, is a space of otherness. But we also see it as a space where new collectives become possible through the harvest. It already works both as a communal space and a possible escape from the dense living quarters in the centre.
- Michel Foucault, France Culture (radio), 1970. The garden is both the whole world and outside the world. The asylum centre at Torshov inhabits several buildings on former farmland bought by a local teacher in 1877 to establish a school for mentally disabled children. The site and buildings are today owned by a norwegian property development company who in the long term seek to develop a large-scale housing project on the site. Some of the buildings formerly used as student dormitories was leased by the asylum centre in 2004 and has capacity for 130 residents. The other buildings are used as schools and preschools as well as studios for artists and meeting spaces for local organisations. There is also a temporary housing barrack at the north end of the area, mainly used by portuguese guest workers. The surrounding housing development is a popular living area for the middle class, originally built as workers housing in the first quarter of the 20th century.
In our research on asylum centres we have increasingly become aware of the dualism between the need to escape the others but also take part in the collective of the centre. While the asylum centre in Foucault’s text is a heterotopia of crisis or even deviation, the apple orchard at Torshov presents us with something that is both an outside and an inside, place and non-place. The paradise, as in the perfect gardens of Eden, the Jewish Pardes, and the Islamic Jannah, are places of perfection and harmony. Could the orchard also be a single real place that juxtaposes several spaces, a microcosm of different environments, with people and cultures from around the world?
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CONTENTS
A manual for maintaining the apple orchard.
Intro
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Place
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May - Sept May - Sept
Cutting the grass Removal of weeds
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Dec - April
Pruning the tree
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Interview: Foad
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May - July Jan-Dec
Thinning fruitlets Disease management
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Aug- Oct May - June
Harvesting Flowering
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Tools for the harvest
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Interview: Kiram
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Storage The apple press
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Building the press
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Stills from film Bibliography
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Aug - Oct Aug - Dec
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PLACE
To Torshov
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Footpath
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To Sinsen
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Torshov Transit Centre: 1. Reception 2. Torshovgata kindergarten 3. The garage, social spot 4. Kitchen garden 5. Herb garden 6. Dormitories 7. Kitchen and dining hall 8. Kindergarten 9. Apple orchard 10. Lønnebakken school 11. Torshovtoppen kindergarten 12. Temporary housing barracks 9
MAINTENANCE
Cutting the grass When: May - September Tools: Automatic cutter, scythe/sickle Maintenance of the orchard floor is minimal; the grass should be cut several times a year plus required fertilising, irrigation and weed control. If weeds are in bloom at the same time as the fruit trees, the weeds should be cut to remove the flowers as they will compete with fruit tree blossoms for bees which may result in poor pollination.
The orchard floor can greatly affect earliness of bearing and fruit yield as weeds and grass compete with the trees for water, nutrients and sunlight. An ideal orchard floor should be easy to maintain, aid the growth of the fruit trees and maintain soil structure while not competing with the trees for nutrition nor harbour insects or other pests. If keeping a solid grass cover, the main challenge is to keep this in check whilst also considering the site - the soil type, slope, age of trees, irrigation and harvesting methods.
Cutting the grass before harvest will facilitate the moving of ladders, boxes and tools through the orchard. If much regrowth occurs after harvest the grass should be cut again to remove potential habitat for rodents.
Removal of weeds When: May - September Tools: Hand labour Weeds are plants that grow in the wrong place and are therefore undesirable. For apple orchards this usually means plants growing directly under the trees. Weeds compete with trees for moisture and nutrients and can also be hosts to diseases and insects. Additionally, interference from weeds may cause labour inefficiencies like obstruction to harvest, discomfort from allergies or skin irritations from poison ivy, stinging nettles or thistles.
Biennial weeds have a two-year life cycle producing leaves in the first year and flowering in the second year. Annual and biennial weeds compete for nutrients and water as they grow under trees. After they flower, they die. However, their seeds may cause recurring problems for several years by forming a soil seed-bank. Perennial weeds live for many years. They generally establish from various types of root systems, and in addition, many are also spread by seeds. They usually flower every year, expanding their root system and spreading seed through orchards. Perennial weeds can be very competitive, especially if they grow in thick patches.
Different weeds can have different life cycles: Annual weeds grow and flower in one year. Some weeds in orchards are winter annuals, which means they begin their growth in the fall, forming a rosette, and flower the following spring or summer.
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THE ORCHARD
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PLACE
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THE ORCHARD
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MAINTENANCE
Pruning the tree When: December - April Tools: Secateurs, pruning saw, knife Pruning is necessary to promote new growth and so give the tree the best chance of a long, productive life. A fruit tree will require pruning throughout its life although the frequency and objective will change as the tree matures. In the early years the aim of pruning is to create a healthy tree with a strong, balanced branch structure that will crop well and be easy to manage. This is by far the most important period of pruning yet often the most neglected.
× For each cut the tree reacts with new growth
which follows the cut of the branch. It is good to make few but well-chosen cuts. × Framework branches that are thicker than 50% of the base of that branch should be removed. The exceptions are species that have naturally thicker branches than the rest. × For a new branch to grow where one is removed you need to leave a few cm of the old branch on the trunk. × A branch that is not to be renewed should be cut close to the base. Lateral branches with sharp angles should be removed whilst sprouts that are more horizontal and have a flower-bud at the end should be retained.
The tree’s first season is its establishing phase; all the flowers should be removed to get the most vegetative growth possible. During the middle years, the focus switches to reducing the potential for damage and disease as well as stimulating fruit production. With veteran trees, fruit production is no longer a priority. Preventing structural collapse becomes imperative so the tree can maintain its wildlife and landscape value.
The tree’s anatomy can be broken down into four main sections: 1. The trunk is the main stem of the tree and is formed from the initial central leader. 2. The framework branches are the main limbs of the tree that radiate out from the trunk. These are usually retained for long periods if not the entire lifetime of the tree. 3. Secondary branches that emerge from the framework branches are known as laterals. These smaller side branches bear the leaves and fruiting spurs. 4. Fruiting spurs are the short branches where the apple tree flowers and sets fruit. The aim of pruning is to help establish all these correctly.
Pruning can begin after the harvest and should be completed before leaves are starting to emerge from the buds. In the winter you can do the rough work amputating larger branches. In the spring it is easier to distinguish between fruit and leaf buds. Pruning heavily in the early spring stimulates growth in the trees. Less pruning will result in more fruits.
The apple tree (p.15): 1. Trunk 2. Properly pruned stub 3. Improperly pruned stub 4. Strong wide angle 5. Water sprouts 6. Framework branch 7. Secondary branch 8. Leader 9. Stub 10. Sucker 11. Spurs 12. Slow growing dropping branch 13. Weak narrow angle 14. Crown sucker 15. Roor sucker 16. Crown 17. Tap root 18. Central leader 19. Lateral roots 14
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INTERVIEW
Foad Amini Where are you from? I’m from the Kurdistan part of Iran - eastern Iran and the city of Baneh, which is in the middle of the mountains with a big rainforest. It is agriculture land.
eating together or picnic or some stuff like that. Sometimes there are events at the camp here, like a grillparty or workshops where they invite the people around to help us, and we made friends with some of them.
So your family, were they farmers? No, but actually I lived in Iran many years ago, like 10 years ago. My mother was a psychology teacher in university and my father was a teacher at a secondary school. I am familiar to gardening because of my mother. One of her biggest hobbies was gardening and we had a little garden at our house with plants like onion, garlic, pepper, potatoes, tomatoes. Mostly vegetables.
Do you have an experience or a memory of gardens from you childhood? Yes, we had a little garden when I was in Iran. When I lived in Turkey we had a very big garden like here. I lived in southern Turkey in the city of Mersin, by the Mediterranean sea, where the weather is very good for gardening - you can grow everything there. We had an avocado tree, oranges, lemon, and grapefruit. I also grew garlic and peppers, because I like them so much - the chilli ones. My mum she always helped me grow it. She was not working so she was always taking care of the garden.
What do you think about this place Torshov, and how it is to be here? Actually this place is beautiful, but it is not good to live here as a refugee because you don’t know what is going to happen in the future for you. Maybe if I get asylum and stay in Norway I choose this area to live because it is a really nice place.
Do you work on the gardens here at Torshov? Yes actually we have a garden here, and Karam and I take care of this garden because no one else wants to do it. We grow potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, mint, onion, spinach, strawberries.
How is the community among you who stay here, with the other asylum seekers? Actually I don’t have any problems with the people, because I am a social person. And I easily get a connection with the people who are coming here. But there are not too many refugees here now, and they just stay for 2 or 3 days and then go somewhere else, and I don’t get to know all of them. But I have a good connection with the staff who work here and especially my roommate Karam. He is from Iraq and I am from Iran. We don’t know each other’s language so we speak English together.
Did you spend time in the apple garden? No not so much because if you want to take care of the trees, you have to have some other kind of tools. Big things to cut with, which we don’t have here at Torshov. I can see that these trees are very healthy and you don’t have to take care of them so much. Because here it rains a lot which is good. and then you can pick in the fall. Sometimes I come here and just sit by that tree and drink beer and think about nothing besides these trees. This is a very quiet place.
Did you experience a connection with the neighbourhood or other kinds of initiatives? Yes, we met the volunteers, they come every weekend and we hang out and do something;
It is almost like a secret? Yes, a secret garden. We can call it the secret garden of Oslo.
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THE ORCHARD
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THE ORCHARD
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MAINTENANCE
Thinning fruitlets and flowers When: May - July Tools: Garden knife, ladder. By thinning flowers and fruitlets the remaining fruits will receive more nutrition and sunlight. The result will be larger and sweeter fruits. An early thinning is also said to help develop a good crop the following year. 1-2 fruits should be retained per cluster and 10-15 cm of space allowed between the fruits, from stem to stem. Dead or faded summer flowers should be removed. The official rule is that there should be 0.8-1 apple per cm rows of trees meaning if you have 10 meters of trees there should be 1000-1200 apples.
× Thinning can be done throughout the season. Let the tree grow some more and then thin again in July and August. Regular thinning can give apples each year × Let the top of the tree be relatively empty as it is better to have more vegetative growth there. Additionally it facilitates a more efficient harvest as it is harder to reach the highest apples. × On short sprouts there should hang one or a maximum of two apples. If there’s more the sprout can break when the apples mature and grow. × Hold your hand under the fruitlet when you are thinning, so you catch everything that is to be removed. This avoids damage to other fruitlets below. × Remove the fruitlets with bad colour first. This is more important than the size. × Remove the fruitlets with damages or obvious disease like fungus, insect bites or damage from machines. Also remove apples that are growing together.
Manual thinning can be done by hand or with secateurs. Thinning advice: × Look to see if the whole tree is weak or strong. A weak tree means growth is bad - it will grow slowly. If it is weak you’ll have to thin it allowing it more energy to grow and not just produce fruit. Otherwise it can easily turn into a biennial bearing tree. Be careful not to thin too much as this can lead to fruits becoming too large.
Disease management When: All year The fruit trees are exposed to diseases from both rodents and pests as well as other plant diseases. They are often hard to get rid of once established so preventive maintenance throughout the year is crucial. Disease can appear in the leaves, fruit or branches. Structures can be created in the orchard to host
beneficial organisms that will prevent pests and so benefit the growing process. A high population of beneficial organisms are important to significantly reduce pest numbers. Birds, ladybugs, chrysopiade and anthocoridae can all contribute to help keep pest populations low.
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THE ORCHARD
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MAINTENANCE
Harvesting When: August - October Tools: Harvest bag, knife, saw, pliers, secateurs, storage boxes, fruit picker, ladder. Late summer or early autumn, once the fruit has developed and matured, it is time to prepare the harvest. Before harvest you should eliminate rodents, fill all burrows, remove obstacles in the orchard and cut the grass. To ensure freshness, the fruits should be removed quickly from the tree at the optimal moment.
an indicator of maturity. At minimum maturity, apples will be hard and crisp. They will have developed their characteristic flavour but will be starchy. The peel is another indicator for harvesting, if it is too matte it has not matured enough. Resistance and starch are usually tested for commercial apple harvesting as well as testing the sugar levels of the apple juice. A reliable harvest indicator can be the number of days from full bloom to maturity as this is usually relatively consistent regardless of seasonal variations and location.
The time of harvest can depend on the climatic conditions and the type of apple; some are ready to be harvested earlier than others. There are some indicators to signal when to start the harvest. The fruit is ready to pick when it separates easily without disturbing other apples or the fruit spur. Colour is another factor - the base of the fruit called the ground colour changes from green to yellow as the fruit matures. It is this colour that will tell you if the apple is ripe or not. The cover colour is more cosmetic; the intensity of the red is not
It is important to treat the apples gently as if they were eggs. A slight tap makes the apples rot especially when they are to be stored whole. This is not so important if they are going to be made juice of.
Flowering When: Mid May to the end of June. The flowering usually lasts for 3-4 weeks. There are two types of buds on the apple tree; fruit buds that produce flowers and leaf buds that produce only leaves and vegetative growth. Leaf buds can usually be distinguished from fruit buds by their location and narrower width. Fruit buds, arising out of leaves, will typically produce clusters of five to eight blossom buds.
stages in the spring. From dormant buds to flowering to petal fall to the final setting of the fruit. The dormant stage is the overwintering stage when the fruit buds are inactive. From this stage the fruit bud swells and breaks at the tip showing 1-2mm of green growth. The bud then bursts showing tips of the flower buds which emerge tightly grouped before blossoming into pink petals with stems fully extended. Before the full bloom and the fruit buds’ opening the blossom buds turn white. The blossom will then fall before the fruit begins to set.
To care for the crop effectively it is important to recognise the stages of growth to apply the proper nutrients and pesticides. The fruit trees pass through a series of fairly definite growing
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MAINTENANCE
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Tools: 1. Secateurs 2. Harvest bag 3. Scissors 4. Wheelbarrow 5. Pliers 22
MAINTENANCE
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6. Pruning saw 7. Garden knife 8. Storage boxes 8. Fruit picker 23
INTERVIEW
Karam Kifah Thanoon Where are you from? I am born in Mosul in the north of Iraq. Most people call it “the city with two springs” because we almost have two springs, and you can farm anything there. It is a green city.
world. Because I have lived for 29 years, and sometimes I think it is all just a bad dream. I am a physics teacher, and every time I want to start my future and I put my foot one step forward, something makes me go back ten steps. I don’t know why, I don’t know what. I think it is a good thing to live here in a peaceful country, the freedom here in Norway. I like this type of life.
You grow fruits there? In my house we have a normal garden that you can find in every Iraqi house with a palm tree , which is very famous in my country, lemon trees and oranges and some kind of flowers. We divide the garden in two parts; one part for fruits and the other one for flowers.
Do you have a memory of a garden? I was born in Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers and we know how to farm. So I feel comfortable when I farm or grow something. I like it when I pour water on the soil or plants, and I know what the trees need.
So the garden is it inside the house? The Middle Eastern house is one big house with a wall - like a border on one side. And next to the garage you can find the garden. We have a normal sized garden, not big, but you can find anything there.
Do you think it is also almost like meditation to work in the garden? Yes, at least when I live here waiting for my case. I go outside and take care of the garden and these trees. Making myself busy with something. Because we don’t have anything to do here, except waiting for the unknown future. I like to take care of the small details, that is my perfect hobby. And here I just wait, and I am not used to that. Just sit still, go to eat, to the bathroom and sleep. This is not a life for me. I want to discover everything in this world. Physics people are crazy, we like to know everything.
What do you think about this centre at Torshov? Torshov is a beautiful place and quiet at the same time. It is a good place for thinking. I always spend maybe half an hour of the day taking care of the trees and maybe eat a little bit. There are different types of trees, you can find apples and cherries. It is a good place. So do you think it is nice to be a little bit away from the other people? Well actually we don’t meet so many people because and we don’t know how to speak Norwegian, only English. Maybe people here feel a little bit shy. We have met a few people. They are nice, but we need to learn the language.
Are there any tools that you need for taking care of fruit trees? At home have the tools we need, we use it for small gardening, small leom and mandarine trees; we call them japanese lemon trees. What if you wanted to do more with the apple trees here? Of course they need more care and we don’t have enough tools. I think the apple trees need pest-control because there are some kind of worms that eat the apples. Of course we need many tools to properly care for the trees, and I hope we can get them here.
How is the community amongst the people who live in the centre? There are people from different countries; from Africa, Asia, South America. We talk, and also sometimes work together. And you feel that there is still something good in this
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MAINTENANCE
Storage When: After the harvest Tools: Stacked boxes After the harvest the fruit will no longer be receiving nutrients from the tree and so it must use the food it has stored over the growing season. As this food is gradually used up during storage, the sugar, starch, and acid content of the apple will change. Eventually the tissue breaks down; the apple becomes mealy and develops a bad flavour. Proper apple storage preserves the quality of the fruit by slowing ripening and reducing water loss.
ate conditions, the apple will develop disorders that affect the taste and possibly degrade or even destroy the apple. Larger apples are usually first to lose their quality and show signs of internal breakdown. Low temperature slows the respiration rate and preserves the quality. Apples last several times longer at 0°C than they do at 20°C. If possible, storage temperature should remain constant. Relative humidity must be kept high, between 88 and 92 percent. If the humidity is not maintained apples will dehydrate and shrivel. Apples can be kept well in dark and humid cellars that maintain a cool temperature below 4°C. The fruit can be stored in stacked boxes with good air supply. They should not be placed directly on the floor or against a wall.
The length of time apples remain good in storage depends on the type of apple, stage of maturity at picking, handling before storage, how soon they are cooled down, and the temperature and humidity of the storage area. When harvested, the apples should be stored under ideal environmental conditions, including correct temperature, atmospheric conditions and humidity. When stored under inappropri-
The applepress The first time we visited the asylum centre we discovered the large apple orchard behind the dormitories and became interested in its potential as a social space and resource for the centre. We also discovered that Sullivan Lloyd Nordrum, together with some of the asylum seekers, had built a simple apple press made of everyday items found in and around the centre. This process was documented in our first report.
pulp and then placed in a strainer. A container must be placed under the strainer to hold the pressed apple juice. The apple press in the exhibition is a slightly modified version of the original. Instructions for building different types of homemade apple presses are readily available on the internet. The new press is made of stronger material so it can remain at the asylum centre to be re-used every year. We have also raised the frame so it is easier to work with and created a larger surface for the strainer and juice containers. It’s built of solid wood and can easily be modified to different kinds of jacks and containers.
The apple press is a simple construction with the main objective being to make a strong frame that can withstand the pressure. Within the frame a cheap scissor jack is used to apply force. The apples are first beaten into a coarse
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MAINTENANCE
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Building the apple press: 1. 2 x 2 pieces of wood 2. Nails 3. Saw 4. Large boiler or bucket 5. Heavy pole for mashing apples 6. Apples 7. Strainer 8. Lid that fits the strainer’s diameter 9. Hammer 10. Plastic bag to collect juice 11. Scissor jack 12. Glasses 13. Funnel 27
THE ORCHARD
Harvesting apples and preparing apples for the press. 28
THE ORCHARD
Building and assembling the press before drinking the apple juice. 29
Bibliography: Eple. Store Norske Leksikon. Bailer, L. H. The Apple Tree. 1922. Jaastad and Djønne. Epledyrking, økologisk småskrift, Bioforsk. 2009 Kvåle, Atle. Fruktdyrking. 1995. Skard, Olav. Frukthagen, Hagebok for heim og skule. 1938 Skard, Olav. Norsk Pomologi 1: Epler. 1943. Wright, Walter P. Pictorial practical fruit growing. 1901
Eriksen Skajaa Arkitekter St. Halvards Plass 1 0192 Oslo Oslo Arkitekturtriennale 2016 After Belonging - In Residence Pollen Forlag 2016 - PF003 Photo Torshov: Mattias Fredrik Josefsson Photo apple press: Christer Fasmer Illustration: Eriksen Skajaa Arkitekter Thanks to: Residents and employees at Torshov Transit Centre, Sullivan Lloyd Nordrum, Jorid Bertelsen, Iris Hadziosmanovic, Shwan Karem Wahed, Tom Hjertholm, Hugo Limkjær, Karam Kifah Thanoon, Foad Amini, Norsk Folkehjelp, Victoria Abelsen, Endre Njøs, Kollwitz, Verity Keniger and Jon Harald Helleland. Zoom grafisk Edition: 1000 ISBN 978-82-690021-1-9
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