It’s Relatively Easy to Design a Food Forest in the UK. Just Follow The Blueprint Nature Provides. Nature Has Designed Food Forests For Millenia & Has Perfected The Food Forest Model.
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Nature’s model however doesn’t normally include some of the plants we can use, simply because they are not native to the UK. Take, for example, Hablitzia tamnoides or Apios americana as part of the vine layer. These climbers are not native but can be grown in the UK food forest where they add to the polyculture that is ideal. . However even in the “natural state” nature creates a polyculture of plants. Perhaps hundreds of species in a single woodland. Our aim however is to include many dozens or even a hundred or more in a single small area. Certainly in our quarter acre site in East Devon we already have dozens of species growing, as the photo below shows.
Our Current Food Forest Crops Include:
In the bottom right are numerous buckwheat that are in flower just weeks after being sown as seed in the woodchip we use to cover our no dig beds. This is the closest we can get to what nature intended with a circular economy of nutrients that encourages mycorrhizal activity. Above the buckwheat is a tomato, sprawling across the woodchip. This works fine with tomatoes where we have no time to tend them daily, pinch out the sideshoots and train them up strings. But the surface has to be weed and slug free.
In the centre of the image is a perennial kale, this one is Taunton Deane. Behind it is a vigorous group of Jerusalem artichoke. They grow to 10 feet high and luxuriate in the conditions.
To the right of the artichoke, and hard to distinguish, is a mulberry.
Also top the right of the kale is rhubarb, walk-in g onions, a young olive tree and a lemongrass. The lemongrass has only been in the ground a few weeks but has got its roots down and seems to like the conditions. Though this part of Devon is mild and we don’t get a lot of frosty I don’t expect it to survive the winter. But I already have a replacement being grown to take its place next spring. I plan to plant it around mid May next year and see how it does with a longer season.
To the left of the kale is mint, it’s well into flower and attracts lots of pollinators. There are also some raspberries in this part of the bed but they are in their first year and short. We expect better growth next year.
On the extreme left it is also possible to see the serrated edged leaves of a cardoon edging in to the picture.
That’s just a few plants growing here. I’ve probably missed several I should have mentioned. One thing I would point out however is how weed free the worship is. The original grass can be seen on the right of the image and the only treatment given to suppress the grass is the woodchip. It works a treat and has stopped various rank grass species, including couch; buttercups, etc. Don’t ever believe all the people that claim this cant possibly work. the evidence is here and has been witnessed by the dozen or more people that volunteer on this community project.
The Basic Food Forest Design Principles
The basic design follows that of permaculture. There’s more on that if you follow the link. But beyond these principles here are some simple steps to take.
Bear in mind you can create a food forest in a small area. Even in a small garden.
Most gardens are suitable for a food forest site, even though you might have to reduce the number of each plant. Perhaps one tree is all you have e space for, and it might have to be grown on a dwarfing rootstock, but you can still have trees and bits o each other layer.
Understand Your Food Forest Site
Before selecting plants, it’s essential to assess your food forest site’s conditions:
Sunlight: How many hours of direct sunlight does your garden receive daily?
Soil: What is the soil type (e.g., clay, sandy, loamy)?
Climate: Consider your local climate, including average temperatures and rainfall.
Plant Selection
Based on your garden’s conditions, choose plants that are well-suited to your UK climate. Consider factors such as:
Hardiness: Ensure plants can withstand UK winters.
Pollinators: Select plants that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Succession harvesting: Choose plants with staggered harvest times to ensure a continuous supply of food. Ideally we want to be able to harvest food all year.
Example Food Forest Layers
Here are some examples of plant combinations for each layer, tailored for UK gardens. It’s sometimes difficult to know which layer a plant falls in to . For example is an apple tree part of the canopy or low tree layer. The answer is simple .. it doesn’t matter. They are given as categories to help you envisage them, but it really is a flexible and you can interchange things and even miss out a layer or two if you need to.
Canopy Layer: Birch, walnut, sweet chestnut or native fruit trees like apple, pear, or plum.
Low Tree Layer: Hazel, elderberry, or crabapple.
Shrub Layer: Currants, gooseberries, raspberries, or native shrubs like hawthorn or hazel.
Vine Layer: Grapevine, kiwi, or hablitizia.
Herbaceous Layer: Rhubarb, mint, chives, garlic, or native wildflower mixes.
Groundcover Layer: Strawberries, onions, or garlic etc
Root Layer: Potatoes, carrots, etc.
Mushroom Layer: Oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, or lion’s mane mushrooms.
Managing Your Food Forest
Pruning: Regular pruning is essential to maintain the structure and health of your food forest.
Mulching: Mulching helps to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and add organic matter. Woodchip is my favourite mulching material but use whatever you can get hold of.
Pest and disease control: Monitor your plants for pests and diseases, and take appropriate action. Though I have to say that in the few years we have had our food forest pests and diseases have not been an issue. The only exception has been cabbage white caterpillars on our perennial kale last year. They stripped toe leaves back to the midribs and no leaf was left. But in autumn, after the caterpillars had gone, the kale produced more leaves and thrived all winter.
Benefits of a Food Forest
Biodiversity: A food forest supports a diverse range of plants and wildlife.
Sustainability: It’s a low-maintenance and sustainable way to grow food.
Productivity: A well-designed food forest can produce a variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
Resilience: It’s more resilient to pests, diseases, and climate change than monoculture gardens.
Workload: a food forest can be neglected for weeks at time and not noticeably suffer. We don’t regularly water, weed infrequently should we see the odd stray weed, sow and plant when we feel like it and are not burdened by the more strict regime that gardens can impose.
Designing a food forest has been a revelation to me. I’ve owned a commercial market garden, managed farms and have gardened all my life, but food forests break many of the rules I had learnt and is stretching my imagination as well as, occasionally, my muscles.
PS What’s In a Name?
I often see debate over the name for areas that I describe as Food Forests. People tell me I should refer to them as forest gardens. I’m not convinced that what we call it makes a lot of difference. The important thing is the purpose of the area, what we grow and how we grow it. I choose the term food forest to emphasise the food aspect and forestry or woodland location. Gardens don’t always mean or produce food, they can be ornamental or amenity based and not involve food, which is surely what is important in this case.
