Japanese cedar is another good shelterbelt tree, and there are many more.A forest of sufficient size will eventually create its own microclimate; however you may well need hardier species to take the edge off cold prevailing winds, especially in the early stages.Using a less intensive approach, you would allow trees their full expression of growth and accept that some fruit will be out of reach. Food forests, or edible forest gardens, are life-filled places that not only provide food for people, but habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestering, biodiversity, natural soil building, beauty and tranquility, and a host of other benefits â you just need to take a page from Mother Nature’s book.Itâs time to look at forest garden design. Finding out as much as possible about your site will give you a clear picture of its limitations and potential resources before you start to think about what will and will not work. Given that we have an irrigation channel to the west of the garden this meant that we could arrange irrigation channels and planting patterns to take advantage of gravity to irrigate all of the plants on the site.The irrigation channel design we choose determined the layout of our access which in turn provided us with a number of subdivisions within the plot.That’s all for this post, and in How to Design and Build A Forest Garden – Part 2 – Creating, we will look at how we selected plants for the design, the rationale behind our plant placement , how we prepared the site for the work to begin, how we established the irrigation channels, pathways and planting zones for the plants, our planting out techniques and how to manage the garden.If you enjoyed this post please leave us a comment and a like and even better share it with your friends on social media. ), herbs and salads (lemon balm, lovage, mints, ramsons, sorrel, young tree leaves such as lime, etc. Dense, spreading speciesâthe classic shade trees such as maple, sycamore, and beechâdonât work well in the forest garden because they cast deep shadows over a large area. Enter your email to subscribe to updates from Chelsea GreenWe cookies in order to give you the very best experience and support our mission. ).Non-edible yields, including medicinal plants (balms, eucalyptus, periwinkle, St Johns Wort, woundwort, etc. Not wild-foods advocate and author Katrina Blair. Phosphorous (which assists cell division, bud development and fruit set) and potassium (which assists fruiting, and provides disease resistance) are examples of two other important nutrients which may require targeted inputs in order to correct any deficiencies.Small trees or shrubs to consider include tagasaste, Acacia pravissma, and Siberian pea shrub (if you can get hold of the seed, try the Koanga Institute), or you could try native plants like poroporo and broom. I’m making a new video series to go with our popular forest garden design guide. Now employee-owned.Since 1984, Chelsea Green has been the leading publisher of books about organic farming, gardening, homesteading, integrative health, natural building, sustainable living, socially responsible business, and more. They are very enjoyable to design, build and interact with. Please note that we will always respect your privacy, and we will never sell, rent or otherwise share any information about any of our customers. These include black locust, mesquite, alder, and, in low-frost climates, acacia, algoroba, tagasaste, and carob. This design includes space for a forest garden, as well as raised beds for growing vegetables. Coaching, Design, & Maintenance for Edible Landscapes, Home Orchards, and Kitchen Gardens in the New England Area. You’re using soil amendments. Here in the north of the North Island for example, Northern Spy rootstock for apples is well adapted to heavier, wetter soils.The goal here is to shade the ground as quickly as possible because shade is the one natural enemy of kikuyu. Current Page: Home Our Story Services Get in Touch Blog Growing a community of gardeners. Some of these will be sacrificial, designed to be there for only a few years to assist fruit trees in getting established. It’s like a living, 3D, amorphous puzzle that you can eat.