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Home , Canopy (biology), Forest gardening, Gardening

A resource produced by the Harvest Moon Society

Forest , aka Food , are ancient agricultural systems that mimic the structure and function of young . means to design gardens like a forest, not necessarily in a forest; put another way: forest gardening means to observe the patterns, principles and functions of a forest, and then recreate them in our gardens or backyards or on our farms. Through careful design and species selection we can grow edible forest gardens that function as analogs to natural forest . These systems are more resilient, more abundant and less work.

So, what are some of the properties of forests? Forests: don’t require , don’t require fertilizing, cycle all waste, build and increase its capacity to hold water, all while growing an abundance of foods and products. Forests also provide other ecosys- tem services such as , water cleansing, ero- sion mitigation and more. Forests create incredibly diverse and above and below ground. Forests create and store massive amounts of energy. Forests build soil capable of absorbing huge amounts of water. Forests are endlessly regenerating. Forests interact with radiation and hydrological cycles. Forests are some of the most diverse on the planet. When we model our gardens and farms after forest ecosystems we can have a truly regenerative .

Forest Gardens may exist at any scale. What makes a forest is the mimicking of forest structures and functions; forest gardens should be self-fertilizing, self-maintaining and diverse ecosystems. All the needs of the forest garden should be met from within, excepting precipitation, air circulation and . All wastes should be taken up by the forest system, and all resources should be exploited. Forest Gardens are diverse, largely perennial systems, just as natural forests are. Obviously we will not be growing a single or species, but a diversity of yields at varying levels and times; therefore we cannot count our yields as in bushels of grain, but rather seek

Elements and Functions

A helpful Permaculture principle is that each element should serve many functions, and each function should be supported by many elements. This means that the essential functions of our gardens or farm, such as yield or water capture, are supported by many elements. Conversely, each element, be it a particular or its location, should serve many functions. It is this principle that will increase both yields and resiliency in our food forests. For example, we might plant seabuckthorn because they produce edible , use- ful oil, tea , provide later-season food for pollinators, fix nitrogen in the soil and are drought tolerant. We might plant these trees in such a way as to provide shelter and nutri- ents for a valuable, slower growing species of . Seabuckthorn also creates a lot of nitrogen-rich each season, which helps to conserve water and reduce run-off. This species provides a variety of yields throughout the season, while supporting a variety of essential functions such as and self-renewing fertility.

Connections

Another key Permaculture concept found in forests is that it is not the number of elements we include in our forest that is important; it is the connections between them. Our gardens and farm plantings should be thought of as groups of evolving relationships, also known as guilds. A is a beneficial plant community generally focused around supporting one high-value crop. Species should be included in guilds that accumulate a specific nutrient needed by the main crop ( accumulates magnesium, for example), fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil (), attract beneficial and pollinating , build soil quickly and act as a beneficial . Ideally each of these elements should also produce other useful yields in terms of food or products. The evolving food forest must be observed carefully to discern relationships and patterns.

The Seven F’s Forest Gardens contain mainly edible species such as trees, bushes, perennial , and . But forest gardens more generally need not be limited to growing food species. Generally we can think about including any or all of the 7 F’s: Food Fodder Fuel Fiber ‘Farmaceuticals’ Fun! Some examples of other yields, ranging from the first year onward, might be: mulch, silvopasture (treed pasture), cordwood, turning wood, basketry material, eco , nursery stock or specialty herbs... or all of these. Mimicking the diversity of forests means we can expect to grow more than just food.

The Seven+ Layers A Forest Garden can be thought of in terms of layers, mimicking the layers found in young forests: (large and standard fruit trees, climax species, fuel wood trees, silvopasture) Small Trees (dwarf fruit trees, nut trees, fast growing pioneer trees, can include large ) Layer (berries, mulch and fertilizer species) Herbaceous (herbs, perennial vegetables, annual vegetables, some berries, fertilizer species) Ground Cover (creeping herbs, fertilizer species) (all tubers, and mushrooms) (fruit crops)

In the case of Forest Gardens, the layers are the analogous pattern we use in our designs, but the species with which we fill those niches are carefully chosen to provide food, valuable crops or other yields. Have you ever noticed that forests grow many species, but they don’t seem to compete for nutrients or light? One reason for this is that each species in a woodland patch occupies different niches. Shrubs out early and thrive in sunny patches underneath the forest canopy. Herbaceous grow quickly to cover soil and thrive on the outer edges of woodlands. The seven layers help us to think about how to build niches into our garden and farm designs.

Succession

All land is in constant succession, we just can’t see it because we’re disturbing it every year. If left, most land would revert to forest, with a percentage reverting to perennial grasslands. No landscape remains in an annual without a seasonal disturbance. Most gardening and all annual agriculture keeps landscapes in the first stage of succession; this stage is the least resilient, the least diverse and has the fewest yields. It also consumes more resources and energy (work!) because it must be maintained yearly, and goes against the impetus of natural systems. We can clearly see the pattern of succession in forest . This pattern exists in time, moving forest ecologies from disturbance (fire, grazing, ) to climax (stability). It is the process by which a forest evolves through predictable stages. A typical succession might pass through these stages: a large-scale fire, grazing or other disturbance; this can (and often should!) be a human-designed disturbance, as was the case with traditional burning regimes; the ecosystem is pioneered by fast growing annual plants (usually “”) which accumulate minerals, take up huge amounts of water-soluble nutrient, protect the newly bare soil from erosion and create lots of carbon with which to build soil; As the soil is improved over a year or two perennial grasses and small bushes start to appear. They enable a greater diversity of soil microbiology and create even more carbon to build more soil. Their perennial reach deeper in the soil to aerate and mine sub-surface minerals; As the soil becomes more fungal and has greater carbon stores it can support fast growing pioneer trees, as well as other small trees. The forest begins to take shape, creating additional niches above and below ground as a canopy develops; Slow growing, longer lived climax species begin to grow up through the other layers. In many years they will become dominant, and the other species, now deprived of light, will begin to die back. Earlier, it was specified that Forest Gardens mimic the structure and functions of young woodlands, which could also be called “mid-succession”. These ecologies have about 30% canopy cover with a mix of shrubs, herbaceous perennials and annuals. They are the most productive and most diverse of forest ecologies.