Episode 182 Food Forests




The Self-Sufficient Gardener show

Summary: In today's episode I wanted to talk about food forest, the concept, the theory and actuality.  How I built mine, the things I look for and the thought process. Wikipedia definition:  Forest gardening is a low-maintenance organic plant-based 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. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers, to replicate a woodland habitat. My definition:  A purposefully planned and planted ecosystem, needing little or no input and capable of sustaining life and providing a bevy of useful products and services to the landholder. *Origination and modern description. *Main concepts: *Plant Niches - I'd rather think about niches rather than layers. *Plant Relationships - Why how we think things should interact is often not the case. *Low Maintenance - What it means to me (almost no maintenance and how!). *Site Considerations -The accessories that you can add and the things about the site that make it better. *Yield - It doesn't only have to be about food.