The edible walkway planted alongside the Great Taste Trail is Roger Jones’ baby, but it will have a big thirst through summer and he has started a Givealittle page to help satisfy that thirst.
Along with three friends, he has planted 119 trees and 174 smaller plants alongside the trail which is the old railway reserve between Richmond and Hope, including about 50 that will eventually produce fruit. It all began when he decided the empty patch of land that runs alongside the trail could be put to good use to grow food.
The trees have survived an attack by someone on a quad bike, but their next battle is the summer dry in stony soils.
Already, Roger has spent $850 on a small trailer to cart a 1,000-litre water tank and about $400 on petrol. Through summer he will be heading to the river for a tank of water to keep the trees alive and petrol is going to be an ongoing cost. So he has created the Givealittle page to seek donations to cover some of the costs of establishing the trees.
He has already begun watering the trees each week and he will give them 10 litres each per week through to March, depending on the season.
“When I started it, I knew what I was taking on. The support has been amazing though and I’ve had a letter from the mayor Tim King thanking me for my effort to the community.”
After some of the trees were damaged a few weeks ago when a quad bike was driven over the top of some of them, he has been able to repair much of the damage. A local vineyard supplied sturdier posts that a neighbouring business then drove into the ground beside the trees to try and protect them from further vandalism.
So far, he says the police have not been able to identify the quad-bike driver who vandalised the trees, but Roger has since had a security camera erected to watch over his babies so that they may one day get the chance to bear fruit.
“One or two may have fruit next year, depending on what sort of summer they have.”
He is also working away at clearing prickly weeds to access a few existing fruit trees along the trail.
“There are about three old feral plum trees in amongst the barberry and gorse. But I’m slowly getting rid of the weeds.”
Roger plans to continue planting donated trees next winter.
“People give me plants and you can’t turn down a gift.”
