Edible Forest Garden

The orchard is being maintained using the principles of Agroforestry in particular the design principles of Forest Gardening.
Read our Orchard Forest Garden Management Plan written by Sid Hill May 2021 – www.sidhillecogardens.co.uk
Forest gardening is a low-maintenance, multi-layered food growing system based on woodland ecosystems and rooted in the principles of permaculture. It is the most self-sustaining, abundant ecosystem you can create, supporting wildlife and people. It involves planting mainly perennial and edible species in 7 layers. So amongst the trees you have lots of fruiting bushes, shrubs, herbs, ground cover, vines that grow up the trees and tubers below, all supporting each other through their root system. There is actually an 8th layer which is the mycelial or fungal layer which is probably the most important of them all, bringing the plants water and nutrients which you can support by not tilling the land but rather by mulching and layering with cardboard, woodchip, compost and horse manure. 
A forest garden  is a wonderful education model and we hope to have our orchard, forest garden & Nature Reserve used as a place to teach and inspire. 

More information on Forest Gardens

The design of these systems is carefully planned, allowing a variety of species to grow together with enough space, light and resources. These plants selected within a space serve a number of functions, useful to each other, as well as humans and wildlife. This system of biomimcry, which is rooted in permaculture, allows guilds and soil cultures to thrive with maximum efficiency.
This is the kind of farming system that is needed in the 21st century: a three-dimensional ecosystem that supports people and animals, provides staples and specialty products, increases local biodiversity, and does not require chemicals or elaborate technology.
It is a wonderful education model of how to create a sustainable method of food production and reconnects individuals and communities with where their food and medicine come from.
It encourages people to eat local produce with high nutritional quality that grown with the seasons, rather than importing out of season food.
Forest gardens focus on perennial plants, (which means you can harvest from the same plant for many years) and provides an opportunity to produce interesting food from other Temperate 7 climates around the world.
The primary aims for the system are:
  • To be biologically sustainable, able to cope with disturbances such as climate change
  • To be productive, yielding a number (often large) of different products
  • To require low maintenance.
A Forest Garden mimics the structure of a natural forest, which is the most stable and sustainable type of ecosystem in this climate. It includes a large number of species, giving greater diversity;
  • Nitrogen fixing plants which increase fertility by drawing up nitrogen (eg. Alders , Broom , Elaeagnus spp, and shrub lupins).
  • Dynamic accumulators – deep rooting plants which can tap mineral sources deep in the subsoil and raise them into the topsoil layer where they become available to other plants, eg. Coltsfoot, Comfreys, Liquorice, Sorrel and docks.
  • Pest attractors – plants chosen for their ability to attract predators of common pests, eg umbellifers like tansy.
  • Fruit and nut trees
  • Perennial edible plants and vegetables
  • Trees which provide wind protection and leaf litter which improve nutrient cycling and drought resistance.

The crops which are produced will often include fruits, nuts, edible leaves, spices, medicinal plant products, poles, fibres for tying, basketry materials, honey, fuelwood, fodder and sap products.

Forest gardens have been used for millennia in tropical regions, where they still often form a major part of the food producing systems which people rely on. In temperate regions, forest gardens are a more recent innovation. A major limiting factor for temperate forest gardens in the amount of sunlight available to the lower layers of the garden: in tropical regions, the strong light conditions allow even understorey layers to receive substantial light, whereas in temperate regions this is not usually the case. To compensate for this, understorey layers in temperate forest gardens must be chosen very carefully.

There are plenty of plant crops which tolerate shady conditions, but many are not well known. Many of the more common shrub or perennial crops need bright conditions, and it may be necessary to design in more open clearings or glades for such species.

We have a perfect example of how well this works in this area already. There was one fruit tree that was hidden to us for it’s first years. It is almost completely surrounded with blackthorn trees and a couple taller trees. It is has never been pruned and is laden with the most fruit every year. 

The seven layers of a forest garden

Canopy Trees

–  the highest layer of trees. May include species such as Chestnuts, Persimmons, honey locusts [Gleditsia triacanthos], Strawberry trees [Arbutus spp], Siberian pea trees [Caragana arborescens] Cornelian cherries [Cornus mas], Azeroles and other hawthorn family fruits [Crataegus spp], Quinces [Cydonia oblonga], Apples [Malus spp], Medlars [Mespilus germanica], Mulberries [Morus spp], Plums [Prunus domestica], Pears [Pyrus communis], highbush cranberries [Viburnum trilobum].

Small trees and large shrubs

– mostly planted between and below the canopy trees. May includes some of the canopy species on dwarfing rootstocks, and others such as various bamboos, Serviceberries [Amelanchier spp], Plum yews [Cephalotaxus spp], Chinkapins [Castanea pumila], Elaeagnus spp, and Japanese peppers [Zanthoxylum spp]. Others may be trees which will be coppiced to keep them shrubby, like medicinal Eucalyptus spp, and beech [Fagus sylvatica] and limes [Tilia spp] with edible leaves.

Shrubs

– mostly quite shade tolerant. May include common species like currants [Ribes spp] and berries [Rubus spp], plus others like chokeberries [Aronia spp], barberries [Berberis spp], Chinese dogwood [Cornus kousa chinensis], Oregon grapes [Mahonia spp], New Zealand flax [Phormium tenax] and Japanese bitter oranges [Poncirus trifoliata].

Herbaceous perennials

– several of which are herbs and will also contribute to the ground cover layer by self-seeding or spreading. These may include Bellflowers with edible leaves [Campanula spp], Comfreys [Symphytum spp], Balm [Melissa officinalis], Mints [Mentha spp], Sage [Salvia officinalis], and Tansy [Tanacetum vulgare].

Ground covers

– mostly creeping carpeting plants which will form a living mulch for the ‘forest floor’. Some may be herbaceous perennials (see above), others include wild gingers [Asarum spp], cornels [Cornus canadensis], Gaultheria spp, and carpeting brambles (eg. Rubus calycinoides & R.tricolor).

Climbers and vines

– These are generally late additions to the garden, since they obviously need sturdy trees to climb up. They may include hardy kiwis [Actinidia spp], and grapes [Vitis spp].

Rhizosphere

– Any design should take account of different rooting habits and requirements of different species, even if root crops are not grown much. Some perennials with useful roots include liquorice [Glycyrrhiza spp] and the barberries [Berberis spp] whose roots furnish a good dye and medicinal products. Various beneficial fungi can also be introduced.

An interesting article on Perennial Vegetables

 

We’ve been inspired by two wonderful examples of forest gardening in Cornwall and Devon. Martin Crawford’s garden in Dartington see  and Simon Miles’s garden in Falmouth. Here is a great article written by Simon Miles who owns the Forest Garden in Falmouth.