I’ve recently been engaged in discussions with a couple of folks
planning food forest systems… and there’s one question that keeps coming
up.
“Should I clear out everything before I plant?”
If you’re planting into an existing forest, I’d argue that it’s almost easier than starting with a bare field.
“But how can that be, Davy G? All that chopping! All those horrible
invasive weed trees! All the shade! Heavens… give me a lawn any day!”
I know. Starting with a bunch of huge oaks or towering poplars is
daunting… but there are benefits to starting with an established and
mature ecosystem.
“Like what? My chainsaw budget is already outrageous… and all I’ve done is carve a manatee mailbox with it!”
Yes, yes… I’m getting to it. Stop interrupting!
A forest is more than trees. It’s a huge web of interactions. Birds,
mammals, reptiles and insects fill a healthy piece of woodland… and
things are even more complicated beneath the surface. In the trees’
“rhizosphere,” i.e., where the roots live, there’s an amazing diversity
of microscopic activity going on. The complexity of a forest
microecology is far beyond that of a simple lawn… and you’re going to
want to keep those interactions going for optimum success in your
project.
Here are a few tips.
1. Make The Pests Work For You
If you have fast-growing foliage, dense thickets or invasive species
on your plot, you can often use many of them to your advantage. Let’s
take a look at one common example. One of the trees of the southeast
that I get plenty of complaints about is this deceptively beautiful
invasive:
It often grows in disturbed areas along roadsides, as an understory
tree on forest edges, and right in the middle of your landscaping where
you don’t want it. The tree is a prolific seeder and grows very rapidly.
It will come back from the ground if you chop it down so killing it can
be tough.
native plant purist and can’t stand to have your property defiled by an
invader, there are some great uses for this tree.
plant a fruit tree next to a mimosa tree, then chop the mimosa branches
as they reach above the fruit tree, your fruit tree will do better than
if it was planted alone. Every time you cut back a nitrogen-fixing
tree, nitrogen is released as the root mass declines in response to the
loss of canopy.
around the base of your fruit tree… which leads me to my next point.
2. Harvest the Biomass
resources. One mistake I see people making all the time: they cut down
trees and shrubs, then burn them to clear the ground.
You’re literally sending your soil fertility up in smoke. If you plant
wanted species, then chop and drop the unwanted species to feed them,
you’re saving on mulch and soil amendments as well as feeding the
all-important soil microecology.
bought my current property, I needed to clear some oaks to make way for
my garden. Once they were felled, I was overwhelmed with the amount of
debris so I burned it. The next year, I really got into the idea of
hugelkultur beds and feeding rotten wood to my food forest.
myself over that one.
simply set aside logs and let them gracefully rot away into the ground,
you’ll be adding greatly to the soil beneath.
You can have greener thumbs by this weekend!
10 comments
David,
Have you had any terminate issues generally? I have construction friends warn me about keeping untreated random wood around like for hugelkultur or even raised beds (I use untreated, natural hard woods) in Florida.
Also, update on the loquats – wife told me I had it all wrong, took me out to the plant, showed me that it was in fact full of little tiny fruit. We picked so much. Very delicious. I'm going to grow some of the seeds.
Termites? Yeah… we always had termite issues, but they were here before any wood was added to the yard. They're everywhere. Great in the yard… bad in the house.
Good deal with the loquat!
Just found your blog and I like it– Will be visiting more since we are Florida Gardeners too
http://livingatmyfarmhouse.blogspot.com
Thank you.
This article is timely. I just started planning to change my front yard from all annual garden beds into a food forest.
Fantastic. Take pictures!
It's only one photo and I have a LOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG way to go, but if you are interested: http://nedacres.blogspot.com/2014/03/getting-soil-ready.html
There's a ton of potential there. Are you going to keep posting in the future?
I am. I used to be way more active before my first kid. Besides, I don't think you can start a food forest without the accompanying blog or YouTube channel, right? :-)
Right! Pics or it didn't happen.
You'll find the children start to inspire you to be outside as they get older. Mine are always following me around, planting seeds, etc.
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