Today we are talking all about Food Forests! We will share some of our favorite video tours for some food forest inspiration, and our Farm Fresh Tuesday featured article this week, is a great resource for learning how to start one of your own!
What is a Food Forest?
A food forest is a type of an edible landscape. It is a form of food gardening, where we mimic nature and have many layers of things growing, such as a ground cover, shrubs, under story and canopy with different food crop types planted together.
By understanding how natural forests grow and thrive on their own, we can take these lessons, and apply them to an edible forest, that we create.
Forests are where life thrives. They are a fertile land full of biodiversity. What better place to grow our food?
Yes, You Can Grow a Food Forest in Your Own Backyard
Is a food forest for you? Do you live in a housing development with a lawn in the backyard? As long as your home owner's association doesn't stand in your way, than yes, you can do this!
Food Forest Videos for Inspiration
Below, I will share video's of Food Forests, that will inspire you. First, a video describing what a food forest is, by popular permaculture educator.
Than 3 videos from larger operations showing their food forests, and then 3 smaller scale backyard food forests. I hope you enjoy them and learn something new to include into your food growing efforts.
Other articles you may be interested in:
Food Gardening for Beginners
Food Security Via Vegetable Gardening
How to Prune Your Apple Trees
Our favorite homesteading and gardening tools in our Amazon Store!
Our Garden Harvest Tally Spreadsheet is now available!
Permaculture Expert Geoff Lawton on What is a Food Forest?
Geoff Lawton is a world renowned permaculturist. In this video, he really breaks down for us what a food forest is.
Large Scale Food Forests:
Food Forest at 7200 ft in Colorado
Justin Rhodes on The Great American Farm tour, visited Jerome Osentowski at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute. The video starts with tours of their greenhouses, but I have it set to begin at the start of the Food Forest tour.
Food Forest in Quebec Canada
The Permaculture Orchard / Les Fermes - Miracle Farms is an amazing food forest. I also first saw this when watching the Great American Farm Tour again with Justin Rhodes.
Stephan Sobkowiak shows us around this amazing forest, and although it is on a much larger scale than a backyard, it is a super informative video on how to design a food forest. It also shows us how a food forest, can be much more productive than a conventional orchard.
I have skipped the beginning of the video where Justin's family has lunch with Stephan and one of his interns, and have the video set to begin at the beginning of the food forest tour.
Food Forest in Tennessee
This is yet another video by Justin Rhodes from his Great American Farm Tour (if you haven't watched all the episodes, you really should! They are great and you will learn so much!) This time Justin and family visit Cliff Davis at Spiral Ridge Permaculture Forest Gardens in Tennessee.
Cliff says this garden only takes about 2 days of maintenance PER YEAR!!!! This is why we need more food forests! They take care of themselves, AND grow food!
Small Scale Food Forests:
Backyard Food Forest in the Bay Area of California
Dan and Alice of Plant Abundance share their Low Maintenance Backyard Food Forest in northern California zone 9b. As their food forest has grown and aged, their work load has become less, and their garden bounty has grown!
Backyard Food Forest in South Carolina
Kaye Kittrell of the Late Bloomer Urban Organic Garden Show takes us on a tour with Tory, to see the food forest growing in Permaculture Homestead's backyard in Columbia, South Carolina.
t
Backyard Food Forest in Montana
Karen Erbe of Broken Ground, gives us a tour of her 5 yr old food forest in Bozeman, Montana, zone 4.
How to Establish a Fantastic Edible Food Forest Easily
See my friend Annie's article for more details about how to establish your own food forest!
How to Establish a Fantastic Edible Food Forest Easily from Annie at 15 Acre Homestead
Want to Remember This?
Don't forget this Food Forest Inspiration article!
Please pin "Food Forest Inspiration" to your favorite Gardening or Permaculture board on Pinterest!
Leave a Reply