trends & technology
In a food forest, food-bearing trees and shrubs add plentiful habitat for
pest-devouring birds and wildlife and for beneficial insects and pollina-
tors. Trees provide cooler conditions in summer and shelter from beating
rains that wash out nutrients.
So, what’s not to love? Several things. First, forget about instant gratifi-
cation. A forest garden thrives slowly. It’s best to start with some native
trees and gently cultivate around them. You don’t want to damage the
great soil, which is colonized by fungi and microorganisms, that has
developed undisturbed over time under those old trees.
Second objection: a food forest is complex. There’s a lot to learn to
maximize productivity. Boost results with careful planning, constant
learning, and compulsive tweaking to get it closer to right. And any move
you make toward establishing appropriate perennial food plants is sure to
yield either great results or a good lesson in what won’t work.
Third, and possibly most challenging, is that success takes a new way of
thinking, especially if you’ve been gardening or farming for some years.
Most of us struggle to claim new ways to view familiar things.
So, where to start? Picking the right site makes a huge difference, but any
land can be upgraded mightily with your input. In a new place, bring in
as much free mulch as you can claim. While
that’s happening, talk with old gardeners
with local experience. Listen. Walk around
”LOCAL INSECTS, birds,
the place. Help with a project. Ask questions.
What works around here? Is it hot enough
wildlife, and soil biomes
for melons? How about apricots? Walnuts?
have evolved along with
Had any nasty pests? Got wild turkeys? Feral
pigs? Snakes? Old-timers love telling stories
those trees to create
about how they learned to make it all work.
thriving, symbiotic
Then go home and study. The web pulses
relationships that enhance
with inspiration, facts and figures, great
ideas, and videos by successful practitioners.
survival by sharing food,
Online, I came across forest farming pioneer
shelter, and protection.“
Robert Hart’s description of the seven levels
of the forest garden, which are as follows:
1
Start at the top with an open canopy of big native trees or fruit and
nut trees. With luck, in addition to nuts, blossoms, or fruit, some
will also provide sweet sap to collect. Where I am in Oregon, we
have native maples, black cottonwoods, white oaks, and several
types of fir around us, and we grow food near and beneath
them. So, what’s all the hype about natives?
Local insects, birds, wildlife, and soil
biomes have evolved along with those
trees to create thriving, symbiotic
relationships that enhance survival
by sharing food, shelter, and protection.
Plus, native plants and trees do well with
neglect. They need no fertilizers, no careful
pruning, and no pest control or weeding.
2
Second comes the understory—trees that
thrive in filtered sunlight. Well-chosen
small or dwarf fruit and nut trees fit the
bill here. Apples, cherries, wild plums, Italian
prunes, figs, and pears do well in partial shade
on our bit of Oregon earth. This year, we’ll add
some new small hazelnut cultivars. Since elder-
berries grow on the edge of nearby forests, they
too could be worth planting.
3
Below the small trees, shrubs and bushes
thrive. We have excellent outcomes with
rhubarb, raspberries, rosemary, wild currants,
and blueberries. To keep birds from devouring
all the blueberries, we hang an obscene number
of old CDs that flash as they twirl in the breeze.
Elsewhere, I’ve seen silver mylar ribbons
dancing among the ripening cherries.
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grow cycle