class: center, middle # Forest Garden Magic š³ [Drefach Felindre Gardening Club](http://www.drefachfelindregardeningclub.co.uk) _Wednesday 6th June 2018_  Jake Rayson [www.forestgarden.wales/talks/magic](https://www.forestgarden.wales/talks/magic/) ##### Press `P` to see notes and credits ###### This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), embedded work may have other licenses. ??? * Quick intro. Web designer 20 years. Forest gardener 3 years. * 1 acre forest garden in development, 1 acre planned * 8 acre site, woodland, coppice, rough pasture * A talk of two halves: magic and practice * 1 hour is not long to get you to believe in magic! --- class: center, middle # Forest Garden Magic š³  ??? * If just one person tries out the magic, this talk has been a success š * What is a forest garden? * Think of an underplanted orchard * Or a perennial vegetable patch with trees --- class: middle # Part 1: Seven Magical Things ### _Three explanations interludeā¦_ # Part 2: Seven Practical Things ??? * 737 * 7 magical things * then 3 explanations * 7 practical things --- class: center, middle # Part 1: Seven Magical Things  --- class: center, middle # 1. Minimal mowing  ??? * Does anyone have any grass? * Would anyone like to mow less? --- class: center, middle # 2. Zero watering  ??? * How does this sound at the moment? --- class: center, middle # 3. Little weeding  --- class: center, middle # 4. No dig  --- class: center, middle # 5. No chemicals  --- class: center, middle # 6. Wildlife haven  --- class: center, middle # 7. Abundant produce!  ??? ##Ā Credits * Nashi pear CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1053284 * Sweet chestnuts by Fir0002 - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=194812 * Pine nuts by National Institute of Korean Language - http://krdict.korean.go.kr/eng/dicSearch/viewImageConfirm?nation=eng&searchKindValue=image&ParaWordNo=73584&ParaSenseSeq=1&multiMediaSeq=1, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54784498 * Lime flowers & bumblebee by Ivar Leidus - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49911060 * Szechuan pepper by Didier Descouens - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7801853 * Phormium tenax by Dan Kirtiansen https://www.flickr.com/photos/dankristiansen/ * Shiitake mushroom by frankenstoen from Portland, Oregon - Shiitake Mushrooms, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7304024 * Firewood by Toyohara https://www.flickr.com/photos/toyohara/ * Bamboo by Bruce Fingerwood https://www.flickr.com/photos/springfieldhomer/ * Apple mint by Broly0 - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40553620 --- # Seven Magical Things again 1. Minimal mowing 2. Zero watering 3. Little weeding 4. No dig 5. No chemicals 6. Wildlife haven 7. Abundant produce! --- class: middle # What is this sorcery? ##Ā Three explanations interludeā¦ ??? * These are some mighty big claims --- class: center, middle # 1. Layered ??? * Trees! * Canopy Layer * Shrubs, small trees * Herbaceous perennials * Ground cover * Tubers, rhizomes * Mushrooms * Vines --- class: center, middle # 2. Perennial ??? * Trees! Take timeā¦ * Overwhelmingly perennial plants * Established * Less pest damage * Self-seeding annuals * No bare soil -- mulch & living mulch * Example of sowing Babbingtons Leek --- class: center, middle # 3. Self-sustaining ??? * Closed loop - minimal inputs * Diversity of species * Nutrients - eg comfrey, nettles, urine * Pests - ponds, predator strip, perennials * Habitat for predators * Living mulch * **Balance** without intervention --- class: center, middle # But how does it work? --- class: left, middle # Working with nature  * Less energy * More resilient * More diverse * Less maintenance * Fewer greenhouse gas emissions ??? * Climax vegetation, illustration used with permission from [Creating a Forest Garden](https://www.agroforestry.co.uk/product/creating-a-forest-garden-2/) * Your garden wants to be a forest garden!! --- # Scientifically efficient š©āš¬ ```html Animal 1 : 0.8 Arable 1 : 4.0 Forest GardenĀ¹ 1 : 40.0 ``` Efficiency is the ratio of the _input_ to the output. ??? ??? 1. [Gerald Leach: Energy and food production](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Energy-Food-Production-Gerald-Leach/dp/0902852558) (IPC, 1976). * Proviso: once established * Perennial plants are less work * No compost bins, compost in situ --- # Three explanations again 1. Layered 2. Perennial 3. Self-sustaining --- class: middle # I want some of that!  --- class: middle # Good news ##Ā You already know how ??? * Why it is exciting * You have vast amounts of knowledge * Large number of ornamentals * Chaenomeles * Amelanchier * Cornus (sericea, mas, kousa) * Hemerocallis * Elaeagnus * Mahonia * Rosa * Bamboo * Plans for Ornamental Maintenance-free Forest Garden (OMFG) --- class: middle # Bad news ## There is no bad news, only change  ??? * A tangle of green * Untidy your mind --- # But but but * You can still grow potatoes * You can still grow flowers * For gardens of all sizes * Itās not all or nothing ??? * If I can do itā¦ * Carbohydrates --- # Part 2: Seven Practical Things <div style="float:left;"> _In order_ 1. Plan 2. Plant windbreaks 3. Plant canopy 4. Propagate ground cover 5. Sheet mulch 6. Establish ground cover 7. Plant shrubs </div> <img src="img/northface.jpg" alt="Forest Garden Walesā North Face border" width="50%" style="float: right"> ??? * Image from Forest Garden Wales, North Face windbreak --- # 1. Plan * What harvest & plants? * [Rootstocks](https://www.forestgarden.wales/blog/rootstock-reference/) & diameters * Windbreaks * Nutrient budget * Access, structures, utilities * Scale plan ([CAD software](http://www.qcad.org/en/) or paper) ??? * Donāt forget to plan your nutrients ā pp57 Creating a Forest Garden * Get a soil sample from CCF * OS map from [The Map Centre](https://www.themapcentre.com/), about Ā£40 --- # Hereās one I made earlier  Calculate areas (ground cover), position trees (diameters) ??? * Drawing made in [QCAD](http://www.qcad.org/en/) --- # 2. Plant windbreaks * [Elaeagnus umbellata](https://pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+umbellata) (autumn olive) * [Hippophae rhamnoides](https://www.pfaf.org/USER/plant.aspx?LatinName=Hippophae+rhamnoides) (sea buckthorn) * [Viburnum opulus](https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Viburnum+opulus) (guelder rose) * [Amelanchier canadensis](https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Amelanchier+canadensis) (juneberry) * [Cornus sericea](https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cornus+sericea) (red osier dogwood)  ??? * Examples that have worked well for us * All available as cheap bare-root hedging plants * Donāt forget [Rosa rugosa](https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Rosa+rugosa) (japanese rose) ##Ā Credits * Amelanchier canadensis by yamatsu on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/29310050@N04/ * Elaeagnus umbellata berries by Wendell Smith on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/wendellsmith/ * Viburnum opulus berries by Nickolas Titkov on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/titkov/ --- # 3. Plant canopy trees * [Rootstock!](https://www.forestgarden.wales/blog/rootstock-reference/) * Fruit trees [www.orangepippin.com](https://www.orangepippin.com/apples) * Nut trees - squirrels & [Castanea sativa](https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Castanea+sativa) * Nitrogen fixing - [Alnus cordata](https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Alnus+cordata) _Considerations:_ * Tree spacing Ā¼āĀ½ of combined tree diameters * Plant small trees under high trees * [Only stake dwarf rootstock (M26 & smaller)](https://www.forestgarden.wales/blog/don-t-stake-fruit-trees/) * Pollinating partners * Wind exposure ??? * Small trees under eg Alnus cordata, can raise canopy * Donāt forget rabbit guards, super cheap [on Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-SPIRAL-TREE-GUARDS-60cm/dp/B0041Z90TM/) 22p each * No Castanea sativa imports --- # 4. Propagate ground cover * [Rubus nepalensis](https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=rubus+nepalensis) (nepalese raspberry) * [Vinca minor](https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Vinca+minor) (lesser periwinkle) * [Symphytum ibericum](https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/75444/Symphytum-ibericum/Details) (dwarf comfrey) * [Fragaria viridis](https://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fragaria+viridis) (green strawberry) * [Mentha longifolia](https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=mentha+longifolia) (horse mint)  ??? * Again, examples that have worked well for us * 'Mother' bed * _Supposed_ to put them in pots ## Credits * Rubus nepalensis berry by Jas on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/21442314@N07/ * Vinca minor by Magrit on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/27126314@N03/ * Mentha longifolia by Andreas Rockstein on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/74738817@N07 --- # 5. Sheet mulch * Quality plastic woven sheet mulch, 3-4m wide * Re-usable metal pegs * **Weigh it down!** * 6 months grass, 12 months dandelions * Consider using less more efficiently!  --- # 6. Establish ground cover 1. Mark out shrubs 2. Put down bark or wood chip* 4. Plant ground cover 5. Sow temporary cover  ??? * *See [Myths, Miracles or Marketing? Wood Chip Mulch](https://puyallup.wsu.edu/lcs/) on [Horticultural Myths](https://puyallup.wsu.edu/lcs/) by Professor Linda Chalker-Scott * Mark out shrubs with bamboo, write name, height x diameter * Bark approx 1.5 tonne per 100mĀ². [Newbridge Sawmills](http://www.jamesdaviessawmills.co.uk/) near Cenarth sells it for Ā£38.50 +VAT per tonne, on industrial trailer only, weekdays. * For large areas (ie acres), consider wood chipper for mulch & flail mower to keep grass down. * I have used [Sinapis alba](https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Sinapis+alba) (white mustard) with great success, partially overwinters. * I bulk bought 27kg Sinapis alba from [Cotswold Seeds](https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/product/mustard-sinapis-alba) for Ā£50. --- # 7. Plant shrubs * Bamboo * Chaenomeles spp. * Mahonia spp. * Phormium spp. * Rosa rugosa  ??? * I wish I had more time for plants š * List inspired by showy ornamental shrubs pp21 Creating a Forest Garden ##Ā Credits * Quince flower on bush by Martin LaBar on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/ * Mahonia aquifolium by Nacho on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/gonmi/ * Rosa rugosa hips by Bruno Parmentier on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/bpmm/ --- # Seven Practical Things again 1. Plan 2. Plant windbreaks 3. Plant canopy 4. Propagate ground cover 5. Sheet mulch 6. Establish ground cover 7. Plant shrubs --- class: center, middle # _The End of the Beginningā¦_  > Forest gardening is a productive & practical garden system using trees, shrubs & perennial plants, designed to be stable, sustainable & low-maintenance. [www.forestgarden.wales/talks/magic](https://www.forestgarden.wales/talks/magic/)