Fast Forest Food: Plant Your Seed
Written by Tanny PC
“Nature does not hurry. Yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu
An Overview of a ‘Sustainable’ Love Story of a ‘Forest Garden’
I would define ‘Food Forestry’ as “an eternal (read sustainable) ‘love story’ between Nature and Man – supported by a community of diverse wildlife and vegetation, and a lineage of permaculture ideas – bonded by Mother Nature for sustained biodiversity and food production.”
Some people might question, “Why a Forest Garden? Who would like to toil so hard on lands to create a food garden when there are readily available fruits and vegetables in the markets?” While others will say, “Why not? If we have spare space on our property, we would like to utilize it to develop an organic, edible food garden in that area to maintain a balanced, sustainable, and resilient ecosystem, which will be appreciated for people and planetary health for years to come.” In my opinion, no food on Earth is better than the ones growing in your garden under your supervision.
If you have ever wandered the back roads of a rural county or the countryside of a developing tropical country, you will not be surprised to see the local population farming on their lands and growing their own food. The gardeners plant or sow edible plant seeds manually, nurture the saplings, reap the harvest, and even distribute and sell the excess produce in the community and market, respectively. They do not (always) indulge in using mechanical support (such as tractors) to tilt or plow their lands or depend on chemical fertilizers or pesticides to deter pests or insects. You might have also noticed that their food gardens are comprised of both annual and perennial vegetation, which they grow by planting or stacking plants haphazardly like a wild woodland forest. These diverse plant species are wild-looking plantings of edible trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers, which altogether mingle effortlessly as if Mother Nature was the architect of the garden. This conventional concept of ‘sustainable’ and ‘edible’ gardening by being mindful of planetary health is called ‘Food Forestry’ and the technique used is called ‘Permaculture.’
Food forests, or edible forest gardens, are life-filled places that not only provide food for people, but also habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestering, biodiversity, natural soil building, beauty and tranquility, and a host of other benefits – you just need to take a page from Mother Nature’s book. (The following is an excerpt from Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, adapted for the Web.)
The ‘Green Thumb’ of Food Forestry
If we compare a conventional ‘food garden’ with a ‘food forest,’ we will find that unlike a ‘typical food garden,’ which has separate rows of this vegetable shrubs and a fruit tree followed by some bushes, a ‘food forest’ is an amalgamation of edible fruit trees, vegetable shrubs, herbaceous medicinal plants, vertical vines, and even wildlife habitat – all growing together harmoniously just like a natural forest woodland.
The concept of developing a ‘food forest garden’ follows these important principles, which provide beneficial results – also known as ‘the Green Thumb.’ Let’s find out:
Grow as many crops as you want: Plant both annual and perennial vegetation on the same land (they are nice to look at too!). The entire concept is to mimic the natural, pristine aura of a forest in which various plants thrive in a random (and not neatly ordered) arrangement. Unlike forest, in the case of a forest garden, almost the entire forest garden will be ‘edible,’ which creates a natural synergy that benefits all the diverse vegetation. High-density and random planting yield great productivity and create resistance to pests and diseases.
Follow Polyculture, not Monoculture: Vegetation in a forest thrives asymmetrically and symbiotically like best friends – tall trees, short trees, shrubs, herbs, ground covers, vines, and so on. So, while developing a food forest just layer, mix, and plant several kinds of vegetation together and watch them grow! Biodiversity ensures a continuous and varied food supply throughout the year. A classic example of the annual ‘polyculture’ traditional Native American technique is the ‘three sisters’ method where corn, beans, and squash are grown together. The corn stalks provide a trellis for the beans to climb, which are legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil, therefore indirectly benefiting the corn. The squash plants suppress weeds by spreading out.
Rely on nature’s plan of symbiosis existence of plants and animals: Instead of interfering and battling against the forces of nature (such as pests, rains, and diseases), involving machinery for digging the ground every year for cultivation, mowing, tilling, or mulching the soil very often, and spraying chemical fertilizers into the soil and pesticides on the crops for more produce, put your trust in Nature and let the experts (such as earthworms, beetles, microbes, and so on) do their usual job. Unnatural agricultural practices drain the soil of its natural nutrients and produce weak plants that are more susceptible or vulnerable to diseases and pests.
Let the rainwater percolate the Earth: In short, adopt rainwater harvesting methods. This helps in recharging the aquifers, preventing urban flooding, conserving groundwater and energy, reducing carbon footprint, and promoting a healthy, lush green garden due to the presence of the macronutrients ‘nitrate’ that plants need to thrive and develop.
Create trenches: To direct the runoff rainwater flow through certain areas around the food forest, you can spread it across the food forests. As the rainwater gradually seeps into the soil, it makes the Earth moist and prevents the land from becoming dry and arid throughout the year. The remaining water in the trenches can be used to fill the wells or for irrigation purposes.
Grow natural pest-controlling medicinal plants: An abundant living food forests attract natural predators that contribute to natural pest control. Marigolds, basil, citronella grass, and other such medicinal plants deter bugs and insects away, protect your family, and add beautiful color to your gardens. Use organic pest control fertilizers (such as garlic and onion peels, aloe vera, and so on) to avoid pest manifestations instead of harmful chemical ones. Use organic compost (such as vermicompost and cow dung) as they are naturally derived, sustainable measures.
Control weeds, but do not eliminate them completely: Weeds are an important part of building soil fertility and balancing the biological community. As a fundamental principle, weeds should be controlled, which can be done by sowing clover, thereby maintaining a healthy balance of predators and prey.
Chop n’ Drop: If you plant ‘annuals,’ do not uproot them – rather cut the stem at the soil level. While the roots are a way to create thousands of intricate air and water channels in the soil, the chopped stem creates a natural sheet compost system similar to a forest floor.
Watch your step: Avoid walking on garden beds – it is alive! Soil is rich in nutrients and home to a complex, living ecosystem. Constantly stepping on garden soil compacts the soil and closes all the air and water channels. This makes it harder for water and air to percolate the soil and reach the plant roots, which impairs the growth of plants.
Happy Growing!
Human development has reached a phase on this planet where we must analyze our steps before taking any actions regarding current food production methods and sustenance value. As the increased instability in the world increases regarding food culture, food choices, and food production, very soon we will exhaust all resources and space, and cause irrevocable damage to our ecosystems, communities, and the planet. The sooner we start implementing a new practical framework for food production and its relationship with nature, the better chances we have to exit our current exploitative mode of existence and enter a new direction of sensibility and sustainability. It’s time we start practically implementing the ideas and methods of growing at least some nutritious food in our own space – very similar to the ‘Victory Gardens’ developed by our ancestors during the World Wars – where they grew their own ‘food,’ saved the ‘heirloom seeds,’ and thus were very ‘self-sufficient.’
Every revolution needs a spirit of bringing a change in this world for the better good, motivation and a plan of action, and patience in bearing hardships and watching the fruits of labor. By understanding the basic principles of the Permaculture movement embodied in the work of Bill Mollison, Robert Hart, Masanobu Fukuoka, and other experts, in time, we will be able to restructure capitalist industrialism, and the world market system, by providing a viable methodology and world view of sustainability (The Environmental Crisis and Permaculture: ‘The harmonious integration of landscape and people.’).
We need to change our perception of viewing the world differently – much like the young workers building a system of‘ trios of cooperatives’ and working harmoniously toward restoring desert land with rainwater capture and storage underneath the soil, producing sustainable crops throughout the year by food forestry and permaculture, and cleaning polluted waters for sustenance. This is what we are trying to do here at Reap Goodness for our Heartland Trial in Arizona. Imagine how much greener, lusher, and livelier the area would be when the project is completed with more wildlife, more vegetation, and more food production! All we need to do is just ignore our lethargy, reverse our shortsightedness, and prepare for the future. Won’t you join us in this endeavor?
