Molteno Food Forest

An urban food forest in the city of Cape Town. The Molteno Food Forest is a guerrilla gardening project initiated by Oranjezicht residents. The project is a part of the community’s new collective vision for a shared and sustainable local food source. To get involved go and care for the trees in Molteno Road or contact: [email protected]

[moltenofoodforest]

Community Garden.

In the road parallel to Molteno Road, a neighbour started two community gardens a few years ago. They have planted indigenous flowers, and I added a fruit tree to the garden on the corner of Roseberry and Marmion Roads. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Tyisa Nabanye.

Tyisa Nabanye  is a non profit urban agriculture organisation growing food on the slopes of Signal Hill in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town. We recently planted 8 wild fruit trees and their blossoms are beautiful. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Fallen fruit.

Unharvested, uneaten, unwelcome. Fallen fruit teasing hungry passersby behind a fence. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Recycled.

Our UCT masters class did a small intervention project in an informal settlement earlier this year where we recycled 40 odd 2 litre soda bottles into vertical food gardens and tied them to the community centre windows. We have yet to follow up on the progress of the intervention but the residents were keen to get their food gardens up and running. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Warmth in the middle of Winter.

The trees were blessed with a few days of warmth as the winter subsided, letting them recover from the cold and the rain. The trees are looking good, especially my favourite citrus tree which is still taunting the neighbourhood with its miniature fruit. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Nkhata Bay Fruit Trees.

I just returned from a trip to Malawi and I was amazed at how many fruit trees grow just about anywhere, including right outside supermarkets. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Reminders.

Just some notes to remind our neighbours that the trees are there and in need of care. 

[moltenofoodforest]

First autumn.

Lots of firsts for our trees. Their first autumn is looking good, being showered by the Cape Town winter rains. 

[moltenofoodforest]

First fruit.

I went to visit the trees last week and I picked an orange off my favourite tree. While they are too small at this stage in their life to be properly edible, I ate one. It was very sour but satisfying none the less. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Suburban orchard.

I was on set in Bellville South this week. The working class neighbourhood is dotted with abandoned and boarded up houses, arbitrary piles of rubbish and rubble, and abundant in fruit trees. 

We shot the commercial at Merle's house, an pensioner who sits on her porch, chatting with her neighbours over their low fence. Merle offered me plenty of deliciously ripe figs while we were there - sharing with me that she knows the figs are ripe when the birds wake her up in the early summer mornings. 

I was amazed at her unpruned, unruly orchard of 3 fig trees, a white guava, 2 grape vines and a lemon tree. Her neighbours had apples and pears, a house down the street had more fig trees, and the house next to the church had a large apple tree - all bearing fruit. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Late night watering.

Went out to check on our trees yesterday, gave them some water, and chatted to some more neighbours enjoying the hot summers night. They are all in good condition except for that Chinotto orange tree which was blown down in the wind last month….

[moltenofoodforest]

Windowsill.

I recently started growing vegetables on the windowsill in my new house after I saw the incredible potato on the left that my house mate was growing. The potatoes are ornamental, the leeks and celery have since been planted in the garden. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Water and wind.

The past couple weeks have been really hot and really windy. Some of the trees have taken strain, especially the Chinotto which collapsed a few weeks ago (there are still some signs of green which is promising). 

The four trees at the top of Molteno Road have been mulched by a neighbor and people are watering them. I met another neighbour, Bernie, who said he would start watering the trees near him (he lives opposite the Chinotto). I chatted to a neighbour over the intercom who said her tenant had been watering the trees planted towards the bottom of the road. 

I took over containers of water with my mother and watered all of the trees on Christmas Eve. It seems to be a great way to start conversation with neighbours as they all slow their cars down and ask what you are up to. 

Be safe this festive season, and water some trees. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Tree care.

Yesterday Sibulele and I went to go and water and care for the trees. While we were watering the trees I managed to speak to two neighbours. The one at the top of Molteno Road had already been watering the trees but is going away for a couple of weeks.

Luckily Micky, further down the road has also been watering the trees. He goes for walks on the mountain and brings water down from the stream that runs underneath the rollercoaster path to water the trees. He has taken particular interest in the calamondin orange tree (my favourite too), so we can be sure that that tree will survive Cape Town's summer winds. 

We still need to find some neighbours to look after the rest of the trees - none of which were answering their doorbells. Let me know if you can find anyone to look after our trees!

A neighbor sent in a photo (below) of the chinotto orange tree that had been flattened by the gale force winds, which we replanted yesterday. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Seed bomb.

A tomato seedling sprouting from left over Afrika Burn seed bomb gifts. 

[moltenofoodforest]

Gale force

This last week the trees have had to withstand 50km/hr winds. This one was doing quite well amidst the storm, but three of them are in need of assistance. Will be tending to them this coming weekend. Unless you get there first. 

[moltenofoodforest]

From afar.

A view of the location of the Molteno Food Forest from the balcony of my office in town.