How To Build Your Permaculture Food Forest: A Quick Guide

Did you know that “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit,…”?

Wondering why?

“…because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”

Want to experience all these? If yes, then I have the perfect solution for you. Now, you can grow your food with sustained biodiversity and you will experience utmost happiness by the end, I promise. 

So, if you want to know how to build your own permaculture food forest, check out this guide. 

What Is A Food Forest: The History

A food forest is a system of growing your own food. Additionally, it is the method of organizing your garden in a way that resembles the natural forest growth. Specifically, it is an ideal food production system with efficient light exposure & less maintenance while improving biodiversity. 

The key to a successful permaculture food forest is the plant selection & their placements so that they support each other. However, the most important characteristic of this is zero use of pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer. Because “The health of soil, plants, animals, and people is one and indivisible.”

As far the history is concerned, food forest is a primitive practice found in Africa, America, & Asia. However, Geoff Lawton discovered a 2000-year food forest in Morocco & another in Vietnam that is 300 years old. Later, the idea of a food forest became immensely popular with its introduction in Forest Gardening by Robert Hart.

5 Types of Plants For Your Permaculture Food Forest

Edibles & Medicinal 

Most of the annual vegetables such as potatoes, cucumbers, etc are easy to grow. Also, you can grow perennial fruits & medicinal plants such as basil, thyme, etc. 

Aromatics & Ornamentals

You can also grow aromatic plants such as mint or ornamental plants or flowers such as roses, mogra, lilies, etc. 

Fiber Plants & Nitrogen Fixers

Fiber plants such as bamboo can earn you high profits because they provide stakes to make baskets. Moreover, plants like lentils, peas, peanuts, alfalfa, soybeans, etc. can boose the soil’s fertility levels by replenishing the lost nitrogen. 

Bio-Accumulators

You can grow plants like comfrey popular for huge leaf mass production. Since it grows back within a few weeks, make sure you use this component for mulching or composting.

Habitats & Insectaries

Create a healthy plant habitat for the overall benefit of your food forest such as shrubs, giant trees, etc. Also, to encourage or discourage the growth of certain insects in your forest, you can plant ammi, angelica, dill, parsley, or cilantro.

8 Trees To Layer With In Your Permaculture Food Forest

Tall

The outermost layer should accommodate taller trees with slow growth & longer lifespan. Specifically, they not only provide food & firewood, etc. but also provide shade to the smaller trees & mulch the soil bed. 

Small

The previous layer should grow fruits & nuts & create a perfect residing area for wildlives.

Herbs & Veggies

The plants in this layer need partial sunlight & provide limited yield annually or biennially for a limited period. 

Shrubs

Shrubs produce a large amount of food with very little human intervention. 

Vines

This adds a unique feel to your permaculture food forest just like a real jungle. Precisely, it maximizes the vertical forest space & provides spiders & other beneficial species a safe space. So, let them climb upward because some of them are excellent nitrogen fixers such as chickpea, alfalfa, clover, etc. 

Ground Covers

In this layer, grow weeds or other plants that can mulch the soil & cover the surface to make it fertile.  

Roots

The layer grows plants that are popular for their edible fleshy roots & tubers such as ginger, potatoes, etc.

Water Plants

Grow some water plants in the innermost layer to provide food for fish such as begonias, pilea, lilies, rosemary, etc.

5 Steps to Build Your Own Permaculture Food Forest

Set Your Goal & Observe

• Identify what you want from your food forest & your purpose. 
• Shortlist what to focus on initially.
• Observe nature well to understand which plants will grow better in your climate.
• Select the trees or plants you want to grow after a thorough research.

Explore, & Analyze

• Conduct a thorough site survey.
• Map out your terrain, trees, water resources, & weather patterns.
• Create a rough layout of your permaculture food forest design.

Create 4 Layout Forest Design

• Now, to design your forest, keep in mind that it should have 3 cropping layers.

1. Start with working for orchards with various fruit-bearing trees together such as apples, cherries, etc. 
2. The Savannah is a silvopastoral system & companion tree offering feed to domesticated animals.
3. In the mid-period, you can grow woodland with larger trees.
4. In the end, you can create your closed-canopy forest.

• Invest in your permaculture food forest infrastructure.
• Identify the major planting areas & spacing.

Prepare The Land

• Shape the surface for effective water retention.
• Mulch the soil bed.
• Manage the natural harvesting resources.
• Invest in good fencing systems.

Plant The Seedlings

Now it’s the time!

• Purchase your seedlings or collect them from a nearby nursery.
• Plant them carefully.
• Chalk down your project & plant in stages.

8 Layers Of A Permaculture Food Forest

Overstorey

This layer is the canopy layer of crops that take the longest to grow such as chestnut trees.

Understory

Also known as the lower tree layer, it absorbs light from the overstory layer & highly profitable for generating high income. Specifically, apple trees in cold climates & coffee & olives in warmer atmospheres are ideal examples of this layer. 

Shrubs

The brush layer is the most dense forest part & includes currants, berries, & blueberry bushes. 

Herbaceous

This layer accommodates several medicinal, insectaries, or companion plants such as bananas. 

Vines

The vines depend on other plant species to support themselves & get that necessary sun exposure such as beans or passion fruit. 

Ground Cover

This permaculture food forest layer is otherwise known as the horizontal layer that grows into large weeds in a particular season. However, they die faster & then regrow again in the next year such as strawberries. 

But, I will suggest you to plant some perennial plant species instead of annual ones to avoid soil erosion. However, try to make it visually appealing by trimming them regularly. 

Rhizosphere

This root layer consists of plants with trunks & vines that make up the other forest layers. However, it plays a crucial role in supplying water & air into the forest parts & boosting soil fertility. 

Mycelium

If you want to generate high profit, do not forget to plant mushrooms in this layer. They not only boost the soil quality but also aid the tree roots. However, I suggest that you grow them on the logs for improved biodiversity. 

4 Reasons To Have Your Own Permaculture Food Forest

• Expect high yield due to versatile & dense plantation & improved biodiversity due to all-year-round production.
• Food forests can self-munch the soil improving fertility & it promotes a healthy ecosystem where beneficial insects can survive like earthworms.
• You do not need any expensive gardening resources or artificial pesticides, fertilizer, or herbicides with less labor involvement.
• You can have your own forest with your preferred plants. 

Are You Ready to Build Your Own Permaculture Food Forest?

“To be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd.” Isn’t it?

So, if you are interested in growing plants & food, grow your own food forest. Because the plants are hardy, perennial, & regrow at faster rates. 

Also, it creates a safer homeland for wild animals with the required food sources. Additionally, the wild predators naturally control the pest infestation. 

Overall, you do not need to invest in manure, compost, or other gardening additives. Apart from developing healthy biodiversity, food forests aid in waste reduction & improved soil fertility. 

So, are you ready with your shortlisted food forest plants? Then, what are you waiting for? Design the layout & start working towards it. 

Comment the names of your preferred plants down below!

Frequently Asked Questions