Forest Gardening Cource at Schumacher College

[boboff]

Well, thanks to Graham on here I followed up on Forest Gardening and attended a two day cource this weekend.

It was extremely interesting and very inspirational.

The basic idea is permaculture based, planting perennials, that you can eat, and not having to import nutrients by using Nitrogen fixing plants, controlling pests with diversity and wildlife, and sustaining growing by keeping the ground covered, and using shade etc etc.

The plants I was introduced to the tastes of, which I have never tried, and liked were Sweet Cicilly, Siberian Purslane, Bamboo Shoots & Turkish Rocket.

Plants I saw which I would like to include in my planting now include Cardoon, Flowering Quince, Chinese Dogwood, Yams, Tuberous Nasturtium, Babington Leaks, Good King Henry, Chinese Hawthorn & Autumn Olive.

The Statistics on the efficiency of forest gardening compared to other types of horticulture with regard to energy input and outputs were impressive and did give a real indication that this type of growing food is an excellent sustainable idea. The acres of Public planting that could be easily switched to produce free forage areas I think is the way to go!

I am rather over whelmed by the amount I need to learn, encouraged by the end picture, and excited about getting the planning done right and the first steps made.

Martin Crawford himself is a really Knowledgable guy, can quote Latin Names like no bodies business, and his family provided a great couple of lunches using allot of the products from the Forest Garden.

So my thanks for the recommendation, my recommendation to look at the cource, and I would ask for any advice from people about going about getting this sort of project underway. I think I will gradually convert most of my 5 acres over to this sort of thing and related nurcery etc, then set about changing the planners minds over the 4 acres of traditional woodland I can have a go at! All exciting stuff!

[Green Aura]

So glad you enjoyed it. My forest garden is coming along slowly but it's already lovely.

We've got mixed hedging of beech, birch, rose, hawthorn, sea buckthorn, blackthorn (and a couple of hollies that I don't particularly want!). And we've got apple, pear, cherry, plum, almond, hazel, sweet chestnut and a walnut, as well as tilia, a couple of field maples and several willows, rowan and spruce. Oh and one wild pear that the nice man who cam and dug out our driveway missed - he dug up the other two! And we've got some Hunza apricot seedlings that we grew this winter - heavens knows where we'll plant them or if they'll survive up here

We're nearly ready (yes I know it's the wrong time of year!) to move black/white/redcurrants and gooseberries and blueberries. And we've got goji and honeyberries, fuschia (thanks Tony) and amelanchier for fruit.

Then we've got jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, pignuts, perennial broccoli and kale, welsh onions, rocambola garlic?, perilla and lots of other perennial or self-seeding veg and edible flowers. I've got a list as long as your arm of the other things I want to put in.

I just wish I'd got time to list them all never mind plant the b*ggers!

[southeast-isher]

Great! Forest gardening is great.

[grahamhobbs]

Well done, great that you've been inspired. I've only got a perennial flower bed with fruit trees behind against a south facing wall on my allotment that I slowly want to convert to a perennial fruit and veg bed, so any more tips as to worth while plants to grow would be most welcome.

[oldjerry]

Interesting stuff Boboff.The idea of perrenials that you just crop is especially interesting,and I dare say not just applicable to your forest situation.PLeaselet us all know how this project progresses. BW.