Syntropic agroforestry builds on permaculture food forests with a greater wildness, diversity, density, succession planning and enjoyable engagement.

The goal is to have cropping plants from year one, which are succeeded by different crops as the system evolves and soils improve. Support species are planted densely alongside cropping plants. They are managed with pruning so that they photosynthesise at their optimum and therefore feed the soil food web via their root exudates. One podcast interviewee described it as growing a forest succession within your orchard.

I am excited to be just starting my learning, and am loving how this builds on my 25+ years of work with permaculture food forests and in depth knowledge of food plants, support plants and volunteer plants in my bioregion.

My education is primarily from a temperate syntropics course with Klaus Lotz at Kahikatea Farm. Other learning has been through friends, Permadynamics, Twin Falls Nursery, podcasts, and youtube. Inspitration for the temperate zone is thin so lets share as we go.

This page is a work in progress, rather than stress about making it perfect, I am keen to share documentation of the journey, to prompt discussion and feedback, so we can all learn together. See our socials for updates.

Yulan Syntropic Orchard

Planting began in Sept 2026

Goals

• To retrofit an existing orchard for more diversity, productivity, resilience, wildness, beauty and fun.
• To produce fruits and berries not already existing on the property. These may be sold in future or be used in house.
• To produce eggs, by rotating chickens through the orchard.
• Trial temperate syntropic agroforestry design, plants and management systems with the potential to use them at a larger scale on the property.
• This first area will become a source of propagating material for other areas.

Context

• Region: Coastal Otago - a maritime temperate climate which grows apples, pears, plums and blackcurrants very well. Not super cold like Central Otago in winter but has cool summers which limits what we can ripen.
• Microclimate: Located North facing slope in East Taieri, which is one of the warmest microclimates of the Dunedin area. The property has mandarin, grapefruit and tangello fruiting reasonable well, which indicates good frost drainage and well an above average warmth for Dunedin. 16-20C is a nice summer day!
• Only very light frosts, April - Sept. Hail often in October, just after planting curcubits!
• 600mm annual rainfall. Gets dry in late summer. 
  
• Deep Loess, free draining, alkaline soil.
• High worm count, grass roots to 50cm. Soil test indicate low sulphur, phosphorus and potassium.
• Previously continous grazing by sheep and chickens, grass sward always short, some clover, thistles.
• Established shelter belts.
• Limited water available for irrigation (roofwater).
  
• Severe rabbit pressure, fenced but needs work!

Design and Planting Process

• Goals set with the team and site assessment made winter 2026
• Listed potential plants and fit them into the syntropic planning grid of lifecycle and strata
• Decided to follow Klaus's suggestion of an alternating two row system for temperate climates to allow in adequate sunlight. One row having crop species in the high and low strata, and the next row having medium and emergent strata cropping plants. Both rows contain all strata of support species.
• Exclude stock. (should have checked rabbit fencing at this point!
• Mock up contour rows, using existing fruit trees as a starting point, using bamboo stakes. Experiment with different spacing. We settled on 3.2m between rows.
• Roughly estimate plant numbers (no planting plan made, see later stages).
• First planting session: Grub off turf 3-4cm deep and lay on the downhill side of rows.
  
• Spread compost 2cm deep (mainly as an inoculent). We would have spread mineral amendments but hadn't worked out what was needed at that stage so they will come later.

Detail planting design was done as we planted September 2026:

1. Lay out the more expensive and grafted fruit trees and berries. Plant.
2. Lay out the climax (long lived) emergent, high and mid strata trees and shrubs. Plant.
3. Lay out all other lifecycle trees and shrubs. Plant.
4. Plant herbaceous perennials.
5. Woodchip mulch 3cm deep.
6. Sow seed of annual and herbaceous plants, cover lightly with woodchip.

Marking out the contour rows.

Team grubbing.

Water.

Thanks to everyone who chipped in!

Happy days.