Design Your Own Forest Garden for Food Security, Nutritional Resilience and Ecological Regeneration

Course Description:

In this workshop you will learn the ‘laws of nature’, or principles, underpinning natural forests, and how we can use these understandings and information to design our own forest gardens in the image of a natural forest, where nutrient maintenance and all the needs of the trees are designed and built into the system. You will have the experience of designing a small forest garden during this workshop following our Koanga - Design Your Own Forest Garden process, for maximum food security, nutritional resilience and ecological regeneration.

Learning Objectives:

● Define a forest garden as opposed to an orchard ● Define Koanga version of a Forest Garden that is able to provide for human nutritional needs and food security as well as ecological restoration ● Understanding of the principles, patterns or ‘ laws of nature’ governing natural forests ● Finding and competently being able to use the information you will need to design your own forest gardens ● Understanding of the process of designing a forest garden ● Understanding of the various ways of beginning the process of actually putting that design on the ground

Teaching Outline: Definition of Forest Garden A carefully designed and maintained ecosystem of useful plants (and perhaps animals) modelled on a structure of a natural forest. Key features of a forest garden:

● Young forest mimicry ● Vertical layers: large trees over 10m, small trees 4-9m, shrubs 3m, herbaceous perennials, herbs and annuals, roots, vines ● Careful optimisation of tree density (maximum 60% of mature tree canopy) ● Maximum interspecies interaction ● Maximum diversity ● Perennial crops ● All surface covered in growth ● Fertility wholly maintained by plants themselves

The main products of a forest garden can be: dye plants, spices, fruits, nuts, vegetables, flowers, seeds, sap, timber, medicinal plants, firewood, tying materials, mushrooms, honey, salad crops, soap, basketry materials, poles, fungi, eggs, poultry, meat, etc

Definition of Permaculture Orchard

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A carefully designed and maintained ecosystem of useful plants (and perhaps animals) modelled on a European idea of an orchard with the following characteristics

● Usually mainly fruit trees (80% of mature orchard fruit tree canopy) ● Goals of regeneration of soil ● Healthy nutrient dense fruit nuts is the main output ● Possibly small animals underneath, possibly also eggs and poultry meat ● Possibly bee hives and honey output ● Often herbal ley ● Often associated with hedgerow ● Fewer elements than food forest ● Fewer outputs than food forests ● May need inputs to maintain high brix fruit and soil regeneration

Koanga Model

The Koanga model is specifically about designing for nutritional resilience/food security which means a diet that is nutrient dense, (high levels of fat soluble vitamins and minerals), which means nutrient dense food, which means highly mineralised and microbially active soils, on top of all the characteristics above of food forests. ……. we are dreaming that we are designing for health maintenance/food security/sustainability/regeneration if we don’t address these issues…..

………….so we design using principles exposed by the Weston Price Foundation (which were followed by all indigenous peoples who Weston Price studied) to ensure we are designing for health ….we design our forest garden as a place we live and which supplies much of our nutritional needs, not just low brix fruit our forest garden will provide traditional; fats and oils, meat, eggs, nuts, berries and fruit year round with high levels of phytonutrients

The keys to designing a successful Forest Garden are 1. 60% maximum of the canopy area can be occupied by heavy feeding, heavy producers .. eg apples pears plums peaches etc (better of to limit at 40%) 2. All 7 possible layers of the forest must be present and functional to maintain the nutrient cycle (canopy, low trees, shrubs and bushes, herbs, ground cover, roots, vines……………..) 3. These trees must include enough legumes and mineral accumulators to provide for the nutrient needs of the heavy feeding trees… as a rough guide and example Martin Crawford says for each large heavy feeding fruiting tree (eg an apple) you will need 1x 5m alder planted on the South side (Southern hemisphere) of the tree to supply its nitrogen needs, and comfrey planted around the feeder root zone will supply the potassium needed etc.. 4. Just as in designing a human diet Vitamin A and available calcium seem to be the two key nutrients to focus on, in forest garden budgets we find if we can provide for the nitrogen and potassium, the other minerals will take care of themselves provided we plant following the above principles. 5. If we begin with unbalanced demineralised soils we will achieve healthy trees and growth far faster if

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we also supply balanced minerals to start the process off. 6. Different plants and shrubs and trees accumulate and make available different minerals and nutrients.. this information is included in our Food Forest data base on Koanga website. 7. We must go for maximum diversity, maximum interconnections, maximum ‘wildness’ , using all the sunshine as it enters the system, but being very clear that some trees need full sun to fruit well. This means we need to know the trees in our own soils and climate zones that we can use to plant the layers in the forest garden, and we also need to know enough about these trees to ensure we get them in the right places in that Forest Garden.

Explain the The nutrient cycle as it applies in a forest garden. (use the diagram in the ppt.)

Design Process 1. Goals

Write up your dreams/goals for your Forest Garden…… possibly holistic goal…what do you want out of it, what is your dream for it? What will it feel like, produce, etc etc

CHECK OUT KAY AND BOBS GOALS (begin by establishing that nutrient density can only be achieved by taking care of both genetics and environment, and nutrient dense diet can only be achieved by having high levels of vitamin A and minerals in diet meaning animal fats and meat) ● Regenerative system, perennial polyculture, forest garden super diverse many interconnections, strength and resilience in diversity connections, will feel and look alive, colourful, smell foresty/woodsy ● Research project/model for the future ● Nutrient dense fruit year round for 4 people, maybe 1 fresh fruit plus berries fresh or dried ● Lemons year round ● Small amounts of dried fruit for baking/snacks available year round ● Nuts year round to compliment walnuts in surrounding area ● Built in chicken food and environment to ensure high quality egg production… up to 8 chickens and a rooster, year round in forest garden, and chickens for meat 1 per week ● Quality bee forage ● Low input after establishment ● Back into coevolution, extension of us, we become part of this ecology we are creating a sense of oneness!

2. Strengths and Limitations Make a list of the strengths and limitations of the client in relation to establishing and maintaining this orchard/food forest eg How much time do you have? 4 hours a day How much money do you have available to establish and maintain this project? As much as it takes What other resources can you draw upon? Biochar burner, skills in this field, trees and animals What are your local resources?

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What might be your bio regional resources?

EXERCISE: INTERVIEW CLIENTS RE ABOVE INFO

3. Define and Measure Area of your site Define the area you have for creating this forest garden. Draw the outline of your site using a scale of 1:100 if you have a large area, or perhaps 1:50 – 1:20 – 1:10 if a small or tiny site, then copy this plan several times before adding features etc

EXERCISE: MEASURE DESIGN EXERCISE SITE IN SQ M

4. Understanding the environment

Observe the intrinsic characteristics: Soil, minerals in the soil, minerals available to plant roots, may need a soil test, or several; contour, aspect, water, water tables, how much rain, flooding drainage, droughts Sector influences: Sun, wind, noise, pests, animals etc. Map your site marking all the topics above - wetland areas, particularly dry areas, heavy soils, light soils, north facing, south facing, areas with heavy shade, and fill sun etc so you can match your trees to this situation

EXERCISE: GO TO DESIGN SITES AND LIST INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS AND SECTOR INFLUENCES. DRAW THEM ONTO A PLAN OF THE AREA….. AS IN PLANS ON DISPLAY. MAP CHANGING SOIL PATTERNS, show SLOPE, and DEFINE CLIMATE TYPE, and describe defining characteristics of site.

5. Equip yourself with the information you will need to do a good job of this design a. EXERCISE: Study rootstocks chart to understand what options you have for various species and the implications . DECIDE WHAT YOUR OPTIONS WILL BE. A medium size fruit tree will have an average canopy size of sq m. A large fruit tree sq m and a berry or small bush 1-2 sq m if pruned and well managed.

b. EXERCISE: Study Fruiting Char well enough to see that you’ll need such a tool to achieve year round fruit

52 trees will mean you have at least 2 or 3 or 4 kinds of ripe fruit every day for a large family

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25 trees will mean you have fruit year round if you choose carefully for medium/large size family

12 trees could mean fruit year round if you plan carefully and dry, bottle store excess

Sometimes you simply just fit in as many as you can.

c. EXERCISE: Study pages 50-54 of Design Your Own Orchard to understand how plants and trees, minerals, insects, microbes etc do not evolve in isolation, but guilds, families, .. discover the main families, and the main characters in these guilds d. EXERCISE: Check out the Forest Garden data base we are establishing, learn to use it to serve your purposes, select out what you need, study it. e. Understand the following Nutrient Budgeting

Nutrient Budgeting Now we must go back to our planning and figure out how we are going to design and plant our Forest Garden so that the nutrition these trees need will be designed into the system. (Keep in mind, if you have highly demineralized soils you will still have to get the minerals right in the short term but in the long term the trees and 7 layers you plant will ensure you keep those minerals in the system and unlock many more.) The key nutrients to be concerned about when designing the Forest Garden are nitrogen, and potash. All other minerals will likely be in your soil and available to your trees as they are unlocked by the roots of all 7 of your forest garden layers. If you have done your soil test and added a general purpose fertiliser that ensures you are adding the missing minerals they will be held in the system by careful planting over time. You may have to fertilise for two – five years until the system is well enough developed that the nitrogen in the leaves of the nitrogen fixers are falling to the ground in enough numbers to be breaking down and releasing nitrogen for plant roots, the nitrogen fixing fungi in the soil are developing strongly enough, and the comfrey leaf recycling is well enough developed to be supplying the potassium. The key information is that each m2 of canopy of heavy cropping/ demanding tree or shrub requires the same area x .8 of nitrogen fixing tree or shrub in full sun, or twice that area in part shade to supply its nitrogen requirements. For moderate croppers multiply the m2 of canopy by 0.2 to get the canopy area of nitrogen fixing tree, shrub or plant required to supply the nitrogen (in full sun). e.g. An apple tree (heavy cropper) with a canopy size of 28m2 will require a nitrogen fixing tree or shrubs in full sun (on the south side of the tree so the apple is not shaded), will require 28 x 0.8 (22m2) of nitrogen fixing tree in the full sun or 44m2 of nitrogen fixing tree in the partial shade. Whereas a cherry (moderate cropper) with a canopy size of 7m2 will require 7 x 0.2(1.5m2) of nitrogen fixing canopy in full sun to supply its nitrogen needs.

To supply the potash needed you must plant 1 comfrey plant for every m2 of canopy for the heavy feeders, and 1 plant for every 3m2 of a moderate cropper and feeder. Once you have your nitrogen and potassium taken care of in your design, the next key thing is to add as many mineral accumulators as possible, and to include as wide a range of them as possible. We know that in a living functional ecosystem, a tree or plant will draw the minerals it needs from distances far away using the fungi

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and microbes as transporters of the minerals it requires.

FOREST GARDEN DESIGN CONTINUING FROM STEP 5 ABOVE

Take your time to check out resources around Forest Gardening 6. Place another copy of your map over the one showing sector influences and intrinsic characteristics, and mark the areas suited to various tree guilds

7. Calculate area of canopy available for heavy feeding fruit trees…. Max of 60% area, within each guild area

8. Name and draw in zones on your map that relate to different guilds, Define canopy area available for heavy feeders in each zone/guild area

9. For each guild choose your heavy croppers keeping in mind appropriate rootstocks, canopy size, year round fruiting. Be sure to keep below or up to the total area allowed, as in 6 above.

10. Cut out discs for each tree in red card, to represent actual size of the canopy of the tree

NB Canopy size is determined by multiplying 3.14 x diameter…. Use same scale as previous maps

Place each canopy tree in its site. Use cut outs in Red placed on map, on the actual site we recommend placing actual bamboo stakes in the ground so you really get a feel for things and put name tags on the stakes., and keep shifting them until you are totally happy

11. For your heavy feeders in each guild/zone on your site now choose the most appropriate legumes. If you have 10m2 of canopy of heavy feeders you need 8m2 of nitrogen fixer in full sun, or 20m2 of legume in the shade. Be sure to choose legumes that may support your goals/vision in many ways eg chicken forage, firewood etc etc, also be sure to cover all the forest layers. we use the following formula for each large heavy feeder * 1 tall (in relation to heavy feeder) coppicing legume on the south side of the heavy feeder * 1-2 low trees on the East/West sides of the heavy feeder * some of above could be replaced by many more small woody perennial shrubs/bushes to provide adequate nitrogen * if the ground cover is being changed, or bare dirt is exposed, nitrogen fixing ground cover

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plants can also be used in the thousands, eg. clover, sulla, alfalfa...

12. Once your heavy feeders have their nitrogen designed into the forest garden, then you can add 1 comfrey plant for each m2 of canopy for each heavy feeder. An apple with 9m2 of canopy will need 9 comfrey plants around it’s feeder roots in full sun (North side) to provide the potassium needed. A comfrey plant will also require adequate mineral levels to be able to grow and function well. If you have animals/poultry in your forest garden you may need to choose a different strategy

13. Now comes the exciting part. How many m2 of canopy area do you have left to fill your potential canopy space. This is the time to use that space in the best possible way to fulfill your goals/ dreams in the most diverse and integrated way possible. Fill your space ……….

IN KAY’S DESIGN CHICKEN FORAGE AND AS MANY EDIBLE NUTRIENT DENSE WILD FRUITS/BERRIES WERE NEXT MOST IMPORTANT

13. Establishment process… to change the ground cover or not? Ways to do that…. geese, muscovies. cardboard, carpet, earthworks,

14. Management issues and patterns

● Fast carbon pathways,chop and drop ● Choosing best times to chop.. find local info ● Animals in forest garden.. management issues

15. Enjoy - you are an important element in the design. Your needs must be getting met:

● time ● fruit, vegetables, eggs, honey, meat ● cost ● relaxation

If something is not working, “change it”. You are “the designer’. “The problem is the solution”. - Mollison

Recommended reading/resources: Creating a Forest Garden. Martin Crawford Design Your Own Orchard; Kay Baxter Edible Forest Gardens; Dave Jacke ( 2 volumes)

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Appletons Tree Nursery catalogue www.appletons.co.nz NZ Tree Seeds catalogue www.nzseeds.co.nz Edible Garden fruit tree catalogue www.ediblegarden.co.nz Koanga Institute Tree catalogue www.koanga.org.nz Koanga Forest Garden Database

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