A food forest is a garden designed to work like a forest. Seven layers of food production stacked vertically, mimicking natural ecosystems.
CANOPY – Large nut and fruit trees (walnut, pecan, chestnut). The ceiling of the system.
UNDERSTORY – Smaller fruit trees (apple, pear, plum). Thrive in dappled shade beneath the canopy.
SHRUB – Berry bushes (blueberry, currant, gooseberry). Fill the gaps between trees.
HERBACEOUS – Perennial herbs and vegetables (comfrey, sorrel, rhubarb). The medicine and salad layer.
GROUND COVER – Creeping plants (strawberry, clover, mint). Protect the soil and suppress weeds.
VINE – Climbers (grape, kiwi, hops). Use the trees as natural trellises.
ROOT – Underground crops (Jerusalem artichoke, groundnut, garlic). The hidden harvest.
Once established, a food forest requires no tilling, no fertilizer, no irrigation, and no replanting. It feeds itself. It builds soil. It gets more productive every year.
Forests have operated this way for 400 million years. We just finally stopped to notice.