Curious how my cold climate food forest got started? See how it all began in this original tour of my food forest » ruclips.net/video/Kr8eK8pgYKs/видео.html
Hello, if you can't grow citrus in your climate I highly recommend planting quince tree ( Cydonia oblonga ) :) We grow it in Poland instead of lemons and use it for tea or for tinctures. It's really high in vitamin C and easy to grow. I'm sure it would be great in your awesome food forest 🙂 BTW greetings from Poland 💕
Thanks for the recommendation, I love that idea. Unfortunately, I think we're still a little too cold for quince, even. I've done some research before on them and it seems like we are one hardiness zone colder than what most quince can withstand. But I'll look again and see! Greetings back from Montana!
I’m in Colorado, zone 6 and had a beautiful thriving quince on my previous property, was funny bc we thought it was a pear our first season there and kept waiting for the fruit to ripen and it was so hard and sour. Then a friend said, you will be waiting a long time 😂. We made a pie out of the fruit once, cooked fruit in skillet to soften and it was awesome
Really like the open and clear way you communicate without inserting yourself too much. I love the idea of thinking of possible collaborations. Great job Kareen!
Yours is the prettiest and most diverse permaculture garden I have seen so far. I love all of the beautiful pollinating flowers and medicinal herbs that you have growing here and there throughout the garden. This is more what I envision for my own space though mine is so much smaller. You do a wonderful job communicating the purpose of what you have planted. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I am so grateful that Kareen shared how much it cost to put in all those plants. That she was able to do it for about $500 is truly amazing. It inspires me as I get ready to sell my home and purchase some land to grow a food forest of my own.
Thanks for watching Michael. Yes, the plants are never the most expensive thing, it's usually the fencing or hardscaping. I forgot to mention the cost of the deer fence in this video but that was about $2500 in materials and we did the labor. But that can certainly be done for less as well, or if you don't have deer pressure, then you're in even better shape. Good luck!
Yes, you can populate your food forest really inexpensively. The one thing that I didn't mention was the fence. That was the biggest expense so if you do have to put up a fence, it would be a little more but the plants themselves are not much of an investment, especially if you can get them from other local gardeners! Are you putting in your own food forest?
Bozeman rocks! I have set tile commercially at Bozeman Mall, lots of times, years ago....I almost moved to Livingston....I'm in WA...The folks are really warm and good, especially for a college town....We hired local men for work, and they were definetly no strangers to work...Some of the most able folks I have ever met.....It sure is nice there! But it gets frigid cold there....Not as bad as Browning, though....Your channel is a rare gem....People all around the northern world will find great value as they gleam from your experience....
I just discovered your channel. I've watched the 2 food forest tours so far and they are super helpful and inspirational! I finally have some land and I have a space dedicated to a food forest and can't wait to get started building it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Wonderful food forest! in reference to the comfrey and the pollinators that adores its flowers, I have seen that if you step on it to push it to the side, the plant will send up new growth while continuing to flower.
This is so cool! Thanks for the tour. I'm moving to hardiness zone 4b and wasn't sure much was going to be possible. It's awesome to see how your food forest is thriving!
Yes! There are so many options out there. We often think that we're limited because of our cold climate but we can still grow apples, pears, plum, sour cherries and all sorts of berries! Good luck with your project!
I live in northern maine and it gives me so much hope seeing this video. I have a ton of research ahead of me before I can get started but its just really nice seeing a food forest that isn't somewhere tropical
Oh, I'm so glad! Yes, I find there is so much less information about temperate food forests out there. I hope to make another video in a couple of years with yet another update. Good luck!
Just found you, and watched 3 videos right away. I've now subscribed, and will be learning lots from you that will work for my mini-food forest in Tacoma WA. Thank you!
Wonderful Gary! Glad you found me and thanks for watching the videos! Good luck with establishing your food forest in Tacoma. You'll have so many more plants to choose from!
I just found this channel. So informative. I am starting my own food forest this coming year on my one acre property. The really nice thing about it is my land backs onto a forest so it will be super beautiful. The other really nice thing that I love about all of this is that I am not having to fight against any natural forces to get food. The more I learn, the more I realize it’s a circle of life that keeps on giving. I have an area mapped out to the left of my house for a formal orchard because I love the look of it. But I am also going to plant some huge tall fruit trees for the birds and bees and anybody else who wants to eat them in the forest. Thanks for all the information. I am now thinking about the herbs and medicinal plants that will go into it. And, I also really love the Egyptian walking onions that are randomly placed. ☮️💕
My land IS a forest so I'm trying to cut trees away and replace them with food lol hopefully I can blend the food forest in with the rest of the forest so it's unnoticeable
I don’t think most of us realize a food forest already exists in our back yard. After coming across great content like yours I think about the plants that have always been in my yard that I never considered edible. Like when the squirrels run pass me with walnuts in their mouth, never thought about harvesting for myself. Great white pine tress for medicinal use, like seriously lambs quarter as spinach substitute. Continue to encourage food forest, the planet needs us to change the way we eat. 🌟
That what I'm doing this year. Just letting everything grow and identifying what needs to stay, be trained, and freed from deep forest canopy. Turns out I have a bunch of hazelnut, blackberry, rasberry, pawpaw. It's been hardwork clearing everything up but so rewarding.
Great Food Forest! I'm a bit further north from you in Zone 3 Saskatchewan. Working on creating my own food forest and always looking for plants hardy in my zone.
Thank you so much for sharing this space! I'm moving to an area in the same zone as you (but in Wyoming) in a few months and have been doing homework on colder climate systems. This is a real inspiration for my own food forest project that I've been brainstorming this last year on. Taking ALL the notes, love the detail regarding the different plants you've integrated and the advice you dropped along the way. I'm sure I'll be using this and your other videos as a reference on plant ideas to try for years once I get up there and situated!
Wonderful to hear Rosalynn! Thanks for watching the video. Exciting that you'll be installing a food forest of your own. Good luck and reach out if you need any more advice!
I'm glad to see you do another video to show the progression. There are too many videos where folks show a garden they are just planning. Not very useful until we see if the idea has turned out. Thumbs up! Your video is especially applicable to me as I am in a Canadian zone 5 which is zone 4 USA.
Yes, agreed, I hope to make another video this summer or next. So important to understand the succession of these food forests. They are dynamic systems after all! Thanks for watching!
@@BrokenGround You are welcome Kareen, I have created charts for all the wealth of information you so generously share. I'm wondering who you trust for your seeds and plants in the area?
@@SuperHealthychoices Triple Divide Seeds is good and any local grower I trust. Gallatin Valley Botanical, Three Hearts Farm and Amaltheia Dairy all sell seedlings in the spring. I would buy from any of them. Good luck!
Just found your channel. I am sure you're in for a good season this year too. I'm beginning our large project on our new property. 2yr in. Line of 6B/7A we do use greenhouse also.
Just found these presentations and they are extraordinary!!! We have just downsized and have 4.5 acres we are working with and have started this year with our working forest planning. Two thoughts: first is do you have a personal list or best research book(s) to review for all the plants and their benefits that you have been able to incorporate into your food forest? (Your thoughts on why you were including plants were most helpful.) This would be for a cold climate found in Vermont. And second, as our forests become more divided through population expansion/development, our natural biodiversity and resulting diminishing habitat for the animals that are needed to keep the planet healthy are diminishing. Each small landowner needs to think more about this and less about having acres of a nice manicured lawn. A neighborhood working together could create a beautiful habitat with natural animal pathways and be more involved with nature for a more healthy environment, both for the animals and themselves. Thanks again.
Glad you found my channel and thanks for watching the video! I completely agree that we need to move more homeowners into planting food forests or native trees/shrubs/flowers to encourage biodiversity. Lawns are so wasteful and boring :-). I get so many yields from my food forest at a fraction of the water use. As to your question - Dave Jacke's book, Edible Forest Gardens is a great resource for lists of trees/shrubs and herbaceous perennials for food forests. In the second volume of that book, he has an extensive reference guide that lists the plants, their uses and the hardiness zones. I would definitely check those out. Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden also has some good plant lists as well, in addition to Eric Toensmeier's book, Paradise Lot. Hope that helps!
Hello! This is wonderful. I am hoping to plant a food forest with my gf in a similar zone/climate in Colorado and this is very motivating since we don't see many cold climate forests with such diversity often! Could you potenitally do a similar tour of the forest but in these snowy winter months when plants are less productive? I think it would be great to see what it looks like and it would give a more full picute of the system you have here :)
Hi Mohamed! I'm glad the video was helpful to you. While I could do one in the winter months, it's not terribly interesting ;-). Everything is brown and dormant and often covered in snow. But I'll try! I'm not sure if you're on instagram but here's another video of the food forest in the spring: instagram.com/p/Cf70N11AQSo/
Kareen thank you for this video. We are enlarging our garden this year and want to put in a raised bed of strawberries. My question for you is where should we buy our strawberries, and should we buy June bearing or ever bearing? I am so thankful that I found your channel. It’s so great to have you live so close to us. There a lot of channels of gardening but with being zones in warmer climates much of their information doesn’t work for us here in the Gallatin Valley. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, experience and your beautiful gardens with us.
You're welcome Marilyn, I'm glad you found me! As to your question - it's probably best to get June-bearing strawberries since our season is so short, that will ensure at least one harvest for you. You can buy bare root and/or potted strawberries at Cashman nursery. I think they also have them at the Garden Barn. Are you on my newsletter list? If you want to receive regular updates from me, you can get on it here if you haven't already: brokengroundpermaculture.com/free-garden-tips/
Thanks for this video! Im in the process of starting my own food forest and seeing yours, which is absolutely stunning, keeps the motivation high - its our first year and everything is still so small I can not believe it will grow. Do you maybe have a book recommendation or another resource on how to plan the different layers?
Yay! Glad the video was motivating for you. Thanks for watching. In terms of resources, Dave Jacke's Edible Forest Gardens is a really great resource in terms of species. However, the books are a little overwhelming. In the future, I'm thinking of doing a course on food forest design alone since there are always questions about it. Stay tuned! What I would recommend is to design guilds around each of your fruit trees. Understand that each tree needs a n-fixer, soil builder, and insectary plants surrounding it. I usually plant at least one comfrey plant per fruit tree and either plan on a n-fixing shrub or n-fixing herbaceous layer. Then, you can be creative with the other plants. Be sure to plant in threes or fives with the herbaceous layer just so the pollinators have an easier time with it. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions and good luck!
@@BrokenGround Wow thank you so much for taking the time to answer! Ill check out the book you mentioned, but the advice of going guild by guild sounds much less overwhelming than planning an entire layer already. Are you planning on making online courses?
@@elisaullien7702 I am definitely considering doing a food forest online design workshop, though it might not be until next year! I'll announce it here if I do as I definitely know there is an interest! Stay tuned!
Wow your French tarragon is huge, (and your oregano)! Mine only reaches about 24-30 inches, though I’m in zone 3. Thank you for this clear, informative, and honest video, super helpful and beautiful! 👍🏻
Wow, your apple tree is pruned really nicely. That elderberry has crazy flowers, I never really considered planting that but it may be worth it just for those flowers! Lupines are tricky, I heard that most of them don't live more than 3 years and I have a heck of a time getting them to germinate, even when I cold stratify and scarify them.
Interesting about the lupins. They grow like weeds here (SW Alberta, Zone 3C(Chinook)-4A) which is fine because of the nitrogen fixing, beautiful flowers and don't last forever....
@@ediblelandscaping1504 That might explain it, I am in zone 8. Perhaps I'm not getting enough freeze/thaw cycles? I can try putting them in the freezer or something.
Love seeing this lush food forest in our cold climate! I'm also in Bozeman and just starting to build up a garden, so this provides a ton of inspiration and locally relevant tips -- thank you! Do you harvest your Siberian peas? We have a huge, beautiful old hedge of them, so I harvested some the pods last year once they'd dried (in around mid-August) and found that they made an absolutely delicious stand-in for lentils, with a tasty, delicate pea flavor. I see very little discussion of these plants as a food but have found them to be unbelievably prolific and they pretty much shell themselves if you put them in a bucket in the hot sun (the popping sound is quite amusing, too). I also wondered if you've experimented with growing mushrooms (e.g., oysters, wine caps) as part of a food forest system... any ideas on doing this successfully in a way that supports fruit trees and other plants?
Thanks for watching the video and glad you found me! That's great that you're starting to build up a garden in Bozeman! If you haven't already, definitely sign up for my newsletter as I host work parties and potlucks if you'd like to join! As to your question, I haven't harvested the siberian peas but let the chickens take advantage of them. But I love that idea. It's good to know that they could be an additional food source. I might try it this year so I appreciate the inspiration! As to your question about mushrooms - a couple of my friends inoculated some of the wood chip in my food forest with King Stropharia mushrooms several years ago and they come up every year depending on the rainfall. This year I've had three flushes so far so it's been great! I think oyster mushrooms would work as well.
@@BrokenGround I signed up, and am looking forward to joining a work party sometime one of these days soon! I hope the pea harvesting experiment goes well, and thanks for the mushroom tips! Inoculating with king stropharia seems like a great idea, maybe a next year project. Thanks so much for the recommendations! I've been trying out using spent mushroom blocks (mostly oyster) from a local producer as mulch around our new fruit trees, and they've been flushing for the last month or so! I'm curious to know whether they're beneficial for the trees or not... so far the trees seem happy too. We'll see!
@@MadisonStevens-p7p Great! Looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming work party or potluck. And are you using Sporeattic mushroom blocks? We used some of those last year in the public food forest and they did well. I've been meaning to get with those guys to get some for my food forest as well. Let me know how the experiment goes! I'm sure they're beneficial in some way. Probably the native varieties of oyster mushrooms would ultimately be better (I'm not sure what varieties Sporeattic uses) but I'm sure they play a role!
@@BrokenGround Yes, they are from Sporeattic!! It seems to be going really well -- I've found the oysters are doing better than other varieties (the Lion's Mane can't really fruit with the variable temps and low humidity, and the Chestnuts produced a few but couldn't really get established). All of the oyster varieties seem quite happy to flush though. I think it seems like single variety beds do better than mixed ones, but the mixed ones have flushed too, so not totally clear. I've mixed some beds with straw (because it's what I had on hand) and some just as is, with burlap underneath to suppress weeds, but I think wood chips would be a better substrate (and would keep them cleaner). I keep meaning to rent a chipper to make some mulch from our downed cottonwood branches. So neat that you guys have done that in the public food forest! Where is that located? I'd love to check it out!
Yes, the public food forest is the Story Mill learning garden and food forest at Story Mill Park. It’s an acre park within the larger park. On the north end of the park.
So, just curious - we have a cabin up north in Michigan (zone 5b). We vacation there, but we don't live there. Could I start a food forest in the small field on our property, if I'm not there to water it regularly, and just rely on mulching heavily? I'd like to plant a variety of fruit trees; apple, pear, cherry, paw paw, and plum. And in-between, just plant a variety of hearty perennial flowers. I would plan on getting in a ton of mulch. I'd be able to water it initially, and in subsequent trips up there. But not on a regular basis. I'm just now learning about Food Forests, and learning about swales, and plants to put in to keep deer from eating your stuff (like the Seabuckthorn) and lots of thorny berry plants. So, yeah, I'd be wanting to plant Raspberries and Blackberries too. I'm going to order Rosemary Morrow's Book, Eart User's Guide to Permaculture - but I'm getting a lot of great information from your channel. So thank you very much for the walking tours.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching. As to your question - it would depend on what sort of rainfall you get in the summer in Michigan. Our summers are hot and dry but it seems like you get a little more precipitation in Michigan. I'd research that and then see. Even for our dry climate, I'm still only watering the fruit trees once/week during July and August. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!
On the matter of cost of creation: I have scores of elder, willow and eastern redbud cuttings working on rooting over this winter. All free from roadside plants. This spring I'll be harvesting catalpa seeds, again from roadside trees. Local conservation districts generally have tree/shrub sales with very reasonably priced bare root seedlings available. Some will ship outside their area. Where we are in Michigan there are numerous seed and plant swaps in the early spring where people will share and trade plant materials at no cost. It isn't necessary to buy in everything as large plants from nurseries - indeed, that's not necessarily a path to success. As of my last review, I'm not sure that any of the larger, expensive specimens I planted have survived. I am certain most of them have not.
Yes, great ideas Peter, thanks for sharing. There are definitely so many ways in which to procure plants without buying them. Appreciate you including these tips!
Hi Kareen, I am in a similar climate in Eastern Colorado. I wonder if you could make an in depth video of creating microclimates that protect trees and plants from extreme wind and that catch water from snow. What strategies do you use? How do you assess your site to create an oasis for your plants? Do you find yourself thinking a lot in terms of windbreaks and catching snow? I feel like for me, that is becoming a priority as high as sun for my design. Do you think planting a food forest in a high plains area is fighting nature or can we make it work with good planning? Trees just struggle soooooo much where I live but it's not being done in a permaculture way. Many people in permaculture are in very wet environments and its so hard to find people doing this in my kind of climate so I'm so happy to have found you!
Also wondering if you find that some shade is helpful in your area for plants that typically need full sun? Our sun is so intense out here. I wonder if dappled afternoon shade (Maybe also helping with hail) would be a good design.
Glad you found me and sorry for the delay in replying! I did put in two swales which helps with water capture in terms of snow accumulation. Wind is certainly a limiting factor in getting plants established. On my site, it's less of an issue but temperature drops and extreme unpredictable weather certainly hits us. I think the key is to 'stack your system'. In other words, try all sorts of species and some things will thrive and some won't. The other suggestion would be some sort of initial windbreak. You could build it with strawbales, for example, and then later use that straw for sheet mulching. I also had another friend use bamboo screens that she connected to the fence and that seemed to help as well, until plants were better established. Also, using more drought tolerant hardy plants to be 'nurse' plants for other trees in the food forest is another good idea. So plants like Siberian Pea Shrub would be a good idea. They are drought tolerant, nitrogen-fixing, and grow fast and easily. Once they are established, they can provide shade, nutrient and a possible windbreak for the other fruit-producing plants.
@@jcmustian It could be. I do find that the full sun helps with yields but given the lack of water, sometimes things do dry out quickly. I think heavy mulch and tons of organic matter are going to help tremendously and maybe think about more nurse plants to create a better microclimate.
We live in Helena. I really enjoy this video. I aspire our hill to some day look like this as it’s not suitable for animals and it has no job like the rest of our place.
I also don't freak out about grass. A bit of grass may be pumping exudates into the ground on the liquid carbon pathway. The best soil life generation mix that boosts inter species quorum sensing is supposed to be multispecies grass, grain, legume, chenopod and brassica mixes. I love the wild look of your forest, it will be so good for biodiversity. Love your use of native plants for invertebrate support. Doug Tallamy and others claim that native oak, willow and prunus support the most invertebrate life in north America but many of the berry bushes are good too. Well done.
Hi, greetings from Bulgaria. I just started my BTE food forest.i can't wait to see it explode. Lol I only gonna invest 200 lev in the system but that is plenty for me All the best to yiu and yours from the Balkans
@@BrokenGround HI. I was actually looking for motivation for my food forest and your video popped up . I want to make my .4 of an acre super productive so I can feed me mom, my 6 dogs ,and my 19 cats and bunny for free. I am copying many methods . Ha I am thinking of making my cats and dogs vegetarians. Thank you for the inspiration!
This is great! I'm so glad I found your channel. I live in Cranbrook BC, zone 3/4 and developing a food forest on 1/4 acre land. I had been considering comfrey, sunchokes and sea buckthorn, but got a bit scared off by other videos that showed how much they can spread. I have already dug out the gogi berries after I saw somebody's property first hand at how the suckers are going everywhere through their property. And I gave up on the idea of wild licorice as they have roots 9ft long. Your video encourages me that maybe the comfrey, sunchokes and seabuckthorn can grow in an area and not spread. Would you recommend I reconsider growing them and just plan to not move them and just snip suckers? If so, regarding comfrey, would recommend the strain blocking 4 or 14? or the regular invasive one? Also, do you have any thoughts on the goji berries and wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)? Thank you so much for this video. Katrin
I'm glad you found my channel! Thanks for watching! As to your questions - I would definitely plant comfrey (bocking 14 would be good) though I have the regular invasive one and in the context of a food forest I find it doesn't really matter if it spreads. If anything, it outcompetes the grass which is a problem in my food forest so I'm fine with some more invasive plants that are more useful than grass! Also, comfrey is so beneficial and I use it in my annual garden so I like to have an abundance. I haven't had a problem with sunchokes either or the seabuckthorn. However, I know that seabuckthorn can become an issue and it has in some other gardeners food forests. I've tried planting goji berries and they don't seem to take in my soil or it just might be a little too cold for them. Sometimes invasiveness is not such a problem, though, because who wouldn't want more goji berries? ;-) I don't have experience with wild licorice. I think the question for you to ask is how much management do you want to do and how much are you willing to let things go a little wild? If you like things to be more tidy and contained, then I might only put in comfrey and forget about the other plants. But food forests are also meant to be wild and dynamic systems so a little bit of things getting out of control is also okay. But I would weigh the time and energy you want to dedicate to the food forest along with the benefits you might derive from some of these plants. Get back to your goals and if they is a comparable non invasive species, I might choose that, or a native one that fulfills a similar role. Hopefully that helps!
Kareen, thank you for such a lovely, informative tour of your successful food forest! I am at the beginning stages of building my food forest. Our property is within the boundaries of a nature preserve in northern Colorado (zone 5b). I have a number of substantial challenges: high wind, intense heat, drought. But my number one concern is that building a food forest will invite the wildlife in overwhelming numbers. Picture a heard of 500 elk migrating through, or multiple families of bears that ravage any fruit trees I plant. We have plans to build a 2 fence system over time, but that will be no match for many of the animals. How would you handle this particular challenge?
Thanks for watching the video, Rachel. Yes, 500 elk migrating through your property does present a challenge! My recommendation would be to build the food forest as close to your house as possible so that the animals would already be avoiding that area. I'd also want to know the scale of what you are planning. We have a 7 foot fence around our property made with cedar posts and welded wire and that has kept deer and bear out. We did have a bear scale one of the trees close by once and get in but I'd say that was an exception, instead of the rule. I might build the fence first, and then you may have to electrify it if it becomes a problem. Often, if it's small enough, deer and elk won't want to jump into a smaller space, especially if it's a two fence system. And if it's close to the house, they often just have a tendency to go around. Since you're within a preserve, I imagine there is a lot of forage outside the fence as well? Alot of it might be experimentation, with the possibility that you might lose some plants at the beginning but a balance might establish itself over time. Good luck!
Thanks for watching! I put hardware cloth (wire) around each of my tree trunks to protect them from voles. I have a neighborhood cat that comes in to hunt but voles have definitely been a problem. I've also used the Molemax Mole and Vole repellent product that is a natural deterrent for voles and moles. I'll broadcast a bunch of that in the food forest in the fall. It's definitely a challenge though!
I love mint spreading. I bought a house with acre of woods in the back. I bought it because im allergic to grass. I came to find out the back yard has a lot of mint 👌. Witch is nice and im planing on purposely put in some strawberry mint and orange mint. Also smells so good when i cut it much better than sneezing
Fun that your backyard has a lot of mint. And yes, it smells so good when you walk through it! Strawberry and orange mint?! You must be in a hardiness zone that's warmer than us! Sounds delicious!
Hi Kareen, I am wondering what your thoughts are on growing Ponderosas and other pine trees within the food forest? I love the evergreens! Science has shown the walnut tree does damage and not much research on the pines...although there are opinions.
Pine trees are a little tricky in a food forest because they create really acidic soil and the deep shade that they have. I'm sure you've noticed how nothing grows below a pine tree. They also take up a lot of space. Depending on the space that you have available, you could potentially have them on the north side of a food forest and they could serve to create a bit of a microclimate.
I live in Zone 4 and my whole life I've been told that I need to control my mint or it will choke everything else out. Is that true? should I not add mint to my permaculture?
I have mint everywhere in my food forest and it's great! It helps compete with the grass and creates a great groundcover. I don't think it outcompetes other perennial plants. I agree that you wouldn't want it too close to your annual gardens but in a food forest context, I don't mind if it gets out of control.
Unfortunately, I think we're a little too cold for pyracantha but that would be a great option in slightly warmer growing zones. Thanks for the suggestion!
I really like your video and found it very informative. I was wondering if a food forest would be something I would be able to do in a forest that has had a lot of trees fall so there is quite a bit of sunlight in that area.
Thanks for watching the video! As to your question - it might be possible. Most fruit trees want full sun for the best yields so at least 8 hours of sunlight. Does that forested area have that kind of sun? If so, then it might be a great place to put some fruit trees. If not, there are some shrubs that produce in partial shade (e.g. gooseberries, raspberries, currants) so you could consider that as well.
@@raemariesauerhoefer5211 So yes, then I think it would definitely be a good option. Just maybe take some time to observe the site and make sure it gets adequate sunlight for a good portion of the day. Good luck!
I would like to lerarn how the annual plants like carrots, corn, cabbage expand/spread and what are the best kinds of plants to plant in a middle European climate with cold winters. do i need to cut down the nitrogen fixing plants in order to give nitrogen to my vegetables?
Yes, you'll need to cut back the nitrogen-fixing plants when they are flowering in order for the nitrogen to feed the soil. I'm not sure I know what you mean by how annual plants spread. There are a bunch of self-seeding annuals that you can plant (like kale, orach, calendula) that will go to seed and then volunteer every year. It's a little harder with carrots, corn and cabbage but maybe elaborate on your question and I'll try to answer it!
Have you tried growing "Moringa" in any way shape or form? I'm in Zone 7a in Idaho and am going to attempt to grow some on a south facing wall in a mini DIY greenhouse. I'll have to cut it back and super mulch in the winter but I'm going to see what will happen. I'm slowly building my own Food Forest in the backyard. I'm just starting year 4 so everything is still very young and yeah, it has ups and downs for what lives and dies there. Love the videos.
Thanks for watching! I haven't tried growing moringa but it's worth a shot, given your more mild climate, especially if you're using a greenhouse. Agreed! Every year it's an experiment as to what works and what doesn't. I've tried apricots and arctic kiwi for two years and I've discovered it's just too cold on my site. But you often don't know until you try! Good luck!
I totally get it, it's definitely a challenge! I've sort of accepted that there is going to be a certain amount of grass in my food forest system. Unless you have an army of helpers, you're never going to get it all! I just figure it contributes to the wildness, which means more habitat for birds, bees and other insects!
How do you winterize your Jerusalem artichokes? I was going to put a couple in pots because the literature said in 7a (and you're colder) that I'd have to bring them inside for the winter???
Thanks for watching the video, Leslie! Are you thinking of globe artichokes, as opposed to Jerusalem artichokes? The latter survive down to USDA hardiness zone 2 so there is no need for me to winterize as they survive fine as a perennial. Let me know!
@@BrokenGround Yes, I meant Jerusalem artichoke. I looked it up again and I still found conflicting info. Maybe it's just one particular article I keep hitting on. Thanks! for your feedback!
@@lesliekendall2206 That's so strange. It definitely overwinters here. From my research, it looks like it's good from USDA Hardiness zones 3-9 so you should be just fine!
You could definitely go vertical with your garden beds and use trellises to get more yield in a small space. So trellis what you can and grow high value crops in the rest of the space and those that are best fresh from the garden (e.g. tomatoes, cukes, herbs, lettuce and other greens). Some other veggies are often less expensive from local farmers or the store (i.e. carrots, onions, potatoes) so I wouldn't take up your limited space with those. Is there an option to get a community garden and/or partner with a neighbor if you need more space? When I was a renter and had limited space, I had part of my garden at my rental and then was able to rent an additional plot in town where I grew more veggies. Hope that helps!
Great video. How do you keep deer from eating everything? Is that a deer fence around the area? Is that cost included in the $600-700 total cost you mentioned?
Thanks for watching the video. Yes, there is a deer fence around the area. That cost wasn't included in the $600-700 figure. Depending on the size of your food forest, the type of fencing, and whether you do the labor yourself, that will run you an additional $1000-$2000.
We have a 7 foot fence around our backyard. 4 x 4 cedar posts and welded wire. It was one of the first things that we installed as we have quite a few deer in this area.
Coppicing the plum tree might be an ideal way to restore its health, although I'm definitely no expert so you might want to do your own research on that haha.
Sure, I don't see why not! Just make sure you are giving them the growing conditions that they need. I love food forests because they definitely give you some room to experiment and be creative.
It's a great food forest but it gives me a bit of anxiety not having order. I think syntropic agroforestry is a good compromise for those who have OCD and like straight lines. It still maximizes edge.
You're great with money management if you only spent 6-700$ nice job! Many people will only buy 10 potted fruit trees for that from a nursery . Bare root is the way to go from the wholesaler!
Indeed! I totally get it. If you're more of a linear, straight edge person, the wildness of a food forest might drive you a little nutty :-). Best to go with what resonates with you!
Funny! No, it honestly doesn't take that much money to establish. One cost I didn't include was the deer fence, which was the most expensive part of the project. The fence cost us $2000 in materials and we did the labor ourselves. But once you have that, the plants themselves are quite inexpensive!
Curious how my cold climate food forest got started? See how it all began in this original tour of my food forest » ruclips.net/video/Kr8eK8pgYKs/видео.html
Hello, if you can't grow citrus in your climate I highly recommend planting quince tree ( Cydonia oblonga ) :) We grow it in Poland instead of lemons and use it for tea or for tinctures. It's really high in vitamin C and easy to grow. I'm sure it would be great in your awesome food forest 🙂 BTW greetings from Poland 💕
Thanks for the recommendation, I love that idea. Unfortunately, I think we're still a little too cold for quince, even. I've done some research before on them and it seems like we are one hardiness zone colder than what most quince can withstand. But I'll look again and see! Greetings back from Montana!
@@BrokenGround Thank you for the answer :)
Thanks for the tip! Greetings from Norway.
they are a bugger to process though - hard to cut into - then must be boiled ??? they do smell divine !
I’m in Colorado, zone 6 and had a beautiful thriving quince on my previous property, was funny bc we thought it was a pear our first season there and kept waiting for the fruit to ripen and it was so hard and sour. Then a friend said, you will be waiting a long time 😂. We made a pie out of the fruit once, cooked fruit in skillet to soften and it was awesome
This is great! It's hard to find cold climate food forest examples. Most are in tropical and sub tropical places.
Yes, definitely! We need more examples of cold climate food forests so hopefully you're planting one too! Thanks for watching!
Really like the open and clear way you communicate without inserting yourself too much. I love the idea of thinking of possible collaborations. Great job Kareen!
Great, thanks so much for watching!
Wow. Great system. I’m a zone 5b forester. Always enjoy a walk through someone else’s system. Great works you’ve got growing on.
Thanks for watching!
Wow nice video !! Thank you so much for this video. I compost and love gardening also. Learned good things from you.
You're welcome! Thanks so much for watching and glad it was helpful!
I`m single and wish to find a girl like you ! LOL
Yours is the prettiest and most diverse permaculture garden I have seen so far. I love all of the beautiful pollinating flowers and medicinal herbs that you have growing here and there throughout the garden. This is more what I envision for my own space though mine is so much smaller. You do a wonderful job communicating the purpose of what you have planted. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Thanks so much and thanks for watching the video! Good luck with creating your own space!
I am so grateful that Kareen shared how much it cost to put in all those plants. That she was able to do it for about $500 is truly amazing. It inspires me as I get ready to sell my home and purchase some land to grow a food forest of my own.
Thanks for watching Michael. Yes, the plants are never the most expensive thing, it's usually the fencing or hardscaping. I forgot to mention the cost of the deer fence in this video but that was about $2500 in materials and we did the labor. But that can certainly be done for less as well, or if you don't have deer pressure, then you're in even better shape. Good luck!
So relaxing watching your forest and comments.
I’ve been waiting for this update! Thanks, it looks beautiful!
Wonderful! Thanks for watching!
I'm impressed with the low cost by which you created all this
Yes, you can populate your food forest really inexpensively. The one thing that I didn't mention was the fence. That was the biggest expense so if you do have to put up a fence, it would be a little more but the plants themselves are not much of an investment, especially if you can get them from other local gardeners! Are you putting in your own food forest?
@@BrokenGround I would if I could but my property is very small
Bozeman rocks! I have set tile commercially at Bozeman Mall, lots of times, years ago....I almost moved to Livingston....I'm in WA...The folks are really warm and good, especially for a college town....We hired local men for work, and they were definetly no strangers to work...Some of the most able folks I have ever met.....It sure is nice there! But it gets frigid cold there....Not as bad as Browning, though....Your channel is a rare gem....People all around the northern world will find great value as they gleam from your experience....
Thanks for watching and yes, it gets quite cold here for sure!
Another great tour! Thanks for the design considerations as well. Very helpful!
Thanks so much for watching. Glad the design considerations were helpful for you!
I just discovered your channel. I've watched the 2 food forest tours so far and they are super helpful and inspirational! I finally have some land and I have a space dedicated to a food forest and can't wait to get started building it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
You're welcome Anne! Thanks for watching the videos and I'm glad they are helpful for your project. Good luck!
Wonderful food forest! in reference to the comfrey and the pollinators that adores its flowers, I have seen that if you step on it to push it to the side, the plant will send up new growth while continuing to flower.
Thanks for watching and interesting tip about the comfrey! I'll try that out this season!
This was very interesting. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks for watching!
Wonderful tour! Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome Jill!
Food forest lifestyle looks spectacular on Kareen. I enjoy all of your posts! Thank you. Jim.
Thanks so very much. Really terrific presentation.
Thanks for watching Brigette!
Hug someone every time she says system.
This is so cool! Thanks for the tour. I'm moving to hardiness zone 4b and wasn't sure much was going to be possible. It's awesome to see how your food forest is thriving!
Yes! There are so many options out there. We often think that we're limited because of our cold climate but we can still grow apples, pears, plum, sour cherries and all sorts of berries! Good luck with your project!
I live in northern maine and it gives me so much hope seeing this video. I have a ton of research ahead of me before I can get started but its just really nice seeing a food forest that isn't somewhere tropical
Oh, I'm so glad! Yes, I find there is so much less information about temperate food forests out there. I hope to make another video in a couple of years with yet another update. Good luck!
Great video , very informative.
I can only dream of having a garden like yours .
Congrats 👏 👏
Thanks for watching Zeni and you can do it! It just takes a few years to get established!
this is a really brilliant and informative video, thank you
Thanks for watching Molly!
Just found you, and watched 3 videos right away. I've now subscribed, and will be learning lots from you that will work for my mini-food forest in Tacoma WA.
Thank you!
Wonderful Gary! Glad you found me and thanks for watching the videos! Good luck with establishing your food forest in Tacoma. You'll have so many more plants to choose from!
I just found this channel. So informative. I am starting my own food forest this coming year on my one acre property. The really nice thing about it is my land backs onto a forest so it will be super beautiful. The other really nice thing that I love about all of this is that I am not having to fight against any natural forces to get food. The more I learn, the more I realize it’s a circle of life that keeps on giving. I have an area mapped out to the left of my house for a formal orchard because I love the look of it. But I am also going to plant some huge tall fruit trees for the birds and bees and anybody else who wants to eat them in the forest. Thanks for all the information. I am now thinking about the herbs and medicinal plants that will go into it. And, I also really love the Egyptian walking onions that are randomly placed. ☮️💕
Thanks for watching the video and glad the information was useful. Sounds like a great and exciting project!
My land IS a forest so I'm trying to cut trees away and replace them with food lol hopefully I can blend the food forest in with the rest of the forest so it's unnoticeable
Beautiful spot!
Thanks for watching!
I don’t think most of us realize a food forest already exists in our back yard. After coming across great content like yours I think about the plants that have always been in my yard that I never considered edible. Like when the squirrels run pass me with walnuts in their mouth, never thought about harvesting for myself. Great white pine tress for medicinal use, like seriously lambs quarter as spinach substitute.
Continue to encourage food forest, the planet needs us to change the way we eat. 🌟
Yes, couldn't agree more! Thanks for watching the video!
Your food forest is beautiful. How do you trim the grass on the border of the forest?
That what I'm doing this year. Just letting everything grow and identifying what needs to stay, be trained, and freed from deep forest canopy.
Turns out I have a bunch of hazelnut, blackberry, rasberry, pawpaw. It's been hardwork clearing everything up but so rewarding.
Awesome tour! We have just started ours this year!
Wonderful! Thanks for watching!
Excellent presentaion and so practical to what I was planning to do here in New York State. Thank You
Glad the video was useful for you!! Thanks for watching!
This was great! Thank you!!
You're welcome!
Great Food Forest! I'm a bit further north from you in Zone 3 Saskatchewan. Working on creating my own food forest and always looking for plants hardy in my zone.
Wonderful! Most of the plants I mentioned will make it in Zone 3 as well. Good luck!
Things do grow slowly in Montana, but it is nice to see things chugging along. Good job.
Yes they do! I've visited the subtropics and am amazed at what can happen in one season!
Thank you so much for sharing this space! I'm moving to an area in the same zone as you (but in Wyoming) in a few months and have been doing homework on colder climate systems. This is a real inspiration for my own food forest project that I've been brainstorming this last year on. Taking ALL the notes, love the detail regarding the different plants you've integrated and the advice you dropped along the way. I'm sure I'll be using this and your other videos as a reference on plant ideas to try for years once I get up there and situated!
Wonderful to hear Rosalynn! Thanks for watching the video. Exciting that you'll be installing a food forest of your own. Good luck and reach out if you need any more advice!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I'm glad to see you do another video to show the progression. There are too many videos where folks show a garden they are just planning. Not very useful until we see if the idea has turned out. Thumbs up! Your video is especially applicable to me as I am in a Canadian zone 5 which is zone 4 USA.
Yes, agreed, I hope to make another video this summer or next. So important to understand the succession of these food forests. They are dynamic systems after all! Thanks for watching!
Wow. Amazing
Thanks for watching!
Thank you this is wonderful!
You're welcome Jaime! Thanks for watching!!
@@BrokenGround You are welcome Kareen, I have created charts for all the wealth of information you so generously share. I'm wondering who you trust for your seeds and plants in the area?
@@SuperHealthychoices Triple Divide Seeds is good and any local grower I trust. Gallatin Valley Botanical, Three Hearts Farm and Amaltheia Dairy all sell seedlings in the spring. I would buy from any of them. Good luck!
Just found your channel. I am sure you're in for a good season this year too. I'm beginning our large project on our new property. 2yr in. Line of 6B/7A we do use greenhouse also.
Thanks for watching. Good luck with your project this growing season!
Just found these presentations and they are extraordinary!!! We have just downsized and have 4.5 acres we are working with and have started this year with our working forest planning. Two thoughts: first is do you have a personal list or best research book(s) to review for all the plants and their benefits that you have been able to incorporate into your food forest? (Your thoughts on why you were including plants were most helpful.) This would be for a cold climate found in Vermont. And second, as our forests become more divided through population expansion/development, our natural biodiversity and resulting diminishing habitat for the animals that are needed to keep the planet healthy are diminishing. Each small landowner needs to think more about this and less about having acres of a nice manicured lawn. A neighborhood working together could create a beautiful habitat with natural animal pathways and be more involved with nature for a more healthy environment, both for the animals and themselves. Thanks again.
Glad you found my channel and thanks for watching the video! I completely agree that we need to move more homeowners into planting food forests or native trees/shrubs/flowers to encourage biodiversity. Lawns are so wasteful and boring :-). I get so many yields from my food forest at a fraction of the water use. As to your question - Dave Jacke's book, Edible Forest Gardens is a great resource for lists of trees/shrubs and herbaceous perennials for food forests. In the second volume of that book, he has an extensive reference guide that lists the plants, their uses and the hardiness zones. I would definitely check those out. Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden also has some good plant lists as well, in addition to Eric Toensmeier's book, Paradise Lot. Hope that helps!
Love it! zone 4 is cold.
Yes it is! But so much can still grow here. Thanks for watching!
This food forest lifestyle looks great on you! You look spectacular!
Hello! This is wonderful. I am hoping to plant a food forest with my gf in a similar zone/climate in Colorado and this is very motivating since we don't see many cold climate forests with such diversity often! Could you potenitally do a similar tour of the forest but in these snowy winter months when plants are less productive? I think it would be great to see what it looks like and it would give a more full picute of the system you have here :)
Hi Mohamed! I'm glad the video was helpful to you. While I could do one in the winter months, it's not terribly interesting ;-). Everything is brown and dormant and often covered in snow. But I'll try! I'm not sure if you're on instagram but here's another video of the food forest in the spring: instagram.com/p/Cf70N11AQSo/
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Kareen thank you for this video. We are enlarging our garden this year and want to put in a raised bed of strawberries. My question for you is where should we buy our strawberries, and should we buy June bearing or ever bearing? I am so thankful that I found your channel. It’s so great to have you live so close to us. There a lot of channels of gardening but with being zones in warmer climates much of their information doesn’t work for us here in the Gallatin Valley. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, experience and your beautiful gardens with us.
You're welcome Marilyn, I'm glad you found me! As to your question - it's probably best to get June-bearing strawberries since our season is so short, that will ensure at least one harvest for you. You can buy bare root and/or potted strawberries at Cashman nursery. I think they also have them at the Garden Barn. Are you on my newsletter list? If you want to receive regular updates from me, you can get on it here if you haven't already: brokengroundpermaculture.com/free-garden-tips/
@@BrokenGround thank you!!!
Thanks. Very informative. John in Nova Scotia Canada, the south coast where it’s zone 6.
You're welcome John! You have so many more options in zone 6 too!
So cool! Thank you so much! This is quite inspirational :)
Thanks for watching!
What an amazing food forest! What is your soil type there? Everything is thriving!
Thanks! We have alkaline heavy clay soils but this soil was quite decent when we started. But I still added a lot of manure. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this video! Im in the process of starting my own food forest and seeing yours, which is absolutely stunning, keeps the motivation high - its our first year and everything is still so small I can not believe it will grow.
Do you maybe have a book recommendation or another resource on how to plan the different layers?
Yay! Glad the video was motivating for you. Thanks for watching. In terms of resources, Dave Jacke's Edible Forest Gardens is a really great resource in terms of species. However, the books are a little overwhelming. In the future, I'm thinking of doing a course on food forest design alone since there are always questions about it. Stay tuned! What I would recommend is to design guilds around each of your fruit trees. Understand that each tree needs a n-fixer, soil builder, and insectary plants surrounding it. I usually plant at least one comfrey plant per fruit tree and either plan on a n-fixing shrub or n-fixing herbaceous layer. Then, you can be creative with the other plants. Be sure to plant in threes or fives with the herbaceous layer just so the pollinators have an easier time with it. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions and good luck!
@@BrokenGround Wow thank you so much for taking the time to answer! Ill check out the book you mentioned, but the advice of going guild by guild sounds much less overwhelming than planning an entire layer already. Are you planning on making online courses?
@@elisaullien7702 I am definitely considering doing a food forest online design workshop, though it might not be until next year! I'll announce it here if I do as I definitely know there is an interest! Stay tuned!
Wow your French tarragon is huge, (and your oregano)! Mine only reaches about 24-30 inches, though I’m in zone 3.
Thank you for this clear, informative, and honest video, super helpful and beautiful! 👍🏻
Yes! I'm not sure how and why it got to be so giant but it loves it in that location. Thanks for watching the video! I hope it's helpful to you!
Wow, your apple tree is pruned really nicely. That elderberry has crazy flowers, I never really considered planting that but it may be worth it just for those flowers! Lupines are tricky, I heard that most of them don't live more than 3 years and I have a heck of a time getting them to germinate, even when I cold stratify and scarify them.
Interesting about the lupins. They grow like weeds here (SW Alberta, Zone 3C(Chinook)-4A) which is fine because of the nitrogen fixing, beautiful flowers and don't last forever....
@@ediblelandscaping1504 That might explain it, I am in zone 8. Perhaps I'm not getting enough freeze/thaw cycles? I can try putting them in the freezer or something.
@@Hayley-sl9lm Maybe, but isn't there something else that would work even better?
Yes, I love the elderberry flowers, they are so beautiful and useful too! Thanks for watching the video!
@@Hayley-sl9lm That could be true, I read that they are best grown as annuals in Zone 7 and above, might just be a little too hot for them!
Love seeing this lush food forest in our cold climate! I'm also in Bozeman and just starting to build up a garden, so this provides a ton of inspiration and locally relevant tips -- thank you! Do you harvest your Siberian peas? We have a huge, beautiful old hedge of them, so I harvested some the pods last year once they'd dried (in around mid-August) and found that they made an absolutely delicious stand-in for lentils, with a tasty, delicate pea flavor. I see very little discussion of these plants as a food but have found them to be unbelievably prolific and they pretty much shell themselves if you put them in a bucket in the hot sun (the popping sound is quite amusing, too). I also wondered if you've experimented with growing mushrooms (e.g., oysters, wine caps) as part of a food forest system... any ideas on doing this successfully in a way that supports fruit trees and other plants?
Thanks for watching the video and glad you found me! That's great that you're starting to build up a garden in Bozeman! If you haven't already, definitely sign up for my newsletter as I host work parties and potlucks if you'd like to join! As to your question, I haven't harvested the siberian peas but let the chickens take advantage of them. But I love that idea. It's good to know that they could be an additional food source. I might try it this year so I appreciate the inspiration! As to your question about mushrooms - a couple of my friends inoculated some of the wood chip in my food forest with King Stropharia mushrooms several years ago and they come up every year depending on the rainfall. This year I've had three flushes so far so it's been great! I think oyster mushrooms would work as well.
@@BrokenGround I signed up, and am looking forward to joining a work party sometime one of these days soon! I hope the pea harvesting experiment goes well, and thanks for the mushroom tips! Inoculating with king stropharia seems like a great idea, maybe a next year project. Thanks so much for the recommendations! I've been trying out using spent mushroom blocks (mostly oyster) from a local producer as mulch around our new fruit trees, and they've been flushing for the last month or so! I'm curious to know whether they're beneficial for the trees or not... so far the trees seem happy too. We'll see!
@@MadisonStevens-p7p Great! Looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming work party or potluck. And are you using Sporeattic mushroom blocks? We used some of those last year in the public food forest and they did well. I've been meaning to get with those guys to get some for my food forest as well. Let me know how the experiment goes! I'm sure they're beneficial in some way. Probably the native varieties of oyster mushrooms would ultimately be better (I'm not sure what varieties Sporeattic uses) but I'm sure they play a role!
@@BrokenGround Yes, they are from Sporeattic!! It seems to be going really well -- I've found the oysters are doing better than other varieties (the Lion's Mane can't really fruit with the variable temps and low humidity, and the Chestnuts produced a few but couldn't really get established). All of the oyster varieties seem quite happy to flush though. I think it seems like single variety beds do better than mixed ones, but the mixed ones have flushed too, so not totally clear. I've mixed some beds with straw (because it's what I had on hand) and some just as is, with burlap underneath to suppress weeds, but I think wood chips would be a better substrate (and would keep them cleaner). I keep meaning to rent a chipper to make some mulch from our downed cottonwood branches. So neat that you guys have done that in the public food forest! Where is that located? I'd love to check it out!
Yes, the public food forest is the Story Mill learning garden and food forest at Story Mill Park. It’s an acre park within the larger park. On the north end of the park.
So, just curious - we have a cabin up north in Michigan (zone 5b). We vacation there, but we don't live there. Could I start a food forest in the small field on our property, if I'm not there to water it regularly, and just rely on mulching heavily? I'd like to plant a variety of fruit trees; apple, pear, cherry, paw paw, and plum. And in-between, just plant a variety of hearty perennial flowers. I would plan on getting in a ton of mulch. I'd be able to water it initially, and in subsequent trips up there. But not on a regular basis. I'm just now learning about Food Forests, and learning about swales, and plants to put in to keep deer from eating your stuff (like the Seabuckthorn) and lots of thorny berry plants. So, yeah, I'd be wanting to plant Raspberries and Blackberries too. I'm going to order Rosemary Morrow's Book, Eart User's Guide to Permaculture - but I'm getting a lot of great information from your channel. So thank you very much for the walking tours.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching. As to your question - it would depend on what sort of rainfall you get in the summer in Michigan. Our summers are hot and dry but it seems like you get a little more precipitation in Michigan. I'd research that and then see. Even for our dry climate, I'm still only watering the fruit trees once/week during July and August. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!
On the matter of cost of creation: I have scores of elder, willow and eastern redbud cuttings working on rooting over this winter. All free from roadside plants. This spring I'll be harvesting catalpa seeds, again from roadside trees. Local conservation districts generally have tree/shrub sales with very reasonably priced bare root seedlings available. Some will ship outside their area. Where we are in Michigan there are numerous seed and plant swaps in the early spring where people will share and trade plant materials at no cost. It isn't necessary to buy in everything as large plants from nurseries - indeed, that's not necessarily a path to success. As of my last review, I'm not sure that any of the larger, expensive specimens I planted have survived. I am certain most of them have not.
Yes, great ideas Peter, thanks for sharing. There are definitely so many ways in which to procure plants without buying them. Appreciate you including these tips!
I have learnt so much from the little show around.
Crazily trying to food forest here in the Uk on 250 metre square.
Going for it though. 🙈🌱🌳
Wonderful to hear! Good luck with establishing your food forest!
Hi Kareen, I am in a similar climate in Eastern Colorado. I wonder if you could make an in depth video of creating microclimates that protect trees and plants from extreme wind and that catch water from snow. What strategies do you use? How do you assess your site to create an oasis for your plants? Do you find yourself thinking a lot in terms of windbreaks and catching snow? I feel like for me, that is becoming a priority as high as sun for my design. Do you think planting a food forest in a high plains area is fighting nature or can we make it work with good planning? Trees just struggle soooooo much where I live but it's not being done in a permaculture way.
Many people in permaculture are in very wet environments and its so hard to find people doing this in my kind of climate so I'm so happy to have found you!
Also wondering if you find that some shade is helpful in your area for plants that typically need full sun? Our sun is so intense out here. I wonder if dappled afternoon shade (Maybe also helping with hail) would be a good design.
Glad you found me and sorry for the delay in replying! I did put in two swales which helps with water capture in terms of snow accumulation. Wind is certainly a limiting factor in getting plants established. On my site, it's less of an issue but temperature drops and extreme unpredictable weather certainly hits us. I think the key is to 'stack your system'. In other words, try all sorts of species and some things will thrive and some won't. The other suggestion would be some sort of initial windbreak. You could build it with strawbales, for example, and then later use that straw for sheet mulching. I also had another friend use bamboo screens that she connected to the fence and that seemed to help as well, until plants were better established. Also, using more drought tolerant hardy plants to be 'nurse' plants for other trees in the food forest is another good idea. So plants like Siberian Pea Shrub would be a good idea. They are drought tolerant, nitrogen-fixing, and grow fast and easily. Once they are established, they can provide shade, nutrient and a possible windbreak for the other fruit-producing plants.
@@jcmustian It could be. I do find that the full sun helps with yields but given the lack of water, sometimes things do dry out quickly. I think heavy mulch and tons of organic matter are going to help tremendously and maybe think about more nurse plants to create a better microclimate.
We live in Helena. I really enjoy this video. I aspire our hill to some day look like this as it’s not suitable for animals and it has no job like the rest of our place.
Thanks for watching the video! Yes, I encourage you to do this on your site. Good luck!
I also don't freak out about grass. A bit of grass may be pumping exudates into the ground on the liquid carbon pathway. The best soil life generation mix that boosts inter species quorum sensing is supposed to be multispecies grass, grain, legume, chenopod and brassica mixes. I love the wild look of your forest, it will be so good for biodiversity. Love your use of native plants for invertebrate support. Doug Tallamy and others claim that native oak, willow and prunus support the most invertebrate life in north America but many of the berry bushes are good too. Well done.
Thanks so much for watching the video and glad to know there are others who are okay with grass 😜.
Hi, greetings from Bulgaria. I just started my BTE food forest.i can't wait to see it explode. Lol I only gonna invest 200 lev in the system but that is plenty for me
All the best to yiu and yours from the Balkans
Good luck with your food forest! Lovely to reach people in Bulgaria!
@@BrokenGround HI. I was actually looking for motivation for my food forest and your video popped up . I want to make my .4 of an acre super productive so I can feed me mom, my 6 dogs ,and my 19 cats and bunny for free.
I am copying many methods .
Ha I am thinking of making my cats and dogs vegetarians.
Thank you for the inspiration!
@@svelanikolova5776 You're welcome Svela, good luck!
This is great! I'm so glad I found your channel. I live in Cranbrook BC, zone 3/4 and developing a food forest on 1/4 acre land. I had been considering comfrey, sunchokes and sea buckthorn, but got a bit scared off by other videos that showed how much they can spread. I have already dug out the gogi berries after I saw somebody's property first hand at how the suckers are going everywhere through their property. And I gave up on the idea of wild licorice as they have roots 9ft long.
Your video encourages me that maybe the comfrey, sunchokes and seabuckthorn can grow in an area and not spread.
Would you recommend I reconsider growing them and just plan to not move them and just snip suckers?
If so, regarding comfrey, would recommend the strain blocking 4 or 14? or the regular invasive one?
Also, do you have any thoughts on the goji berries and wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)?
Thank you so much for this video.
Katrin
I'm glad you found my channel! Thanks for watching! As to your questions - I would definitely plant comfrey (bocking 14 would be good) though I have the regular invasive one and in the context of a food forest I find it doesn't really matter if it spreads. If anything, it outcompetes the grass which is a problem in my food forest so I'm fine with some more invasive plants that are more useful than grass! Also, comfrey is so beneficial and I use it in my annual garden so I like to have an abundance. I haven't had a problem with sunchokes either or the seabuckthorn. However, I know that seabuckthorn can become an issue and it has in some other gardeners food forests. I've tried planting goji berries and they don't seem to take in my soil or it just might be a little too cold for them. Sometimes invasiveness is not such a problem, though, because who wouldn't want more goji berries? ;-) I don't have experience with wild licorice. I think the question for you to ask is how much management do you want to do and how much are you willing to let things go a little wild? If you like things to be more tidy and contained, then I might only put in comfrey and forget about the other plants. But food forests are also meant to be wild and dynamic systems so a little bit of things getting out of control is also okay. But I would weigh the time and energy you want to dedicate to the food forest along with the benefits you might derive from some of these plants. Get back to your goals and if they is a comparable non invasive species, I might choose that, or a native one that fulfills a similar role. Hopefully that helps!
@@BrokenGround Thank you for your thoughtful reply, it's very helpful. Take care
@@katrinpowell3380 You're welcome Katrin!
Kareen, thank you for such a lovely, informative tour of your successful food forest! I am at the beginning stages of building my food forest. Our property is within the boundaries of a nature preserve in northern Colorado (zone 5b). I have a number of substantial challenges: high wind, intense heat, drought. But my number one concern is that building a food forest will invite the wildlife in overwhelming numbers. Picture a heard of 500 elk migrating through, or multiple families of bears that ravage any fruit trees I plant. We have plans to build a 2 fence system over time, but that will be no match for many of the animals. How would you handle this particular challenge?
Thanks for watching the video, Rachel. Yes, 500 elk migrating through your property does present a challenge! My recommendation would be to build the food forest as close to your house as possible so that the animals would already be avoiding that area. I'd also want to know the scale of what you are planning. We have a 7 foot fence around our property made with cedar posts and welded wire and that has kept deer and bear out. We did have a bear scale one of the trees close by once and get in but I'd say that was an exception, instead of the rule. I might build the fence first, and then you may have to electrify it if it becomes a problem. Often, if it's small enough, deer and elk won't want to jump into a smaller space, especially if it's a two fence system. And if it's close to the house, they often just have a tendency to go around. Since you're within a preserve, I imagine there is a lot of forage outside the fence as well? Alot of it might be experimentation, with the possibility that you might lose some plants at the beginning but a balance might establish itself over time. Good luck!
Hi, love your video! I was wondering how you would deal with gophers and voles in your food forest? Do you plant your plants in wire cages? Thanks
Thanks for watching! I put hardware cloth (wire) around each of my tree trunks to protect them from voles. I have a neighborhood cat that comes in to hunt but voles have definitely been a problem. I've also used the Molemax Mole and Vole repellent product that is a natural deterrent for voles and moles. I'll broadcast a bunch of that in the food forest in the fall. It's definitely a challenge though!
I love mint spreading. I bought a house with acre of woods in the back. I bought it because im allergic to grass. I came to find out the back yard has a lot of mint 👌. Witch is nice and im planing on purposely put in some strawberry mint and orange mint. Also smells so good when i cut it much better than sneezing
Fun that your backyard has a lot of mint. And yes, it smells so good when you walk through it! Strawberry and orange mint?! You must be in a hardiness zone that's warmer than us! Sounds delicious!
Hi Kareen, I am wondering what your thoughts are on growing Ponderosas and other pine trees within the food forest? I love the evergreens! Science has shown the walnut tree does damage and not much research on the pines...although there are opinions.
Pine trees are a little tricky in a food forest because they create really acidic soil and the deep shade that they have. I'm sure you've noticed how nothing grows below a pine tree. They also take up a lot of space. Depending on the space that you have available, you could potentially have them on the north side of a food forest and they could serve to create a bit of a microclimate.
Hello, is your russian almond self pollinating? I've been wondering if I need 2 plan to produce the small nuts?
It is self-fertile but I do have two in my food forest!
I live in Zone 4 and my whole life I've been told that I need to control my mint or it will choke everything else out. Is that true? should I not add mint to my permaculture?
I have mint everywhere in my food forest and it's great! It helps compete with the grass and creates a great groundcover. I don't think it outcompetes other perennial plants. I agree that you wouldn't want it too close to your annual gardens but in a food forest context, I don't mind if it gets out of control.
Pyracantha (Firethorn) is good for vitamin c as well.
Unfortunately, I think we're a little too cold for pyracantha but that would be a great option in slightly warmer growing zones. Thanks for the suggestion!
I really like your video and found it very informative. I was wondering if a food forest would be something I would be able to do in a forest that has had a lot of trees fall so there is quite a bit of sunlight in that area.
Thanks for watching the video! As to your question - it might be possible. Most fruit trees want full sun for the best yields so at least 8 hours of sunlight. Does that forested area have that kind of sun? If so, then it might be a great place to put some fruit trees. If not, there are some shrubs that produce in partial shade (e.g. gooseberries, raspberries, currants) so you could consider that as well.
@@BrokenGround Thanks for your reply. A good portion is in the sun because of trees that have fallen over the years.
@@raemariesauerhoefer5211 So yes, then I think it would definitely be a good option. Just maybe take some time to observe the site and make sure it gets adequate sunlight for a good portion of the day. Good luck!
Curved and not straight rows can also act as a wind break, and can create micro climates
Yes definitely!
The yellow plant you walked pass, is that goldenrod?
No, that's St. John's Wort. But you could definitely put goldenrod in your food forest!
I love it
Thanks for watching!
I would like to lerarn how the annual plants like carrots, corn, cabbage expand/spread and what are the best kinds of plants to plant in a middle European climate with cold winters. do i need to cut down the nitrogen fixing plants in order to give nitrogen to my vegetables?
Yes, you'll need to cut back the nitrogen-fixing plants when they are flowering in order for the nitrogen to feed the soil. I'm not sure I know what you mean by how annual plants spread. There are a bunch of self-seeding annuals that you can plant (like kale, orach, calendula) that will go to seed and then volunteer every year. It's a little harder with carrots, corn and cabbage but maybe elaborate on your question and I'll try to answer it!
Have you tried growing "Moringa" in any way shape or form? I'm in Zone 7a in Idaho and am going to attempt to grow some on a south facing wall in a mini DIY greenhouse. I'll have to cut it back and super mulch in the winter but I'm going to see what will happen. I'm slowly building my own Food Forest in the backyard. I'm just starting year 4 so everything is still very young and yeah, it has ups and downs for what lives and dies there. Love the videos.
Thanks for watching! I haven't tried growing moringa but it's worth a shot, given your more mild climate, especially if you're using a greenhouse. Agreed! Every year it's an experiment as to what works and what doesn't. I've tried apricots and arctic kiwi for two years and I've discovered it's just too cold on my site. But you often don't know until you try! Good luck!
Me gustaría que traduzcan a español gracias.
Creo que si haces 'clic' sobre el boton 'cc' y luego haces clic sobre 'settings', puedes escoger 'Spanish' y la traduccion en español aparece.
Every perennial I plant is soon over run by grass. I try to pull the grass out a few times throughout the season but to no avail.
I totally get it, it's definitely a challenge! I've sort of accepted that there is going to be a certain amount of grass in my food forest system. Unless you have an army of helpers, you're never going to get it all! I just figure it contributes to the wildness, which means more habitat for birds, bees and other insects!
How do you winterize your Jerusalem artichokes? I was going to put a couple in pots because the literature said in 7a (and you're colder) that I'd have to bring them inside for the winter???
Thanks for watching the video, Leslie! Are you thinking of globe artichokes, as opposed to Jerusalem artichokes? The latter survive down to USDA hardiness zone 2 so there is no need for me to winterize as they survive fine as a perennial. Let me know!
@@BrokenGround Yes, I meant Jerusalem artichoke. I looked it up again and I still found conflicting info. Maybe it's just one particular article I keep hitting on. Thanks! for your feedback!
@@lesliekendall2206 That's so strange. It definitely overwinters here. From my research, it looks like it's good from USDA Hardiness zones 3-9 so you should be just fine!
Growing them here (Zone 3C/4A) in a raised bed, and know others in Zone 5 where they are flourishing.
I have a 12 ft x 10 ft garden, should I create different levels or starve to death?
You could definitely go vertical with your garden beds and use trellises to get more yield in a small space. So trellis what you can and grow high value crops in the rest of the space and those that are best fresh from the garden (e.g. tomatoes, cukes, herbs, lettuce and other greens). Some other veggies are often less expensive from local farmers or the store (i.e. carrots, onions, potatoes) so I wouldn't take up your limited space with those. Is there an option to get a community garden and/or partner with a neighbor if you need more space? When I was a renter and had limited space, I had part of my garden at my rental and then was able to rent an additional plot in town where I grew more veggies. Hope that helps!
Great video. How do you keep deer from eating everything? Is that a deer fence around the area? Is that cost included in the $600-700 total cost you mentioned?
Thanks for watching the video. Yes, there is a deer fence around the area. That cost wasn't included in the $600-700 figure. Depending on the size of your food forest, the type of fencing, and whether you do the labor yourself, that will run you an additional $1000-$2000.
how do you keep deer out?
We have a 7 foot fence around our backyard. 4 x 4 cedar posts and welded wire. It was one of the first things that we installed as we have quite a few deer in this area.
Coppicing the plum tree might be an ideal way to restore its health, although I'm definitely no expert so you might want to do your own research on that haha.
Thanks for the tip, Spencer, and thanks for watching the video. Researching what to do with the plum tree is definitely on my list for this winter!
👍😊
Thanks for watching!
can I use azaleas and hydrangeas in my food forest?
Sure, I don't see why not! Just make sure you are giving them the growing conditions that they need. I love food forests because they definitely give you some room to experiment and be creative.
Beets and carrots together? I wonder if you collect any of them
One row of beets, one row of carrots. So they are planted in separate rows but in the same garden bed.
It's a great food forest but it gives me a bit of anxiety not having order. I think syntropic agroforestry is a good compromise for those who have OCD and like straight lines. It still maximizes edge.
You're great with money management if you only spent 6-700$ nice job! Many people will only buy 10 potted fruit trees for that from a nursery . Bare root is the way to go from the wholesaler!
Indeed! I totally get it. If you're more of a linear, straight edge person, the wildness of a food forest might drive you a little nutty :-). Best to go with what resonates with you!
I thought you were going to say 6 or 7 *thousand*
Funny! No, it honestly doesn't take that much money to establish. One cost I didn't include was the deer fence, which was the most expensive part of the project. The fence cost us $2000 in materials and we did the labor ourselves. But once you have that, the plants themselves are quite inexpensive!
This may be cool but I've yet to see anything that is of use in my area. Sorry but I'm out.
What hardiness zone do you live in? If you let me know, I can point you in the direction of some relevant resources if you would like!
7 years for 500 calories