My back
yard is 30' x 50'. I have a 4'x16'
chicken area(just north of 4 citrus, a plum and a fig tree, along with 4 blueberries, 2 Camellia sinensis, blackberries, raspberries and a banana plant) with the idea that the nutrients from the deep litter will cycle its way to the trees(it's not much of a food forest, more like a food tree line) since the ground is slightly higher under the
chickens(shit rolls down hill after all). Moving further south, is the veggie bed, which is a 25' diameter mandala garden, with a herb spiral in the middle(well, future herb spiral) and the citrus trees(shiny leaves) act as a sun trap. As I move from mostly annuals to perennials, my food productivity
should go up, especially when I plant out all the holes in the cinder blocks used to mark the outline of the mandala garden(for instance, I no longer plant bulbing onions, but plant multiplying scallions instead. Sweet potato is also another rampant grower in my area that can be perennialized somewhat). I've gained ~100 sqft of growing space just by moving from rectangular raised beds to a mandala design, and that's not counting the holes in the cinder blocks, or the center of the mandala garden.
While I have never estimated how much I can grow, I do know that this is not even the entire back yard yet. I still have ~450 sqft of production area left(minus pathways) and that's
just in the back yard. The south strip of
land(3' wide, runs to the front yard) will probably be a great place to grow some espalier trees(or maybe even grapes if I prep the soil right), especially since one side of the neighbor's roof drains right to that area(minimal
irrigation along with cooling during the summer = win!).
The front yard is another 20'x20' area of grass that could easily be made productive, but I have to wait on that for a while. If you trim the fruit trees and graft different varieties onto a single tree, then you can really
boost productivity. The north side of the house might grow something along the lines of food, but I'd need to get real creative there(it does get a narrow strip of sun about 3 months out of the year, long
enough for tomatoes and peppers).
The thing is this, at least in my situation, you have to get creative. Espalier is an excellent example of growing trees in a limited space, while keeping some curb appeal. Make a living
fence in your front yard, find a vining plant that grows well to place with them(such as grapes, malabar spinach, sweet potato(though that requires some soil disruption), or even roses) and you have the beginnings of a food forest in suburbia. It may not look quite like a forest, but it is one.
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