Polyculture Trial — Apple Polyculture vs Monoculture — How Do they Compare?
We are shifting our focus to perennial polyculture experiments and forest garden yields and have been working on a new perennial polyculture trial that we're aiming to start in April 2024. It's a long-term comparative study looking at the input and outputs of growing an Apple tree in polyculture vs monoculture.
During this post, I'll present the trial garden and trial design, cover what we will record, and take a look at some of the shortcomings of the study.
So, let's start with a look at the garden where we'll be growing the trials.
Trial Garden Overview
Location: Shipka, Bulgaria, Southeast Europe
Köppen Climate Classification - Dfc borderline Cfb
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5b (conservative) - 7a (risky)
Latitude: 42°
Elevation: 565 m
Average Annual Rainfall: 610 mm
Prevailing Wind: NW & NE
Garden Area - 352m2
Garden Location on our Project Map - See here
We'll be growing four trials on the plot as seen in the below image. We chose this plot as each trial will more or less experience equal environ…