The concept of food forests, also known as edible forests or forest gardens is gaining momentum as a sustainable and regenerative approach to land use. Food forest combines the principles of permaculture with the wisdom of traditional agroforestry, creating ecosystems that not only sustain biodiversity and a habitat for all animals and microorganisms but also provide a rich tapestry of edible plants for human consumption.
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. More than Hundred definitions for forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, ecological function and etc.
But when we talk about food forest, we are actually talking about an ecological project that consists of different elements such as: Water flow management, plant guilds, a wide variety of plants and different techniques to protect the topsoil, young trees and the microbiological life. The combination of these elements and many more mainly for one purpose: that people and wild animals can enjoy the healthy soil and the prosperity of the plants and their quality product. Each food forest is unique and magical, whether it is because of the specific conditions of the terrain or because of the difference in the selection of trees and vegetation and their arrangement in the field according to the farmer's vision and the climatic conditions of the region that should be taken into account and according to them choosing the appropriate plants. When you are planning a food forest, consider factors such as available space and desired aesthetics. Moving mature trees is a hard task, so be sure they are in the right place. Don't forget to be patient and grateful to this long process that will totally be worth it.
This article explores the key principles that guide the development and management of edible forests.
Mimicking Natural Ecosystems
The design of food forest draws inspiration from the structure and function of natural ecosystems. By emulating the relationships found in intact ecosystems, food forests promote ecological balance and reduce the need for external inputs. The result is a self-sustaining and regenerative system that benefits the environment, communities and wild animals that all of them rely on.
Diversity and Polyculture
At the heart of food forest lies the principle of diversity. Unlike conventional monoculture agriculture, edible forests embrace polyculture, where a variety of plants coexist in a harmonious ecosystem. This diversity not only enhances resilience to pests and diseases but also creates a balanced, self-sustaining environment. Trees, shrubs, herbs, and ground covers collaborate to form a multi-layered canopy that mimics the structure of a natural forest. This principle encourages biodiversity by incorporating native plants that support local wildlife. Include bird-friendly plants, insect-attracting flowers, and habitat features.
Perennial Focus
Food forest systems prioritizes perennial plants, which live for multiple years, over annual crops. Perennials contribute to soil health, reduce the need for constant replanting, and establish stable ecosystems. Trees like fruit and nut varieties, along with perennial herbs, become the backbone of these systems, offering long-term yields while minimizing the environmental impact associated with annual intensive cultivation.
Guild planting principles
Guild planting involves strategically grouping plants that benefit each other. Complementary relationships, such as nitrogen-fixing plants alongside heavy feeders (consume more nutrients from the soil than other plants), help create a balanced and resilient ecosystem. In a guild, different plants play specific roles to enhance overall productivity, nutrient cycling, and pest management. By fostering these symbiotic relationships, food forests minimize the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Here are some examples for different guild plant:
Fruit tree guild:
Fruit tree (Apple, Peach): The main element providing fruits.
Comfrey: Dynamic accumulator, nutrient-rich mulch.
Chives: Deters pests with its strong aroma.
Dwarf Clover: Fixes nitrogen, adds ground cover.
Nitrogen fixing guild:
Alder tree (generally refers to trees belonging to the genus Alnus) Fixes nitrogen in the soil, benefiting nearby plants.
White Clover Ground cover that fixes nitrogen and provides habitat for beneficial insects.
Winter Pea Leguminous cover crop that fixes nitrogen and improves soil structure.
Orchard guild:
Pear tree: provides fruits and shade to the guild.
Chicory: known as taproot, which can reach deep into the soil. The plant accumulates nutrients, including potassium and phosphorus
Chamomile: attracts beneficial insects and improves overall guild health.
Daffodils: pest deterrent and add early pollinating source.
Water conservation and catchment
Food forests incorporate water conservation practices by utilizing different sustainable techniques such as mulching, swales, water absorbing plants, micro ponds and more to capture and retain water. Mimicking natural water cycles, these practices help create resilient landscapes that after the plants are established can maintain themselves without external irrigation and even withstand drought conditions. Additionally, water catchment systems are often integrated to maximize the efficiency of water use within the food forest.
The first step will be a long and in-depth observation that is recommended throughout the seasons, during the rainy season and especially during heavy rain events. It is important to come after every serious rainfall event to reevaluate your work and understand what can be improved to the next serious rainfall event.
Mulching:
involves covering the soil with a layer of organic material, this protective layer provides moisture retention, erosion control, soil temperature regulation that prevent water loss and require less irrigation. Basically we won't leave bare soil, we will cover all the ground with mulch, just around trees and bushes stems we will keep it exposed to prevent rot from
moisture access.
Various elements for a rainwater reservoir:
Planning starts from the highest point in the land down which will allow less work and more water capture, the highest point will allow a response to capture most of the water in the land. It is important for every water reservoir to plan a solution for excess water and its drainage in a smart and efficient way that will last even in extreme events. If not, the reservoir will break.
Contour Swales- Digging swales along the contour lines of a slope helps slow down and capture rainwater runoff, allowing it to infiltrate the soil, which prevents or reduces erosion on certain parts of the land.
Berms- Build berms (raised mounds) on the downhill side of swales to capture and hold water. Planting water-absorbing vegetation on berms enhances water retention.
Micro ponds- Create small ponds or depressions in the landscape to capture and store rainwater. These ponds can support local biodiversity and act as water reservoirs.
Check dams- Structures designed to control water flow in a river or stream by creating a series of small barriers across the channel. These dams are often built using a variety of materials, such as stones, concrete, or timber. Check dams are typically low in height and spaced at intervals along a watercourse.
Water absorbing plants:
Select plants with deep root systems that help in soil aeration and water absorption and plant them around the swales, berms and ponds, they will keep the soil from drifting and the soil moisture. Examples include Comfrey, Dandelion, and various native grasses.
Layered Canopy Design
In food forest, the concept of a layered canopy is crucial for optimizing space and resources. It is known as the seven-layer system or as the seven-layer model, is a permaculture concept that organizes plants in a forest garden into seven vertical layers. This design mimics the structure of a natural forest ecosystem and aims to maximize productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. The seven layers typically include:
Canopy layer: The uppermost layer consists of tall trees, often fruit or nut-bearing varieties such as: Apple, Cherry, Pecan which provide the main structure of the forest. These trees create a canopy that shades the layers below and helps to capture sunlight.
Low tree layer: Below the canopy, there is a layer of smaller fruit or nut trees such as: Peach, Hazelnut, Fig, Almond,dwarf Pear/Plum tree and many more. These trees are shorter than those in the canopy but still contribute to the overall structure of the forest
Shrub layer: Shrubs provide a variety of fruits including citrus fruits, Berries bushes like Blueberry, Raspberry and more, as well as flowering shrubs such as Elderberry. They contribute by filling the space between the taller trees and the shorter ground cover plants.
4. Herbaceous layer:
This layer includes a variety of perennial and annual herbs, vegetables, and flowers. These plants contribute to the overall biodiversity as they offer to the wildlife abundance and can be both edible and medicinal. The list of those plants is long but for example you can find: perennial herbs like Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, or Sage along with edible flowers such as Calendula, Bee balm or nasturtiums that will attract pollinators, repel pests and more.
5. Rhizosphere or root layer:
This layer is a crucial component of the seven-layer system, focusing on plants with
extensive root systems that play a significant role in nutrient cycling, soil structure improvement, and overall ecosystem health. Consists of plants root vegetables like Beets, Radishes and nitrogen-fixing plants like Peas, Beans.
Nitrogen-fixing plants: such as legumes (Peas, Beans, Clover), have root nodules that host nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These plants have the ability to take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that is usable by plants, thus enriching the soil with nitrogen.
Dynamic accumulators: are plants with deep and extensive root systems that can mine nutrients from deeper soil layers and accumulate them in their leaves. When these leaves fall to the ground and decompose, they release the accumulated nutrients, contributing to improved soil fertility and to the nutrient cycling process.
6. Ground cover layer:
Ground cover plants, such as creeping herbs or cover crops, form a dense layer that covers and protects the soil. This layer helps suppress weeds, conserving soil moisture, prevents soil erosion and providing additional biodiversity. Like in any other layer when selecting plants it's important to consider factors such as local climate, soil conditions, and the specific needs of the food forest. A well-chosen mix of ground cover plants contributes to a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem. Here are some examples: Creeping thyme, Corsican mint, Lily of the valley, Clover, Bugleweed and many more.
7. Vertical layer:
The final layer includes climbing or veining plants, such as Grapes, Passionfruit, kiwi, Morning glory and more. These plants utilize vertical space and can climb on trees or trellises providing additional layers of productivity.
When applying the vertical Layer, it's essential to provide sturdy supports for the veining plants and consider their growth habits to avoid shading other layers excessively.
Community Involvement and Education
Successful food forest projects are often rooted in community involvement and education. Engaging local communities in the planning, planting, and maintenance fosters a sense of ownership and ensures the long-term success of these projects. Education about the benefits of sustainable land management practices and the importance of biodiversity further strengthens the connection between people and the land.
More important principles and information:
Observation and Analysis Conduct a thorough assessment of the site, considering factors like sunlight exposure, soil composition, water availability (flow directions and percolation rates), microclimates and more. Observe existing vegetation and natural features such as: nesting habits of wild animals or wind flow directions. Understanding the local climate, including temperature fluctuations, rainfall patterns, and potential frost dates. This knowledge helps in selecting appropriate plant species.
Choosing the right plants That are native or well-adapted to your specific climate and soil conditions. These plants are more likely to thrive with minimal input. Identify microclimates within your food forest, such as areas with different sun exposure, soil moisture levels, and wind patterns. Choose plants that are compatible with these microclimates. Aim for a food forest with wide diversity and layers to combine the different heights and species that provides a variety of produce throughout the year.
Seasonal vegetables, medicinal herbs and perennial combined with fast-growing pioneer species that will be planted between the future productive trees will provide quick yields and will help establish the initial structure of the food forest.
Designing your food forest Combines all the principles we mentioned aiming for a self-sustaining system with minimal external inputs over time. Include water catchment, plants selection & guilds, layer canopy design and more we are about to mention.
Plan well-designed paths to facilitate easy access for maintenance, harvesting, and casual walks. Some of the paths should be accessible for big mechanical tools. Integrate functional structures like outdoor kitchen, dry compost toilet, pergolas, or seating areas to enhance the usability of the space for essential elements like tool sheds, compost bins, or rainwater harvesting systems. It is important to make a list of all the elements and the relationships between them when the output of one element can be the input of the other and then we place them next to each other. The system gets complicated when there are elements that should be close to one element but far from another and those two elements placed close to each other.
Planting One of the most important steps in the health and prosperity of the future plants, there are many different factors to consider such as: which plants we want and can plant (guilds), when is the best time to plant (Varies by plant type and location), the amount of water each plant consume and more.
After we picked the right plant it's time to dig a pit a bit bigger than the pot/bag size (It is better to use heavy tools for this task) than mixing the soil from the pit with organic additives like: compost (better to have different kind of compost from different sources), Biochar, Mycorrhiza (more about biochar and mycorrhiza in future articles), vermicompost and more. A combination of these additives will be excellent when we always strive to at least mix a generous amount of compost and add mycorrhizae to the roots system. The last step is to place the watering ring or the dedicated dripper for the plant and check it. When watering for the first time after planting it is recommended to use enough water until the soil is saturated using a hose.
Irrigation set-up and watering habits Besides what mentioned before about natural water harvesting in swales and ponds it is crucial to have a proper irrigation system to all the plants in the food forest, each plant (tree/shrub or other different corps) has its own different watering habits which varies according to the nature of the plant and the stage of growth, so try to adjust the desired amount for each plant. There are two main irrigation methods: gravitation using gravity force or by pressure using electrical pumps.
Drip irrigation pipes or any system that can regulate the amount of water for each plant will be suitable. In the food forest, we would like the trees to be healthy, productive and eventually independent from irrigation, which means that after the first few years we will stop watering them, in a situation of constant irrigation, the trees grow spoiled and weak and cannot develop strong and deep root system that develops when the roots of the trees have to make a little effort to get water from deeper in the ground which allows the trees to grow healthy and strong. The trees that consume a lot of water should be planted along the paths or in accessible areas because we will have to pay attention to the changes that may occur in them and so that we can easily check the correctness of the irrigation.
During the hot summer days it is recommended to water several times a day for a short time, the interval between watering will give time for the soil to dry out a little and allow oxygen to penetrate to the roots layer of the plants.
The limitations of choosing an irrigation system for food forest:
The forest is planted in guilds and in each guild different types of plants with different water consumption.
The forest is planted in disorder rather than in orderly rows.
Usually in food forest there are a large number of varieties in different stages of development and at different ages that require different amounts of water.
Choosing the irrigation system is not a simple task but it is extremely important for the health and prosperity of the food forest, with proper planning and understanding of the area it is possible to create a sustainable and correct irrigation system.
"Chop & Drop" is one of the well known maintenance techniques used in permaculture and agroforestry to enhance soil fertility and build organic matter in a sustainable and natural way. This technique involves cutting or pruning plant material, such as leaves, branches, or other biomass, and allowing it to fall to the ground where it decomposes and becomes mulch or organic matter for the soil. This process mimics natural ecological cycles and contributes to the health of the ecosystem. By utilizing the “chop and drop” method on your fast-growing pioneer species (such as Siberian Pea Shrub, Autumn Olive, willow, Paulownia and more) the need for external inputs like synthetic fertilizers and additional mulch is reduced. plants that are suitable for “chop and drop” can include nitrogen-fixing plants, dynamic accumulators, or simply fast-growing plants that can tolerate regular pruning such as: Lantana, Bambo, River birch, Chinese Pistache, Redbud and many more.
Dioecious tree "Dioecious" is a botanical term used to describe a plant species in which individual plants are either male or female ,that include the trees Carob, Kiwi, Persimmon, Jujube and more, each sex produces flowers of only one sex. This is in contrast to "monoecious" plants, where both male and female flowers are found on the same individual plant. Dioecious trees have distinct male and female individuals, male trees produce flowers with male reproductive organs (stamens), typically producing pollen. Female trees produce flowers with female reproductive organs (pistils), where ovules are located. For many dioecious trees, cross-pollination is necessary for fertilization and the development of fruits and then seeds. Pollen from male trees must be transported to the female flowers of female trees for successful reproduction. Dioecious species contribute to genetic diversity within populations and will result in a wide range of different properties and resistances because the offspring resulting from sexual reproduction inherit genetic material from both male and female parent trees.
Summary
A food forest represents a holistic and innovative approach to sustainable food production, combining ancient wisdom with modern ecological understanding. By embracing diversity, mimicking natural ecosystems, and prioritizing perennial plants, food forests offer a model for regenerative agriculture that nourishes both the land and its inhabitants. As the world grapples with the challenges of food security and environmental sustainability, the principles of food forests stand as a beacon of hope, demonstrating that abundance can be cultivated in harmony with nature.
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