Converting a Monoculture Orchard To a Food Forest

I am looking for a property to start a new permaculture project and recently saw a beautiful 5 acre property where a portion of it is an orange orchard with 250 Valencia orange trees. The thing is I don't really want 250 Valencia orange trees, I would much prefer a diverse mixed citrus orchard, and of course would ideally like a diverse food forest. So my ideas were, perhaps I could graft tastier navel and clementine varieties onto these trees so that they're producing fruit I actually want to eat, and then plant support species in between. How feasible would this be and would I actually be able to completely change the variety by pruning back heavily and grafting onto at least some of the trees? What about cutting some of the trees down and planting other trees and plants in between? I'm trying to think of some way this could work because the rest of the property is really beautiful I'm just not sure what I could do with this monoculture orange grove part...

This is a really interesting question - I don't know who our citrus gurus are, but I sure hope they are around.

I do know of a Canadian fellow who converted a single variety apple orchard to a poly culture of different apple varieties and plenty of berry bushes and supportive plants, so the concept is sound.

The only catch (if you could call it that) was that the orchard became so much more productive, that his bees became extremely happy and he ended up making more money off the honey than the fruit!

it is indeed a pretty interesting idea. I don't know about the feasibility of grafting into mature trees, compared to grafting into younger trees-- you may need to consider overall health and longevity, if these trees are old they will have a natural lifetime that will need to be considered. Likewise their overall health (or maybe external issues like water availability)-- have you determined why this orchard is for sale?
Another concern I would have is soil quality and contamination. Crete may not have this problem but where I live orchards and vineyards often have buildup of copper from bourdeaux mix, which is considered an organic anti-fungal, but it accumulates and can cause problems. But this is mostly a due diligence problem.

I did a quickie search about survival in grafting to mature trees and Perplexity said this:
Grafting new varieties onto mature citrus trees, known as topworking or reworking, is a realistic and established practice with success rates often exceeding 75-90% when done correctly. Healthy trees benefit from their established root systems, enabling rapid regrowth and fruit production in 3-5 years. However, success depends on proper technique, timing, and health management.
​
Success Factors
Techniques like bark grafting, wedge grafting, and cleft grafting work well on limbs under 150 mm in diameter, performed during late winter to spring when bark slips easily. Use disease-free scion wood from compatible varieties, such as oranges or mandarins on trifoliate rootstocks, to avoid incompatibility or virus issues like exocortis. Nurse branches left on the tree aid sap flow and protect grafts from sun and wind.
​
Risks and Challenges
Unhealthy or old trees yield poor results, and large pruning wounds near the ground risk heart rot or pathogen entry in citrus. Lemons and grapefruit reworking is less successful due to virus transmission. Post-graft care includes bagging grafts, monitoring pests, and adjusting irrigation to prevent failure.
​
Practical Outcomes
Mature scions can fruit within 1-3 years, with real-world examples showing multiple grafts taking on stumps and producing fruit in 18 months. Full production returns quickly, though professional help may be needed for large-scale efforts.
--​

I suspect you would do better keeping a part of the valencias and cutting/replacing with other species. You'll need to be very alert to water needs, I suppose. Might be able to intersperse with grapes, blackberries/raspberries, pomegranates, and maybe even nuts (not sure what kind works with your climate).

Dareios,

2 hectares of citrus is more original than an olive orchard in Greece :).
Please take into consideration that citrus will be on irrigation and olives rather not. It would take around 10 m3 of water per one drip irrigated session, or more. It means there is water. Make sure it's good water and not something that you will have to filter or that will deteriorate your soil.
Mature citrus can be grafted. There is an orchard that I drive by that was renewed by bark grafting 3 years ago. The trees were cut  50 cm off the ground, they had diameter of 15-20 cm. It's already producing.
There are so many varieties of citrus that can be tried.

Hi Tereza,

I agree, after thinking about it some more, I think it's unrealistic for me, especially considering I am still very much a beginner grafter. Question for you-would you avoid buying this place if pesticides have been used? Apparently the owners only sprayed for the 1st time this year to prevent the fruit from falling off the trees...Do you think it's worth investing in if I'm gonna be removing some of the trees anyway?

Tereza Okava wrote:it is indeed a pretty interesting idea. I don't know about the feasibility of grafting into mature trees, compared to grafting into younger trees-- you may need to consider overall health and longevity, if these trees are old they will have a natural lifetime that will need to be considered. Likewise their overall health (or maybe external issues like water availability)-- have you determined why this orchard is for sale?
Another concern I would have is soil quality and contamination. Crete may not have this problem but where I live orchards and vineyards often have buildup of copper from bourdeaux mix, which is considered an organic anti-fungal, but it accumulates and can cause problems. But this is mostly a due diligence problem.

I did a quickie search about survival in grafting to mature trees and Perplexity said this:
Grafting new varieties onto mature citrus trees, known as topworking or reworking, is a realistic and established practice with success rates often exceeding 75-90% when done correctly. Healthy trees benefit from their established root systems, enabling rapid regrowth and fruit production in 3-5 years. However, success depends on proper technique, timing, and health management.
​
Success Factors
Techniques like bark grafting, wedge grafting, and cleft grafting work well on limbs under 150 mm in diameter, performed during late winter to spring when bark slips easily. Use disease-free scion wood from compatible varieties, such as oranges or mandarins on trifoliate rootstocks, to avoid incompatibility or virus issues like exocortis. Nurse branches left on the tree aid sap flow and protect grafts from sun and wind.
​
Risks and Challenges
Unhealthy or old trees yield poor results, and large pruning wounds near the ground risk heart rot or pathogen entry in citrus. Lemons and grapefruit reworking is less successful due to virus transmission. Post-graft care includes bagging grafts, monitoring pests, and adjusting irrigation to prevent failure.
​
Practical Outcomes
Mature scions can fruit within 1-3 years, with real-world examples showing multiple grafts taking on stumps and producing fruit in 18 months. Full production returns quickly, though professional help may be needed for large-scale efforts.
--​

I suspect you would do better keeping a part of the valencias and cutting/replacing with other species. You'll need to be very alert to water needs, I suppose. Might be able to intersperse with grapes, blackberries/raspberries, pomegranates, and maybe even nuts (not sure what kind works with your climate).

The property does have a well and it's a big one too! The trees are all on drip irrigation. It's a beautiful place.

Cristobal Cristo wrote:Dareios,

2 hectares of citrus is more original than an olive orchard in Greece .
Please take into consideration that citrus will be on irrigation and olives rather not. It would take around 10 m3 of water per one drip irrigated session, or more. It means there is water. Make sure it's good water and not something that you will have to filter or that will deteriorate your soil.
Mature citrus can be grafted. There is an orchard that I drive by that was renewed by bark grafting 3 years ago. The trees were cut  50 cm off the ground, they had diameter of 15-20 cm. It's already producing.
There are so many varieties of citrus that can be tried.

Dareios Alexandre wrote:Hi Tereza,

I agree, after thinking about it some more, I think it's unrealistic for me, especially considering I am still very much a beginner grafter. Question for you-would you avoid buying this place if pesticides have been used? Apparently the owners only sprayed for the 1st time this year to prevent the fruit from falling off the trees...Do you think it's worth investing in if I'm gonna be removing some of the trees anyway?

Dareios, for me there is an awful lot of "it depends" here. Mostly, what did they spray, why did they spray (whats the underlying reason why the trees might drop their fruit?), what kind of long term effects will it have on my pollinators? would be my three big questions.
That said I am a ridiculously conservative investor, even though once I see fruit trees I'm usually a lost cause!!

Dareios Alexandre wrote:The property does have a well and it's a big one too! The trees are all on drip irrigation. It's a beautiful place.

It seems like there are a lot of positives:
-it has a serious water supply
-it has mature trees so there is shade
-if citrus is growing it means the soil can not be bad and it does not have serious freezes; you will have a long growing season
-it has an irrigation system to which you can add more emitters (after some calculations) and start growing right away
-last but not least, it's beautiful

The only negative I'm seeing in the info you have provided is the use of sprayed chemicals, but it would not diminish the positives (unless they were using heavy metal based compounds in the past).

Please make sure you are not in a flood zone if it's in some valley. In the mountains an innocent and idyllyic looking valley may turn into a lake when it pours.

Hi Dareios,

That sounds like a great find, congratulations!

If you like the place otherwise, go for it! I would replace some of the trees (the ones that are in awkward places, damaged or otherwise less-than-optimal) with other food forest plants after observing the place for one year.
You could get lots of other things done during that year.

Have you seen the movie Greatest Little Farm? They started with a monoculture orchard that had been sprayed 'to death' and turned it into a thriving permaculture paradise. Very inspiring to watch.

Good luck with following your dreams, keep us updated!

Cristobal Cristo wrote: The only negative I'm seeing in the info you have provided is the use of sprayed chemicals, but it would not diminish the positives (unless they were using heavy metal based compounds in the past).

There is more and more info out there about plants that will suck up specific metals (the lead/sunflower connection is the best studied one I'm aware of, but I know there's plenty more). You grow the plants, harvest and dry them, then landfill them to get the metals off your land. Some Mycelium do a good job of breaking down carbon based contaminants like used car oil.

I would start at the high point and work down so that what rain lands doesn't recontaminate the soil.

I would consider if there are people higher than the proposed land whose run-off could be a problem and plant a layered hedge of a mixture of plants to help clean any runoff.

One of the plusses of permaculture is its ability to take degraded an damaged land and rehabilitate it.

The realtor told us that the lower part of the property did flood a couple years ago...there is a seasonal river running along one side of the property, apparently the municipality dealt with it and it hasn't been a problem since, but who knows...that was my other big concern that I neglected to mention. Oh, and also the property is west facing, not sure if that's good or bad in Med climate...

Cristobal Cristo wrote:

Dareios Alexandre wrote:The property does have a well and it's a big one too! The trees are all on drip irrigation. It's a beautiful place.

It seems like there are a lot of positives:
-it has a serious water supply
-it has mature trees so there is shade
-if citrus is growing it means the soil can not be bad and it does not have serious freezes; you will have a long growing season
-it has an irrigation system to which you can add more emitters (after some calculations) and start growing right away
-last but not least, it's beautiful

The only negative I'm seeing in the info you have provided is the use of sprayed chemicals, but it would not diminish the positives (unless they were using heavy metal based compounds in the past).

Please make sure you are not in a flood zone if it's in some valley. In the mountains an innocent and idyllyic looking valley may turn into a lake when it pours.

I think west facing is better than south facing slope that I have. It's a scorching frying pan in summer. You will have less sun than I do and lower temperatures. Proximity to the sea will add humidity. It should be great.
Oranges indicate a gentler climate that will allow you to be more successful in gardening.
I can not grow oranges due to too many freezes that also translate into very late freezes and cold spring nights, hampering any vegetable growth. When the nights get warmer the days are already too hot and it's too late. With producing orange orchard you should not have these problems.

Dareios Alexandre wrote:The realtor told us that the lower part of the property did flood a couple years ago...

Again, there are many ways that a good permaculture design can work to benefit from nature's tendency towards occasional over abundance of resources.

The big questions always are -1)  where does that flood originate from, 2) what contaminates does the water pick up along the way (underground fuel tanks are a biggie in certain areas of Canada) 3) what infrastructure will be harmed at what height of water, 4) can the floods be sufficiently predictable that you can prevent damage.

I watched video of a very unexpected flood on a permaculture leaning farm - they grabbed bales of hay and made a new "river bank" 2 feet high and that was all they needed to protect their barn.  Infra structure on stilts or skids may be all that's needed. We have chickens in portable shelters and we know that they need to be in the 'upper field' for our soggy wet winters, but benefit from the lush grass in the 'lower field' during the summer.

Flooding used to be nature's way of refreshing the soil - read ancient literature about the River Nile and Egypt. But the Egyptians planned for that pattern and used it to their advantage.

Check out Regrarians' very affordable new remote sensing site assessment package, incorporating neighbouring parcels & impacting watersheds.  Look at public data like climate, soil & flood maps; test water; map trees into micro-climate/ keep/ work/ replace; estimate cost/ effort/ result of latter; etc.