Expansion Phase

As time went on, and John continued to develop his own Agroforestry Farm property in Taggerty, he gained a reputation as a top class planter and silviculture expert in the district, which led to the creation of his own company, Farm Forestry Services (www.farmforestry.com.au).

On the homefront, some failures with certain species (especially E. Nitens and Cyprus Macrocarpa) led John to start experimenting with replacement species, which was the start of the conversion of his property from farm forestry to an Arboretum, where 3 original species grew to over 120 different species.

One of his favourite ventures was the establishment of Redwoods and Himalayan Cedars in a back corner of the property, below the pines. Here he talks with John Coyne about their establishment and developement, and the peace they bring.

NOTE: to see Captions for each video below, click on the CC button at the bottom right of the video, and then select English CC from the window that appears.

One planting that has survived, nay thrived, in spite of prior expectations, has been the Spotted Gum planted to the north of the big dam. Here the two Johns discuss the potential difficulties that were overcome, with a guest appearance by Clinton Tepper who talks about the systematic measurement of the trees' progress.

Another species that was established relatively early, in 1997, was Messmate. This tree has grown surprisingly well in the free-draining granitic soils uphill from the dam (apologies for the poor sound quality in some sections below; it was pretty breezy out there today).

Very close to the Messmate, on the same slope of the hill, is a hectare of Red Strinybark, a species that was growing on this site when John purchased the property. Being indigenous to the area, they have performed fairly well, despite having delayed thinning.

Near the Red Stringybark is a planting of Yellow Stringybark which, unlike the Red Stringybark, are not indigenous to the area. Nonetheless, they are showing excellent growth, and form which is superior to the Red Stringybark.

After filming the Messmate video above, John had the idea that it would be good to fell one of them, and then show the story of the transition from a standing tree to beautiful floorboards. And so that's exactly what we did below. Enjoy!

A relatively recent addition to the plantation was the establishment of a coupe of Ironbark  in 2006. These black-barked trees make a interesting contrast as they sit on top of a hill at the back of the property. Here the two John's discuss the Ironbarks, as well as an older Red Stringybark with an interesting history.

On a nearly hill, John has established an area with a mixture of trees, to see how they can grow together and support each other. Here the Johns discuss this area of mixed species, including Monterey Cypress, Spotted Gum amd Red Stringybark.