A food forest is a perennial garden modeled after a forest. Each plant filling a niche amongst the 7 forest layers. The food forest I have planted is 7 years old and the largest fruit trees are now starting to produce. I'm growing apples, peaches, plums and cherries. Below are hazelnut and elderberry. Then raspberry, gooseberry and currant. Below that, rhubarb, asparagus, horseradish, comfrey. Finally strawberry ground cover. I am growing hops and grapes trellised in nitrogen fixing black alder trees too. Everything is commingled in rows and in-between the rows of perennials I plant subsistence crops like potatoes, squash, and garlic while I can still get enough light before the canopy of the fruit trees close. There are more plants in there that play a more supplemental role like mulberry, black locust, cup plant, yarrow, and zizia. Hundreds of pounds of food come from the 1/10 acre area every year without watering. I weed/fertilize less each year and spend more time planting, harvesting and managing the existing plants. It's a low time preference way to grow a diverse and large amount of nutrition in a small space. Just takes years to establish.
#permaculture #permies #homeateading #meshtadel #foodforest
