The Food Forest is across the sidewalk from the pollinator garden and next to the sayuyay Medicinal Sister Garden, where medicine meets food.

What is a Food Forest?

A Food Forest is a self-sustaining mosaic of biodiversity that mimics the natural structure of a forest. Food Forests include plants that form as many as nine layers and reflect the concept of permaculture (tcpermaculture.com). Once established, there is little to no need for weeding, watering, or using fertilizers and pesticides (permaculturenrews.org). Our Food Forest provides a place to learn about the plants that feed us, along with a sustainable form of agriculture.

Nine Possible Layers of a Food Forest

Canopy: Large fruit and/or nut trees. This layer helps water the rest of the plants by using its deep roots to pull up groundwater.
Low tree layer:  Dwarf fruit trees
Shrub layer: Currants and other berries
Herbaceous layer: Low-growing green plants such as onion and garlic
Soil surface: Ground covers such as strawberry
Vertical layer (if present): Climbing vines
Aquatic/wetland layer (if present): Stream or seasonal creek
Rhizosphere: “Root” layer such as carrots and potatoes
Mycelial/fungal layer: Underground fungal network that helps transport nutrients throughout the soil (tcpermaculture.com). This layer can also amend the soil over time. Damaged soils (resulting, for example, from an oil spill) can be amended through promoting mycelial growth by laying down layers of cardboard and introducing a layer of mushroom spores on top. The reason to add the cardboard first is that it acts as a food source for the mycelia. Over time, as the mycelia feed, they break down  toxins into their most basic molecules, essentially freeing the soil of harmful toxicity.

Permaculture
The word, permaculture, comes from the words “permanent,” “agriculture,” and “culture.” As stated by permaculture expert, Bill Mollison, “It is a philosophy of working with rather than against nature” (permaculture.net). Permaculture emphasizes following nature’s patterns and incorporating them into a means of living sustainably (www.healthcare.org)

Hugelkultur Beds
Our Food Forest contains three “hugelkultur” beds consisting of raised garden beds filled with rotting wood covered by soil. The wood provides a long term source of nutrients for plants through gradual decay. The wood also acts like a sponge, soaking up water that is released during dryer conditions. This idea mimics a nurse log (a naturally fallen tree that creates optimal conditions for other plants to flourish) in the natural forest. Some species of wood should be avoided in hugelkultur gardening, including black locust, black walnut, old growth redwood, western red cedar, and willow (www.permaculture.co.uk).