Hedgerow, food forest and/or kitchen garden??

I’m trying to figure out what kind of space I want for growing food on our new homestead.  I’ve got about 20 acres to work with.  It’s currently a picturesque hay field on the crown of a gentle hill, surrounded by woods as the land gets steeper.  I’m primarily growing food for our family of 5, and to share with friends/neighbors.  I love the idea of a self-sustaining food forest or hedgerow, and/or a garden that mixes perennials and annuals.  Would you build up the edges with food plants like a hedgerow?  Or turn a patch into a food forest?  In addition to or instead of a kitchen garden?  And what to do about the deer??

Congratulations on the soon-to-be homestead!

Assuming the penciled-in house is where the house will be, my suggestion would be to start the garden close to the house and the kitchen though most important is close to where your water source will be.

The idea for a forest garden or a food forest might come later as you plan for fruit trees and perennial shrubs.

Best wishes for your planning.

Wow, I'm jealous. You really have a beautiful blank slate to work with. Starting out I'd make a list of what you eat and what you want to eat. Find some local permies and see what they are growing and how they are doing it... That would save some sweat, tears and heartache down the road if you can avoid repeating some of their mistakes. But also leave room to experiment because even old-timers don't know everything.

Have you had a year to observe your property? Make notes about where shade falls throughout the year and where water pools and how fast water drains.

I would start closest to your house with a kitchen garden buffered by a small forest garden. Then work outward as you have time, energy, and money. The father away you get, the harder it will be to keep plants alive until you really learn your property and mimic what is naturally thriving there or you get automated irrigation in place.

One thing I’m a bit concerned about is bears and other wildlife - we have small black bears here.  Do gardens attract bears?

And I guess my bigger question is, is a kitchen garden generally in place of or in addition to a food forest?

And, how much to hedgerows tend to get munched by wildlife?  Is the hedgerow going to be a fun hobby or is it going to feed us?

We’ve had a year+ living close by but not on the property, so we’ve observed it some. Our house is supposed to be done this fall, and I’m hoping I can start by choosing the garden site now and getting the soil prepped so it’s ready to plant next spring.

Kelley Kennon wrote:One thing I’m a bit concerned about is bears and other wildlife - we have small black bears here.  Do gardens attract bears?

And I guess my bigger question is, is a kitchen garden generally in place of or in addition to a food forest?

And, how much to hedgerows tend to get munched by wildlife?  Is the hedgerow going to be a fun hobby or is it going to feed us?

We’ve had a year+ living close by but not on the property, so we’ve observed it some. Our house is supposed to be done this fall, and I’m hoping I can start by choosing the garden site now and getting the soil prepped so it’s ready to plant next spring.

I think a garden can be attractive to bears but it depends on what you are growing. I don't think a bear is going to go out of its way to eat your potatoes and beets but it'll probably help itself to your apples.

My dad's house was built 4 years ago in a bear's territory. They discovered this fact very quickly when they moved in and hung up bird feeder. When they planned their garden, they built a sturdy fence around it, mainly with the idea that they didn't want it to fall over if the bear decided to climb over. The bear could easily get in if it wants as the fence is only 5' high but it seems to be happy to stick to eating the easier plentiful berries that grow natively in the forest edge that surrounds the property and prefers to stay away from the house once they started adding spicy pepper to the bird seed. My dad has raspberries and blueberries and grapes and the standard annuals growing in the fenced garden and the bear has shown no interest in going in there. His property is lined with salmon berries, huckleberries, blackberries, salal and Oregon grape among other native wild plants and the bear seems to prefer these.

I think that bears are naturally shy and prefer to avoid people unless they are taught to expect food from them, so keep your garbage and compost inside or far away from your house and kitchen garden. If you build up a hedgerow and plant a food forest near the edges, plan to share with the wildlife. Then a kitchen garden that is close to the house and protected by fencing and a noisy dog would be for the things you don't want to share.

Minus the bear issue, I think of kitchen gardens primarily for the annuals and for feeding my family while my food forest grows. A kitchen garden can be set up and be very productive the first season. Forest gardens and hedgerows are going to take at least a few years to produce more than a snack. But once they reach their peak production, they produce abundantly for years... Or at least that's what I hear. 😆 My food forest is still in its baby stages. 👶

I have not lived where bears are a problem.  They are supposed to be in the area though I would really be surprised if I saw one.

There are ways to make gardens unattractive to wildlife.

Planting smelling plants like rosemary and lavender is just one.

Then there is fencing that may or may not be a deterrent.

A person in bear country would be wise to research what are deterrents.

I have a kitchen garden that is my raised bed garden. It is surrounded by a 6' chain link fence. That keeps out the deer and any large animals. I lined the ground that garden with hardware cloth to keep out the ground squirrels. I'm working on a food forest or two. One is fenced with 7' field fencing, the other is not fenced yet but it will be in the future. We have a lot of bears in the area, but like others have said they are shy. The two main things that I've heard draw them in are bird feeders and bee hives. We just don't have the water for a hedgerow, I wish we did.