Martin Crawford has worked in organic agriculture and horticulture for many years. He is director of the Agroforestry Research Trust, a charity that researches temperate agroforestry and all aspects of plant cropping and uses, with a focus on tree, shrub and perennial crops.

Creating a Forest Garden

Working with Nature to Grow Edible Crops

By Martin Crawford

Green Books Ltd

Copyright © 2012 Martin Crawford
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-900322-62-1

Contents

Foreword by Rob Hopkins,
Introduction,
Part 1: How forest gardens work,
1. Forest gardens,
2. Forest garden features and products,
3. The effects of climate change,
4. Natives and exotics,
5. Emulating forest conditions,
6. Fertility in forest gardens,
Part 2: Designing your forest garden,
7. Ground preparation and planting,
8. Growing your own plants,
9. First design steps,
10. Designing wind protection,
11. Canopy species,
12. Designing the canopy layer,
13. Shrub species,
14. Designing the shrub layer,
15. Herbaceous perennial and ground-cover species,
16. Designing the perennial/ground-cover layer,
17. Annuals, biennials and climbers,
18. Designing with annuals, biennials and climbers,
Part 3: Extra design elements and maintenance,
19. Clearings,
20. Paths,
21. Fungi in forest gardens,
22. Harvesting and preserving,
23. Maintenance,
24. Ongoing tasks,
Glossary,
Appendix 1: Propagation tables,
Appendix 2: Trees and shrubs for hedging and fencing,
Appendix 3: Plants to attract beneficial insects and bees,
Appendix 4: Edible crops by month of use,
Resources: Useful organisations, suppliers and publications,
Index,

CHAPTER 1

Forest gardens

What is a forest garden?

A forest garden is a garden modelled on the structure of young natural woodland, utilising plants of direct and indirect benefit to people – often edible plants. It may contain large trees, small trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, herbs, annuals, root crops and climbers, all planted in such a way as to maximise positive interactions and minimise negative interactions, with fertility maintained largely or wholly by the plants themselves.

The plants in a forest garden are mainly perennial, which gives the system its long-term nature. Many of the plants used are multipurpose; they may have a main function or crop but will very often also have a number of other uses. Plants are also mixed to a large degree, so there are few large blocks or areas of a single species, and each species is grown close to many others in ways that are mutually beneficial.

A forest garden is in fact a carefully designed and maintained ecosystem of useful plants (and perhaps animals too). The self-fertilising nature comes from the use of nitrogen-fixing plants and other plants that are particularly good at raising nutrients from the subsoil, and from the very efficient nutrient cycling that develops in a forest-like system. The soil is maintained in peak condition by being covered by plants at most times, and garden health is boosted by the use of plants that attract predators of likely pests, and plants that reduce disease problems. Diversity is important too: high diversity almost always increases ecosystem health.

The term ‘forest garden’ may imply something large and extensive, which is not necessarily the case – forest gardens can be cultivated on any scale, from a small back garden to a field, or several fields. ‘Woodland garden’ can sometimes be the same thing. Unfortunately, in our culture, ‘forest’ or ‘woodland’ implies a denser, darker collection of trees, which is not the case in a forest garden, as you’ll see.

Although the history of forest gardens in the UK and North America is short – fo