Here’s a video of a 7 year old forest garden in the Adirondack Mountains, NY (zone 4a) during the longest days of the year. I am documenting this garden through the different seasons and weather events to try to capture this dynamic system as best I can in a single YouTube playlist. No commentary, just the scenes and sounds. If there’s anything you want to know about just let me know. Hope you enjoy!
https://youtu.be/zvucvR1JOGw
Video Description:
The longest days of the year, with a faint glow still visible at 10:30pm. Plants are enjoying the sunlight and the forest garden is growing steadfastly. As it reaches 7 years old, the process of succession is transforming this former pasture into an old field / shrubland and young forest. Tons of fertility and soil formation are providing a diversity of species the resources they need to build more persistent woody tissue, altering the structure of this habitat before our very eyes.
All kinds of wildlife are moving in, taking advantage of this highly varied and diverse habitat. A robin made a nest in an elderberry we planted next to the pond. Frogs have settled in and are reproducing in the pond, and many snakes have been seen slithering around in the tall grassy meadows. Ants are farming aphids, and insects of all kinds are thriving. Some are causing minor damage to our crops but their benefits surely outweigh the negatives. I hope to see even more abundance of predators to keep things balanced.
A lot of fruit is forming on different plants, and it looks like it will be a good year as far as production in the forest garden. I expect there will be up years and down years, but over time we should start to really see a ramping up of production. Apples, pears, cherries, plums, seaberry, blueberries, currants, hazelnuts, and much more. Can’t wait to start harvesting entire baskets of berries!
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