The Forested Garden: What is a Food Forest?




The Two Categories of the Tree Layer in a Food Forest 
  • The understory – Smaller trees and larger shrubs such as apples, plums, cherries, peas, Cacao, Coffee etc. 
  • The canopy layer – Taller trees that rise above the understory like Mango, breadfruit, ackee, tamarind, coconut etc.

 

Please note is not trying to get rid of water from the property but trying his very best to control and retain water. Yes the excess will have to go eventually but water should always be on the property.  



How do we deal with mosquitoes with so much standing water? Mosquitoes do breed in water, but the larvae have to wriggle up and down to get air at the surface. That makes them perfect fish food. They won’t survive where fish is in water. The ideal spot for mosquitoes is too small for fish, something more like a muddy hoof print or little saucers under plant pots. Deal with those small bodies of water and the mosquito population will be greatly reduced. You can also design in other mosquito predators: bats, birds, frogs, lizards, and dragonflies. Favor the predator and disfavor the pests.  

What exactly is contour planning? Contour is a level line in landscape, and following it helps us harmonize with the land. Water can be the most destructive or most creative component of a landscape. Designing on contour pacifies water flows and spreads it, slowing down energy to soak it gently into the landscape. Life, then, thrives. One (contour) swale on Zaytuna Farm connects four dams so that, in a rain event, the water is even distributed and, afterwards, the moisture in the swale soaks into the landscape. Swales on contour also make easy walking because they are flat and level. The advantages of working on contour can also be applied to vegetable gardens, roads and other elements to get better results from our design.






1. Observe and interact. Keep a journal
2. Catch and store energy, I.e., rain water, leaf and grass compost
3. Obtain a yield, aesthetic yield, flowers for pollinators
4. Apply self regulation, use perennial plants
5. Use and value renewable resources, create your own natural fertilizer, pest control
6. Produce no waste, make everything in the garden have multiple uses
7. Design from pattern to detail, the flow of work down to the placement of individual plants
8. Integrate rather than segregate, space saving, flowers in with veggies
9. Use small and slow solutions, start slowly with low impact
10. Use and value diversity, use different plants and different methods. Be innovative and overlapping.
11. Use edges and value the margins, have vertical forms
12. Creatively use and respond to change. Is it dry? Respond with drip irrigation.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The British Cornish Pasty vs. The Jamaican Beef Patty

Image
I love my Jamaican Beef Patty and I do love the English Cornish Pasty. I am not sure which one came first or if they are even related but the concepts are the same. Take a delicious baked crust and fill it with tasty meaty goodness. In the case of a Cornish Pasty that tasty goodness is chunks of Genuine beef cooked with potatoes and swedes (turnips) and for an Authentic Jamaican Beef Patty,  the finest Genuine Jamaican beef. Maybe the English Cornish Pasty is related more to the Jamaican Meat Loaf than the Jamaican Beef Patty. What does a Cornish Pasty and a Jamaican Beef Patty Have in common? The British Government decided to impose a 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) on hot Cornish pasties. This resulted in a nation wide protest lead by the people of Cornwall against the proposed tax. Even people living in Calumet, Michigan, USA gathered a petition of 500 signatures to show their support. In the end the government was forced to reverse its plans to impose VAT on Cornish pasti
Read more

Holness Fortress!

Image
By Torsdag ©  ©  inmyownwords A friend recently sent me pictures of Andrew Holness’ house being built in Beverly Hills. Looking at the pictures brought several things to mind; some good, some indifferent, some bad. What it did remind me of, from an architectural standpoint, is an article I read that addresses the trickle-down theory of architecture written by Professor Witold Rybcyzynski. My thoughts prompted me to muse upon this said trickle-down theory of architecture as it pertains to the Jamaican house and what passes nowadays for Jamaican architecture. The fascination with the architecture of wealth and privilege still reigns supreme in our psyche. Though this is nothing new or specific to Jamaica, the way in which we classify and embody this notion, is. It is developed mainly through voyeurism: what we see on TV, the internet, social media, word of mouth and of course, what we – see. The big house on the hill was always, at least in my brief lifetime, something to as
Read more

Heroes and Nation Builders of Jamaica

Image
"He bared his chest and declared…If you are going to shoot, shoot me, but leave these defenceless, hungry people alone." ….Alexander Bustamante I once saw a play in the 80's at the little theater where the above was said by one of the actors and another actor shouted in response…..”A should a now!!” …to the laughter of the audience… His implication was that today's police would have obliged Alexander Bustamante and open fire killing him and everyone dead. I however think that if it was now there would be no one to play the role of Bustamante because that is not how our current so called leaders roll, we would simply be on our own. Market Woman early 1900 For me, the best part of Jamaican history is the period from 1900 to 1962. I call this period the Golden Age of the Nation Building. The fight against hard life and suffering experienced at the hands of British Colonialism. A time when the working class, Educated Class, middle and upper middle class came to
Read more