Creating a Forest Garden: Working with Nature to Grow Edible Crops
By Martin Crawford and Joanna Brown
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Forest Gardening (or agroforestry) is a way of growing edible crops with nature doing most of the work. A forest garden imitates young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops grown in vertical layers. Species are chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility, with little need for digging, weeding or pest control. The result of this largely perennial planting is a tranquil, beautiful and productive space.
This book is a bible for permaculture and forest gardening, with practical advice on how to create a forest garden, from planning and design to planting and maintenance. It explains how a forest garden is designed from the top down:
- the canopy layer first,
- then the shrub layer,
- the perennial ground-cover layer,
- the annuals & biennials
- next, the climbers and nitrogen fixers
- and finally the clearings, living spaces and paths.
Whether in a small back garden or in a larger plot, the environmental benefits of growing this way are great. Forest Gardens are a viable solution to the challenge of a changing climate: we can grow food sustainably in them without compromising soil health, food quality or biodiversity.
Forest gardens:
- store carbon dioxide in the soil and in the woody biomass of the trees and shrubs.
- enable the soil to store more water after heavy rains, minimizing flooding and erosion.
- boost the health of the ecosystem, ensuring a balance of predators and beneficial insects because mixed planting is crucial to the scheme.
- allows the soil to thrive because it is covered with plants all year round.
Creating a Forest Garden includes a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals, root crops and climbers. As well as more familiar plants such as fig and apple trees, blackcurrants and rosemary shrubs, you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams, heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants.
Forest gardens produce fruits, nuts, vegetables, seeds, salads, herbs, spices, firewood, mushrooms, medicinal herbs, dye plants, soap plants, and honey from bees.
This book tells you everything you need to create your own forest garden with beautiful illustrations and helpful tips throughout.
Martin Crawford
Martin Crawford is a garden writer and founder of the Agroforestry Research Trust. His books on creating a forest garden, and growing perennial vegetables, are considered must-read 'how to' handbooks
Related to Creating a Forest Garden
Related ebooks
Sustainable Gardens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Complete Guide To Building Your Own Greenhouse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPawpaws: The Complete Growing and Marketing Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntroduction to an Organic Permaculture Food Garden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrowing a Food Forest – Trees, Shrubs, & Perennials That’ll Feed Ya!: The Hungry Garden, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Food Forest Handbook: Design and Manage a Home-Scale Perennial Polyculture Garden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets of Mound Gardening: Harnessing Nature for Healthier Fruits, Veggies, and Environment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBotany for Gardeners - With Chapters on Plant Structure, Plant Breeding and the Life of the Germinating Seedling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBasic Companion Planting for Organic Gardens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts: 50 Easy-to-Grow Plants for the Organic Home Garden or Landscape Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWeeds and What They Tell Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Guide to Companion Planting: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Garden Successful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Edible Ecosystem Solution: Growing Biodiversity in Your Backyard and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Create a Flourishing Food Forest: Sustainable Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlant Science for Gardeners: Essentials for Growing Better Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Garden Indoors & Grow Your Own Food Year Round: Ultimate Guide to Vertical, Container, and Hydroponic Gardening Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Living Soil Handbook: The No-Till Grower's Guide to Ecological Market Gardening Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Ecological Gardeners Handbook: How to Create a Garden With a Healthy Eco-System and Garden Sustainably Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer: The Ultimate Guide to Producing High-Quality Herbs on a Market Scale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Personality Tests For Your Soil: The Ultimate Guide to Soil, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrganic Fruits and Vegetables: Growing Healthy and Delicious Food at Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ecological Gardener: How to Create Beauty and Biodiversity from the Soil Up Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlants For Fruit Guilds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Gardening For You
The Lost Book of Simple Herbal Remedies: Discover over 100 herbal Medicine for all kinds of Ailment Inspired By Barbara O'Neill Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cannabis Grow Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing Marijuana for Recreational and Medical Use Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Herbalist's Bible: John Parkinson's Lost Classic Rediscovered Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNative American Herbalist Bible: A Handbook of Native American Herbs Usage in Modern Day Life and Recipes for Aliments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Medicinal Herbal: A Practical Guide to the Healing Properties of Herbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Your Own Herbalist: Essential Herbs for Health, Beauty, and Cooking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Book of Backyard Medicine: The Ultimate Guide to Home-Grown Herbal Remedies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFloriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemy of Herbs - A Beginner's Guide: Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Square Foot Gardening: A Beginner's Guide to Square Foot Gardening at Home Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Houseplants 101: How to choose, style, grow and nurture your indoor plants: The Green Fingered Gardener, #4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Backyard Pharmacy: Growing Medicinal Plants in Your Own Yard Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gardening Without Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Witch's Garden: Your Complete Guide to Creating and Cultivating a Magical Garden Space Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening: How to Grow Nutrient-Dense, Soil-Sprouted Greens in Less Than 10 days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Companion Planting - The Lazy Gardener's Guide to Organic Vegetable Gardening Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Self-Sufficient Backyard Homestead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVertical Gardening : The Beginner's Guide To Organic & Sustainable Produce Production Without A Backyard Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Your Indoor Herb Garden: Growing and Harvesting Herbs at Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Self-Sufficiency Handbook: Your Complete Guide to a Self-Sufficient Home, Garden, and Kitchen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Creating a Forest Garden
9 ratings0 reviews