5 Common Food Forest Mistakes

Here at Tinui Food Forest I get to meet a lot of Food Foresters - and many aspiring Food Foresters. When I talk with them I share the mistakes I have made over the past 23 years (there are many!) and they also share some of their challenges.

The list below shows some of the main common problem areas:

1. Over-thinking

A Food Forest copies a natural forest- with all of the abundant growth and wildness inherent in a forest. We all know how important the up front planning is - and this is where permaculture design principles are the best thing since sliced bread. However- once you've done that planning, the process of starting a Food Forest just needs to start- as long as you get your main trees in roughly the right spots you can't go too wrong. Don't get into "analysis paralysis" because you could be losing valuable growing time.

2. Canopy

Get that canopy established asap! If you haven't got existing trees that you are planting around, get those quick growing nitrogen providing trees in the ground. They will give you a canopy years ahead of what your main Food Forest trees will- and then you chop them down for firewood and mulch.

3. Ditch the Garden Controller

Most of us have been unlucky enough to grow up in an era where fossil fuel and petrochemical use has enabled us to assert complete control over our land and gardens- at the complete expense of healthy abundant ecosystems. You've got to ditch that control mentality- remember- only humans like it tidy- nature needs a mess.

4. Make it look loved

We all want an exuberant, healthy Food Forest. But- to the uninitiated and uninformed - the resulting Food Forest can look like an absolute chaotic mess. We know this isn't a problem- but try explaining that to the neighbours! So, my solution to that is to add a few design touches so that people don't immediately see the mess! Funny eh? Add defined paths, leading to destination benches or fountains or whatever garden features please you- and add some cute structures- eg, willow or hazel teepees for beans etc. Then create an entrance- even name the space- and if you can add a gate. This is particularly important for Food Forests in public spaces- if the Food Forest does not look attractive then people feel entitled to help you- with spraying, weed eating etc. The key is to have the wildness of the Food Forest almost constrained by the structures- it works.

5. Sharing is Caring

When we grow a Food Forest we are growing it for many reasons- including food for ourselves. However, a side effect of a Food Forest - whether we planned for it or not- is that all the other creatures that we share this earth with will also love your Food Forest and will join you in it. Birds and insects are hungry, soil micro-organisms and funghi go mad- so you suddenly end up feeding a human and non-human community! This is a good thing! We need to ditch our selfish human attitude that the earth is there only for our own use and we need to learn to behave so that all living creatures are happy and fed!