Fig Centered Food Forest Patch

Hello! I am getting into permaculture and was gifted a fig tree by a gardener I bike by most days in the summer. My wife and I wanted to start a food forest patch with this tree sapling that we're fortunate enough to possess. We currently have it established on the southern lawn of our townhouse and has survived its first winter with us. Now we want to know what we should grow around it to maximize yield and minimize the work we need to do to sustain it.

dutch clover for nitrogen fixation,
chives/garlic-chives, I like how they are green in the winter, and they are just the right height
winter savory, I love this plant because it is halfway between mint and thyme.
oyster mushroom,  it would be super cool to also get a mushroom harvest too.

S Bengi wrote:dutch clover for nitrogen fixation,
chives/garlic-chives, I like how they are green in the winter, and they are just the right height
winter savory, I love this plant because it is halfway between mint and thyme.
oyster mushroom,  it would be super cool to also get a mushroom harvest too.

This might be a stupid question, but I already took the pain of starting a thread-- so what the heck. How do you know which plants to pair with which trees? For example do all trees require a nitrogen fixer? Or is it shooter's preference on whatever you want to grow and the plants figure out how to work together to make it happen? Thank you!

I usually try to include one from each of these groups

Nitrogen fixer,
Which could be a 9inch dutch clover, 100ft kudzu vine, 20ft Adler tree, 5ft scotch brown, etc

Predator/Good Insect attractors
Mint/Thyme family, carrot/cilantro family, garlic/onion family

Soil Pest controllers
Garlic family, Oyster Mushroom

Mineral Miners/Traders
Mushroom/Fungi Family, Deep Root (Daikin radish, comfrey/borage family, dandelion, etc)

Another fruit that is alot smaller. Berries usually
This could be strawberry, dwarf blueberry, blackberry, etc

Thank you, I feel like my horizons are broadening! What resources are available for categorizing plants according to those 4 categories that you listed (small berry being self explanatory).

The list of plants that S Bengi lists and his explanations are good.

A food forest would include many perennial plants.

A food forest would mimic how Mother Nature would plant her plants.

For making a food forest, folks usually include layers.

There are 7 layers, including:

Tall Tree or Canopy Layer. This layer would consist of the tallest trees, most likely fruit and nut trees.
Sub-Canopy or Large Shrub Layer.
Shrub Layer
Herbaceous Layer.
Ground Cover Layer.
Underground Layer.
Climber, Vine or Vertical Layer.

For an added bonus these might be added, a Mycelial or Fungal Layer

Since the tree is so young I am having problems suggesting plants to add layers.

So I would suggest something like strawberries for the ground cover and a small berry bush to get your layers started.

Here are some threads to help explain layers:

https://permies.com/t/160695/Start-Food-Forest-Step-step

https://permies.com/t/61177/Planning-Layers-Food-Forest

Bigjared Cox wrote:Thank you, I feel like my horizons are broadening! What resources are available for categorizing plants according to those 4 categories that you listed (small berry being self explanatory).

Nitrogen fixer = legumes/peas/beans family (plus adler and goumi)

Predator/Good Insect attractors = strong smelling herbs esp ones that you can cook with

Soil Pest controllers = they help control nematodes, its kind of a short list Garlic family, Oyster Mushroom

Mineral Miners/Traders = Mushroom/Fungi Family, weeds with long/deep roots like dandelions

Smaller Fruit = Because I am in the city my main plants are only 10ft and so my smaller fruit is usually only 3ft or less. I do have a 2nd site in Florida where my plants will mature to 25ft, so my smaller fruit tree can be alot bigger. Some folks might even have 50ft walnut trees.

Anne Miller wrote:The list of plants that S Bengi lists and his explanations are good.

A food forest would include many perennial plants.

A food forest would mimic how Mother Nature would plant her plants.

For making a food forest, folks usually include layers.

There are 7 layers, including:

Tall Tree or Canopy Layer. This layer would consist of the tallest trees, most likely fruit and nut trees.
Sub-Canopy or Large Shrub Layer.
Shrub Layer
Herbaceous Layer.
Ground Cover Layer.
Underground Layer.
Climber, Vine or Vertical Layer.

For an added bonus these might be added, a Mycelial or Fungal Layer

Since the tree is so young I am having problems suggesting plants to add layers.

So I would suggest something like strawberries for the ground cover and a small berry bush to get your layers started.

Here are some threads to help explain layers:

https://permies.com/t/160695/Start-Food-Forest-Step-step

https://permies.com/t/61177/Planning-Layers-Food-Forest

Thank you! I appreciate your time and wisdom, the beauty and frustration of gardening go hand in hand-- that we cannot build a finished product all at once. But, ground cover is certainly a good way to start! I am currently attempting to sprout strawberries right now! I'll get them out once they're ready.

S Bengi wrote:

Nitrogen fixer = legumes/peas/beans family (plus adler and goumi)

Predator/Good Insect attractors = strong smelling herbs esp ones that you can cook with

Soil Pest controllers = they help control nematodes, its kind of a short list Garlic family, Oyster Mushroom

Mineral Miners/Traders = Mushroom/Fungi Family, weeds with long/deep roots like dandelions

Smaller Fruit = Because I am in the city my main plants are only 10ft and so my smaller fruit is usually only 3ft or less. I do have a 2nd site in Florida where my plants will mature to 25ft, so my smaller fruit tree can be alot bigger. Some folks might even have 50ft walnut trees.

Got it! Thank you! the many uses plants have never ceases to amaze me.