starting small with food forests

Welcome to the forms Thomas, thank you for sharing your knowledge.  I'm in the process of purchasing land and deciding what to do with it.  Food forests have always been something I have wanted to do. I have helped to start  small sections of them but don't have any experience with them long term.  I can't wait to read your responses to questions and get a hold of your book.

Jennifer Paulson wrote:Welcome to the forms Thomas, thank you for sharing your knowledge.  I'm in the process of purchasing land and deciding what to do with it.  Food forests have always been something I have wanted to do. I have helped to start  small sections of them but don't have any experience with them long term.  I can't wait to read your responses to questions and get a hold of your book.

Hi Jennifer, good luck with your endeavours! Small experiments are the best way to learn in my experience -it allows you to make mistakes and correct them before you expand and use the lessons learnt on the larger scale. One thing I'd always advise it to think how a food forest fits into the biger picture of what you want to achieve with your land. What is it for - food production, learning, wildlife, aesthetic pleasure? Is it private, public or commercial space or a bit of everything? That wil have implications for how you lay out the site and what plants you choose. One of the best things edible plantings can do is define open spaces between them. Linear forest gardens are well suited to being a boundary and backdrop for all kinds of activities, from growing veg or raising livestock to camping or outdoor parties. Once again, good luck with your edible landscaping adventure!