Food Forest
A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions – up, down, and out.
There are seven layers of a forest garden – the overstory, the understory, the shrub layer, the herbaceous layer, the root layer, the ground cover layer and the vine layer. Some also like to recognize the mycelial layer, layer eight (mushrooms). Using these layers, more plants fit in an area without causing failure due to competition.
A food forest does not have to be re-planted year after year. Once it is established, it is generally very resilient. Deer and rabbits might come and munch some of the herbaceous edibles in some areas, for example, but other species will not be palatable to them or will be out of their reach.
Food forests are a new farming concept, but they have been used for thousands of years in other parts of the world. They are complex, just like nature.
