How to create a Food Forest?
Numerous concepts, methodologies, and ideologies have emerged over the years for establishing a food forest. Navigating the dense web of information on this subject can be daunting. Here, we offer a concise overview of our approach, complemented by a collection of valuable links and charts. Our goal is to cultivate a diverse range of foods using sustainable and biological methods that align with our limited time (as we are not full-time farmers) and available water resources. Stay informed with regular updates on this site and detailed reports via our blog. We invite you to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or feedback; your engagement is truly appreciated!
What is a food forest?
A food forest is a sustainable and harmonious agricultural system that mimics the structure and functions of a natural forest. Rooted in permaculture principles, a food forest is designed to mimic the layers of a forest ecosystem, incorporating a diverse range of plants, trees, and shrubs that work in synergy to create a self-sustaining and regenerative environment.
Typically consisting of seven layers — canopy, understory, shrubs, herbaceous layer, ground cover, roots, and climbers — a food forest encompasses a vertical and horizontal diversity of plant species. Each layer serves a specific function, from tall canopy trees providing shade and habitat for wildlife, to ground cover plants protecting the soil and conserving water.
One of the key features of a food forest is its emphasis on perennial plants, which require less maintenance than annual crops. The diverse plantings in a food forest are carefully selected to support each other, fostering a balanced ecosystem that minimizes the need for external inputs like pesticides or fertilizers.
Beyond its ecological benefits, a food forest is a sustainable source of diverse, nutrient-rich foods. By incorporating a variety of edible plants, fruits, nuts, and herbs, a food forest provides a continuous yield throughout the year, promoting resilience in the face of climate variations.
Approaches: Permaculture and Syntropic agroforestry
Permaculture and syntropic agroforestry are both sustainable agricultural approaches that aim to create resilient, productive, and ecologically harmonious systems. On our land, we incorporate elements from both approaches. If, like us, you found the variety of associated terms and methods a bit perplexing initially, we offer a small overview below as well as usefull links to experts in these fields. While they share some similarities, there are distinct differences in their principles and practices.
Similarities:
- Holistic Design: Both permaculture and syntropic agroforestry prioritize holistic design principles. They consider the entire ecosystem, emphasizing the integration of various elements to create a self-sustaining and regenerative system.
- Diversity: Both approaches promote the use of diverse plant species to enhance the resilience and functionality of the system. The diversity of plants in different layers contributes to ecosystem health, pest control, and nutrient cycling.
- Minimization of External Inputs: Both permaculture and syntropic agroforestry aim to reduce reliance on external inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, they focus on creating closed-loop systems that utilize natural processes and symbiotic relationships among species.
Differences:
- Primary Goal:
- Permaculture: Permaculture is a broader design philosophy that can be applied to various systems, including agriculture. It encompasses principles for designing sustainable human habitats and systems beyond agriculture.
- Syntropic Agroforestry: Syntropic agroforestry specifically focuses on the cultivation of diverse, multi-layered food forests. Its primary goal is to mimic natural forest ecosystems, emphasizing accelerated plant growth and productivity.
- Successional Planting:
- Permaculture: Permaculture systems may involve succession planting, but it does not necessarily emphasize the rapid, dynamic succession seen in syntropic agroforestry.
- Syntropic Agroforestry: This approach uses rapid succession planting, with the intentional selection of pioneer plants that grow quickly and create favorable conditions for the subsequent planting of food crops.
- Disturbance and Pruning:
- Permaculture: Permaculture systems may involve regular pruning and management, but the emphasis is on mimicking natural patterns without necessarily requiring intense disturbances.
- Syntropic Agroforestry: Syntropic agroforestry involves deliberate, periodic disturbances such as pruning, cutting, and mulching to accelerate plant growth and biomass production.
In summary, while both permaculture and syntropic agroforestry share a commitment to sustainable and regenerative practices, their specific goals, techniques, and emphases differ. Permaculture is a broader design philosophy, whereas syntropic agroforestry is a specialized technique focused on creating productive and rapidly regenerating agroecosystems. We incorporate practices from both approaches into our methodology. And sometimes, we just come up with our own and patiently observe if it works or not!
Water management
Our water management system is a carefully designed to optimize irrigation and enhance the overall resilience of our agricultural ecosystem. At its core, this system relies on the strategic integration of irrigation ponds and swales, working together to maximize water efficiency and sustainability.
The irrigation ponds serve as crucial water reservoirs, capturing and storing rainwater during the winter time. Positioned strategically across the landscape, these ponds act as a primary source for irrigation. Beyond their functional role, these ponds contribute to biodiversity, fostering a habitat for aquatic life and attracting beneficial organisms that further enrich our ecosystem.
Complementing the ponds are swales, which are water channels designed to capture, spread, and slow the flow of water across the terrain. This not only reduces erosion but also promotes groundwater recharge, enhancing the overall water retention capacity of our agricultural space. This blog will help you to determine if swales are an option for your land.
Together, these elements form a symbiotic relationship within our water management system. The ponds provide a reservoir for water storage, while swales ensure its efficient distribution across the landscape. However, as the future rains might not be sufficient to serve us all year round, we also drilled our own water well (120 m deep) to ensure we will have water from different sources in the future.
Soil management
Our land includes 5 hectares of lush forest and 3 hectares of open fields with steep slopes in certain area’s. The soil is acidic due to the granite rock base of Northern Sardinia and was largerly abandoned in the past decade. With this starting point we came up with a soil management approach of sustainable practices that nourish the soil and promote long-term fertility. If you are new to soil biology we can highly recommend The Ultimate Guide to Soil from Anna Hess, a book full of simple techniques to easily test and improve the quality of your soil. One key aspect of our approach is the widespread application of mulch, a protective layer of organic material from our own forest that covers the soil surface. Mulch provides nutrients and acts as a natural barrier, conserving moisture, regulating temperature, and suppressing weeds, fostering an environment to promote plant growth.
Complementing this, we use transformative power of compost, introducing nutrient-rich organic matter to enhance soil structure and fertility. By integrating compost into our cultivation practices, we not only recycle organic waste but also cultivate a thriving microbial community that supports plant health.
ur commitment to minimal soil tillage is another cornerstone of our approach. Recognizing the importance of preserving soil structure and minimizing disturbance, we employ techniques that disturb the soil as little as possible, promoting the retention of essential organic matter and microbial life.
Further enriching the soil ecosystem, we incorporate perennial cover crops and nitrogen-fixing plants into our agricultural landscape. These plants play a dual role, providing ground cover to prevent erosion while simultaneously contributing nitrogen to the soil through a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
In essence, our soil management approach is a synergy of practices that prioritize sustainability, fertility, and biodiversity. By applying mulch, compost, minimal soil tillage, and strategically planting perennial cover crops and nitrogen-fixing plants, we cultivate a resilient and flourishing soil ecosystem that forms the foundation of our commitment to regenerative agriculture. If you are eager to dive deeper in soil microbiology and learning additional hands-on techniques, check out Teaming with Microbes from W. Lewis and J. Lowenfels
Companion planting
Companion planting and tree guilds are strategies to enhance overall productivity and ecological balance by emphasizing the harmonious relationships between different plant species. In our tree guilds, diverse plant species are strategically interplanted around a focal tree, each contributing unique functions to create a mutually supportive ecosystem. Visit this page to see an overview of the species we planted so far, with their use and function.
Nitrogen-fixing plants, such as legumes, play a vital role by enriching the soil with nitrogen, benefiting neighboring plants. Dynamic accumulators, like comfrey, draw up nutrients from deep in the soil, making them accessible to shallower-rooted plants. Ground covers, such as clover, act as living mulch, suppressing weeds and conserving soil moisture. Pest-repellent plants, including aromatic herbs like basil, sage and marigold, help protect the entire guild by deterring harmful insects.
Furthermore, the focal tree serves as a central hub, providing shade, structure, and a habitat for beneficial insects. This collaborative approach not only optimizes space but also fosters a resilient and self-sustaining ecosystem. By carefully selecting and arranging companion plants in our tree guilds, we harness the complementary functions of each species, creating a thriving agroecosystem that goes beyond conventional monoculture practices.
To get started with the selection of your companion plants we recommend the Plants For A Future databases, which include extensive lists of suitable species for food forests including proposed companion plants. If you are mostly interested in companion planting for vegetable gardens, check out this site and these charts.
Useful links
Watch these complementary video’s from experts in the field for visual explanation and demonstration:
- Permaculture property tour: David Holmgren
- Permaculture ponds: where, why and how
- Terminology explained: differences and similarties of permaculture, regenerative and syntropic agriculture.
- Creating an olive tree guild: Gennaro Cardone
- Examples of mediterrenean fruit tree guilds
- Ernst Gotsch Bluevision: syntropic agroforestry
- Soil is Life part I & Soil is Life part II