Residents can find food in their backyard. They can make a garden which is also a beneficial pollinator creating a good wildlife habitat. For that, they need to ensure their soil is nourished through compost and other organic matter (food peel and leftovers either composted and buried underground or underground).
Most suburban homes can make them with relevant ease. A food forest is not an orchard but is quite different from it. It has a range of food-producing plants and trees nicely maintained and available to many people (residents included).
A lot of food forests have been discovered by people throughout history. Numerous architects looking to make greenhouses in cities like Moscow, Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Berlin, Dubai, Cairo, Phoenix, and Los Angeles found them in the backyards of numerous homes.
Cities like Almere, Oshawa, Montreal, Houston, Cleveland, Hartford, Sheffield, Hamburg, and Copenhagen have properties where a lot of food plants (bell peppers, apple trees, cilantro, chilies, and carrots were grown). This led to the creation of food forests. Numerous apartment blocks of working, middle, and upper-middle classes in Boston, Hartford, Newark, and New York have them.
Architects in both Portland and Seattle saw these food forests in the backyards of homes in Auburn, Redmond, SeaTac, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver. The climates and environments of these suburbs favored the growth of food forests. Similar food forests were found all over Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Tennessee.
Food forests as a concept sounds new but are quite old
Food forests have been in existence for ages. The medieval United Kingdom had a lot of homesteads producing food plants and maintaining food forests. Traces of such were found in ancient Viking and Roman homes. Even some homes in ancient Egypt had them. Beyond the Renaissance, many British and French homes had them. They were common in large homesteads back then.
They became common in America following the independence of the United States with many homes and homesteads in old New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, The Carolinas, and Georgia having them. They reached as far as Washington, California, Oregon, Arizona, and Texas.
Coincidentally, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and other Asian homesteads and civilizations had them as well. They were able to improve the quality of soil, water, and air. Any litter and refuse from them worked as compost and mulch.
What is the main advantage of food forests?
One of the key advantages of food forests is that they are not resource-intensive. The presence of trees provides a worthwhile canopy for food banks as shrubs can develop easily with the right amount of water. The midday heat and sunshine are intense, so the canopies are worth a lot. These gardens also do not require much weeding.
Food forests provide a friendly ground for birds and beneficial insects to keep pests under control. Food gardens grow fruits and veggies like beans, cilantro, a wide range of berries, shallots, garlic, spring onions, garlic, fall apples, ginger, peppers, capsicum, nettles, mint leaves, herbs, and melons. Growing them depends on the region’s climate.
Landscaping enthusiasts often consulted project advisory professionals about adding food forests to residential property development. Though many found them suitable for large homes, community, and middle-class housing development seem to favor them too.
What are food forests – are they sustainable for homes?
Food forests are a proven method of growing food crops. They use an array of methods and plans resembling a woodland ecosystem. Not many resources are required for maintaining a food forest. In comparison to the well-cultivated agricultural approach.
Food forests existed in the world for centuries. The oldest one can be found in Morocco where individual species of plants were arranged vertically. They used the sun’s energy to help boost the relationship between pants, water circulation & storage, along with soil nutrients.
The Moroccan food forest had plants arranged in layers. The plants at the top made a tree canopy whilst the smaller ones, shrubs, and vines plus perennials, ground covers, roots, and tubers. Each food forest present around the world is made differently.
Some important tips regarding food forests
Not everyone has the resources, mettle, strength, time, or money to make one. Food forests are a source of self-employment for many and making one is resource-intensive today. Here are some important tips to keep in mind about food forests:
Space is needed
Food forests require space and so do plants. They need a lot of room to grow until they are mature. Thus residents need to understand that plants will grow large in time. This is why plants thrive in large fields.
The guild of such a forest is usually the size of a tree’s canopy (which is in the center). Smaller spaces may use a Columnar Apple Tree which only needs a 6×6 space. Making numerous guilds nearby can help but they will again require a lot of space. 1000 square feet is ample. Residents must mark their pathways so they do not trample on plants by accidents. Wooden chips can help in this regard.
The time required to make a food forest
A quantum expert in UAE explains the amount of time needed to make one is proportional to the amount of time residents will live in a property. Efforts will pay off if residents tend to their food forests with enthusiasm. It will take a minimum of five years to grow one, depending on how plants were put in and how they can adapt.
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