Geoff Lawton's "Designing Food Forests Across Three Climate Zones" now live!

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When I took Geoff's online PDC - I think this was my very favorite part of the class - "Climate Design". Geoff has done projects in over 30 countries and in all different climate zones. Understanding that each climate has specific limitations that must be designed for seems like a no brainer. But I can tell you as a drylander, that people don't really get this. This video illustrates some of the "best practices" for each of the three major climate zones: humid tropics, drylands and cool to cold humid. Not all methods, strategies and elements are appropriate for all climate types. This video is a quick and dirty illustration of that fact. I think if we could all understand our climates better, we could make decisions more quickly and avoid costly mistakes.

For those of you who watch this - let me know what you think!

See the FULL VERSION here.

Thanks for posting this Jennifer. I'm taking the online PDC with Geoff Lawton...so far it's been a great experience.
This is a great video on food forest applications in various climates.
Excellent information.

Hi jamie & Jennifer, I am also taking Geoff lawton course and am really enjoying it.The video is Good for a quick basics of Food Forests, but I am finding that it is all so much more complex than the video illustrates.
Very enjoyable

Geoff shows three distinct climates... I'm having a hard time deciding which one I am... I'm in Encinitas (San Diego), California... USDA Zone 10a...Sunset zone 21 or 22. We only get about 14 inches of rain a year, though we haven't seen that much for the past years, in a major drought.

I'm looking for some help in finding out design and plant list info for food forest in my area.

Thanks all!

Chris Bski wrote:I'm having a hard time deciding which one I am... USDA Zone 10a...Sunset zone 21 or 22. We only get about 14 inches of rain a year, though we haven't seen that much for the past years, in a major drought.

Sounds like drylands to me...

V.Ginger Borgeson wrote:Hi jamie & Jennifer, I am also taking Geoff lawton course and am really enjoying it.The video is Good for a quick basics of Food Forests, but I am finding that it is all so much more complex than the video illustrates.
Very enjoyable

Yep - this is not a detailed look at each climate and it's food forest. It is an overview of what a food forest will look like in each climate given the benefits and limitations of each one. Living in a dryland like I do - I definitely need the food forest close to the house to provide much needed shade and so that it can benefit from greywater. I certainly don't need to harvest sunlight in the summertime!

Chris Bski wrote:Geoff shows three distinct climates... I'm having a hard time deciding which one I am... I'm in Encinitas (San Diego), California... USDA Zone 10a...Sunset zone 21 or 22. We only get about 14 inches of rain a year, though we haven't seen that much for the past years, in a major drought.

Encinitas and San Diego are Mediterranean climates which is on the tail end of the humid climates (you have a maritime effect being as close to the ocean as you are). You can probably pull from both humid climates and drylands depending on the orientation of your property and your goals. Most med climates benefit from water harvesting as summers are usually hot and dry.