I'm very interested in following this
thread, and seeing what others are doing, even if some are just in the early/planning stages. The ones that are "popping" fascinate me!
Although I have nothing worth showing yet, I did start planting a few fruit and nut bushes ~5 years ago; unfortunately it was long before I stumbled on the 'food forest' concept, or even knew what '
permaculture' encompassed. Most of those plantings are now too large to move so they will remain where they are, but I did manage to start one guild last year around a small
apple tree. It incorporates many of the food forest concepts, and some of the berry bushes I planted earlier will end up in the understory of the
apple tree as it grows. This year it is unbelievably lush, although not very large.
Just last month I had some earth moving done in prep for a much larger food forest area that previously has been "lawn"; it won't have anything much planted in it this year except maybe some deep-rooted things like daikons and blown-in dandelion seeds to help break up the soil the bulldozer compacted. So far I have hauled in and spread 12-15 cu. yards of
wood chips to cover the bare compacted area about 5-6" deep, and I've only done about half so far. I'll be 72 this year, and have no help, so this old woman is progressing slowly! However, my fruit tree seedlings won't be ready to go in the ground for another year, so that works out okay. I'm propagating more insectaries in my flower beds, and working on dividing things like comfrey, french sorrel, herbs, chives, daffodils, yada, yada to have plenty of transplants when the soil is agreeable.
I built a 50' long
hugel berm at the high end of the new area, and it too is a work in process. Despite upturned sod, grasses are still sprouting along it; perhaps some are from the airborne orchard grass seed I sowed over the drain field. I have a few winter squash plants now in the hugel berm, but it needs a good ground cover, even if just wood chips. My intentions are that the hugel berm will be a soaker/buffer between the rain runoff from the old barn roof above it and the slope down to the creek, with some of my future food forest located in between the two.
Awaiting the new garden prep are perhaps 3+ dozen fruiting plants which include:
native elderberries I propagated, several apple grafts from a
class I took in spring, haskaps, Cornelian cherries, grapes, plums... and I have a promise of mulberries and chinquapins from friends. There are more I want, along with more perennial veggies, but that;s what I have on hand. I also started a stand of Jerusalem artichokes last year and they have multiplied quite nicely. This fall they will be dug and replanted along the property
fence line to act as both a slight windbreak, and a visual barrier to the neighbor.
Making the change from a flower gardener to a sorta vegetable gardener wasn't too difficult. Making the change from traditional
gardening, whether flower beds or 'soldier rows' of vegetables into a food forest garden is a whole other ballgame. It promises to be an interesting journey!
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