Sustainably designing our orchards out of Juniper, an invasive species

History of Juniper as an invasive species

Our Oregon grasslands, which have previously been maintained by native populations, are currently struggling as we move away from controlled burning and towards fire suppression in an effort to protect structures and livestock. Because of this, Western Juniper, a native species has taken on the qualities of an invasive species as it has been allowed to grow unchecked. Western juniper has been described by Oregon Invasive Species as “degrading sage grouse and other wildlife habitat, shading out native grasses, sucking up groundwater, and creating opportunities for invasions of weeds and other undesirable species.”

The Oregon department of Agriculture has actually worked to address concerns for the invasiveness of the species by gathering a task force to increase the demand for juniper wood and thus increase the interested parties who would log and mill it. We at The Portland Fruit Tree Project have answered their call and are working to secure western juniper wood to build our moveable orchards. Why not fight for endangered ecosystems while addressing food insecurity in our communities?

Juniper has also been acclaimed for its durability in building outdoor structures, an ideal candidate for fence posts, sheds, and you guessed it, garden beds. One Oregon State Study reports fences made with Juniper wood last over 30 years longer than other untreated western woods (Morrell, 1999), and other studies demonstrate its resistance to several forms of decay such as termite and fungus related issues.

Our plan

One of our interns, Amethyst has been busy working on a prototype for our orchard beds in her garage using Juniper wood, and is excited to begin rolling them out this spring. The finished product will be up-cycled from a IUC container, and have two parts: one half will be shallow and be used as a garden bed for fruits and veggies, and the other, the deeper of the two, and be for planting trees. Due to the smaller scale, these trees needed to meet a few requirements in order to thrive. After some research we settled on finding Mini-Dwarf G-41 varieties, which rootstock will allow them to grow 6-9’, they will be resistant to replant diseases and can be spaced 6-8’ apart. Our current candidates are Akane, Freedom, and Crimson topaz apple varieties!

We are excited to begin rolling these out and work to address not only community food barriers, but also help protect our Oregon Grasslands. Join us for our live streamed roll out April 24th, 2021- over zoom!

Learn more about juniper here:

Are you interested in using juniper in your home projects? Learn more about restoration juniper and how others are incorporating it into their community gardening by attending Sustainable Northwest Wood’s zoom webinar titled; Sustainable Wood Stories: Gardening with Juniper. This event is Tue, March 23, 12:00-1:00 PM, and will be recorded- email info@snwwood.com to get the link!