Y'all don't forget the CONTESTS built into this series. One SBI for a name, five for the needle! That makes thirty one shares for the series if someone claims the prize before the post pays out.

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On to today's featured permaculture tidbit!

Today's topic (no, I didn't run through and select my favorites; It's a random shuffle) is the FOOD FOREST.

Wow, what an in-depth topic to touch on so early. This may be a long one...

Food forestry incorporates every bit of permaculture all at once. In the course of building our small 2400 square foot South Project, I've been inspired by such permie steemians as @rawutah and @mariannewest, among others of course. Give them a follow if this interests you ;)

As the name suggests, a food forest's job is to be a sustainable, perennial food source for generations to come. A large scale system is no easy feat, but they can be done on a micro scale as well.

Jake at @rawutah has something like 110 fruit trees in his tenth acre urban food forest, but he once explained his "food forest archipelago" approach to me. It can be as simple as a fruit tree that acts as a trellis for a tomato plant that has marigolds for pest control and pollinator attractors and comfrey for mulch and fertilizer. Throw in strawberries for ground cover too. Each player in the system benefits the rest, and it is stronger than the sum of it's parts. Due to the stacking effect here, this highly productive combination can be accomplished in just a few square feet compared to planting each element separately.

This small section of cooperatively grouped plants is called a guild. Using guilds, I imagine it is possible to build a larger food forest one small piece at a time as you're able. If that is your goal.

Food forests can serve many roles for people, while also helping repair the earth. If you're a prepper, getting ready for the end of days, a sustainable food source may serve you better than cans of spam and beans. If you're willing to invest a bit so you can save money on groceries, perhaps you could plant some seeds or an inexpensive guild or two. If you're wanting to eat organic, the food forest is optimized to not need external inputs of fertilizer or glyphosate. If you're like me, looking to get away from the big ag/big pharma paradigm, a food forest is a great option that can serve to support you and your family for a very long time with both food plants and medicinal herbs. I'm even told that fruit trees can improve property value, serving to put more money in your pocket later on.

Consider what a small food forest could do for you, and I promise it can do even more.

Thought for the week:

what if your community church used some of that spare space for a food forest instead of not touching it? What good could come? What kind of outreach? What message could that send?

Be blessed.
Be fruitful.
Stay relevant.

Nate

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