Introduction to food forest design organic life guru. He also quickly became a wealth of information about permaculture and edible forest gardening. Five years ago we moved to our current property in north texas. Starting your permaculture garden deep green permaculture. On our farm one area is controlled by geese who graze the grassy weeds, chooks who take care of codlin moth and bettongs who eat sour sob bulbs.
Design templates for creating your own food forest in nature by robert, july 30, 2016 agroforestry is the combination of crops plants, animals, fungi and trees in forest inspired agricultural systems that benefit both humans and nature. Food and food forests for southwest gardens watershed. Most of us tend to think of fruit trees as being needier than they are. Food forests, or edible forest gardens, are lifefilled places that not only provide food for people, but habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestering, biodiversity, natural soil building, beauty and tranquility, and a host of other benefits you just need to take a. Every investment has been worth it and using natural farming techniques learned.
Second, ive included a short tutorial on the exact design steps i used when planning the layout for my food forest. A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. The food forest is an exciting addition to the evolution of the gibbs farm that will demonstrate how a forest can be designed to mimic beneficial relationships that are found in nature. Myers, fl takes you through the entire process of establishing a food forest, from start to finish. The food forest open source hub is also where you can find the results of our research into complete purchasing details for all plants. Looking at our development budget we are at the point where the income is about to equal the expenditure. As i mentioned before, food forest designs virtually apply every permaculture design principle known, and a good understanding of these principles and how to apply them is crucial. As a pattern specialist, toby explores a variety of design strategies and techniques for you to use as you design your food forest.
On sunday, 7 th december, 35 pm we will be installing a food forest in gonville new zealand, and thought it would be a great chance to offer a very handson workshop. In contrast to the intensive crop systems of annual plants we see at many farms, a food forest is largely self. Food forest sustainability western michigan university. Permaculture is a design system, not a type of gardening. When designing a food forest you want to learn from the local ecosystem and. The permaculture food forest gardening has made huge strides the last 5 years. Picture the scene, youre awoken by the morning sun, grab yourself a coffee and step outside. A commercial food forest is a production system modeled on a forest ecosystem. Some food foresters are extremely successful commercial producers such as brian mason at forest range, whilst others are more interested in ecological enrichment and selfsufficing. How a small british garden became a mature food forest. Learn how to design a lush forest garden right in your backyard with seven layers of vegetation including tall trees, low trees, shrubs, herbs, ground cover, vines, and root crops. The beacon food forest started in 2009 as a final design project for a permaculture design course. From this collection of course excerpts you will get a glimpse of the depth and breadth of tobys knowledge of permaculture. Now we have an exciting project on the horizon, a forest garden for the flemington community garden.
Food forests, or edible forest permaculture is most frequently applied in gardening and homesteadplanning, and one of the essential designs is a forest garden. Some trees warrant this preconception, sure like commercially. As he explores permaculture with you toby explains the importance, application, and usefulness of the 14 permaculture principles. It includes food forest canopy plant pictures, descriptions, cultural considerations, planting guidelines, and links to additional information. A paid food forest manager is strongly recommended to carry your project fast forward. If you dont have the space to grow a food forest garden, you can also create smaller plant guilds. West coast food forestry, a free ebook by rain tenaqiya, provides an exhaustive catalog of plants suitable for forest gardening. Well be installing various nucleus plantings for the above design, and working through what is required to design and implement a resilient forest garden for a range of climates. Pay attention to your sun patterns so you know where to plant them.
For example, in a stacked food forest design, trees go in first, then the irrigation is put into place. Designing an integrated perennial food forest pacific university. How to design a backyard forest garden organic gardening. The understory may be stocked with shadetolerant herbaceous crops. Although a far cry from a true forest, our little low maintenance perennial garden was working.
On day one youll learn about the food forest project at alderleaf farm and the how and why of its creation. Food forest design principles species selection for nitrogen fixers, dynamic accumulators, beneficial insect attraction, aromatic pest confusers, water retention, additional yields, and more plant guilds and companion planting strategies. You can add layers even if you dont have a food forest by growing vinning plants such as hops, grapes, hardy kiwi berries, squash. Permaculture is a design system which sprang up during the 1970s oil crisis, a reaction to food insecurity and the desire for selfreliance. Food forest design course july 2627 cascadia forum at. Manual for creating a community food forest on public land.
A forest garden tour with robert hart was like a tour of willy wonkas chocolate factory with mr wonka himself. Considerations in designing a commercial food forest. A longterm, perennial forest of edible and medicinal species sounds more like eden than what we generally. In 1992, in the middle of my permaculture design course, about 12 of us hopped on a bus for a day trip to robert harts forest garden, at wenlock edge in shropshire. Then all the progressively smaller plants are planted around the trees and the location of the. Our goal is to create a couple of permaculture food forests to integrate with our rotational chicken runs. Ive written a lot about permaculture design as i think its really important in our modern world to conserve resources on our land as much as possible.
Were running a food forest workshop with dan harrispascal and nick ritar in september. Here is a picture of part of my previous food forest. Edible forest gardens dave jacke with eric toensmeier. See more ideas about food forest, food forest garden, forest garden.
Chose plants you like and that you can realistically acquire for now. When we lived in a forest there were so many wild plant guilds that we didnt need to plant a food forest garden. As you take your first sip you watch the sun rising and enjoy the serene sound of birdsong. While the general area is not particularly challenging, the property itself was. You will get a feel for his clear and concise teaching style. However, one thing permaculture isnt, to many peoples surprise, is a cult. I still intend to use it for that purpose, but this house needs only between 2 and 4 cords of wood per year house is large ranch, its impossible for the woodstove to heat the whole house, so i use it as main room comfort heat. Generally, i like to fill up the space with a bunch of nitrogenfixing and biomassproducing species. If youd like to be a part of this emerging forest garden system, harris and nick are running a 3 day food forest workshop on sept 24 of this year. For food forest creation information visit the food forest open source hub.
Here is the sample deed, which has proven to work for a food forest charitable trust. Food forest plants for the west coast rivendell village. If youre not sure where to start, download my free pdf with 5. How to plant a food forest this winter modern farmer. Design and manage a homescale perennial polyculture garden pdf for free, preface. The food forest project needs the attention of the public 9.
Form 650046 forest service authorization for inservice expenditures pdf, 26. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers to build a woodland habitat. Creating a food forest step by step guide permaculture. Permaculture buffs are sold on the food forest idea and its no wonder. Third, i created a pdf with 5 temperate climate guild examples you can copy and recreate in your food forest. It typically incorporates an overstory of tree crops, sometimes with several layers of woody plants underneath. Simple, straightforward instructions guide the reader through. Everythings tranquil as you take a leisurely stroll around your market garden, making a list of todays tasks. Design templates for creating your own food forest woodz. Toby offers an introduction to permaculture including permaculture principles, zone systems, and a personal story about. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions up, down, and out. Okay, ive bought my plot of dirt in the outskirts of louisville, ky. With years of experience in fruit farming, wild plants and forest planting, they combined their skills to design food forests for businesses, private and governments to improve our quality of life in every way.
During his time at the sof, his highly motivated self learning style, together with mentoring from laurie, michelle, emily, jeremy and corie, he worked to understand the student organic farm and help manage it. Documentation of your food forest acknowledgement 2. Design elements such as food forest and plant guilds, building a chicken run around your garden as a moat and polyculture are all important. What your permaculture design course isnt teaching you. You cant be one of the trustees if you want to employ yourself as the manager of the food forest. Three days of forest garden design, theory and handson learning. Winter is the ideal time to get started, because most edible trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants can be purchased and planted while dormant, which is better for the plants and your bank account. Diy food forest canopy plantings an open source archive. Designing a food forest for wind, sun and water using fruit trees, natives and tagasaste. The food forest handbook is a practical manual for the design and management of a homescale perennial polyculture garden. What is a food forest a food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Edible forest garden permaculture msu college of agriculture. Food forests can help increase biodiversity, protect valuable habitat for beneficial insects, and promote food security and resilience, all while providing an abundant harvest.
Two of the main justifications for growing food forests are that perennial plants require less labor and cause less destruction to. Design element size priority a critical construction priority is to put in the biggest elements on the design first, then design around them. Forest garden designs incorporate a wide variety of edible plants along with those. It does take a lot more design skill and horticultural knowledge to design and build a successful food forest, both of which can be gained over time with practice. It has 9 acres fairly heavily wooded, that was mostly used as a firewood lot by previous owners. Beacon food forest a community permaculture project. The ultimate objective of food forests for schools is to significantly improve eating patterns in children and their families while also improving students academic achievement. Forest gardening is a lowmaintenance, sustainable, plantbased food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. This food forest, however, seems like a wonderfully diverse place to spend time in. Creating a forest garden agroforestry research trust. Permaculture is most frequently applied in gardening and homesteadplanning, and one of the essential designs is a forest garden. Now that we live in a wide open valley, we have the benefit of flat land but wed like to increase biodiversity and permaculture in our backyard. A food forest is a sustainable gardening system based on woodland ecosystems, comprised of seven main layers of vegetation from canopy trees down to. Edible forest garden design will bridge the gap from permaculture principles to implementable plans.