4f1. Permaculture garden research project "Melliodora" of David Holmgren in Hepburn Springs, Australia (since 1985)

1985: Purchase of a piece of land - conversion into an intensive permaculture plant - Project "Melliodora" - David Holmgren and Su Dennett - mixed cultures, orchard, dams, harvest - volunteering (practical training) and tours - books

David Holmgren, portrait [5] - David Holmgren and Su Dennet [6] - Book by Mollison and Holmgren "Permaculture One" 1978 [10] - Book by Holmgren on the 20th anniversary of Melliodora (2015) [4] - Melliodora, growing corn, beans, and pumpkin "3 sisters" [38]            Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, greenhouse in the house [40] - black chicken [43] - mixed vegetable planting beds [46] - pond with summer house [51] Permaculture Research Center of Holmgren in Hepburn Springs, with Holmgren's design

presented by Michael Palomino (2018)

1985: Purchase of a piece of land - conversion to an intensive permaculture plant - Project "Melliodora" - David Holmgren and Su Dennett -- Kitchen gardens, orchards, dams, livestock - courses and tours -- Books of Holmgren - and anniversary book 20 years Melliodora -- Details about Melliodora permaculture research plant -- Tour report: Statistics -- Passive solar mudbrick and timber house -- The cool cupboard -- Grape arbor -- The greenhouse -- Melliodora vegetable garden -- The orchard and the cockatoos -- Water -- Bush Fire Protection [measures with plants, tanks and installations] -- Video with impressions about Melliodora - from 3 weeks volunteering / practical training (upload 2016) -- David Holmgren: nature details - graphics -- David Holmgren: Architecture details in harmony with Mother Earth - graphics

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Here are some big pioneers - in terms of organic farming with permaculture - almost NO machines, NO pesticides, almost NO irrigation:

4f. The permaculture gardening project "Melliodora" by David Holmgren at Hepburn Springs in Australia (since 1985)

Melliodora: location and map
Map of Australia with Hepburn Springs [k1] Hepburn Springs is a little spot with about 600 people (2016) next to Daylesford in Victoria northwest of Melbourne [web08]. The permaculture garden research plant Melliodora (Melliodora Gardens) by David Holmgren and Su Dennett in Hepburn Springs (Australia) [1]	The permaculture garden research plant Melliodora (Melliodora Gardens) by David Holmgren and Su Dennett in Hepburn Springs (Australia) - the plan [2]
Holmgren-Design, logo [3]

1985: Purchase of a piece of land - conversion to an intensive permaculture plant - Project "Melliodora" - David Holmgren and Su Dennett

 
David Holmgren, portrait [5] - David Holmgren and Su Dennet [6]

In 1985, David Holmgren and Su Dennett transformed a barren, one-hectare piece of blackberry overgrown land into a small, intensive permaculture facility [web02] - in Hepburn Springs, north of Melbourne, Australia [web03]. The "Melliodora Gardens" (Melliodora Hepburn Permaculture Gardens) by David Holmgren and Su Dennett are a permaculture study garden for colder climates and show the relationships for small farms and large blocks of flats [web01].

Website of David Holmgren: https://holmgren.com.au/

The name of "Melliodora" is from the local eucalyptus in Australia "Eucalyptus melliodora" [web06].

     
Eucalyptus tree "Eucalyptus melliodora" [12] - Eucalyptus melliodora, leaves and flowers [11] - Map of Australia with the distribution of eucalyptus tree Eucalyptus melliodora [32]

Kitchen gardens, orchards, dams, livestock - courses and tours

Melliodora has a passive house, mixed vegetable gardens, orchards, dams and livestock. Also creek renaturation is shown. The Melliodora horticultural model is most relevant for big city blocks and allotments. In workshops and tours the basic principles and strategies are presented. Website with course offers and the contact form are here: Link [web02]. info [at] holmgren [dot] com [dot] au

Books of Holmgren - and anniversary book 20 years Melliodora

Books by Holmgren:

           
Book by Mollison and Holmgren "Permaculture One" 1978 [10] - David Holmgren, book "Permaculture - Principles&Pathways" (2002/2003?) [7,8] - David Holmgren, book "Future Scenarios" (2007/2009?) [9] - book "Retrosuburbia" 2018 [21]

Indications from Holmgren's website:

"David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Within the growing and international permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism. [web04]

As well as constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, David is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, which he explored in Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change (2009) (CIA Wikipedia says 2007 [web05]), and Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2003) (CIA Wikipedia says 2002 [web05]). With an increasingly high profile as a public speaker, David Holmgren provides leadership with his refreshing and unorthodox approach to the environmental issues of our time." [web04]

For its 20th anniversary of Melliodora, a book with the case studies of Melliodora came out - Link [web01].

Book by Holmgren on the 20th anniversary of Melliodora (2015) [4]

Details about Melliodora permaculture research plant

         
Melliodora: house with vertical garden [20] - Melliodora, pond and orchard in the background [22] - Melliodora, vegetable planting beds, terraces and gravel path [23] - Melliodora, vegetable garden with house in the background [28]
      
David Holmgren during a Melliodora tour 2015 [29] - Melliodora, vegetable planting bed with straw mulch and bottles [33] - Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, mixed vegetable planting beds [46] - pond with the off grid house [48]
          
Melliodora, white goats [24] - white goat eating from a tree [34] - geese [25] - black chickens on the meadow eat pests away [35]
        
Melliodora, Brazil guave / feijoas [36] - Melliodora, mushrooms grown in the kettle [37] - Melliodora, growing corn, beans, and pumpkin "3 sisters" [38] - Melliodora, pumpkins, mandarins, avocados and pears [39]

Tour report

Here is a tour report (Del Hansen, 2015). The tour is 3 hours, about 10 times per year with about 40 people [web07]:

<Melliodora site statistics

Melliodora is built on a 1 hectare site in the village of Hepburn, an hour north west of Melbourne. The altitude (500m above sea level) and inland location results in a cool climate with heavy frosts and a reasonably short summer growing season. Around 800 mm of rain falls annually, mainly in winter. Like much of Victoria, bushfire risk is high, particularly in the warm, dry months of late summer.

I was particularly interested to learn as much as I could about the property as I am considering relocating to central Victoria and the climate is very different from the sub-tropics where I currently live and garden.

Passive solar mudbrick and timber house

David and Su’s mudbrick and timber home is somewhat famous in sustainable building circles and rightly so. The design utilizes solar orientation and thermal mass [earth walls] to moderate the internal temperature for year round comfort and is extremely energy efficient (and beautiful). Solar energy and firewood provide for the majority of the home’s energy needs.

My favorite features:

The cool cupboard – for storage of fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese and flour. A vent at the bottom of the cupboard draws cool air in from under the floor into the insulated cupboard and a roof vent releases warm air. Wire baskets allow the air to flow through. This design feature means that only a small refrigerator is required, saving considerable energy.

Grape arbor on north (sunny side) of the house provides cool green shade and fruit in summer and allows sunshine through in winter. The installation of a clear panel over the top of the arbor provides additional protection from northerly winter rain and also minimizes theft of fruit by birds.

The greenhouse attached to the northern side of the house extends the growing season while also providing solar warmth to the home in winter. This heating effect is controlled in summer through vents and growing plants on a trellis (eg. beans) to provide shade.

Melliodora vegetable garden

There is a classic ‘zone 1’ veg patch right outside the kitchen, the raised beds built from recycled timber or stone excavated from the site during construction. In late summer, we saw abundant sweetcorn, butternut squash, tomatoes, herbs, and so much more thriving in their sunny warm spot. Comfrey self seeds at the edges of the paths in the shade of the stone walls.

While David agreed that there is no such thing as a ‘weed’ (just a plant in the wrong place), he was also quick to state that ‘weeding’ is vital in the veg patch. He does not subscribe to the myth of ‘do nothing permaculture’!

The orchard and the cockatoos

No food forests here – cool climate species need more light and less competition than their tropical cousins. Instead, the design is based on a European mixed orchard. Fruit and nut trees are intercropped with tagasaste (tree lucerne) a small evergreen tree that has nitrogen fixing capabilities, provides good quality goat fodder, mulch and firewood and has the additional benefit of being a fire retardant species.

Food producing species include: apples, pears, peaches, plums, olives, figs, feijoa, walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. Chickens and geese are integrated into the orchard and goats are kept contained with electric fencing.

Birds represent the biggest threat to crops and a local population of cockatoos have become a serious pest. Bird netting protects some trees but losses are inevitable.

David points out that while broad-acre farmers have permission to control cockatoos, elsewhere they are a protected species. He fantasizes of a future where boys with slingshots will be gainfully employed to control the birds – apparently walnut-fattened cockatoo is quite delicious!

Water

Water supply is secured from 3 sources providing resilience during drought. The property has 2 dams to capture overland runoff, high quality town water connected to the house along with roof rainwater capture. The dam water is pumped to header tanks at the top of the property to irrigate gardens and to provide a fire fighting water supply if needed.

Bush Fire Protection [measures with plants, tanks and installations]

Bushfire is a major risk in rural Victoria. This is due to the warm dry summers combined with the dominance of eucalypt tree species that burn fast and hot. Melliodora is carefully designed to reduce the risk using the following strategies:

• Removal of eucalypt species from property and adjoining public land
• Planting of fire retardant species (such as blackwood, willow, oak) in their place
• Timing grass slashing for early summer to reduce fuel load
• Careful sealing of house (especially under the roof) to prohibit the entry of flying embers that are the main risk to houses in bushfires
• No large combustible trees near the house
• Water misting irrigation pipes installed on perimeter of wooden outbuildings
• Water storage tanks on high point of property with good pumps> [web07]
  

Video with impressions about Melliodora - from 3 weeks volunteering / practical training (upload 2016)

Video: Melliodora Permaculture Site (3'34'')

Video: Melliodora Permaculture Site (3'34'')
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVKiVdZyfw - YouTube channel: kaiconfusion

    
Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, greenhouse in the house [40] - fruit harvest from trees [41] - olives are harvested [42]
        
Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, black chicken [43] - an egg on pine branches [44] - donkeys on the meadow [45]
     
Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, mixed vegetable planting beds [46] - Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, independent house "off grid house" [47] - pond with the off grid house [48]
     
Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, cut wood from a cut tree [49] - leaf mulch from the cut tree [50] - pond with summer house [51]

Melliodora 3 weeks volunteering, pond with the off grid house [52]

David Holmgren: nature details - graphics from his new book Retrosuburbia 2018 David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" forest garden, graphic [18] David Holmgren book Retrosuburbia 2018: Goats and chickens and their services, graphic [17]

David Holmgren: Architecture details in harmony with Mother Earth - graphics from his new book Retrosuburbia 2018
David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" 2018: Architecture considering summer and winter sun's angle [19] Holmgren: Retrosuburbia, winter garden and wall with earth layer [14] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" 2018: pergola and hanging garden, graphic [30] Holmgren's architecture in the book Retrosuburbia 2018 with skylight for ventilation and earth wall [15] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" architecture: Melliodora stove system with hot water production, graphic [13]     David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" architecture: Cool ventilated cupboard for the kitchen, graphic [26]: In the underground air pipe the air is cooled down before entering the cupboards. - Cool ventilated cupboards in the kitchen [27] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" architecture: gray water recovery system for regions without hard winter  [16] [Note: Not for hard winters This gray water system with planting beds outside for cleaning the gray water only works in regions without hard winter without frozen temperatures of under 0ºC. For climates with hard winters with temperatures lower 0ºC there must be a winter garden or a greenhouse with planting beds inside being protected from the frost].

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Sources

[web01] https://holmgren.com.au/melliodora/tours/
[web02] https://store.holmgren.com.au/product/melliodora/ 
[web03] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Holmgren
[web04] https://au.permacultureprinciples.com/product/melliodora/
[web05] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Holmgren
[web06] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_melliodora
[web07] http://delhansen.com/melliodora-a-permaculture-tour-with-david-holmgren/
[web08] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn_Springs,_Victoria

Photo sources

[1] Permaculture garden research plant "Melliodora", Australia: https://holmgren.com.au/melliodora/tours/
[2] Permaculture garden research plant "Melliodora", Australia: https://store.holmgren.com.au/product/melliodora/ 
[3] Holmgren Design, logo: https://holmgren.com.au/contact/
[4] Book by Holmgren on the 20th anniversary of Melliodora: https://store.holmgren.com.au/product/melliodora/
[5] David Holmgren: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/397161260872496398/
[6] David Holmgren+Sue Dennet: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/541065342715920819/
[7] David Holmgren, book "Permaculture - principles&pathways" 2002: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/110901209550405623/
[8] David Holmgren, book "Permaculture - principles&pathways" with colorful cover 2002: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/449937819002714266/
[9] David Holmgren, book "Future Scenarios" 2007: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/108719778477182700/
[10] Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, book "Permaculture One" 1978: https://holmgren.com.au/about-permaculture/#lightbox/0/

[11] Eucalyptus melliodora, leaves and flowers: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/190628996710846468/
[12] Eucalyptus tree "Eucalyptus melliodora": https://www.pinterest.de/pin/441282463481181502/
[13] Melliodora stove system with hot water: https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[14] Holmgren: Retrosuburbia, winter garden and wall with earth layer, graphics:
https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[15] Holmgren's architecture in the book Retrosuburbia 2018 with skylight for ventilation and earth wall:
https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[16] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" architecture: gray water recovery system for regions without hard winter:
https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[17] David Holmgren book Retrosuburbia 2018: Goats and chickens and their services, graphic:
https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[18] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" forest garden, graphic: https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[19] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" 2018: Architecture considering summer and winter sun's angle:
https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/

[20] Melliodora house and vertical garden: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/327285097890663971/

[21] Book "Retrosuburbia" 2018: https://holmgren.com.au/
[22] Melliodora, pond and orchard in the background: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/551057704385014382/
[23] Melliodora, vegetable beds and terraces with gravel path: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/193303008989042369/
[24] Melliodora, white goats: https://theplanthunter.com.au/people/david-holmgrens-permaculture-revolution/
[25] Melliodora, geese: https://theplanthunter.com.au/people/david-holmgrens-permaculture-revolution/
[26] Cool ventilated cupboard for the kitchen, graphic: https://www.milkwood.net/2018/02/27/retrosuburbia-the-downshifters-guide-to-a-resilient-future/
[27] Cool ventilated cupboards in the kitchen: http://delhansen.com/melliodora-a-permaculture-tour-with-david-holmgren/
[28] Melliodora, vegetable garden with house in the background: http://delhansen.com/melliodora-a-permaculture-tour-with-david-holmgren/
[29] David Holmgren during a Melliodora tour 2015: http://delhansen.com/melliodora-a-permaculture-tour-with-david-holmgren/
[30] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia" 2018: pergola and hanging garden, graphic: https://www.weekendnotes.com/retrosuburbia-holmgren-david/

[31] David Holmgren "Retrosuburbia": sterile house becomes living caravan trailer with planting bed and hammock:
https://www.weekendnotes.com/retrosuburbia-holmgren-david/
[32] Map of Australia with the distribution of eucalyptus tree Eucalyptus melliodora: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_melliodora
[33] Melliodora, vegetable planting bed with straw mulch and bottles: https://holmgren.com.au/melliodora/tours/#lightbox/3/
[34] Melliodora, goat eating from a tree: https://holmgren.com.au/melliodora/tours/#lightbox/6/
[35] Melliodora, black chicken on the meadow eat pests away: https://holmgren.com.au/melliodora/tours/#lightbox/5/
[36] Brazil guava / feijoas: https://www.milkwood.net/2018/05/10/all-about-feijoas-growing-harvesting-recipes/
[37] Melliodora, mushrooms grown in the kettle: https://www.milkwood.net/2017/10/19/making-an-off-grid-diy-mushroom-fruiting-house/
[38] Melliodora, growing corn, beans, and pumpkin "3 sisters":
https://www.milkwood.net/2017/04/21/making-a-three-sisters-garden-stacking-in-space-and-time/
[39] Melliodora, pumpkins, mandarins, avocados and pears:
https://www.milkwood.net/2017/05/15/food-co-ops-collectives-3-examples-of-community-food-systems/

Maps
[k1] Map with Australia with Hepburn Springs: http://www.backpackaround.com/destinations/victoria/daylesford/backpacking-daylesford.html

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