#Edible landscape design Patch
#Edible landscape design full

The most shade tolerant fruit trees include native North American species like black mulberry, American persimmon and pawpaw, though many other fruit trees will produce a respectable crop in partial shade. Understory Trees: This layer is for smaller nut trees, like filberts, and the majority of fruit trees.

#Edible landscape design full

Naturally, you’ll want to stick with species that are well-adapted to your region.Ĭanopy: This layer is primarily for large nut trees that require full sun throughout the day, such as pecans, walnuts, and chestnuts, all of which mature to a height of 50 feet or more.

Bare root plants are typically ordered in January or February, for planting in early March, or as soon as the ground thaws in your area. That’s because at this time of year they are sold in “ bare root ” form – meaning without soil or a pot – which gives the roots a more natural structure and costs less for nurseries to produce.

Winter is the ideal time to get started, because most edible trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants can be purchased and planted while dormant, which is better for the plants – and for your bank account. But you can leave sunny patches here and there – like little forest clearings – to accommodate species that need more light (though see Step 3 for a trick to make the most of the available sunlight). The smaller plants generally need to be more shade tolerant, as they will be in the understory. The largest plants will reach into the sun, so most common fruiting trees and shrubs are fair game. The first step in establishing a food forest is to choose your plants. The deep roots of trees and shrubs make them much more drought tolerant than annual vegetables, and they shade the smaller plants below, keeping everything lush and moist in a self-maintaining – in other words, a highly sustainable – system. Not tilling preserves the natural soil structure, preventing the loss of topsoil and allowing all the little microbes and soil critters to do their jobs, cycling nutrients and maintaining fertility. And that’s the goal.īecause they’re mostly perennial crops, there’s no need to till. Does a forest need tilling, weeding, fertilizer, or irrigation? Nope. Why Food Forests?įood forests are like the ultimate organic garden. Seattle and Austin recently became the first cities to plant a public food forest, and Atlanta will soon follow suit. “Food forestry” has become more and more popular as the idea of edible landscaping goes mainstream and community gardens become neighborhood fixtures. Food forests have also figured prominently in the permaculture movement, an approach to designing agricultural systems that mimic natural ecosystems. A British chap by the name of Robert Hart first popularized the concept among European and North American gardeners with the publication of his book Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape in the 1980s.

#Edible landscape design Patch

Instead, there’s probably a patch of some strange shrubby plant with edible leaves, like katuk or moringa or whatever leafy green they happen to cultivate in that corner of the world.įorest gardening has been the standard for millennia in many tropical regions, but it’s possible in more temperate climes as well. Chickens likely have the run of the place, because there are no dainty little lettuce plants for them to destroy. I’ve seen it time and time again in my travels throughout Latin America – towering mango trees leaning over patches of banana and papaya, interspersed with little plantings of cassava here and there, perhaps a passion fruit vine snaking through it all.