Food forests are made up of a diverse range of different plants, animals, etc that are growing in a symbiotic (supporting one another) relationship. Food forests are generally a multi-layered ecosystem that provides the maximum amount of resilience and yield for human habitation. People and food forests go hand in hand. A food forest is a natural place designed by humans using nature. A lifestyle for humans to have sustainable engagement within nature’s limits.
We can use the same principles and ideas that we used to create a food forest to create any natural wild ecosystem. That is to say, with the same basics in food forestry and permaculture, you will also be able to design and create natural wildlife systems that are also balanced and healthy for the benefit of wildlife. We just use different species in different ratios to promote the balance in the diversity that is required for long-term sustainability without human interference.
So what…
Through the application of permaculture focusing on food forestry, we can create systems where each element, each living member of that community, can live and grow in harmony with one another. Whether you wish to yield mushrooms, timber, fruit, nuts, fiber, wool, eggs, or any other resource, like time. You can benefit from applying permaculture. So, there is something in the action of permaculture that will benefit all practitioners. The more you practice, the greater the benefit.
Why plant a food forests?
Do you want to be free and healthy? Silly question right. Of course, we all wish to be free and healthy. So the same sentiment can also be applied to the question, why plant a food forest? Once we start to get into the benefits maybe you will also feel the same. That this question is a no-brainer.
Soil life filters our groundwater for drinking and daily use. Plants filter the air. A living, balanced biodiversity-ecosystem maintains chemistry that supports and sustains an abundance of life. Getting outdoors and connected with nature is of immense importance to human health and wellness. So, if you want to be free from the 9-5 and have more time devoted to doing what you are passionate about, a food forest can provide you with most of your food and medicinal needs. It could also provide your shelter and clothes, tools, and other equipment. This will reduce your need for money to buy such things, or it might provide you with the resources to trade to obtain other resources not available in your system. Food, drink, air, and the general environment are known to be the best environment for human health. Living in a food forest is shown to be the best lifestyle for health and freedom to do what you find valuable, which adds to your wellness.
That might seem like nothing but big hyped-up praise for something that we obviously wish to promote. While that is true. We do see the benefits. We experience and live the benefits each and every day. This is our lifestyle, of a sort, but that is not the point, and we wish you to pay attention to the environment in which the human species evolved. Our characteristics are best suited to a certain type of lifestyle. That lifestyle is one in which humans are daily engaged and interacting in their natural environments. Where the soil is alive and on our fingers. Where food is covered in microbiology. Where the dust and other so-called dirty things are actually helpful. As seen in the study on Amish communities and asthma. So, if you want to live a healthy lifestyle you really must have your own or have access to a food forest.
How to grow a food forest?
From the ground up. A forest grows on a dead forest. Meaning that the biomass above the forest floor is matched by the biomass beneath her feet. So we need to get biomass that will support the system we wish to grow, starting below the ground and working our way up. For these, we use pioneering or weed plants. These are plants that grow very fast and produce a lot of seeds. Most of their energy is in the seeds. Annual and short-lived, fast-growing legumes and big leafy greens are great for getting started.
At the start make sure you are clear with your intentions. Understand what it is that we wish to yield and the viability of doing so. You will need to know how the resources and energy will flow, roughly speaking at least. So you will need to do your site analysis to determine the layout or patterns that would best suit the environment, resources, and desires. Put like with like and position elements in a way where they are interacting with each other in a way that is mutually beneficial. For example, chooks in the understory of a food forest. This helps both birds and plants. Start where you are and build from there.
Learning and implementing guilds, companions, layering. Understanding sectors and zones will give you immense value. Of course, the actual doing of a food forest is personalised by many factors, so they are not a right or wrong way. However, in permaculture, although we have absolute freedom in what is right for us at any particular time, we do follow strict core ethics that help us grade our options in terms of fitness for the purpose of permanent human culture or sustainable human habitation. We plan on sharing more and more to help you learn how to develop your own food forest. If this is something you would like to help with, join our community group where you can ask your questions, share your feedback. It is a place where we can all receive help and support from one another in creating natural abundance for health and happiness in our lives and for all the lives to come.
